I’ve always maintained that I’m terrible at remembering names but good at remember faces. That may be changing, like some of the faces I saw today.

I spent part of today teaching students who are thinking about joining a program that will prepare them for study overseas. The trouble is, it took me a while to realize that some of them were the same students I’d taught before.

I also found a spy. (More on that later.)

I started teaching at 1:00 p.m. and, because there were faces I didn’t recognize, and some of the students I’d taught before were now in the program, my brain made the leap that everyone was new.

Eventually, I realized that one of the young men looked familiar, and he was sitting next to a young woman who looked familiar. Then as I looked around other faces started to look familiar I had started having one of those horror movie moments where you suddenly realize that you are surrounded by ghosts of familiar people.

Some of them had changed their hairstyles and gained or lost weight and, in my defense, I last saw them in early October when hay fever was still a problem and a lot of them were wearing masks.

Still, it was a surreal feeling to suddenly have all those faces seem familiar.

I also discovered that one of my students from last week is the younger sister of one of my former students at the school where I work. This means that, with little trouble, she will could learn all my secret tricks. It’s probably for the best that I’m not her regular teacher.

That said, I’m going back in about a month and might end up teaching her. I hope her brother doesn’t give away too many secrets.

I also have a feeling I might teach today’s students at least one more time. I just hope I can remember what they look like.