Dr. Cullen- Like the Vampire

I am in Chem105 right now- it is general chemistry. My teacher introduced himself, through email, as Dr. Cullen. He is a tiny man, who looks like a much older, much more spectacled Vizzini from The Princess Bride. When one of the students asked Brother Cullen his name in class, Hermano Cullen said, "Cullen: Like the vampire." Of course, the boy asking the question didn't really get the reference, but my friend Amy and I looked at each other and laughed out loud. Like the vampire.

From left to right- Vizzini, Dr. Cullen (the photo he has posted online. REeeeeeal helpful) and Dr. Cullen- the vampire.

This man is one of the most difficult chemistry teachers here on campus. I recently learned that he used to teach at Cornell University. He came here as a sort of retirement. He is so funny, in an extraordinarily dry way. We sometimes have to laugh at the things he says, even though no one else does. Amy and I think he is the cutest, cutest thing ever.

I really like him because he wants people to think he is mean. Really, though, he is not at all. He is super compassionate and kind. He will often hand the chalk to students so they can do some problems on the board. Proof of his kindness and mercy is that he rarely hands the chalk to me: he knows I would be utterly humiliated and defeated up in front at the board.

He knows my name. There is something really special about someone who knows your name, especially when they are supposed to be tough, uncaring chem teacher who has the goal of failing half the class. "Victoria," he says. I am Victoria. Sometimes, I'll thank him at the end of the class, and he'll say, "Goodbye, Victoria."

He doesn't wear a wedding ring. Amy and I are in this life-long debate about whether or not he is married. I believe he is married because no one that old is that nice unless they are married. He will, once in a VERY blue moon, refer to his son, and apparently, on one of the three days I missed, he mentioned a senior mission. He is really nice to loud, obnoxious, clueless me. I don't think he would be unless he were married. Yet, he never wears a ring. I don't know. My vote is, however, that he is married.

We can tell that he really likes lab days. On Wednesdays, lab days, he is especially enthusiastic about science. He gets a bit excited when he explains the experiment for the day, and he even makes an occasional joke. I think he is the cutest thing ever. I told Amy that I want to be his friend. I want to be in the same ward as him. I may have to wait until the next life, I told her, but it's going to happen. We are going to be friends. He will see that I am no idiot. He will be an amazing friend.