Nothing

Ok, yesterday we decided to go out, but before I get into that, here is the situation as it stands. Colin, Lisa, Matty stix and Maya have all gone to Shanghai. They left half way through the day yesterday. Then all our classes were cancelled in the afternoon which brought me to the point of "why didn't we just go with the Wednesday schedule today?" but whatever. Anyway, I knew that I was going to be going out and I was willing to take anyone who wanted to join me. Lillis and Eileen were up for it and the boys said that they were thinking of going to Soho but maybe they would just join us later at HBS. Anyway, we got our stuff together and me and the girls headed out. It was probably between 9:15 and 9:30 when we left the house. We got outside and found that it was really difficult to get a cab. None of the drivers would take us to Hankou. Then one driver was refusing us and there was a chinese guy near the cab too, we understood when the driver said he wouldn't go there but then he said something else and we were like "what?!" then the guy said in perfect english "There's a traffic jam" Anyway, we finally got a cab to pick us up but he was unaware of the traffic. Long story short, we spent Y50 and one hour in the cab but finally made it to CC. Very exhausted we stopped in there for a drink and then almost immedeately left and headed over to BS. Dave, the guitarist said that CC had been pretty quiet over the past few days and he had been to other places and they were pretty quiet too. He said that he hadn't been to BS so he wasn't sure what they were like. Well we got to BS at around 11:40 and usually that's when it starts to pick up. It looked like it was 9:00 if you were going by the people, or lack there of. Anyway, we ordered our meals and halfway through the bell rang for happy hour. Usually there is a collective cheer from everyone just so happy for this hour but this time it was more like a.......... actually I don't think there was any real noise when the bell rang. Anyway, our food finally came and soon after that so did the boys. Matt, Alex, Klaver and Mustafa. They also brought a friend, a girl named Christine from Germany that they met somewhere. I don't even know. Anyway, we had a pretty good time but it was strange because we were the life of the party. At one point, my song came on and I was the only one on the dance floor enjoying it. Mustafa got incredibly drunk and told me I was beautiful about a million times and according to him, it wasn't just my face, my heart was beautiful too. Imagine hearing that from a drunk english man about 50 times in 30 seconds. I apologized to Christine so many times because he was saying these slurrred words right over her as he was trying to get to me and then he would turn to her to agree wth him. Later she asked me if this was something I had to deal with often. I told her that he does get pretty drunk but not this much. Later that night, Mustafa was yelling at the TV over a soccer game. England was playing so......
Anyway, around 3:30am, we decided to call it a night. BS was very dead by this time, no one was there and we were all getting pretty tired. We told the boys we were leaving and then myself, Eilen and Lillis hopped a cab back home. I wasn't going to be babysitting any of the boys to make sure they got home or any of that shit. They said that they wanted to go to KTV and I was like "do whatever you want, I'm outta here" They hopped into a cab to who knows where. There is only one person that I would babysit and make sure they were ok, and put them to bed when they were really drunk and that person is Matty stix. Last I checked he was on his way to Shanghai. Anyway, I was in bed by 4:30. The girls and I chatted for a while before we parted ways to our rooms.
Today, I'm going to Carrefour to buy the things I so sorely need to make my place liveable and tonight I'll probably be taking some much needed rest. Today is the first day of our week of vacation. I know the boys still want me to come with them and Mustafa even offered to pay for me but I think it's probably best that I stay home. I think I have alot of thinking to do and maybe it would be best to take this week to do that.

TTFN

A new club

Ok, Klaver and Colin are starting a new club. It's the "Litisha isn't leaving club".
Now when I made my decision to come back to China, there were alot of factors that were taken into consideration. And when I decided to only stay for 6 months, there were once again more factors that accounted for that decision. I would say mostly that I thought that I was coming back based on the same conditions in which I left. I figured that anything would be better than the sisters but ultimately I had no clue what I was getting involved with. I was expecting to come back into a situation that was an eight or maybe even a nine. These people and everything else makes it a fifteen. Not a day goes by that Klaver doesn't say to me "You're leaving. I had no idea" or "No, no, no, you're not going anywhere. I'm not letting you leave" They constantly guilt trip me into staying. Even Lisa joins in and then adds the fact that Colin is really going to miss me. Then Matty stix says that I don't necessarily have to extend my contract but I could just stay and make coffee for them all day. Well as I've told them all, maybe if I wanted to stay I could think about it but the other side of things, is that the school may not even want me to stay. They could already have someone lined up to take my place. This is unlikely because they don't usually do things to much ahead of time but it is a possibility. Heck, look at the circumstances under which I was asked back. They were desperate. They asked all the other teachers 2 months before the end of the semester and then came to me 2 weeks before. I just don't know what to do or think anymore. Everyone insists that I can do my applications for university over the internet, which I know is possible. And especially with the fact that I'm going into education, once I explain to them that I'm currently in China teaching and I have to do my applications on line, this may look good in my favour. But on the other hand I feel that I'd like to be more hands on with this type of thing. Then Colin suggested that with me staying the extra time I could make more money. Which is true but I've made semi commitments to people at home that I would be able to fulfill provided I'm back in February. So that's my messed up story. I don't really know what I want to do yet. Before I came back to China, I was positive I was leaving but now I feel like everything has changed. Does anyone have any thoughts? advice? words of wisdom? Should I let Klaver "bully" me into staying even though there is a small part of me that agrees with him or should I follow through on my original plans of leaving?

HELP!!!

TTFN

Roller coasters are fun......... sometimes.

Well this update should have come to you sooner but we have been having a really unstable internet connection. It’s in for an hour then out for 3 hours then in for 10 minutes then out for half a day. Anyway long story short, I haven’t been able to do any updates.
Well Friday night we went to HBS for Klaver’s birthday and that was a roller coaster of a night. There were ups and downs and I had to break up a possible fight between Matt and a friend of mine who’s also a regular at HBS. Even more so than myself. Anyway, I didn’t stay as long as I normally did but I made the best of my night. I have to be honest with you, the days following that are a bit of a blur. On Sunday, Delia (one of the co-teachers and a friend of mine) invited me over for dinner. I had been once before, but the difference this time was that I teach her nephew in my grade one class. She’s also moved closer to the school and lives in a 2-bedroom apartment with her parents, her nephew and his parents. Dinner was ok, but too a long time to be prepared and was actually better the last time I was there. Then Sky, my student, was being a brat and his parents kept asking me (as Delia translated) whether or not he was a good boy. I made no qualms about lying. I said he was. The way I saw it, it was better for me to tell the truth because then they would deal with him and I would have one less annoying kid in my class. Anyway Delia’s cousin, gave me a ride home and it was my first time being in a Chinese person’s car (other than a cab). It was pretty cool. Then Delia kept annoying me because she was just so amazed that I could give her cousin directions. She was concerned because she didn’t know where the branch school was or how to give directions. I had to keep repeating myself with “I live in Wuhan and one of the most important things I have to know is how to get myself home.” These Chinese people can be annoying sometimes. You made your way half way across the globe but the 10 miles between school and home…. well that’s just something I can’t do. Anyway, I called in sick on Monday because I just had the worst sore throat and wasn’t in the mood to spend the day yelling at my kids. Then after that, more of a blur. A good blur. There were nights of hanging out in someone’s room or another and just talking and joking. These are some of the fun times. Everyone has been super broke and just waiting for payday. Luckily, us teachers at the main school got paid yesterday. The guys at the branch school and the second branch school are still waiting, last I heard. Yesterday we went out for dinner and then that turned into an interesting night. We went to Paul’s restaurant, then we ordered a round of beers, then another and another and another. Then we were drinking white Russians and the boys were drinking baijiu (buy-jo). Then we were all drinking wine and then Matt’s idea was to go to a hair-washing place. I protested. I didn’t want any Chinese people touching my hair. They wouldn’t know where to begin. And the funny thing about this was, I had a dream the night before about going to a Chinese hair salon and putting up a stink about not wanting my hair to be touched. Anyway, Matt continued to insist that I get a hair washing and that the massage that they give is good. So I finally gave in after Alex said that he would pay for me. I have to admit that the head massage was good and they didn’t do a bad job washing but when it came to styling that’s when I had to stop them. They kept telling me in Chinese that they really liked my hair and they were in awe of it, touching and looking. Then the girl tried to give me this big Texas hairstyle and I was like, no no no. I took my clip out of my bag and just clipped my hair back. I’ll do the styling myself at home. Anyway, the boys were very drunk and Matt for whatever reason decided to torture his brother Alex and made the staff dye his hair. Actually bleached his hair. Alex is your everyday Italian-American so he’s got very dark hair. Well the bleach wasn’t left long enough and now it’s orange. I had to coach him through the experience and tried my best not to laugh. Klaver also got his hair lightened but with him being a dirty blond already, a little lighter blond isn’t a stretch, actually it looked pretty good. Poor Alex however had to go to school today with orange hair. Colin said that he could easily fix it and I think I’ll get Colin to do something with my hair too, since he is the hair expert as he admitted. Anyway, today wasn’t too bad. With the holiday next week, we have to work back the 2 days that the school gives us off. So we work tomorrow and Sunday. Not this Sunday but the Sunday after. Then for shits and giggles, they gave us the Wednesday schedule on Friday, today and then we’ll be working Friday’s schedule tomorrow Saturday. Why you may ask? Well we have learned not to ask that question anymore. It would make more sense to keep Friday’s schedule as is and work the half day on Saturday but what are we thinking? Anyway it was cool to have another half day today and actually be able to go home. In other news, I bought a new guitar today. I was going to bring the one I had before back to China but when I got to the airport they told me it would cost $180 for the guitar as it was oversized and extra baggage. I told them to shove it because the guitar wasn’t even worth that much and I could just as easily buy another one for less than $180. Anyway I went to my neighbourhood guitar shop and Colin helped me pick one out. I got it for Y200 (that’s about $30) including a carrying bag, strap and a pick. I talked them down from Y285. Anyway, now that I have some cash, I have to send some money home and I have to complete my list for the shopping extravaganza I have to do at Carrefour on Sunday. There are so many things I need to buy. Over the holiday next week, Colin, Lisa, Matty stix and Maya are going to Shanghai and they are really pumped about it. Matt, Alex, Klaver and Mustafa are going to Hu Dong Shan Mountain. I was going to go with them but financially I don’t think it’s a good idea. I have to send a bunch of cash home and I have to make my apartment liveable. With all the cash I’m gonna be parting with over the next few days, if I add that trip I’m gonna be broke before we go back to school on Sunday.
Anyway, so that’s the update so far. I will try my best to keep my updates regular but it’s really hard when the internet sucks. But even if my posts are weeks apart, I’ll always give you the low down on how things went.

TTFN

Happy Birthday Klaver!!

Well it was Klaver's birthday and we had a great time. We went to Paul's secondary restaurant and had a great time eating, drinking and laughing. Eileen's birthday was on Friday so we had a little something for her too and for Klaver we had an awesome gift. A Jack Daniel's box set with a matching flask. It was great. He was really happy to get it and wasn't even expecting a gift at all. And those are the best ones. After we had enough we went to Mustafa's room and partied a bit more. We finished off the JD and talked and laughed some more. It's now 2am and I'm just heading to bed. I feel like I haven't gotten a good night's sleep all week. So I'm gonna try to catch as many ZZ's as I can now and wake up for a new day tomorrow. Then tomorrow night we party at HBS.
There goes another night of no sleep. Maybe I'll sleep on Saturday night.

TTFN

Interestng is the most delicate way to describe

Ok so we have a new teacher in our midst. So now we're all here. The new guy's name is Mustafa. He's from London and so far he seems cool.
Today was interesting. On Wednesdays we all have 4 classes in a row in the morning and then nothing after lunch but because they want to get the most out of us, they make us stay for some lame reason or another. Today we had to go see show lessons. These are dumb. They show us how to teach a lesson but the lesson we're watching is all nicely done and pretty much scripted the whole way. Plus they have all these amazing colour job aides as well as the use of a projector. That was a waste of 40 mins for me. In order for me to go to this show lesson, they cancelled my class at second period and then rescheduled it for 7th period. I never work 7th period.
Anyway, my co teacher for my grade 2 classes still can't speak english and Winnie and I are getting closer. I had no co teacher for grade one but managed since I only had to give a test and the head teacher was there to help keep the kids quiet. For 1E, the head teacher was really nice and I taught her some english words and her and I managed to keep a small convo with my broken chinese and her broken english. Her name is Veronica. The head teacher for 1F, didn't like me very much and when I was leaving and the kids started to chant my name, she shut them up fast. Then I have one little girl named Sally in my 1E class, that always comes to see me during recess. Well let me rephrase. My desk is near the window and this little girl comes to the window every recess to scream my name for 10 mins. It is so cute and she's a cute little girl too.
Anyway, things are going pretty well. I still have the last remains of a cold that I'm trying to get rid of. Tomorrow is Klaver's birthday so we're planning to get him a cake and a small gift. I think on Friday we'll be going out to party but plans haven't been finalized.
Anyway, not much else to tell but I'm sure I'll have details from Klaver's birthday.

TTFN

No regrets

Well the week went by fine. On Wednesday we had a meeting about the policies and procedures and also there was a break down of the semester. It looks like I might possibly work till the technical end of my contract but I think I might be able to squeeze in a few days to go to Thailand still. Plus with the way things break down I'd still have time for my dad to come and he could have a good visit.
On Thursday I met up with one of my chinese friends. Her name is Mickey and she used to work on the main floor of the post office. It made my life easier if I ever needed aything done. Just mailing things in general or sometimes if I had to go to Western Union to pick up any money. Now she works upstairs so I don't see her anymore and I can't use her help. I have to fend for myself as it were. But she knew I was back in town, sent a letter to the school and I called her to hook up. We met for lunch on Thursday and had a good time. Catching up and laughing. she hadn't practiced her english in a while so she was a bit rusty but a few more lunches with me and she'd be fine. She still works at the same building but just upstairs. From what I understand she got a promotion.
On Friday we made plans to have a pot luck. We were gonna put our two dinning tables on the roof and have a big thing. The evening turned out great. Matty stix and I made sure to let everyone know that we had hoped that they would be a good bunch. We figured after the sisters, we could only go up from there since they were so horrible. These new teahers are a great bunch. Anyway, on the roof, by candle light and surprisingly under the stars (I've never seen the stars in China before until that night) we ate, drank and sang. Then our singing apparently got out of control and the neighbourhood security called Mr Ye to come down and tell us to keep it down. This was at about 10:30pm. We all felt really bad for Mr Ye. We apologized profusely, and even offered to pay Mr Ye's cab fare back. We know that he lost face having to do that. Chinese people are really big on this face losing thing. Basically it comes off as, he has to come down because his foreigners are out of control. The new kids were worried, thinking that there was a possibility of them losing their jobs. I spent alot of the night convincing them that it was ok. It would probably not be mentioned again and no one would lose their job. We were all up there. Besides, the first one is free. If we made a habit of that every weekend, then this is when it would become a problem. Nonetheless, American Alex sent Mr Ye an email of apology.
Saturday was a mellow day for me. I spent most of the day in my room and last night I hung out with the guys watching some TV. Today I'm gonna put some tests together for my classes, maybe I'll go to the school to mark some books (depends on how I feel) and then I'll see what I want to do for dinner. So that's the update.
** Before I go any further with my posts, I feel I should introduce every one:
Well you all know Matty stix, Roy, Angela, Lills and Russell. The new people are the following;
- American Matt and his brother American Alex
- Alex from Canada who is known as Klaver on account of his last name
- Maya from Quebec
- Colin and Lisa from BC
- Then there is a new girl Eileen that came on Thursday night and she's from New Jersey
Because we have 2 Matts and 2 Alexs we always have to define them when we talk about them. Matty stix is sometimes referred to as my Matt as I would say it or your Matt as other people would say it. American Matt is just as it is. American Alex is just that and Canadian Alex is Klaver to make life easier for us all. For my blog, it'll break down like this
American Matt is Matt
Canadian Matt is Matty stix
American Alex is Alex
Canadian Alex is Klaver

TTFN

Not too much

Well yesterday was pretty uneventful. I'm starting to get into the swing of things. I got some left over gifts from my students. I guess with teachers day falling on the Saturday, some gave gifts on Friday and others gave gifts on Monday. It was pretty cool. I'm forcing my grade 2 kids to think by hardly using my co-teacher. Not that she would prove to be very useful anyway. She could hardly speak english but either way I think it's better for the kids if I don't use the co-teacher and they are forced to think and have a better chance to learn than if the info is just handed to them by translation.
Anyway, Valerie, Annaick's french friend wanted to hook up with me to chat, catch up and make some DVD exchanges. Also she wanted to see where I lived to figure out where it was in relation to where she lived. I couldn't really tell her and the info on the map is wrong. So we went to the restaurant, had a few beers and then later had something to eat. And for the first time ever, I was in the kitchen and I watched Baba make one of our meals. It was fun and very interesting. It takes about 5 minutes to make one meal. Fry the veggies for 2 minutes. Take those out, fry the chicken. Take that out, put the veggies back in and add the spices, then add the chicken back and toss. You are done. It was pretty cool.
Then Valerie dropped me home and I pretty much went to bed almost right away. At first I though I was just getting used to the time adjustment and this is why I was going to bed so early but I've figured it out. It's because I get up so early in the morning that by 9 o'clock I'm ready for bed. Whereas before I'd go to bed at around 11pm or midnight but I would be up at 8:30 or 9 in the morning. So it all works out.
Anyway, I have another day of school and then on Wednesday, my friend Chris asked me to help out a girl he met that needs to have her hair braided. Appearently she's really nice and is from Oklahoma. Looks like I got a busy week full of appointments and meetings.

TTFN

Cocktail flu

Cocktail flu is the feeling you have after a night of hardcore drinking. Also see hangover.
Anyway, my postings won't be as often as they used to. We have one server that we share with 11 people. If we're all on there at the same time then none of us could really be on the internet. It really sucks. I had a routine of checking my email and updating my blog at particular times and that's usually the same time everyone else is online so it isn't as easy. I'll just have to do it whenever I get a chance.
Anyway, this week has been great. My grade one classes love me and my grade two classes are just happy that I'm back. Mr Ye asked me to teach kindergarden so I'll be making some extra money that way. Friday was teachers' day and I got a lot of flowers from my kids and a few gifts as well. Also, the school had a karaoke competition for the chinese teachers and that was a bit of a bore. I couldn't understand anything that was being said but we made the best of it and cheered for the co-teachers we know and work with. They also had a draw for prizes and I won a prize of Y280 gift card that I can use at a salon. I think I could get massages or something. Then after that show the school took us out for dinner at this buffet restaurant that we had been to last year. All us foreign teachers sat together and laughed up a storm. The good thing about this restaurant is that they have all you can drink wine and beer. Upon Lisa's demand we decided to get drunk. Many glasses of wine later, the school set up a bunch of taxis to get us home. Once at home we decided to buy more beer and got even more drunk together. Yeah, it wasn't pretty for me the next day. I was down for the count with the cocktail flu and didn't recover until this morning. Then I heard that the boys had another night of crazy drinking last night. Anyway, I'm getting ready for school tomorrow. Money is a bit tight but I think I'm managing. I've been eating really cheap and trying to keep my costs down.
If anything else happens I'll let you know but like I said, my posts probably won't be as often as they did before but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep reading.

TTFN

Etc. etc. etc.

Well things have been crazy and when they calmed down enough for me to have time to update, the internet went out. Murphy’s law. Anyway, here’s what’s happened so far, in a nutshell.
I got my flight from Toronto to San Francisco and the 5 hours were exhausting. I tried not to feel that way since the next flight I would be taking was going to be twice as long but it still was. Anyway I finally got there and had a hard time figuring out where I had to go and also had no clue as to whether or not my bags would already be transferred. Anyway I got that question answered and went to the check in line for my flight. Unfortunately this was an Air China flight so I was prepared for some drama. The line up was very long and I was in it for about an hour. Then when I finally got to the counter, they told me that the flight was delayed. Delayed by 3 hours. Well 3 hours was my exact layover time when I arrive in Beijing to get my connection to Wuhan. Anyway, the guy at the counter told me that maybe I would get the flight. I was less hopeful. Anyway, I stayed in the San Francisco airport longer than I anticipated and I’m now convinced that this is the coldest airport in the world because it was just as cold the last time I was in it. Anyway, the reason they gave us that the flight was delayed was the fact that they didn’t have a plane for the flight. Yes, you read that right. They didn’t have a plane. So it took them 3 hours to find one. We all have a reservation and we’re all aware that a flight leaves at that time but they are apparently not as aware and just didn’t have that plane ready. Anyway that finally came and we boarded. I was lucky in this trip because no one sat next to me, so I had 2 seats to myself in a feeble attempt to try and sleep. I was probably more comfortable on this flight with Air China than I was on the flight to the US in July but I still couldn’t actually sleep.
Anyway, 12 long and exhausting hours later, I arrived in Beijing and the first thing on my agenda was getting my bags and then getting to the Air China ticket window to get a new flight and now a place to sleep for the night. Not my fault I missed my connection and now there are no more flights leaving for Wuhan for the night. Anyway, I thought they would have made a fuss but they were actually cool. They got myself, and a few other passengers who were also inconvenienced, a shuttle bus to a hotel, free dinner, a room for the night and then a shuttle bus back to the airport. Dinner was ok but I was more tired than anything else, so I was just eating for eating sake. I met a couple of nice people telling me the stories of their travels and I got to watch my last bit of English TV. Unfortunately, I had to share my room with another girl but she was cool and didn’t bother me and once I hit the mattress, the world ceased to exist.
I was lucky that I brought my Chinese cell phone with me because I was able to get a message to one of my friends to tell Mr Ye that I won’t be coming on my original flight but someone has to be at the Wuhan airport to pick me up in the morning.
So the next morning I finally got my Wuhan flight, and got there at about 10 am. Eva was waiting for me.
I forgot how absolutely hot Wuhan gets in the summer and how hot September actually is. I really haven’t stopped sweating since I got here. Then not to mention the humidity. Absolutely thick. Anyway I got to the frat house and noticed that much has changed. The living room no longer exists. Everything is gone and it’s just an empty room. The bedrooms on the other side of the house have already been converted. The kitchen is still there but not much is happening. The only thing that seemed normal was the side of the house that Matty stix and I lived on. And it was very strange too because we were now the only ones living in this frat house that was now converted into office space. About 30 seconds after I entered my room, I saw a familiar face at my door. Matty stix. We were both excited to see each other because I guess it signified that while everything was a mess, there was some stability still in existence. Each other. We caught up and I told him how much I missed him and wished that I could have seen him over the summer as he said he would. And he admitted (surprisingly) that he missed me.
So the day I arrived was now Tuesday and Mr Ye came by and told me that Matty stix and I will be moving out the next day. Everything in my room was the way I left it and it felt kinda good coming back to that. Anyway for dinner Matty stix and I went to The restaurant and Mama and Baba were happy to see us and I had to admit that they were a sight for sore eyes. Matt and I both found that we were having that time adjustment problem and by early evening we were wiped and had to go to bed. I was up at 3am and so was Matt but neither of us suspected that the other was awake. We both waited for a decent morning hour to make enough noise to announce our morning rise. Wednesday was an extremely busy day. We had to pack up the last of our shit at the frat house so that we could be out by noon and they can convert those two rooms into offices. I have never seen Chinese people move so efficiently. Matt’s room was first. About 20 Chinese people were in there at once and they cleared it in about 30 seconds flat. I still had a few things all over my room and really procrastinated on the packing so when my turn came I had to tell them to buzz off for an hour so I could get these things done. So I finally finished and then I had the same, what felt like 20 million Chinese men in my room and they cleared that out in no time. Then Matty stix, Eva and myself hoped in a cab and headed over to the branch school. Our new home but not our new place of business. At the branch school, there are new apartments built and we are all supposed to have our own space. Anyway, the truck got there before us and I had never been to the branch school so this was all new to me. The school itself is ok and the area is very quiet and almost deserted but I’m very happy that I don’t have to work there.
My new apartment is great. It’s just big enough for me, plus I have my own kitchen and a bathroom that’s a decent size. I immediately got giddy when I walked in. Then when I saw the carpet, that just made my day. So I unpacked a few things then later that day Matty stix and I looked for food. We found a nice restaurant not too far away but nothing will really beat our restaurant. Anyway, the next few days were filled with unpacking and trying to get things organized and meeting new people. There’s a couple from Canada, Colin and Lisa and they are quite nice. Of course Lillis is back. Russell is still here and there’s also a new girl Maya from Quebec. Her father is from Hong Kong so she can speak fluent Cantonese. Unfortunately, this does nothing to help her here because the language is Mandarin. Over the next few days we have also seen brothers from the states Matt and Alex and another Alex from Niagara Falls. Plus we are still waiting for an Amy and a Mustafa to show up. Mustafa is from the UK and nobody has told us where Amy is from. Roy and Angela are still here and they feel so much more superior than the rest of us that they now live and work at the branch school, when before we lived and worked at the main school and they lived at the main school and took a bus to the branch school here. I told her that I loved it. It was fun and it was one less thing to worry about. I didn’t have to find my way out there on my own, beating traffic, fighting for a seat on the bus and then having to do it all over again in the afternoon. The school provides a van that picks us up in the morning, albeit a little early, and drops us right at home in the afternoon. I took the wind out of her sails when I told her that I enjoyed it.
Anyway, the first day of school on Friday was amazing. I missed my kids so much and they missed me. And that was made very obvious when they screamed my name when I was re-introduced to the school population at morning assembly. This year the school seems a bit more organized. I guess it’s because they have more of the teachers to fill more of the spaces they’ve always wanted to fill. This year I teach grades 1 and 2. My classes are distributed better and I don’t work more than 4 classes a day. My schedule is nice and light and I was able to keep 2 of my classes from last year. Only downside, my Lily got moved to the branch school o I don’t have her. I don’t have class D to teach so they’ve gone with Eva. Now I have 2 new co-teachers who are both 2 new co-teachers. For my 2 grade one classes I have Kelly. She seems nice and her English is not bad. She also seems to follow my lead without any problems. For my 2 grade two classes (the same kids I thought last year) I have Yuko. This girl is a royal twit. Her English is so sub par. I’ve already made the decision that I’m getting paid to teach 180 children how to speak English, I don’t have time to teach her. I give her a month to get her shit together, then I tell Mr Ye that I can’t or don’t need to work with her. Luckily she’s my co-teacher for students that already know me so I can muddle through. Seems as though nothing can really be blissfully perfect.
I spent the weekend doing the last of my unpacking and yesterday was our first Monday. I think I’m really going to enjoy this year. We work with great people. I have some great classes and I live in a great apartment. All these things added up together almost makes me want to stay the year but I know that I agreed to 6 months. I don’t plan on staying longer and I can’t stay any longer. I have to get my shit together at home. I ain’t getting any younger so I can’t put this off anymore.
So that’s the big story so far. Not much of a nutshell unless it ways a ton. As usual I’ll keep you posted.
TTFN