Inch by effing inch

So I barely managed to make it through the weekend but (pat on back) I made it through. It wasn't easy. Especially on the Sunday but there was very little I could do about it. So on Friday, at the kindergarten, they had a talent show. I was surprised (and somewhat relieved) that I wasn't asked to do something to participate in the event. Anyway, they had the kids do different little things. Sing songs, do little skits and even had them do an English skit. The whole thing was mildly entertaining and lasted about an hour. Lucky for me, this was time spent NOT TEACHING, so it was the best thing ever. In any event, I still managed to take advantage of the day and for the two classes that I had left after the talent show, I basically did nothing. The first class I told the teacher that she could let the kids play with their toys and in the last class I asked them to sing some songs. All in all, not a bad day. Now Fridays is on of the two days I have no middle school classes, so after that event, I went home. On weekend, both schools were on the Monday and Tuesday schedule. On the Saturday, this worked out not too bad for me since Monday is the other day that I'm not at the middle school. On Sunday, I taught my regular lessons at the kindergarten but opted for a lazier approach at the middle school. I basically told the class that as long as they were quiet, they could work on what ever they wanted. I didn't have a lesson for them. It was a painful 80 minutes but it was better than teaching to a bunch of kids that have no interest in learning on a regular day, much less on the day before holidays. Then after that class I had the kids from Henan province. I told them the same thing. 15 minutes into the class, Nancy came over to see how things were going. I told her that I was working on something and that the kids were quietly working. She reminded me about the upcoming holiday and then turned around and said something to the kids. After she spoke, they were all happy and cheering. I had a feeling that I would have enjoyed whatever it was she said too. Then she told me that because of the holiday, maybe it would be best if we dismissed the class early. I was all for it. So I did the official class dismissed since they are my students and then bolted outta there.
At the kindergarten, the teacher loaned me some flash cards that they use for the students. I took these to help me learn some characters. I figure I wouldn't waste the entire vacation and actually use the time to learn some Chinese. Nancy also said that she'd help me and some other things that I could do is buy the books that the use to teach children to read Chinese. It sounds funny but that's basically the level I'm at in terms of learning the written language. I can speak quite a bit of it but most of the words I know, I wouldn't know what they looked like if I saw them.
Last night, Klaver was by and we decided that we had to do something western for dinner. We wanted to order a pizza and have it delivered but we couldn't find one in my area. Much less a place that'll deliver. We headed out to a Pizza Hut that was in a different part of town and had a nice time. Pizza is pizza so no surprises there but we were walking around in the area after dinner and found a temple that I'd like to visit at some point and also a western style bar. They have a cover charge but that includes a drink so it may not be that bad. We have plans to check it out. What's good is that it's near a subway stop, so it'll be easy and cheap to atleast get to.
Today I went to Carrefour and was amazed at how packed it was. I thought for sure it would have been atleast a bit quieter than a regular day. I thought all the holiday shoppers would have been out of town by now and I could have just coasted through the store. No such luck it would seem, but I managed to get the things I needed and thankfully stuck to my list. Even though there were many temptations to deviate to. In the big shopping spree I plan on doing next month, I'll probably treat myself to a few extras.
On the part time job front.
Well on Saturday evening I had a meeting with Suraj. He was referred by Charles. He's from Nepal. It was the most bizarre encounter. Here I am this Canadian girl, with Trinidadian roots, in China possibly being employed by a Nepalese guy teaching Japanese kids how to speak English. It's a mish-mash of cultures and countries. Anyway, if they can accommodate my schedule and open a class to suit, I basically have the job. I just have to wait and see. He's on vacation for two weeks, so I'll be on pins and needles till then. I'm still gonna go to that interview on Oct 6, if they're still gonna have me. Plus I got notice that there is another school looking for a conversational teacher and the hours that they quoted are perfect. This one would be ideal for me depending on location and rate of pay. As for Suraj, what he has to offer isn't too bad and the pay is pretty good. Plus it'd give me a chance to be exposed to yet another culture. At this point, everything is a toss up and I'm gonna go with whomever could work with me, is in a decent location and is paying pretty good. For now, I'm still playing the waiting game. One way or another, I GOTS TO GET PAID!!!

TTFN