Strange Days.
Well, the beginning of the day was normal with Lily's 5th grade. They were good, but i couldn't get them to put their noses' on the chalkboard, they were much more defiant. Which is good. sorta. I took pictures of the classes and they enjoyed it.
I headed home during lunch.
When I got back to school, one of the 6th graders from yesterday, Cagny, stopped by to drop me off a letter. It was cute. And it was asking to be penpals in the future. It had some info on their for me to fill out which I did.
First 6th grade class was a bust. As usual. I didn't bother to take a foto with me in it. I just took their foto. And about 4 girls that don't like me because I have a tendency to kick them out of class, refused to get in the foto. Fine with me, i don't need your mugs breaking the camera lens anyway.
Between the two classes, i ran to get some more money for my phone SIM card. I then met up with Amy and we called the Gong Fu schools around the Shaolin Temple. This was interesting. It was a wild goose chase to get the right fone numbers. Things have changed in that area extensively in the past year. China is razing all the schools around the temple and re-locating them because they want to make Shaolin a World HEritage Site. They are destroying more history in their striving to become modern and appease the modern world. I guess they get benefits from doing it though. Oh well.
Chatted a bit with them.
Then went back to class where I was supposed to be doing a review of Units 1-6. May had to skip class because of an emergency. During class, I didn't get past unit 1. At all. After about 15 minutes I went to get a chinese teacher, no one came. so i went back up to the room, took their picture and left.
I am soooo glad to be done with those two wretched 6th grade classes. I sat at my desk for another 15 minutes while I filled out that form for Cagny. Then I realized her name is Katherine. Wow. Not Cagny....Katherine...wow. Here's what she wrote:
Dear Mr. Phil,
My English name is Katherine Lee. My Chinese name is.....
You are a good English teeacher. Can I ask you a question. Where did you come from? How old are you? Can you write your detailed address with me? When are you go to your country? Cna I go your home? Thank you.
After you back to USA. Let's be pen-friend. OK? My detailed address is. ..........
Don't forget me. Forever Friends. I love you. You must be don't forget me and write a letter for me.
To:
Best Wishes!
The same to you!
May the friendship between our two peoples be everlasting.
All the best wishes to you!
Tomorrow will be better!
Yours,
Katherine Lee
That's adorable. I blushed.
Afterwards, I had kindergarten with the older class. It was ok. Wing left at 5pm because she had a doctors appointment. Moutain had emailed me yesterday that he would get down to business with discovering my kindergarten plight. Wing brought in a schedual written by Mountain referring to the rest of my kindergarten class. At first i didn't understand it and after Wing explained it I still didn't quite understand. The dates were set from June 27th - July 1st, but Wing kept saying and insisting that today was my last day teaching at the Kindergarten. "What? You mean, this is it? WTF!? Why? Why not the rest of the week?" So bizarre! Also, Wing gave me a package that finally arrived from home. My mom sent some Christmas Stolen that was left in the freezer. Still good. Yummy!
I want to teach at least the rest of the week. I felt bad because I wasn't able to prepare for my kids a goodbye lesson. Phooey.
Its the chinese way I guess. I can't be too upset about it.
I got home and the big house residents, Robert, Megan, Amy, Moses, Nick, and me (along with Yumi) went out to dinner. It was some good food. Megan, Moses, and Amy leave saturday. Moses will go back to the US for a bit, Amy will go home, and Megan will go to Beijing to their new apartment and take care of things while looking for a job before Nick shows up to do some schedualing at the college he is going to in the fall. Nick will head out in 2 weeks for a couple weeks then back here then back to Beijing.
After dinner we all went to get some ice cream and we all had some of the stolen that just arrived for dessert.
Yumi and I were heading home and we tried to get a box taxi since it was raining and there were two of us. Yumi asked, "How much." The guy looked at her, then to me. He stared at me for a distinct moment and then said 10rmb. Yumi got pissed and we began to walk away and the guy shouted back "how much?" She said, "5rmb", he then said 6rmb, and I thought Yumi accepted it because she stepped onto the bike. Ok. no problem. 6 is fine. As we were in the bike, the guy said something to Yumi, then Yumi got visibly pissed, "He just said, 'We are rich thats why I said 10.'" I laughed when I heard that. I wish I could speak well enuff to tell him, "If we were rich, we wouldn't be taking a taxi, jackass. We would have a motorcycle or a car." The standards in this country are so different. I usually expect this kind of treatment but Yumi gets angry when they do it...rightfully so.
It seems that whenever I write about something like this in my journal though, someone always has to explain to me why they overcharge....i friggin' know why they do. I ain't ignant. And then they go on to say, "You don't think this happens in the USA or in other countries?" OF COURSE IT DOES! But because it happens all over the world doesn't mean its right or that should give these people the incentive to continue with bad business.
goodnite.