Yes, I know that yet again it has been a long time but I have been incredibly busy. I had thought my weekend would be quiet but it ended up as anything but. However I shall make up for it with a load of photos taken on Friday by Ollivier.
Friday was tiring, what with a full day of teaching and then an evening Korean corner we were invited to. To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to it at all - there are so many “corners” this term that they are becoming monotonous and therefore a chore. However, unbeknown to me the Korean teacher (Park) had really invested a lot of time and money into the show, for when we arrived many of the girl students were dressed in traditional Korean dresses. At that point I guessed I might actually enjoy it.
When we got to our seats of honour (Kevin never came as he had previous commitments) there were plates of cucumber, delicious sushi, a frittata type thing, oranges, a dip, beer, some flavoured wine and what I assume was traditional Korean soju. Being tired and having not had long between the start of the show and finishing classes, I had been pondering on what I could eat quickly for my dinner afterwards but the problem dissolved - I didn’t need to eat after that lot. The frittata was delicious up until the point I encountered something crunchy in the egg mix and my mouth was consumed by an inferno.
The show itself was very good, especially the girls who performed the fan routine and the whole thing only lasted about an hour and a quarter - the perfect length and when they apologised at the end for its briefness I could honestly say that it was just right.
On Saturday I went downtown because the little school had an “emergency”. I had been told I wasn’t required but I was asked to help out by entertaining a class due to an absence. At least I also did my shopping. In the evening all the foreigners had arranged to go to a barbecue restaurant, the occasion being the brief visit of another Korean teacher from Ollivier’s previous school. It was a nice evening, I took Amy and once again marvelled at the quantities of food such a small girl can devour but at least she got her (and my) money’s worth.
I can’t recall if I mentioned that we have been asked to take part in a show on May 6th but instead of doing something such as singing I have devised a short play we can all take part in, where I am a customs officer at Heathrow and the other three are arriving passengers. Kevin is sorting out a visual of an airport terminal footage and a soundtrack of announcements. Meanwhile, I didn’t have a short sleeved white shirt for once in my life so I went in search on Sunday. The biggest one Lottemart could offer was about a foot adrift at the midriff and nowhere else had anything either so I went in search of a tailor to have one made. I wore my legs out pacing the backstreets off East Street to no avail, then went to West Street where I found one but he only makes suits, not shirts. It was a complete waste of a Sunday afternoon and now one has had to be ordered online in the hope it will arrive before the May labour holiday. Then I will be faced with the choice of trying to find a seamstress to produce buttonholes for my epaulettes or just poking holes in myself and ruining it.
Once again when I returned yesterday I was dog-tired but took Pepsi to the campus shops where I intended to have just a swift pijou. At this point Ollivier sent me a text saying they (the family) were going to collect some parcels and go to the barber because Coco had “made a disaster” with their son’s hair. Disaster was too mild a word to use, in fact what she had done was a downright crime. The poor kid looked as if he had decided to become a Buddhist monk and then changed his mind halfway through the haircut. I pointed them in the direction of my barber Barry Manilow, who did his best to rectify it as well as shearing Ollivier but I feel the kid has been left mentally scarred for life. See the after Coco’s butchery and the after the barber had done his best pictures.
Last night, tired though I was, I checked and edited one of the Chinese teacher’s papers, which from the content is part of his doctorate (edit: it IS for his doctorate). Actually there was very little wrong with the English (aside from too many American spellings) but it was excruciatingly long and boring, being all about the minutiae of how rice plants change as they grow. After that I then had to rewrite an email Vivian (one of my graduating students) had composed to send to businessmen as part of her job working for a webbing supplies company. Before I knew it, it was time to take Pepsi for her late night outing.
This week is set fair with temperatures supposed to be low to mid twenties and not before time either - summer seems to be late arriving this year. I have one more class this afternoon, one tomorrow afternoon and then four days off until Sunday for the Labour holiday, although I have to teach Friday’s lessons on Sunday. If I had enough money I would have loved to have gone to Nanjing again to see Joanna but I don’t if I want to stay in a good hotel rather than an expensive hovel.
1930
During this afternoon’s class (not Amy’s class which was in the morning) before we commenced the activity I warned quite clearly that if I so much as saw anyone looking at a mobile phone (because they could easily cheat and it IS just for fun) the game would be instantly cancelled. Not long after we started, lo and behold, I spotted a girl at the back doing something with her mobile. Not wanting to be a total killjoy I went to her and for the sake of clarity told her if I saw it again that would be it - over.
This girl obviously thought I say things and don’t mean them, for less than two minutes later she was at it again! Incredulous, I told the class that was it, no game today. I also pointed the person responsible out to them just so they knew who had spoiled the fun for the other thirty-odd students. There were pleas to restart the game but I was so incensed at the disrespect of the girl I wasn’t budging so they certainly learnt a very different lesson today - I mean what I say. Regardless of how she behaves from now until exam time that lass has lost serious marks in her final test (behaviour in class is a factor in the total score so she just lost the lot). If I was certain of staying here for a respectable time I would certainly be considering buying a mobile phone signal jamming device to take to my classes - in particular I would need to ascertain if the range would just be my classroom or whether all the other classes in the building would be affected! Not worried about the students but the teachers might not be too happy!
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