Tired

9/7/09

Putting the apartment back together on Sunday was quite the task, which resulted in some much-needed R&R later that day. Our best friend, the plumber, made his last visit three days ago to glue our toilet back on to the floor. As of yesterday morning, our bathroom has been in full use. (Knock on wood, seriously) Because of this glorious day we’ve been waiting for for what seemed like years, Hallie and I took it upon ourselves to devote the day to cleaning.

We swept and mopped the floors, bleached the bathroom and cleaned every countertop. We also did a little re-arranging in my room/the living room with the desks. I put up some pictures of my friends and family by “my desk” and we cut out some good drink/food specials from a magazine to consider. Our kitchen wall is going to be a collage of all the events, bars, restaurants, and places we’d like to go to. After a busy day of cleaning I went to bed ridiculously early.

Today (Monday) I had my first full day of teaching. I had three classes in the morning, lunch at school, and then four classes this afternoon. I have to say, I kind of felt like I was going to pass out after my last class in the morning. I have a newfound respect for teachers who never get to sit down, don’t drink enough water, and have so many kids relying on their every move. It’s a tough job!

The kids I have are really smart. They love to participate and catch on to the concepts pretty quickly (from what I can tell). Did I mention how stinking cute they are? They respect their teachers, listen when you talk to them, and horse around like a normal little kindergartener would do. The material of course gets redundant and seems pretty silly at the end of the day, but I have to remember that these kids are starting from scratch. (Not sure how many more times I can sing, “Good morning to the morning sun” song. Oh wait, I have to do that every day…)

All the kindergartens have school nurses checking the children as they file in each day. They make them wash their hands, look in their mouths to see their throats, and give each kid a ticket once they’ve passed the heath examination. Pretty good idea I’d say. I seem to get the kids before or after their snack times. Therefore, they’re either all riled up or on the verge of delirium. Every school I’ve been to thus far have napping quarters, where there are tons of tiny little beds in lines. It’s the funniest little room. Also, I get a kick out of the tiny bathrooms. The smallest toilets, urinals, and sinks I’ve ever seen. Adorable.

If you must know the play-by-play, Hallie and I are quickly approaching the end of season 3 of “Weeds.” This season has been really intense. But, we continue to watch. Tonight we cooked. We gave our best shot at making macaroni and cheese with Chinese noodles. What ingredients did we use you ask? Noodles from the noodle shop by our place and some “cheddar cheese” that looked a whole lot like American cheese to me. (Even in the individual packets) Anyway, it was good and I wouldn’t mind having it again.

And I’m done. I just realized that the majority of that last paragraph is about macaroni. Yikes, very tired…such as the life as an international teacher.

Chong fu: Repeat