Sunday, November 13, 2011

La Le-La-La-La

I don’t have any cool fact to start this blog post I’m sorry. It would be kinda hard to top last blog entry’s beginning though. That fact still amazes me. It just doesn’t sound like any fun. I am now about halfway through my first trimester. In fact, for the CEG I may have only 1 or 2 more weeks of teaching when I return from MSC. They like to give all their exams 3 weeks before the official end of school, so that for the last 2 weeks of school we can correct the exams with the kids (at least that’s what I think they do. I didn’t figure this out until 3rd trimester last year. This year I will have one day correcting then I will be done. I don’t understand why teachers need 8 hours to correct a 2 hour exam. One of those things I will never understand). I am not sure if everything holds true next year. I will know after MSC. They wont have figured it out til then anyways.

So my students have slid down in my esteem. They were doing so well in the first week of school, being quiet and doing their work. Then the novelty of English wore off and now they are talkative, disruptive kids. I have had to get real mean. Its like they think they can get away with anything cause I am the Vazaha (the foreigner). Nope that’s not how this works. In my 2nde classes, I have yelled at them in my scary Megan voice (the one that only comes out after I have tried repeatedly tried to be nice about a situation that’s not going well) and called out kids individually for talking. In my 6eme, I have had the scary secretary lady, who handles discipline, come and talk to my kids and, for the first time ever, I kicked someone out. This boy was goofing off in the back and had been all class, even though I had asked them to pay attention and to be quiet so I kicked him out. When I talked to the other teachers later they told me I should have hit him. So if you think I was mean kicking him out of class, at least im not hitting him. But that’s the cultural thing to do here. I told them I couldn’t because we don’t do that in America and the started laughing. The boy did apologize (I made him so it in English since we had already learned that). Im not sure what all happened once he left my class, but I do know that he had to get his parents to sign his school book (with all his registration info, school info etc, in it), to make sure they understood what happened and he was crying when he apologized. Im not sure if the secretary lady hit him and I don’t want to know. In this instance, I have to be ignorant, cause kicking someone out of class seems to work, from a showing Im serious and ya’ll need to listen to me sense, and if I know they hit the kids that I sent out of class I don’t know if I could do it anymore.

Speaking of hitting people, my neighbor tried to steal from me again. I swear he might actually be a klepto. Since last October, when he stole from me, I caught him, and then his dad hit him in front of me, he has only come into my house like 5 times, most of those times within the last month. He always came with his sisters, so I figured it was fine. They would just look through my magazines. So he came with his littlest sister and they were looking at stuff on my table, since I didn’t have any magazines. I was reading but also watching them. I saw him pick up watch to look at, among other things he had picked up to look at. Then I got up and started to make lunch, because I had to go teach at 130pm. They left and I went over to my table to move things so I could eat and, low and behold, my watch is missing. I actually said, in my house, by myself, “that motherf***er stole my watch!” I marched over to his house and said “wheres my watch?” he immediately pulled it out from his pocket. I could not believe it. So after I finished teaching I went and talked to his dad about it and told him he was not to come anywhere near my house again. Since then, even the girls haven’t come by. I think the parents put the kibosh for all of them on coming to my house. I wear that watch every day. I think he was hoping I wouldn’t notice it was missing until later, because then he could show it off and potentially sell it. FML.

On to Halloween. I had a very Hanna Baker inspired Halloween. I watched 3 movies that I know she loves and we have watched together: Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I also wore fun Halloween-y socks I had been sent and ate a lot of candy. Overall, it was better than last year. For Christmas this year, I am going to actually get in the spirit and watch/listen to Christmas movies and music. Last year it was Day X and I did not do anything Christmas-y. Not this year. I am going to watch Love Actually, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated version), The Family Stone, The Christmas Story, all 8 Harry Potter movies (in my defence, ABC Family does the 25 movies of Christmas and they include Harry Potter. If they can do it, so can I) and any other Christmas movie I can rustle up. I also have tons of Christmas music now, thanks to Haley, a PCV in Diego. I have Glee, Josh Groban, The Trans-Siberan Orchestra, Frank Sinatra, The Love Actually Soundtrack (which is AMAZING. If you don’t have it, get it NOW), and Harry Connick Jr. None of this can start until after Thanksgiving. Even though I wont be having a real turkey day, Christmas cannot start til T-day ends. That’s the Megan rule and im stickin to it.

I think that’s about it. I have just been teaching so I’ve been boring. I should have some good stories from MSC and I will post my Xmas plans (for the actual day. I am going to be travelling somewhere, but where at the moment is unclear. My friends and I have to talk about it at MSC) as soon as I know them. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and Go Dawgs! (wish I could be at the Apple Cup).

Book List

Cleopatra: A Life

The Emperor of Lies

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky

The Red Badge of Courage