Day 67 - Good Teacher, Bad Teacher

Thursday, April 14th, 2016

Smog Level: 3/3 Mountains

I wake up, still feeling dizzy, but not enough to warrant calling in sick. Gotta make them ducats.

Riding the bus while standing can be a little wild when your sense of balance isn’t up to par and you are having fever sweats. This isn’t the first time, and it (probably) won’t be the last.

At the end of the first class, I’m feeling much better. While erasing the chalkboard, I hear two of my kids arguing over whether I’m nice or not. One girl thinks I am, while another boy thinks I’m not. Hahaha, oh kids: you’re both right!

The Tears of a Children

At the end of the second class, I may have made a boy cry. See, at the end of class, they have to stand behind their desk, stuff in hand, and wait for me to dismiss them to the line near the door, where they, again, have to be orderly and wait for yet another dismissal. I say “Are you ready to line up?” and they say “yes, sir.” One of the usually-loud rows was quiet, so I made them repeat it 3 times before giving up and dismissing them. Once all were dismissed, I found one of the boys, Terry, crying at the front of the line. They go by height, and he’s the smallest boy.

Student Profile: Terry

He’s a funny kid, honestly. He often skips around and says “choo choo” while doing so. Very smart, equally sensitive. I’ve seen him cry on many occasions, often because a bigger boy hit him. I think “soft” would be an accurate description, but I don’t mean it in a negative way. Sometimes the world needs some tenderness. Then again, I was pretty soft as a kid and the world forces us to get harder as we make our way through it. I’m not about to be another thing to force him through that progression.

Pollution and Its Effects

Guess the Price
(Answer at bottom)

I say to the director “I think I just made Terry cry.” He replies, “You made Terry cry?? That’s like making a puppy cry!” Too true. I ask him about the dizziness I felt yesterday, and he suggested it could be from pollution. It was 300 (micro whatever per cubic whatever) in the hallway, Josh will later tell me. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the safe level to be 100 (average over 8 hours). So, it’s possible. 

Wendy and I discuss our kids over lunch. Like I said, there are 40 kids in a class, but they split them into two "sister classes." She has the sister classes to my own. I mention how I possibly made one of mine cry. She says she has a kid in her class who is similar, but she notices that he has a tendency to play with the bigger boys. In other words, he’s generally inviting the situation that will make him cry, then seeks comfort afterwards. Sometimes she comforts, sometimes she doesn’t, she says. Oh, kids.

Dry "Hotpot"

After lunch, I’m wiped and go home, going to take a nap. Shimou had an interview at noon today and made her way to see me afterwards because I was sick. Sweet girl. We have “dry hotpot” in the mall. In other words, it's just the stuff you'd put in hotpot, but fried in sauce. Delicious, but that place would never pass health codes in North America. Their meats - while heavily spiced - are not refrigerated. 

Meh, when in Rome.

Words of the Day

English - Mandarin [pronunciation]

Frog
chīngwā
(ching wah)
Leg
Tuǐ
(toy)

Editing Music
Ocean Drive
Duke Dumont
(Damn I love this song, yet dislike the 80's)


Price: ¥1650.00 ($320 CAD / $254 USD)
Not everything is cheap in China, they still have those ridiculous, "premium" products for status. Maaaaagical Status! Let us roll around in our beds of money and bask in the staaaatus.