Saturday, March 19th, 2016

Smog Level: 1/3 Mountains

Well, I’m sick and we don’t have very much planned for today. It’s nice to have nothing to plan around, all the time in the world to get the procrastinated writing done. Even as I write this, there’s another one looming over my head. Part of me kicks myself for saying yes to writing random side things, while the other thinks it’s a good thing to push myself. You can get lost in too much time. In the same token, that’s why busy people get more done than people with lots of free time - there's a lot more pressure for you to fit things into small time spaces. Parkinson’s law - work expands to fill the amount of time allotted to it - is still alive and well.

Friday, March 18th, 2016

Smog Level: Horror Movie Set

The air is super dry here. My sickness has progressed into it’s climax of a head cold. Congestion, coughing, and general wooziness. I can’t stop sweating, and I figure that’s because it’s just hot in my room! I do my damnedest to get to the bus in time, and manage it well enough. I still can’t stop sweating, which says to me that I must have a fever. Great. Well, that's what I get for going out, shorting myself sleep, and being sick.

Thursday, March 17th, 2016

Smog Level: 0/3 Mountains

Sugar and cream in the coffee - nice to start your day with something sweet. Some sweetness in the morning sure is nice, isn’t it? Sure is nice with some o' that sugga in the morning, doncha think? Is that a euphemism? Am I being dirty? 

No, it’s just coffee. We have to give the kids a test in “oral english,” which is a randomly chosen topic for a month with which we begin each class.* This month’s topic, I think I’ve mentioned, is Geography. They don’t learn anything related in mandarin ’til middle school. Despite that, they now know all the continents, the know that a continent is bigger than a country, they know all the oceans, and some countries from each continent. Which reminds me that I should actually make the test…

Quiz night is every other Thursday, meaning it lands on tonight! Dan says he’s not going to quiz night tonight, but Mary and Tad are both down. Given my lack of sleep, a nap is in order.

Wednesday, March 16th, 2016

Smog Level: 0/3 Mountains

Ever heard about that thing where Asian people will wear masks over their mouth and nose due to illness? It’s said that they wear them because they don’t want to get others sick. That totally doesn’t seem to apply to China.

A day or two ago, one of the students was waiting to go home sick. Since her parents had to come, she was in class all day, coughing. It seems like an uncommon thing, teaching children to cover their goddamn mouths. Then again, it seems a lot of adults don’t bother with the courtesy either. At the reading table, she’s right across from me, coughing up a storm. No mouth covering. Unrestrained mucous wave straight into my semi-sheilded face (thank you, glasses). "Cover your mouth!" She thinks it’s funny to put her hand on her mouth, and cough through a large space in her fingers. Cute.

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

Smog Level: 0/3 Mountains

It’s another day of school. Sometimes I feel like “what am I doing?” when I think about my life, my job, and my future. I’m not sure if it’s evident (probably is) but I constantly feel the pressure of the future weighing down on me. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to learn enough Mandarin to get to the point I’d like. I think that maybe by the end of this, I might end up leaving with nothing but the cash in exchange for time - something I’ve been doing for years and want to move away from. I think about the pollution, and how, fingers crossed, it will only have temporary health effects. In short: this morning wasn’t very nice.