Whilom: from the old English meaning formerly or erstwhile. I learn something new everyday. This one was in one of the books I bought on Sunday.
Fri Aug 24th
I just finished the book. It was really a very good story. And full of words I’ve never seen before. It’s The Dragon and the Unicorn by A.A. Attanasio and is the story leading up to the birth of King Arthor told from many different points of view, including Merlin’s. Well worth the read.
Anyway, now that the book report is over, on to news. Not that I have a lot, due to my recent illness. I had another Chinese lesson last night. This time Diana came with me, and we’re both learning together. It was really interesting the way I heard the sounds versus how she heard them. She’s British. Also, we each picked up quickly on different things. I think it’s only to the good to have a study partner. So we’ll have one official lesson each week, but we are going to practice together between lessons. We even have a study date tonight after her class.
School was fine. The kids were super good today. Mostly. There were moments of silliness, but that’s to be expected. They were good yesterday too, and we fingerpainted. They were so excited. And the only thing that got painted that wasn’t the paper was my skirt. At least it was blue paint on my blue skirt. It’s not so noticeable and the paints are water soluble, so it should come out.
Sun Aug 26th
Not so much with the feeling better. I’m still fighting whatever it is I have. I went sightseeing today and I am exhausted. Thankfully it wasn’t a hike. It was just wandering around a city and literally seeing the sights. There were a couple of giant staircases, but nothing that should have worn me out as much as they did.
K, D, Jackie , Ty and I went into Keelung (pronounced chee-long). First we ate lunch at McDonald’s. Then we climbed a bunch of stairs to see the Buddhist temple at the top of the mountain (Keelung). There was a giant statue of a goddess and the girls rang the huge bell. It was so interesting. And there were anatomically correct elephant statues at the entrance gate; one male and one female. On the way down I saw a cat lying in the sun and stopped to pet it. It’s the first contact I’ve had with a feline since leaving home. From there we took a bus up to the fairy caves, which is literally a temple inside this ancient cave. It was amazing. There were statues of the gods carved out of living rock. You could see the strata in the statues and the walls around them. Unfortunately, there are no pictures because it’s incredibly disrespectful to take pictures inside the temple.
Once we were home, K and I went to dinner at Café Della Pasta. Not being terribly hungry, I ordered spaghetti in garlic and oil. They put hot peppers in it. I almost died. My mouth was on fire. Even K, who likes hot things, said it was too hot for her. Her pesto sauce was good, though, so I may try that next time.
Yesterday I almost caused a scooter accident just by being me. I’m getting used to being stared at, because I am a blond girl in a see of dark haired Asians, but yesterday was worse than normal. This guy on a scooter drove past me and slowed down while he turned in his seat to stare at me. He almost hit a parked scooter and the scooter behind him almost didn’t slow down in time. Then I was trying to walk through the alley (feeling like crap) and I couldn’t get anywhere because people were all slowing down and stopping (and blocking the way) while they stared at me. K said I must have been projecting an extra-blond aura. I don’t know what it was, but it sure was annoying.
Mon Aug 27th
So, it’s ghost month. And according to the Chinese calendar, today is the day when the gates of hell open and all of the ancestors are free to roam the earth. Neat, right? Only to appease the ancestors there are fires burning all over the city (controlled of course) and people are burning bits of paper money. Not actual money. Symbolic money. There are also all of these tables in front of stores and things laid out with fruits and veggies and various other good things for the ancestors. It’s a little crazy, but really interesting.
School was good. I have 3 new girls in my class. One is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and she must’ve been in school before, because she knows a lot of things and even raises her hand. My original kids still can’t grasp that concept. The other girls are doing all right. It’s hard to get a read on their first day. So I now have 11 kids in my class; 4 boys and 7 girls. And I still have more trouble with the boys.
Tonight’s plan is to do some grocery shopping to stock up on cookable foods, so I don’t keep spending all my money going out to eat. Gotta go make a list.
Co-incidentally (or perhaps not so) there is a giant full moon tonight to correspond with the opening of Hell’s gates. It was super pretty. The sky was mostly clear with a few wisps of cloud right around the moon. I stood in the park for 5 minutes just staring at it. Then some locals passed and I’m pretty sure they were laughing at the foreign girl staring at the sky.
Tues Aug 28th
Tuesday is the worst day of the week. I have my theory about why that is, but I keep hoping for an exception. The few good things were balanced out by the difficult ones. I did have lunch with Michelle and Katy at this cheap, delicious Thai place. Good thing too. I needed all of that energy to deal with my kids.
I personally made 4 of my kids cry today. Out of 10. I guess I could count it at 5 because one of my new girls is so terrified of me (being a foreigner and all) that she cries every time I come near her. I wasn’t even being mean. But they were being kids, and they’re really high strung. I did have to punish a couple of them and they did not like that much. The funniest thing is, though, that as soon as the punishment is over, they come directly to me for hugs and reassurance. But when my CT (Chinese Teacher) punishes them, they avoid her. So I guess they do love me.
Tomorrow is a half day. I don’t have any plans as of yet, but I’m looking forward to not having to teach the afternoon.
Wed Aug 29th
Apparently, no one told my kids my theory about Tuesday being the worst day of the week. They were awful today. By the time I left today, 5 girls had cried. One never stopped crying. She just wailed from the moment she walked in the door until I walked out (she’s probably still crying). I find I have patience for almost anything they do except for the crying. I mean, by all means, cry if you get hurt or if someone’s mean. But this ridiculous "I miss my mommy" crying drives me nuts. Their mom’s drop them off in the morning (and hang around looking in my classroom window for at least half an hour, where the kids can see them) and pick them up in the afternoon. They spend at most 7 hours away from them. And yet, continuous crying. I just don’t get it.
Anyway, I escaped at 11:30 and had lunch with K at the Diner. They had this fantastic fruit pancake special. I’m drooling just thinking about it. There was a stack of 3 buttermilk pancakes topped with chopped up strawberries, mango and kiwi. And it wasn’t huge chunks of fruit, like at home. These were actually bite-sized. Mmmmm.
I also bought some new clothes. A fun flowy skirt and a cute t-shirt. They cost me the equivalent of $18 CAD. I have actually spent more on meals here. I’m sure they won’t last, but they’re cute and fun for now.
Might be going for drinks tonight with D and Will and some others. We’ll see what happens, though. If it’s too late, I may just stay home. I’m a loser, but I deal with small children early in the morning. I need my sleep. Especially because tomorrow I want the kids to play with clay I class, and I know I’ll need all of my patience for that one.
No comments:
Post a Comment