Hmm from the entire last week, I didnt do much. Daily after work, I am very stoned cos still sleeping in the wee hours of the morning 1.30am ++ so after reaching home. Eat an early dinner and take a quick snooze ranging from 15mins to half an hour to recharge mentally. Then on assignment days, I dragged myself out 7.15pm and come home near 11pm. Other days are spent just stoning infront of the tv watching Naruto anime.
So nothing much memorable last week, stayed home and went out for assignment during the weekdays mainly. The good news is that my assignment is ending really soon. Just 2 more lessons to go. Then its sayonara to the crowded peak hour super packed trains and buses plus sardine-packed feeder bus. OMFG, what tires me is not so much the actual teaching but the traveling in all these super crowded conditions.
Met up with Tab and Quetzal for a dinner on Friday. Ate Hearty Breakfast, Cedele's carrot walnut cake for dinner. Later we ended up in Bens & Jerrys. The live band was very good, but the performance a bit short. The peanut ice-cream and the chocolate fudge were good too. Peanuty enough, and the chocolate is not too sweet. Yes I overate obviously. 2 desserts ouch.
That same Friday, I finally cannot siam anymore the Sports Day practice. I had to go to the open field in the hot 1pm afternoon sun until about 3pm. What I did that was just basically stand near where my form class is practicing. I wasnt involved, I wasnt doing anything productive except using my Angry Bird fan to fan myself. I was irritated with the class actually because earlier, I had to scold them and raise my voice cos of the incessant chatting despite me giving them a short break before resuming. So I was kinda of Angry but more of disappointed. (To be fair to them, they were much much better today, I did tell them they were much better than Fri, and I hope they can continue) So under the HOT scorching afternoon sun, I was fanning myself and trying to cool down from the earlier scolding episode. Indeed under all the sun, the earlier irritation and disappointment soon dissipated (or there were more important things like hydrating myself and later after 2 rotations, I went to the shade in the form of a solitary building which houses the equipment, toilet and a small stall) I did get a lot of students saying "Angry Bird" when they saw my fan. I was the only person with a fan. Finally can go back, super hot, definitely not gonna help with my heaty-ness. On my way back home, I bought another Angry Bird fan (diff pic) and an Angry Bird phone holder that can fit my i-phone. Had to bath cos sweaty.
Interestingly on my way to the field cos I was walking very behind the students. I had thought I could stay at the staffroom but even the other Aussie who often skips such things also is going, so I hurriedly changed and walked over. Given how fast they move, I was some way behind them. One of the head who was walking as the last man behind everybody, saw me. We walked there together and he asked me, why my number was 168? It obviously is not my age. I explained to him in simple english that the numbers of significance to me are all taken. So I decided to take a 3-digit number. 168 (last year's shirt) is a Chinese lucky number, cos in Cantonese it means Always Make Money. He was surprised. I wrote on my paper the chinese simplified characters 一路发 while explaining. Then he asked me what's my number for this year. I told him is 138, because it means 一生发 which means Whole Life Make Money. He was surprised. I asked him if the Jap have any lucky numbers, he say no but maybe 777 cos that when u win the pachinko jackpot. We later talked about the casino which surprisingly in Japan there isn't. But pachinko is controlled my the jap mafia - yakuza. In Japan, pachinko, smoking, drinking all only legal at the age of 20. The age where they are considered adults. We talked up until that and we arrived. So spent about 2hours under the sun before I hid under the shade for a short while.
On the way back, one student from my form class tried to talk to me. She said in broken english about seeing me near WCP. I told her I live there. She borrowed my Angry Bird fan to fan herself and her friend. It helps she wasnt in the group that I had scolded earlier. So by the time I finally reached back to the staffroom, all my 气 no more liao. All worked out from the system from all the heat and sweat. Dismissal shortly and on the way walking back to the staffroom after all the school buses left. Another head colleague asked me Why my number is 168? I explained simply what I told the other colleague. With a jap-eng colleague, she can help me translate a bit. I told him its lucky numbers that Chinese like so if he looks at the semi-detached right across the road infront of the school, there are several cars with numbers like 138, 168, 228, 2288 etc. Kinda amusing though, the questions that they sometimes ask me. I usually try to answer them to help them widen their understanding of other cultures and races.
Sat, guitar was cancelled cos of instructor being sick. I just stayed home and slept and watch anime. Needed the slack but I was bored. I was saying to my sister. Go out also bored, stay home and rest also bored. There's no middle ground. She remarked that the rest of the life is about like this. Ergh. But I refused to head out and just slept and wake. This repeated itself on Sunday until finally about 4pm, I woke up from a nap and headed to the gym. Felt good to be sweating out in the gym. But only managed once this week.
Today, lessons wise with the same class, they were quieter and better behaved, so I did praise them for being better than on Friday. In other classes, I told them I had scolded one of the classes cos they werent behaving, complaining about just copying a bit more notes than usual. Very unbecoming especially since I gave them a break after that. I told them that I definitely as an educator am able to raise my voice to shout over all of them but I rather not have to. I rather talk to them and they talk to me in normal tone. I told them frankly I was more tired cos I had to write on the board and each character is so much bigger than the ones they write. Really after 2 consecutive classes of writing the notes on the entire chalk board, my right arm was kinda sore, cos kept my elbow raised up to write for an extended time. Quite okay today in terms of lesson.
I headed out to dabao my lunch and came back to rush to do my spelling worksheet. I had to refer to the words from the textbook and refer to the glossary to use the jap translation to make into a worksheet. So I was rushing that, missed some words and I was eye-balling it to make sure no mistakes before mass-printing and this local colleague kept asking me stuff. Finally I told her, don't talk to me, I can't focus. She left me in relative peace until the bell rang and I had to go for lessons after lunch. Mondays and Tuesdays are heavy and hectic days. It meant there isnt much time to do actual work especially tuesday cos of cca right after dismissal. Plus I had to use the worksheet tomorrow so I had to finish it in my free periods so after work, can mass-print out. Got them all done by 5pm. Safe. I felt a bit bad about snapping a bit at that local colleague but I've realized she is an positive mood sapper. How would you feel if like on Monday (first day of the week), you see her, and shortly after hear her sigh time and again. Then later you hear about her complaints about work, students, her own worries esp when her young kids sick, her franchise difficulties. Much as I would like to be a listening ear at times. Sometimes even this is too negative for me. I think its the best she is leaving soon. Better for everybody cos she often takes child-care, so the burden of the class falls to the other two jap-eng colleagues, so they dont kinda like her. The vp also kinda dont like her taking child care or mc cos too frequently. Etc etc. plus her sighing is not helping. Think its a better move for all parties. True I miss having both local colleagues around to talk with but since both are going to be gone. I am used to just doing my own thingy. Just treat work like work and have a more active personal life outside of work. I do find I dont want to get to know the new-comers except when I have to work with them cos really too transient the stay. Sighs... nevermind, I am used to being a lone wolf of sort. Am independent and focused enough to do my work without supervision.
The good thing that perked me up was on the bus ride back home. I sat at the end of the double decker bus. At the next stop a group of boys came up. I was listening to music but I thought I heard them speak japanese. I actually glanced and didnt really see familar faces so I looked out at the road. Later I noticed one of them is an ex-student, but he obviously pretending not to see me (cos he wasnt that focused in my language communication class) so I looked out again. Shortly from the group, another two other boys walked over and called out to me. They are another class's ex-students and they came up to say hi. So nice of them. I asked them how they were. They're there cos they went bowling and heading back. I asked if they studied in that jap high school nearby, which they did. I teased them that they are rich cos that high school fees are astronomically expensive (my 3 year uni fees is just about 3/5 of a year's fees) I got down earlier than them and said bye to them while alighting. It's kinda nice that some students remember you. Its kinda sad that their main english teachers from last year, out of the 7 jap-eng whom had taught them (some took on mid-way, change of duties etc), 3 have left. I am like the constant in these classes as an ALT last year and my approach was a more friendly one, walk around check if they have questions, doubts, do pair-interview activities with them etc. Its nice to be remembered and appreciated. Cos due to me transferring schools and later even resigning from MOE, definitely have no contact with ex-students at all.
Another thing that I am glad about was while I was mass-printing the spelling worksheets, the colleague whom I helped to claim insurance against this local taxi company since last year, came up to me with a small bag. He said he got the money back and its in his account already. He is grateful for my help and wanted to give me the small bag. I told him its great news (forgot to ask him if he got the lawyer fees too but should have cos his intention was to also get the lawyer fees since the insurance firm refused to proceed with the claim without a legal advisor) I accepted the bag of gifts, inside he told me the few jap tibits I have to eat earlier cos of the expiry dates (jap tibits expire really fast, guess that's to ensure freshness and natural-ness without artificial preservatives) I looked and asked him, hopefully its not expensive for him (cos he had asked my other local colleague about my likes as he wanted to get me something. He wanted to gift cash but the colleague said vouchers is better by local practice. She gave me a heads up with regards to the gift) So I know I would get vouchers. I just hope its not too much just about max $100. He replied that I had helped him get back big money (big sum) so he is grateful, gift is okay for him. I accepted, thanked him and went back to printing my worksheet. Wished him well, glad that he got back his money spent on his medical bills and lawyer fees. He's due to leave at the end of this academic year next March. Glad the case is finally over. It started about mid-May last year, all the way until Sept this year. It took lots of emails, phone calls to the taxi company, the hospital for receipts, the insurance company, even to talk with his lawyer regarding the case. Really ding-dong here and there especially in the initial part to compile a case, interview the security guards also. Wow... really quite a job, luckily I was relatively free last year as an ALT so I didnt mind helping out 送佛要送到西 Glad its over both for him and his family and me too.
P.S: I fell asleep like usual after work and missed gym. Later I opened the voucher envelope. He gave me several hundred worth of Taka voucher. I told my mom about the whole story, she said keep it, cos I felt paiseh and its really quite a lot. But she said that I helped him get back what potentially could be $0 on his part, to getting back his full medical bills, can just accept. Okay. Though I also know not nice to return gifts to Japanese (a cultural thingy)
Though today's Monday, but it's been a good day so far, due to all these incidences. Now to get through Tuesday and the rest.
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