I've been waiting to blog until I had something blog-worthy to write about. School started up again after the break and the first week was great but that nice, relaxed feeling quickly disappeared. P1 testing was upon us! I teach R2 and that's the last grade of Kindergarten. Then they go to the big campus to start P1 -which is right before first grade. It's a little different here. Well, since we are a private school they test them and just because they are in our kindergarten doesn't mean they will go to our elementary school. So of course parents are stressed about their kids doing well and I'm hoping they do as well. Ernie is on the admissions team so he, as well as 5 or 6 other people came over to my campus to test the kids. My kids were absolutely thrilled to meet "Mr. Davis." He's like living legend in the classroom because I use him frequently as an example in my class. For example, during our restaurant theme, I talked about how Mr. Davis doesn't like mushrooms. Or after we went to Disneyland I showed them the picture of us with Buzz Lightyear. So that was fun. But all the interruptions were not so fun. Every 5 minutes a different person came to pull out a kid. It was long and stressful and of course some of my brightest students were shy and didn't answer the questions and so on. I'm sure the fall out is coming soon. On top of that it's unseasonably cold here for Hong Kong and our building has no heat. The kids were coming to school with so many layers on they could hardly move! That was funny! Having to take the jackets on and off and keep track of the scarves, gloves, sweater vests, hats etc. when not prepared to do so was not so funny - not to mention the parents who don't label their child's stuff (a lot of the kids have the same jackets because of school uniforms) and wondering why it didn't come home or went home with another child...mental head slap! Ernie bought a little space heater that I can plug in and move around. That has helped quite a bit. But the hallways and bathrooms aren't heated...
It's been one of those weeks where I am sick of my own name. Student: Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Davis, MRS. DAVIS, MRS. DAVIS! Me: Yes, I hear you but can't you see I'm helping someone else? Ahhhhhh!!! Multiply that by 15 kids twice a day....No wonder I was glad it's was Friday. I was thinking too of what has made all the difference in surviving (yes, surviving) teaching small children. Dr. Jean - All Day Long CD for transition times, The Wiggles songs for movement on the carpet in the mornings, Super Day cards for behavior management, Wally and Cleo - our take home stuffed animals and bubble mouths. As well as picture books and songs in general. Without these things I could not and would not, teach. Okay enough about that.
I've been getting up and going downstairs to workout every morning at 5 am and that is working out well for me. I'm just too beat at the end of the day to work out most days but if I get up at 5 and do it I have more energy for the day and it's good.
I haven't had much time to do anything fun lately so after school on Thursday Tina Wong (coworker) took me on a "cultural" afternoon. That was fun. We got roasted chestnuts, salted roasted quail eggs and a roasted sweet potato from a street vendor. I never would have done that myself but she said "Oh it's so good - come on" and so of course I did. It also helps to be with someone who understands the Asian culture and can speak the language. We had tea at some little restaurant, I found crochet hooks and yarn (praise the Lord - I'm making myself legwarmers), we browsed the Chinese medicine store. You can get ground up or shaved deer antlers, dried sea cucumbers, lizard skins, all kinds of gnarly stuff. Mostly it has to be boiled for some long amount of time and made into some concoction. Pretty crazy. She explained all about Chinese New Year (which I'll save for the next blog) and we saw all kinds of decorations. It was fun.
Something I've realized about Chinese people - they have no personal bubble. If I got on the train I'd find myself a little space but then by the next stop - if it's busy - someone will come stand RIGHT in front of you. No bubble. Luckily that doesn't really happen on my morning commute but it does if we travel on the weekends. I guess they are used to it. I also notice that many parents don't use strollers (no wonder why) and that toddlers walk with their parents from early on so they are used to it.
Today is Saturday here in Hong Kong and several of us from the 7th floor are going in search of an Indian buffet restaurant that is supposed to be incredible. Then maybe a trip to kitchen street - the area to find cheap kitchen stuff. I need some kind of blender or something. My kefir making is going quite well and I want to make smoothies so I need something. Maybe I can find one of those hand blender things that you just stick in the cup. I don't know.
On a final note - progress! Our shower has been miserable since we've been here. Maybe some of you remember in the beginning we said our shower would either be hot or cold but never in the middle. So we'd run the sink on hot to adjust it. Then they came and "fixed" it but then it was all the way on hot but barely warm. We have to turn the shower head on full pressure (three streams) so that we're able to stand under it because there is no water pressure. Now that it's cold and it's getting worse we mentioned it again. They had told us that it's because the air in our bathroom was cold so it didn't feel warm. We have a space heater in there. Our neighbors get steam and say that if it was on hot it would burn them. Huh. They also said that when we take a bath if the bathtub is cold it will make the water cold. Really? So they finally came back and looked at it and lo and behold the unit is dying. Ya think? So we're getting a new one! It's a unit where as water passes over it the water is flash heated. I guess they are very expensive, so they were avoiding the issue I think. But oh joy to take a nice shower would be so wonderful! That really makes a difference. Maybe I'll start shaving my legs again! Okay, that was probably TMI...well, I have to get going now.
