Catching Up!

Sorry I didn't post last night, I forgot! Okay, that's a lie. I didn't forget. But it was 2 in the morning before I remembered and this girl was sleepy. My post for today will be for yesterday and today.

Yesterday I played musical chairs with my little Asians. On the playlist? Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber. All their favorites! Whenever one of the kids would get out, they would come stand by me and my computer and I let them take turns starting and stopping the music for those kids that were still playing. We took some pretty adorable pictures, which you already know about if you're my friend on Facebook. If you're not a part of Facebook world, here you go :)

My babies. Aaron, Ricky, Jake, and Audrey.

Nick, Robbie, and Andy.

Thanks to Krew for taking this picture.

I'm so in love with this little girl :)

After teaching, I took a nap and went to my meeting where we discussed nothing of importance. Kate then proceeded to drag me to night market kicking and screaming where she forced dumplings and spiced potatoes down my throat. She even threatened me that if I didn't also buy a bowl for today that she would leave the bathroom light on from now on (I'm constantly having to remind her to turn it off :)). Girls from Washington are pretty scary, clearly.

When we got home, we watched Crazy Stupid Love until we fell asleep. I just called China home. Weird.

My class has been flooded several times this week, and it's only Wednesday! I like to deal with my kids by myself. I don't like to enlist the Chinese teachers because they're just plain mean and the kids are terrified of them. I can usually handle whatever antics they're up to, but there are some circumstances that I just won't deal with.

For example. On Monday, Jackson punched Nick in the face. Seriously dude? That was a Chinese teacher offense right there. Out he went, and he came back crying. I felt bad, but you can't punch people in the face. Totally unacceptable. This is the same day that we were playing balloon volleyball. Candy tried to hit the balloon and missed, so the balloon hit the floor and the other team got a point. Charlie got in her face and chewed her out, making her cry. She didn't want to play anymore because of him. I wanted to thump him... Candy is the sweetest child and she is so good! It broke my heart to see her crying because she is always so happy and bubbly.

Yesterday I happened to notice that Charlie had a mountain of tokens in his token bag. Seeing as how it was only Tuesday, I knew there was no way he should have 200 tokens. They usually earn around 2-8 per day, depending on the activity and how well they participate. I asked him where he got them and he stubbornly refused to tell me. The nice thing about seven-year-olds? They love to tattle. Everyone else wasted no time telling me that Charlie stole them from Teacher Laurra. Guess what, Charlie? No tokens for you. I took them all away, and he protested, saying that he had had four tokens of his own. I didn't give them to him because I had no way of knowing how many tokens he really had, and if he hadn't stolen them in the first place, it wouldn't be an issue! Cue the waterworks.

Andy is one of my difficult kids. I believe it's because he is behind the other kids in his English. He gets bored easily because he doesn't understand much. I try to give him a lot of attention to keep him engaged. When the kids come to my class, they have to line up on the wall. They get to sit down or get in line/position for a game in order of who is "being good"- no talking, arms folded, standing still. Today I had to tell him "No Chinese" three or four times within one single minute. He got to choose his place for Simon Says last, meaning there was only one place left so he didn't get to choose at all. I start the game only to notice he's not participating. I go over to him to discover big crocodile tears streaming down his face. I allowed Mike to be a rebel and speak Chinese to ask him what was wrong. Mike said "Teacha, Andy sad because 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. 10. Andy sad because 10." (Andy was sad because he was chosen last, in tenth place.)

Sometimes I don't understand these kids. They can be so mean to each other and when they're bad, we yell and try to be really stern with them to get them to listen. That stuff doesn't phase them. It's when we take their tokens or choose them last that warrants the life vest.

Today was less exciting overall. I played Simon Says with my kids and the day went by pretty fast. After teaching we decided to try this Korean place. It was okay. I wasn't impressed, really. I probably won't be going back. I much prefer Muslim food.

On the way back to the school, we may or may not have stopped for ice cream for the upteenth time this week. Megan's bladder is roughly the size a snap pea and so she was relieved to see what appeared to be a bathroom. This is what we found.....

Probably the hardest I have laughed since I've been here.

Yes. That is a trough. I honestly didn't think it could get much worse than a squatter and I was very, very wrong!

I found this little cutie at the night market :)