Another week and all is well in the ROC...

(which stands for Republic of China) of Taiwan. I've had a pretty good week, except for the melt down I "enjoyed" with my B5 class late on Thursday.

Here's the short version. Thursdays are my longest day, (which I believe I've mentioned before but apparently can't say enough), and by my last class I'm flagging on energy I can tell you. I teach a class of 7 boys, 13 and 14 years old, and they are tired too so we're not great to begin with in that state. Usually we manage o.k., without making a big deal about our mutual lack of interest, but Thursday night I found my edge. Not only did I find it, I fell off it and walked out of the classroom. After my co-worker explained to them that they cannot just keep talking when I've told them a dozen times to stop, we finished class with a decidedly more somber mood. I was moved to tears when the two boys responsible for my frustration approached me after class to apologize. They said, with such sincere expressions on their faces, "Sorry teacher. Sorry teacher. Never again. Never again." At that moment I really hated the language barrier, a feeling I have every day, but particularly in this situation. I could not say anything back to them except, "O.K., thank you." But, of course body language is universal to some extent and they saw that I was moved by their words. I wanted to give them a hug and tell them I'm sorry that I'm a crappy teacher at that time of the day, that my patience is gone by 8:45 at night no matter what I've done that day, but especially when I've been on my feet for three classes straight before theirs. I'm still trying to understand the Chinese psyche and probably will never get it, but it seems like the fun is squeezed out of these kids pretty early on, and I don't want to teach them without having fun. They have to work so hard in Chinese school and then they have an endless list of lessons and activities, including English, and I want this part of their lives to be something they enjoy and want to do. It's hard to know how to make that happen, but I was so proud of my co-worker, who has a reputation for being hard and making the kids scared of her, because she just told them that the teacher has feelings too, and they need to pay attention when the teacher is trying to help them learn. (Truthfully, I was so frustrated because they were stuck on the distinction between all the "wh" words - where, when, why, what, who - and they were not listening to try to understand it. Thus, they were answering questions in their grammar books with sentences like "Why do you live?" - technically o.k., but not correct really - and "Where are you wearing a sweater?" - also o.k., but not the best choice.) It was an exhausting evening and I came home very ready for the weekend, although I still had another day to teach.

Now, it's Saturday night and I've got to crash so I can jump up for worship in the morning. I hope you're enjoying the frenzy that Christmas often becomes and are finding some time to be with those you love. I miss mine, so I encourage you to make an extra effort to enjoy yours. One of my favorite people is having a birthday today, so I want to give a shout out to Lisa. Happy Birthday, Lisa! Hope you have a great visit with the family.

I will post again soon, but let me assure you my back looks a lot better now and my cough is also much better this week. I don't know if the two are related, and still have my doubts, but that's where I am on the health front. Thanks to all of you who sent in creative expressions of your concern for me.

Take care until next time. LC