Something with a little less whine

As it turns out, all I needed was a good dose of fried food to fix my mood. :D After I got booted off of the work computer so someone could print something useful off, I headed out and found sustenance! My inner kindergartener (i.k.) really wanted ice cream, but I kept walking and found a truck pulled up to the sidewalk selling food. Having always wanted to eat at something like that, I stood in front of it for a full minute before I recognized any of the food. Frying is very popular here (and in my heart), so there are a lot of mystery substances that look pleasant enough--I just really didn't want squid for lunch.

$1.25 later, I came away with 4 good-sized meatballs and three (3!) good-sized fried peppers. I knew Heather would be stoked, so I ran (okay, walked briskly) to IVY where I shared in my delights. Tere joined us for what turned out to be a fried, mellow pepper stuffed with rice, noodles, and other unidentifiable bits. (Unidentifiable being preferable to squid.) Darn. Good.

The things I've heard about from other teachers (especially the ones back home) have started. "Teacher, I feel siiiick." "Then why were you screaming and playing tag 30 seconds ago?" Plugging along has been working. "Teacher, I feel siiiick," brings the response of, "I'm sorry," and moving on.

There's also a lot of screaming. Some screaming is totally acceptable! The kids are very competitive with each other, so when we play a vocabulary game, I'm glad to have them screaming/shrieking answers. (Insert: Funny kid moment. "What is this?" "A whore!" "WHAT?" "A hoe!" Thank you farmer David.)

In general, though, I believe I am holding my own. It helps that they are not new and accustomed to the typical punishments. For some reason, the kids desperately hate having their names written on the board. Just threatening that is enough for them to correct their behavior. The "corporal" version is to have them stand facing a wall and hold their hands over their heads. Five minutes of that, and I have no problem for the rest of the class. Miracle!

The good students are little treasures. In Koala class, they are all pretty well behaved (although I do have a Dennis the Menace--literally, his name is Dennis), but I have one specific little boy who really seems to grasp what we are doing. He isn't a kiss-up, but I can have a conversation with him of sorts. Oh! In my last class of the day MWF, I have a Dave and Julie. I smile a little whenever I call on them.

At times we get fresh-to-English classes. In those instances, we get to give them their English names. Heather and I have a competition to see who can name a kid Shaniquah first, although the parents may complain. I should start a list, though, and end up with an all-Harlequin type of class. The thought makes me giggle.

It is time to finish my limeade and mosey on just to make sure those shrieking noises don't in fact indicate that someone has impaled themselves and is dying a painful death. Odds are, I'm just missing out on a great game of tag.