No Coffee and a Seven Day Week... ...

Today marks the sixth day in this hellish, never ending seven day work week.

It would also mark my sixth day without coffee, but I gave into temptation, and necessity, during the lunch break today.

The logic behind working weekends to make up for a holiday continues to be beyond my grasp. No one is productive on a day they don’t normally work. Especially when that day has been tacked on to the end of a normal work week.

And I’ve noticed that I tend to snap at my students and lose my patience with them on our sixth day in a row together. It’s too much.

I have half a mind to take tomorrow off. It’s Sunday, after all.

I don’t think I will, but I want to.

Super Husband’s trip to the Great Wall today was a no go. He’s not entirely sure if further developments escaped his notice, or if the plans were scrapped altogether. It’s too bad, today would have been a lovely day to go, with mostly clear skies, a high of 73f (24c), and not horrible pollution… only 157. 

Maybe we’ll go on Tuesday or Wednesday, make a day of it.

I just realized, as children run down the hall outside my classroom, that I need to shut the classroom windows during naptime. We have windows that lead into the hall, and while it’s not generally an issue the class next door is slightly older, and so wake up 30 minutes earlier than my Red Lions. They’re all lining up to go eat their snacks, but the noise is making some of my kids wake up before I’m ready to rouse them.

Last night the Red… Lionesses? The Red Lion Mothers?... took us, the Red Lion teachers, out for a lovely dinner at a restaurant not too far from the school. The children, their mothers, the other teachers, and I all had a lovely time. Two of the mothers speak English, and Xavy (he named himself after a soccer player) speaks great English, so it wasn’t one of those meals where I smile as everyone around me speaks in a language I don’t understand. I’ve sat through way too many of those in my life already.  The only thing we ate that could be considered weird, or exotic, was sea snail. I wish I’d snapped a photo, because the presentation was really nice. They were served with soy sauce and wasabi, so really that’s all they tasted like, but those and the “Macao pies” were my favorite dishes. The Macao pie was a savory egg tart with a lovely, flaky crust. There were two varieties, one with red beans at the bottom of the tart, and one without. In my opinion they were equally tasty.

All of the One on One meetings went well; even the one where I had to tell a grandmother that her granddaughter is a bully. Rather surprisingly she already knew and said that they’re trying at home to correct her behavior as well. I’d expected, after talking to some of the other teachers, for the family the deny that their little princess could ever do anything like take a toy from someone without asking, or shove another kid to the floor to get to the front of the line. Maybe it’s because I was talking to the grandmother, and not the parents, but I was very pleasantly surprised. In fact, all of the parents seem like perfectly reasonable people who understand that their children are still very young, and cannot be expected to do everything 100% correctly, 100% of the time.

Tonight Super Husband and I are going to La Bamba for dinner with one of his friends. I can’t decide if I hope it’s an early night, or if I want to be out late, thus giving myself an excuse to call in tomorrow… … No! Bad Wonder Wife, bad.

Besides, if Korey can DJ until 2am and still make it in to work at 8:30 the next morning then I’m sure I can force myself in tomorrow, too.

Only 257

Monday marked the start of a seven day work week here in Beijing.

It also started my round of One-on-One parent meetings, where I meet for 30 minutes with the Red Lions' parents each. 

Combining these two in one week has the potential to make this a terrible, horrible week. We'll see. 

So far, so good... Then again we're only a day and a half in. 

Super Husband has been spared this indecency, and so gets a four or five day weekend next week. 

He has a field trip planned by the school to go to the Great Wall on Saturday. 

This past weekend we went back to American Steak and Eggs, oddly owned by a Canadian man. They have REAL shakes, made with REAL ice cream. And poutine. And biscuits and gravy. And GRITS. And they're not bad grits, either. They have a good texture, a good flavor. Mmm. 

From there we went to the Silk Market. While we didn't find what we went in for, I did end up with some lovely fruit tea, and a new tea mug. 

I still haven't found a place to get really good green tea. That's next on my list. Although, I definitely wont be making a dent in that list this weekend after a seven day work week. 

I predict that next Monday will be devoted solely to lounging, and sleeping. 

Hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday can hold something more exciting. 

Today is a yucky day. The weather was very nicely summed up by the kids this morning. Normally they debate whether it's hazy or clear, cloudy or sunny. Today everyone was in immediate agreement that it's chilly, hazy, and cloudy. All together not a great day. We were even spared the group exercise outside (which is more an exercise in patience than actual cardio) because the doctor deemed the pollution count too high. I was about to write "even though it's only 257", and I realized how horrible that is. That I have come to think of 257 as an acceptable, even perhaps low number. 

China, what are you doing to me? 

Now it's time to investigate what slop the cooks have decided to prepare for the teachers today... I don't want to have to go somewhere else and pay too much money for lunch, but I refuse to eat boiled chicken lung, thank you very much.

Manicures, Flautas, and Hot Tamales...

I once again apologize for being remiss in my duties as be-all-and-end-all of this blog...
I wish I could say that Super Husband and I were engaged in so many fun and exciting activities that we haven't had time to spare a glance at the computer. Sadly, that isn't the case.
We both just been caught up in the routines of daily life, learning, and teaching.

We enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal of couscous, grilled chicken, zucchini, and mushrooms last Friday, and spent much of Saturday morning FaceTime-ing with the lovely Perez family.
We took a walk in the park across from the apartment after lunch, because Beijing is finally turning lovely again. (Although today is grey, cold, and windy)
Saturday evening I ventured off with a friend to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. There's still an "R" in April, so we ordered some oysters, both raw and baked. They weren't the best raw oysters I've ever had, but the garlic baked oysters were definitely worth going back for. We ordered a bottle of sake, and were surprised and disappointed with a bottle of baijo was brought to our table. Now that I think about it, I don't know why we didn't send it back... but we drank it. Foul, horrible stuff that it is.
From there we took a bus to SanLiTun to meet up with some of my friend's friends. It was ostensibly their going away party, and a relatively good time was had by all. I'm sad I hadn't met them before that night, because they're both really cool people, but alas off to Manhattan they go. I'd never been to "Two Guys and a Pie", which specializes in meat pies but also offers a good apple pie a la mode, which is what I shared with my friend.
Sunday morning Super Husband left early to go play soccer. It was a beautiful day for it. I loafed around the apartment until the late afternoon, when I headed back to SanLiTun to meet another friend for mani-pedis and dinner. My fingernails are a lovely bright coral pink, and my feet were massaged and pampered until I almost fell asleep. I paid extra for the OPI nail polish and decided to conduct an experiment. If the polish lasted one full week, seven days, then it's worth the expense to get regular manicures (remember, the expense I'm talking about is less than $10) but if it chips before Friday (today) it's not worth it. Sadly, my right hand began chipping yesterday morning. Of course, that outlasted most other manicures I've ever gotten, and I'll still get one for special occasions, but it wont become a weekly indulgence.
After the pampering session he and I went to Luga's Mexican, where we shared jalapeño poppers, and I got the flautas. Flautas, I've found, are a decent way to judge a mexican restaurant, and these passed the test. While they don't hold a candle to my mother-in-law's, they're still really quite good. Served with rice, beans, sour cream, and guacamole, they're quite yummy.
Monday called for yet more sushi (y'know, for someone who's not in love with sushi, I sure do seem to eat it often) and a session of video games. As Storm I tornado-ed the enemies into oblivion, as Bart Simpson I dealt deadly blows with my skateboard, as a boat (in some racing game) I steadily improved my standing, going from 7/8 in the first race to 3/8 in the last.
Tuesday I held an "open class" where the Red Lion parents were invited in to watch class. All indications are that I wowed them. We sang BINGO and Twinkle Twinkle, read Do Like a Duck Does, and talked about the weather.
Wednesday was Quiz night at Lush, and Hot Tamales I'm Sweatin' *Woo* won the coveted first place. I added yet another blue ribbon to my growing collection.
If we keep this up we have a chance to win the Leader-board, which would be a lovely feather in our caps.
Yesterday, Thursday, I was gifted the first, second, and part of the third season of Game of Thrones, so I know what's going to take up a large part of my weekend!

Back in the 'Jing

Back in Beijing, and one of the first things I noticed is how much my skin loved the humidity of Singapore. No need to slather myself in moisturizers to stave off snake skin... But here, and especially at work where my desk in being constantly battered by the dry heat of our heater, my skin is dry and angry. And that makes me angry.
But besides that it's been a fairly uneventful few days.
Super Husband met me at Terminal 3, and we took the airport express to line 10, and walked home. I had to change out of the cotton skirt I'd worn that morning in Singapore into jeans, and don a jacket before we could leave the airport though, or I'd have been very cold, and very grumpy.
That said, Beijing is beginning to warm up. Todays predicted high was 64f (18c)... although it's already 2:30, and it hasn't reached that yet.
Because China is a silly place that doesn't actually give holidays in the way one would expect, I'm at work today, Sunday. Last week Thursday and Friday were holidays, so obviously we have to work Sunday to make up for it. Lovely, right?
Of course, I can't complain too bitterly after having spent the whole week relaxing in Singapore, but my brain knows it's Sunday, and is staging a revolt.
One class had exactly ZERO students show up, and while I adore my Red Lions, I do envy that teacher his more relaxing day.
In a few minutes it'll be time for me to blare Gangnam Style over the classroom speakers as a signal that it's time to wake up, then there's snack, play time, class 4, class 5, and then they aaaall go home. As do I.
What to should I have for dinner tonight? Hmm... A dilemma.

Super Husband spent the week that I was away studying hard. A mutual friend even complained that he was a lame-o, leaving an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, and all afternoon beer-pong tournament after only a few slices, and a single game.
He has also begun tutoring a friend in Spanish. Apparently her love of futbol, has triggered a desire to speak the language of some of the world's most famous players (I was originally going to write "best players" but thought that might open me up to some unwanted criticism from the fans).

Humidity, How I've Missed You.

This has been an interesting week.

Friday was the Easter celebration at American House. I’d say it went off without a hitch, but it was a long, exhausting day. And that day didn’t end when I punched the clock at 5:30, oooh no. I took the subway to the Airport Express line, and hightailed it through terminal three to the Dragon Air check-in desk. When I got to the desk the very helpful agent put me on an earlier flight to Hong Kong because my original flight was over an hour late and I would have missed my connecting flight to Singapore. After clearing Chinese immigration, customs, and security I made it to the gate with just enough time to sit around for a long time. By the time we all boarded the flight it was already 9pm, and I slept through most of the flight. I had a quick connection in Hong Kong, but I do have to say that while I understand that I was on a red-eye, and airport procedures change a little to accommodate a skeleton staff at those late hours, the fact that you have to go from terminal three to terminal one to get your connecting ticket stamped by a surly woman and then your baggage checked, to then go back to terminal three is a little silly.

My flight to Singapore was uneventful, and I slept through most of it, as well. I cleared Singaporean immigration and customs in record time, walking straight up to the desk without even having to queue at all. Ah, the joys of arriving at 5am.

After a quick stop at Starbucks to avail myself of their free wifi (and the much needed caffeine) I hopped a cab into the city.

I had forgotten what Singapore smells like. Singapore smells green, and alive. Even here, a stones throw from the bustle of Orchard Road, you could just as easily be tucked away in a rainforest hotel.

I love Singapore. Even more so because in the three days I’ve been here so far I have been treated to two tropical thunderstorms. All the fanfare: thunder, lightning, a torrential downpour, and then clear blue skies just an hour later. It was a beautiful thing.

Easter Sunday, I sat on the balcony with a cup of coffee and watched as small children hunted for eggs around the pool below. 

I'm here in Singapore to get a new Chinese visa, and it is proving a headache. As many proceedings that include a bureaucratic institution often do. After two trips to the visa office I'm scheduled for a third tomorrow morning, that should be my last. Later, when all of this is done, I'll post a page dedicated completely to the hoops and rigamarole that is getting a visa to go to China. For now I'm enjoying the heat, humidity, good food, and culture that Singapore has in abundance. 

I walked around China Town after my appointment this morning and ended up getting lunch at a really good Indian restaurant. I wish I could remember the name, because it's definitely worth going back to. 

I had planned to explore the warren-like streets further, but the skies threatened to open up, and I am loathe to be caught in a tropical downpour with important papers in my custody. 

Now I think it's time to indulge in a little balcony lounging with a book.