Question?

Today one of my co-workers took the same bus to school that I take. We walked to school together from the bus stop. She is a really sweet lady. I think it's just taking me longer to warm up to this school BECAUSE the lauguage barrier is so much higher. It's often easier for us to ignore each other rather than battle to make ourselves understood.

She told me that she is taking English lessons twice a week, which is AMAZING considering how busy regular teachers here are. (as opposed to irregular teachers like me, I'm fairly busy, but I manage to leave work at work for the most part, which is a huge blessing).

On the way to school she pointed at her face and said 'yellow skin' and at my face and said 'white skin' and then she said 'question'. So I knew she was asking me a question about white and yellow skin. And that was as far as my knowledge went. It's really hard to formulate relevant answers when the question is that vaque. I told her that I was caucasian and that she was Asian, and that seemed to satisfy her.


Also, I mentioned in an earlier blog that I thought I might have to do something this Thursday. I got to school today and was told that my classes were canceled, but if I wanted I could come to the 'garble garble' centre with grades 3-6. I decided to go, because the four hours I spend with the vice-principal on a regular day is enough thank you!

I heard agricultural centre. I was picturing us looking at exhibits of farms or something, while maybe the children did a project, discovery centre style.

Nope.

(I'm NEVER right!)

It was actually the 'cultural' centre (no agri). One of my students asked me my seat number on the way there. So I'm thinking 'movie?'.

Nope.

It was an event which maybe 15 elementary and middle schools attended. Each school had a group of students performa different act.

These acts included:
-Elementary school boys performing skipping manuevers with hula hoops and ropes. Some of their stuff was pretty good, but their OUTFITS killed me. (white leg warmers, black knee-length spandex shorts, with a sparkly blue stripe up the side, and a small racer-back belly shirt. That's right. Boys wearing belly shirts. It was especially cute on the little boy with the potbelly!

-AMAZING drumming. Mr Beeler (my high school band teacher) would probably have given a limb to have any one of those kids in his percusion section (not that I'm dissing my high school percusionists, I dated one:) Anyway 30-40 of them would get on stage, facing fowards, with NO condutor, and just be so in unision and SO perfect, and play 15 minute songs, with no sheet music or anything. I was completely blown away. They make drumline look like amateur night, and they're ten.

-Little grade three girls wearing really slutty outfits and belly dancing. It was actually kind of sickening. I'm thinking, 'somewhere, some lady, is saying to these little girls, 'and thrust! and gyrate! and swivel your hips like you want to...' well you know.

During the show, the grade fours were getting restless.

"When finished teacha?"
"Hungry teacha! When is lunch"

They ask, looking at me with sad little faces. HA, like I know! I thought we were going to build mud huts or something.