Our school makes some odd choices. A month ago we gave and graded our finals. We input our grades and were done with it. Today, in the middle of Bry giving a class, our assistant rushed over to tell us we had to go fix something. I went with him. Turns out that something we should have/easily could have done a month ago we were never told to do. Then they waited a whole month to tell us. Then they decided it was really important to do by tomorrow... Part of it involved writing down our students' Chinese names... Yeah... that was never going to happen. But it prompted me to write a poem in my head as XAPI fueled my hate-fire (Can you name that movie?).
Ode to XAPI
This school is so frustrating
I could pull out my hair
Apparently there's rules
But I'm still unaware
They make them up randomly
Or so it would seem
Just to frustrate a foreigner
Trying to live out a dream
Pretty good, right? Now, how about some more frustrations. Yesterday, I had my first class of the semester. At the end, a student came up and started talking to me. His English was pretty good so when he followed Bry and I to lunch we weren't too annoyed. He proceeded to insist he buy us lunch. I didn't turn him down. I told him what I wanted and told him that Bry and I would share. Then he bought Bry her own food. Now, Bry and I have been sharing food on campus after we learned that there are no optional serving sizes and that somehow the Chinese can eat FAR more than we can in one sitting. When he sat that food down in front of me, I knew I would never be able to finish it. Sure enough, when I was done about half the food on the plate left.
When I got up to go throw it away he said, "You are full?" I said, "Yes." He then proceeded to point to a poster on the wall and asked me if I knew what it said. I said no even though I am aware of what it stands for. He began to LECTURE me on how hard the peasants work to make the food we eat and that it shouldn't be wasted. I reminded him that I said Bry and I share and that HE had ordered twice as much as we normally eat. He said he understood and we dropped it but... What the hell??? Students and teachers either have a much different relationship here than in America OR nobody gives Bry and me any respect here. Bry and I used to go out with one of our professors for beer and I would never have thought of calling him out on any behavior (not that I found anything he did odd in the first place). Where's the respect?
 |
| My patience is waning. |
Ode to XAPI
This school is so frustrating
I could pull out my hair
Apparently there's rules
But I'm still unaware
They make them up randomly
Or so it would seem
Just to frustrate a foreigner
Trying to live out a dream
Pretty good, right? Now, how about some more frustrations. Yesterday, I had my first class of the semester. At the end, a student came up and started talking to me. His English was pretty good so when he followed Bry and I to lunch we weren't too annoyed. He proceeded to insist he buy us lunch. I didn't turn him down. I told him what I wanted and told him that Bry and I would share. Then he bought Bry her own food. Now, Bry and I have been sharing food on campus after we learned that there are no optional serving sizes and that somehow the Chinese can eat FAR more than we can in one sitting. When he sat that food down in front of me, I knew I would never be able to finish it. Sure enough, when I was done about half the food on the plate left.
 |
| Being in China can feel like this... |
When I got up to go throw it away he said, "You are full?" I said, "Yes." He then proceeded to point to a poster on the wall and asked me if I knew what it said. I said no even though I am aware of what it stands for. He began to LECTURE me on how hard the peasants work to make the food we eat and that it shouldn't be wasted. I reminded him that I said Bry and I share and that HE had ordered twice as much as we normally eat. He said he understood and we dropped it but... What the hell??? Students and teachers either have a much different relationship here than in America OR nobody gives Bry and me any respect here. Bry and I used to go out with one of our professors for beer and I would never have thought of calling him out on any behavior (not that I found anything he did odd in the first place). Where's the respect?
 |
| So much of this. |
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