Life...

Eldest is better today...thankfully....and is off on her field trip into the mountains. Where there are no toilets. Lets hope she is really better or today will read more like one of the inner circles of hell for her. Sometimes being a mom is less thrilling....worrying is not fun.

I have been reading this site now and then lately, and it is basically profs venting, with charming eloquence about some of the less charming students...no names anywhere. While I cannot say I have ever been so annoyed, I have also never taught like this....I do have one student though....having slacked off all term, now that the exam is looming, he is asking me to come in at all sorts of extra times to make up for the classes he missed. Let me tell you, I don't give two hot shits if he passes or fails this exam. At some of the rare occasions when he turns up for class, he frequently doesn't have the books. If you cannot even bother with that, why would I want to give up my time with my family to help you.

Sorry bud, you get out, what you put in....

I'll be there at the scheduled time. I'll be cheerful, helpful, pleasant and professional, but I am not turning up at other times, and you've stiffed me more often than I care to count.

That said, another student and I got talking about the local politics...she is politically active and desperately needs practice speaking English, so I asked her about the various local parties. There are many. Boy did I find out a lot.

In fact, I find out a lot from everyone. I have never lived in a small town before, and I don't know if it is because of that, but oh my goodness gracious....the gossip! Like nothing I have ever experienced anywhere, largely because, it seems to me, that in a city you just don't have enough people and history in common. Here? Well, too much information. Way too much. Way way way too much. I have GOT to watch what I say. Always. I have a big mouth, and I tend to shoot it off, hmmm. Not such a good idea.

Though, I am approaching a controlled blast around the sluggish sub-humans working on that job site I talked about. The harassment level is getting worse, now even when I run into them in the street. Even though I don't understand it, I an getting a wee bit fed up. I had resolved that if they spoke to me again today I was going to go into the site office and, shall we say, let off some steam. Nicely. Then I was going to go to the mayor's office and request that they speak to the company as well. However, when I went past today, I followed one of the engineers up the hill, a woman. I was pretty sure they were going to keep their mouths shut this time anyway.

Drag.

................later....................

Eldest did fine today, no bathrooms as expected (all day, can you imagine?) but she was fine. Phew.

I just reread this and it sounds like a lot of complaining, life is really better than all that though.