Office Hijinks

It is friday, and it is the end of my 2nd week of teaching. I would have to say that this week was overall considerably better than the last. I've got this teaching thing down, and the kids seem like they might be starting to pay attention. I guess I will see how much they actually learned when I give my first test next week. I assigned a homework assignment this week, and in 9 classes with 360 students, about 25 students did the assignment. So, what do they get? They get a test a week early! They didn't seem too pleased about that, but hey, it's their own fault, right? The students that did their homework get an automatic 5 bonus points on the test, which resulted in many of the other students trying to do their homework super fast to get the bonus points. No dice though, too bad for them.

I thought I would share with you some funny things that have happened in my office the past week. One of the other English teachers from South Africa consistently goes on YouTube throughout the day and listens to crank phone calls. The way he laughs at them, is certainly one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. But wait, it gets better! There is a teacher here named Ajaan Egg (Ajaan=Teacher), who has a very limited knowledge of English, but has a passionate love for classic American rock. The other day he comes strolling into my office and asks if I like John Denver, before I could even reply he starts singing a John Denver song in a stereotypical American Western accent. I almost died laughing. He probably had no idea what he was singing, but he knew all the words, and you know what, he wasn't half bad. His next song was You've Got a Friend by James Taylor, which was if possible, funnier than the song before it. I don't know if he knew I was laughing because I was enjoying it, or because I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. Probably a mix of both, but he didn't seem to care either way. He told me that he sings on Wednesday nights at a place called "Cowboy Land" here in town. He dresses up like a cowboy and sings western songs for a couple of hours. This is something I simply cannot miss. The picture I have in my mind already has me on the floor laughing.

Oh yeah, one more thing... My coordinator Pat told me that her favorite singer is Lady GaGa. Keep in mind that Pat is over 50 years old.