Suspended?!

The constant bickering and petty fights between the boys in my class came to a breaking point yesterday. Imagine two boys who have a love-hate relationship. They can have fun and play together, but can also easily upset one another. And now add a new student to the bunch, who seems to egg each of them on. Well they went to art class and they were out of my hands. When I picked them up, I heard from other students that there was a big fight. Apparently the boys had been rolling on the floor fighting. I said "that's enough, I've had it with you too, we'll be talking to the principal about this." Of course they just said "Oh sorry JW" and "It's ok"...."Ok teacher, no problem now!" But that's what they try to get away with.

Anyways, I won't ramble too long....but, I told the principal what happened (and she knows what goes on between them, and she's dealt with them before), so she decided to suspend them for the rest of the day. They could not believe it! At least they know now how serious we are about this, and that we won't tolerate it. Unfortunately one of the boys took it so hard he was hyperventilating! When he wouldn't calm down for almost 1 hour we had to get the counsellor to talk to him. Part of the problem is that his parents are both in Korea (Dad is sick in hospital, mom visits him), and the two kids are here beging cared for by a driver and a nanny! So yes, he's unstable. That family needs to be together. It's actually quite normal here for families to be separated. Dad's working somewhere else, kids studying here. But somehow, it still seems better than all the divorce and broken families in N. America.

Well China is gearing up for it's New Year celebrations. Fireworks are already going off occassionaly. Most chinese schools are already out on holiday. We don't have any big plans. We'll just try to help the rabbits survive the fireworks :)

Happy new Year of the Ox!!!

to Manila and back

Another perk of being a teacher: 2 weeks Christmas break. A perk of being an international teacher: work 3 more weeks than take 1 week of for chinese new year! And we enjoy the perks as much as possible. This year we again joined my filipino family for Christmas. Again there was too much eating, but we were stronger this time. Our "No, I can't eat anymore!" was a little bolder, and we made a point to swim and walk places as much as possible. We also left the luxurious homes for 5 days to travel with a cousin and her husband to the mountain province up north of Manila. Great trip! Besides the driving through twisty, bumpy, winding roads, we had an awesome time. There was hiking, 3 hrs. of caving, climbing Mt. Pinatubo (volcano that errupted in '91), and even a stop in a beach town where we did a jungle walk (very light compared to everything else we'd done). Overall, a very satisfying time.

Back in Manila it was a few more days of shopping and eating before we left for Shanghai. We flew in and out of Shanghai for a cheaper flight and also took the chance to visit a cousin of mine I'd never met before from my swedish side. Really great time with them her and her husband.

The bunnies have grown while we've been gone, and the city is getting geared up for Chinese New Year. Most schools here will be off for almost 1 month! We only get a week off. We think we'll stay around just to save money....but we'll see what happens :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!