Well not quite. The thought of it is just too frightening. Even thinking about writing the thought of it is too frightening and I have to wonder why I’m even writing it. So maybe a hefty salary increase and various other additional benefits can make you do things you may not want to do, but not even that. Anyway isn’t it nice in these troubled times to read about someone getting a good bump (obviously well-deserved) in salary….oh, I see. To be honest I should have asked for more but I’m not quite a banker yet.
Welcome to the New Year not-at-all special edition of VB with absolutely no new features, or developments. It’s the new austerity VB. So yes I’ve signed a new contract, I’ve handed over my passport which I’m not entirely confident of seeing before I’m due to board my flight to Dublin on January 18th, and now the school is in the death throes of another trimester with no idea who’s going to teach what next term, and they’ve also decided to introduce an American stream which involves different subjects and even more teachers, theoretically. Sometimes I think there’s some bitter and twisted drunk at the top making all these random decisions. Now that I think about it…
Where's me food
Goodbye to you my trusted friend
Exams have started again, and rules are rules. At the presentation of the new improved invigilation rules in the new sports hall (which I don’t think has yet been used for sport and which has foregone any presence of heat because that’s just weak) I was tempted to ask the question about the minimum number of invigilators (2) and the fact that that there must be one invigilator for every 20 students and does this conflict with the last exam I invigilated where there were 24 students and I was the only invigilator. I’m just saying…I chose not to ask the question due to a personal linguistics shortfall.
I’ve finished teaching for the term and I’m sure most of my students are thinking thank god we won’t be seeing his ugly mug (and beautiful blue eyes) again, little knowing that in a few short weeks they most certainly will. Ah, who’ll be laughing then? I was somewhat disappointed, however, that no tears were shed.
Party on
Of course it’s not all work, work, work here. The latest batch of interns have been quite a diverse, entertaining, and surprisingly (considering they’re teaching English) multinational collection, and frankly better (fun) than the bunch I arrived with over a year ago. So the Christmas meant some late nights reliving my early 20s. My best mates appear to be a 27 year-old from Leicester of Bangladeshi extraction and a 22 year-old Canadian of Chinese extraction, while I’m daily beating off the advances of hot German chick number 1 and hot German chick number 2. (You’d probably need to be working here to understand what any of this means.)
The hotties and the homies
Let’s just say I have lots of photos from the Christmas celebrations but my own camera found it all a bit much on the first night and took its leave of me, just when I had finally mastered how to take decent ‘night-out’ photos. Perhaps it’s a good thing. It’s probably a bit late to say I’d love a camera for Christmas but since I didn’t get anything (and was unlikely to) it’s all a bit moot.
One wonders is it a good example to set for students for pretty much all the foreign teachers living on campus to be nursing tired and emotional states on Christmas Eve. And never has so little drink been drunk by so many on Christmas Day. At least the food was good. Last year we went to a posh restaurant on Christmas day and paid a heap of money for hints of food. This year we went to a less luxurious joint, paid half as much money, and got about 3 times as much food; go figure. And then there was New Year’s Eve, and soon it will be the end of term, more crazy singing, and many departures. I’m just glad I’m heading home for a bit of peace and quiet.
"Just pretend that you know me...and try and look happy."
Today’s gratuitous word
