Trying to do what Joan McDuff said

Today marks no significant anniversary whatsoever. At this point last year I was about a month into teacher's college. My calendar says I had to 'find a group for my Gym presentation', 'do an information book talk' and 'go to a job market lecture' (hah, I ended up getting a job. Good work, past Stuart). But today I have come home from a pretty good day of work to ponder a ponderously-worthy situation.

The world of 'work stuff', I am finding, is a bigger and bigger intertwined thing with every week of work. I now split my spare time doing things here and there (mind you, I still owe 'work stuff' a bit more time per day, since the classroom isn't quite set up the way I'd like it, and I can still put more effort into just about everything I do). At the end of a work day, I have the time to do the following things:
- The Blog
- Writing Letters
- Cooking + Re-watching a TV series (right now it's The Office. Next is Peep Show)
- Doing household stuff reluctantly (although my roomie takes care of that preeeetty well)
- Throwing cat treats into the empty lot across from my place to try and befriend the local strays

But at the same time, I am finding each passing week is getting less and less cumbersome, draining and disorganized, and is slowly morphing into a manageable and really satisfying job that I feel like I can handle in good conditions. However, there are still plenty of challenges that come from being less disciplined than I'd like to be. People told me that my first year of teaching would be hard. I forgot. I forget most things people tell me, and so I've had to learn for myself what kind of difference it makes to put the extra time into my planning, organization and sleep. Mind you, that extra time takes away from other places, and I often can't remember to get back to people on what'sapp or facebook half the time (Murray, I have become you). Which leads me to my next question, am I boring now? (I put myself on my own wall of awesome to drown any sense of such a notion encourage my students to do the same)

 One of the most diligent, determined and dedicated people I've met in my moral life, Joan McDuff, said to our class, "Make friends who aren't teachers". This in no way is intended to support any notion that I am in any way dissatisfied in any way with my current teacher friends. In any way. Any way. Anyway, I mean that it's very easy to be sucked into the teacher world and talk about teacher things and think about teacher stuff. Which is good if you're a teacher and you want to become a better teacher and teacher teacher teacher. TEACHER. TEETCH-'ER. But I'd like to keep up with my hip jazz friends and lovely camp friends and the other friends who do things other than plan, and photocopy and make sure Jamber isn't trying to sneak away to use her locker for the 9th time today.

I suppose I still do a few things: I go out for dinner a couple times a week ("Fish with a face" pictured below), we've been doing a Sunday dinner routine with food and hangs and perhaps the odd board game. I also stumble down to Coloane and do neat things (oh that's right, you don't know about Coloane yet. That'll be a future story for sure), but it's by no means life-changing. Other recent and meaningful accomplishments include:
- Going to trivia night at a pub and coming in second last
- Packing my things to play volleyball at school and then doing plans instead
- Cancelling my ambitions to go to Vietnam this weekend because I can't even

Am I upset about this? Not really. I know there are things to be done, and I kind of enjoy doing these things. Well, as much as one can enjoy marking, reviewing and doing the more trivial things that will take up your time. But I like the feeling (and the gradual progressive actions) that you're helping these kiddos get better at doing life things. Maybe they'll learn to PLEASE STOP TALKING WHEN I'M TALKING so I don't have to get upset and we can slowly build a community in the classroom. I miss that about the end of last year (although my predecessor was kind of a champ who set those kids up to be champs so I had it pretty easy). That's the hope for the future anyways. I suppose I've just got to find the balance between "Do the best job you can possibly do" and "Be as interesting and NEAT as you can possibly be", but in the meantime I suppose I'll just keep eating tasty Chinese/Macanese/Portuguese food and skyping with home friends after marking.

Right now I just have to deal with the prospect that I must behave myself in public and not be a general nuisance to others. All the more reason to be extra rammy when I return to Canada. 

Tales of Treachery: Inside a Grade 4 Classroom

Now that I've spent three weeks together with my kids (I will continue to say my kids as I am responsible for them), I have enough ammunition of stories to share with you to get a load of my chest while keeping you entertained.

And with that: I'm going to say right off the bat that... well I suppose this isn't a warning to you as much as it is a rule for myself that you'll get to hear. I like my kids. I like my job. I like my coworkers. I would like them to keep being my kids, job & coworkers. If you (any many friends, not just the teacher-y ones) ever think "Stuart you should calm your body and use your brain before you post something like that", please feel free to use CTRL+C > CTRL+V and send that statement my way. Mind you, in Canada the social tone is QUITE a bit more strict about this sort of thing (whether it is good or bad I leave to you. I have my opinion but I'll leave it to conversations I have with you in person). You're my friends, but I still want to respect everyone at the school. Just sayin' 

First off, Grade Four is a big step up because it's the boundary between lower primary and upper primary. A cynical Sally may think to themselves "What the heck kind of difference does that even make? It's probably some arbitrary thing where the kids get a sticker that says 'I'm growing up and now a part of the global community' and then they give the kids passages from meaningless poems and do a reading on circle of life" Well Brant Cynical Sally, that's not the case at all. There's tons of new things for a kid in upper primary to wrap their heads around:
- Grades (that's right! First year you get you-must-do-well-in-school-or-you-don't-pass evals!)
- Exams & Tests (which go hand-in-hand with grades)
- Studying & Homework (Like these kids do more work than I did in grade 4. Perhaps the homework & practice thing actually helps kids learn things...)
- Lockers (wooden cupboards with keys that lock. Much quieter and more civilized than the scrap metal we seem to use back in Canada. No slamming, no bent doors, etc)
- Desks that don't have a flat bottom (they have to organize their things or the junk just falls out. Very clever move School...)
So it's quite the step up from rinky-dinky grade 3. And with that, it's time to put the brakes on the 'Teacher Talk' (actual job parameter things that can easily degrade to hours of debate over testing, grading, meetings, the annoying wifi logins for the staff, the time the coffee is made in the staff room in the morning, the quality of the rice offered in the school lunch,  etc). Now I'm even over my limit so I absolutely have to stop. 

And this week, there was this. On Tuesday I gave my kids something they've been waiting for since the start of the year. They asked me every day since September 1st, they've asked their friends in the other grade 4 class if there is any word of their arrival, and every morning with envious eyes they see the grade 5s use them with pride and responsibility. I'm talking about lockers. I can honestly say they were happier in the moment I was handing out keys than any other moment I've seen in my teaching career (spanning 3 months). I gave them their lockers, and they repaid me with CHAOS. I'm talking about loosing keys, leaving keys at home/in gym class/in the art room/in their BUTTS FOR ALL I KNOW BECAUSE THEY CAN'T FIND IT AND IT'S BEEN TWO DAYS, waving their key chains around like medieval weapons, taking 15 minutes to put a backpack away because "I want to make everything fit nicely" constantly forgetting things they need for EVERY CLASS SO WHY WOULD YOU PUT IT IN YOUR LOCKER, and the INCESSANT requests to use their newly-gained storage boxes at every turn. 
>"Can I get my pencil case from my locker?"
>"Can I get my library book from my locker?"
>"Can I go and.... open my locker?"
And then comes the tide of complaints that you only from locker newbies
>"Jamber opened my locker because I couldn't lock it in time for my class"
>"Billy was trying to make his key work with mine"
>"Chippy said she would put our group work in her locker because she likes hers better"
>"My tape on my locker key is coming off, can I have more so I can make my own label for it?"
>"Can I go to... the bathroom?" Proceeds to make sure Jamber didn't, in fact, re-open the locker to see if it was different

How EVEN do teachers do it. HOW. I didn't know what I should have done, but then my grade four compadre swooped in and called both classes into her room for a lil meeting on "HOW NOT TO BE A BUTT WHEN USING A LOCKER". She laid out the rules, told them what and what not to do, how to be able to function in life, you know, all the things. She's got her poop in a group, and I am really pleased to have her around to help me continue to have my job (I live in a constant fear of "What have I forgotten/neglected today?"). So I'm pleased with that.

So that's the first installment of "the things that will make my hair fall out faster", and I expect there will PLENTY more on the horizon. I'll leave you with that, because I need some Porch-uh-geeze food and cheap drinks to wash off a week of teaching. 

Frands Back Home

I suppose I've reached the point where I become aware that this is a very one-way conversation. I report on instances in my life where I have thoughts or feels, and you give it a good ol' look-over, say 'neat' and move onto the next activity. But for this post, I'd like to use my efforts to reach out to you and see what's going on in your life. 

A year ago today, I was at a rib festival in Kingston, getting food with people I didn't quite realize would become my good friends for the entire year (guide posted for your information). Through a couple nights of trivia, a few rowdy classes with my section, and a few more rowdy rounds of Dutch Blitz, Kingston become a really nice community (if only for a short time). Yadda yadda, I come to the part where I say that last year I was basically hopping between Kingston and Hamilton, and when in Hamilton I was hopping between there and Turonno. I now realize that the 365 days have been my biggest heap-ful of friend-to-Stuart contact yet. Now I'm kind of on the other side of the planet, and it's hard to keep up with you. I suppose that's not an unfamiliar feeling, a sort of mix of winding down from school and and rolling into all the mentally taxing things of trying starting a new year on the right foot (that is, if you're wearing shoes and pants and if you're planning on leaving the house this week). Now most of us are out of that school thing, graduated, maybe working, maybe at home, and largely struggling to comprehend what our twenties are for. I know a lot of you have changed gears in life. September has a habit of being that time when life reaches down to the gear shift and jiggles the handle, and before you know it you're going a different speed (just as you were getting used to how life was going before).

You know, I'd really like to know how you're doing. To have a proper conversation, sometimes the kind where I would barrage you with questions like "What is your favourite thing" only to immediately forget the answer. The kind of conversation one has over the following...
- A pitcher of Rickard's Red and a pound of suicide wings from a certain pub in Hamilton
- A pitcher of Amsterdam Blonde & a burger from Woody's
- $4 pints at the Lakeview
- A Saturday off in Bruce county
- During a sloppy game of pool at the Griz
- Outdoor dinners at my place in Hamilton just before my mom comes out with dessert and some awful story from my childhood
- Nerve-racking rounds of dutch blitz*
*It should be noted that the friends I have made in Hong Kong (who are mostly native Hong Kong-ers), find Dutch Blitz generally relaxing. I was entirely underwhelmed and unimpressed at their attitude. They say it's "simply a matter of data management and concentration, isn't this supposed to be aggressive?" .... >:[  They still like it, and I still do pretty good against them. However, I've still a few friends who are remarkably skilled I've yet to beat. 

I tried to cover most people by going for groups & stuff, but I know it doesn't do everyone justice so don't get your jimmies rustled if you've done none of those things (but if I haven't blitz'd with you, shame on me). Still, my apologies if I wasn't able to fit you into all of the pictures I possibly could.

Guh. Going through these pictures, the pain that comes with the memories is potent. My insides hurt. This is feeling I knew awaited me in Macau (mind you, the new year has also brought a lot of excellent people along with it). Does anyone else have trouble leaving the fun times of the past behind, knowing that life ahead won't ever return to that fun-filled hectic stage, even though those people & places still exist, just in many far and varying places around the world. Just. JUST GET OVER HERE. I'll feed you Portuguese food and take you to the beach and let you sit on my couch and drink scotch you just have go BE HERE TO DO IT! COME ON!

I hope that we'll all just age really well and grow up to be cool people with neat things going on in our lives. When I say cool people, I mean those I respect and care about, which is you, since you're able to read this. And when I say grow up, I mean we're both in our fifties and our lives have progressed and many things have happened (perhaps I give up teaching at 29 and decide to buy & sell collectible motorcycles online while touring east Asia for only the most precious and nifty classics. You, in the meantime, are close to retiring after a long career in working at a small company that specializes in modernizing people's homes in an energy-expensive mid-21st century. You now live with your family & significant other in a small town where you bring efficient technology to local schools, hospitals and community centers. We both meet up after many decades apart of divergent but equally neat lives, and lo and behold, we still thoroughly enjoy each other's company and enjoy the fact that we have a long established history as cool people who know each other and enjoy sharing the same time space in mutual respect (as we sip beers in a cozy setting of your choice). Before we get to our fifties though, I have some work to do to ensure that this becomes a reality and not just over-ambitious community preservation: 

A) Hosting fantastic taco-fuelled parties at the beginning of every summer in Hamilton.
B) Buying antiquidated cars on kijiji and using them to tour the country visiting as many people as I can dig my claws into during the course of a given summer.
C) Using my abilities as a person in Asia to meet up with you in the most fun Asian country of your choice. You can expect that in the coming years I'll do only my very best to forcefully and benevolently pry my way into your life and 'liven it up' in the best ways I know how.

I know it'll be a little while until I get to see you again, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you. Let's chat soon. 

Here Goes a New Year

As you will see from reading this, I made it back to Macau just in time for the new school year. I had exactly one day of in-school planning before the kiddos arrived, allowing me to hastily churn out some first-week plans in coordination with all those pesky standards I've got to meet. With a new year comes a new class, and I've got quite the bunch. I'm glad I have this bad boy on hand for basically everything.  This might give you an idea of what we've got:

- A student who cannot keep himself from screaming answers the moment he even thinks he knows what question I'm asking
- A student who drinks water at a record rate and needs to go back to the fountain every.single.class
- A class-B, fully certified space cadet who lives on a planet of their own, far from the world of our classroom
- A student who wrote his name 5 times on their name tag, so I now say their name 5 times every time I want his attention
- A student who's father is the head chef at the best Indian restaurant in all of Macau (And yes, I can get my hands on the goods without unscrupulous requests)

I love all of them. We've got a way to go but they're going to be a real good bunch one we get our poop in a group (my version of getting one's shit together). So far this week has been, very very hectic. VERY hectic. You might have well put squirrels in the classroom it was so hectic. They're all in the neighbourhood of 8 years old, and are a rowdy bunch that can't line up if they were.... um.... I don't have a slang saying for that one...  I've really got to help them group up that poop because Grade 4 is a proper make-or-break year. The first 'serious' grade as far as the way my school does things, it's the first year of proper exams and tests, full grades and the need to study & be properly organized. The vast majority of them still come into grade 4 with solid literacy and math skills, but we've got some work to do if we want to be ready for the real world. 

I've now got myself fully room-mated. This gem of a human being is taking a picture of her first egg tart and not first bubble tea, shortly after arriving in Macau. This will be my first time living with a roommate that isn't a group of European students in Kingston. She even does all the dishes and cleans up the house pretty regularly. I repaid her with a grilled cheese once but I think I will have to pull up my socks and not be a filthy child to the best of my ability. 

One last thing. A new school year has brought in a cool group of new staff. It's both refreshing and rememberful, remindful, attention-pointing-to the fact that this overseas teaching thing can be fleeting for some. New schools, new jobs, & new countries can snatch away your friends and leave you with a new pack of people you don't know, all the while a new year begins and you've not really got a proper idea of what you should even be doing. Either way, it's likely you'll find some quality pals somewhere in the mix, but that's life no matter where you are, isn't it?