Part Three: Work Life

 "Work Life? Like your job? Are you really using this blog to talk about your jorb? Everybody does something, what makes you so special?"

Hey there cynical sally, settle down. My school is a cool place where kids can do things and fun games can be had. Teaching is hard, and I didn't have the best or easiest time all the way through my practicums. However, with a good team, good resources and a good amount of preparation, it becomes a little easier every day (Write that down because that's a quote I intend to sell for money one day). Now, I don't intend to turn this into a pintrest-fuelled pink-coloured crazy teacher resource blog full of silly lists like "TWENTY NEW WAYS YOU CAN USE THOSE OLD POPSIGGLE STICKS" or "58 NEW MATH GAMES USING ONLY A STRING AND A CUP", although the latter would be so impressive I may just have to invent it myself.

So this work thing. So I really miss being a student, in a lot of ways (class four days a week, spending time with friends, being a goof but a manageable goof, hangs, nights out, etc. To some of my friends, I have said this about school (being a student, that is): You give them (the school) your money, quite a large sum. With that money, they put you in a building filled with people that are roughly your age. They have, roughly, the same interests as you, most of you live in the same neighbourhood, have the same time schedule, and the same kind of budget for going out & having a good hang. There are, however, a diverse enough group of you through your different personalities, interests and little isms that it makes for an entirely enjoyable group to hang out with almost relentlessly. Looking at this picture it makes my heart hurt thinking about how much I miss it.

 On the other side of things, there gets a point where it would REALLY be nice to afford, you know, proper groceries, a new pair of shoes now and then, or maybe put some money into a bank account to at least pretend you're saving for your future and not for that old Volvo you saw on kijiji. Besides the money factor (and arguably more importantly), it's nice to go out and practice instead of just prepare (notice how I didn't say work vs learn). For that, teaching is great. I learn new things about my kids every day, I get to know my co-workers, I slowly figure out what kind of things I need to do to be or stay energetic, active, creative, positive, prepared, etc. It's a slow but satisfying process, kind of like slowly untying a big big big knot. As you can see, physical organization of my desk is still something I'm working on...

But really, by the end of week three of this whole 'Teaching in Macau' thing, I feel like I've got a good grip of what's good, even though the novelty of working full-time has certainly not worn off. Basically, I walk into a building, I give little brains some exercise and fun, I walk out, and then they give me MONEY (and also a good working environment)! It's a fantastic system. I highly recommend it.

 Oh, and they call me 'Mr. Stuart'. That's a thing here with most teachers in that they go by their first names, unless you really don't want to do that. For me, that means I can bring back my famous 'Stuart Nickles' that were so popular and useful for campers (if a camper did a good thing or a silly trick I wanted them to, they got a Stuart Nickle. They could use that nickle for fun, or a vote on a game/activity, or maybe even a spot of candy at the end of the week. Being camp, where candy is hard to come by, this was a valuable commodity.) Next year I will be doing that for sure.

 In two days, I move into my new place (pictured here). There will be more frequent posts as I make more time for them and not silly things like wasting time on the innernet & dancing to jazz in the kitchen. Well I'll probably still do that.