Last night I was going to title this entry "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagghhhhhh!" but in addition to realizing its stupidity (it's much better to be the haughty English major that Lex Libertas so cruelly mocks here), I also found the stupidity in my needing that kind of anger release anyway. The Egypt trip has fallen apart, you see, due to the incompetence of a Sofia travel agency I trusted even when they couldn't put their under construction page through a spell check.
Four of us--Zhana, a primary ed. program director at PC, Jeff, Kate, and I--wanted a package tour because it would be cheap, painless, and completely arranged. What we got instead was a travel agent who held our money and played around with Egyptian hotels until a sheik swept in and claimed 300 rooms in the resort town where we'd be staying. Money returned, but no trip. Jam Advice, at this point, doesn't need my business anymore.
At the same time, students in one of my eighth classes all but staged a noise revolt and doubled up their points total in our little game. They were absolutely terrible the entire forty-five minutes and I couldn't get a thing done. After the class, I went into the smokers' room in the teachers' lounge (something I never do), and talked to their other English teacher. She smiled sadly, said "they always do it to me, too." and shrugged.
So last night, after we had pestered the agent and demanded to talk to a supervisor who was "already away on holiday," we went through several options, the best being an ad hoc "Lets Go! Europe" trip through Greece to Crete. It certainly has a certain romanticism to it, would keep us together as friends, and would get us some place fun for Christmas and the New Year.
So, even though we had plans to be together on the holiday of holidays all set, the day still pounded away at me. I tried to relax, take deep breaths and all that, but it had been rough. The only cure was sleep, and a new day.
And as they usually do, sleep and a new day cured all--or most. I came to school, entered the eighth class, and they had been spoken to. They had attached a big pink sign on the board with "Sorry, Mr. Young" scrawled across the middle. I've kept the poster, and I'll take a photo of it and post it here later. They were also quiet the entire day. Which bugs me. It means that they can control it. Which means they aren't giving me their best every day. Which, as I said, bugs me.
Later in the day Vanya, my English teacher counterpart, came up to me and asked what I thought of the class. She teaches them in an optional class after school, and they're even worse then, apparently. We talked about them, exchanged ideas about causes of the problem and doubts about solutions. We left assured that there must be something we can do and we promised to share the solution when either of us stumbled on it.
Now, as I write this, plans are circulating that might--might--get us to Dubai instead of Greece or Egypt. Well, that would be fun, too. Life, rather pleasantly come to think of it, goes on.
Posted by Rob at December 16, 2003 04:32 PM