The tropical storm/wannabe typhoon ended up hitting us squarely, but with virtually no wind. Just lots of rain. School ran as usual. Now we are back to sweat inducing steamy weather.
This week began the Great Leap Forward To Be Able to Pronounce "R". It doesn't exist in the Cantonese language, so the students have varying degrees of ablility with this tricky sound. After showing them with scientific cartoonish drawings of a tongue pointing up, I've gotten aboout a 90% success rate at the basic "aaarh" sound. Just in time for "Talk like a Pirate Day"! This week I got them eased into it with the "air" sound. As in Mary and Karen flew to Paris with their parents, where they met their Aunt Clair at the airport and stared at an Arab eating a pear.
They also showed great musical talent singing "Country Roads", or at least the chorus part. I also gave them a lesson in the nuances of the word "dude".
The school likes me and I like it. The only problem is that there just isn't enough of me to meet the demands of 2000 kids. They all want my phone number, but I would never have a moments rest if they got hold of that. My little apartment at the school is great for showers, air conditioning and napping. I have internet and a kitchen too. I stay there one night every two weeks when I have an early class the next day, since the buses don't start early enough for me to make on time.
Tonight is go out with the Brits and Chinese for BBQ night. It's a great way to spend a steamy Saturday night.
Wow, great writing, Marshall. I taught ESL in Bangkok and appeeciate yo keyatetivty with wods. Spending so much time on English stalled my Thai-language skills. Re: Brits, they're everywhere and got piss-drunk regularly. I really enjoyed the street food even after I learned the pink tofu was actually duck blood and the grilled onions were pig intenstines. The frog in the blender was more discernable - the bones were the give away. cheers, jaymie
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