Yes, I’ve made it over that hump. Whew.
Somehow I got the gumption to get down to task and get my work done. I finished the lesson plan by *1 a.m. and then crashed for a great sleep until 6:30 ish when I awoke and finished the written assignment.
As the stars were aligned with great goodness and generosity (Were they really? you ask; I have no idea; I just know that they were for this tired student : ), I didn’t have to be at school until 10:25 a.m. What a gift! I was able to finish my assignment, print it, and have it ready for turning in later in the day. I literally walked into the classroom at the stroke of 10:25; the teacher arrived about 2-minutes later. Perfect!
My head was the size of a pumpkin though all morning during class. It was an especially interesting session (really!) on how to teach writing. But there was one point when we were to match the description of different stages with their names. It literally hurt my brain to try and identify the correct matches. Really, it was a physical pain. So did I do the exercise? No, I matched about 2 out of 10 and gave myself a “pass” for the rest. I did make note of the answers for review when the pumpkin turns back into a . . . no, not a mouse, but something more resembling of a brain than a pumpkin.
The effects of my muddled mind were still evident when I ordered lunch. Yesterday at lunch, the cute young Thai waitress at a local restaurant I’ve found gently told me how to say rice, “Kow” (like how, I realize that I could be completely wrong, but that’s how it sounded to my non-Asian ears.) So today, when ordering lunch at a casual little spot on the ground floor of the school building, I just vaguely remembered a 3-letter word that started with K. But what I remembered was more like “Koʊ” (like know). So, did I get rice with lunch? Yes, but not because of anything I said. When she served me a Coca-Cola I realized my mistake. The rice? She simply said, “Rice?” to which I dumbly nodded, “Yes.” And so it goes in the world of having no idea how to speak the local language. Fortunately, the Thai are generally such nice people that my blunders don’t get in the way of getting something delicious for lunch. Yes, it was good. Spicy and good.**
Good night everyone. May you have a most wonderful and peaceful day. And oh, I wanted to tell you that I saw the most beautiful act of random kindness today enroute to school.
I was walking up these stairs to the BTS (skytrain) when I came upon a blind man just in front of me. I hadn’t realized that he was blind until a thoughtful young man coming down the stairs saw him, turned around in his tracks, took the man’s arm, and gently guided him up to the top of the platform directing him along the right path. Remember in the movie Amelie when she did something similar with the blind man outside the metro station? It felt like that, playful, fun, and just plain considerate. : ) Yes, the Thai people continue to show such generosity with one another.
Nightie night.
*Why’d it take so long? you ask. Because it did. I was tired and there were so many details to go through that I just couldn’t rush it. The teaching practice went fine, not perfect, but fine. (Is there such a thing as a “perfect” lesson? I don’t know; I’ll let you know when I teach one. I met my aim, and that’s what counts. The students learned something.) The topic? Celebrations. I talked for a couple of minutes about celebrations in Hawaii—first year baby luaus and May Day Lei Day. And then the students talked about the celebrations in their countries, read some fake blogs about celebrations, answered some questions about the blogs, etc.
**The coca-cola was probably exactly what I needed before teaching the sixth of my eight practice sessions. I didn’t feel any effects of the caffeine.