Status Quo

Why I want to blog when I first get home from work is beyond me. Haven't I just been staring at a computer screen for several hours? And why do I immediately check my email when everyone I know is asleep? (I may know the answer to that one. I'm still looking forward to checking phone messages as I come up the stairs, despite not having had an answering machine for 5 months now...has it really been that long since any of you wiseacres left a message for Tony?) And why do I persist in pounding peanut M&Ms before dinner when I know they'll give me a sugar crash? Questions no one can answer. Like the ones I ask in class.

This week's topic is fall/Halloween. Oh, how it would benefit from some real-life props. I've got a great picture of cider and doughnuts, but would dearly love to have some actual samples for the kids. I can describe how to carve a pumpkin, but how cool would it be if I could show them? I was hoping to give them some American candy, too, but at $1/oz, they'll have to settle for E-Mart's fruit drops. If I taught ESL in the US, I could do such a better job! Maybe I will. It'll be too late for me when I get back, but maybe I'll make some videos for other esl teachers...like how to carve a pumpkin without assuming that you've done it before. How to trick-or-treat, how to order food, tons of things. For now, though, I'm showing pictures and discussing terms. There were several gems today when I asked the kids to describe Halloween things...one I remember was witch=ghost grandmother. I should be writing this stuff down--I get a laugh out of them several times a week.

With luck, I'll have a second chance at gathering appropriate materials. Nailing down vacation time is notoriously aggravating here, as I'm beginning to discover firsthand. Terrie has made inquiries for me, but all they tell her is that I HAVE to be here for winter vacation camp, and they haven't yet decided when that will be. Rising airfares and filling planes matter not to the bureaucracy. Terrie's guess is that I'll be at liberty for the last 2 weeks of January. That's a week later than I'd planned, but it's also $500 cheaper, so I'm down with it. Now if I could just get that confirmed. I'm so excited at the prospect; weeks of uncertainty are almost unbearable. Never before have I looked forward to 15 hours on an airplane.

Another unprecedented event: I have nothing scheduled for any night this week. Endless possibilities, but it might get a little lonely, too. I've gotta go check out that cat cafe. I've gotten out my knitting again, after a lengthy hiatus--Christmas is coming, after all--and that seems a good match for sitting with cats. I don't think those places are cheap, though, and I actually went through most of my budget this week, for the first time in a while. Time to get creative!