There's Nothing Exciting In This Blog...... so

ok... so... nothing exciting... life has been pretty slow...
My health is not in despair, the weather is hot, classes are going... there has been no event of interest to report.
so I will complain...

What is it with these kids and being on time?!?! I had a 6am class this morning (I know that sounds dreadfully early in America, but here that's a normal time to be up and going, since it's still cool and everyone goes to bed around 9 anyway!) I got to class at 6am on the dot, and there were only 5 (of 76) students there. By 6:15 their numbers grew to about 20. The thing about them being late is that they have this absurd (i think) routine. When students are late from class, they are supposed to knock on the door, wait for the teacher to tell them to come in, and then they walk to the teacher and greet them. How disruptive! I'd rather they quietly sneak in and sit down and try not be noticed! It's their culture to do this, and to them it is polite, I understand that. But to me it's a huge disruption, especially when 90% of the class is late. It's almost a constant parade of tardy students. I shut the door at 6:30 (a half an hour in to a two hour class, I think that's more than generous) and didn't allow anyone who arrived after then to enter. This was a fuitile attempt to stop distruptions, because telling them they can't come in is more of a disruption, but they've got to learn they can't come to my class late. Another aspect of this daily trouble is that the teachers are late. The students are late because the teachers are late and the teachers are late because the students are late. Part of me is like, well, if no one shows up on time, why don't I just show up a half an hour late that way I don't have to deal with it. None of the other teachers show up before 6:15. Are the students late because the teachers are always late or are the teachers late because the students are always late? (what came first, the chicken or the egg?). ok, end rant.

Things are generally good. I get a new banking partner next week (thank goodness!). The other two girls from the North who reinstated (Brittany and Corie) are coming down for my birthday in a couple of weeks. Things have been slow this month, but I have a lot that I'm looking forward to.