Tick-tack-toe

Today was the first day of the new school semester and year actually. So all my classes went up one level and I have a new working schedule. Needless to say the day was HECTIC!! My new timetable states that I teach 4 half hour classes every morning instead of 2 1hour ones, WOW!!! its hectic, you feel like you are doing a morning relay marathon, except you the runner stays the same, the track just keeps changing...good times. I don't know if its a good thing but I keep motivating myself with Abba's 'Money, Money, Money'.

To add to the hecticness of today, with all its new classes, new books, new new new... the police decided to do an inspection of the school, to check that they aren't breaking any laws (which they are) so half way through teaching one of my afternoon classes I was informed that I needed to hide... (no I'm not making this up)

So was ushered out the schools little 'backdoor' onto some unused ally behind the school with about 50 kids and Nandi, the other foreign teacher.

Let me explain quick. The school is all about making money so it always says yes to parents who apply, thus said they have more kids in reality then they are allowed and the parents know and the government knows, but they have to do these faux inspections where we are warned in advance and the inspectors pretend to be as thick as two bricks. The reason Nandi and I have to hide is because in the ROC it is illegal for kindergarten kids to be taught English, therefore kindergarten kids are not allowed to be taught by foreigners. But there are at least 2 English teaching kindergartens in each small town, and 99% of the foreign teachers in Taiwan teach kindergarten at least once a day.

My reaction is to not think about it too hard and shrug my shoulders. When in Rome right? Okay before you think that hardcore Jos is becoming a push over, I am picking my battles. I have prayed about it and am standing my ground on things which I can actually effect. Unless I went home, there isn't anything I can do about the teaching legality.

Okay that said, why the tick-tack-toe title (besides that dazzling little alliteration) well I plonked down on a little ledge in the ally where I was hiding with a band of noise kids, and about half way through noticed that it was crawling with ticks... GREAT!! ok it wasn't crawling, but there were quite a few and i kept on noticing more. So for the rest of the day my skin was crawling and I kept on imagine ticks making their way lazily up my legs... uhhhh...

The first thing i did when i got home was give myself a full head to toe examination for stray blighter's... there weren't any but if you suddenly get news me keeling over, then you know I taken for a tasty tit-bit by a Tricksy-Taiwan-Tick... (The joys of alliteration never seem to ware of)

ok signing out!