*grumpy noises*

I have not exactly had the best week.

On Monday, I had babysitting duty like usual, and one of Dumpling's friends came over. Since Dumpling's mom decided it wasn't fair to make me watch two kids, the other mother (also an American) came over, and we played with the guinea pigs while the kids hung out. Because the other kid made kind of a fuss when it was time to go, the mom decided to let them play a little longer; she thought it would be a good idea to run across the street and buy some samosas from the Indian restaurant across the street. No. Bad idea. It turns out that the samosas had ground walnuts in them, which made me have my standard allergic reaction with an itchy mouth, itchy throat, shaking, and eventually getting symptoms that present as food poisoning (you can fill in the details; I actually thought it was food poisoning at first because my mouth and throat were feeling better by then). Let's just say that babysitting isn't fun under those circumstances...

I went to school on Tuesday only because it was the first day of my AG (after school class). I planned a game that required about 15 kids. 5 showed up. Yeah. I had to do some major revising on the fly, and it was not very good.

Today, I woke up at 6 AM, not because I had to be at school early, but because my lamp fell on my head. Yes, you read that right-- my lamp fell on my head. I get the feeling that I was wrestling myself and clipped the lamp while shadowboxing.

Then, I looked at the election results.

When I got to school, my first teacher said, "Oh, K, do you mind if I leave you in charge for this class? I need to make copies for another class, and the copy machines were broken when I got in this morning." I said, "I don't mind, but I'm not allowed to teach a class by myself," and she said, "Oh, I might be back during class," and left. Of course, I didn't see her for the rest of the day. I really am fine with teaching by myself (I've led enough classes by now to know how to handle students, and 12th graders in a Leistungskurs usually behave pretty well), but it's prohibited by my contract, and I'm under strict orders by the head of the languages department never to substitute again. So, can't say I was too pleased.

4th period-- My Gymnasium has come up with a way to get around the can't-teach-solo rule in the contract. I am not allowed to take a full class by myself. However, it does not say that I can't take *half* of a class by myself (generally about 15 students). Today, I took half of a class to a different room, discovered that some of them were supposed to be with the other teacher, and sent them back in exchange for the rest of the students. They never came. Instead of having 16 students, I had 6... and they were having a behavioral issue day. Also, in my contract, it says that I am not allowed to teach grammar. What was I doing today? I was teaching grammar that I had never learned myself-- and yes, I told the teacher that. (She blew me off.) It didn't matter; I ended up asking a German English teacher to explain the worksheet because I didn't know the difference between X, Y, and Z. (Obviously, I understood the concept when I saw the examples... but we never learned what it was called. The teachers were all shocked that I had never learned it by name, but let's be fair-- I betcha I know more technical German grammar terms than my students do.)

After school, J and I decided to register at McFit so we can run during the winter. The problem is that she forgot to print directions, so we decided to walk around and see if we could find it. We failed. And then it started pouring.

However, I don't want to be a total Debbie Downer (probably too late), so I'll end by listing a few good things: I made a pretty good stir fry. J and I went to Soluna and bought amazing, chewy bread. I taught two lessons by myself, and they were pretty successful! The other teachers trust me enough to give me a lot of autonomy-- I'm teaching at least five full lessons/week! I also get to talk about SB 1070 tomorrow, which I am totally excited about! (I bet my lesson would be illegal in Arizona.)

Another story to make this post a little more cheery: I might need to have a talk with the 9th graders about American vs. British English. Why? I am used to 5th graders talking about school supplies in dialogues. I am not used to 9th graders coming up and asking me for a rubber (eraser). They might be a little confused as to why I do a double take, snort, and try not to laugh every time they do that.