olympian

i turned off my alarm the first time it rang, resulting in me getting out of bed 40mins later than usual. being the kiasu person that i am - and loving how i get to school early - i got into a tizzy and rushed to school on my bike, which resulted in me going the wrong way, having to backtrack and go by the bus route which, though familiar, is slightly further and NOT safe due to the sheer number of people and cars along that route. there were quite a few close shaves on the way to school, which is not good at all.

thank goodness i remembered to dress more formally today, as one of the track and field medallists from the Beijing Olympics visited my school today to give a speech! if i havent already mentioned it, my school is apparently a flagship school of sorts for the city because it's the first to have a 'through train'  programme, and they apparently spent a huge amount on the amazing school building too, which is probably significant considering that the city is, and has been for quite a while i think, in debt.

it was quite an experience. everyone in school had to be in the gym for the talk, and most teachers were dressed up nicely in jackets and ties. there were a fair number of camera crew too, and the photographers went crazy when the olympian made his entrance. i wonder if The Brit got on TV though, as we were standing right next to the door of the gym, and they were filming the entire speech. some big shots from the city government were there too, which was kinda cool.

unfortunately, the same couldnt be said about his speech. i didnt understand everything of course, but i understood enough to be able to follow his narrative from what he did in junior high to what he did in senior high, after which i zoned out for a while until he started talking about training as a proper athlete and how winning isnt a matter of life and death. only right at the very end did he actually say something "inspirational" (and i'm using the word very loosely), where he encouraged everyone to aim for their dreams and work towards it, regardless of how impossible it might seem.

the kids were definitely more interested in watching him take the junior high kids for PE, and a good few minutes of my last class were spent looking at him run around the field with the younger students and trying to get the class to focus on their revision for their mini-quiz (to which they replied "but sensei i'm sure you want to watch them too"; Student: "Let's go running!", me: "no, let's stay here and learn english!", Student: *pout*).

i love my kids. you just need a couple of adorable ones to interact with you to make the entire lesson interesting and your day a fun one too. i hope the BOE will allow The Brit and i to stay at this school next term and after though, cos i'm already attached to these kids! it would be really nice to see them progress and grow, and even better if i actually have the chance to see the 2nd year students graduate from high school in one and half year's time cos i teach so many of them and even see some twice a week rather than the usual once a week.

i'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that my supervisor will be nice!