Friday, July 22, 2005

Billabong Day

Today was 34 degrees Celcius, and tomorrow is supposed to be a sweltering 36C. Oh, I've just rechecked and it's back to 33C. Sun Young told me today was the hottest day so far this summer. It actually didn't feel too bad. I went to school dressed for the beach - wore my Billabong shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals and a cap. Got the aircons whirring and had my ice coffee ready right off the bat. I ate 3 or 4 ice cool nectarines for lunch - delicious.

It was a very easy day at school. Only a third of the students were present. Most of them are off enjoying their vacations. I handed out a lot of puzzles and crosswords and was pleased to see very high levels of concentration and interest. I think it's a fact moany teachers forget, or avoid: children (and adults) learn best playing games/having fun. It's a sad reality that we adults get out of the habit of playing games.

After school I missed the 3300 bus by about 10 seconds, and had to wait about 16 minutes for the next one. Usually the wait is 4 or 5 minutes.
Sun Young drove to Aroi where we had dinner and an English lesson. After a few minutes Ryan and Aaron arrived. Aaron has had a hectic time in the States. He contracted CMV, and an extended stay in hospital has saddled him with a huge bill. The equivalent, I think he said, of W15 million. That's really tough.
He has a buddy in San Diego, so we gave Aaron Sun Young's email so that they could get in touch when Sun Young goes there for her medical conference.
We left Aroi at 22:00, and Sun Yougn very generously paid for the meal. My share would have been W14 500, which is roughly twice as much as my 'donation' earlier in the day for a newspaper (which, ironically, I gave to Sun Young). I felt there was an odd sense of humor filling the shivering heatwaves around me today.

I am so glad it's weekend. Next week is just 2 days work before another week long break.

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