The Week From Hell
Oct. 17th, 2004 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zcat_abroadNo, this is not the story of our trip round China - which I have been meaning to write for over a week now. Slightly hindered by the fact that I did write, and sent it to my family, and tried to 'copy and paste' it here. I then did some editing, trying to take up less space, and when I hit enter, it all vanished. I have been waiting for a week for one of my family to reply to my story (as they usually leave the thing they're replying to on the end), so I could repost it. Family have, once again, been fired.
This story is that of the week following our return to the brownish pastures of ZaoZhuang. It was going to be a bad week anyway, as we were going to have to work for 8 days in a row. It got worse when the equipment in the AV labs started failing left, right and centre. Most of this has been recorded by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zcatcurious. I just want to add a small rant of frustration, anger and disgust. If you don't mind. Hopefully will stop some of it ending up on zcatcurious's head.
We ran into our pet demon this evening, on our way home from town, on what feels like the first day off in over 2 weeks (the great China trip was not a holiday!). She informed us that, having seen our presentation yesterday, the Demons-that-be have decided it is not good enough. We have to say nice things about the school, not just China. (We chose to talk about our Chinese experiance in general so as to have something positive to talk about!) We also have to be funny, so that people laugh. We also have to speak a sentence in Chinese, which our poor pet demon, caught between the Powers and us not-terribly-impressed-with-it-all foreign teachers, has composed and will tutor us in.
So she, and one of the Powers, is coming round sometime tomorrow to help us write our new speeches to flatter the Power's already over-inflated egos. On a day when I am already giving an extra class, because I couldn't give it last week, because the machines (infernal) refused to work. And I am trying to help a student who is majoring in English, who tries really hard to understand and be involved in class, and is only hindered by the fact that he cannot speak a word of the language, (other than "Thank-you"). My only consolation is that by Thursday, this bit of madness (the presentation) will be all over. What will they devise to plague us with next?
The week from Hell was capped by the "Friday from a special Hell reserved for teachers who are just trying to do their job". As has been recorded elsewhere, it started with a class where the DVD player just plain didn't work. It had worked fine the last time I had used it, about 2 weeks before. Nobody had thought to tell me that it was no longer functioning. I guess I was too tired, 'cos after ranting a bit, and swearing, I ended up crying in the Dean's office. I already had about 2 classes that needed extra extra catch up, due to faulty material. I'm trying to teach here, but noone takes any care of the equipment, and those who would like to do something about up-dating the ancient machines are hampered by the fact that they can't get any money from the other group who run things.
Rather embarassed about having broken down. Did better when my second class of the day turned out to have been relegated from the one lab that did work, to one that I had already proved earlier in the week was caput. Managed by sitting on my hands, saying nasty things beneath my breath, and generally deciding it was no longer my problem. Then the guy who had taken over the one working lab managed to screw that up too, and we spent about an hour after my third class ar 8:00pm(actually my first class on a Friday)trying to get a picture that could be recognised.
Have really had enough here. Poorzcatcurious has been amazing in putting up with my (by now extremely bad) temper. He deserves a medal. I'll have to make one.
*turns imagination to how to reward very worthy husband - turns out to be remarkably easy - good dinner, works every time - heh, bet you didn't see that coming!*
This story is that of the week following our return to the brownish pastures of ZaoZhuang. It was going to be a bad week anyway, as we were going to have to work for 8 days in a row. It got worse when the equipment in the AV labs started failing left, right and centre. Most of this has been recorded by
zcatcurious. I just want to add a small rant of frustration, anger and disgust. If you don't mind. Hopefully will stop some of it ending up on zcatcurious's head.We ran into our pet demon this evening, on our way home from town, on what feels like the first day off in over 2 weeks (the great China trip was not a holiday!). She informed us that, having seen our presentation yesterday, the Demons-that-be have decided it is not good enough. We have to say nice things about the school, not just China. (We chose to talk about our Chinese experiance in general so as to have something positive to talk about!) We also have to be funny, so that people laugh. We also have to speak a sentence in Chinese, which our poor pet demon, caught between the Powers and us not-terribly-impressed-with-it-all foreign teachers, has composed and will tutor us in.
So she, and one of the Powers, is coming round sometime tomorrow to help us write our new speeches to flatter the Power's already over-inflated egos. On a day when I am already giving an extra class, because I couldn't give it last week, because the machines (infernal) refused to work. And I am trying to help a student who is majoring in English, who tries really hard to understand and be involved in class, and is only hindered by the fact that he cannot speak a word of the language, (other than "Thank-you"). My only consolation is that by Thursday, this bit of madness (the presentation) will be all over. What will they devise to plague us with next?
The week from Hell was capped by the "Friday from a special Hell reserved for teachers who are just trying to do their job". As has been recorded elsewhere, it started with a class where the DVD player just plain didn't work. It had worked fine the last time I had used it, about 2 weeks before. Nobody had thought to tell me that it was no longer functioning. I guess I was too tired, 'cos after ranting a bit, and swearing, I ended up crying in the Dean's office. I already had about 2 classes that needed extra extra catch up, due to faulty material. I'm trying to teach here, but noone takes any care of the equipment, and those who would like to do something about up-dating the ancient machines are hampered by the fact that they can't get any money from the other group who run things.
Rather embarassed about having broken down. Did better when my second class of the day turned out to have been relegated from the one lab that did work, to one that I had already proved earlier in the week was caput. Managed by sitting on my hands, saying nasty things beneath my breath, and generally deciding it was no longer my problem. Then the guy who had taken over the one working lab managed to screw that up too, and we spent about an hour after my third class ar 8:00pm(actually my first class on a Friday)trying to get a picture that could be recognised.
Have really had enough here. Poor
zcatcurious has been amazing in putting up with my (by now extremely bad) temper. He deserves a medal. I'll have to make one.*turns imagination to how to reward very worthy husband - turns out to be remarkably easy - good dinner, works every time - heh, bet you didn't see that coming!*
