Why I hate middle schoolers and more adventures in Jhunan

I despise middle schoolers. I abhor them, inherently disdain them, revile them, dislike them, am repulsed by them, and generally could easily do without them. In case there was any question, I really, really, really hate the group of children between the ages of 12 and 14. I could probably write an entire dissertation on why, exactly, this is, but instead, I will paint you a picture with my words.

This morning, I woke up, ON A SATURDAY, to teach one half-hour class from 9-9:30. This was a prep-course for the English Proficiency Test, and the students were all in middle school. Over the course of a mere 30 minutes, I had to, on three separate occasions, clap and raise my voice VERY loud to say "LISTEN" to keep these charming cherubs from chattering and leaving their seats. Moreover, they barely listened to the first half of the lesson and it was only when I got them playing a game (boys vs. girls, I learned my lesson yesterday) that they were at all involved in the class. I have four year olds who were better behaved than these kids. Grrr.

That said, the class really didn't go all that poorly. I think they did manage to actually learn what I was trying to teach them and they didn't do anything out of the ordinary for their age group. I mean, they're hormonal self-centered pre-teens. It's not their fault that they are the scum of the aging process. So, I guess when you take that into consideration, they were actually pretty well behaved. I think that, if I ever have teenagers, I am going to have to send either them or myself away for a few years.

Well anyway, after that exciting adventure in teaching, I clocked out, returned to my apartment for breakfast, some conversation with people in the US, and general vegging. Of course, eventually all of the East Coast people had to go to bed, and so I decided to venture out into town once more to learn my way around and just get a feel for Jhunan during the day. See, usually I am at the school by now, so I hadn't had a chance to really see what goes on around here. So I took my purse and my two feet and set out around town.

My first order of business was a belt. The fabulously comfortable jeans I am wearing have begun a southward migration (most unfortunate) so I was constantly pulling them up, which is highly irritating. I stopped at a cute boutique and procured a beautiful red leather belt. I get the distinct impression that the shop owner ripped me off royally, but you know, it had to happen some time, and at least it was just a belt. I continued my wanderings in the direction of the market. Now, I know it seems like the only place I ever go is the market, but "the market" is about 15 blocks of shops, stands, stores, vendors, scooters, cars, people, and general madness. And that's not even counting the designated food market, which is pretty much big barn-like building in the middle of town with rows and rows of steel stands where people sell fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, fruit, and the like. So I will probably never tire of the market because there is so much to see and explore.


See, here is the market, looking down the street in one direction.....















And here's the market looking down the street in the other direction....










So you see? No risk of boredom ANY time soon. Particularly because that's just one of the probably 7 or 8 different streets packed with stuff like that. Anyway. Where was I?.... right. The belt. So after the belt, I wandered around some more, mostly just looking at things, figuring out where stuff was, and making a mental map of the town so I could go back to that shoe store or this junk store or the bookstore over there in the future. I dipped into a trendy clothing shop, kind of like Forever 21 back home, and bought a bicycle and scooter friendly bag that I can use to carry my school stuff and my purse things -wallet, ipod, camera, etc. I ended up at the food market, kindly pictured to your left, where I *gasp* managed to buy fish without dying or being sick on my own and in Chinese. I swear, learning to say "I would like that" was the single most useful thing I have done since arriving. "Wo xiangyao zhiege". I purchased another glorious tuna steak (maybe I won't overcook this one since I have figured my stove out) and some weird looking fruit. It may be the dragonfruit that Max from Portland warned me off of, but you know what? I'm going to try it anyway. Besides, I didn't come all the way out here to try or not try things just because someone else told me to, now did I?

After dragonfruit and fish were purchased, I was starting to feel a bit hungry and thirsty. I found a bubble- tea stand and ordered in Chinese with only a little help from the teenage boy waiting for his order. Apparently "zehxie" or something to that effect is how you say bubble tea. I also found a restaurant and ordered my own lunch. I was having a little bit of trouble understanding the prices of things when someone said them to me, because I haven't quite figured out numbers. Oh well. That is next on the list. So, after ALL this wandering, I decided to take my spoils and head home.

And you know what? I didn't even get lost.

So, upon arriving back to my apartment, I sat down to enjoy my lunch, which is some kind of soup, but I really didn't know what was in it. I am eating, trying to guess what the different flavors are. Okay, I think this is egg. This is tofu. That's chicken. What's this? Oh. An ENTIRE shrimp, antennae, eyeballs, legs, and everything, hanging out in my soup! Well that's fascinating! I think I'll go die now.

Here's to adventure.

All my love, and hope you have as fun of a Saturday as I have had.