It's not the norm for me to wake up early on Sunday. Then again, it's never the norm for me to wake up early on ANY day. I'm a night person and if I were rich and had advanced technology at my disposal, I'd be The Dark Knight (anybody want to sponsor me?).
Today, however, was one of those special days. A day where I would be able to go back to 'school'. Canteen Day - Ahh... the good old days. And so, I was up by 9 (which is still too early for me) and got into my jeans and T, coupons in hand. Once I got there, my eyes caught sight of the bustling activities among stalls and my ears were welcomed with the loud thumping of the latest Chinese pop hits. I immediately got into my groove. It's funny how at my age, I still seem to 'fit in' with the crowd. Haha!
I strolled from one stall to the next, taking a peep into what interesting (or bland) dishes students these days can cook up. Some were obviously your run-of-the-mill burgers and fishballs on sticks but there were some with a touch of creativity, such as one of my student's sandwich rolls. It was an interesting take on the age-old sandwich in the form of sushi rolls. I also had a popiah which exceeded my expectations. I usually don't expect much in terms of food quality when it comes to Canteen Days but this caught me by surprise!
But what would a trip back to school be without running into one of my students? Pleased to say, I ran into quite a few and I was absolutely delighted. Some were my current students and some were my former. Regardless of whichever one, I'm always happy to see them and spend some time with them. Some are even surprised that I would be there at all. Seeing a smile on their faces truly puts one on my face as well.
The only thing that somewhat dims my day is when students don't seem eager to see me (am I that scary?). In most cases, I'm usually the one who's so enthused to see them, going on and on about how long it's been and all they can muster is a 'Yeah... mmm... yeah..." and a faint nod. Maybe they're shy? But that would be lying to myself, cause I can certainly tell if someone is happy to see me or not. It's a shame really... to think that after all the effort I put into my teaching, I can't even get a smile on Sunday.
3 comments:
I've got students who drew a stick figure (which I think it's supposed to be me) in the class. Not much of a problem, except that figure didn't have much hair. AND that student didnt even look at me after much effort of trying to get him to talk. Shy? Maybe. Not interested? Most likely. :) Sometimes I'd prefer one to one teaching because that student has no way to escape! :)
I actually prefer the classroom environment despite the negative aspects. One to one is a bit boring for me :P
one n one is really boring~ not enough crowd
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