Monday, October 01, 2007
La Ronge
First things first, La Ronge is beautiful. The stigma of The North being full of teepees and powwows and deep, dark cold is just a lie. It is full of bright yellow trees and a serene lake and people just like you and me. The house that The Maroon 5 are staying in (L has nicknamed us that since there are five of us and our tour van is maroon) grants us a comfy bed with a veiw of the lake and a hot tub to soak in at the end of the day. It isn't even much colder than it was down South. I like it here.
As for my first day of teaching...well, that is a whole different story. Let's just say it wasn't filled with cozy blankets and tranquil waters. The first thing that happened this morning was that my iPod froze. The little white box that is carrying ALL OF MY MUSIC FOR TEACHING froze. And just as it froze the gym teacher, whose space I was told to use for my classes, appeared and was none to pleased that I was going to be in his way. All this before 8:30 am. Kim, our tour manager, unfroze my iPod somehow and Chris, the gym teacher, warmed up to me eventually, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was my first class.
There they were. Twenty Grade Nines, almost all boys, and they hated me the moment they saw me. No one listened to me. Half of them went and sat down against the wall and refused to acknowledge my existence. The other ten were evenly split between the mean spirited boys who spent time making fun of and interupting me and the ones who just stood around in groups and talked. It was like my worst nightmare come to life and it was THE FIRST CLASS OF AN EIGHT WEEK TOUR. Don't ask me how I got through it because I don't remember. I went into a state of shock and the rest is a blank. In the staff room after class the other four Maroon 5 were cooing and smooshing about how amazing their kids were. I was so anixety ridden that I contemplated how I could escape La Ronge without a vehicle or a dogsled team. Walking, I considered. I could walk all the way back to Moose Jaw and if I was attacked by Mad Elk and killed along the way, my death would be a sweeter one than the suicide I would commit if I had to teach another class like my Grade Nines.
My precious boyfriend, forever the optimist, assured me the second class would be better. I also contemplated punching him square in the jaw before departing for my Mad Elk walking adventure, but he was, in the end, right. My second class was better and my third, better yet. Still. The verdict is out on this teaching thing. I am aching and tired and terrified to return tomorrow.
Not to mention Wednesday when I have something worse than Grade Nines.
Yup, you guessed it. Kindergartens.
As for my first day of teaching...well, that is a whole different story. Let's just say it wasn't filled with cozy blankets and tranquil waters. The first thing that happened this morning was that my iPod froze. The little white box that is carrying ALL OF MY MUSIC FOR TEACHING froze. And just as it froze the gym teacher, whose space I was told to use for my classes, appeared and was none to pleased that I was going to be in his way. All this before 8:30 am. Kim, our tour manager, unfroze my iPod somehow and Chris, the gym teacher, warmed up to me eventually, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was my first class.
There they were. Twenty Grade Nines, almost all boys, and they hated me the moment they saw me. No one listened to me. Half of them went and sat down against the wall and refused to acknowledge my existence. The other ten were evenly split between the mean spirited boys who spent time making fun of and interupting me and the ones who just stood around in groups and talked. It was like my worst nightmare come to life and it was THE FIRST CLASS OF AN EIGHT WEEK TOUR. Don't ask me how I got through it because I don't remember. I went into a state of shock and the rest is a blank. In the staff room after class the other four Maroon 5 were cooing and smooshing about how amazing their kids were. I was so anixety ridden that I contemplated how I could escape La Ronge without a vehicle or a dogsled team. Walking, I considered. I could walk all the way back to Moose Jaw and if I was attacked by Mad Elk and killed along the way, my death would be a sweeter one than the suicide I would commit if I had to teach another class like my Grade Nines.
My precious boyfriend, forever the optimist, assured me the second class would be better. I also contemplated punching him square in the jaw before departing for my Mad Elk walking adventure, but he was, in the end, right. My second class was better and my third, better yet. Still. The verdict is out on this teaching thing. I am aching and tired and terrified to return tomorrow.
Not to mention Wednesday when I have something worse than Grade Nines.
Yup, you guessed it. Kindergartens.
« Blog Home