Roy's Birthday, The End of 9th Grade, and Other Events

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May 3 was Roy's birthday, but we've been celebrated for a few days. First with fellow teachers, and lastly with friends close enough to call family. Roy is a father to all of us. This day was truly a celebration to us, though he says he pays his birthdays no mind.

On Thursday, April 30, Iris, Joe, I, and many other teachers all went out for lunch. We feasted on an elaborate meal, complete with wine and toasting. Anthony joked that Roy was 6 years old now, and I joked that that makes me 3. Everyone thought this was funny. Roy was gracious and toasted with us all. He had no classes in the afternoon, thankfully. I had 2, my least favorites, and they were much more pleasant than usual.

On Sunday, May 3, the people Roy calls "family" took him out to dinner. There were 12 of us all together, including Tamara, her boyfriend, Anthony and his wife and daughter, Radcliff (Roy's friend of 30 years and HK business partner), Radcliff's wife, Abbi, and one of Roy's Australian friends and his family. We had a huge feast with wine and beer, 2 cakes, and of course, more food than we could eat.


In other news, my ducks have left. They spread their fluffy greyish-yellow wings and were suddenly gone. While this makes me sad (they were only here a month), the school has now purchased 2 parakeets of some sort and keeps them in a cage by the koi pond. They sing a lot. It's nice.


The middle of last week, Carrie and I were taking a walk around the school grounds after lunch (this is common in China) and we ran into the large PE teacher from my bus adventures last weekend. For whatever reason, he decided to tell Carrie all about running into me on the bus. He said, in English, "bus 2-2..." and then proceeded to count on his fingers, "9." I nodded and said yes. He beamed. He then told her how he had also run into me on Sunday by my noodle shop. I didn't realize I was such a celebrity. I think he felt bad that Carrie was doing so much translating, because he told her to tell me that he once knew English, but doesn't remember it. I remarked that he didn't remember it because he never uses it. I knew he knows some English--it's required for entrance to college. Carrie translated and he got excited, "yes, yes!" The conversation ended as he went to find another PE teacher and Carrie and I walked away giggling. The man is huge and intimidating looking, but has the golden heart of a teddy bear.


I found out last Friday that I might not have to teach 9th grade anymore. But no one knew for sure, and the person I was supposed to check with was never in his office. So on Monday I tracked him down. Sure enough, Iris has decided that I am done teaching 9th grade for the year. The students need to test and practice for their national exams. They also are no longer taking art, music, and have had their PE classes reduced. This might seem odd, but a lot rides on these tests. They determine whether the student goes to high school, which high school they go to, and our school's standing in the community.

I'm a bit sad that I didn't get a chance to have "final" class with them. Had I known, I would have played their favorite game one more time and maybe even have handed out prizes. I would have at least wished them luck on their exams and told them they could track me down if they have any questions. I guess I'm a big fan of closure.

When I found out this news on Monday, I was sad. I said I was sorry I hadn't known. My fellow teachers offered (almost too enthusiastically) to let me teach one last class. I said no, Iris had said this is what we were going to do, and there was no way I would go against that. Then they offered to let me come to their classes so I could have 5 mn to wish the students well and say good-bye. I said that if I tried to do that I'd probably end up sniffling and would prefer to avoid that.

Someone told Iris that I seemed a bit sad at not having a good-bye and told me that she feels bad she didnt' tell me sooner. I certainly didn't expect this. I think they thought it was sweet. Ah, well, I'll still see the 9th graders in the halls for the next month or so. They graduate June 25, so I'll miss that, as my contract ends June 15.

And that wraps up the past 2 weeks, except for last weekend, which I'll be posting in another entry.

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Photos

Ducks!
See how they've grown! This is the last time I saw them. It's rumored they've spread their wings and flown.