so i feel like i’ve been getting a bit of a karmic beat-down lately, which i guess means it is all very well deserved. i’m not sure if i’m just getting more sensitive (which is possible with the lack of sunshine lately) and easily annoyed in class or if more and more students are doing things to annoy me, but lately i’ve found myself getting annoyed quite frequently.
i think it all started last week when a student answered a phone in class, i guess she didn’t see the zillion posters written in english and thai telling people to not bring phones into the yoga room. a few days later another girl had a phone go off in class. i’ve been here almost two years now and this is the first time i’ve ever had problems with a phone in class. there seems to be a decent increase in people talking in class, and just ignoring my teaching instructions too. part of me thinks all of my yogic practice should keep me from getting annoyed, but i think the practice never really changes our emotions it just changes how we respond to them. my first instinct when that girl answered the phone call was to tell her to leave (in much harsher words), people in this country are very concerned with losing face and if i embarrassed her in front of the room it wouldn’t be the most appropriate thing. plus i would look really bad for losing my temper in public and speaking loudly. i took a moment and let the first bit of anger level out and then i finally quietly told her not to use the phone in the room.
as you may be able to guess from the pics below, i wasn’t the best behaved student in middle and high school, i was banned from field trips, warned about when substitute teachers came and was generally a pain-in-the-ass. i think that the school was a bit confused and unsure what to do with me as i generally got good grades (as long as i wasn’t bored) and was often in honors and advanced placement classes. i guess it’s all coming back to me now tho … no chance that i’ll get to wait until my next lifetime to pay this off.
more stuff from nepal soon, i promise ….
ok thank goodness i finally figured out how to leave a comment in ur webpage…never knew before that we’re required to sign up first..anyway not my point!!
just wanna say “HAPPY BDAY” na ja. Engjoy ur life and be mah teacher as long as possible..
oh and i think u’re the nicest teacher ever!! honestly i’ve never seen u get angry before. it’d be a pleasure to see sometimes.5555 .. and that’s just the way Thais are. if i were u i’d have yelled at them w/o realizing about public manner. keep ur good temper. muah!!
Well well well-Karmic schmarmic!! I love it. I am surprised you have memories of being a pain in the wazoo while in middle school. Earl and I have not one memory of that!!!! Well, maybe that time I went running screaming into the street at 2 AM-where have you been??? Ah, I should have been more ” THai” and controlled! Earl does have a vague memory of chasing you around the dining room table–oh dear its starting to all come back. Love, Mom and Earl