What's going on?

Well, not much is happening in my kitchen these days. I get home from work and I'm just too tired and unmotivated to cook. I made pasta Monday night and spent the night with an upset stomach. I took Tuesday off, but this week has still seemed so long! It's normal, though, as we don't have any days off during this 7-week period.

This afternoon I congratulated my last class of the day for being my worst-behaved class, the one I dreaded going to at the end of the day. I know English is their second language, but some things are just common sense. They act like they're still in high school, or maybe even junior high.

I've devised a devilish activity for them tomorrow. Observe:

Friday Activity

1. Read all directions before you begin working. Your teacher will not answer any questions during this exercise.
2. Write your name at the top of this paper, on the right side.
3. Write your teacher’s name on this line _______________________________________________
4. On the back of this paper, write how old you think the teacher is.
5. Look at sentence number 2. Circle all of the nouns in the sentence.
6. Draw five small circles in the upper left corner of this paper.
7. Put an “X” inside each circle.
8. Fold this paper in half, then unfold it.
9. Fold it in half the other way, then unfold it.
10. In the bottom right corner, write your parents’ names.
11. Go to the board and write your name with the red marker.
12. Tear off the bottom left corner of this paper.
13. Roll the piece of paper into a ball and throw it on the floor.
14. Look at sentence 13. Circle all of the verbs in that sentence. Underline the nouns.
15. In the space below, write all of the prepositions you can remember. Do not look in your book.


16. If you have read all the directions, complete number 2 and give your paper to the teacher.

They never read the directions on tests or in the book, nor do they bother to look at anything I write on the board before class. Today I wrote "No, I do not have your quizzes yet" on the board because I have 60 grammar students and didn't grade them all yesterday. How many students asked? One in the first class, one or two in the second class, and at least 4 in the last class. ARGH! No wonder my stomach hurts and I grind my teeth at night.

I'm looking for jobs in the U.S. Wish me luck, please. I am especially interested in an assistant director position in Ohio. I can trade one stressful position for another. I really hope I can go back to the U.S. and finish my cookbook, get it published, and get a deal for at least one more!