Down South, Take Two

Things are starting to get back to normal at school. After an even quieter Friday (Why didn't they close school, why?) most of the students were back on Monday and the noise level has risen back to the usual level, with the wonderful addition of hundreds of kids coughing constantly. They've also turned off the a/c, I think to keep from using recycled air? I doubt it's keeping anyone healthier and now everyone is hot, sweaty, and sick instead of just sick. So really, there's only one thing I can do. That's right, less than a week after returning from the south of Thailand, I'm headed back down late tonight. This time to Phuket.

It's for my own health. I'm being responsible.

Okay, so this has been planned for a few weeks. It might seem like I'm abandoning my classes and... I am. But originally, that wasn't how it was meant to work out. This will be a confusing story, but imagine being there while it unfolded. I live in a constant state of confusion here.

Weeks ago, Jenny, Brittany, and Katie P. were told that there school was having midterms during this entire week. They weren't required to give midterms, so they could have the whole week off. I had a feeling it wouldn't be the same for me, but it was worth checking out. By that point I'd figured out that I could have the week off and I wouldn't know until Monday morning. So it was time to be proactive. I asked my coordinator when we'd be having midterms and it turned out to be the same week, all week, but I'd be required to give midterms. Then, completely unprompted by me, my coordinator said that I could give my midterms whenever I wanted. If I gave them the week before or after, then I wouldn't need to come to school because there wouldn't be classes. I was excited, but skeptical. It seemed a little too good to be true. So I decided to wait a few days until I could confirm (as much as I can confirm anything here) that midterms would, in fact, be that week.

And, of course, things changed. Again, and again. First, midterms would only last a few days instead of the whole week. Then, we were giving midterms in class instead of setting aside time for them. Because I only teach each class once a week, midterms would (again) take the whole week. Finally, I found out that midterms weren't mandatory. If I wanted to I could give them in class, but only if I felt like it.

Meanwhile, the others were told that classes weren't canceled for that week and everything was scheduled as normal. But they had already made plans that couldn't be changed, only shortened to a few days rather than the whole week. And throughout all this, I kept telling my coordinator "I need to know for sure, I have to book my ticket soon." But I couldn't find out for sure, but she kept saying it wasn't a problem either way. So,I went ahead and booked my ticket, before I found out there wouldn't be midterms at all. And, honestly, by that point I didn't care even a little bit.

So now I'm headed to Phuket with Jenny, who actually knows someone there who's letting us stay. No cheap hostel rooms for this trip and I might even get some homecooked meals. Free food and a place to stay in Phuket, of all places? My life is pretty rough.