But tonight, the stars aligned.
I've been beaten... No, embarrassed in my weekly badminton matches for the past 4 or 5 consecutive weeks. I've been playing a security guard (he's probably around 22 years old), that works at the school, on Wednesday nights at our school gym for some friendly competition. We've also been meeting up with a couple of grade 9 students, playing a few doubles matches and throwing in a couple of singles matches as well. Typically, the guard and I arrive a bit earlier than the students and get in a match before they arrive during their dinner break, and then stay afterwards for a second game once they boys have to leave. In our first game, I beat him in front of about 5 of the female grade 9 ESL teachers and he left a bit miffed and definitely embarrassed. I had only gone to the gym to play the hakky-sac (sp?) version of shuttlecock with the teachers, and grabbed a racket for a while before we left to play with some students and the aforementioned security guard. It was unintentional, but a fun victory for the token white guy in a country that celebrates badminton as a national sport.
Well, since I beat him the first time, he's regularly shown up at the gym to play with me on Wednesdays. And every single Wednesday that he's shown up, he's whipped me. Sometimes, it has been utter humiliation. Other times I hang on and get close to a win and end up on the wrong side of the score. However, today I was on my game. Not only once, but I beat the guy TWICE! He actually left when I was winning 10-7 in the second game because apparently he needed to start his basketball game with some other teachers. But clearly he left out of frustration and the reality that I was going to inevitably take the game.
Anyways...
The month of December has been (and will continue to be) a ridiculously busy month. The weather's cold, and I've been spending my nights marking exams for the past couple days. But they're done for the timebeing, and I'm taking it a bit easy this week with my kids. We had our company Christmas party last week and I proceeded to stuff my belly with turkey, stuffing and sodas while watching the kitchen staff gawk at all the female Canadian high school teachers strutting their stuff on the dance floor. I also brought home an "adopted" faux Christmas tree that is now sitting decorated (Charlie Brown-style) in the front window of my apartment with the blinking lights shining for all to see. Thanks D&M! There's still no snow but the chill is in the air. It's kinda like a sans-snow Alberta December... crisp and cold with some wind and often the clearest blue sky in the country.
Other than my badminton victory and the regular monthly busyness, I'm in countdown mode. My grade sevens are performing their Christmas concert on Tuesday, next Friday is Christmas, the following Thursday night I'm heading to Harbin (one of the coldest places in northeast China) for New Years (on the train, and then to the Ice Festival), and after that there's only about 10 days of classes before the students write exams and I'm off for vacation. The (extremely ambitious) plan so far is as follows: Dalian -> Hong Kong -> Bangkok, Thailand -> Chiang Mai, Thailand -> Chiang Rai, Thailand -> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -> Kota Kinabalu, Borneo (Malaysia) -> Kuala Lumpur again -> Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, Cambodia -> HoChiMinh City, Vietnam -> Hanoi/Halong Bay, Vietnam -> Beijing -> Home. I might be trying to pack too much into a 5 week excursion, but it'll be worth it I'm sure. The trip to northern Thailand (Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai) is all about the hiking, as is the trip to Kota Kinabalu. I might even have a place to crash in Kuala Lumpur with my friend Jilly's parents! So excited. I'm hoping to also connect with a contact in Bangkok so maybe I'll have a tour guide. We'll see.
But off I go for now... lots of love from this side of the globe...
T
Sounds like an awesome trip ... and so the reason why you are there. I am hugely jealous!
ReplyDeleteThe tree sounds pretty rad too!
kate