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| Heres a random picture of the Italy vs America game... can't go wrong with buff guys in short shorts!!! |
This week I have been going to bet really late (or early in the morning) and then getting up at seven to go to school. As you can imagine, that has made me a bit tired so I really wasn't up for any crap at school or anything. I have been going to school for a while now (a bit more than a month) and I know it is probably the worst school in Christchurch (no, I have no idea why my brilliant parents put me there!). The students are really mean to eachother and they swear at the teachers, throw things at the teachers, hit the teachers (seriously) and only get suspended for a day or two. Swearing at the teachers just gets you sent out or mabe just a warning because they're so used to it. Approximately 90% (or more) of the students smoke/ drink, etc and most of them do it at lunch and break... and before school and after school. The teachers all know it too, because they all yell about it in class. Example: 'Hey! you coming drinking this weekend?' or 'F**k, man I got soooo wasted/stoned last weekend!!'. Maybe all high schools in this country are like this, but I seriously doubt it's this bad. I feel really bad for the teachers, but then again, its sorta their fault. I mean, the kids do it because they know they can get away with it without doing any perminant damage on their life. All it will be is a few 2 day suspensions and the whole year on daily report. And I thought Laguna was bad when I went there! Maybe its because Aranui is so much smaller. Thats what I've noticed with smaller schools, there is more bad stuff going on (like Colorado). But Colorado was no where near as bad as this. I came home on Thursday just totally sick of going there because I was learning nothing at all and there was really no point for me to go there anymore. The students are all really mean to eachother and the teachers, I learn nothing because they are all way behind the USA, and I don't really have any really good friends there anyway.
Mia--that was an extraordinary post and very good of you to share the reality!! I'm truly sorry that it's been such a crumby experience. Grown ups might often say--" Well, dear--I'm sure the experience was a valuable one." But I'm not sure that our lives are long enough to give us time for that kind of "valuable experience". I was also happy to hear from you that no friends are better than bad friends. That's not always the case--especially for teens. So all I can say is that you did a very good job with a pretty tough assignment, and it's great that you are done with it!!
ReplyDeleteNews from this end? We've just had a couple of days of rain--what? Rain in early October?? [Must be global warming!] Gramps got about 25% of his grapes in before the rain. But 75% are out there now trying to dry out before they get rot and mildew. And then a bunch of grapes in the dry farm section have been eaten by the birds. So, all in all, farming seems to have some pretty significant downs as well as few ups. On the bright side, it has now turned sunny and cool.
I am getting organized for my Burma/Myanmar trip which is little more than two weeks away. And you will be heading out to Australia shortly. Have a great time, and be sure to check out the wombats! They are the very cutest animals I have ever seen!
much love, bippy
Hey Mia,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your bad experience in the school. But it's these negative experiences that help shape our character and sounds like you are pretty principled, and able to make good choices. I hope that you learned a little more about yourself through it all.
Perhaps you can think further into why the kids behave this way, and why the teachers seem complacent.
I just had a talk to my students about how safe Singapore is, and it's safe because there are many strict laws here. So, I posed the question: would you rather be in a safe place with many strict laws? or would you rather be in an unsafe place with few laws? Pretty tough question for a 7 year old, but you could probably get a good handle on it. Of course, 1 of my students chose- less laws but still safe. I guess that would be ideal- but sometimes, that's not feasible.
Anyways Mia, I applaud you for your rationality and for initiative in trying a new sport (volleyball), which enabled you to get something positive out of your school experience. I'm sure the teachers wanted to keep you in their school because a student like you is like a breath of fresh air for a teacher that has to deal with all the other madness.
xx MIngdeap