failures of power and another sort

the 2nd quarter ended last week. i'm not sure what happened, it was here and then all of a sudden its gone. it was a pretty good quarter. i became much more comfortable in the classroom and efficient in preparing to be in it. keeping that unlruly class in line is a bit easier now as i have a better idea of what works and what doesn't. i've also had success "breaking through" to some students. there were some that wouldn't talk to me for the first few months of school and now they do. although i still have stacks of grading to do, it feels good to have the first half of the i make it sound nice and smooth, but last week was a bit bumpy. the rough draft of the final paper for my freshman english class was due on monday and more than 2/3 of them didn't feel like doing it so i sent the whole lot of them to sandy, the principal's office. she made them stay after school until they finished it, which for some was after 6:00. so they have their rough drafts done, but the night before the revised paper was due, the power was out so none of them could type it. which is why i am in the school computer lab now, 10:00 am, christmas eve morning. of course the hitch is that so far none of the students have shown up to finish their papers. i have about half of them and many of the students who didn't hand theirs in yet probably won't bother to at all, which means that they have a good chance of failing. i don't like giving F's, but when students won't pay attention in class or do their work, what am i supposed to do? there were 3 kids who hadn't turned in any homework all quarter. one of them was already dismissed for disciplinary reasons and one of the others is on her final warning. one slip and shes "fired," as they say here.

the power has been going out alot lately, sometimes it is announced and sometimes its unexpected. a few weeks ago it went out without warning and there was a rumor that the power plant exploded. it kept going out in the final weeks of the quarter and everyone got a little nervous with having to prepare and copy exams in time. also, its hard to cook dinner without power. although its an inconvenience, it certainly isn't that big of a deal. the flow of electricity in majuro is pretty reliable compared to some other places.

the assumption faculty christmas party was friday night and as the new male jv, it was my role to emcee the affair. i cracked jokes and made fun of people while leading a few games. musical chairs was a big hit. we also played a game suggested by one of my favorite teachers, pablo, that was like dancing charades. the capper of the games was a race of sorts, in which 4 contestants tie a string around their waist that suspends an empty soda can. participants must move their hips to swing the can in order to move a small object on the ground. sr. monica was the defending champion but lost to the 8th grade teacher, deanna. it wasn't a bad party. before it started i hung out in the cookhouse with some male teachers drinking coconuts and grilling the chicken and fish. i drank 6 coconuts that night. mmm, delicious.

i will be sure to post again soon, describing christmas vacation adventures, of which there may possibly be one. i'm looking forward to reading, playing guitar, walking around, trying to stay out of the rain, and doing laundry.