"Mista, get me outta here!"

I awoke with the worst backache in history. For a minute I considered pulling a “Midnight Express” (Leaving under cover of the night and flying back home). Instead Jenna and I walked around the school grounds, which are actually lovely. Walking down the stairs we ran into a thin older American who said,

“You must be my nine o’clock.”

It was 5 till 10.

“No,” I said, “We’re just looking around.”

“You’re the new English teachers?” he asked.

Nods.

“You were suppose to meet me at 9. I’m Pete, the English department chair.”

Shit. “It’s okay. No one listens to what I say, anyway,” Pete said with a smile.

He rescheduled the meeting to the afternoon. The four of us met in a classroom as summer school was getting out so he could give us the details of our positions.

“I don’t know where I’m going to put any of you. You’ll have to meet with the owner of the school on Tuesday to see who is teaching kindergarten. The kids are rich brats but they’re my brats. Be real firm, they will push. And you can’t fail any of them so just do the best you can.”

Hmm…

“Let’s go have a drink,” he said. No need to pull my arm there. We sweated our way around the school grounds while Pete pointed out a few buildings. If you take two steps outside the school gates and go to the left there is a tiny shack (which thankfully also has an espresso machine!!) It’s owned by an old, skinny Thai woman with a few teeth who will not stop holding my hand and telling me I’m beautiful. Her skin is leather and wrinkled and she must weigh about 60 pounds but her grip is very firm. The teachers lovingly call her the “town drunk.”

Jenna (blondie), S (greenish shirt) and H in our room.
Oh yes, that is a pink bed spread on my wood slat.

“Everyday at four,” Pete said, “we meet here to drink and lie about how good our day went. Be careful of the owner, she’ll try and get you to drink the whiskey behind the bar. Very bad idea.” I get the feeling I’m really going to like Pete.

We met with the two OEG teachers who were leaving that coming Saturday and grilled them. They are a cute couple from Minneapolis who have been more help than any of the program teachers or coordinators. That night they took us down the street to show us the market and the best food stalls. The next morning Jenna and I scrubbed everything in our room and then emptied a bottle of Raid in every corner and every nook. It really sucks I can’t show you a before and after photo. 

Don't know what he is but he's huge and fast.
I've been trying to kill him but he also jumps...
He had no problem posing for me though.