Russians with bugs and thick tea

Yesterday I napped and drank a bit of tea.

Lazy day. Lots of showers, a nap, and shirt changes. Went to see the sunset at Mt. Lavinia beach but it was obscured by clouds. Ate fish for dinner. The guide was right. Great service, okay food. It wasn't the good value I have come to appreciate at Ruby's.

Early in the day, something bad happened. Russians arrived. They girls came wearing way too much makeup and tight jeans. The men all looked like minature Putins. The Soviet Union gave us ugly architecture and uglier people. Didn't Reagan outlaw these guys? When we speak of good Russians, like Tolstoy, et al. aren't we really talking about pre-Soviet or dissident Russians. The rest, forgetaboutit.

Then later in the evening as I was trying to sleep something even worse happened. A mosquito flew past my ear. I had to call the front desk. They came to spray. After a while I was able to sleep. Then the Russian man started slamming his door. I had to go and tell him to cut it out. He didn't know how to behave in a hotel, that is what I am telling you. He stopped for a while but then he started it again at 3 am. I wanted to call the front desk and ask if there was some kind of spray for Russians.

So I had a terrible sleep. I really don't know why: it could have been the threat of future mosquitos or the door slamming, but really I think it was the three pots of tea.

Colombo: "Oh, just one more thing."

Arrived last night. Four hours late. Believe it or not there was fog in Kuwait. All flights were delayed. One of my friends was heading to the states via London, so she was late in Kuwait and now she is stuck in London. Not a great way to spend Christmas.

The flight over wasn't too bad. Nice food and leg room, though the plane was crowded. I was flying with a few colleagues, but they are beach people and I am not, so we went our separate ways. Upon arriving at the airport, I said I was excited about the possibility of seeing so many Kuwaitis working in Sri Lanka, since so many Sri Lankans work in Kuwait. Surely there is some kind of workers exchange program, since there aren't that many Kuwaitis working in Kuwait. I just assume most of them are working in Sri Lanka.

Got to my hotel, got a nice room, went to the bathroom and the floor was covered in water. I was tired, so I would mention it in the morning. At 2 a.m. there was water coming into my room. I mopped it up with a towel and went back to bed. Seems like a pipe was broken in the wall and was leaking through. The hotel staff was nice and gave me another, much nicer room. No complaints from me.

Today was a lazy day. Woke up and had breakfast, changed rooms, walked along the beach at Mr. Lavinia, sweat a lot. I forgot about this humidity thing. Tonight I am going to buy a new backback and have dinner. Found out through the guidebook that all of the museums are closed today anyway. So not too worried about missing out. Did manage to walk to the old governor general's mansion which is now a nice hotel. I met a few scammers along the way, but nothing like some places where I have visited. My taxi driver said the touts here want your money today and tomorrow, so they aren't too pushy and crooked, unlike those I met in Egypt. He did warn me about Kandy, though.

Sunday I am off to Kandy. I'd better be careful.

Bullets for tots

Boy, my chances of having to teach in the states are getting slimmer and slimmer. Just found this article on yahoo news. With great stories like this it looks like I will never have to return to American and teach there again. Sorry for the bad news dad. Yippy!

Nev. politician: Let teachers carry guns

A Nevada state senator and also-ran in this year's Republican primary for governor says the Legislature should consider letting teachers carry guns in classrooms to stem a rise in school violence.
"I would expect enough teachers would be interested so it would serve as a deterrent," said Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas. He said he's preparing a bill to introduce when state lawmakers convene in February.
While Beers said teachers would have to undergo firearm safety training, Las Vegas-area school officials said that allowing more weapons on campus would make schools less safe.
"The more people who have guns, the more likely it is that there will be a shootout," said Clark County school Superintendent Walt Rulffes. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he was aware of no studies supporting Beers' argument that schools would be safer if teachers carried guns.
School trustee Sheila Moulton said teachers might need more training to identify and deal with potentially violent students. But she rejected the idea of arming teachers.
"That is not the solution," Moulton said. "I'm not for putting guns in the classroom even when teachers are trained on how to use them."
Clark County school police carry weapons, and district high schools typically have two officers on campus during school hours. Some large middle schools also have armed police officers. The district is the fifth-largest in the nation, with more than 300,000 students at 325 campuses.
Beers cited reports of more than a dozen guns confiscated at Clark County school students so far this year, and several recent instances of gun violence on and off Las Vegas-area campuses.
"We have banned guns in schools in Nevada and most of the rest of the nation for the last 20 years," Beers said. "Part of the problem is a small percentage of the population is brought up without a knowledge of and respect for guns."

Now that's a crappy day at school

My friend Mike Hinton wrote me an email recently describing another wonderful day at his school. Too be honest we have a fair amount of problems at my school in Kuwait, but nothing compares to what Mike sends me. Next time I think of moving back to the states I will just reread the letter.

"Here's an example: a kid monday at our school was upset over having to end one activity and move to the next subject. so, he pitched a fit and promptly stood up and shit himself. really. then, he worked the pantleg to let the dump fall to the floor around where he stood, after which he stomped his feet in it and proceeded to deliberately track it all over the room with his shoes. he was carried to the bathroom and told to remove his shitbritches in a stall and wait there for the deadbeatparent to come to school. so, he removed his britches and slung the shit all over the boy's room. an hour and two gallons of bleach later, the class was able to leave the hall and go back into their room. punishment: none, for fear of legal actions or complaints to the school board. another typical day at the assylum! later, mike."

So next time anyone asked me why I teach overseas, I now have a quick surefire answer.

Less than a week until I am in Sri Lanka. Yippy.

test

this is just a test to see if this is working.

throwing in the towel part two

i was ready to leave kuwait, all ready and then they lowered the boom! how would you like a six thousand dollar a year raise?

so now i have some thinking to do.

actually i think i am signing the contract. i still have bills to pay and would hate to pass up free money.

and i am off to sri lanka at christmas. i love being so near to the best bits of asia.

cheerio.