Happy-Lucky Chinese New Year

This week is Chinese New Year. Even though Cambodia isn't part of China, it's still celebrated here as part of China's sphere of cultural influence. Although I'd rather be celebrating Chinese New Year in Cambodia than in China itself, it is nonetheless not without its challenges here.

First, most every institution gets the week off--except mine. The founder of this school stubbornly clings to the notion that he runs a Cambodian institution, dammit, not a Chinese one. Therefore, taking Chinese New Year off is an impossibility.

I like that attitude, actually, but unfortunately the Cambodian public does not share his sentiments. Most students don't even show up all week. Some teachers don't either, leaving the students who actually did show up wandering the hallways for an hour and a half, waiting to see if their next teacher will show up for their next class.

So far, I've cancelled two out of the three classes (you may guess that I'm typing this entry during one of my cancelled classes--because there's nothing else to do till my next class begins). In the first one, no one showed up at all. In the second, one student showed up--but she hadn't purchased her textbook yet, which she needed to do the exercises. What choice did I have but to let her go home? She'd been sitting there for an hour and a half, because her other teacher never came.

The classes you don't cancel, you're stuck entertaining about 2 to 5 students for an hour and a half. You can't teach them too much, or else you'll have to repeat it for the rest of the class, whenever they come back. You can't do too little, or else there's no point in holding class anyway. It's kind of a tough spot to be in.

I remember last year. I was just coming down with subacute thyroiditis, and I really didn't want to teach class. I was happy to see that in one of my classes, there were no students. The thyroid problem made me overheat, so I just sat underneath the air conditioner and waited for the next class.

Some guy from admin came in. "No one showed up to class?" he asked me, which I confirmed. "You have to stay here for the entire class, or else I'm not going to let them pay you for work today," he informed me.

That sounded like such bullshit to me, that I called my supervisor.

Me: Hey Barry. No one's in my class today.

Barry: Well then, you get paid free time!

Me: About that. Some guy from admin was in here and he told me that I'm not getting paid if I don't stay in the classroom. Please tell me that's rubbish.

Barry: He was from admin? Really?

Me: Yeah.

Barry: He was on his own little power trip. IGNORE.

And I did ignore it, only to discover the same guy had bothered a lot of other teachers in the same way. Not all of them were as graceful and dignified as me--some of 'em went down kicking and screaming! I guess it happens every year. No admin staffer will prevail over our right to get paid for slacking off, dammit!

And that's what I call a traditional Chinese New Year. At least they're not power-tripping this time!

Now if only no one would show up for my high school class this evening... (then that would mean I would have to walk 40 minutes only to have to walk home again--but at least I wouldn't have to teach those brats)