Nonsense, Drivel, and Balderdash

I finished 2 out of 4 camps. Now I have started the 3rd one. You know when you are halfway done with something? There are two possible reactions: -I cant believe I am already halfway done! or -What?! Im only halfway done?? For me its the latter one. I am sick of camp, but I am also more used to how it works. It isnt so much mental work, less concentration. Anyway...

Well, last week, on my birthday ironically, I received a phone call from the company I work for in Madrid. They are the people that give me my teaching assignments and all that jazz through-out the year. I had previously gotten an email from them saying they needed to talk to me. I was curious, but not completely concerned. I began to get nervous when they told me that my student feedback reports hadn’t come been as positive as they might have hoped. I was later told, I got a 4.9 out of 6, and the minimum requirement was a 5.2. This surprised me. At first I assumed that my morning students had given me more negative scores, lowering the average. Cause, really, I am half asleep in those morning classes. But the scores were about the same across the board. In retrospect, I should have mentioned to my students how important the feedback reports were. I should have differentiated between the reports I made of them and the ones they made of me. I tended to be quite direct and harsh in doing...

I am over halfway done with my second camp. I´ve signed up for a 4th camp at the end of August. Perhaps it was a dumb move, considering how little I have been enjoying these camps. But now that my expectations are lower and I am learning how to deal with the kids, I think I can do another two weeks. I need the money for when I go to the US in september. Oh, right, I guess I forgot to mention that bit. I am going to the US for the first half of september. I will probably be in Boston at the start and at the middle, since I have a round trip ticket from Spain to there. Tell me if you will be around. I would love to do an extended trip to the land of the free and the home of the brave (I have quite a few friends in Washington as well as California), but alas, this time around I will be goign to Boston to see friends and Mississippi to see family. I had a dream last night that my friend/flatmate from oxford Will Wiersma was alive. Actually, it was more like we all knew he had been dead and...

A group of girls come running up to me during break wailing in tears about Mari Angeles, the girl who fainted on the bus. They come screaming that something has happened to her. "Un ataque" they say. Something about fainting again. Hard to make out exactly what is going on with all of them talking at once. I run upstairs with the pubescent estrogen clan as my mind races with medical possibilities... two faints in 24 hours... a concussion? secondary effects from the heat collapse? The first signs of epilepsy?.... When I arrive to the girls I find a group of chicks holding Mari Angeles to the bed, exorcism style. Her face is tearstained, and she is in a subdued state of hysteria. The thought of calling a priest does flick through my ideas. "Are you ok?" I ask her she nods and smiles a lunatic’s smile. "OK" I say hesitantly to no one in particular. "Let her go," I tell the girls, "give her some air." Mari Angeles gets up slowly, takes a de...

Well, one of the three (minimum... *sigh*) camps that I am doing this summer is done. It was, without a doubt, the most ridiculous place I have ever been in my life. I have never been in a situation that had more hysteria or melodrama than that camp. Here is a recap of some key events: - Girl faints on bus from heat stroke - Girl gets punched in the face by strange boy at the public swimming pool - Boy kicks other boy in pants and causes his penis to bleed - Boys decide that it is easier to get into the girls room via window and climbing over the school rather than the door. - Boys decide to jump David, Daniel and me at the pool only to end up with 2 injured spines. - We try to teach them capture the flag only to have to quit 20 minutes later due to one semi dislocated shoulder, 1 sprained ankle and a mild concussion. - Girl with aforementioned concussion, who was walking awkwardly, head tilted, and (I kid you not) with eyes crossed and lazy, refused to be taken to the hospital and hel...

I am at summer camp . You can tell by the bags under my eyes, the steely glint in my gaze, and the slight hint of desperation in my voice. Last year´s camp may have been fun, but this year is nothing like the glorious summer of 2006. No, my friends, this this the summer of 2007, where hell itself has spewed forth some of its most vile progeny. In this case, I am talking about teenage girls. The boys are alright, you must understand. Boys are simple. Not good, mind you, but simple. A boy hates you and he will say so. If he is angry at someone he will punch them. After a couple of good wallops, the boy will then regain his peace. And boys, oddly enough, listen more than girls do in class. They get distracted and forget what it is that they are supposed to be doing, but remind them and they do it. Also, if they don’t I can give them wedgies. Girls , however, are a different beast. I don’t use the word "beast" randomly either. Whereas an angry boy can destroy someone’s face, an ...