Singa[pore]: Simple Song

MacRitchie Reserve

Tuesday, 21/09:

"All day, I grouchily lament having to battle time and the elements as two oncoming events:

1) A typhoon
2) My three day vacation to Singapore.

I desperately pedal through unrelenting rain to get to the bank to withdraw money to exchange for Hong Kong dollars (gangbi). Then, I endure soggy socks and drenched pants to top-up the pay-as-you-go minutes on my phone 'just in case of emergency in Singapore.'

The whole time, I am trying to forget my fifth grade class that knew less than my third graders. And, the whole time I am trying to forget my fourth grade class that tried my patience nearly to its breaking point. The whole time, I wonder if my efforts are in vain as I am not even sure that I will make it to the Hong Kong airport in time to catch my Tiger Airlines flight that may be cancelled due to weather...And so, the whole time I wonder whether I even want to continue this battle with time and the elements.

I decide 'yes,' though my gut tells me I could have just as easily decided otherwise. I need this independent adventure; I need to feel the replenishing spirit of exploration and discovery.

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Means Vacation!

I start to feel it as I walk to my bus stop--all the while, receiving stares for my hunchbacked poncho covering a backpack stuffed with a weekend's worth of miscellany. I am walking to catch a bus to get to the border crossing so I can walk across the border to catch a bus to catch a subway to catch a train to the airport, where I can catch a flight to Singapore--where I will catch a bus to catch a subway to my hostel. I realize it will take a small miracle to ensure all goes swimmingly despite the torrential downpour and forecasted typhoon.

School Lite

A few significant events have happened at my school recently. Each event presented its own unique, laughable discomforts.

Prior to last Monday, Charlie had "asked" me (read: "implored" me) to write a short speech for the "International Flag Raising Ceremony" that would take place on said Monday. Five minutes after Charlie had left the room, he returned and asked: "Elie, have you finished your speech yet?"

So, I whipped out a two-to-three-minute speech that addressed my gratefulness to my headmaster for accepting me in the community, that promoted the necessity of international comaraderie, that expounded upon the importance of cross-cultural exchange, and that encouraged China and the U.S. to responsibly regard their roles as global leaders. Of course, I dumbed the speech down just a bit so that my audience (1st through 6th grade Chinese students with little-to-no ability to comprehend English) would understand the gravity of my motivational words.

Me and Charlie

I arrived to school last Monday just in time to have two sesame balls stuffed with red bean and a bowl of congee before dropping my bag in my office to the loudspeakers blaring the school's anthem. Charlie anxiously put his arm around me, "Elie, International Flag Ceremony is now. Where is your speech?" He picked up the speech print-out from my desk, handed it to me, and offered his translation services.

After five minutes of unfiltered sunshine, a realization about the "International Flag Ceremony" washed over me--the wash being coordinated with the sweat my body was purging in response to the sweltering temperatures. "International Flag Ceremony" was "oooeeeooiii-National Flag Ceremony." Charlie struggled with saying the word "national" without a prefix.

Recallibrating My Settings: Nowist waijiao

I have gotten so used to moving and being in limbo this past year that I feel as though I am a robot when it comes to shifting my expectations: Peace Corps conundrums leaving me without plan (and without home), job searching in a relentlously baren job market, moving to Portland, moving back to Ann Arbor, moving to China, and, within the span of four days, moving from Beijing to a hotel in northern Shenzhen (via train) to my new apartment in eastern Shenzhen. Why should I expect anything other than more shifts in expectations?

The real kicker question: If I expect that I will have to shift my expectations, am I really shifting my expectations ever? Then, what am I actually expecting?

After I successfully "defend my honor" in a futbol match with other teachers from my school (Shenzhen Haitao Primary School), C calls me to let me know that the Shenzhen Bureau of Education has scheduled our apartment to be remodeled starting the next evening; we have less than 24 hours to move-out, and we will do so on the day before school begins. C'est la vie. The following conversation occurs between my contact teacher (Charlie) and me.