Water-Lieu Day 4: Reason (Kinda) Finds a Way

Everynow and then, somehow, common sense and intelligence find a way to break through the pollution here in Harbin. (This is a metaphor to match the adjoining picture taken from the "23rd floor" office I tutor some business-type folks at every Friday! Poetic! Bill!)

We're still without water, people are still freaking out over an earthquake that can't be predicted, and hordes have fled the city. The public schools are all closed, but the private schools remain open to snag any buck, or RMB, they can.

Tonight I should have had a class but only three students showed up (usually 15). I complained, sayinig this was useless, and stated that I was going to diverge from the scheduled lesson because with so many absent students I'd just have to re-teach the lesson again next week. Well, no one listened to me, but they sure as hell listened to the mother who was flipping out for some reason or other. And as the parent's (consumer's) word is law around here, the class was cancelled.

Was it for the right reason? I don't care. I'm going to kick back and work on this never-ending DVD project of mine and watch "Lawrence of Arabia."

I never thought "snow days" could be as cool for the teacher as they were for the student. Color me wrong!