Just keep swimming on the weekend

Saturday, up early to clean up and get ready for my English class. In it there are my two kids and four other kids who attend because I don't teach English in the standard way. The class goes for 3 hours and we speak, read, sing, write, read some more and play games. I'm using the 'immersion' method. Give English meaning, give them a reason to use it, put it in context and they will learn to speak. When they speak correctly, writing becomes easier. English, for Chinese educated children, is incredibly difficult to learn with all it's rules and exceptions. Just when you've taught a rule, an exception comes by. Take plurals - just add s right! No, only add 's' to some words. Other words need 'es' behind it and wait, there are some words that don't need 's' at all. And don't forget, don't pluralise verbs or adjectives, only nouns..... get it?

And guess what? You know the stereotype on tv where Chinese people can't pronounce their 'r' sounds? It's true. Not in English words anyway, because the Chinese langauge (Mandarin) has an 'r' sound in it. ie "ren" meaning person. But I'll never forget the day one of my students couldn't find his 'luler' and his 'lubber'. LOL. I almost cracked up on the spot. I have no manners!

So, Saturday afternoon saw me attending a meeting at the Autistic centre. The national funding for the centre ends in July, after that, we have to raise funds for everything ourselves. The thing that gets me is that there is still no proper equipement there. They don't even have a computer. There's no physio equipment, fridge, oven, no sensory equipment or electronic toys to stimulate them. The teachers there are doing a great job with next to nothing, but they'll need more. I wrote the text for their brochure this week so that they can hand it out to people who want to donate money. I hope it goes well. The chairman of the committee is ex's best friend, but a really nice guy. He's in printing, which is handy when we need stuff printed and laminated for the centre.

Saturday night spent at home, watching tv and doing some housework, playing with the kids, replying to the therapist.

Got up early Sunday and hell, took the kids for a swim. Ex came at the request of our daughter. He gets in the pool about once a year. I thought it would be nice and peaceful. It was nice but not peaceful. Every kid and his mum was there, including some students from my English class at the centre where I teach. Boy, wasn't I glad to see them while I was standing there in my faded, tummy tuck bathers! I'd be swimming with the kids and and I'd hear another one calling "Teacher Jo" from somewhere. Sheesh. I told them not to tell the others. I don't think that will work.

Back at home later, another jam, bread and tea breakdfast eaten, I cleaned the drain outside and had to clean up 'rat crap' from around the outside sink. Yuk. I didn't realise it was so putrid out there because I rarely venture outside my back door. I prefer going out the front door, getting in the car and going somwhere else. :)

So here I sit, contemplating whether to take the kids to see their cousins or their grandmother. They are happy at home though, practicing their piano with ex who has lately taken to spending more time with them.

No moods this week, I think I'm at four weeks and counting which has to be some kind of record, but I'll read back and see. I forget these things. If I start thinking, lamenting or having fights in my head with him, I make a huge effort to stop. Listening to music helps, especially when I'm doing dishes or washing clothes. For some reason, probably because they're mindless tasks, doing these two things always sets my mind running of in some useless, destructive direction. So music is the key here, at least it fills my head with something a bit nicer.

Ex and I aren't really saying much beyond the superficial talk that two people need to do to be able to live in the same house. It IS better this way, though it still feels strange not having long, drawn out talks with him. Yesterday I found myself going in and out of his room asking him this and that and wishing and wanting to talk with him. I let it pass. I want and need to talk to him about money - I lent him 2.5 k last year and I want it back because I need to use it to buy our tickets home. I hate talking about money with him because I want to know everything (about where all that money we had went and how is making an income now) and I know he won't tell me. I have to let it go. So I'll have to wait before I talk to him. Maybe in a few weeks.

Anyway, time for tea. Mr Scorpio, your dinner with my folks sounded lovely. I'm so glad they have you and your lovely wife as friends.

Cheers