The same but different

Change at work. The atmosphere is different. The two men who I sat next to in the teachers room are not there now. One, my partner teacher for nearly one and a half years has moved onto a similar position in his home town, the other has been given a temporary (I think) promotion to assistant manager so he won't be teaching.

My new partner teacher seems to be nice. No complaints but we're in a getting to know you situation. Regardless, it won't make much difference to my work life, apart from being a little bit quieter. There won't be much banter any more. She bought a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake today and everybody loved it, a nice touch. The other new face next to me seems to be a little shy. That's OK too. Hopefully she will open up a bit more as the weeks roll on.

One day down, four to go before my holiday. Today was a normal day but my mind is just not thinking about work. I keep falling asleep at around 4am because I am genuinely happy about going home. It's been over one year since I was back in England. At times I miss it and at others I am fine about being away. Right now I am really enjoying the process of getting ready for my trip, packing, deciding what to take, getting information ready. It won't be long.

One thing that clarifies the mind is the heat. We are in the core of Summer. This particular heat lasts around four weeks or so. Todays forecast wasn't for very hot temperatures but the five minute walk to work was, I have to say, tough. I got to my second class, the room I have dubbed the Greenhouse and I noticed a new face. For some reason there was a fan. for a minute my heart sank and I thought the air conditioner was broken but no, I had air con AND a fan. Now that was fun.

My new best friend