HS field Trip, Thanksgiving Staff Dinner, My First Vacation in China

This past week has been an absolute blast. On Monday and Tuesday I chaperoned an overnight high school trip to Huizhou Forest Lake Resort. This was my first time traveling outside of Shenzhen. The students had a lot of fun climbing a rock wall, doing a ropes course, and playing team building games. They also cooked their own dinner over a gas stove. Most of them had never cooked in their lives. The teachers, being concerned about food safety, ended up ordering food. I sliced my thumb open after telling a student to step aside and let me cut the potatoes because I was concerned she was going to cut herself. Students were housed in dormitory style accommodations while teachers had hotel rooms. The rooms were nice, but the hotel was almost abandoned since the start of covid and since reopening was only used to accommodate teambuilding trips like our own. The place reminded me of the Overlook Hotel from the Stanley Kubrick film "The Shining" based on the book by Stephen King. While the tropical climate was a sharp contrast to the snowbound winter-scape in the film - and there was no hedge maze - I did find a bar at which I expected to find a ghostly bartender named Lloyd.

Upon arriving home I had some deliveries waiting for me. I got a multi-tonal steel drum, a robotic vacuum, and some other things I did not bother to photograph.

On Wednesday the students had off while staff participated in professional development. While it was not the only topic we learned about, it seems that every time any school provides PD it is likely they will beat a dead horse about differentiation. I have had so many professional development sessions on differentiation that I am an expert on the subject at this point.

I also discovered, to my great chagrin, that three years of employment in Philly were not properly documented with the PA Department of Ed (PDE). They are missing the last three years of my employment from their records. I contacted my former HR director at Big Picture Philadelphia regarding this. It best be sorted soon or I might be following up by contacting an attorney as this impacts my ability to apply for permanent certification. Even with those years properly documented, I never completed an induction program, so would have to find another avenue to pursue permanent certification in PA. I will likely go through the process for national board certification.

Thursday was the first day of Thanksgiving break. We have off because the school I work for is American. My employer was generous enough to pay for a night at the Intercontinental Dameisha Hotel on Dameisha Beach. They also covered the ride there, dinner, breakfast, and lunch. The first night of dinner included about 10 different courses, including traditional thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, and copious amounts of wine.

I ended up taking someone to bed with me and we had a very good time. She wants to hang out again under more sober conditions later this week so let's see where this goes. She and I work in the same school but rarely run into each other because we work on separate floors. We had been flirting since the high school trip and even though I usually do not pursue sex or relationships with people I work with, I broke my own rule because she seems cool enough.

I opted to stay at the resort for the whole weekend with the remaining time at my own expense. For two nights it will only cost me about 150 USD. I am finally spending some of the money I have earned. Since Thursday I have enjoyed a luxurious life of fine dining, relaxation, and comfort. On Friday I went to the gym and swam in the outdoor and indoor pools before going to the steam room and sauna. I actually spent a lot of the last few days immersed in water.

Today (Saturday) I went paddle boarding for the first time, collected some seashells, went swimming, and got a full body massage. When I say "full body" I mean full body 😜. After getting covid tested I ordered room service then sat down to write the blog.

Tomorrow I will return home. I sorta look forward to that. Work starts up in full force on Monday. Due to recent loosening of covid quarantine restrictions leading to a regional surge in covid cases the Shenzhen department of health has issued new regulations requiring people who leave Shenzhen to have three days of negative tests before returning to work or gathering with large crowds. While I may not have left Shenzhen I know that there is a high possibility we might end up going virtual because other teachers, and many students and their families, have left the city during the break.

I have many photos to share from this week. I may add more if I take any tomorrow before I check out.

Here is the steel drum I ordered.

Here is my new robotic vacuum. Thinking about cute things to name it.

This is the view from my hotel room where we had the high school field trip.

Here is the hotel room that I stayed in during the high school field trip. It was nice, but I did not have hot water. Maybe I just did not turn the knob the correct way...