First Week/Term

My first week as a teacher was quite interesting. It was full of hope, and dare I say, a sense of accomplishment. I had moved from the bleachers and got in the game; unfortunately I was going to meet a 255 pound linebacker with every intention of crushing my knee. This linebacker in this case was an amalgam of the company and the precious little darlings I am here to instruct.
The company isn't all bad, but they push the bottom line pretty fucking hard. This wouldn't be a bad, or unexpected, thing if I was working in the corporate world. But I'm not. This is supposed to be about educating young people, but they are more concerned with extracting every penny from their parents that they can. And as for the children, not all are bad, in fact a good 80-85% actually want to learn and do well in class, but it's that 15-20% that fuck with you. They know that their parents have no real intention of having them learn English, they are just being watched by me for a few hours, and then go home to be spoiled and told that their shit doesn't stink.
Now, having said all of this, let's get down to brass tacks. The first week was not smooth, or enjoyable in the least. I had six classes in all, with about 50-60 kids. I screwed up a bunch of times, and had little bastards willing to make my life a living hell for three hours. All-in-all it was a growing experience. The first step in realizing that the only way that I'm going to make it through this experience is to not care that much. It's really the only way to keep one's sanity. Yet, I had some classes that were a pure joy, and were fun to teach that week.
There were two classes that would be a walk in the park for me all term. One was an elementary school level class, and the other a higher level middle school class. All of these kids were willing to do the work, and came to learn. Also, as these classes were at the tail-end of my week, it gave me something to look forward to at work.
I also moved into my apartment that first week. It's an affordable place with a washing machine, refrigerator, and bed. There were however a few problems. The bathroom hadn't been cleaned in while so the smell of mildew hung around. I tried cleaning it, but that was really no help. The windows weren't sealed properly, so all the heat would escape. So, spent a week in freezing agony, until I found some durable tape and fixed the situation. Finally, there was the last little issue in my long list of annoyances. The washing machine was broken, and would remain that way until recently.
So, suffice it to say, my first week and term at work was pretty crappy. My saving grace was being able to see Sonali every weekend. And to think, she thought I wouldn't make the trip every Friday night. HA! Silly woman. We would, and still do, commiserate together, and get to know each other more. So all in all, I had a pretty awesome first three months, because I got to meet and know this wonderful girl. Now that I've typed, and posted this, I know that she'll use this information to crush my spirits and mock me for months. This is expected and exactly one of the many reasons why I love her so much!