Well, it happened. I threw my first temper tantrum at China.
When I really had to use a bathroom, and the only public bathroom around had no stall doors, no toilets (squat pots only), plenty of stink and filth, but certainly no toilet paper, I handled it. I waved at the women staring me down, nutted up, and dropped trow. That I laughed off.
When my air conditioner broke, my other air conditioner broke, my water cooler started dumping water all over the power strip, my toilet wouldn't flush, my shower had no hot water, and I could barely communicate any of that to the waiban, I took it in stride. That I laughed off.
When I had to spend a day going from Baoding to Shijiazhuang, then to the hospital, back to the train station, to the hospital, to the train station, and back to Baoding, I dealt with it. The poking, prodding, ultra sound, EKG, blood drawing, urine samples, all the unpleasant mess that it was, I got over it. That I laughed off.
But today, when I finished my 3 morning classes, climbed the stairs to my room for lunch break only to receive a phone call telling me I was 10 minutes late for a class I was not aware I had -- I lost it. I was angry I was late for something I didn't know I was supposed to do, I was frustrated that the schedule is constantly changing, I was irritated that I had another class added to my schedule without letting me know, much less receiving my consent. And I'm embarrassed to say I had a little temper tantrum. I silently fumed all the way to my new class(18ish yo International students from Mongolia), and I loudly grumbled all the way back. But newsflash, Kelsey: You're in China.
When I really had to use a bathroom, and the only public bathroom around had no stall doors, no toilets (squat pots only), plenty of stink and filth, but certainly no toilet paper, I handled it. I waved at the women staring me down, nutted up, and dropped trow. That I laughed off.
When my air conditioner broke, my other air conditioner broke, my water cooler started dumping water all over the power strip, my toilet wouldn't flush, my shower had no hot water, and I could barely communicate any of that to the waiban, I took it in stride. That I laughed off.
When I had to spend a day going from Baoding to Shijiazhuang, then to the hospital, back to the train station, to the hospital, to the train station, and back to Baoding, I dealt with it. The poking, prodding, ultra sound, EKG, blood drawing, urine samples, all the unpleasant mess that it was, I got over it. That I laughed off.
But today, when I finished my 3 morning classes, climbed the stairs to my room for lunch break only to receive a phone call telling me I was 10 minutes late for a class I was not aware I had -- I lost it. I was angry I was late for something I didn't know I was supposed to do, I was frustrated that the schedule is constantly changing, I was irritated that I had another class added to my schedule without letting me know, much less receiving my consent. And I'm embarrassed to say I had a little temper tantrum. I silently fumed all the way to my new class(18ish yo International students from Mongolia), and I loudly grumbled all the way back. But newsflash, Kelsey: You're in China.
oh boy, that stinks. sorry you did not have a good day. Did you get a couple days off? Did you have to work over the weekend? Did all your medical stuff go ok? (besides the run around?)
ReplyDeleteMiss you. Love you!
Hey Kels, what's up with the medical stuff?
ReplyDeleteAunt Beth
Chinese bureaucracy requires everyone to get full medical clearance in a Chinese hospital for a work visa once they arrive. It was a hassle, but relatively painless. And all results were good =]
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