One would think that all I do here is eat and shop and socialize by my writings but actually the majority of my time is spent either working or doing everyday household stuff.  So let me tell you a bit about work and all of my little darlings.

I teach 6, 90 minute classes a week to grades 1 through 5.  The classes come in every two weeks so there are 3 1st grades (big class), 2 second grade, 2 3rd grade and so forth.  There are between 15 and 20 children per class which means I have had to learn the names, behaviors and learning skills of 200 or so kids.  They are of a variety of nationalities and this is what I have deduced so far.  Anything I say cannot be held against me as I am not claiming to be any sort of expert and am warning you that political correctness is not my thing.

50 % of the kids are Italian s and they are by far the worst behaved.  The boys are naughty and the girls are bratty.  There are of course exceptions.  I don't think this is completely as much cultural as it is economic.  The Italians are self payers which means they come from money, whereas the foreigners have the school paid for by the various companies that they work for.  There is also the issue that Italian children do not get enough sleep!  Parents take their kids everywhere and they stay up until all hours(as that kid upstairs can attest!).  It is rare to find an Italian child with a "bedtime". 

The Japanese boys tend to be naughty where the girls are silent and submissive.  Many of the Japanese students at our school spend Saturdays is the very strict and traditional Japanese school in the city center.  As the Japanese tend to be so rigid, I think the boys go nuts when they are given relative freedom.  The girls must be kept under even tighter reins as they continue to be so shy at our school where discipline is not a strong suit.

There are a lot of Germans at the school, and in fact I'd say they make up 50% of the "Internationals".  They tend to be well behaved and good students.

The cutest by far are the kids of mixed ethnicity.  There are kids that are half Chinese half Italian, Lebanese Germans, African French etc.  They are gorgeous, smart, well behaved.  I'm all for mixing it up!

The American kids are few and far between and though they are good kids and have the advantage of being native language speakers, they are not the top students by any stretch of the imagination unless they have lived overseas for some time.  This I find sad. 

I love working with the kids and there are a lot of them I really adore but my God they are exhausting!  Between disciplining the naughties and trying to translate, maneuver the language issue for those that don't yet have it, I come home beat.  And alas my pay is diddily-squat. 

Ah well.  A weekend a head of me with nothing planned more glorious than housework and studying (that drivers exam).  Hope you are all well!  Miss you lots.  xxoo me