Rant!

Up until now, most of my blogs have been mainly informative. They detail the highlights of my Ecuador experience and the events I have witnessed or been a part of. This blog may be a bit different. Why? Because I had a bad day yesterday and I want to be real with my readers about the ups and downs of this year.

What started off as a typical work day turned into one of the more frustrating days in Ecuador so far. It was around noon and I was on my way in to the neighborhood where I work. My bus was approaching my stop so I got up and waded through the standing crowd, heading towards the doors. The bust driver (who is inside a plastic enclosure, separated from the people) got on his microphone and started saying repeatedly "Miss, miss, keep going, keep going." (I think that's the rough translation) I wasn't sure who he was talking to and everyone around me seemed to be looking around, confused. A couple of seconds later, we arrived at my stop and I got off the bus. Before the doors had a chance to close behind me, I realized that my cell phone, which had been in my pocket, was gone. Someone had, in the confusion of that moment, been able to swipe it right out from my possession. I turned around and had the thought that I should jump back in the bus and confront everyone, demanding they return the phone. Then I realized, what thief is going to say "Oh :) You got me! Nicely done! Here ya go...you're cell phone. Man! Quickest gringo I've ever ripped off! Well done, well done."? I don't think that would happen. Ever. So instead of getting back on before the doors closed, I just eyed everyone in the bus that I could and gave them a look of disappointment that said "Really? REALLY? Did that just happen?!" I hope that look is now burning a hole in the back of the thief's mind.

So that's how my bad day started.

It continued to go down hill when my high-school aged students pushed all the right buttons. First, about three of them came in 10 minutes late. Instead of quietly going to their seats while I was talking, one went to the back of the room and started looking out the window and another was on her cell phone talking to someone. I stopped mid sentence and asked "What are you doing?!" I continued to show my frustration by explaining what being rude and disrespectful meant, using them as examples. About 10 minutes later, two more students came in to take the test they had missed on Wednesday. I had to again stop what I was doing and leave the room to get the correct tests from the secretaries (which is the protocol at CEC) so these students could take the exam. When I got back to my room with exams in hand, half of my class was in my room and the other half was in the empty room next door yelling out the window to their friends. No one was working on the exercises I had assigned for those 5 minutes I was gone. I told one particular girl that if she didn't want to be here, she could go home. No one's making her come here to learn English, except maybe her parents, and she clearly doesn't want to learn the language. After that particular outbust, I think the entire class got the hint that I was pissed off and they tried to work in their workbooks (for a record 10 minutes). Somehow, I made it through the day...but barely.

No doubt exacerbated by my bad day, I didn't have much patience for bad listeners when I was trying to vent afterwards. What people should be aware of is that I am a professional listener. I usually don't talk just to hear my voice. I'm not interested in one-upping people during dialog and I put much thought into the ideas I want to express verbally (especially when it's personal). So when it's my turn to talk, you should probably be on your A game. Don't redirect the topic back to yourself. Don't interrupt. Don't start talking to someone else while I'm in mid sentence. Because I won't be entirely motivated to continue should I feel like what I'm saying is not important. I refuse to shove my feelings into the 5-second window of your short-attention listening span. There. Rant DONE!

Ah, blogging. It's good sometimes to just blog it out! I feel MUCH better!