沒有

9:05--how is it 9:05? I'm five minutes behind already...but that's okay, I guess, I can make up that time on my commute if I need to--wait, why isn't my scooter starting? Come on, come on! I do not want to waste money on a cab, and there's no way the MRT would get me there on time. Come on...finally! 9:10? Ah! Now--wait, why is my gas gauge not moving? SHOOT I'm completely empty. Going to have to stop on the way, and...wait, is it raining? And why are all these lights red?

It was Monday at its worst. By the time I speed-walked past my cheery students and colleagues' questions into the subject teachers' office, just 3 minutes ahead of the bell, my mind was everywhere and nowhere, and certainly not centered on the class of 5th graders I would be teaching in a few short minutes.

Maggie and I walked into class 5-10 and I flipped open my notebook (discovering along the way that one of the pictures I applied to the cover yesterday had already fallen off) to refresh my memory on what we were supposed to be teaching--ah, phonics. I love teaching phonics. "a_e," "ai," and "ay." Nice and simple.

I launched straight into the read-and-repeat phonics words, forgetting momentarily the importance of rehearsing sounds repeatedly first. "Kate"--"Kate"; "cake"--"cake"; "lake"--"lake"; "Gail"--"Gail"; "mail"--"沒有".

Wait, what?

That's right,  "沒有," pronounced "mei-yo," which means, roughly translated, "no" or "don't have." And my entire class of 5th graders said it, without missing a beat, in perfect unison. And just like that, my day was made.

Monday mornings suck: this fact is universal. But, with a class like 5-10 first thing to keep me on my toes, I can't help but think that I'll be able to face them pretty easily, 沒有問題--no problem.