It's the small things...

...that can make or break your day.

I hate teaching in building ten. Especially on the sixth floor. Every Monday I teach two classes in a row from 1:30-5:10 on opposite ends of the campus. In addition, I need my computer for one class and 27 student journals for the other class. These requirements equal a lot of weight on my back. Add high heels into the mix and there is NO way I'm hiking up six flights of stairs. However, that refusal leaves me in another predicament--fighting my way onto one of the two elevators in a very large building. I've grown accustomed to the fact that I have to show up at least ten minutes before class if I'm choosing this avenue. I have to wait for at least five minutes before making it onto an elevator. I spend those five minutes bracing and positioning myself against the 75 other people wanting to make it through the small opening of the elevator doors. My first decision is always which door to fight for, and this decision involves analyzing both the size of the crowd in front of each door and the floor location of each elevator. I know I won't make it in by the first round, but by the second...maybe just maybe...and the second elevator is on the sixth floor, as opposed to the other which is on the second going up...and so the reasoning goes. Once on the elevator, I get smashed up against a wall or in between people. Chinese people on the whole don't weight that much. Consequently, they can fit an amazingly large number of people in an elevator before it starts beeping that it's overweight. I'm sure with my computer and journals I equal at least two Chinese girls. Anyways, I weekly brace myself as I walk to building ten for the frustration of the elevator experience. Imagine my glee, therefore, upon entering the building today to discover NO crowds in front of the elevator. There was a lone man with a stern face yelling at any student who dared to creep near the elevator. Aha...the privileges of being a teacher. Today I waited for just a few moments in peace, and then enjoyed a ride in which I could fully extend any of my limbs. It's amazing how such a small thing can make my day. And ironic how the very same thing may have made a whole lot of students climbing stairs quite grumpy.

Notice a few changes? This morning, after my first class, I realized I had nothing to do. I was fully on top and ahead of things (except grad work, but who's thinking about that). Consequently, I decided to play around with the blog. :) However, that state of readiness changed in a blink of an eye when I went to my writing class this afternoon and collected 26 five paragraph essays written for homework--and then two hours later 26 more essays written for the final exam. The hole will only deepen tomorrow when I collect another 52 essays from my other class. Oh the joys of being a writing teacher!
Lastly, speaking of small joys...I picked up this nativity set at a cool store in Beijing over the weekend. It was an early Christmas gift to myself and one that I'm looking forward to enjoying for years to come!