Last week, I agreed to show up early to help the students prepare. Which began today: no problem too insurmountable, and tomorrow will be much smoother.
And then this afternoon, just before I went off to my last push, there was a Thai conversation with frequent mention of the farang. When I made my presence curiously available, I learned that there had been a department-wide meeting on Friday and I had been elected to the committee and nominated to be the speaker.
I had a twofold response (call it simultaneous):
1) I missed a department meeting? When was it announced? How can I learn about them in the future? Am I in trouble?
2) Okay, so what exactly IS this competition? What's the committee all about? And the speaking? Will I have even the slightest chance to prepare?
And then it was time for class and the room vacated as quickly as my calendar filled up.
Would it have made any difference were I at the meeting? Had I known about it and attended, would I have been able to understand any bit of the meeting?
Ultimately, no, no on all counts, so why devote time, energy, or thought to it?
So, uh, here's to thinking on the fly and flying by the gut, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment