Summary: The university organized a nice dinner event for all its teachers to celebrate World Teacher's Day. That same weekend, I came down with the stomach flu, but I am back to normal now!
Teacher's Day
I didn’t know that a World Teacher’s Day existed until I got an invitation to attend our university’s celebration of it. My students have jokingly told me that our school doesn’t supply toilet paper in any of our restrooms because it’s on a tight budget. So, I guess these celebrations are where our budget is going into because the banquet was quite extravagant.
The university rented out a huge event hall in the city’s amusement park. There, we watched a live string quartet, traditional dancers, drummers, and pop singers while waiters went around serving our three course meal. The former prime minister also showed up to give a little speech. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what he said because the event planners placed all the foreign teachers in one table, so there was no one to translate for us. On the bright side, it meant that I got to practice my Chinese with the Chinese teachers around the table.
There was also a ton of toasting. Every time I thought the coast was clear for me to sit down, there would be another toast that I had to get up for. It was quite the exercise.
Stomach Flu
That weekend went downhill pretty quickly when I came down with a mysterious illness. It first started off with joint aches and chills in my legs, which eventually spread to the rest of my body as a full-on fever. Not to get too graphic, but on Monday, I was using the restroom every hour. I didn’t feel like eating anything. I was also severely dehydrated because any water or Powerade that I drank was quickly dispelled without my body absorbing it. Worst of all, no amount of my Burt’s bees lip balm was hydrating my dry lips. I was in disbelief because I had been awfully sick exactly one month ago, and I thought Mongolia would give me a longer break in between our next deathmatch.
It took a while for me to figure out what was wrong with my body because I've never had the stomach flu before. Yet, I should’ve known it was coming for me because I remembered getting emails everyday from a different student saying they couldn't come to class due to some "stomach illness issues."
I think the hardest part about the sickness wasn't necessarily the physical discomfort but the difficulty I experienced in communicating my sickness with my office. I got considerable pushback when I asked if I could cancel my classes so that I could recover. When I offered to teach my class online, I was then asked if it really was not possible for me to show up in-person. I know my team didn't mean ill will. It definitely can be disruptive for a student's learning when a 2 hour 40 minute class gets cancelled, especially when there isn't a substitute teacher who can take my place.
Part of me wonders if the difficulty I experienced was a difficulty associated with the workplace in general, or if it was truly a cultural difference. I try to be careful with ascribing new situations to"cultural differences" because it might just be me playing into preconceived stereotypes I have of cultures that I'm unfamiliar with. Sometimes, it's tough to figure out if my difficulties are universal, or if it's due to cultural differences (in whatever broad sense "culture" means). But either way, luckily, the illness did go away after a week. Hopefully, Mongolia gives me a longer break between our next fight.
Horseback Riding
To end this blog off on a good note, here are some pictures of my horseback riding trip over the weekend. It was an incredible experience! It was the longest ride I've had so far (three hours). By the third hour, I was feeling soreness all over my lower back, butt, and shins from constantly bouncing up and down on the saddle.
I named my horse Jimmer, and I already miss him - although, I think it was a one-sided friendship. I'm a big softie with animals, so I couldn't get myself to whip him with the rope to make him go faster like the other riders. I figured that if I was the horse carrying a lame human on my back for three hours, the last thing I would want is to get harassed by it. He was a gentle, calm horse, that could not stop munching, and I loved him for that.
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