Take This Job and Shove It!

Over that past few weeks I have been plauged with the sneezes. Now I have the wheezes. God help me if I get the cheeses :)

It's allergy season in Aleppo! I am making a run for some antihistamines post-haste. It hasn't been to bad, but the wheezes are a bit troublesome. I can't really play football too hard when I can't breath. I should get an inhaler!

Well the big news of the week is that Nine Fingered Ben got fired! Actually he was intellectually downsized. Reshuffled in a financing scheme? Not really...he got full pay. Apparently someone at the Ministry of Love found his resume had Social Studies teacher on it, and he teaches English. So as can be seen by a non-partial witness there is NO other reason Ben was let go. He wasn't let go for teaching the US election. No one from the Ministry of Misinformation came and tore the notes out of our students books. He wasn't let go for being a squeeky wheel. He wasn't let go for taking a bold stab at teaching the meaning of stereotypes. He never daringly discussed "Every Arab is a Terrorist" with his class and why this is a stereotype. He had no discussions at school. His students learned nothing. He never cared for his classes, his co-workers, or his families. He never recieved overwhelming support from all the families when he lost the tip of his finger at our OSHA approved facility. He never gave his best to make the school a better place. I'm sure he WILL come back when he has properly studied an approved ENGLISH curriculum. He never really knew enough English to teach English. His English sucked, pardon my French. He won't be missed by his students who he didn't tell what really happened. His coworkers won't be forced to cover his classes for no extra pay, nor will they recieve any grief when the middle school children don't pass any exams. None of this was the fault of our Principal or Director. Our principal didn't hire him as a Social Studies teacher. Our principal didn't encourage him to teach the election. Our principal never told him he should teach an American curicculum. Our principal is the best principal I have ever seen. Our school is the best school in Aleppo. Our school is the best school in the Middle East. Our school hires the most qualified teachers in the world. I can make 100 dollars and hour tutoring here. I HAVE seen pigs fly!

Note to the random reader

Hello random reader,

I have written this blog for my friends, my family, and my sanity. All of the above understand my dry and somewhat odd sense of humor. Please understand that I never intend to make fun of anyone's Religion, Ideology, Ethos, Race, Nationality, Etc. I am very grateful for my experiences in the Middle East, and am also gracious to my host country Syria. I hope that if I have offended any random readers with my sense of humor, that they realize I am not making fun of anyone or anything, but just telling a story. I write how I would speak to my closest friends and to someone who doesn't know me this might seem a bit insensitive. I appologize for any offense.

Sincerely,

Chris