Hectic week

That relaxing afternoon walking along the shores of Lake Huron seems like more than a week away. The first week in an ESL semester is usually hectic and this week has been no exception. For example,

• I got my class schedule on Friday; and my books, classroom assignment, and roster on Monday when I started teaching
• One of my classes has five more students enrolled than the maximum number
• The other class only had three students on the first day (thankfully more showed up because otherwise I could have faced a pay cut)
• Eight of my students feel that they've been placed in the wrong level and want to move up
• My vehicle died Tuesday, and I've borrowed three different vehicles since then
• Two of my colleagues found other full time jobs and quit within days (hours) of the first day of class, leaving our department scrambling
• Since blueberry farm workers are in short demand, since half of our crew started back to school this week, I worked there two mornings before heading to the university
• The tutoring and lab schedules that I labored over will now need to be revised due to changes in the schedule
• I almost got a migraine headache on Wednesday

 So, I pause for a moment to look at pictures of the lake and remind myself that order will soon be restored.