***** I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE CLEAR THAT I AM, IN FACT, WORKING ON MY HOMEWORK AND NOT DOING A BLOG ENTRY *****
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Comment the 1. Yesterday sucked.
Comment the B. Yes, yesterday sucked.
And here's why...
I'm RAing... for 20 French kids... right? Yah ok so anyway... Saturday was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect, our timing was perfect, our planning was perfect! Kate (my boss) ROCKS! Only problem is that we walked from Watertower all the way to Buckingham and THEN line danced and THEN watched fireworks AND THEN had to get to the LeSalle street station... but it was all good. And then Sunday happened.
We started late because the French kids thought that we were doing things way too early in the morning. So ok, we started later. Kate even got up at unholy in the morning to go ask the kitchen staff to let us have cereal and milk in the dorm rather than the usual really freaking good warm faire in the caf. I went and picked up Ryan (read: hour or so drive one way) because he was slated to teach the kids how to do origami before we went to Chinatown later that day. We got there in time and the kids were grouchy as all get out. But whatever. Ryan teaches them how to do that crane one? Really cool. The kids actually seemed to have a good time doing it (God forbid). We were late getting on the bus for the train because one of the French chaperones had locked his keys in his room (for like the fourth time or so) and we had to get security. *sigh*
But we finally get going and get to the train and that's all good and we get downtown and go to the free trolley stop (almost everything we do has to be free...  ) and we're waiting and waiting and waiting and YES it is HOT and HUMID... it's Chicago in the summer.... I mean... duh. The kids are cranky, I'm cranky, we're all tired from the day before and it's HOT. Finally a trolley comes but it's all full up. So Kate decides that it's time to go get on the L. Ok, whatever. It took a bit but we found the frigging thing.
The student transfers didn't work. *sigh* And of course, the kids are blocking the entire station and not letting people through so the guy is just like FINE... just GO and we got through free. Ok whatever.
We get to Chinatown (the Summer Festival was on Sunday btw), and the kids start bitching. It's too hot. It's too humid. They're bored. This is stupid. Whaa waa waaa... Kate's pissy... I'm just pissed. Akim (French director), decides to let the kids run around by themselves... in Chinatown... during a festival. I'm so cranky at this point that I'm like ok, whatever. Ryan and I take off and play in the festival (which was hella cool btw. saw LOTS of stuff I wanted and nothing I could afford. also couldn't remember which one was the Goddess of Wisdom... wanted her for my classroom) and periodically we see the kids wandering around... looking bored... and pissy... and rude. I ignored them so I wouldn't schmack anyone. So Ryan and I head back to the restaurant an hour early and there are like half the kids sitting on newspapers in front of the restaurant looking for all the world like homeless people. *sigh*
Ryan and I go hide across the street in a strip mall.
We had dinner at the Phoenix (btw: not bad but either they hated us or something because the food was sub par for that place) and the kids didn't like it and blah blah blah. AND the French chaperones refused to eat the dish they brought out because they are vegetarians and there was meat TOUCHING the food and they can't eat food that meat has touched. *SIGH* So the lady takes it in the back and I'm willing to bet all she did was take those bits off the plate and bring it back. Hell, it's what I would have done. So the kids were whining and they didn't like tea they wanted pop and blah blah blah... and THEN it started raining. Like skies opening and flooding occurs raining. So we wait, whatever.
Here's the problem. It's quarter to six and our train is at 6.45 and the one after that is 8.45. *SIGH* Finally I get fed and I ready everyone up and we walk in the rain which had lightened up slightly. We get to the L stop and loe and behold the passes don't work again. After quite a long amount of bitching on everyone's part and some fairly hostile and nasty behaviour, I get hella pissed off and just give the nice CTA lady (and she was hella nice... I wish I had gotten her name so I could have written a nice letter about how well she handled the situation) 20 bucks for the kids' tickets because Akim and Kate wanted the lady to just let us through and the lady was trying to point out that she couldn't because she wasn't particularly interested in the idea of losing her job. We get through the turnstile (the friggin kids couldn't get it to work right) just in time to miss the train. *SIGH* I am so furious at this point that Ryan drags me to the far end of the platform and basically holds me down from schmacking someone or going and playing with the pretty third rail... it was a tossup at that point. *grump*
THEN we get back to LeSalle and Congress and this GUY hits Ryan with his coat in the head and screams "What the FUCK was THAT!!!" and pushes me aside and starts pushing my kids trying to get through and he's pushing HARD. It is NOT pleasant. The whole time he's swearing and being horrid. I follow him to make sure he doesn't hurt the kids and when he gets to the front of the group he starts screaming at the kids and trying to start something. Akim and Majid (French Chaperones) are trying to get at the guy and I'M trying to keep them from getting the guy and I'M wanting at this guy but I'm too busy keeping the guys from the guy. *SIGH*
We finally decide to go to Buckingham and play games for the 2 hours we have to wait until the train. The first thing the kids do is decide to play some bastardization of Truth or Dare. All I see is two of the boys sprinting towards the fountain and vaulting the barrier and pulling off their socks and shoes to GET IN THE FRIGGING FOUNTAIN. Now mind you kids, the place is, of course, swarming with cops because it's the summer in Chicago!! Duh! And Kate and I are like, Akim, that's ILLEGAL, make them STOP. And he's like Yes, yes. and does NOTHING. So we start getting HOSTILE and he calls them back. The kids precede to go up to all these couples and ask them to do stupid things on dares. Mind you, the kids, in their infinite wisdom, send the girls to talk to these really scary looking Mexican guys. Can we play the STUPID game? *sigh*
On the train on our way home we end up having to stop because during that deluge, some lines went down on the tracks. Kate tries to call the school to tell them that we're getting in late and they should tell the bus that's picking us up.
The number was busy. We should have just given up then.
Of course, the power was out on campus. And what part of campus do you ask? Oh yes, ONLY THE PART WHERE OUR DORM IS. *SIGH* And the kids are just a constant stream of whining. The school decides to put us up in ANOTHER dorm.
I still have to drive Ryan home mind you. Finally after settling all the kiddos (which took forever and I was about 5 minutes and one comment away from killing the lot of'em). Kate was just like, take Ryan home and just stay there...
So I did. The drive home was like driving in a slip-n-slide because apparently God was having a second go at the washing the evil off the earth.
It was a long day. | 
