Monday (Well, Tuesday as I write)

I woke up this morning feeling very hopeful. Well, actually the morning didn't start out that way. I actually woke up feeling migraine-y (that's a word, yes?). Also I woke up feeling sleep deprived. See, the past few nights I've been getting to bed at incredibly indecent hours. Examples include the following:

Friday night we had people over and I went to bed at three thirty a.m.

Saturday night we had people over and I went to bed at two.

Last night I went to bed early (ha!) at eleven, only to wake up at six for class.

Mondays are busy, as are Wednesdays. Tuesdays only feel busy because although I only have two classes, they're spread out over an eight-hour period (one at eleven, one from six to eight thirty). So the first half of my week always drags and is stressful with all the things I have to remember.

But after popping an aspirin-caffeine-acetaminophen to calm my brain (and experiencing a hefty amount of caffeine-induced jitters to accompany my morning), I felt a lot better. The day was wonderfully brisk outside. I got to wear my woolen peacoat for the first time this fall. I made it to my first class on time (well, ahead of the T.A. at least). I got some knitting done in my first two classes. I heard a good Weepies song on my iPod. I knew most of the tunes we practiced in Irish ensemble. I had some yummy chicken soup and an enjoyable discussion with our Institute director and with JQ who is quickly becoming one of my favorite people in the world. And then I went to Institute class and got to lead part of the discussion, and I rocked it. Brother B came in to find me still up at the front facilitating the discussion and said he owed me part of his paycheck. My friend D-Bro and Elder B paid me very kind compliments which they said were not compliments because they were facts (and D gave me advice on who I should marry, which I found hilarious). And then my tutoring partner showed up and we planned for our lesson that we'd teach the little girl we're helping learn English.

So right up until about three thirty, the day was going swimmingly.

That was when we arrived at the home of our student, and her mother decided I wasn't doing enough to help out with the tutoring sessions.

See, my partner and I are in different classes, both of which require that we work with an English learner as field experience. My partner (let's call her Sue) is required to have more hours than I am, and she's been working with our student for a couple of weeks longer than I have, partly because she got the assignment first, and partly because the week I was supposed to start, I got sick. I wasn't there for the first week or so, when the Mom suggested all these activities to Sue for them to do, like going to the circus and going to the FSU Rez, and going to Tom Brown Park. Sue called me and we've been getting together to plan our activities with Student before we go over to her house each week, putting together vocabulary lists and talking about Student's progress. This week the theme is "Circus," so Sue found a book about the circus for us to read and we spent the afternoon working on a lesson plan and looking up vocabulary words for us to introduce. Mom's supposed to get tickets for us to go to the circus on Thursday.

So we get there today and Mom says she got the tickets, but only for Mom, Student, and Sue. I'm surprised because I thought I was going too, since I'm, you know, also the tutor. Then Mom asks us what the plan is for today. Sue reminds her of the circus theme and I mention the book and the vocab. Then Mom turns to me and asks, "And what do you have?"

I don't know what to say. I start to reiterate the vocabulary that we'll have Student do, and Mom shakes her head. "Do you have anything planned for today?" And she's looking at me as if she's expecting me to come up with an entirely new and exciting lesson plan all on my own right there on the spot. I'm confused. I say that Sue and I are partners in this tutoring business. She goes on to say that the circus was Sue's idea, that this is "50-50" and that she wonders what I have planned. And then she tells Sue that she doesn't need to come next Monday, that I'll be coming on my own.

And all the while I'm standing there thinking, what the heck, lady? First of all, she's not paying us to do this. It's for a class. I'm not doing this for kicks. I'm doing this to fulfill a requirement. And working with a partner is not only perfectly legitimate, but it's one of the only ways I can possibly complete the assignment. Public transportation takes twice as long to get out to where she lives, and if she really insists on me making a special trip out there without Sue, I fully intend to count transit time as part of the experience.

So after she got through making me feel incredibly awkward, we got to take Student outside to have her read to us. Sue dropped me off at the Institute and I retreated to the library to lick my proverbial wounds. I had D-Bro and Ang to help, and I vented to my roommate once I got home. Then I emailed Student's Mom trying to clear the air (is she really keeping me from going to the circus? She really wants to keep me from getting my hours done, just so she can insist on extra sessions with her daughter? REALLY?) and forewent a nap to bike to the Institute for FHE.

Wes, Lena, Vic and I continued with our Firefly saga until the wee hours. I love my friends. Much as I love those who were with us before, it was nice to not have them that talk at the theatre to sully the experience this time around.