New Semester, New Faces

It's the third week of Fall 2015 semester already.  The time flies by, and this semester has had all of its typical first-of-the-semester experiences already:

• The first day of class, I have the 8:30 am time slot.  I thought Mark and I would be the first ones to arrive, but the new teacher, whose office is across from mine, has been here for half an hour already.  He's wearing a Bart Simpson tie and is already off to find his classroom.  He rushes back, minutes later, asking around for a dry-erase marker.
• I run into other nervous teachers in the stairwell who joke about finding their classrooms and look excited.  :)
• None of us slept well last night.
• The students are eagerly waiting in the classroom.  The Macau students are sitting together, the other students are scattered; and in most cases boys sit with boys and girls sit with girls.
• Finding out "English Names" and comparing notes with other teachers after class:  "Seven," "Orange," "Mosquito" (because I'm small, teacher), and "Sunny" whose face is anything but (she looks very sour and never laughs at my jokes). :P
• The first-day writing diagnostic is administered.  Reading them after class, one can find such phrases as "However, just as every coin has its back, having a part-time job also has its advantages and disadvantages."
• I've had dozens of emails already, asking for leave for such things as body-checks and immigration office appointments; by the end of the semester, nobody will email for leave, realizing that they are just as excusable with a simple Student Leave Application form submitted to the main office.
• Students still wait after class with questions and everyone gives a cheery "bye!" as they rush off to lunch.

Oh, beginning of the semester, my favorite time of the year!! (Besides the last day of class, Spring semester).

So there's truth in this little meme (from Facebook), after all...haha!