The New Old School

Tomorrow is the first day of classes at school. Last week, teachers had to show up to start getting ready for the new school year. But this year, it's been a bit of a challenge because the school underwent a massive remodel. In fact, it's still happening but classes will still begin tomorrow.

The school was a bit dumpy, but hey, it's China. And there are much worse schools here. It was functional but becoming more and more outdated by the day. The chairman decided to revamp everything. After all, this is a private international school. It should look more like one than a dusty old Chinese building, right? Right!

So please, come with me and see my new old school, which I'm sure based on the title of this post alone, my dear friend Kary Drake (see? I made you famous again girl!) might have mistaken for a post about our old dancing days in the club circuit with our awesome JNCOs. I tried to find some old posts with photos of how things looked before, but I'm afraid I don't really have anything. You can check here for my old classroom and here for the school lobby. I'm really surprised and mostly delighted by the changes because when we went on winter break, I was just told we'd get wallpaper in our rooms. I had no idea they were going to go all out.

For my friends who formerly worked here with me, this is the hallway just outside 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. It looks way different now.  Though I am perplexed about the bright electric pee-colored glass where the boards used to be. I'm not sure how work is supposed to be displayed on those.

The elementary girls' bathroom was a nasty dump before. This looks classy, though I do feel like I've stepped into a high-class KTV karaoke bar or something. Hurry up with my whiskey, damit! Oh, wait...I'm at school...never mind...

 Funny story...our kindergarten bathroom was being worked on and therefore, unusable. So I ran here to the elementary girls' bathroom to go pee. Only this is what I found. At first, I flipped out because ZOMG! Toilets and no stalls! How do we go to the bathroom with no walls?!? Is this Sochi? But then I realized the toilets weren't even hooked up yet. Here's hoping those stalls were built over the weekend. This is such a great improvement because all through the school, every bathroom had squatters instead of toilets. Except kindergarten of course. Because we rock.

 Here's the other side of that bathroom, by the way.

 This is the lobby. They've built some interesting bench thing that needs a paint job or cushions, or both. And we are sporting an enormous garbage pile in front of kindergarten.

 We got new desks in the kindergarten office! So much nicer. I'm not sure how I feel about this old lady wall paper everywhere but the light green is really soothing at least. Oh and we got new floors. FINALLY!

 Kindergarten hallway. For those who have been here before, they got rid of that hideous transom that was over the door you see at the end of the hallway.

 Down this hall and to the right is the kindergarten bathroom, still under construction. I hope it's finished for tomorrow or else we'll have to take the kids over to elementary every time they have to use the bathroom.

 Our activity room looks like it will be closed for a while. Hey kids, want to play in here? Yikes!

 Walking down the hallway toward my classroom...

 Kindergarten library which I fixed up myself...

 Aside from the floors that need to be hit by the cleaning people and the big cable in the back which I left out so the proper people could deal with it, this place is ready to go.

 All we need are some nice table clothes. I hate that they didn't replace our tables and chairs. These things are so worn out!

It just needs a good cleaning on these floors here...and for those holes to be covered in the walls. There used to be a big, long sink in this room when I first started here and a year or so ago, they got rid of it. It sucked at first because we were accustomed to taking the kids there to wash their hands or rinse of paint brushes instead of going all the way to the bathroom but we've learned to deal without it. Still, I sure hope these holes are covered for tomorrow, or else I bet some curious little children will be turning the valves within.

My friend Jon's classroom is the first on the left, and mine is at the end just before the big white door. The construction crew left so much crap in the hallways and this is AFTER we cleaned it up.

Jon's classroom looks nice now though he got stuck with pink walls. He has my old classroom that I had when I first started at this school. After one semester though, they moved my class into the room I now have.

Which is this room. I like it better. I think it's bigger but if it isn't, it always has seemed bigger to me. My room is not as complete as Jon's. Why? Well, for one, dig on those missing ceiling tiles. My floors also need to be cleaned by the cleaning crew.

And then there's this of course. The electricians came by and went all down the hall. They came in through the big white door next to my classroom but somehow, they skipped right past my room and did EVERY other switch in the kindergarten. You have got to be kidding me! This better be repaired when I get in there in the morning or I am going to snap. They also skipped over my room when it came time to mount my flatscreen back onto the wall. Morons!

More of my classroom.

My makeshift desk until the new teacher desk arrives.

And finally, I leave you with this sea of metal parts that are the bases for all the desks in the rest of the school. They were assembling these all day Friday. It's my guess they were still doing so the rest of the weekend.

I'll take photos tomorrow and let you know what is still being worked on and how it all goes. Wish me luck!