An Outing with the Muffins

Everyone enjoys a good field trip now and again, and Socrates and I are no exception. Today we join about three hundred kindergartners on their journey to a field of dry straw.

The first time around on this field trip, there was no intelligence to suggest our destination or our purpose. The accompanying English teachers were left to their own devices to figure out what what going on. In the meantime, unlimited free-time with all our Chinese-speaking cuddlebunnies. It turned out that we had been led there to make earth-ovens and cook vegetables like sweet potatoes and corn by wrapping them in foil, placing them in the ovens, and packing down the hot earth all over the parcels.

It also turned out that the Muffins did little or nothing to aid or even heed the activity for which they'd traveled 45 minutes in the bus. Most of them were too busy throwing handfuls of dry straw at each other and Socrates. He's happy enough now, but I know he's going to grump about trying to get that stuff out of his outfit later.

I don't think that anyone noticed there were two of me here, either, because it's a big field and I teach about 120 kindergartners between all the classes. I'm trying to avoid Quondam-Anne, though, because I think seeing me would be damaging to her already-fragile state of mind. She's approaching the zenith of culture shock, and though she's enjoying the company of the children, she's still a little confused about what everyone's doing in the field today. Not to mention what seeing us together would do to the children.

For photo coverage of this event, click on this link.