I didnt think they knew about April Fools Day in the Middle Kingdom, so I almost got caught with a beauty of a trick this morning when I arrived at school. Id no sooner sat down in the office than Laurie, the English teachers coordinator, said, Oh Graham, Im sorry but we forgot to tell you that you have no classes this morning so you can go home. I looked at her with surprise and said, Why? Because you had to come early for the park on Friday. Well I know the Chinese make you work extra days to make up for holidays, but Id never heard of them giving you a day off to make up for extra class time you may do, so I was a bit suspicious. I could also see suppressed smiles on the faces of the other ladies. So I didnt jump up and dash for the door in glee. I stayed put and started making small talk. Told them about my exploratory random bus ride on Saturday afternoon. It still hadnt clicked that it was April 1! Finally Anna, my Chinese support teacher, stood up and gathered her bag and said, Ok Graham, lets go to class. I knew it was too good to be true, I said. Then Laurie said, We were playing an April Fools Day trick on you. Well how embarrassed I would have been if I had headed out the door to go home! Good one, girls!
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 02:06:43 +0000