Back. Anyway. I tend to cut people slack about that type of ex-pat behaviour, depending. For embassy and military personnel, American or British, sometimes there are "non-frat" rules in place, and always we have to report "close and continuing contact" with foreign nationals. So incentives are few, but a lot of embassy folks break the boundaries anyway, or at the very least associate with other ex-pats from whereever. I'm sure this security stance is the basis for the no ex-pat rule at the British Club. (edit: My bad, 'twas the BCA and not the Club. In that case, dunno. I'm guessing just your basic "private club" stupidity.)

When missionaries do the "us-and-them" thing I just want to slap them, but proselytizing is something I hate anyway. And then there are a lot of career expats, folks who've lived abroad forever, who fall into this behaviour because it's what everyone else does...I neither forgive them nor want to kill them, they just are. I suspect Fay's date is in this category. It's easier to snark, because the truth is, you will always be on the outside. You might, with work, develop some good friendships, even fall in love, but you'll never really belong. And you will never ever think squat toilets are a good idea.

Also, what do you all think of this no zero-grades policy?

I get the point of what they're trying to do, but I'm not sure it's the best way of going about it. I agree that missing one math assignment shouldn't kill one's grade, but missing a term paper probably should have a significant impact. Instead of a "no zero" policy, they should probably be sure to weight different assigments according to their importance.

IT just seems like, if you know yo're probably going to do a piss poor job on an assignment, and you'll get the same score for doing nothing, why bother doing anything? When it is my gut feeling that you will learn something by doing even a piss poor job on the assignment.

Hope your friend is okay, P-C, and checks in soon.

When it is my gut feeling that you will learn something by doing even a piss poor job on the assignment.

I'd say this depends a lot on the assignment. I've had buttloads I didn't learn anything at all from. I'm not saying they were good assignments -- I'm going to strive to make sure assignments are learning tools -- but they did exist.

Well, that's a whole other problem. Changing grading systems isn't gonna fix poor assignments.

Well, in theory you learn to do work when assigned to. Even if nothing more.

just like when I was on the complete opposite end of India when the tsunami hit

God, yes. I ended up yelling at my mother to stop her from calling my sister, who wasn't near any coasts, if I remember correctly. Enough people needed the phone lines, so she should just sit pretty.

Raquel, there really are non-frat rules? That's so hysterical from a small-country third world perspective. We were fratted up the ying yang, every place we lived. Okay, less so in Russia, but that's a language-driven issue.

I try not to assign shit-assignments. Even if it's just a grammar worksheet, I know that 60% of the class really needs it, and the 5% who are very good can always use the practice.

I don't do things like crossword puzzles or word searches; I think they're pretty silly for high school age students. If someone doesn't turn in, say, a 10 point assignment, I always ask them if they have it, what happened, etc. If they don't follow up, 0. Accountability, dude. When you get a job, if you don't show up, you're not gonna get 30% of your paycheck, just because $0 is mean.

Now, if it's a term paper or something, then I am gonna kick and scream and offer makeup and just deduct points for lateness, but I am going to try to work with the kid as much as I can. But after all this, if they don't turn it in? I have no problems with the zero grade.

just like when I was on the complete opposite end of India when the tsunami hit.

On 9/11 I got calls all day from people I hadn't heard from in a while being all "Thank GOD I got through, are you ok, you're in New York!".

I'd thank them for being so concerned, but explain that New York was a pretty big state, and Elmira was just fine.

Raquel, there really are non-frat rules?

Oh yeah. When we were in Romania they'd been lifted for the dips but not the Marines. So we'd throw a party, and the staff sgt would keep coming up to me or Robert and asking "That girl in the red? Is she Romanian?" to which we'd respond "No, she's Moldovan, it's okay."

This was one of the reasons the Marines loved us.