The Plaint of the Camel

Monday, October 20. Today something very exciting happened. As usual, I have my "worst" class first thing Monday morning. However, today all the students were attentive, participated, and didn't talk. I never even picked up my fly swatter! I had them give themselves a round of applause at the end of class! It was exhilarating.

My lesson plan this week is on Pronouncing "-ed." I had never thought about this before but the "-ed" at the end of the past tense of regular verbs can be pronounced in one of three ways: "t", "d", or "id" (a separate syllable). Think about "walked," "called," and "added." The higher ability class that I have later on Monday morning seems to be fairly conversant with this concept so fortunately I have another listening exercise and a poem to extend lesson for them. The poem is by Charles Edward Carryl called The Plaint of the Camel, which is silly and has good vocab. It's an old poem but I had never read it before I found it on the internet. I'll put it at the end of this entry.

Today we found out that we have Thursday afternoon and Friday off (they are giving examinations at our school), so Tiffany, David and I spend part of the evening planning a trip to Guilin for the weekend. It's amazing that we found out so far in advance (for China, that is!).

The Plaint of the Camel

Canary birds feed on sugar and seed,
Parrots have crackers to crunch;
And as for the poodles, they tell me the noodles
Have chickens and cream for their lunch.
But there's never a question
About my digestion—
Anything does for me!

Cats, you're aware, can repose in a chair,
Chickens can roost upon rails;
Puppies are able to sleep in a stable,
And oysters can slumber in pails.
But no one supposes
A poor Camel dozes—
Any place does for me!

Clams are enclosed where it's never exposed,
Coops are constructed for hens;
Kittens are treated to houses well heated,
And pigs are protected by pens.
But a Camel comes handy
Wherever it's sandy—
Anywhere does for me!

People would laugh if you rode a giraffe
Or mounted the back of an ox;
It's nobody's habit to ride on a rabbit
Or try to bestraddle a fox.
But as for a Camel, he's
Ridden by families—
Any load does for me!

A snake is as round as a hole in the ground,
And weasels are wavy and sleek;
And no alligator could ever be straighter
Than lizards that live in a creek,
But a Camel's all lumpy
And bumpy and humpy—
Any shape does for me!
—CHARLES EDWARD CARRYL.

Just think about trying to explain the difference between "lump," "bump," and "hump" !!