Thriller in Manila: Weeks 2 and 3

This should have been done last Saturday, but the day got away from me.
The morning got off to a rocky start because of the 9am fire drill. We were notified in advance by having a note slipped under our doors the day before, but a fire alarm at 9am on a Saturday morning is never fun. To add insult to injury, I live on the 28th floor, so the walk down the stairs in 90F heat was a good time. Glad I showered!
I had to get up early anyway for another work sponsored shopping trip to a mall called Greenhills. It wasn't really a mall per se, more like a collection of vendors at an indoor market. They had, and I bought, lovely pearls. They also had mountains of bags, furniture, perfumes and various bric-a-brac. After a three hour shopping marathon, I left with a string of freshwater pearls and a pair of matching earrings. To soothe my body and soul, a went for a massage at the local spa. For less than $20 (including tip), I got a one hour massage, plus relaxation in the jacuzzi and in the steam room. Not to mention lovely ginger tea and cool, refreshing spring water. It was heaven! On the way home I got caught in a mini monsoon without my umbrella. I needed a power nap to recover.
This was the culmination of a week that featured three days of meetings and classroom prep, followed by two days of teaching. New colleagues took me out for drinks on Wednesday night to welcome me, Thursday night to celebrate the first day back with the kids, and Friday night to celebrate a week well done. Saturday night was the all staff cocktail party at the superintendent's house. By the time I made it there, all I wanted to do was go to bed. However, I did the political thing and stayed for a few hours to schmooze, eat, and be merry. Colleagues encouraged me to buy a massage table for my house to avoid getting caught in future downpours. That way I could order my massage in after a hard day at work. Decadence knows no bounds here!
I'm overwhelmed by work and could not wait for this week to end. It's been full on since I stepped off the plane!
I teach 8th grade with 3 other people as well as the 5 English as Second Language and Special Ed teachers. It's made planning a nightmare! I'm not used to having to share my toys in the sandbox, especially not with 8 other people. I had crazy planning meetings all last week where it seems nothing got planned. I did not put my best foot forward with the kids this week. I just hope that it will get better and I'll feel like I have a handle on things soon.
My second week was just as overwhelming. I was at work from 7am until 5pm every day. It takes me forever to do silly things because I don't know where anything is or how to get anything done. On Friday of this week, I finally got a printer that works in my room and a new keyboard that didn't look like someone had eaten their lunch on it. Speaking of lunch, I had two lunch meetings this week that took up the entire 30 min time slot. No one brought food or seemed phased that most of us had just come from teaching and had to go right back without a break to pee or eat. I felt ashamed that I came into the first meeting on Tuesday late with my salad from the cafeteria. The head of my department made me feel worse by starting with an apology to everyone for taking up their lunch and a promise, which he did not keep, to make it quick. I didn't get to eat my salad during the meeting, had to teach afterwards and didn't touch the salad until 3pm when the students left. I learned to eat earlier by Friday's lunch meeting because that too took the entire time and no one brought food. I was glad that I ate in the period before that I wasn't teaching. These people must be machines. The combination of mental and physical energy that I'm spending in an attempt to do my job requires that I eat. It's too long for me to go from my 6am breakfast until 3pm with no food. I thought the pace of life here would be slower than in London, but it seems much faster. I'm not sure if I can cope.
I'm also panicking because next week is open house. I'm sure my room will be full. All the parents will want to have a look at me because I'm new. Hopefully things will go well. I've been given presentations to use with them, but speaking to the grownups always makes me anxious anyway. I'll take kids over adults any day!
On Monday I hired a maid/cleaner/helper/ personal assistant. I thought about not doing it, but my apartment was a wreck after the week I'd had last week. I had a fruit fly infestation, trash cans full to the brim, and tons of laundry to do. Not to mention grocery shopping to do and dishes to wash. She's an older woman, a breast cancer survivor, who comes in for half a day Monday through Friday to tidy up my place. When she started on Tuesday, I was amazed at how clean it was! She cleans stuff that I didn't realize was even dirty! My shoes were organized neatly under my bed. The bed was remade. Laundry was done. Dishes were washed and put away. The fruit flies were gone. She cleaned out the fridge. I came home exhausted from work, but happy to be in my clean, calm space. She even sent me a text that evening to ask if everything was ok! Household help may have changed my life forever. I'm still struck by the irony of the fact that my grandmother once WAS someone's household help and I now employ someone in my own home. I wonder if she ever dreamed that might happen. I never did. My life continues to surprise me.