Assisted Procrastination

I arrived home from work today to hear about The Kid’s day at school. Apparently, they had a small party in class to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I’m not sure what exactly they did learn, but she came home with 2 special treats – a fortune cookie and a large package of Nissin Chicken Cup Noodle. That’s right, a giant cup of just-add-water ramen noodles!

I’ll pause to allow you to gasp and grab your desk for support. I know I did. This blatant distasteful racial stereotype WASN’T my doing.

Don’t be fooled – I checked and there are absolutely no indications of anything but American influence on the packaging. No Chinese characters, “made in China” labels, etc. In fact, the warning label is printed in both English and Spanish. (Don’t get me started). It appears, the teacher picked up a bulk pack of soup from the Cosco this weekend and threw a class party.

When asked what the year was, The Kid couldn’t answer – after all, she learned that in kindergarten (private kindergarten, I might add). After some research at home, she learned that it’s the year of the ox, she was born in the year of the snake, and she can now list the Chinese years for all immediate family members.

I guess we should be glad the Wal-Mart calendars have the holiday marked. Otherwise, the teachers never would have had an excuse to empty that fast food drawer next to the fridge in the teachers’ lounge.