When I said that I would be less busy in the month of February, I did not count on the fact that another one of our teachers would unexpectedly quit at the end of the intensive session, leaving the rest of us once again overworked and underpaid. I am teaching two more classes than I was during the intensive period--the only thing that seems to have changed in my favor is the number of actual hours that I actually spend at work.
This weekend is Chinese lunar new year, marking the true beginning of the year of the tiger and the transition of students from one grade level to the next. Apparently it also marks the transition of normal, well-behaved students into little monsters that try to rebel against their teachers/overlords and decide to fail their tests because they have no other outlet for their energy. All the teachers I have talked to this week have experienced the same phenomena, and in combination with the rainy/snowy weather we've had lately, its been nothing short of a nightmare for us foreigners. By the time Friday finally came along, we were more than happy see the end of a difficult week and the beginning of a fabulous three day weekend, even if it was accompanied by a large amount of grading. I, for one, was on the first bus out of Bundang into Seoul, and rather than looking forward to a relaxing weekend like most of my coworkers, I am getting settled into the copy editing I was hired to do for some school textbooks. Nothing too difficult beyond the wide range of topics, but it's good experience for me and something that will look a little cool on my resume. Is it worth a little bit of my sanity? Probably....
Wish I had something a little more interesting to say, but I am between book chapters right now and just thought that I would post a little something boring to reassure everyone that I hadn't died or anything. If you haven't taken a look at the pictures from my apartment or the castle at Changdeokgung, take a look at the photo dump site. I have a little something special planned for next post, so bear with me!
