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On Saturday afternoon, I am writing with a head stuffed full of cotton balls and nails and pieces of pringles all stuck to sensory receptors. My hair is scrambled and buzz. I am wearing the No Pants, and will probably die soon. It is a pitiful sight, me in my computer chair.

Marta has been here for a week now, volunteering at my hagwon via the "awful" (her words, not mine) Queen's Education faculty. Apparently after you're finished all your practicums with bored Canadian kids, you get to go experience the magical world of teaching elsewhere! ...before returning to the bored kids for the rest of your life. Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun. The ominous overture of a stable future.

So Marta chose Korea, which was maybe a stupid choice but whatever she's here now. So far, my director has made her feel welcome, loading her up with all the worst classes at the school and flip-flopping over whether she'll pay for Marta's tiny apartment for three weeks. Weaksass, but predictable. Marta is tired and I call her wussy, but I think she's having fun... we get to shout down the kids who insist that she is "Chris teacher Canada girlfriend!!!" And it's awesome to have her here for headbutting and various familiar WLU abuses, even if she is not, in fact, Canada girlfriend. We've gone eating and whining and privating and drinking, and drinking is the reason why we are currently hazy and full of cotton and not out in the big wide world on a Saturday afternoon.

Basically things are in this gigantic pendulum state of transition right now, what with people leaving and new people coming, so we're all in this kind of countdown state of frenzy. It's exhausting, and my room is piled high with books I've been lent but haven't opened yet. The turnovers come fast and furiously and teaching in Korea is wholly adaption, one long exercise in savoring the brief lulls and eating the minutes like so much breakfast cereal. Cereal here is pretty expensive.

Posted by Chris at 10:44 PM >> Commentations (1)