Halfway

Today is my six month anniversary in South Korea, which of course also means that in the same amount of time again, it'll be time to move on to whatever's next. Most of us teachers that started together in July agree that it seems like we've only been here a few months, though at the same time, the days of frolicking up in the pool as the sun went down do seem very distant right now, caught as we are in the middle of a rather bitter snap. Three more teachers leave us this week, though two only because they signed six-month contracts to begin with. We have a bunch of fresh new teachers to fill the breach, but among us veterans there seems to be a bit of a malaise in the air, I think for a few reasons: many of us seem to have persistent colds like we've never had before back home, so we're all feeling a little drained anyway, and the ever-crashing wave of kids shows little sign of breaking - I know that compared to my old 9 to 5 this job's pretty cushy, but having 100% of the slots on my timetable filled (as compared to the old days when I used to have at least a couple of free periods every day) takes its toll. Plus, there's the cold, and the being so far from home at Christmas, which I think has gotten many people down too... On a more positive note, Christmas was not a complete disappointment despite having to work all day. In the morning I managed to speak to my mum and dad for two hours via (a very dodgy) webcam so we could open our gifts together. It almost felt like being home. That, and the Christmas dinner later made with (I should really say 'by') Mary and Christa, actually made the day feel like Christmas, which I wasn't expecting it to. In other news, the two-week winter camps start next week. I'm working as one of the 'science major' teachers, doing various experiments with the kids, so should be fun. We have the beginnings of plan to go to Vietnam with our generous 5 days of annual leave in February or March, which is pretty exciting. Something to focus on during the cold times ahead (the snow from the weekend before last has still not fully melted). Oh, yeah, and I guess it's been noted that my posts have fallen to weekly rather than daily lately. I'm gonna blame the heavy schedule and ask you to bare with me. I'll try harder but am making no promises. New Year's resolution maybe. And speaking of, Have a Happy New Year everyone!