is the grass always greener?...or does it not reek of kimchi as much as your side?

15 months down...9 more to go? is this how i will be spending my days in korea? i don't know if it's a bad combination of gastrointestinal problems finally catching up to me, unpleasant week of bronchitis, and a lingering unbalance of classroom "power", but i'm THISCLOSE to buying my return ticket home and calling it quits here. i have become this absolutely caustic individual who's constantly snapping at people and her students. i've reached a new level of bitterness in korea that i've never felt before, and it's quite scary.

i no longer find humor in the most awkward situations (which there are many when you live in this socially inept country), and i'm finding myself constantly criticizing this kind society for their social short-comings.

but when i think of going back home, what do i have there that will fully satisfy me? family? good (real) food? better climbing? better attitudes?

or maybe this is all a really, really bad case of "grass is greener on the other side" and i need a break from the korean peninsula? oh yeah, that's right. i'm not allowed out of the country until the end of my contract...in august.

chair patrol

I wish I could say that "chair patrol" or "desk warmer" is a cool new name for a band, but alas, it's the description of what I'm doing this week in school. As a means to slow down the transmission of the "cheeson plu", i.e. "the swine flu", the Korean gov't has decided to shut down the majority of schools this week. Whether or not it's effective has yet to be seen, but as a result of this, I am required to sit at my desk for 8 hours. Granted, I get paid to do this, but I'd rather be home relaxing and reading than sitting at my desk and stewing in my unproductivity. Ahhh, Korea...