The rhythms of hagwon life are pretty well understood by me, now. December is a tough month – it’s the de facto end of the hagwon school year (the Korean school year officially ends at the end of February, but the hagwon business, getting a jump on things, seems to be driven to move the kids up a grade a few months in advance).
So we have a kind of “open house,” called 설명회, every year around this time. That means coming to work early, and for a foreigner peon such as myself (and don’t get me wrong, I am a peon entirely by choice, at this point), it mostly means standing around trying to look competent while others make their presentations.
So that’s what happened, this morning.
There’s a lot of unsurprising end-of-year work to get done: new curricula being laid out (such as they are); level testing for the kids (such as it goes). Nevertheless, in the Korean way, which I find so amenable to my personal inclinations, I shall procrastinate.
Therefore, just now I have some time to kill at work. Not enough time to go home and come back later for class, so just sitting here. I wish my mind was feeling more dynamic, these days, but it’s not. Still coming off the nasty flu thing I had.
It’s a frigid day outside. I guess it’s about -5° C – but bright and sunny.
[daily log: walking, 7km]
Day: December 14, 2016
Caveat: Englyn #29
(Poem #136 on new numbering scheme)
Dead leaves caught on a street grate trace an unspeakable fate on a moment so bitter the winter wind tastes like slate.
– an englyn cyrch