::A Geek in Korea::

I’ve had three weeks off work because I moved to a University last year. This has been the longest vacation I’ve had in years. The last time I took off this much time from work I had to finish my job contract, then get my job back when I returned to Korea. I’ve never had three weeks on uninterrupted vacation in Korea before. This is partially because if I did have a long vacation I would travel somewhere abroad. I just never had the chance to just relax for such a long time. Vacations didn’t come often in the past, so I needed to exploit every second of unpaid off time I had. This is my first paid vacation at a job ever that wasn’t a ruse by an academy to get free work out of my Korean replacement.

The fact that I have paid vacation means I don’t feel as bad sitting around and spending time with my family not doing anything in particular. It has been great spending uninterrupted time with my daughter for the first time since she was born. It just reminded me how busy I’ve been for the past few months before I got that time off. I had been working so long and so often that I didn’t realize how much time I had been putting in. Next vacation I hope we do get to go somewhere though. I don’t want to make a habit of sitting around the house every few months. The vacation has been good for my stress levels though. It has also given my wife a bit of a break from parenting while I was here too, not that she would admit it. She acts like she has two children to take care of now. Maybe she does.

Now that my vacation is over and I have to go back to work tomorrow I have this “first day of school” bit of jitters going on that I always get after a long vacation. I’ve got a new morning class that is making me extra nervous. I don’t know what possessed me to think signing up for a morning class was a good idea. I simply wanted to avoid working very late like I had been in the past. The only other choice is working very early. My situation at home has changed so that either time works for us, and I wish I had chosen the schedule that lets me sleep in.

I really don’t function well early in the morning. These will be the earliest classes I’ve taught in years, and I remember being brain dead on my feet the last time I was teaching before the sun was up. That was at a school far more forgiving than the one I work at currently. Of course this happens to be the high level class, again, and I always need to be on my toes. Otherwise I might end up with a cluster of bad reviews and be out of a job when my next long paid vacation comes along. Such are the ways of being the lowest seniority man working at a good university. I wouldn’t be happy about losing my job no matter how much time off I might get in the process. Hopefully I’ll be able to correct this scheduling mistake on my part and switch back to the evening schedule before the semester starts again and avoid any catastrophes.

We even set up a second temporary bedroom for me to sleep in for the duration of my morning classes. It’s either that or I develop a polyphasic sleep pattern. I’m sure that once I actually show up to class and get things started I might be able to wake up. If not, I’ll bring some coffee home with me and prepare for Tuesday with what I learned in mind. My schedule this winter isn’t too heavy compared to my nightmare shifts during intensive programs of winters past. The only thing I’m worried about is the time of my morning class being too early. As long as I can stay awake and improve my adult class teaching style for upper level students I’ll consider it a success. If my employers or my students feel differently I’ll just have to deal with it later.