The rain has been almost nonstop since Friday until right now, 8:30 a.m. Monday morning as it pours outside my office windows. This is monsoon season in Korea.
I can’t complain.
I love rain, and rain brings the added benefit of cool, fresh air, breaking the feverish heat.
Today is the first day of that blessed three-day event, the Final Exams. I have my office to myself, no classes, and since I’m a foreigner I’m never expected to proctor exams. I wouldn’t really mind proctoring (I guess it would be boring to just stand there for 45 minutes though), but apparently they don’t trust me. Or don’t want to burden me. Half-empty, half-full.
My co-teachers have already come running into my office to ask me to last-minute approve the clarity of the test questions. That pre-test atmosphere hangs over the school, an unnatural silence as the minutes tick away towards 9:00 and the start of the first test period.
English is the first today. There are three subject tests today, three tomorrow, and three Wednesday, all finishing before noon. After lunch, the kids can go home and rest their brains (at least until it’s time to go to their private after-school academies). I will remain in the office, (hopefully) Doing Productive and Important Stuff until 4:20 p.m.
Things such as planning for some kind of fun lesson after the tests are finished (because Lord knows the kids won’t put even 5% brain power into studying anything post-tests), planning summer camp, even… planning next semester’s lessons? (Am I crazy? Possibly.)(Hopefully by saying it here, I haven’t jinxed myself into totally not doing that. They say not to speak your goals out loud – or even write them down? – because it tricks your brain into feeling like you already accomplished something. Stupid brain.)
The forecast for the whole rest of the week is rain and storms and more rain. I couldn’t be happier with this arrangement.
Bring it on, monsoon season.
Introvert in Korea 