An illustrated version of why I'm still here

No matter where you are, what the subject, or who the student, teaching always has its challenges. Being in an unfamiliar country, far away from the support of friends and family, only adds to the stress of coercing unwilling pupils to learn and practice English.

Observe the transformation of a teacher after a particularly trying day.

Before Work. Love of children: High! Love of learning: High! Overall happiness: High! You might hear me say something like, "Let's get ready for fun and learning!"



After Work. Love of children: DANGEROUSLY LOW LEVELS! Love of Learning: DANGEROUSLY LOW LEVELS! Overall happiness: DANGEROUSLY LOW LEVELS! At this time, you might hear me mutter under my breath, "This school needs to hire an exorcist..."



I have to wonder: how am I able to forget how much I hated my job on the bad days and get back to a "before work" mentality? As much as I love sleeping (I need at least 8 hours of sleep to function normally), there is only so much slumber and caffeine can do to help.

So what is it?

Maybe it is my relaxation ritual involving face masks, comfort foods, and Harrison Ford movies...



... maybe the ridiculous amounts of trashy thrillers and juvenile literature I read...*



...maybe the joy of being able to tour a new place every week...



...or maybe...



Teaching is hard, no doubt about it. But there are always the golden moments when you can tell you are making a difference in a child's life.

And those moments are what make it worth all the bad days. <3



To see the comic version of this, go visit my gallery. :)

*Please note that I am not saying that "The Scarlet Pimpernel" is a trashy thriller. I used it here because I have reread that book at least 4 times since I have been here in Korea so I felt that it had to be included. It has been my favorite book ever since seventh grade so I suppose it could count as juvenile literature, though.