encouragement

I'm not a naturally loud and energetic person, which is unfortunate because that's exactly what I need to be in the classroom. Pleading to an 8 year old child's better nature is ineffective, especially when they can't speak your language. They only respond to brute and belligerent force. I've tried to render some counterfeit energy by drinking coffee throughout the day, but it hasn't worked like I need it to, and isn't sustainable. I've taken note that the only times that I am the kind of person that I need to be in the classroom, is a weekend night at a bar when I am shitfaced drunk.

So today, I showed up to work hammered.

Kidding!

But I have found the solution to my problem. My problem was not having the energy to keep up with these kids. The solution is Bacchus-D.



Bacchus-D is a Korean energy drink. It's a tiny feller, but packs a punch. At a mere 100ml, it contains 2000mg of taurine. To give some perspective, a can of Red Bull is about 250ml, and has only 1000mg of taurine. They don't sell it in convenient stores, only in pharmacies, so I've only just now stumbled across them at the behest of a friend of mine here. I bought a case of 10 of them for 3800Won. That comes to 380Won per bottle. Glancing at the current won to dollar exchange rate, I see that 380Won translates to 25cents. 25cents for two Red Bulls worth of energy. Boo-yah.

I popped one of these today before one of my nightmare classes, and I was all over those maniacs. They noticed pretty quickly that this was a different Sim Teacher than all prior meetings. I knew I had struck gold with these things when I actually had a student ask me, "Did you drink soju?" No, you little shit, NOW SIT THE FUCK DOWN!!!

I also found out about my new schedule today. Pretty much all of my classes are changing, or at least are being amalgamated with other classes; so it's a little bit of a rebirth, or a second chance to make a first impression. The older, wiser, Bacchus-D-fueled me relishes this opportunity.

I pick up one extra class on MWF, so I no longer have a 45 minute break and have to teach 9 consecutive classes on those days. But, I drop 2 classes on T-TH, so I only teach from 2:30-4:45. Not a bad trade, and the pay remains the same.

Seeing these last two posts, one probably thinks I'm bipolar or manic or something. It's not the case. I'm not saying I've stumbled across a magic solution to my teaching woes, but I'm not as low as I was yesterday. So I'm not too high, and not too low. My goal is to stay right where I am.