Excessive violence and a new address

My internet has been hit or miss this evening, so I'm going to make this quick.

At school, we've been having a problem with a handful of kids (really one in particular) hitting, kicking, and all-around being too rough with each other. It's fun until someone gets hurt -- then it's trying to explain who hit whom in broken English with tears and snot running down your face -- which is decidedly less fun.

It's gotten to the point where we don't know what else to do. The VP is going to sit down both our classes on Monday and have a talk with them about why they're here and our expectations. I guess it couldn't hurt, but she hasn't asked us what to say or what rules we have in place; and I hate not knowing what's going on... it seems like the interpreted versions of conversations are always so edited. Also, her primary concern is attendance (aka money), which doesn't really align with our values at this point. I guess we'll see what happens.

Other than the rough housing during break times, I've been loving school. I don't know what it is, but some days I just feel like a real teacher. And man, when a student finally gets something -- it's just so thrilling. I bet they think I'm crazy, how excited I get over things that must seem so little to them. It makes me want to be a better teacher, if only to get more of these moments.

Currently, I'm busy packing up all my stuff because I'm getting a new apartment Monday! The school administrators and I have been in a month-long battle with the landlords over my water issues, resulting in the admins finally breaking their contract in order to move me. The good news is I will (probably... more than likely... it couldn't happen twice, right?) have water! The bad news is I have to move out of my apartment before school and I can't move into the new place until after school the same day.

So I'll essentially be homeless for a few hours during the day, but the other teachers have been really helpful. I don't know what I would've done without them. The few hours I'll be in town this weekend will be spent packing up my stuff and hauling it over to their apartments, but it'll all be worth it to take a real shower Monday night! I'll actually be living right across the hall from one of the other teachers and a floor below another -- not sure if that'll be good or bad; only time will tell.

Tomorrow, I'm headed back down to Gwangju for the Kimchi Festival and other assorted goings-on. I can't wait! Since I bought a train ticket earlier this week, my travel will be much easier, but it also means sticking to a schedule, which can be stressful. So instead of stressing out, I'm going to get some sleep now, and be a happy camper/traveler tomorrow!