Full swing of summer

I'm in charge of doing the closing activities for the Kindergarten classes this month, and the theme is "First Day of Summer." It's fun, and the kids seem to enjoy it, too.

I'll tell you what, though. Contrary to what the ESL book says, in Seoul the first day of summer is not the astronomically determined June 21st. It was June first, definitely. In fact, I've already started running my studio apartment's air-conditioner (one of the things I'm most grateful for), and I've almost forgotten about using anything more than a simple sheet to sleep under.

Oh yes, summer is in full swing.

It's kind of disappointing because I was really getting used to spring, and I'm just not ready for it to be summer yet. It last snowed on March 1, which seems like such a short while ago. Then there were cherry blossoms, and then the roses came out. It was really great.

Now even the marigolds have been steam-baked by the sun and the humidity into oblivion, leaving only malignant pest plants like the Japanese vine kudzu. Just as a cancer would, the kudzu will spread throughout the summer until at last September's late autumn chills drive it to the ground.

With less than two months left on my contract, this is the last seasonal change of my year here in Suji. Though I plan on coming back to Korea, it will most likely be someplace within Seoul, and from now on everything I do with have a deeply infused bittersweetness to it.

Expat life here, especially as an English teacher, is highly cyclical in nature. In the space of one year, one goes from being the lost NKOTB (new kid on the block) to being the sage English teaching master. I panicked at the thought of preparing lessons when I first got here. Now I'm the "go to" guy. I know how to write frustratingly ambiguous, P.C. student evaluations; I know how to fix the computer when it has Internet problems, even though the OS is in Korean; I even know how to yell at the kids without making them feel too bad. I like this position.

Like summer, I'm in my full swing, too. But each day reminds me that summer plants don't last, not even the ones who are always growing. Time is short, here, and before I know it I too will be relegated to the halls of Former Teachers Long Gone. I only hope I won't fade too quickly in everyones minds, and that I have the strength to maintain the friendships I've grown so far.