Last week Haneul came to class and curled up in his chair and fell asleep. The chairs in our classroom are plastic and orange and really not comfortable, but he managed it, and then feigned sleep all through the rest of the period, break, the arrival of the next class, and all the way until the end of that class. As soon as the classroom was empty except for my co-teacher and me, he quietly got up and left. My co-teacher said his mom is a computer game junkie who doesn't particularly care for him and stays up all night playing games. They don't even have a clock in the house except for the computer clock, so he never knows what time to take his medicine. The special ed teacher had to take care of that situation last year. My co-teacher said that since Haneul's mom plays games all night long, so does he.

Then there was an episode with another girl, Sohyeon, who's been a bit of a troublemaker in class ever since last year. She plays with all the boys, draws detailed pictures on our tables, and constantly chatters. Last year she was at least controllable, but this year all our efforts have failed and she does whatever she wants in class and doesn't seem to mind any scolding or punishment. She's cheerful and pretty and lively, but whatever is going on in her brain, it doesn't include English class. Well, last week she punched another girl in the face, leading to (so far) at least three separate meetings between the Korean teachers. My co-teacher says Sohyeon's mother is an alcoholic with cancer and has very little time left. Also, she hits her children frequently.

Furthermore, also according to my co-teacher, most of our students - I mean, more than 95% - don't live with both parents but rather with one parent, or a grandparent or aunt or other relative, or as part of a combined family with a step-parent and step-sibling. Their parents don't care much about their academic achievement and as a result, our school has the lowest test scores in the city.

This was all one conversation, by the way. I've vowed to stop asking about our students. It's seriously depressing.

In personal news, there is no personal news. I've started looking for a new job and am planning all my various trips. The weather is getting warmer, by fits and starts, and the yellow dust is ensuring we're all unable to enjoy spring.