Scribbler's Cafe

Sold my soul to the institution

Entrance exams. That’s why I’ve been too busy to write. The entrance exams for the school where I teach are a tremendous happening. We get about 900 applicants for just 140 spots. Insane! All the hopefuls are tested with standardized tests that our teachers write, participate in an athletic evaluation and are interviewed face-to-face. We have test A and test B - two rounds of this madness. We work for 12 days straight going through all the testing and scoring and reporting.

I have it easier than the other teachers. I must leave school at 5pm to pick up Kiomye. I CAN’T stay late - except on some days they make me stay and I must arrange a babysitter. The other teachers end up staying until 11pm each night, or sometimes later. There’s a nice “in it together” feeling. The school gives us excellent bentos for lunch and dinner. The teachers chat and bond and help each other out. That’s all and nice, but not nice enough to compensate for the tedium and overwork. For these two weeks, the school owns me. I may have no life outside work.

I miss my Café Absinthe. I miss my friends. My apartment is so dirty. Almost all my clothes are dirty and the dishes are piled high in the sink. I’m too tired to take care of the mess. I’m very thankful entrance exams only happen once a year.

posted by Scribbler @ Sunday, January 15, 2006