They're leeching my brain!

When I dozed off while sucking on a coffee-flavoured candy last night, I wisely took it as a sign to get the hell to bed. I've been skirting exhaustion for the past couple of weeks and seem to be losing track of time. When I got home today, I plugged in my mic to relax and after going through two whole Faye Wong VCDs, singing every song I knew and listening to the others, I looked at the clock and realised I'd been karaokeing for nearly two hours.

My students did their written exams yesterday and I'm pleased to announce that they all received the marks that were required of them and most of them did even better than that. After working with them toward that goal for almost two months, now, I feel a rush of emptiness and relief and astonishment at my patience. We can now move on to other things.

It's a funny relationship I have with my students. On one hand there's that divide between teacher and student, the fact that I'm there to get them to where they need to be; on the other, there's no real formality to it, we all know that we're equals and that although I have the knowledge they're trying to gain, they have to work twice as hard as I do and I can only help them so much. When you spend all your working hours with the same small group of people, especially in a learning environment, you get to know them in a way you normally don't get to know people with whom you work. I have no choice but to share in their frustration and their accomplishments but at the same time, I have to distance myself from it all because I'm there as a guide and my journey is a different one.