Exhaustion

Today was a day from hell. I woke up feeling like my brain had decided to remain asleep while my body went on as usual. This head-stuffed-with-cotton feeling is one I've had before: it comes after a long, long string of sleepless nights. I've slept here, but I've not been able to overcome my jet lag. I just never feel rested. I blame it on aging, but I know it's also related to the fact that study abroad is stressful. My class has gone well, but it's a brand new one for me, so every day, I'm reading and prepping and grading. On top of that, Eric and I have been especially proactive when it comes to student issues. We've had individual conferences to touch base with all of them, group meetings to reinforce our behavior guidelines, evening movies to create bonding, "salons" to get them talking and thinking outside of class--we've even gone down to the bistro in the basement on a few evenings to just socialize with them. It's fun, but it's work. Here are a few of us at our first Sunday night salon.






Today, I had a sick student in need of medical attention. First, I took her to Boots the Chemist in Grantham. Here in the Uk, as in other countries in Europe, the pharmacist is more than a pharmacist. They consult with patients and seem to even diagnose things. The chemist decided that my student needed to see a GP, so we made an appointment and took a taxi to the next town over to the Stackwell Surgery. The name freaked her out, but I explained that a surgery was just their name for a clinic, and she calmed down. They prescribed an antibiotic, and she'll be fine. In the meantime, another student decided he needed to see the doctor, so I made an appointment for him. When I got back, I was cornered by two students complaining about one thing or another. After that, I had two hours of student presentations to watch and grade. The whole time, I was getting more and more exhausted. Here I am now, at 12:40am, wishing I could unwind and fall asleep.

Alas, tomorrow, is Friday, and the start of a free weekend. I'm going to relax if it kills me! Despite all of this whining, I really am loving this trip. It's been easier then the last two trips I lead, and that has a lot to do with my partner and my experience. If I could just get some rest, this would be just about perfect.
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