The narrowing gyre

At the risk of melodrama, nothing describes my inner state better than some classic lines of Yeats:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world... 

Due to somewhat sparse enrollment at Cheongna Dalton, on the one hand, and a small but tight network of schools affiliated with Dalton on the other, I have been placed to teach at a high school in Seoul. It is called Hangaram high school, a parent school of Dalton. (I would provide the link, but it is only in Korean). 

The consequent dizziness (er, gyre) I've felt can be likened to a small mammal strapped to a turntable, which is laid in a Disney World tea cup ride, which is spinning in a giant tilt-a-whorl. An overview of defied expectations:

Dalton is private and international (all English speaking, including school websites, assemblies, faculty meetings...); Hangaram is public and very much Korean (I am the only fluent English   speaker across all faculty / administration). 
Dalton is progressive by any educational standard (in accordance with Columbia training).       Hangaram is progressive only by Korean standards.    
Dalton campus is where I live; Hangaram is roughly a 75 min commute by car / train 
Dalton responsibility: about 30 students.  Hangaram: 60 students. 
Dalton curriculum, planned over the summer: English Language Arts, grades 7 and 8.              Hangaram curriculum, planned last night: English as Second Language, grade 11.  
I remind myself that a certain instability is inherent to international travel (isn't that part of the reason people respect those who do it?) 

For some time, there has been no phone and minimal internet; furnishings and accommodations (washer/dryer, exercise facilities), while generous and first class, have been late to arrive, as the school is    being built up all at once. With construction in every cranny, a whole new job description, and the      inevitable lost-in-translation moments throughout my day to day, there are times when I can physically feel the spinning of the earth. It is with great pleasure that I sit still at this computer, in the dead silence of my room, overlooking the broad marshes of the campus' north side.    

The management, facilities, and (above all) faculty of Dalton are extraordinary; I cannot overstate the sense of loss I feel on my daily commute to Seoul. But I'm grateful to still see them on a daily basis, most mornings and evenings.  With luck they will be my colleagues come January. 

Hangaram has presented some predictable but powerful challenges; rest assured they will be reported in due time. I will try my best to post to this blog on a weekly or twice weekly basis. Please say high to the U.S. for me.