It’s been a hectic start to the academic year.  I’m teaching twenty-hour weeks again this fall, and I’m definitely not a fan of that workload.  Unfortunately, it seems like that’s the new normal. Twenty-hour weeks in the fall and fifteen-hour weeks in the winter.  I still enjoy teaching and working with the students, but I find myself exhausted most of these days and worried about my balance of work and life.

For her part, RS has been great about the situation. If it’s her day off, she’ll often come to my place to relax while I’m at work.  I appreciate her presence in the apartment while I’m away because it means my cat Gizmo doesn’t have to spend 10-12 hours a day by himself.  The other bonus is that it’s very nice to have someone to come home to.  Back in Korea, K and I used to work together at first, so we’d see each other every day, and after we found different jobs I was always the first one home because I finished work earlier.  As a result, I never really got used to being alone the way I am here. So having someone to come home to feels like a new experience for me.  In the end, as worn out as I feel these days, I’m grateful to have RS, good friends, and of course my handsome cat.  They make Doha less of a place to work, and more of a home.