DOCTERBLOG: Sweat

Sweat
Saturday, September 23, 2006

Oh...
Is this the curse that Genesis speaks about? Having to work till the sweat drips from your head? Well, the sweat is leaving my body more through other routs, like my armpits. Last week I had a very tough class and I was wearing a sweater while it was pretty warm. 'Sir, why are you sweating?' the children asked. 'There is sweat on your face'. Yes, there was. I could feel it above my lips, I was wearing a sweat-moustache. 'Why on earth is he wearing the sweater?' other children asked. I realised why I did: it made me feel more safe.

But seriously, is work a curse or not? Doesn't Qohelet/Ecclesiastes seem to teach so as well? He's drawing heavily on Genesis anyway. And if it's a curse, should we subject ourselves willingly to it? I'm afraid that's what the Scriptures suggest, reading Paul at least.

Jakob sure was a worker, too. He worked seven years twice to get his wife from his wicked uncle. After the long years of working, he simply said to his uncle: 'Now give me my wife, 'cause I want to go into her.' Isn't that beautifully plain?

I still have four weeks to go. Teaching. Or rather, trying to teach. A couple of teenagers are hard enough to handle already. Imagine thirty teenagers in front of you that you have to tell what to do. Imagine being an ADHD-person trying to bring order and structure to thirty hormone-driven rebels.

I'm going on vacation. Well, a bit. Next week, I'm gonna stay at a bed-and-breakfast address in the place where I work (thousands of miles removed from my own house). I'm gonna sleep there for three nights, so that I don't have to travel four hours every day and can use the time for preparing my lessons instead. I look forward to it. I think.

posted by Marten @ 12:33 PM;