luxury to think about the quality of life in her country

I only have one more day in which my student teacher will be teaching my class, and then I will be largely free of him.  He has stated an interest in spending time observing after his teaching stint is over, which means continuing to share air with him - but I will no longer have to converse, offer feedback and try to help him when I don't know where to begin.  It's unkind of me, but I find him so increasingly irritating that I feel like throwing a party at the thought of not having to see him anymore.  I feel enormous empathy for the students who have been guinea pigs in this experiment.

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I managed to do a little studying this evening, at least in part as penance for my misbehaviour on Saturday night which made studying on Sunday something of an impossibility.  On Sunday I spent the greater part of the day lying on the couch and feeling mildly ill.  My studying today was focused on social phobia and social anxiety disorder.  I find this an especially interesting subject because I truly relate to it.  Although my feelings of social anxiety are comparatively mild to those discussed in the psychology textbook, I really understand how some people experience this disorder.  Mine isn't exactly a fear - but more a general anxiety I experience at the thought of being forced to spend long periods of time in social situations.  It's better now, now that I'm working full time outside the house again and being forced to keep in practice.  It tends to get worse when I've had extended periods of time to luxuriate in isolation.  The point is that I feel real empathy for people who are so anxious about socialization that they don't want to leave their homes.  I understand to a lesser degree how they feel.

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I'm thinking about K and E and sending out good thoughts for fast recovery.

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