AM I ALMOST DONE?

I had 2 job offers yesterday. Technically it’s 3, but we’ll call it two. I have my choice of 2 middle schools in Gangwon Province. The location is not ideal as it’s not on a subway line but it’s still within 2 hours of Seoul by car or bus (without traffic jams). They look like nice cities judging from their websites. Of course it’s a crapshoot as to what I end up with if I take it.

I had an interview yesterday with a man who runs a company that supplies teachers for private tutoring and to academies. It’s a 35-40 hour a week job, the pay is good, you get a car, and you can live anywhere you want. I can live in an area close to Saeyoon which would be nice and still be close to where most of my work would be. In a job like this there are no politics. It’s just work and as most people know, work is easy. It’s all the other crap on the job that’s the problem.

My only issue with this job is the number of nights required. I told him I’d teach kindergarten and young kids which would be mornings and he was thrilled with that. However, he thought I meant extra work as opposed to instead of nighttime. He is going to see if he can make that work and get back to me today. I will work some nights I told him, but I don’t want an all nighttime job.

The other negative with this job is I’d have to drive because you go to kid’s houses. But weighing everything I hope it works out because I think it’s best for me at this point. I can handle the work, the car is a nice bonus as I could sell my car, and I’d live close to Saeyoon and we could spend more time together which will either be great or a deal-breaker. (Call me Mr. Optimistic).

Apparently it’s tough for me to get daytime jobs as there is a prejudice against older people. A lot of the private schools want teachers under 35. The parents think that older people can’t handle the kids which is stupid. It depends on the individual. So if the traveling job is a go, I’ll go for it. If it isn’t, I’ll probably go to the middle school in Gangwon. I hate to jump but I really hate it here and there is no guarantee as to what kind of job I can get. If I would work nights, I could have one of many jobs. But, I have a life and my life isn’t work. So to continue to have a life there is no full time night job for me.

I had dinner at the Outback with Yoon Soo last night. Boy, the steak was good. I noticed that he didn’t have steak. In fact, in the 4 times we’ve been there he’s never had steak so I asked him why. The reason is that he doesn’t really like meat. I asked why we go there then and he said because I like it. I said, “what do you like”? and he said “rice and vegetables”. So I think we’ll go where I like.

I asked his opinion on which job I should take and he said the tutoring job. He said Gangwon is far so living closer to Saeyoon would be better, and he said I wouldn’t have some sort of idiot boss to contend with. He knows what you might get in the public school system.

I spoke to Saeyoon about it and I think she’s just worried that the tutoring job is too much work. I agree you are actually doing more teaching but I won’t be playing policeman. Living closer is good but she said she wants me to take the best job for me. I told her that the job I choose has many factors to consider besides the job itself.

So now I sit and wait for the phone to ring to see if the tutor job is reality. If it is I quit on Thursday. Thursday is payday so I want my money in the bank before I stir the pot again. Hopefully we can part on civil terms, but I won’t hold my breath. I have one foot out the door right now and besides being nervous, I am starting to feel relief. I wonder if it’s me that causes the problems or if these jobs really suck. I’ll miss most of the kids, but I’ll get over it. Quickly.

I have no classes again today. I didn’t know that but it seems today is “Sports Day”. All the students are outside playing sports games and there is loud music blaring giving me a headache and the gym teacher constantly talking on the microphone in his extremely loud voice. I want to go home. This is so stupid for me to be here while this is going on. I know at some schools they’d let the foreign teacher take the day off. But here they won’t because they hate me. And, even if they didn’t hate me they wouldn’t let me off because that would mean I’m a human and not the dirt that is beneath their contempt. Bitter? Me? Never.

So I have 5 hours to kill here. I am waiting on a phone call. I’m nervous and ready to move on. Let’s get ready to rumble.