teaching round two

okay so this is a logistics/challenge post, exciting post about my great weekend and pictures of the apartment to come today, tomorrow at latest.

there have been problems with hours going around at tpr, last round i got two classes, other people got none.  one guy still didn't get hours this round.  this just seems unconscionable, to have someone pay for a flight over here and then give them no means whatsoever to support themselves.  i understand that they want to make sure they have enough teachers to cover a high workload, but this was a horrible judgement on someone's part.  anyway, bottom line is i have no classes for the next three weeks.  the savings from my tons of hours is enough to tide me over, but this is the last round of "busy" summer classes, and after this i'll maybe get hired for more hours or not.  they've been vague about it, and given their track record with employee honesty, i'm inclined to err on the side of caution.

i'm planning on calling a recruiter in the next day or two to scope out other teaching opportunities, in the event that tpr doesn't work out as a long term opportunity.  the teaching season starts in early september, so the silver lining of not getting classes is that now i'm on the lookout for new opportunities at what is likely the best possible time.  also, tpr invested a lot of training in me and i now have what i can call "months" of teaching experience.  this has been a really good experience and a gentle introduction to teaching, which is nice. also, i have an alien resident card now, so i don't have to leave the country and they can't kick me out for a year. downside is that to get the tpr job i had to sign a non-competition agreement, so i can't work for any other sat teaching institution. probably gonna end up working with kids, which might be great, i dunno, it'll at least be a fun new change of pace. and this really is the best time to find a job, so at least the timing is great.

this may all be a moot point, if tpr offers me full time emplyment (which i now believe is highly unlikely) i'll stay with them simply because they pay 30% more than other jobs.  we'll see what happens and i'll keep you posted as developments warrant.

in other sad news, gill left. back to canada. gill was my first friend in taiwan who wasn't paid to hang out with me.  he did give me his winter coat (which i always loved), so at least i have something to remember him by. *sniff*

so new challenges await, at least life isn't boring =) i also had an AMAZING weekend with some of my favorite travelers yet, i'll write about it soon.