*@!?&*@

Just typed a whole bloody post and suddenly it highlighted itself and promptly disappeared. FFS! As if I'm not p*ssed off enough at the moment without adding to my annoyance - but of course, that is PRECISELY what the Universe prefers to do - wait until we are sweltering in 600 degree heat as this stupid country's stupid summer kicks in, throw in a teacher recruiter who has taken a dislike to me (actually I don't think she ever had any 'like') and a million jobs but once again the ones I am not fussed on are the ones who want me and the jobs I am really keen on are proving elusive...

I think I've blogged already about my recruiter - who wouldn't respond to any of my requests to be put forward for jobs until I contacted another recruiter to ask if there was a problem? Anyway...as soon as I did that she promptly zinged to attention and a dozen interviews were lined up. Then came the realisation that hobnobbing at expat schools would demand at LEAST 2 years of my time. At this point this is not what we want to do. Perhaps in 6 months I will have discovered that we love Asia and want to stay longer etc etc but right now...NO.

So I'm in the pile on the floor again...

Until a brilliant job came through for a school in Japan looking for an early years teacher for only 6 months! Fantastic! But that was a week ago and still no response from them. I found the school online and I am sorely tempted to email them directly as there is something about recruiters. I had another group (workforce on tap or something like that, randomnly based in Bendigo, Victoria) who advertised for ESL teachers. As they were offering 6 month positions I emailed them for more info (there was very little in the ad) and the guy told me they didn't have any but I could ask all the questions I liked of the school when I submitted my CV and they phoned me. I don't like submitting my CV and personal details before I have any info but 6 month contracts are rare, so I did it. Again - no response! What the hell is going on???

The only school that WILL get back to me is in China. Although I am satisfied they aren't dodgy, they are only offering 10000RMB a month - about half what international schools in China were offering me. I kept putting the 6 month contract idea to them but they've ignored it - not only that, they told me they were really looking for someone to stay 18 months. For the love of God, why would I do that when I just gave up the chance to work an 18 month contract at an expat school for 3 times the money and an awesome package???

Which makes me wonder: why did I pass up that school? I didn't want to sign up for 18 months. I can understand schools wanting a longer commitment but surely it can't be that unusual for teachers to want to experience life over there first before committing to long term? And it's not like 6 month contracts are unheard of in western school systems - far from it!

China job has also informed me of their working hours, which are phenomenally high (for teaching). 40 contact hours per week, no planning or prep time (this is supposed to be done while children are sleeping!) for 10000 RMB. One of my hesitations for expat schools was the high demands on time, but at least they stuck to a regular 9 - 3 school day - none of this 8am starting.

In the absence of Japan job getting back to me (which is not a good sign, I'm sure, as other schools got back to me within a day or 2), I'm beginning to wonder if grabbing any old job at a language school might be a better option...

Oh, and I also had a call from a job working with Indigenous kids in remoter parts of Australia wanting to interview. So far I've left a couple of messages but not heard back...

I have a killer headache and I don't know if it's the heat or the stress!

I just want:
a great school: smaller size, flexible, helpful, younger kids,
decent accommodation
enough wages to save a little bit
helpful other staff and friendly kids
short term (at least at first!)

fingers crossed...

Asia

I have never considered going to Asia.

I have cousins who travel there a lot and a few friends and people I met whilst backpacking Europe who love the place. I have friends who grew up there and some who have worked there. When I worked at Movieworld on the Gold Coast during uni I spent quite a few shifts in the infamous ITG (International Tour Groups restaurant). It was more of a wild, chaotic feeding hall than a restaurant. To move the diners along they would drag Wile E Coyote or Tweety or Bugs round to the main door and there would quite literally be a stampede. Staff (including myself) would be pressed up against the walls in terror. I was shouted at by crazy Asians chefs for making the rice taste burnt (eh?) and nearly set on fire trying to hand out Japanese quisine. Once you have scraped the goopy remnants of corn soup from 150 tables for 3 days in a row...well, that's about all I ever wanted to see of Asia.


However...


If you have been reading any of this and not just scrolling through to look at the pictures you will know that an Turas - the Journey - is all about returning to Scotland. After nearly 4 years of trying in vain to get back there directly from Australia I realised it was going to take a more creative approach. It was then I decided to follow my mate Ewan's advice (pictured - teehee :-) and take the long way round. Hey, I've always thought Mongolia would be fascinating.


The original plan was to head to Europe to teach English. I started a Tesol course to facilitate this and it was during this stage that I kept coming across references to Asia and encouragement from other English teachers to try it.


When my recruiter (finally!) started responding to my emails last week, every single job was for China...so now we are looking at Asia as a definite plan. I don't want to spend more than a year there as I am looking at 2 years in Europe before heading back to Scotland...and I would dearly love to be in Scotland before I am 30. And before Miss M is too far into her schooling to be disqualified from Gaelic classes.


But China? China! My family are horrified. Even my GP was distressed, and advised me to head to Mongolia instead (as he handed me 2 pages of vaccinations recommended for Aussies travelling to China!!!!!!)

Early Childhood

Some of you may be wondering what a Secondary teacher is doing dreaming of teaching letters and numbers to tiny tots...you were? Great!

I've never really been convinced that I 'belong' teaching a particular age group. Sometimes I think all those years of organising my siblings and cousins into playing schools was more about me as an organiser or manager than about me as a teacher.

I always looked over the shoulder of my primary colleagues with great envy whilst at uni. I was GREAT at handwriting - I wanted to do a whole semester on handwriting! Making a model of a volcano? I wanted to do that! Learning the guitar? Are you serious? I have a dusty guitar lying in the corner of my room right now! And they get to do ART! Argh! My 3rd year (primary) flatmates in my 1st year thought I was nuts doing secondary when clearly I was born to be a primary teacher. But I seemed to get along with the other "secondaries" so much better than with the "primaries", and I was fascinated by the History component of the course - sometimes even by the English lectures.

I remember being close to tears on my first prac when Katherine was practicing her lesson in preparation for lecturer assessment visits (the principal of the college was coming to do ours). I was teaching Ancient Egyptian genealogy to Year 12s I'd never met and she was teaching the letter B to a class of year 1st who adored her.

When I travelled to Scotland I felt even more strongly about teaching primary and it was part of the reason I allowed myself to be convinced to move to London - the supply teaching agency would allow me to work in Primary schools. It was interesting and infinitely preferrable to supply teaching in London Secondaries, and I had a couple of job offers, but Scotland drew me back. Up north it was hard enough trying to get a job in my own subject areas, let alone branch into something new. The GTCS see to it that all teachers remain rigidly in the areas they trained in in their early 20s when they didn't know better.

I love History. The only job I've ever enjoyed was teaching History in Stornoway. I've thought about working in museums or in heritage, but in Australia at least, I'd need further study and history teaching experience - impossible as they've squished my beloved subject into SOSE so it is no longer recognisable.

Then along comes my own preschooler, and a short contract with a local prep/1/2 class and I start wondering again...

So this is the age group I am hoping to work with whilst teaching English. I will miss the teenagers...sometimes.

Holes in your nose

Miss M got this book out of the library last week:

It is quite mind bending to read but she is fascinated by it. When I noticed the Japanese name on the cover it got me wondering whether or not it was related to the book "Everyone Poops" that I remember Rove having on his show a few years ago.

Sure enough:

http://beeskneesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/boogers.html

If I am struggling to spend time with Miss M now, how will I cope when I am working 8 til 6 (possibly) 5 days a week, in a foreign country? On one hand I know it will make the time we do have together more precious as it will be the only time we have. We will also be alone and probably won't have TV (or at least, won't be able to understand any of it!). We will hopefully have the chance to do lots of wee trips together.

I am also hopeful for a job where she will be allowed to attend the school. Some stories I've read of more rural schools seem to paint a more flexible picture. I've also found an advertisement for a part-time toddler room job. Mornings only. Naturally working part-time might mean we can't afford to live (especially when I am supporting a child as well) but at the same time I have discovered the variances in pay between international/expat style schools and more local schools. The latter advertise salaries about 50% of what they are offering in the expat schools. Not all the expat schools are exactly that - some of them cater for local students but simply follow an international curriculum.

At the moment it looks like the going rate in China (this is for a fully qualified teacher) is around RMB 10 000 in local schools or early childhood centres and RMB 20 000 in International schools. So feasibly, a part-time role in an International school would be a brilliant stroke of luck. On top of earning the same as someone in a language school, I would also expect to have accommodation and airfares included, as well as visas, medical, tuition and et cetera.

The job is through one of the larger recruiters who send me out job mailers all the time yet cannot find the time to respond to my emails, so I am going to have to bombard them. There's a whole other post in that...

To come full circle, while Miss M is currently engrossed in nose picking and boogers, Mummy is currently reading 'Eat, Pray, Love' which has such widespread rave reviews that I couldn't help but purchase it (especially as it was 50% off). I am about a 6th of the way through and although the writing is great, it is a little irritating and I am worried that I might end up putting it in the crap book pile. I hope not. Even Julia Roberts and Oprah have bought copies for their friends.

Procrastination

I cannot fathom what is the matter with me. Before the course books came I was so hyped for Tesol and ready to complete the whole lot in a couple of weeks and be...GONE. Now I find I can barely lift the cover (that's if I can find the books at all).

Firstly, it has to be studying alone...by distance, whatever. It is quite desperate at the best of times but in this case (in comparison to my 3 previous experiences of study via distance), the college really have abandoned me to my own devices. There are no online or phone tutorials (although there is a tutor I can contact via email. She is in Melbourne, I think). There is no 'Blackboard' or virtual learning environment where I might interact with other students. There is no schedule for learning and actual checkups as per the Gaelic course with Sabhal Mor Ostaig.

It's just me and these bloody books...and don't get me started on them! FRUSTRATING! It feels like there should be a second book to explain the first. There are huge gaps in information - and I am a bloody English teacher! A few activities I've worked through so far have been so sparsely explained I've actually had to email the course tutor - unheard of in the history of saoghalbeag studying!

I think it is also difficult because I am not based in a school to be able to apply the learning - or even to assess the learners themselves and comprehend where they are coming from.

There is also the one parent family procrastination. I find it impossibly hard to knuckle down for real study when she is around. I know I am going to be interrupted the minute I start so I don't. Start. I do everything else possibly possible before I start the TESOL - which means it usually starts around 4pm when there are no toddler programs on telly to distract her and she's starting to get tired and cranky and hungry and then I decide I should probably bath her and start dinner anyway...but by this stage I am getting desperate to at least do SOMETHING of the course so instead I persevere. I also feel guilty that here I am learning how to make learning fun for other people when I can't even find a spare minute to work on an activity with her. So I will make a cake with her or make a mess with paint and glue, or go into the garden...

We now have a fully landscaped and manicured front yard thanks to TESOL.

Frustration

I have neglected the blog...again! I am still here. Have just lost the will to blog in this past couple of weeks.

Firstly, I finished with my environmental education job and we are poor as dirt. The company had some crazy issues (or namely ONE crazy issue who verbally abused me after I spent 2 hours driving to the office on HER command only to be told my being there was pointless and costing them money! Staff turnover of 14 in under 2 years in an office of only about half a dozen is all I can say - shame on the Board!). They also had only one tour booked for the whole of term 4 so I figured it was an appropriate time to concentrate on finishing my TESOL course, doing prac, maybe even getting some work. The plan was to move to the Coast as there are numerous English language schools there and...NONE here.

This brings up the accommodation dilemma: my sister and I share a house that we bought last year. If I move away for work we need to rent it out - but where does she go? To our mother's...? What about the rising prices of rent on the Coast - unaffordable on a single income (which is not even guaranteed)? Not to mention it will be difficult to get a lease for less than 6 months so that puts all my plans out...I looked into staying with my Grandmother but before I could put the suggestion to her she was hospitalised by illness...

WHY IS EVERYTHING SO BLOODY DIFFICULT???

I also made myself sound like a numpty as the language schools started phoning me and I had to keep saying I was "waiting to hear back from my Nanna before I considered any posts"...

On top of that, of course, is the childcare dilemma.

Sometimes I really do wonder if there is any way I could give up my daughter for a month or 6...could I do it? Could she handle it? Would I handle it? They used to do it all the time in the olden days - had too many kids so the older ones would be shunted out to barren aunties or to be maids or lackeys in big houses...But I regret it instantly and know that I would sooner severe an arm or leg than let her out of my sight. I can barely sleep when she's not in the room or if she spends a night at her Nanna's. I get bored and listless when I haven't seen her for a while. I find it difficult to do things we always do together (like go to the shops or have coffee) without her. (word to the wise - do NOT look up the spelling of severe on google images. I nearly puked!)

Frustration...(well whaddya know, it's already a TAG!)

Something about nothing...

We haven't left yet >sigh<.

Still in the land of Oz, still working through my Cert IV in TESOL (towards which I have a disturbing lack of motivation...).

I have discovered that as I have a teaching degree, I have 2 options for jobs - international schools or English language schools. The first are mostly expat kids and very good money. The others don't pay quite as well but involve teaching local kids, which is what I am interested in. Although at this point lots of money sounds great because I have...

NONE!

It is starting to freak me out a wee bit, mainly because nothing seems to be on the horizon to change this empty coffers situation.

My casual job has peetered out to nothing - my final tour was last week (oh, I also resigned - long story don't ask but there was no further work really for the rest of the year anyway) and it's final term here so supply teaching is limited. I have my first day ALL term coming up in two weeks time - so it's a dire situation.

So I have been trying and TRYING to find a solution work-wise for the period from now until January (which was our EDD) but strangely enough things keep going cockeyed. I had a couple of positive phone calls for jobs on the Coast and thought we might move in with my grandmother to keep her company and save money etc (also short term so a rental would be hard to organise), but she went into hospital right as I was about to ask her if we could stay ... perhaps she guessed??? Another family member offered us a room but now the jobs may have fallen through...argh!

In the meantime I am thinking...(not always a good thing!) What if we looked into jobs NOT abroad for a spell (say, 6 months), which would give us a chance to save money, rent the house out before we left the country, practice living 'away from home' and also give me some relevant experience prior to trying to secure a job OS?

So I have emailed NT schools and another organisation that runs literacy projects in Cape York...both sound really interesting (working with kids from Indigenous backgrounds) and would be incredible experiences in their own right, buuuuut...I feel like I am wimping out AGAIN and finding more excuses not to leave. Don't get me wrong - oh, I still want to leave...desperately. But dreaming and doing are two different cats. Leaving is scary...maybe a job a little closer to home would make it easier to go further away? Plus there's the lack of funds...I feel awfully more apprehensive planning a sojourn in Asia with $20 in the bank than I might if I had a few thousand dollars.

I even emailed some hostels in New Zealand about working there over the Summer - a couple of them had links to English language schools or classes and I thought that it might be a fun way to start the RTW, but so far my emails have been met with SILENCE - more on that in another post as it has intensely irritated me. It is SO rude. And why don't they want me???

So...a lot of something about nothing because we still haven't set off. So far my CV has done more travelling than I have but I am ready to go. I just spent 7 days landscaping my front yard and this week I am planning to start the BIG JUNK CULL of all our ... junk! So, stay tuned for that exciting development!