The thing about my experience here is not that it's taught me how to tap into resources and tricks to draw and stretch more from those resources than I would ever have imagined possible, not that I'm much more confident in my ability to survive just about anything, not that I've proven anything to myself or anyone else, it's that there's no way in hell I want to be in a similar situation ever again.
So I'm getting pretty ready to get out. Like, very ready to drop everything.
And here comes a job. Teaching music to kidlets in a developing music program in a wealthy nation.
A salary with room to save and accommodation furnished in the Western sense; a ticket there and back at the beginning and end of contract and for every summer vacation in between.
Ostensibly, fantastic gig.
But it's in Kuwait. That was never one of my possible, let alone desirable, destinations. It's not a place I would want to explore without great incentive to go there (like getting paid). If I saw the job advertised, I wouldn't apply.
When I was in Penang and couldn't walk down a block without at least two couples averting their faces and covering their noses with hankies (even through the burka), I decided that an islamic culture is not for me. (Which is bizarre given that after reading the Quaran, the abiding impression was of acceptance and forgiveness in the beauty of the Creator and creation.) But I'd make an exception in a few cases, namely Oman, Qatar, and maybe UAE, teaching college English on an established syllabus.
Which is what I applied for without realizing I was sending my materials to a recruiter, who directed me to the Kuwait job.
Again--how cool to teach music to kidlets, now that I've learned the lessons that lead to the position I'm in now. So I look it up online and there is nothing positive anywhere--the absolute best claim, among stories of changed contracts, cut benefits, horrible management, living in slums, lies and misdirection, the best thing I read was that they pay on time. But okay, I can disregard the vitriol as someone who faced greater challenges than they were expecting in places they didn't know could be challenged and reacted poorly. I can imagine it quite easily--it would probably be therapeutic to write such things about my current employer, but I would never get over the guilt as such an act wouldn't do anything worthwhile for anyone in the long run.
So first comes an interview: the lady is a busy Londoner who's made time and assuages a number of my concerns about the management: she doesn't breathe fire or antagonism. Still, she explained that she wanted music to be a publicly conspicuous part of the school, but she couldn't say what sort of music she wanted--"you know, performances. The kids performing." So what materials are there? "Well, I'm not a musician, but keyboards and boxes of percussion stuff. I really couldn't say, because I'm not a musician."
Then comes the contract: basic salary, basic accommodation, government insurance, summer vacation, and your kid gets a 50% discount in tuition.
Such a contract would've brought me to Thailand, but in fact I have one detailing hours and duties and expectations and evaluations and I still got broadsided. So I want to know what ages and classes and expectations and evaluations and accommodations and conditions and materials and curricula and coverages and generally a contractual description of the position offered.
A week after the interview, I had some confirmation that the conditions are as a naive westerner would interpret: 20 contact hours with 4 syllabi in a classroom with a computer and AV setup, an actual apartment with a kitchen and sitting space and bedroom and curtains, and a guilt-trip note about the amount of time and effort I've demanded.
Really?
So it's a ticket out of Thailand. It's an entre into the middle east. It's a sizable paycheck. But is it worth it? It's music with kidlets, happy singing time, but at what cost to the spirits? And what toll would that take on the body?
Yes, I really, really, really want to get out of here. But at the same time, especially as I stop paying attention to the number of superfluous steps I take, I wonder what it is that people see in Thailand. Are the drinking and drugs and jungle/beach raves really that great? And as frustrating as it can be in practice, would the "mai pen rai?" culture with nothing at stake be such a bad thing for me for a few months? Especially with the baggage the position carries.
Still, that money for teaching music to kidlets....
But at what cost?
So I'm getting pretty ready to get out. Like, very ready to drop everything.
And here comes a job. Teaching music to kidlets in a developing music program in a wealthy nation.
A salary with room to save and accommodation furnished in the Western sense; a ticket there and back at the beginning and end of contract and for every summer vacation in between.
Ostensibly, fantastic gig.
But it's in Kuwait. That was never one of my possible, let alone desirable, destinations. It's not a place I would want to explore without great incentive to go there (like getting paid). If I saw the job advertised, I wouldn't apply.
When I was in Penang and couldn't walk down a block without at least two couples averting their faces and covering their noses with hankies (even through the burka), I decided that an islamic culture is not for me. (Which is bizarre given that after reading the Quaran, the abiding impression was of acceptance and forgiveness in the beauty of the Creator and creation.) But I'd make an exception in a few cases, namely Oman, Qatar, and maybe UAE, teaching college English on an established syllabus.
Which is what I applied for without realizing I was sending my materials to a recruiter, who directed me to the Kuwait job.
Again--how cool to teach music to kidlets, now that I've learned the lessons that lead to the position I'm in now. So I look it up online and there is nothing positive anywhere--the absolute best claim, among stories of changed contracts, cut benefits, horrible management, living in slums, lies and misdirection, the best thing I read was that they pay on time. But okay, I can disregard the vitriol as someone who faced greater challenges than they were expecting in places they didn't know could be challenged and reacted poorly. I can imagine it quite easily--it would probably be therapeutic to write such things about my current employer, but I would never get over the guilt as such an act wouldn't do anything worthwhile for anyone in the long run.
So first comes an interview: the lady is a busy Londoner who's made time and assuages a number of my concerns about the management: she doesn't breathe fire or antagonism. Still, she explained that she wanted music to be a publicly conspicuous part of the school, but she couldn't say what sort of music she wanted--"you know, performances. The kids performing." So what materials are there? "Well, I'm not a musician, but keyboards and boxes of percussion stuff. I really couldn't say, because I'm not a musician."
Then comes the contract: basic salary, basic accommodation, government insurance, summer vacation, and your kid gets a 50% discount in tuition.
Such a contract would've brought me to Thailand, but in fact I have one detailing hours and duties and expectations and evaluations and I still got broadsided. So I want to know what ages and classes and expectations and evaluations and accommodations and conditions and materials and curricula and coverages and generally a contractual description of the position offered.
A week after the interview, I had some confirmation that the conditions are as a naive westerner would interpret: 20 contact hours with 4 syllabi in a classroom with a computer and AV setup, an actual apartment with a kitchen and sitting space and bedroom and curtains, and a guilt-trip note about the amount of time and effort I've demanded.
Really?
So it's a ticket out of Thailand. It's an entre into the middle east. It's a sizable paycheck. But is it worth it? It's music with kidlets, happy singing time, but at what cost to the spirits? And what toll would that take on the body?
Yes, I really, really, really want to get out of here. But at the same time, especially as I stop paying attention to the number of superfluous steps I take, I wonder what it is that people see in Thailand. Are the drinking and drugs and jungle/beach raves really that great? And as frustrating as it can be in practice, would the "mai pen rai?" culture with nothing at stake be such a bad thing for me for a few months? Especially with the baggage the position carries.
Still, that money for teaching music to kidlets....
But at what cost?
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