I’m having about as much trouble sleeping as I do blogging. Not that I don’t have anything to blog about, I have tons. And not like I’m not dead tired and sleepy at night, I am. But my mind seems mis-aligned, and I cannot focus on the task at hand. There are just too many uncatagorised things floating around in my mind.
The latest uncatagorised item is from last night. My ex phoned from Malaysia and asked for my little boy Jarrod to come stay with me for a bit. I’m elated, I look forward to having him here as I think about him constantly. And with all the cute kids running around here, it’s very difficult to not think of him, because I see something if him in everyone.
But with this news comes a whole new set of challenges. Money to bring him and his mother over (he’s 2.5 years old, can’t exactly fly on his own), visa arrangements for him to stay with me, finding out about day-care facilities for during the day when I have class, and also getting my evening classes moved to the morning.
On a selfish note I consider what this will do to my free time, my time off, when I technically have to recover from the kids I have taught. But to be with my boy I’m willing to sacrifice limbs, I think nothing about ‘free time’.
Not all that difficult, the challenges, but it will take a bit of co-ordination to get all the info in a timely fashion. The money is another bowl of rice all together.
Today, for instance. 10 November, and according to my contract, payday. But because of the president set last month, as well as substantiated claims by King, I know for a fact they will dilly-dally with payment. Also, allegedly the Boss Man went to Wuhan, and he’s also the Money Man, so there is even more reason to doubt payment. I work, I get paid. A simple concept that doesn’t seem too popular in this part of the world.
Another, related, problem is my passport. I don’t have it. It’s lying at the police station, gathering dust no doubt. Why? Because last month when I had to get my medical test done in Wuhan, we got the visa extended without the medical report, which is now in the Foreign Affairs Office in Wuhan, where it has been a full month. The police issued the visa, but retained my passport until they receive the original medical cert.
Yes, it could have been mailed here, it would have taken 3 days, maybe; and it would have all been sorted out. It could have. If anybody bothered. But the ‘foreign liaison’ person here at our school was, to put it nicely, inept. Nothing (give him some credit, very little) ever got done by him, but nothing (no credit here) ever got done on time. But his position has been re-assigned to somebody who at least got my broken bathroom window (it was like that when I got here, honest) fixed within 24 hours of the request, so I’m hopeful about her abilities. Yes, her. Women should rule the world, it would be a much better place.
Now apparently the Boss Man went to Wuhan on some other business and will bring back the medical cert which will enable the release of my passport. Yah! But as ‘payment’ it looks like I have to forfeit the timely transfer of my salary. Hey, you gotta give up something.
I’m not moaning about stuff that I want that are unreasonable, or a ‘foreign attitude of superiority’. I’m fighting for things which were the basis of me traveling here all the way from South Africa and then when I got here, it was said – oh no, sorry – that was wrong. And it seems, the more I teach the more they try to find ways to not pay me.
We (The King and I) get paid maybe 4 times more than the local teachers, which in that respect doesn’t make us too popular comes payday. I’ve heard rumors that the foreign teachers get paid more than the Head Master, the Boss Man. I also have a sneaky suspicion that when payday rolls around, the rumour gets spread that the local teacher do not get paid because there is no money after paying the foreign teachers.
The vibe is obvious, and you can tell the way the local teachers stop trying to talk to you. Usually they make a small effort, but around this time of the month, all communications just stop and it’s as if you become invisible. Of course, these are all just conspiracy theories and can not be proven by anything substantial. But local teachers also do not get paid on time, and the drop in morale is tangible.
Sigh.
But when I think I will enter the class and be less enthusiastic because I didn’t get paid and have troubles with my employers, the kids bamboozle me.
They go absolutely ape when I enter the class, and they get more eager to learn every day. And when the ones who can’t really speak English try really hard and pick up a new word that they use the next time they pass me on the grounds, it really makes it all worth while.
I think that’s why, amidst all the reports of trouble and hardships with the Chinese employers, the teachers still stay, and more come, because it really is rewarding to effectively transfer your knowledge.
And if I have Jarrod with me, well. Then I really I have everything I need. Just find a way.