Day 73: Preparation

Well the changes at school are happening already...

I walked into work today, and saw that all the tables in one of the classrooms have been changed from 'kiddie tables' to individual adult-sized tables. Yes, soon my kindergartens will be gone and in their place will be adults. This school is going to be so different afterwards...

Steven tracked me down in the afternoon and we had another long chat during my one hour mid-day coffee break. The changes we mentioned last week are definitely happening, he confirmed everything. This is my last week with my lil kinders and they will be gone at the end of the week. Again, knowing this made me really sad! Yes, they can drive a teacher up the wall occasionally (last Friday being a PRIME example!) but I really do love 'em and they're my favourites. I look forward to teaching them everyday - unlike my elementary classes which can sometimes be dull, my kinders are never boring!

So apparently we're going to have two different types of adult classes - one for housewives, and one for business men/nurses/office workers. There's a lot of both in this part of the city and according to Steven no other nearby schools cater to them, so there should be lots of potential. He even said that a few adults have signed up already, which makes things sound really promising. I'm kinda curious to see what it will be like teaching adults, but the one thing I am concerned about is hours.

Right now my work day is from 10am-6pm, and I only teach about 5-6 hours a day. This is what was agreed upon in my contract and it's been a *great* schedule so far. Well it looks like that may change... No official schedule has been set yet, but in order to cater to the various groups of adults we have to split the classes into a morning group and an evening group. Steven mentioned that the morning group may start as early as 7:30am and the evening classes may run from 7-9pmish. Hearing this DID NOT impress me!
One of the reasons that I took this particular job was because it had an attractive schedule. I am NOT a morning person at all (even after 4 years at Delany's, I still *hated* getting up early) and I'll pretty much refuse to work anything earlier than 9am or so. As for the evening classes, well I don't mind those so much because it's not like I do anything at night anyways - I'm just at home watching TV.

I guess what I need to express to Steven is that I'll work morning adult classes (as long as they're not at some ungodly hour like what he mentioned) OR I'll work the evening classes, but certainly NOT both. I am NOT going to work from 7:30am - 9pm, even if there are large breaks in between. That would be annoying, frustrating, and downright inconsiderate of my life outside of work, if you ask me! I don't want THE WHOLE DAY to be teaching. Steven seemed to reassure me that I wasn't going to get some horrible schedule, and that we'd work out one together that was pleasing for all, but I'm really skeptical at this point. Argh!!!! All of this is making me NOT a happy camper!

It's hard to be mad at Steven because in so many other ways he's been the ideal boss. Him and his family have been so unbelievably nice to me and have really gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and comfortable here in Korea. After hearing lots of horror stories about bosses who leave their foreign teachers pretty much to fend for themselves regarding anything and everything outside of work, I know I've been really lucky with my bosses in that regard. However, I am only flexible/patient to a certain degree, and I have to remember to take care of my needs as well - not just those of Steven, the school, and the kids. We agreed to certain terms in the contract before I came here, and it looks like many of them are no longer being held. Again, I can't really be mad at him for this because it's all been circumstances that is sorta out of everyone's hands (ie: the financial situation at school is largely reflective of the fact that Korea has been in a recession for the last few years and many hagwons have been having money problems.) He's not a bad boss and he's not malicious or out to take advantage of me. Things are shitty for him too and he's just trying his best to keep things afloat. That's why it's been really hard for me to be upset or inflexible with the changes.

I really don't know what to do at this point. I feel so torn! I guess right now, because nothing has really happened yet, all I can do is just see how it all plays out. The next few weeks and the next month will really tell if things are going to work out in the end. The school may recover but if it comes at the expense of me working crazy hours, I am willing to walk away. I don't want to, but that's just may what have to happen. I hate being put in this sort of position, but that's just how life operates sometimes. I just need to make sure that I stay level-headed and make smart choices. Wish me luck!