The Trouble With Money and Women

For those of you who know the kind of person that I am, you will know that my chill level is basically the same chill level as a refridgerator. I honestly don't think I would know how to handle myself if I found myself in a really dramatic situation.

Well, today I didn't know how to handle myself.

Yes folks, I found myself in a particularly dramatic situation.

See, in October, I came upon a particular situation. A situtation that changed my life for the better! I was running low on money in China and didn't know what to really do. I prayed and hoped Heavenly Father would help me spread the money thin over the next three months and an answer to my prayer came along.

One of my roommates works at a different school than me and their school needed me to do them a favor. One of their foreign teachers was quitting to pursue his real dream to be a magician (true story) and they needed me to fill in until they found a replacement. They told me that they would pay me (and it was also the most money I have ever been paid by the hour so it was definitely helping out).

I started teaching one class a week, then two, and after about a month, they switched me to a part time schedule and I was teaching 12-13 classes a week. I also was transferred to a school that took about an hour to get to it from my apartment (depending on the time of day). Not to mention, I started at 4:30 and most nights I wouldn't get home until 9:30. Not my ideal situation but, yes, I was doing it for the money.

I actually really enjoyed working at this school and I loved the teachers and the kids that I taught. I loved being able to actually communicate with the teachers as well. At my other school, the teachers there hardly speak more English than their students (and sometimes none at all) and this school was actually an English training center so all the subjects the teachers taught were English. Of course they speak English. The school is very elite and the parents here are very picky about their children's education (they make them go to school until 8:00 at night, they're a little insane about education here) so the teachers speak very good English as well. Not perfect English, but if I talk slower than normal, they understand me.

It was really nice to get paid and to also have people who could speak English! It was a blessing in many ways. It was really hard and there were some nights I came home crying and other nights I came home rather proud of myself for the work I had done. All around, it was a really good opportunity!

The first time I got paid, the school gave it to one of the teachers (who also works for my liaison) and he gave it to me. My liaison got mad at the teacher and told him to give it to her next time and she would deposit it into my account. Well, she lied.

Let me tell you a little bit about my liaison, Shirley. I have never met her. I have talked to her on the phone once. She lives in a completely different city and gives most of the hands-on work to her "secretaries" who are teachers at different schools that don't even correlate with our own school. Doesn't make much sense. Her "secretaries" aren't the best either. The "secretary" assigned to us doesn't come and help when we ask her to, but rather sends someone else (who doesn't speak a word of English) to help us out. Liaisons usually work for the school and you see them often. They speak pretty good English and miscommunication isn't common, like it is here.

So, Shirley told this teacher that she would deposit the money into my account and the teacher told me this. I messaged her the other day and asked her about it and to tell me when she deposited the money so I could withdraw it before I left China (since China credit cards don't work in America). She was confused and once she finally got what I was saying, she explained that she used that for our living expenses (which is the deal here, they pay for housing, food, water, travel, etc. and we volunteer teach). Our contract says that we can't teach more than 20 hours a week and Shirley said that since I was working 10 hours at my first school and then 9.75 (cutting it close there, Shirley) at this second school, I wouldn't get paid. I just got paid if I worked extra hours.

I had assumed that she was right, she knew more than me and I didn't want to tell her that she was wrong (my drama free life record going strong still) and just accepted it and moved on.

Life at my second school was finally turning out for the better. A teacher that didn't like me very much was finally seeing the potential that I had and was finally smiling when she talked to me and acting like she liked me (score!) and then today was family day at school so I didn't have class (double score!). It was a pretty fantastic day.

My roommates and I decided to go get lunch and I said that I would stay behind because I was going off a budget now (because the money I thought I would have was now no more) and one of my roommates was like, "Why? You're getting paid." And I explained to her what our liaison had told me. Luckily, this roommate is also my mentor and knows more than me and told me that what Shirley was doing was wrong (say whaaaaaa?).

Turns out, since I'm only contracted with the first school, I am only volunteering there. Any other classes I teach or events I help with is technically overtime, and I have to be paid. Especially if they tell me they are going to pay me. So I have 21 classes that I have not been paid for. Yikes.

We told my director the issue and he said he would talk to Shirley about it and try to get it figured out for me (he is literally an angel and the most amazing person ever). In the meantime, my mentor told me not to go to classes until it was figured out, just to avoid any other problems that it could cause. Well, skipping classes made EVERYONE freak out.

I told my head teacher and she told the liaison's "secretary" who worked at my second school and then he told Shirley. I had all of them freaking out about it, and no idea what to tell them other than what I was already telling them. My liaison got real sassy with me and I hadn't had anyone ever message me such sorts of things to me in my entire life. It was a little traumatizing (but I look back and laugh a little). The liaison's "secretary" was begging for me to come and teach and the head teacher was bribing me. I had no idea what to do and was really close to breaking down and crying. I ran to my director for help and he told me not to talk to anyone until everything was sorted out.

My liaison was really stubborn and did not understand why certain things had to be certain ways but eventually, she kind of came around. It was painful and I really don't want to go back and teach for the school. I would do it just because I felt bad, but I would feel so embarrassed to go back and show my face after what happened. UGH I feel terrible. And it's not my fault either!!

The good news is, I'm getting paid for the classes I have taught and I don't have to work there again, but I did offer to sub until they found a replacement as long as I got paid like I should.

Phew!

A little too much for a little Brindizi like myself to be going through in one afternoon but I got through it! It's evening now!

They tell us the liaison situations here in Suzhou are really terrible and they aren't exagarrating. I mean, geez louise! And we've been dealing with stuff like this all semester!

I am very excited to be coming back to the states in less than a month. Yeah, like, 27 days! Holy cow! The time has gone by fast. Part of it feels like I've been living in China forever and another part of it feels like I just got here yesterday. It's a bizarre feeling. I'm excited to get back to hamburgers, grilled cheese, and enchiladas. Life is just a little less exciting without some Mexican food every once in awhile. The Mexicans are really culinary geniuses. I do miss a lot of people and also the fact that I can actually understand people.

Of course, there will be things that I will miss about this place. The food, the traffic laws, the people, their way of life, the city...but I probably won't miss my liaison. The chances are fairly slim. I'm really sorry to say it, but it's kind of true.

So that is my story and pretty much the most exciting thing that has happened to me since...I don't know. I don't really mark my exciting times on a calendar so I couldn't tell you. But it's been a while! I hope you enjoyed it and I also hope that you enjoy the holiday season! (sad day, they only play Christmas music in malls you would find ex-pats in) I still have Christmasy plans though, and I listened to Christmas music after I got in from my apartment.

Oh!

Bonus Story:

After coming home from getting lunch, we got to our apartment door only to find that none of us had brought a key to get in. Since we don't know the person who owns the apartments and nobody else we knew how to get in, we had to call a locksmith. We told our liaison/her "secretary" to send a locksmith (because they are Chinese and speak Chinese and can tell someone where to go in Chinese) and we were waiting, out in the cold, on our dirty, grimy stairs for TWO HOURS waiting for this guy to come get us in.

Thankfully, we had our lunch with us!

Well, that marks the end of this blog post and I hope you enjoyed reading it. My life was pretty crazy today. It makes a fun story though!

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