Wednesday, September 19, 2007 7:51 AM
This week is my first week of real classes, with my very own real students. It is so exciting! Mondays and Wed I have three classes: 4-6 is Level 5, 6-8 Level 6 and 8-10 level 6. Luckily, all the level 6 classes use the same lesson, so its not too much work. On tues and thurs, I have level 6 from 4-6 (once again using the same lesson) and then conversation club from 6-9. In conversation club, I sit in a room and wait for
students to come in and then we just chat. We get worksheets to chat about but they're pretty boring so
I just ask the students questions.
Last night, I had 5 guys in my convo club which was a bit intimidating, but we had a good time. It's hard sometimes to give everyone a chance to speak but I try my best. I like teaching, and the students are great so I'm having a good time.
A bit of a scandal just happened here. The school we work for is a little frustrating because they make a lot of promises they can't keep. Its mainly the HR guy, J, who is doing this, the owner of the business (O) doesn't have any idea what he is doing. J is a bit creepy so that already leads us to distrust him. He is 38 years old, has been in Ukraine for 4 years and talks a lot about drinking, his past scoring drugs for famous rock stars, and how much Ukrainian women love his muscles. Not the ideal HR person.
A bit of a scandal just happened here. The school we work for is a little frustrating because they make a lot of promises they can't keep. Its mainly the HR guy, J, who is doing this, the owner of the business (O) doesn't have any idea what he is doing. J is a bit creepy so that already leads us to distrust him. He is 38 years old, has been in Ukraine for 4 years and talks a lot about drinking, his past scoring drugs for famous rock stars, and how much Ukrainian women love his muscles. Not the ideal HR person.
He also likes to tell us things that he can't possibly make happen. For example, in his job offer email, he says we will get an acclimation tour when we first arrive, which never happened. What is actually meant by an 'acclimation tour' is, G (who is very busy and almost impossible to get ahold of by phone) could walk you around the neighborhood showing you sights. When I arrived, after a 14 hour plane trip, she said, "Do you want me to show you the neighborhood?" I said, "No, I'd rather take a shower and rest for a while." She never offered again.
Also, payment is very confusing. I went to pick up the check I was told I would get 7 weeks after arriving and found only $100. When I asked about my money, J said O would pay me on Sunday. This is a bit inconvenient because I had to pay a bunch of money for rent and other necessities. The fact that I
haven't been paid in full for my month+ work makes what I am going to tell you even stranger.
Yesterday D was pulled out of class, the class he was teaching, by J for questioning. Apparently
two of the new teachers (S and J2) have disappeared (they had been rooming with D, and J thought he might know a little about it). They disappeared with their luggage. J claims, after asking for an advance from him and, then also from the school they were working for, S and J2 took off with $2000, never to be heard from again. Now J and L have to go to the school where they were working to take over their classes
and, according to Jonathan, they have hired some off duty cops to track down the boys. Cops who "would cut off their heads for $50."
haven't been paid in full for my month+ work makes what I am going to tell you even stranger.
Yesterday D was pulled out of class, the class he was teaching, by J for questioning. Apparently
two of the new teachers (S and J2) have disappeared (they had been rooming with D, and J thought he might know a little about it). They disappeared with their luggage. J claims, after asking for an advance from him and, then also from the school they were working for, S and J2 took off with $2000, never to be heard from again. Now J and L have to go to the school where they were working to take over their classes
and, according to Jonathan, they have hired some off duty cops to track down the boys. Cops who "would cut off their heads for $50."
D and E have actually talked to J2, who was last heard from waiting for a connecting flight in Germany. He said the part about the advance is false. He and S saw what a crapshow this company was and decided to take off. He said S is in Italy right now eating pasta. None of us are surprised. We knew S was trying to find a different job from the moment he got here, and others have already lined up jobs after the semester ends. What I find interesting is that they give out advances to people who haven't worked a minute and yet I, who have been working for over a month, cannot seem to get any money.
E and I have drafted a letter to J with all of our complaints and we are going to bring it to O and
tell her her choice of HR director is less than appropriate. I have even been looking for other options but am going to stick it out to see if any changes will be made. We actually think all the problems are due to J
and not the fault of the company itself, but we'll see. Anyway, we find the whole situation with S and
J a bit funny, not so much the stealing $2000 part, if that even happened, but running away is
something we've all considered at one point or another and all of us are kind of cheering them on. However,
if they do end up with their heads cut off it won't be quite as funny. Hope everybody is well.
and not the fault of the company itself, but we'll see. Anyway, we find the whole situation with S and
J a bit funny, not so much the stealing $2000 part, if that even happened, but running away is
something we've all considered at one point or another and all of us are kind of cheering them on. However,
if they do end up with their heads cut off it won't be quite as funny. Hope everybody is well.
Love, Jacy
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| The school where I work. |
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