Here in Korea, about 3-4 months before a teacher’s contract is finished, the school will go to the teacher and ask them if they think they want to renew. That’s a reasonable amount of time, as they have now spent 8-9 months here, and probably have a good idea of whether or not they want to stay.
However, yesterday my co-teacher informed me that they want an answer now, after only 6.5 months here. Barring a breakup with Marc, I will be going home, but I don’t really want to close the door here just yet, not until I get back from winter vacation.
I was told in the morning to make a decision by the end of the day, but since I had to judge an English competition in the afternoon, and then hold a meeting about the teachers’ workshop that I teach, I didn’t remember to email her back about it. I did, however, receive an email from the provincial office saying that some schools may be asking early this year, but that we did not need to give them a decision until December 29th. So, I figured that was that, and that I would give myself a couple days.
Well, I got a call at 7:30am this morning (thankfully I was already awake due to my internal clock being set on “Dali” these days), asking for my decision. I explained that the provincial office said that I had until the 29th. My co-teacher insisted that no, she needs an answer today, and that Tuesday or Wednesday will not do.
I told her to mark me down as “No”, but that that could change sometime in the future, potentially. Really, though, it’s highly unlikely. My school seems to exist in an alternate universe to the one that the provincial office exists in, and that really bothers me. Even if I were to stay in Korea, I do think I would switch schools. I like Jindo, but I think that this area has some major kinks to work out, and as an experienced teacher, I can be put to better use elsewhere, at a school that knows how to actually use their foreigners.
I’ve been feeling better about things here lately, but today’s early morning phone call, combined with the gray weather I’m staring at right now, has put me in a bit of a sour mood.
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