Sunday, October 21, 2007
Update on Life
Still no pay, and at this point, I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely I'll ever see any of the $3000 I'm now owed. Strangely, I'm kind of at peace about it all. For now, I'm still going in to work for 3 reasons. First, I don't really have much else to do. I've been applying for new jobs, but you need to remember I came with the expectation of not only getting a pay cheque, but getting a cash advance from the company to survive the first few months. Without either, moving, paying rent on a new place and buying food until I start getting paid by them is looking unlikely. Second, I feel bad for the students. They're hurt by this too, since the way Nova is set up they pay heaps of money for lessons for multiple years, which they're likely to all lose now. Finally, part of me is still hoping that I'll get at least the first paycheque. At this point, I'll probably keep applying for jobs until the end of my 2 days off, and if I don't have any promising leads consider just packing things in (and paying a huge cancellation penalty for my phone). As I see things though, it's been a great experience, and I've learned a lot about myself and about the world. It's too bad things have gone this way, but maybe it means my karma is owed now. Does karma pay interest? Most of the employees are a bit shell-shocked right now. Today, there was only one instructor in the head branch. I had this one kid class today where only a single 5 year old girl showed up, and because her friends were there, she just sat there and cried the entire class. I kind of knew how she felt. I still have about half the money I came over with left. I don't think that it's quite enough for a plane ticket home, but I've always got credit cards too. Just kind of debating now how long I should hold out before I give up. The three main options if I'm not paid are to a)cut my losses and go home immediately, b)splurge on the remaining of my money and see a bit more of Japan, but come home even more in debt, or c)keep living off the cheapest of food and drag things out while hoping for something good to come along. Despite the horror of it all, I'm still in a pretty good mood about things, and am finding it easier to just be amused by the irony of the entire thing than to really get upset. Life's crazy sometimes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Wow, I am impressed! You have a great outlook on life despite the situation you are in.
But I really love the pictures, do you have anymore of the Torii Gate? Its pretty awesome looking.
Anyways, hope you are still having fun and in other news my roommate and I got a kitten!!! It is kinda retarded but cute . . .
Hi RicharD,
Your attitude is great and your circumstances suck.
I'll email you more in the morning but I really hope that things work out, even if it's only pay for what you are owed to date and return airfare....You do still have a contract which I would honour , if I were you, till there is no chance of any gain.
As long as Nova is in operation, you at least have a place to live and I wouldn't be offering too much in rent money...I'm not sure how much you can find out about their situation but right now they owe you more than you owe them.
I do feel for your students too but you have to look out for yourself...I'd like you to get more out of your sojurn in Japan than what you've seen so far, and you've done remarkably well, given the circumstances.
Keep your head up, your mind clear,,,will email you tomorrow.
Hey Richard,
My friend, Jennifer, is in Hong Kong right now teaching English. I sent her a message regarding your circumstances and asked if she knew of any openings for ESL teachers in HK.
She mentioned that the program she's in right now is recruiting. She's working for "Chatteris International Foundation" (www.chatteris.org.hk). If you're interested, send an email to them addressed to Ben Weetman, (recruitment advisor) and tell them Jennifer Whittington referred you.
I know you're hoping to stay in Japan right now, but it's always worth a shot to stick around Asia. HK is a lovely city and everything there is relatively cheap compared to Japan (or so I've been told) with the possible exception of rent.
If you want to contact Jen, you can email her at jenwhitt12@hotmail.com
I hope things work out for you!
That blows man on one hand i would try to stick it out but then if nothing happened i probly would have been pissed that i didn't get to see more of the country. So i think i would go out with a bang and just start to travel around japan. But it's really to bad that nova isn't staying above water. It's a tough decision to make, good luck.
I checked into the Chatteris thing. To be honest, I don't really care what country I'm in. The problem with it is mainly a)the time it takes to process everything and get a new work visa, and b)the HK$15000-20000 it says is necessary to cover initial expenses until you start getting paid. I *had* that when I started in Japan, but unfortunately not getting paid drained that pretty thoroughly. It would take all the money I have left just to get to Hong Kong I'm afraid. I still have my visa, and I'll email them and get more details, but it looks like it might be tough. I really do appreciate everybody trying to help though. -Richard
You have alot of good friends Richard...Something that you might only learn through adversity....Just want you to know that I'm here too...and this might be the "best" trip of your life.
I'm not convincd yet...but I'm sure hoping.
I have aq couple of Korean and Singapore connections too....but that might involve alot of paper work and time.
sent you an email earlier
So I know how you feel with all of this. No money, no advance, hoping something may work out somehow but not really thinking anything will.
For me, I like to picture rock bottom and realize how far I am from there. Even if I have no cash and no job.
So Im going back into work tomorrow. Dont know why, dont know why not.
Post a Comment