JOBS: Cheers and Tears

First for the CHEERS:
Curt got a job! It's perfectly suited for him because it's a position as a structural engineer for the hydro department of a big firm (a dam engineer). It's exactly what he did at PacifiCorp in Portland and he truly enjoyed his work there. So it was perfect to find an opening that fits so well. Of course, they're probably happy that they found a candidate that suited the job so well, too!

It was a L O N G process. He actually inquired about the position in early December before we moved, and he was finally hired on Jan 31. First, he had a pre-interview with the recruiter in charge. Then he had an initial interview with two of the bosses at the company. A few days later, he had to return for 2 hours of psychometric testing (!). It was similar to an SAT test, including reading comprehension, analogies, and math patterns & problem solving. THEN he had one more "structured" interview. Well, I guess he passed the test and the interviews because they hired him.

He'll be working for a company called Maunsell, an international firm based in Australia that does work in New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. They even do some work in Afghanistan. They do buildings, defence, power, transport, etc. Can you tell I've been reading their glossy brochure? :)

Anyway, it feels good to know he has a job. As Curt says, "It's a relief. It's nice to feel wanted. I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove again and getting my brain engaged. It'll be good to have some social contact with other people in this country." And honestly, we've both been getting pretty bored sitting around for the last 6 weeks.

Now for the TEARS:
I started my job on Feb 2nd for two days of staff meetings and team planning. My head is spinning. There is so much new information to take in (and I miss a few words here and there, because of the accent) that I get overwhelmed. Contrary to the title above, I haven't actually cried ... yet. But I'm pretty darn close at times.

I debated whether to discuss my problems in this blog. Obviously, I'd prefer to tell you about all the things that are going right. But it only seems fair to include the frustrations so you will have a more complete picture. Besides, I like to vent occasionally. Prepare for a little whining.

Basically, I'll be teaching 29 13-year olds and I'm in charge of teaching reading (good,) writing (good), social studies (good), and maths (not as good, although at least there is a textbook I can use for this). Yes, it's called maths here, not math. I guess since it's short for mathematics, it makes certain sense. In addition to the subjects I teach, my students go see other teachers twice a week for PE, art, music, home ec, tech, and science (really good!). I also fill in for the librarian for 2 periods and teach computers for 2 periods to fill out my schedule.

It sounds doable, but somehow I feel like I'm drowning. All these new concepts and new processes and new lingo that I'm trying to comprehend haven't jelled in my brain yet, like jello when you first mix it up and it hasn't set. It will take a while for all these new ideas to solidify. Meanwhile, my head is full of mush and I'm not used to that.

Here's a small example of the kind of problems I have in understanding everything that is being said: The students work in exercise books, not loose-leaf paper in a binder. Their supply list says to bring a 1B5 for maths and three 2B8s for literacy and a 3A1 for spelling. Huh? I went to the stationary store tonight to find out what these things are. Anyway, these kinds of things pop up in every minute or two so I'm always a few steps behind because of these huge gaps in background knowledge. It sure gives me empathy for recent immigrant children who are not only learning a new language, but struggling with a new culture all day!

The other two problems are concerning my classroom:
1. My room is totally empty and unsupplied.
This classroom wasn't used last year, so there was no stapler or pencils or construction paper or anything. (I went shopping tonight and spent my allotted $40, which didn't go far) There wasn't even any desks for the kids, but they found some old, wooden, broken, cracked, graffitied desks for my students to use until newly purchased desks arrive ... in a month or two. The chairs are moulded plastic chairs like patio chairs. There's no file cabinet or tables or counters. There's an old teacher desk with 2 drawers.

2. The container full of our belongings – including 40 boxes of my classroom stuff, bookshelves, etc. – hasn't arrived yet. So I don't have the files full of all my lessons and ideas. I feel crippled without those. I don't have my huge collection of young adult novels (and the school library isn't open yet) so my students can't start silent reading yet. I have no posters on the wall. Those of you who know how much time I spend fixing up my classroom and making it welcoming for the first day will know how disappointing it is for me to have to welcome students to a bare room with depressing old desks. Ugh.

I guess I could compare it to going camping and all you have is the tent. No matches. No pots. No food. No toilet paper. No sleeping bag. No hatchet. Just a tent.

All right, that's enough woe-is-me. Let's talk about some good aspects now:
• They provided a laptop. (OK, so I lied about the tent being empty. There's a laptop in there.)
• There's a huge walk-in closet. (Eventually I will have lots of stuff to put in there)
• I only have 29 kids.
• There's a twenty minute break in the morning for tea. And there's an hour for lunch.
• The room has whiteboards and carpeting (my classroom in Portland had chalkboards and linoleum)
• I won't have to score papers and assign point values for everything. (Instead, I write descriptive grade reports twice a year telling their level and what they need to work on)
• Everyone says my name correctly because here, Megan is always pronounced MEE-gan.
• I won't be bored any more.
• Nobody chews gum. :)

Now I will end with 2 funny stories about accents:
• When filling in for the librarian, I will be seeing the students from Room 2 and Room 6. The Deputy Principal tells me that Room 2 is "Lunn's" class and Room 6 is "Dorn's" class. Later, I figured out that he said Lyn and Dawn, not Lunn and Dorn. Oops. I'll get the hang of this accent eventually.
• At the opening assembly on the first day of school, each teacher reads their class list outloud to announce which kids are in which class. The principal recommended that everyone practice pronouncing the names on their list. However, they quickly assigned a different teacher to read my list at the assembly because I can't even pronounce the white kids' names "right" let alone the Maori names like Rangitawhiti Arama. :)

Well, now you know how I'm feeling on the 2nd day of my job. :(
I'm sure when I write again about my job in month or so, things will be better. :)