Time just gets away from me sometimes. I've been preoccupied with work related issues which I have no interest in rehashing in detail so I'll give an overview. It boils down to the school director, business manager and the head of physical plant treating the foreign hires badly. I used to think it was incompetence and had actually accepted their questionable decisions and policies, but I now know that their quirkiness is quite deliberate and it makes them appear to be dishonest and inhuman. It seems that every interaction with the school is fraught with difficulties, headaches and trouble. Housing, flight arrangements, personal days, retirement accounts, and even water delivery become scandalous issues. I've tried to be a voice of reason and had conversations with all three of the aforementioned superiors and I can not convince them that they are unreasonable people.
So I'm frustrated, angry and disillusioned by ACS. It saddens me because I had such high hopes for Beirut and Lebanon. I enjoy living here. I enjoy my students. I enjoy my colleagues and even my principal. The job and lifestyle are great. But I am fed up with the school. I've decided to finish my contract and leave at the end of next school year. Luckily, Marcey agrees so we'll be moving on together. We have lots of options and plenty of time to make
decisions. We may attend a recruitment fair next January and aim for a Latin American country (She's fluent in Spanish and I love tacos.) We might apply for non-teaching jobs in the states. (Educational publishing companies actually need former teachers to edit textbooks.) Or maybe we'll save every penny next year and take a year off.
(We can live in Thailand for a dollar a day.) The world is our oyster.
I'll try to keep you posted more often.