You're right, Lucky. It's been too long. So instead of waiting until I'm settled, or until I feel like I have something entertaining to write, or until I feel happy, I will just write now, and you'll get whatever you get.
I left the school in Yongzhou. The kids were great of course, but the FAO there, who also made herself the head of the school (it was supposed to be her son), was a nightmare. In a few words, she was a mannipulative control freak, and I am lucky to be nowhere near her anymore.
Dealing with her, and realizing just how wrong the situation was, was the reason I was so lucky to have Cherie, the other foreign teacher there. She helped me so much when she came. Cherie has taught for Company for 6 years and knows how the schools are supposed to be, and what to expect as a foreign teacher. If it wasn't for her, I don't know what I would have done. I think I either would have caved to everything (that's the way I was going in the beginning, not wanting to be too demanding or to seem intolerant) and had a lousy time of it, or I would have just left, and either way I would have just thought that's the way it was. Cherie helped me to pick my battles and to stand up for myself. I learned from her and from this experience that no matter where I am, even if I am in an unfamiliar situation, there are certain things which I still know and certain values on which I shouldn't have to compromise. And done correctly, that isn't intolerance, it's teaching people how to treat you. It's making your own life the way you expect it to be.
Cherie was valuable to me as a friend as well, if I even need to say so at this point. She is a lovely, funny, warm, generous and perceptive person, and I am lucky to have met her and to have spent so much time with her. Some of the best people I've met are those friends I've gained through my worst jobs (Brooke, Jan, I'm looking at you), and this is definitely a case of that. Cherie left Yongzhou at the end of the month (she was there only for the month as a favour to Company's Owner, since the school was beginning to get a reputation thanks to her, and he couldn't get a teacher there for love or money), and when she left, I went with her. We both went back to Yangshuo, Guangxi (where Company is based) and after a well-deserved vacation, she flew back to Canada.
I stayed in Yangshuo for a few weeks. Company had been apprised of all the goings-on and had tried their hand at fixing things, but when it didn't work out they welcomed me back and put me up in YS. This is one big reason I chose this contract in the first place--they will help a teacher out of a bad situation and in the meantime you have a safe place to stay and a few meals in your belly.
My first several days in YS were mostly spent sleeping (I couldn't sleep much in Yongzhou) and just recovering from the general badness. After that, it was a really nice time. Yangshuo is a great place to hang out for a bit, and Owner College (Company's school for adults) is there, so there were tons of young Chinese people around with whom I made friends. They could practice their English with me, and a few of them helped me to learn some more Chinese. I made a few especially good friends whom it was very hard to leave and with whom I'm still in touch.
During my YS stay, I took a weekend trip to LanShan (a rural town in Hunan province) to visit G, one of the teachers who was in my Orientation class. He and I'd become friends over email, at first due to our common miseries and then due to our common awesomeness. His wife, ZJ, is Chinese and basically speaks no English, so I was able to improve my Chinese a ton trying to get to know her :) My visit was really nice, and they agreed. It's always nice to have someone ask you to stay longer! G will go back to England soon, but one way or another I will visit with those guys again; they are good people.
In the meantime, I was going to start working at a new primary school Owner was going to open in YS. That ended up being a longer process than I could really afford (I was living in YS for free but not pulling a paycheque), so when a teacher left a school near Suzhou, I was still available, and Owner sent me there.
I did my research with B, the teacher trainer and teacher support, before agreeing to come here. And she was really helpful. She gave me the rundown of everything, and ultimately told me that this was quite a good opportunity for me as a teacher. So I took it.
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