FRUSTRATION AND CONFINEMENT

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts recently but there has honestly been nothing much to post about. So today is Friday and we have not taught all week...

Lets rewind back to Monday, we were supposed to have a meeting but they cancelled it last minute so we were stuck inside all day for nothing. I wrote a contract for us all based on the TTC contract.

Tuesday- We finally got our meeting with Michael Li (Matthew's second in command), apparently Matthew was in hospital! I guess he lost more face than we thought at that meeting...  

Matthew's lack of face

We talked through the contract that we had written and looked at their contract, our's made sense while there's didn't. Yay for Chinglish...  They seemed happy with the contract but they want us to work more hours. Before this all happened I worked 15 hours, 3 hours a day Tuesday to Saturday; they now want us to work 21 hours. I will be staying at the same schools which is a relief but we will be doing two 45 minute lessons in the morning with a new 60 students per class each week on top of our 3 hour lesson in the afternoon with 20 (although this is now a 2 hour lesson and a 1 hour reflection...).

This is a lot more work for us but we were expecting to have to cover Alex and Siz's schools. At first we were offered 6,000 RMB a month (£600), we asked for some time to think about it. They also kept trying to make us work 6 days a week but I refused outright, as far as I see it I need those two days to plan for the week ahead's lessons and rest. Plus it means our free time will be decimated.

We decided to ask for more money because when we were deciding whether to stay or leave with TTC, Matthew had offered us 10,000RMB a month. We decided to compromise and asked for 8,000 a month (£800).  Now we just had to get them to sign the contract.

Wednesday- Waited around all day for meeting that never happened. We are beginning to get pissed off with being messed around.

Thursday- We went to town in the afternoon to see Matthew in hospital and hopefully get some answers. To say he was unhelpful would be the understatement of the millennia. He spoke nonsense and kept assuring us that money was no problem. He said that he wanted us to help remodel the teaching when we had already done that. He put a lot of the responsibility on Fish and Michael Li and left us more confused than when we went in. I am sick of him and his ramblings about how we should not worry. We are going to worry until we have a signed contract and money! Personally I am desperate to get back to teaching. I am bored stiff! I miss my kids and I am starting to get emails from them such as 'Teacher why aren't you here? Don't you like us anymore?' I hate this situation and the fact that no one seems to talk to us or care about us apart from Fish! I just want to teach, its why I stayed here in Xining. The last 3 weeks have been an absolute joke and some of the most frustratingly difficult of my life.

In the afternoon Cecilia and I went to the post office with Fish so I could send some stuff home. Thank goodness we had Fish, IT IS SO COMPLICATED. The amount of forms to fill out (all in Chinese of course) is incredible but I now have 5kg of jumpers heading back to England by road and sea! It only cost me 205RMB (£20.50) while it cost Cecilia 220 to send 2.5kg back to Sweden. HA! She wasn't too pleased!

After 2 and a half HOURS in the post office we headed home, I didn't even get to send all my stuff due to a lack of 'essential' information. In England as long as you have the address you're sorted but China is just difficult.

Friday: Waited in all day for a meeting to sign the contracts but Matthew cancelled it. Another day stuck inside. This is getting truly ridiculous. Matthew wanted us to work 6 days a week so again I put my foot down and refused. I also told him how insulting it was to be stuck waiting for him only for him to cancel. I am sick to death of this little man and his bullshit. China is quickly losing its appeal. I am here to teach and I can't even do that. I hate to say it but I am starting to doubt my decision to stay. In brighter news Michael Li has confirmed the 8000RMB a month! So things are looking up, I just hope I can teach next week.