the good and the bad

D neglected to go to work yesterday, and by 9:30 rumor had it that he was leaving. I wouldn'ttalkaboutit,only making cryptic commentsthat we might leave soon despite our fondness for our students.The support we received from the students is amazing. Not surprising perhaps, as I believe we are bothexcellent teachers and rather likable, but still feels pretty good.

As a resultof no showing, the schoolpaid us today,only 4 days late. I'm sure we should have been on our knees, showing gratitude, but somehow we retained our self-control.

We have been e-mailing since before we arrived about some things, and they still haven't been resolved. A few thingscan be resolved by the school alling others and making them do their job, but it hasn't happened yet. Neither of us has cable tv working. My doorbell cannot be answered,so anytime it is rung, it continues to ring for about 5 minutes. We can't get the bastards to buy a pot. Oh, and my visa expired last week, meaning I'm here illegally. I also haven't seen my passport in a few weeks, greatly restricting my mobility. To those who know how badly I wanted to come back here, consider i could wind up deported due to the incompetence of our liasion.

Quick note to prospective teachers worldwide: do not, under any circumstance, work for the Guangdong Radio & Tv College or the Guangdong Polytechnic college. Dishonesty and incompetence will stopyou from getting much of what the contract calls for, and you will be labelled ungrateful for not being thankful for what you do get.

How comfortable is my bed? I slept about 10 hour last night, and have bruises to show for it. I've been limping all day due to back pain, made worse by the flu.

Question of the day: what is a 10 x 10 foot room with a window and a few boxes in an apartment? Is it a bedroom? An office? a dining room? a wine cellar? Or is it nothing until it is furnished and given a purpose? Apparently, a room with no furnishings is a second bedroom.

Again, I am loving the classes, and it's nice being back. Its awkward in some ways, as you feel bad not being able to see friends because you haven't been paid, hate having people over because your home looks like a doctor's waiting room (Minus the pictures and magazines), and I can't travel easily as I have no papers and am here illegally, but I still wouldn't goback to the States.

So, to answer the obvious question, I will be talking to people about switching schools after the winter break. It is much more difficult than it was years ago, but now i have e-mails that more or less say the school does not intend to live up to its half of the contract, so i shuld be able to get out pretty easily. I also have no intention of submitting a lesson plan or copy of my final before things get resolved, so I may be let go anyway.