On Edge

Things have been very tense at work lately. Almost every English teacher at this school feels that they were duped into taking this position. When I accepted the job, I was told I would teach no more than three hours per day. The first day of school they told me I was a Math teacher with my own class of first graders and that I wouldn’t even have and English class to teach.

Over the past month, everyone has been logging at least 50 hours of work per week including Saturdays. I am the only one who hasn’t work on a weekend yet, but I also have possibly the most difficult position of any English teacher.

This led to a lot of stress for the teachers and tension with our boss. Last week we began to take a stand and probably gave our boss the worst week she has ever experienced. We simply told her that we weren’t happy and regretted taking this position. I explained how I felt lied to and what she needed to do to make things better before everyone started walking out. A few people refused to show up for their Saturday duties without being compensated for the extra hours, which I believe was a good move.

This week, things are much better. I believe the Saturday duties will be eliminated after everyone has worked six. We should also be getting some help in the classrooms from Chinese teachers since many of our students don’t understand English at all.

I was hoping for an easy year of teaching a few hours a day while enjoying life in Asia. However, this job is very sickening sometimes and I vow never to teach again. With all of that said, I’m not sure I’d rather be anywhere else right now. I love Asia and I have made some great friends at this job. Our relationships have flourished through these first six weeks of work as we persevered together and supported each other. I have gained so much in Hong Kong already and can’t wait to see what happens in the future.