Strange days/ When it rains it effin pours
May 18, 2004
So I've been trying to write an update for a few days now (no thanks to Jing), but the past week or so has just been so crazy I don't know if I have the time or energy to really describe it.
So...really quick summary. I got into a battle of epic proportions with my parents, but it has now settled into a combination cease fire/ cold war. Meaning...things seem peaceful, but I'm not exactly sure how much tension there is boiling beneath the surface. I prefer, though, to see the situation as basically positive.
Positive because...after 4 months of fucking waiting to hear from anyone about a job, I suddenly have four-ish offers on the table, and I suddenly don't know what to do. But I'm organizing myself and my thoughts etc. And the offers in and of themselves, and the fact that suddenly the phones are rining off the hook with requests for interviews for me, makes my parents really happy. The fact that I am barely at home anymore, makes them really happy too. My days have sort of been, go running in the morning, go off to an interview or lecture or whatever has been keeping me busy during midday, and then from 3:30-7 now I have a course I'm taking in order to get ESL teaching certification. Yay to a fast way to make money in Egypt! (Cause, you know, rich Saudi patrons need to learn English).
This brings me to the next thing...BK has informed me that this diary makes it sound like I've been sitting around at home a lot not making much effort to find a job. Well, that's both true and untrue. Since I've been here (and I'm talking actually since the very first week) I've had weeks where I've gone around/emailed my CV to a bunch of different places. And then I kinda lose my fire, forget about it for a while, then go through another CV spamming spurt. So it's not like, on a whole, I haven't been trying which is actually why it was so frustrating. I kept trying for the most menial jobs (Kindergarten Aide, anyone?) and wasn't even getting interviews. But happily now things have turned around a bit, and I'm feeling good.
As I mentioned above, I've started this ESL teacher training course (called the PCTEFLA), and it's going well. I mean, the instructors are really cool and I think that this is going to be good for me no matter what I decide to do. The whole experience, though, does bring one thought to mind. It has to do with something BK told me a long time ago, when he first started settling into his new job. He said that once I got out into the "real world" I would realize how very dumb everyone else is. At the time, I didn't really think much of it, but this course has again brought that comment to mind. I know that classes are not considered the "real world" but the thing is all of the people in the class, with the exception of me an done other girl, are in their 30s and have full-time jobs already. They are taking this course now because they want to either supplement their income with an evening job, or are considering a career change, or are already teachers and want more specialization. In any case, they're all, pretty much, dumb as rocks. I mean, they all obviously have knowledge in their fields of choice, but they're level of common sense and reasoning is close to zero. And it's like, in my book, you can be really well read in...I don't know...any topic, or EVERY topic, but if you can't listen to and follow simple directions then it's all wasted on you. I don't know...maybe I am being harsh. Maybe I just don't like to work in pairs with the girl who thinks her handwriting is better than mine but can't fit all the points we need to make on one piece of paper because she wasn't listening to mine or the instructor's directions. Maybe these things are not really an indication of intelligence, but rather of my own anal retentiveness, but I really do get the feeling that most of the people in this course should be riding the short bus home.
Anyway. This entry is going nowhere fast. I have a lot, A LOT of thoughts just sort of whirling through my mind, and I don't even know where to begin. This is the most cohesive summary I can make of the last few days right now.
Hope all is well in the city I no longer have the time or energy to miss.