a day in the life, not the beatles song

Agenda for meeting with the English staff at school to plan upcoming English Camp for this weekend:

1. Show up half an hour late, and then get pissy when I say I don't want to drink Pepsi at 3:30 in the afternoon, when you were late to the meeting to go get it for me.

2. Stop me mid-sentence while I'm trying to explain my activities ideas to take a group photo, taking time to clear the table of Pepsi cans and rearrange chairs so everyone can be in the shot.

3. Tell me halfway through the meeting that, by the way, I'm scheduled to MC an English competition the following weekend after the English Camp. Unfortunately I have other plans, but you get pissy because I am supposed to be at your beck and call to be the token whitey at all English events in the province.

4. Spend the next hour discussing with me why Thai students are not capable of doing the same kinds of things (i.e. write their own damn speeches for the competition cause I'm sure as hell not going to do it) that Americans are, or if not the students, then the teachers just can't because they are so busy, even though they do the same freaking job with the same freaking hours as students and teachers in America.

5. Anyway, back to the meeting. Your friend is coming all the way from Phichit? We will cancel her, since it's so far. Thanks anyway. And here's the new schedule. You will teach all 5 activities in an hour.

6. I laugh at them. I will teach 2 activities in an hour. And I don't sing and dance.

7. The teacher next to me pinches my arm and laughs, in a sorry attempt to clear the tense air of planning meetings. I then tell her that it would be nice if we never talked about my body again, smiling, of course.

8. We all go home in icy silence.

9. I love my job.

10. Which is why I try my best to never go to school anymore.


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