Hey Hey and a Big G'day to you all

PART I

It's been really confusing and a bit of a communication mess here in Tianyang the last week. The school thought my contract was ending at the end of this term and wanted me to extent but the person who communicated this made me feel like the school wanted me to go. I was pretty bloody shocked and very sad as nearly every day they tell me how much they like my teaching. Lunar, the main girl who looks after me has not been here so things got real strange and confusing. For two weeks I have been asking simple questions such as:

Q: Would the school like me to stay? Simple - Yes or No
Q: If the school would like me to go I am happy to make way for a new teacher - Yes or No

A: Answer to everything: Oh, it's all up in the air, your contract is finishing.

Q: A contract takes five minutes. Would you like me to stay or go? - Simple - Yes or No

A: Same as before: Oh, it's all up in the air, your contract is finishing.


I rang Bucklands and Owen found me another school. From what he could gather from the confusing phone calls he had with the school was that the school now wants a female teacher.

I've felt so horrible the last two days. Luckily tonight Lunar returned and the headmaster rang her and they had dinner. After dinner the Headmaster raced Lunar up stairs to find out why I wanted to leave. I said I didn't want to leave at all and my understanding was that the school wanted me to leave as they wanted a female teacher.

It turns out THEY were shocked that I wanted to leave as every day I tell them how much I love teaching my students. The Headmaster then put PLAN B into action, that being, to get a female teacher. At the beginning of last term I suggested to swap between male and female teachers for the students sake.

PART II

So here I am, completey packed and ready to leave with a sad feeling in my stomach. I am looking forward to a new school but I don't feel ready for one yet. I will be leaving the school early and heading accross to Yangshuo to drop my stuff off at Bucklands.

What is happening around me is now beginning to make me angry. I have asked at the end and beginning of every contract that if they would like a new teacher all they have to do is say thank you to me and yes, it is time for a change. I said this two weeks ago, 1 week ago and every day since.

Instead they began making up lies about a contract between me and the school that ends NOW. They won't show me the contract. If they could show me I would be happy. You see I'm happy to leave here even though I would like to stay, all they have to do is say so. I'm a person who doesn't want to be somewhere someone else should. Now the story changes every day. Yesterday I still had a choice to stay, today I never had a choice as I found out the head master made a decision to change teachers at the beginning of this term.

I wonder what wonderful version will come out tomorrow.

This whole thing was very simple and could have ended very happy for everyone. When I asked, 'do you want a new teacher? Is it time for a change?' A simple yes or no would have been an easy answer. The thing that makes me real sad is I won't get a chance to say Good Bye to all my students. It's too late. In life it is always innocent children who pay for stupid games adults play.

I just got off the phone with Lunar and found out the 'contract' was not on paper but ORAL! I agreed to stay here until the end of this term. RRRIIIGGGGHHHHTTTT!
...do you want a new teacher, yes or no! simple really...instead I get stories now about an oral contract.

OK, do you want to know the real reason behind all this...it's simply FACE!

Someone told the headmaster that they believed I wanted to leave at the end of the term, the headmaster put Plan B into action and now no one will reverse what they have done. Simple really. The headmaster told me to my face she wanted me to stay...BUT, she had already put Plan B into action. A simple phone call to Buckands is al it would have taken. No new teacher will be chosen until the end of August. After explaining this I was given a simpe, Plan B has been put into action.

Don't you just love 'Face' and 'Plan B'. They want me to stay as the kids love me, YET we can't make a simple phone call. RRRIIIGGGHHHTTT, it's really time to go! So I'm completely packed and ready to go and say a guick yet sad good bye to my kids. They still haven't been told and it's the last day.

So, my Plan C is simply to Getdarfarkouttahere!
I'm off to Yangshuo where night is day and day is night.
Beers N Noodles to ya...shane