Y
on Blog From Beyond (Rwanda), 10/Feb/2010 15:46, 34 days ago
Y is indeed the question of the day.Y is my life currently taking the course that it is?Y am I where I am and how am I ever going to get out?Y, dear Lord, Y?Geesh. What a day.It's been snowing again - quite heavily but the sun is also out and bright; nothing settled.Dad sent methis linka while back. It opens coming up Rwandex Road from Kigali town centre out towards Kicukiro. Look carefully. After the shot of the smiling lady on the back of a moto (which is how I got to work and back every day), you see the road again with a moto up ahead.On the right with the white van is the old MINICOM (Ministry of Communication) building which is now something to do with youth development. But on the left - that building there was myfirst officein Kigali. That's where I went on myfirst day of workand where I met D. who worked in the recording studio next door. We were on the top floor. When you get to the man in the yellow shirt you're directly opposite :)Just past the office you see two very tall trees on the left. The second one is stripped by lightning and this is the landmark I used to use the first few weeks, to remember when to get off the bus...ah the memories, and how much better the weather was there :op Can't believe that was my life for two years.And Christ, what a shock the UK working world is. How lucky I was with my last job too. College life is nothing like office life. I've moved from 'Administrator' to 'Communication Support Worker' (CSW). I provide British Sign Language/English support in a local college. The first time I went in I was under observation to make sure I could do the job and to introduce me to everyone. Then it took the HR department two weeks to process my paperwork, then last week I turned up but my client was ill - which wasn't all bad as I still got paid for the day anyway. So today was my first day solo.It's an extremely big change for me. I'm used to a cushty office and the way people work in NGOs (Non-Government Organisations/Charities). I haven't set foot in a college since I was at one, and spent my formative years at theBRIT School, which is a performing arts-type place inCroydon. You had to show a bit of initiative to get in, even if you quickly lost all initiative once there ;) I believe my friends Matthew, Jayjay and I managed to pass our Physical Theatre assignment with honours by wheeling out a television playing nothing but white static and doing tumble rolls back and forth in front of it for twenty minutes....Aaaanyway. The point being, we sort of wanted to be there (and free tickets to theBRIT awardswere also a rather nice perk :op). We knew why we were there, we'd worked hard to get there and we, for the most part, had a great time being there.Let's just say the college at which I now work is somewhat of an eye-opener. The first crazy thing is that the government pay most of the students£30 a week to be there and the teachers think this is a good thing because it gives them something to bargain with over punctuality and attendance. This scares me. Surely "you're banned, go find a job" should be bargain enough?Why not pay£30 on the dole rather than forcing them to sit in a classroom doing everything humanly possible to show people they're not interested in what's being taught? Are you setting them up to fail exams? Are you tailoring exams to their level? It's got to be one or the other and either way can't be great.Having said that, in amongst the wide boys, there are some really nice young chaps who have been very courteous and seem to be fairly into what they're doing. This is all completely new to me and finding my feet is going to take a while. I have to admit to not being much of an authority on the youth of today, but mostly they seem a lot like the youth of yesterday only I'm a bit older. I'm also, thankfully, fairly tall so not easy to intimidate physically. Plus I have a look that says 'don't even try it'. I'm relying on that to get me through most things, though I haven't had to use it yet.Nope, the yoof seem fine. It's the adults you have to watch.Nobody's given me a timetable of where I'm supposed to be, so I rely on what my client tells me. Today I went up to the room a bit early to make sure I knew where it was. I'd just finished a cup of hot chocolate and needed to dispose of the cup so I found the staff room and knocked. No answer so I entered and put my cup in the bin.A gaggle of three teachers - or 'Learning Skills' staff, were giggling away in the corner and turned to look at me. Mistake number one, I didn't say immediately who I was or flash my ID card (it's likeCSI), I simply explained that I was there for a woodwork class, did they know which room because the one I thought it was, was locked.No, they didn't.Okay, well as it's infinitely warmer in here than out in the corridor, "would it be okay if I just stood here for a moment?""Well, this isourstaff room and we're about to lock up." - meaning "No".It wasn't the information imparted, it was the sheer tone of voice!Yes, I can see that this isyourstaff room from the sign on the door that says 'Staff Room', perhaps if you spray urine on the door-frame it'll keep even more people away.Obviously working for the college negates any previous social skills they once possessed.So I stood outside in the corridor awaiting the students and when the staff finally filtered out of their cubby not one of them even looked at me. Weeeeird group of people. Comes to something when the students have better manners than the staff.On the plus side, I've learned a bucket load about percentiles, fractions and radius today. My client is very good at maths, which is something I flunked big time in school (and oddly, in so doing, appear to have suffered no detriment to my academic or working career) and it's been good to pick up some tips in these lessons.The college also has a rather groovy catering department that runs a restaurant on campus. The food is delightful and you get a two-course meal at a staff discount of three pounds thirty-something. Can't complain.This made up for the ten minutes spent in the pre-snow biting cold when the fire alarm went off; not a flashing fire alarm in sight either, so at least Deaf students stay warm if there is one.Luckily this Friday marks the start of half-term and Cathryn and I are off to Belgium to visit Lies and Kassim. Really looking forward to it.When I get back I will renew job hunting with added gusto. I plan to set up self employed as a Language Facilitator to increase my earnings whilst I wait for a proper job to fall out of the sky. I still believe this may happen. CSW work is good three days a week and also pays my National Insurance, which is extremely handy.Meanwhile, I have the 'mystery job'. A while back I received a call out of the blue from a job agency person called Ed. He'd seen my profile on an online job search, wanted my CV and asked if he could put me forward for a research position in Nottingham.Ermn...yes, I said. Which soon became YES! when I heard how much money they were offering :)Then nothing. All quiet for a...really.................long..time.Eventually he calls back and says the job was dependent on securing funding, which they've now done, and could he re-submit my CV. Yes. He was extremely encouraging and led me to believe that the company would be arranging a time to talk to me, but he couldn't tell me much about the company itself, or the job - other than it being something to do with health (authorities perhaps?) and research. And no, not a human guinea pig ;)Now I'm twiddling my thumbs. I have no idea whether Ed will ever get back to me. I have no idea when the deadline for applicants is. I have no idea what, exactly, I've applied for. However, I am very glad that somebody else did all the work and I didn't have to fill out another sodding job form.This is rather a 'tease' though. Sort of like the 'mystery box' option in a quiz show. Do you set-up your own business and deal with all the paperwork only to get offered your dream job in Nottingham, or do you wait and see what happens, losing precious earning time?My answer to this?Go to Belgium, get drunk and gain a pound in chocolate.If I hear nothing by the time I get back, I shall continue with plan A = self employment in a field I don't really relish but at least get paid for. Meanwhile, keep applying for jobs I would actually like to do.It's not exactly an innovative plan, but it's a general direction to head in for want of a yellow brick road.That's provided I can survive blondy bitchy teacher lady, brick-throwing students and the irresistible urge to hijack a horse and ride off into the slightly-wintry sunset.I'm off up the pub in a couple of hours to meet a girl Merrick (mum's partner) taught to drive. She is also stuck in the village between life-plans and may prove to be a decent drinking partner. She's thinking of setting up a movie night in the village. The last time someone tried that it was 'cancelled due to lack of interest', which pretty much sums upGuilsboroughas a whole, but personally I'm up for anything that vaguely resembles a social life.Today's post was brought to you by the handshape Y and the over-emphasis of the number two.