So the first week of Pan American is over. Well, the inservice part of it, anyway. It's great fun sitting and cutting out small cardboard fruit and decorating the classroom, but I have to admit, it's been a while since I did an 8 hour day. I have been tired. On top of that, Ju is doing this wiggle all night thing and sleeping during the day, so what little sleep I could get, I'm not, really...

At least the milking myself thing seems to be working out okay. I have a 15 minute break in the morning where I can quickly go squeeze my boobs and try to prevent or correct rock formation in my chest and I can store it in the nice super cold fridge in the Canteen (what the cafeteria is called, for some reason). Then Ju comes at lunch to breast feed, and I can still find 15 minutes at the end to eat. I hope it won't take him too long to get into this new schedual. Ideally he would eat more in the evenings and at night, and less during the day. Right now, I'd rather have him sleep during the day and eat when he's with me, but we'll see how I feel about that after several weeks of little sleep.

There are many ACBEU teachers now working at Pan American. It's like a mass migration. You'd think this would clue them in that something is seriously wrong - they are loosing good teachers! But no, it seems they are only insulted.

A good friend and fellow teacher who has been a contractor for 3 years also is now working at Pan American (in the classroom next to mine, no less). She just found out she got the job this week, and notified our former workplace on Wednesday. Because her position was part time starting early in the morning, she would be unable to teach any morning groups. Essentially, what she was told was that they were going to try to hire her, but since she can't offer mornings anymore (read between the lines - she got a REAL job) that has changed. First off, there are seldome that many morning groups to begin with, and there are lots of teachers who want mornings so they can be with their kids in the afternoon. Secondly, why would her inability to take ONE or TWO groups in the morning affect the fact that they were planning on hiring her? She would still be teaching all the other sections, so other than thinking her a traitor because she would dare to look for a secure job elsewhere after being strung along not being paid 4 months out of year for the last 3 years, I can't imagine why their decision suddenly changed. What it really seems like to me was a threat. And I HATE when my friends are threatened. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was too, knowing how they took my notification that I wasn't comming back.

When I informed them I wasn't returning, I didn't sit around and chit chat like I guess one might do here. Culturally, I think I will always want to be more direct to the point. So I walked into the office and sat down and said "I have been offered a job at Pan American which I am going to take, so I won't be returning to teach here" - what I wanted to say was "You guys really dragged your feet on hiring me because first you figured I had no other prospects and then because I was pregnant. And while I can understand the pregnancy thing, you guys knew what financial trouble we were in and you still, even after me begging you and trying to arrange for subs, STILL only gave me one group and essential said 'screw you' - so this is my way of saying it back." That would have been so much more satisfying to say. The reaction was "Oh, that's too bad. Well, you didn't have your papers..." and I corrected "No, I did have my papers, and my legal work permit." And then it was added "... and you were pregnant..." and I conquer "Yes, I was pregnant." and then ... silence. I think it was just admiteed that the reason I wasn't hired was because I was pregnant, and probably because no one up top wanted to bother to pay my maternity leave. Boy does it feel good to nonverbally get them in some way.

So after both my, and my friend's experience, I am really irritated at the institution in general, especially those in charge of hiring new teachers. They have so many people in there, just being strung along with no benefits and no job security. From all I have been told, what is being done is essencially illegal. And now they are loosing good teachers. I don't feel sorry at all.