Monday Updates- Your Cow is Green

So. I have been enclosed in a lot of business deals lately. Mostly with my own university. Actually, all with my own university. 

Teaching English over here is a lot like having a business. You need to know what you do, how much your time is worth, and how much of your time to give in order to make a profit/enough to live on. Here our base work (16 hours a week, 4000RMB per month), is enough to live on- here. 

Currently the office is offering extra classes to us- classes that look suspiciously like Tessa's classes. Four writing classes, and three conversation classes. Per class it would be 55RMB for writing, 40RMB for conversation. That was stated to me over the phone. 

I talked to the teachers, and I talked to Ann. Ann was super helpful in putting things in perspective, and I thank her for it. We decided it wouldn't be worth our time if we were paid only three dollars an hour. It's not, really. I think Ann put it best, "If you work time and a half, you should be paid time and a half". 

We're also worried that these are Tessa's classes. Tessa isn't with us yet, and we're hoping this is just asking for substitution. But the university needs someone to cover these classes, and while we're willing, we want more than 6 bucks a pop. For each writing class there are countless hours grading (3-4 per class according to Adam, when there was a paper), and preparation work, and occasionally writing an example if there is none to be had. That's almost twice the work outside of class as in it. And they've asked 6 bucks an hour. 

It is not where we'd like to be, money wise. This job is already on the low end of the pay scale in China (most are 6,000RMB with our qualifications) so we're here knowing we aren't paid a lot but wanting the experience anyway. And if we take it any lower, we're afraid to outsource Tessa if these are her classes- why spend all the trouble bringing over an expensive foreign teacher when those here are covering her classes for less than half the price? (What we hope is that if Tessa makes it over here, she can just pick up the classes (if they are hers) and go, and no troubles for anyone). 

So today I informed the person who'd asked us what we were willing to do. I was willing to take the writing classes, Ellen and Jenny are willing to take the conversation classes, but our bottom line pay is 125RMB per class. If that doesn't work, then we don't add anymore classes, and we continue our ways. We don't need to teach these classes. This gives us a lot of bargaining room. 

So I was a bargainer! 

Today is also Teacher's day. I have not received so many texts as I did last year; that's alright. Mostly I'm tired today. It's my day off, and I've spent it working ahead on assignments and quizzes and transcriptions for my Audio-visual class. The sooner I can get my Audio-Visual finished, the more free time I'll have should I want to tutor or take the writing class, if the Dean agrees to our conditions.

I'm okay spending Teacher's Day preparing for class. I'm okay throwing myself into this work, because for now, it's what I can do. Maybe I'll get burnt out. Maybe I'll be tired. But for now, I do not have classes or work, and I can push myself to finish a semester's worth of planning.