Small Business

I'm certified to teach English so just as much as my housing situation has been unstable, so has my job situation.  Shortly after I got here I applied for a job at a center that teaches English and I got the job.  I get paid 300 JD a month and they told me that I would work any time between 2 and 8pm--depending on classes.  After I accepted the job, they gave me 22.5 hours of teaching.  I was shocked by how much I was expected to teach.  Slowly as the weeks went by, I got more and more classes.  Now I'm up to teaching 4.5 hours a day, 6 days a week.  Frankly, it's ridiculous.  That's in-class teaching time, not including pre-class preparation time.  Basically since I started working, I haven't had the time that I need to study Arabic.  I'm still doing fine in the class, but I have a test on tomorrow and I have to teach 4.5 hours today.  Usually after I teach all three of my classes, I'm so exhausted that I don't want to do anything but sleep.  I pray that God gives me the grace to be alert and awake tonight to do well in my studies.

Very unflattering picture of me, but it's me in the classroom.

I have looked at several other teaching opportunities and they all tell me the same-they're taking advantage of me.  24 hours a week for a full time teacher is even too much.  It's too hard to keep track of everything.  I teach 8 individual classes.  One interview that I had said that she was sorry that I had that horrible experience, but instantly after she said it, I told her that even though it's completely exhausting, it has exposed a side of culture to me that I would have never seen if I didn't take the job.

The professional situation here in Jordan is so different from American.  In American, a full time job is only 8-5, 5 days a week.  We have workers' laws that prevent abuse of workers, but here there are no such laws.  People work all the time.  They work for money (which on average is only 300JD a month [~$450] and they work to have something to do.  The professional situation is so less organized.  I was called one day and had my interview the next day.  Then I had to decide if I wanted the job at the interview.  When jobs are posted, they don't tell you everything until the time of the interview, then it forces you to be instant in your choices not allowing any time to think or pray about anything.  The girl who was interviewing me told me that she promised herself that she would never work for a non-American again after her similar experience.  Although my reaction to the situation is different then hers, I completely understand.  This is the time where we would say, "Welcome to Jordan."  It's an experience that wasn't very positive, but honestly has taught me so much about small business in Jordan.  It has also given me knowledge about the different English test that I can now teach anywhere.