Things are Lookin' Up

All right. After lots of conversations and lots of thinking, I've decided what to do about the teaching situation.

I was seriously considering one of the schools here in town after I met a guy at the gym who was a student there and who had a cousin on the staff. He said good things about it, and also said that the other schools in town are very unprofessional. But then I found out that the school would require me to live in Sao Paulo for a month for training (!), and that when I came back, I wouldn't be allowed to just have a couple of classes here and there. So it sounds like a great school for someone who's just starting out in teaching and trying to make a career out of teaching in schools, but that's not what I'm looking for at all.

Most everyone in the comments told me to try it out, to try going back to the schools again, but I've found myself clinging on to the very few commenters (Jim, and Bianca via email) who have warned me against it.

What it comes down to is that I don't want to make a commitment to a school, to lose my nights and weekends for what may be the last year that Alexandre will have most nights and weekends free for the next few years. (He does work a lot of Saturdays, but we do get a lot of time together, mostly because he doesn't have to spend every free moment studying like he did last year.) I'm feeling less stressed about getting out and meeting new people because (a) Alexandre got back from his work trip and is home again and (b) I've been going out with my trainer-turned-student-turned-friend from the gym. Also, Alexandre and I have lots of weekend trips planned, including a trip to Rio (Helllloooooo blogger meetup!). The point is, I've worked at enough schools to know that if I walk into a school as a new employee and say, "Hello. I'll work for you, but only mornings and/or Tuesday and Thursday nights," that I'll probably get turned down, because teachers have to earn the right to the schedule that they want. Even if the bosses did decide to give it to me, the other teachers would resent me for just showing up and being given a good schedule.

Plus... Working at English schools freakin' sucks, in my not-so-humble opinion. I just can't convince myself to do it when I'm not broke.

But something good has been happening. Two of my former students from Caipirópolis emailed me, asking if we could try out classes over Skype. So we did. It went well, and I got over my inexplicable fear of Skype classes. So I emailed my former students that I thought would go for it (not emailing the flaky ones), and the response has been great. I'm estimating that it'll get to about 10 hours a week doing that, which I think will be a nice balance with the translation work.

The job itself doesn't get me out of the house, but I'll be teaching again (and they're students who I already know and have a rapport with, who already have their material, and who won't give me any issues with canceling or payments), and I'll have some nice spare change in my pocket (much more than the school would provide). That money will allow me to do more stuff with my free time (day trips to Sao Paulo? a photography class with a local teacher I found?). So I think it's a good compromise, and certainly better than the confines of a school.

So thanks to everyone for their advice and input, and sorry for not doing what almost any of you said. Haha.

Once I get more into the groove of the Skype classes, I'll put up a post with tips on how to do it, in true Danielle fashion. :)

HOWEVER. None of this work nonsense is going to start until Tuesday. That's because tomorrow is my birthday, and my friend Karine is coming to visit from Caipirópolis, and she's never seen the ocean (!), so I think experiencing that with her will be the best present I could've asked for -- except maybe for my twin sister coming to visit so we can have a birthday together again.

So the weekend will be extended and full of beach walks and sushi and celebrating and shots of tequila (courtesy of Lizbeth!) that will allow us to brave the freezing winter ocean.  You can expect lots of great posts next week!

Have a good weekend!