Changing Jobs

I quit the crazy tutor lady. I though awhile about keeping her on as the job was easy (if annoying) and the money was good. In the end I realized that at a minimum she would be keeping me late most nights which means no Chinese class (did I mention I'm taking a Chinese class?) and less time to spend with Amy and eating alone most nights.

Also knowing her and her schedule it would mean working most weekends. So I decided it wasn't worth it.

I am now teaching two boys in the morning. They are British brothers, aged 11 and 12 respectively. They've been in Shanghai for a few years, and are very much into sports, specifically football (soccer.) Apparently they are good and had the opportunity to be a part of a specialized group. The only problem was that this group meets every afternoon which puts a strain on school. So their mom has hired private teachers to get their education in, in the morning.

I teach English, History and Geography. The kids are well behaved and so far it is going well. I am constantly amazed at how difficult teaching is though. I can handle the english lessons quite well as we're covering basic grammar right now. But history is proving difficult as it is British history and I am not so well versed in it.

Each night I have to study up just to keep a little bit ahead of the class. But it is fun and I'm learning and enjoying it.

I've just been hired on as a substitute for the school Amy works at. I don't know how much work I'll actually get since my morning teaching will keep me from substituting full days. But I think I can catch the jobs where the teachers have to leave for a half day in the afternoon.

I also had an opportunity to work at Microsoft as an editor. I'd love to get work as an editor and of course Microsoft is a huge company, but I decided to decline. Basically the job was way on the other side of town which would mean at least an hours commute one way which would basically kill my experience here. And ultimately the pay was terrible. I would have made more staying with my first tutor, worked half as many hours and actually been able to see my wife.

I'm a little torn, because I'd like to work and make some extra cash so we could pay off our bills and save some good money, but at the same time I don't want a job that keeps me away from home a lot of hours and makes me not really enjoy China. You can call me lazy, I'll take the name.