Tender Musings

The October term is finished. I taught my last class last October 18 and I feel relieved. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching… I’m just not used to teaching the whole day. During my internship, I only taught one class a day for one and a half hours. Most of my time was spent on creating materials and preparing for my class. I had a lot of time to prepare and I wasn’t on my feet the whole day. This is one reason why I felt like the October was a teacher’s boot camp. I taught from 10:30am to 4pm. I had an hour lunch break at noon and that was it. That was my schedule for 14 days during the term. It was good training. I guess I can say that I am a tougher teacher because of my experience (*.*) Teaching in a small city has its benefits. I can get around the city easily and there are lesser chances of getting lost. Hahaha! But aside from that, it also taught me to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. My idea of having fun after work is mainly eating out or watching a movie at home. I try ...

So, I’ve been teaching for 9 days now and I have 5 more classes before the October term ends. Our semesters are usually not this short. The normal length is about four months. This term is a lot shorter because it’s during the students’ break from school. They have a few weeks off before Term 2 starts, so we make use of this time to offer a condensed version of what they usually get during a regular term. I know it can be confusing. Just think of it as a crash course. We meet every day instead of once a week. Shorten the time but still get the same amount of lessons. Anyway, I have 9 students total. They are all different in their own way. Some are quiet, some are energetic, and others are just… uhmmm… there. They’re simply content on what they are doing. I could tell that they are listening, their just very reserved. Observing them in class makes me think about how I was as a student. Was I the reserved one or was I the annoying student who wouldn’t stop answering every question? I ...

It is a fact that teachers are not included in the “highest paying jobs” list. I recently read from an article online that the base salary of teachers in the Philippines is P18,549 (about $431.08) monthly. This is very discouraging for a lot of individuals in this field, including myself. The good news is that there’s an existing effort to change the situation. A bill was passed to increase teacher’s monthly salary to P33,859 (about $786.88). It’s still in the process of approval from the Senate and I really hope that this goes through. Anyway, even if this bill goes through or not, I have to be strategic to make my salary last until the end of the month. This means practicing a lot of discipline and sticking to a rigid budget. Working here in Thailand is a good practice. I am adjusting to the demands of the real world and I am learning different strategies to be frugal. A strategy that ALWAYS works is eating at OTOP . My associates and I are always on the lookout for cheap meal...

The October term has officially started. I have 4 one and a half hour classes every day. I start at 9am and end at 5:30pm, Mondays to Fridays. Talk about teaching full-time! I really appreciate that I have the weekends off. Just as I’m thinking about my schedule and all, I suddenly realized that I am LITERALLY back in school. Not as a student but as a teacher.  My aunt was right, I didn’t REALLY graduate because I am back to where I started… in a classroom. Hahaha! My alarm rang at 6:30am this morning. I snoozed it a couple of times before realizing that I needed to get ready soon. I finally woke up at 6:45am. I thought it would be easier waking up in the morning now that I’m older. Well, it's not. I think it actually gets harder. Hahaha! My blanket feels a lot more comfortable especially when I know I have to get up soon. Anyway, getting ready for the first day of school is as exciting as ever. You always end up asking the same question: What am I going to wear? before ...