Yesterday we started a new book in Spanish, so now I am intermediate instead of beginner. I am intermediate in salsa and Spanish, wow.
Aiesec is a student-run organization. The idea is to make the world into a better place and create leaders in the process. One, or the main, or the most visible, activity is to organize traineeships to students who have just graduated or are in the process of graduating. There are four kinds of traineeships you can apply for: development, educational, IT, and management. I applied for a development traineeship but ended up doing an educational one. Aiesec tries to affect commuities in a positive way and I guess one of those ways is intercultural exchange.
Nivy, the Australian trainee arrived in Mcbo on Sunday. She is living with another trainee, Nneka, from Nigeria. They share a room and live with a family. Does not sound like a dream come true but Nivy is not complaining. Like Kasia and I, Nivy did a two week training in Caracas and loved it. She met some nice people and was not at all happy to leave. But she is being a really good sport and with her bubbling personality I think she´ll have a million new friends in no time.
Last Friday we had a teachers meeting (or teachers and coordination) called "teachers' coffee break") at Ruge. I had a culture choque. We were not really informed beforehand was the meeting was going to be about, we were just told to bring something for everybody to eat (hence the baking). Well, the "coffee break" started when the coordination handed down a booklet to all of us with the new rules of Ruge. Then we read through the rules one by one. Basically the booklet was about our duties as teachers and th duties of the coordination and manintenance (=cleaning lady). Of course there were some questions on the part of the teachers and some criticism. One problem is how to deal with canceling classes. Basically we are not allowed to cancel classes, that is, the teacher can never be absent. Seems fair enough but what about if you are sick? Our favorite coordinator said that she works when she is sick. Sounds kind of like what my room mate said when I had a cold in September: "if you can talk you can work". That´s how I got dengue by the way; my immunity system was low cause I did not rest and take care of that blooy cold I had at the time. At one point she lost her cool and started shouting: why do you work here then if you don´t like it. I felt like I was back at Passford House Hotel in England working as a waitress.
In our contract it says that we work up to 40 hours a week and get paid 900 000 bolivares a month regardless how many hours we work. 40 hours teaching a week is a lot (to say the least), and fortunately I´ve had 40 hours in my schedule only once. But last weeks I had more, I had 40,5. I informed the coorination immediately. The coorination said that they thought we (Kasia and I) work unlimited hours, that is we could work as much as the insitute is open (5x12 plus 4,5). I couldn´t believe it. I guess workers are really treated like shit here.
I know I am kind of whining, but maybe it is good that you know whay I am not extending my stay.
Aiesec is a student-run organization. The idea is to make the world into a better place and create leaders in the process. One, or the main, or the most visible, activity is to organize traineeships to students who have just graduated or are in the process of graduating. There are four kinds of traineeships you can apply for: development, educational, IT, and management. I applied for a development traineeship but ended up doing an educational one. Aiesec tries to affect commuities in a positive way and I guess one of those ways is intercultural exchange.
Nivy, the Australian trainee arrived in Mcbo on Sunday. She is living with another trainee, Nneka, from Nigeria. They share a room and live with a family. Does not sound like a dream come true but Nivy is not complaining. Like Kasia and I, Nivy did a two week training in Caracas and loved it. She met some nice people and was not at all happy to leave. But she is being a really good sport and with her bubbling personality I think she´ll have a million new friends in no time.
Last Friday we had a teachers meeting (or teachers and coordination) called "teachers' coffee break") at Ruge. I had a culture choque. We were not really informed beforehand was the meeting was going to be about, we were just told to bring something for everybody to eat (hence the baking). Well, the "coffee break" started when the coordination handed down a booklet to all of us with the new rules of Ruge. Then we read through the rules one by one. Basically the booklet was about our duties as teachers and th duties of the coordination and manintenance (=cleaning lady). Of course there were some questions on the part of the teachers and some criticism. One problem is how to deal with canceling classes. Basically we are not allowed to cancel classes, that is, the teacher can never be absent. Seems fair enough but what about if you are sick? Our favorite coordinator said that she works when she is sick. Sounds kind of like what my room mate said when I had a cold in September: "if you can talk you can work". That´s how I got dengue by the way; my immunity system was low cause I did not rest and take care of that blooy cold I had at the time. At one point she lost her cool and started shouting: why do you work here then if you don´t like it. I felt like I was back at Passford House Hotel in England working as a waitress.
In our contract it says that we work up to 40 hours a week and get paid 900 000 bolivares a month regardless how many hours we work. 40 hours teaching a week is a lot (to say the least), and fortunately I´ve had 40 hours in my schedule only once. But last weeks I had more, I had 40,5. I informed the coorination immediately. The coorination said that they thought we (Kasia and I) work unlimited hours, that is we could work as much as the insitute is open (5x12 plus 4,5). I couldn´t believe it. I guess workers are really treated like shit here.
I know I am kind of whining, but maybe it is good that you know whay I am not extending my stay.
posted by Larubia at 8:28 AM
1 Comments:
I think that's one of the reasons the ultra left get elected in Latin America. Workers don't have rights there and they look for any way to escape. That said, the US is the same about illness. Unless you are throwing up (and sometimes even then), in the hospital or dead, you are expected to go to work. It's changing, though. But, we're definately not to the point it is in Europe. My exboyfriend was horried when I went to work with bronchitis, he said they never do that in the UK.
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