Not the American Way

I had two job interviews this week. The first I set up myself. I was taken into a classroom by a woman whom I dwarfed by probably 8 inches and 50 pounds. I briefly contemplated throwing her over my shoulder and forcefully demanding a job.

But instead we had a 20-minute interview that was pretty much what I'd expect in America. She asked why I felt qualified to teach kids English when I have zero teaching experience. And I gave the worthless but expected, "Oh but I love children," reply. She looked skeptical. Fair enough, I thought. She said she'd call me in a week. Done. I found out afterward she has a masters in education from the U.S.

The next interview was set up by James' mom who knows a woman who teaches English full-time. I put on a skirt, James donned a tie and we took the train to another school. Then James and I sat silently in the lobby and watched James' mom chat up the school owner. I nodded and smiled, and answered politely when questions were tossed my way. Answers as in, "There's hiking trails near here? Oh yes, I love hiking," and "I think it's a wonderful city so far." Twenty minutes passed and we were offered $600NT ($20 U.S.) an hour for a Friday teaching position, starting almost immediately. Though it's not many hours, that's terrific pay for a first-time position in Taipei, where there's a surplus of English teachers (I'm told you can expect higher pay working in smaller cities).

This is going to take some getting used to.