它採取村莊 (It Takes A Village)
It's not what you know but who you know, especially when it comes to job hunting in Okinawa. I was able to get my previous position at the eikaiwa through Jon, a friend of mine and husband of a JET who was leaving the job to go teach at a kindergarten. And now, once again, I've been able to secure work through another friend who is leaving his part time position and heading on to greener pastures.
Richie, who I had helped look for work last year when he arrived in Okinawa, now finally has himself a full time teaching gig at NOVA. As soon as he found out the news late last week, he gave me a ring on the telly and told me the good news. The even better news? He'd been teaching part time at Global Village and needed someone to replace him. Who better than majorly unemployed me? I contacted his people over the weekend and set up an interview for today. A humongous wave of nerves crept up over me as the interview time drew ever closer, knowing that not only would I be asked a million questions but I'd also have to perform a demo lesson. Three o' clock rolled around and it was on like Donkey Kong. My interviewer was mega nice and we got along well, surprise surprise. Then the demo lesson time came around, and after planning things out a bit I turned on the genkiness and further won her over. My place as Richie's replacement was assured, and I start tomorrow. That brings my grand total of teaching hours up to 5 a week with the goal being 25 so I can actually live a normal life here for a while longer. Hopefully things keep progressing in a positive direction. We all know Okinawa wouldn't be the same without me.