Thursday, October 3rd - What wasn't told

This blog has been keeping you updated on our daily activities. However, everything wasn't necessarily told. Here's what's been omitted.

Jacqui :
Jacqui has found her job very stressful from day 1. It just kept getting worse and worse as time went by. The amount of stress would increase, her anxiety level would go up, and I kept telling her that she could make it and that everything would be OK. It got so bad that she had to take a day off on Thursday, September 26th. We then went back to school that Saturday to prepare for her upcoming week. Just going to school on a Saturday, without students, stressed her out big time. She therefore took Sunday off as well, and then the rest of the week She was in no condition to work. She was having anxiety attacks, sleeping 2-3 hours a night, so finally, on Tuesday, we went to visit that building that looks like a full blown sail - a hospital. They gave her something to calm her down and did blood work; we were worried that her TSH (thyroid synthetic hormone) level was of of whack, which in turn would help cause the signs and symptoms that she was having.

CBS (the school) :
It is a private school, so the owner has ultimate power. Being new teachers, we are on probation for two months. Parents pay big bucks (by our standards!) to have their kids in that school. Parents have wasta (influence gained by knowing someone who works somewhere) and are not afraid to use it. The parents expect their kids to have a teacher in the classroom at all times. Missing six days in a row, and not knowing when she'll be fit enough to come back just doesn't cut it with them. Therefore, I was told on Wednesday that Jacqui's contract had been terminated; she's out of a job. I didn't tell her yet as I didn't want to add to her stress. I didn't really know how she would take this news and didn't want to send her spiralling down any further than she already was.

I was told by the principal on Thursday morning that they were to interview a teacher for Jacqui's position at 10 am but that if Jacqui felt that she could come back for next week, the job would still be hers. I called her on the phone and asked her if she thought that she would be good to go on Sunday, without telling her that she'd be out of a job if she couldn't make it. As soon as I mentionned coming back to school, her anxiety level shot straight up; she obviously wasn't ready. So the school hired the new teacher and Jacqui is unemployed.

What it means :
It's great! When I told her on Thursday afternoon, most of her stress seemed to disappear all of a sudden. Jacqui could not adjust to the lack of structure in her classroom at CBS. We had accepted that job from overseas, basically on what we had been told by the recruiter (she paints a nice picture). But now,
Jacqui is a "free agent". There are hundreds of international schools in Kuwait, and according to her former principal, getting a teaching job is not a problem. So now, she can shop the field, visit the various schools that she's interested in and make an informed decision on where she wants to teach next. It will be a lot easier to pick a school when you're on site as opposed to being across the ocean. Another plus is that the school she picks will have to offer lodging. We therefore will be able to choose between two locations to decide where to live. The place we are at now is fine, but it's far from the city. Something closer might be interesting.

Jacqui can now take all the time she needs before going back to work. She'll go back when she feel ready. She can  find a full time job, or she could decide to do tutoring, ie working with kids one on one. It's a very popular thing in Kuwait and it pays good money. She could also just do supply teaching. It'll be up to her to decide what she wants to do. I know we'll be fine with the decision she makes. I think she'll finally start to enjoy her experience in Kuwait!