On June 9, I was offered a job in Venezuela. On June 10, against the advice of MANY people, I signed a letter of intent and sent it back to Maracaibo. I was so excited at the prospect of speaking Spanish and the opportunity to be back in South America again, that I ignored my misgivings and those of the people around me. I don`t ever want to be the kind of person who allows fear to determine her decisions.
After a few weeks of travelling through Western Uzbekistan, I returned to Canada and more and more horrible news from Venezuela. When I emailed the school in Venezuela to find out when I could expect my actual contract, I was told that I would be given a contract upon arrival. I emailed both the director of the school and my Search associate with my concerns. They both told me not to worry. I did worry.
I talked about the situation endlessly with friends and family. I read Spanish news sites. Finally, I decided that I didn`t want to send all of my belongings to Venezuela, nor did I want to bring my cats, in case I had to make a hasty exit. More than that, I didn`t want to live in an expat bubble, while the people in my host country are being shot in line-ups to buy food.
Before the school had the chance to do any more work on my behalf, or spend the money on a plane ticket, I emailed the director to tell him I had changed my mind. I heard nothing back from him. A week later, I tried to go on the Search website and discovered I had been ousted. I contacted my associate and after two days, he responded telling me simply that I was out. I contacted the vice-president and was told that I had acted `dishonorably,`and that Search Associates would no longer represent me. End of story for them.
I have had two interviews with other schools since then. One school even started to check my references, and never bothered to contact me again. I have, understandably, had a few rough days this summer. I have been rejected A LOT. Now I don`t even know if there is some kind of black mark against my name somewhere in cyberspace. I will have to register with other sites, and start the process of bothering people for references again. Yes, I am frustrated.
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