So, back to Procter and Gamble for some more teaching adventures next week. The company is sited in La Trinidad, about half an hours drive from Caracas, which means that I have to add on an extra hour to a three hour class in order to use the free company transport, which leaves early to get there.
P&G is meant to be a powerful multinational, adept at exploiting economies of scale and willing to gut national markets and siphon the profits off with ruthless efficiency. Such entrepreneurial spirit is not often on show in their Venezuelan HQ. It is common practice to book three academic hours (in other words, 2 hours and fifteen minutes) of lessons, and not to turn up for the first hour. If the company would just get its employees to show up when they are supposed to, they could probably save about a third on their english language budget. However, ´meetings´and the like keep getting in the way.
Since I am paid a flat fee, it shouldn´t matter to me, as I can earn money sitting in a big chair at reception, but there´s something infuriating about having to break your neck to get out of bed at 530AM or thereabouts to race across town and be in time for a class, only for the student to take their own sweet time to show up.
However, we grin and bear it.
One plus side is driving back from La Trinidad in the twilight, the sunset over the hills as you approach Caracas is really quite special. At those times this really feels like Latin America.
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We have a friend in Biarritz who is a qualified English teacher. She has a portfolio of jobs one of which is teaching French to foreigners. her contract arrangement sounds pretty bad to us. She has a contract without any hours and only gets paid when she gets called in to teach, yet she must be available on given days.
As it happens, she will be called this week to teach a group of Irish youngsters who are here at present.
When i had a 4th year foundation class all high on whatever they had taken the night before , I used to pray that they would be slow to turn up. Hombre! It could be worse. At least the journey home is memorable.
4th year foundation? (shudders)
THat´s why I´m not going to be a proper teacher.
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