Jobless yet again

So, to explain my lack of blogging, I must confess it hasn't all just been because of Internet issues. I found out nearly a week ago, just two days after I got to Croatia (and about four days after getting to Europe), that I lost my job before I even started it.

The school e-mailed me to say that because of the current economic situation and how many businesses were canceling their contracts with the school to provide teachers for their employees, my contract would be cancelled as well. They simply didn't have enough hours to offer me and the several other new teachers who got the boot, they said. And the contract I signed gave them the leeway to terminate said contract before I started for unforeseen reasons like this.

It wasn't completely surprising, as I was one of their last hires for the season, so would likely be the first to go. And the situation across the board for language schools in Europe isn't particularly great right now. But it, obviously, stings quite a bit. To come all the way out here for the promise of a job and to not have it is pretty discouraging.

And I'm taking this as the second big sign in a year (the first being all the fruitless interviews I went on after finishing the Oxford course) that teaching in Europe, or at least in Prague, is not what I should be doing. Of course, I have friends in Prague who are on the warpath on my behalf and trying to pull out any connections they have. But, I'm just not sure it's worth it.

In a way, it's weird. I was excited to start teaching again. I was freshening up my skills, pulling out all the notes I had taken at Oxford. During the days leading up to the trip, I found myself idly pondering things I'd teach. I'd read a word like "photography" and wonder how I'd explain its pronunciation to students, how I'd show them the first "o" and second "o" aren't pronounced the same, where the stress fell in the word. And even now, nearly a week after getting the e-mail, I'm catching myself imagining teaching present perfect tense or irregular verbs.

Yet, when I got the e-mail, it was a bit of a relief. I had actually dreamt getting an e-mail like it, and I imagined what it would say if it did happen in real life. So, there was a moment of déja vu and, like I said, relief, because there was a part of me wondering if I'd really enjoy teaching business English to a bunch of professionals for a year in Prague and not getting paid very well for it. I had taken the job because it was the one offered out of the many that turned me down, and it was the only one willing to provide assistance with a work visa. Of course, there was the added bonus of living in Prague again and seeing my friends there again.

But I just didn't know if I'd be happy doing it. There are obviously many more subtleties involved, but that's the gist of it.

So, my move to Europe has become more of a vacation, it seems. I have to say, it helps to be on the Croatian coast when you get bad news like that. Kind of lessens the blow. I've been enjoying Croatia a ton, despite the heat and the tourists and the lack of air conditioning, and I wish I had more time to explore other areas of Croatia, and possibly go into Bosnia and Hercegovina and Montenegro. But I have a huge bag of luggage sitting in a flat in Prague, and I told the friend watching it I'd be gone about a week. I'd hate to leave it there for a month while I bounce about the Balkans carefree.

So, tomorrow, I'm going to start making my way back to Prague. I'm taking a bus to Trieste in eastern Italy, then figuring out whatever's the quickest route north to Prague. I'll stay there a few days and hang out with friends, then get things in order to come home.

I'll update you loyal readers if something changes or I end up finding a different teaching job in Prague or elsewhere. And I'll be sure to publish some more photos from Croatia as soon as I have a chance and a better Internet connection!