Today – your K-logic has gotten the best of me. I’m frustrated. I’m mad. I’m confounded. Perhaps worst of all – I let you get my goat.

I’d like my goat back please. It was a cute goat and I’m rather fond it.

I’m warning you though – next time you are not getting it so easily.

Ok so this is what’s really happening.

(when I say – “the school” I mean the teacher in charge of me and/or the head of the language department it’s faster this way)

Having trouble with my school not wanting me to go home. My contract ends at the end of next month. I have been asking since the end of November about whether or not the school wants to renew my contract.

They didn’t tell me until very very recently that they wanted to renew my contract with them. So I couldn’t tell them – great! I need to go home – lets schedule my home leave during a “vacation period” (where vacation actually means students don’t come to school but teachers do – and if they don’t and “work from home” and have to submit a report specifying what they “worked on”) until VERY RECENTLY. We have a break coming up next week, it’s a two week break. Optimal time for me to go.

However, because of the new visa regulations and all I was thinking I wouldn’t have very much time to see my family, take care of supplies and clothes, deal with my medical stuff, and get all the paperwork done needed to renew my visa in just two weeks (the two weeks paid airfare, paid vacation that is stipulated I get when my contract ends). So I asked for a little more time (three to four weeks, the extra time being unpaid).

This would mean I’d only miss one or two weeks at the beginning of the next semester. Minimizing the amount of time I’d miss teaching the students. The beginning of the semester is a hectic time where, in my experience so far, the students are getting used to the teachers and each other and schedules are moved around and nothing important gets done or taught.

I thought this was a pretty simple request, let me go home and take care of stuff – and although it means I’d miss school I was pretty sure I’d miss school anyway at the end of my contract (March) to fly home. In fact, as I explained to my school, I originally only planned to be here for a year so I would be going home and taking care of the necessary medical things anyway. Staying here longer doesn’t cancel out the fact that I have things to take care of at home.

Although the contract does say that your home leave should be delayed until the next vacation period MANY teachers take it immediately after the contract ends. It’s up to the discretion of the school. I actually thought getting that break between contracts immediately was the norm.

Furthermore – the “application for renewal” (this document my teacher gave me yesterday) says conflicting things about home leave. One sentence says it must be taken during a vacation. The very next sentence says home leave will commence two calendar weeks prior to the old contracts’ end date and finish the day before the new contract starts.

Confusing much? Yeah me too.

So then my school insisted that I would have to wait until September to go home. That’s WAY too long. I told them it’s not my fault that the contract ends when the school year starts and that it’s not reasonable to ask someone to wait that long to go home and take care of their business.

They’re also saying that actually, I don’t have to take care of the visa renewal things at home and it can be done here. I’m not that confident in their information given all the conflicting information floating around – but ok.

I’m thinking I still deserve a break after being here for a year. I need to recharge or I’m going to become a megabitch (which probably would be for the best because I’ve let my school push me around a lot this year).

Then I told them look. Why don’t I fly home anyway right now, I’ll take care of the things I have to during the vacation period and take my remaining sick days (in the beginning of March) and then come back and keep working.

One of the medical things I have to sort out is a vision problem I’ve had all my life and has lately been worsening. No one I went to previously in America was able to help me, and so far it’s confounded the doctors here. Although I am going to a specialist tomorrow. (Those of you who know me already know what my condition is.) I’m pretty sure that if I tried to get it evaluated back home while I was jet lagged and tired it wouldn’t be such a great evaluation.

The doctors here can evaluate me, but it’s the sort of thing best handled by someone who if familiar with your lengthy medical history and really evaluate just how much change there has been in the condition in order to see how serious it is.

So then they said – but you’re not sick. They can’t comprehend that I could have a condition that affects my life but not my work. They want more details – which I don’t have to give them.
Then they wanted a “prescription”, which really meant a doctor’s note to explain why I have to be seen by a specialist. A prescription for what? 7-10 days in America? That doesn’t make any sense.

I don’t want my school knowing what’s going on with me. I can probably get a note from the guy I’m seeing tomorrow (Please let this teacher see her doctor in America?) but that seems rather ridiculous to me.

According to my contract I get to take 7 consecutive work days as sick days before I have to give a doctors note. I told the school that according to my contract I don’t have to give any kind of note until after 7 days. So I’ll go ahead and take my sick days in March – thankyouverymuch.

I think what is complicating this whole thing is that I haven’t actually renewed my contract yet. Which is why originally, when I brought this up earlier this week, I said I don’t know if we can do this now because it’s so soon (but it would be the most convenient), if we can’t do it now will it be possible after the end of March?

Now I’m just trying the approach of look, let me go home now, don’t bother with the renewal paperwork. I’ll pay for my own ticket – do the “vacation report” and take my 7 sick days to deal with my medical stuff. That’s all within my contractual rights, and according to the current practices of the school administration. They can reimburse me for the home leave when I finish the contract renewal. If they don’t want to renew me they can give me half of the airfare and I’ll find another job.

See. This is why I don’t write so much. That was an awful lot to write.

Damn K-logic.