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Once a teacher always a teacher?

I don't know whether it was meant to be, or if it was fate, or divine intervention.

Initially, I thought that I could focus a hundred percent on my PhD and not having to do anything anything else, but it soon became clearer and clearer that I was running out of options. My bank account was bleeding to death, and I knew I would soon follow if the situation were not remedied.

I tried a few things - tried to get marking jobs for lecturers, or to teach part-time in any university subjects.. any job at the university would have done.. but it just wasn't meant to be.
I was like a fish out of water. They didn't have TESL-related disciplines here, otherwise I could have done well.. In the College of Education they had art-related disciplines, of which I barely have any experience. Even the Drama in Education that I taught in UTM were language-based, and not arts-based. I couldn't teach English.. well.. because it's an English speaking-country! Or so I thought...

Answer to equation = I was screwed...

But one day, as I was looking through the job ads online my heart skipped a beat when I saw an advert for a language centre.. teaching foreign students! That was exactly my forte!!! I looked up the website and immediately liked what I saw... It was a nice, small centre, privately owned, and the pictures showed a nice cozy atmosphere... Immediately I knew I had to apply for it.

And so I did.

I put together the resume that I had previously used (quite an impressive one i must add!), and emailed it.

And to my surprise I got an answer the early next day!

It was a very pleasant response, very different to the formal responses I have had from bigger language centres in the past. I immediately liked the person on the other end, though I wasn't even sure who she was. As it turns out, she was the owner/operator of the language centre!
She immediately arranged for an appointment for the next day. I was impressed!

And my intuition was smack bang head on... Bronwyn Hardaker (the owner) was a pleasant lady in her 50s but still full of vibrant energy, something that I notice in most Kiwis, that they live long healthy lives, usually up to their 80s or 90s! She was warm and welcoming, and the best thing was that I could see she was genuinely pleased to have me there. It was certainly a nice change from language centre operators who are so high and mighty and think they are doing us a favour by giving us a job. In Bronwyn's case, her genuineness made me feel like I belonged, even though we had only just met. After a short discussion, she gave me a class to teach the next day, just to see how I would fit in.

Immediately I said yes.

Yes.. definitely divine intervention...

That I happened to find the advertisement..

That I am a fully qualified English language teacher in an English-speaking country...

That I am a native English language speaker by virtue of being born and raised in the UK...

Thanks for that Mum and Dad :)






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Fauziah Ismail said…
Congratulations, bro. Do good. Do Malaysia proud.
August 10, 2010 at 11:03 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Thanks sis! will definitely try to make my mark here.
August 10, 2010 at 11:47 PM
Cat-from-Sydney said…
Good to see you're back blogging - actively. Ramadan Mubarak to you, Sir! roar! roar! roar!
August 11, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Hey Angie.. Long time no see eh? hehehe.. yeah.. got settled in a bit so can free up my mind for a bit of blogging hehehe.. How have u been?
August 11, 2010 at 4:08 PM
Cat-from-Sydney said…
Would you email us your contacts in Christchurch? We love that place so much that another trip may happen soon. roar! roar! roar!
August 12, 2010 at 2:13 PM
Abdullah Mohd Nawi said…
Haha.. no worries.. would be my pleasure. Gimme ur email and I'll mail u my details.
August 12, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Ahmad said…
...Dan sesiapa yang bertaqwa kepada Allah, nescaya Allah akan mengadakan baginya jalan keluar;Serta memberinya rezeki dari jalan yang tidak terlintas di hatinya. Dan sesiapa berserah diri bulat-bulat kepada Allah, maka Allah cukuplah baginya. (At-Talaq:2-3)
August 12, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Cat-from-Sydney said…
Ahhh...Ramadan in winter in Christchurch. Challenging, eh? Email us catinsydney[at]gmail[dot]com. roar! roar! roar!
August 12, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Gukita said…
Congratulations....
Hope you make the ends meet doing something you enjoy doing... It's like being paid for a hobby.. Good eh??
August 13, 2010 at 4:05 AM
Anonymous said…
alamak.. sorry sibuk ber-ramadan, lambat setapak. congratulations bro! and may your bank account bleed no more... and yes, once a teacher, always a teacher.. as i've learnt that.

eh try to look for this Japanese serial called GOKUSEN on you-tube.
try watching the serial from season 1. it's about a Japanese Mafia war lord punya cucu jadi cikgu... beautifully hilarious and inspiring!
August 16, 2010 at 1:52 PM
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