Adjusting to the new work place is not as smooth as I hoped it would be but I’m getting there. The students here remind me a lot of the students I used to have back in the Philippines. The office, however, is a far cry from before. Although the space is also air-conditioned, it is significantly smaller than  the previous one I went to. But the staples office furniture, the decors, and the bulletin boards are surprisingly familiar. Maybe because the two campuses get their supplies from the same place. I’m not entirely sure.

Anyway, everything seems okay and everything seems to be going pretty smoothly except for the paperwork. Since I’m basically left to fend for myself, I had to start from scratch and work from the bottom up. Hopefully, in a few more weeks, I’ll be able to catch up. I’m not losing hope! hehe!

January 2012 has almost to drawn to a close. With 3 weeks of taste of the secondary life, I have learned quite a lot of things from my students here in my new school.

1. Students here in Brunei, despite being composed of a great mix of races – Malaysians, Bruneians, Indians, Koreans, Thais, Sri Lankans, Arabians, and Egyptians – are not so different from the students I had back home. They are as rowdy, as hormone-driven, and as witty as the batches of high school students I have handled in the Philippines.
2. Religion may play a big influence on their lives, yes, but it is not enough to significantly make a difference in the dynamics of a high school class.
3. They get more stubborn with age. Well, I think this one is pretty universal anyway, and goes way past high school age too.

So far so good. Here’s too adjusting a bit to the not so new things! Acid cigars anyone?

New levels… new kids… new load.

Yes, finally made it to secondary school. I’ve been wishing the whole year (last year) to be reassigned to the age group I’m more familiar with. Thankfully I got my wish this year, although not without sacrifices.

First, the school is a considerable distance farther from the previous. It’s impractical to walk to and from home. And with the tropical sun making things worse, there’s no way I would even try. Plus, since it’s farther, I need to wake up earlier and ride the 6AM service trip to get to school. (There goes my 630 wake-up habit)

Second, it’s a new crowd, with new rules, and new systems. The group I spent the whole year getting to know, I don’t even see anymore. And the system I have gotten used to, now scrapped. It’s like starting from scratch with everybody. Thankfully, the Pinoys there are also accommodating so they’ve been a steady support.

Unlike the more Filipino-dominated group in the primary level, the more prominent group in the secondary level is made up of Indians. Our overall supervisor is Indian, my immediate supervisor is also Indian. Discipline head is also Indian. But, so far, things are still pretty much okay. I haven’t had any problems with them. And if everyone in that group is pretty much like the ones I knew in the primary level, then I’m looking forward to getting to know them to too.

The kids, on the other hand, are rowdier, more opinionated, hormonal, but are still as engaging as I remember (from the time I taught HS in Pinas). They’re also more versed in English so discussing lessons with them is SO MUCH easier. Although, we haven’t had any tests yet…. we’ll see….

It’s still a good start though. I wish for smooth sailing the whole way… or at least less trouble on the horizon. Hopefully….

Moving things around is taking a toll on my body. First, there are the books. With more than a hundred books to carry home and then back to school, my back now hurts regularly. Second, there are the accessories – visual aids, speakers, laptop, and whatever else is needed. Good thing I’m now taking the service otherwise I would have to joggle everything while figuring out how to cross over the fence on the way to school.

Still, I’m thinking of having a few of my accessories permanently stay in the workplace not only to ease the moving back and forth but also to prolong the life of my electronic gadgets. (Moving around causes a lot of wear and tear because of the constant shaking and banging when being transported) Currently, I’m looking for an Energy subwoofer speaker dealer to purchase a set of sounds from. My old speakers I’m willing to leave in school while the new ones I plan on setting up at home. (Since we don’t have any TV yet, the laptop doubles as an entertainment system so we really need the speakers.)

Hopefully, I lessen enough load to keep my back ache-free for a long time.

The school draws to a close. By October, lessons stop and the latter part of the month shall be devoted to examinations. I am, however, still buried in thoughts as to how to adjust to the grueling pace of teaching here.

Mountains of books to mark, children refusing to do their part, and exam results that fall short of parents’ expectations – the answer to such things riddles still elude me. And without fangs to bear, the absence of absolute authority, the refusal of some parents to cooperate, the riddles are wrapped in even more mysterious puzzles.

But, what to do lah?!

Although I’m not a snake enthusiast, I’ve always appreciated snakes. No, I don’t feel drawn to them. I just simply admire the patterns and the behavior that they exhibit. So, imagine my surprise when a commotion at the rear side entrance of the school gave me a close encounter with a real wild specimen.

It happened about two days ago. My supposedly quiet (boring) but rainy afternoon was interrupted by one of the cleaners barging into the kitchen. Christopher, the said cleaner, was asking for help on how to deal with snakes. I asked why. He said he needed to take care of one ASAP. So I reluctantly went with him to the rear area of the school. Then there it was, a green, scaly viper, complete with the characteristic spear shaped head and a tongue flicking in and out of its closed mouth. It was on on the concrete floor just a few feet away from the grassy flanks of the walkway. It wasn’t scurrying away from us despite the 4 people around it. Instead it was almost motionless (well except for the forked tongue), but poised and ready for an attack (the neck was coiled in a striking pose).

I told Christopher not to do anything because I’m almost a hundred percent sure that it was poisonous. It had a slender body decorated with a captivating light green stripes alternating with thin white or yellow bands. Since I know that slender bodies are usually for snakes built for speed (and not for constriction), I was very hesitant about moving closer than 4 to 5 feet from the reptile. But my fascination kept me from running away from it too. I kept on thinking of a way to capture the marvelous serpent.

Christopher distracted me with a question. Will it die from getting smashed, he said. I answered him with a yes, but depending on what you hit it with. Before I knew he took a long pole from one of the rooms and then whipped the pole straight into the unsuspecting snake. And with a single hit, it was dead.

I made my disappointment known after I saw the creature wriggle and slowed down to a permanent halt. I told the cleaner how very uncommon it was to see a wild snake, especially something so magnificently decorated, this close and not in captivity. However, their concerns seem to be more practical in nature than mine. The snake was dangerous, it was blocking the walkway, and the kids might get bitten by it, so the quickest and most effective way to dispose of the problem was to eliminate the snake there and then. How could I argue with that? I didn’t exactly have an alternative to present.

So, my brief encounter ended sadly. It was quite memorable and exhilarating but it was also tragic. My only consolation was that the snake I saw was not of an endangered species, and they are pretty common in the jungles of Borneo. You don’t have to own a gps handheld garmin to tread the green backyards of the school in order to see another one. I was told that a lot of teachers have seen similar snakes so maybe I might just get another glimpse. Who knows.

There was a point in time when I strongly considered  finding a different field of work. It’s not just because teaching is a thankless job, but mainly because it doesn’t pay as much as teachers would want to. Aside from the fact that parents often use teachers as escape goats for several things, teachers would often carry the brunt of excuses and blames for all shortcomings and mistakes that students do. We carry the work way past school hours, sacrifice most of our sleep time and even family time, and exhaust so much emotional energy on optimistic ideas that often get us burned in the end. Yet, we don’t get paid as much as those working in the corporate world – those with IT related jobs, Application Development Jobs, even call center agents.

But how can we change what we are? I can imagine doing other kinds of work but I cannot imagine myself not teaching. For seven years I’ve lived and breathed children and teaching. I’m a teacher and that’s something I cannot just simply change.

Aside from the fact that it saves me from gas, one other good thing about walking to and from work is that it’s a good enough physical exercise. Since we live close enough to the school, I always get 10-15 minutes walking to work in the morning, another 10-15 minutes going home for lunch, and another 10-15 minutes going back to work. Yup, I know. I take the service going home in the afternoon, but I don’t consider it as cheating. It’s just that I have several books to bring home so taking the car service home is the most practical route for me.

Anyway, the 30-45 minute daily exercise I get from walking is enough to keep my weight down. It’s quick, convenient, and obviously free. Not only that, because I don’t spend any money for additional exercises in the gym or for any hcg weight loss program, I get to earn more for other things. I can also eat as much as I want without worrying about adding any extra pounds. Hehehe! Go!go!go! walking!

Make overs are necessary for a new image. And new images are important for credibility. That’s the reason why institutions, companies, and even schools undergo make overs.

And the school I work for is no exception. In fact, it is now brandishing feather flags, hosting a logo design competition, and enforcing new systems to show a new and refreshing image to everyone. It’s a bold but needed move, in my opinion. And I think it’s a step toward the right direction.

It’s just a matter of time before everyone accepts the changes and rides with the new flow. It just hope we survive the transition.

The last six months still make up a continuous story of adjustment. You would think that I would have gotten used to the language barrier, the work load, and even the sleepless nights (when my baby girl would just refuse to sleep the normal hours) after half a year, but no. Just when I think I’ve adjusted to the routine already, a few things here and there would change.

Take my work load, for example. The subject coordinator that I’ve gotten used to for the past 6 months has just announced that she’s leaving in two weeks. Yup! This means readjusting to another system and to another supervisor obviously.

Also, after several months of almost routine weather (hot all day with rains in the evening), now it’s heavy and consistent downpour. Even the animals that are usually seen scurrying around the place are now gone because of the rain, or are at least in hiding.  Believe me, you can’t see them even if you have steiner binoculars.

Even the school where I’m teaching is currently undergoing traffic rerouting as mandated by the traffic police.

I guess there really is truth to the cliche, change is the only thing constant. Just hope I manage to somehow get used to it though.