Proud to Be An American - Well, Kind Of

So let me start this off by saying that I am the last person that anyone would describe as being patriotic. Sorry, but it's true. I'm that annoying person that when asked who I voted for, I'll say "Jesus" and what's more annoying is that I actually mean it. Now, don't get me wrong . . . there are a lot of wonderful perks to living in America, but I also think that there are a lot of wonderful perks to living in countries all over the world. Which leads me to today's subject.

Japan is a country that works hard. And this is because the Japanese work ethic is through the roof. They push their children to excel academically. They push for recycling and doing things the "green" way and pay high taxes for things like trash in an effort to curb waste (which is pretty darn effective - despite the lack of trash receptacles on the street.) The crime rate is very low, their sanitary standards are thorough, and I could just go on and on and on. Now with all of this said, would I be confident as to say that the Japanese people just have it all figured out? No. Would I say that they are model citizens for everyone? No. Would I say that I would want my children to grow up living the Japanese way of life? No. <---But that's just me.

My coworker on the other hand has had nothing but wonderful things to say about Japanese people, which I think is really cool and for the most part, I agree with her statements . . . BUT she can never say a kind word about them without putting down Americans. Like I said before, I'm not the most patriotic person and I know that Americans can be rude, loud, fat, lazy, stubborn, racist, wasteful, the list goes on and on and on but some of the stuff that she says is a little extra. Also some of the ish she brags about for them (I think) is less than praiseworthy and some of the things she downs about Americans (I think) are actually commendable.

For example, during an exercise today with one of my adult students, I asked them to name all of the stereotypes they can think of for Americans. (If you want to see the complete list, go to that other chick's website!) One of the things that my student mentioned was that American children go to bed early. Now I asked her, "What's early?" and she says, "9pm." She then looks at me with the question mark face so as to confirm or deny this stereotype. I told her, "Yes, we do put our children to bed around maybe 8:30 or 9pm - but to us that's not early at all. We think that's normal." I then asked her what was a normal time for children to go to bed here in Japan. She says, "Maybe 12am." Now personally, I don't think that's ideal (and it occurred to me that that's probably why a lot of my students are half sleep in my classes every day). Especially considering that these children have to wake up at like 6am or 6:30 to get ready for school that starts at around 7:00am or so. But I respect the fact that this is their culture, not mine. Not better . . . not worst . . . just different. So when I brought it up in casual conversation, my coworker went into her "God Bless Japan for being better than America" talk, that she normally does.

"They work sooo hard . . . Unlike our lazy American children who go home, eat and then go to bed because they don't have anything to do." Wait, what? Since when did a child getting less than 7 hours of sleep turn into something that's commendable. And why are American children lazy because they go to bed before The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson comes on?

Next, the topic of household chores came up. Now I've read (and heard from my students) that in Asian countries children are expected to focus on their academic responsibilities more so than any household responsibilities. Again, not good, not bad . . . just different. Generally, in American culture, it's expected that the children help out with household chores.

"Japanese children are so busy with their schoolwork, unlike lazy American children who have nothing to do except maybe eat or sit around the house and do chores."

This was when I asked her, "What kind of privileged childhood did you have that you just sat around the house all day?" First of all, I had to change the whole focus of her statement from the "American people" to just her. Second, maybe she didn't have a privileged childhood and maybe it was just her "American guilt" speaking, but I don't have "American guilt." I don't feel guilty for my "American" childhood (or adulthood for that matter.) I also don't feel sorry for the Japanese people who are obviously just living life the way that they feel is best for them. And yes, I'm an American but I'm not rude, loud, ignorant, racist and DEFINITELY not lazy. And, I wasn't going to sit and generalize or apologize for the American people as if we're all overly privileged, ignorant and lazy. I've always gotten good grades in school, did my homework and worked my butt off whenever I had a job.

YES, I got more than 6 hours of sleep every night and yes, I also enjoyed some of the perks of being an American and living in a superficial, leisure-driven culture, BUT I've also had to suffer right along with the 44 million who have to work their butts off in order to pay an exorbitant amount of money - out of pocket, mind you - for healthcare . Yes, I enjoyed junk-food when I was younger, but (contrary to common Japanese beliefs) I wasn't allowed to eat that ish everyday! So when she says all of those negative things in front of my Japanese coworkers, I try to make sure to clean that ish up real quick. This woman is speaking about HERSELF!!! At one point, I also added (and I deeply regret this) that I would never want to raise my kids in Japan. Now I didn't mean to go overboard with that statement - maybe I was caught up in the heat of my newfound patriotism and maybe I would like to raise my future kid(s) in Japan, who knows? - but I didn't want to mince words. The Japanese are great . . . but they don't have it all figured out. Why? Because nobody has it all figured out.

So there I was, attempting to defend the American people . . . or at least attempting to defend myself. It was a weird situation. But it has given me a broader perspective on how I view the world. I know that I had my little stereotypes about the Japanese people before I got here, but being here has destroyed those beliefs for me. On the other hand, I hope that my work ethic, intelligence and character serves to disprove the negative stereotypes against Americans for someone (even if that someone happens to be a fellow American.)

Week 1 - Training

So the trip to Japan was looooong. It consisted of a whole lot of sitting and squirming around, trying to find a comfortable way to sit, which grew more impossible by the hour. My flight took 19 hours in all. Four hours to San Francisco and 15 hours to Japan. I spent the trip watching Robert Downey Junior's sexy behind running around 19th century England as Sherlock Holmes. I also got a chance to finally see Breakfast at Tiffany's. I absolutely LOOOVE old movies and this movie was pretty good. The thing that I found really ironic about the movie, though, is that there was an Asian character (I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be Japanese even though in old movies, they didn't allow too many people of color on the big screen so he may have been a caucasian person in costume) named Mr. Yunioshi, who constantly complained at the main character "Holly Golightly"(played by Audrey Hepburn). Now Mr. Yunioshi was a short man with crooked, bucked teeth, a bowl haircut, thick bifocals and a terrible accent. You know, "You-ah too loud!" "I call cops!" and stuff like that. It was really cringe-worthy, but I couldn't help but to ask why they would play a movie like this on the way to Japan. I just thought it was weird.

Anywho, after 19 long hours, I finally arrived in Japan and during the process of jumping through hoops at the airport, and meeting up with the trainer, I managed to find several of my fellow trainees who were also preparing to go the training session. We gathered into a little group of maybe 13, 14 people and took a bus trip (that took forever - about 2 hours) to the training center. By this time, it was like 9pm and everyone was exhausted. We were hauling our luggage around the streets of Okayama and praying that we would finally reach our destination so that we could go to sleep. It seemed like the stronger the desire to sleep became, the more unbearable the physical and mental exhaustion became, the more tedious information our trainer wanted to tell us. "You guys will probably want to check out this grocery store in the future, but just know that they aren't open 24 hours a day, soooo . . . yeah . . . um, well, let's keep going." I swear, we all just looked at him with blank stares the whole time he spoke. Next thing you know, he lead us to the dorms where we would be staying. I looked at the list of room numbers with corresponding names and saw that my name was not on the list.

"Oh!" he said, "About 6 of you will be staying in a hotel that's a couple blocks away. After we get everyone settled into these dorms, we'll walk you guys over to the hotels and get you guys checked in." At that moment, I couldn't figure out if I wanted to die or kill this guy.

But when we got checked into the hotel and I found out that there was free breakfast every morning along with wi-fi internet in the lobby, I realized that I wanted to kiss him. I jumped into bed that night and woke up bright and early at 4am in the morning (due to jet lag) and then decided to hop downstairs and get on the internet until breakfast started. Breakfast consisted of some strange ish, and that was the moment I realized that I was not in Kansas anymore. Everything tasted pickled. Pickled cranberries, pickled lettuce, and pickled peppers. There was also soup and of course, rice balls (which I would soon discover comes with EVERYTHING).

So that was my routine the whole week that I was in training. I would wake up bright and early, get on the internet, talk to the manfriend and eat my free breakfast. The first 2 days that I stayed in the hotel, my roomate and I hung out and we explored the town we were in as well as the city that was next door, Kurashiki (the same city that would soon be my home). We were told that the first week would be very intense, and this caused some of the people in my training group to get a little tense, but for the most part, everyone hung out and even bonded a little. There was 15 of us all together and we had a great time until the weekend ended and we had to start going to the training sessions.

Now I've been involved in quite a few intense vetting processes. The most intense having been my experiences pledging a certain sorority (that need not be mentioned.) After going through that bull-ish, I've always kind of felt like I could go through pretty much anything and wasn't really stressed when they kept warning us about how "intense" this process would be. A few of my fellow trainees were upset (one of the girls even decided to quit without telling anyone) but I'd say we all did a good job. Training consisted of 9 long hours every day of listening to lecture after lecture and then having to actually regurgitate this information in the form of a lesson geared toward the Japanese children we would be teaching. It was nerve wracking to pull off, but thank God we were all a pretty tight knit group. It helps to resolve the pressure, when you have a bunch of grown American adults acting like Japanese children who are enjoying your class lesson. So day after day of this, we finally reached the end of training and the grand finale would be giving a lesson to actual Japanese children. Now this experience was no joke. The kids were not going to fake anything for us. If they weren't interested, they would get up in the middle of your lesson and just walk away. Fortunately, I was the first person to go and did my best to grab the kid's attention. It worked for the most part, but by the 3rd presentation, one of the children picked up a slipper and threw it at the girl who was giving her lesson. It looked something like this . . .

So training week ended with all of the trainers taking the trainees out to dinner. And me as well as 2 of the girls managed to get the most serious of the trainers drunk off of this really really good rose flavored wine. It was splendid and a wonderful way to end my first week in Japan. After this, everyone from my training group split off, going to their respective schools all over Japan. I got on the train and watched as everyone waved goodbye. I was nervous, but ready to get to my school and wondering if my new coworkers would be as cool as the people I'd met and befriended in training.

Pre Flight Panic and the 3 Big Bon Voyages

For the last two weeks before I was to board an airplane and spend the next 12 months of my life in a foreign country, things got real. And by "real" I mean, real stressful. As you know, the manfriend lost his job, there was a whole lot of family drama going on and to top it all off, I was not feeling the support from friends and family that I expected.

Sunday, May 9th

Well, let me start this out on a positive note. I DID get a whole lot of support from my Christian family at church. All I know is that I showed up to service on one of the last weeks before my big party and someone handed me an envelope with about 200 dollars in it. As me and the man friend say, "I was hah-peee!" They treated me to dinner and there was lots of laughing and joking (because my congregation is hilarious) and my best friend (one of the biggest sinners I know) was there, and was able to see why I decided to dedicate my life to God. She mentioned that from seeing the kind of support and love that everyone shares, she can't help but to want to be a part of that. Well, hallelujah to that!

(So let me back it up again) Despite the support from my wonderful christian congregation, I had way to many "friends" asking me when I was planning to throw my own going away party. Okay, (Cher voice from Clueless) . . . "as if!" Who does that?!? At first I actually considered gathering a few of my friends together (considering that my family's "surprise" bon voyage party was being planned by one of my cousins who wouldn't have a clue about who my friends are). But then I remembered that I had to purchase a year's supply of . . . I dunno . . . EVERYTHING as well as cancel about a million and one subscriptions and automatic payments, pay off my car, close out several accounts, order Japanese yen and somehow fit a vacation into the mix. So yeah, that wasn't going to happen and after a while, it started irritating me when I would tell certain friends that I was planning on leaving and they would say something along the lines of "well, let's do something before you go. Give me a call, set something up, and I'll be there." It makes me irritated to think of it now and I've been living in Japan for 3 weeks already.

Friday, May 7th

So long story short, my closest friend and sorority sister came through and planned a small get together that was supposed to be for me and the other 3 girls on our line (5 of us all together). And surprisingly, 2 of the girls were missing which was kind of ironic because they were the main ones leading the "we should all get together - and you should plan it" brigade. Of course, they both had a weak excuse for not showing up, but I didn't care because I was so happy to be able to get some support from the 2 that did and it was also nice to be able to take a load off and have some girl talk (which resulted in the "Let's Talk About Sex" blog post that I did before I disappeared off the face of the got-dang planet.)

So the next day, I had my family get together. Now there was some drama with that because the 2 big matriarchs of my family was feuding and it put some serious pressure on me. At one point I even cancelled the whole thing because I felt like no one was going to show up. (Isn't that jacked up . . . to cancel your own "surprise party") Long story short, at the end of the day, the whole freaking family showed up and I had a WONDERFUL time. The manfriend video-taped the whole event and although there was still some weirdness coming from the two "main components" of my family, there were so many people and there was so much food and so much support that I forgot all about it and all I felt was happiness and appreciation for everyone and everything. It was a freaking love fest. So after that, my bon voyage felt right.

May 14th

So the day of the big flight, I packed with my best friend until 3am in the morning. At 3:30, the manfriend drove me to the airport where I met up with my dad, mom, sister and niece. I was a little sad because I didn't get to say goodbye to my dog a little longer (shutup!) but when it was time for my flight to take off, the manfriend surprised me and told me that he would be taking the flight with me to San Francisco and that was why the dog had to go with his "grandmom" for the night. It was a lovely surprise and I really appreciated it. It was also a little awkward because I know that my mom and the manfriend must have planned that together (and also, I know that my dad and his new wife don't approve of the manfriend - so for my dad to be witnessing this "manfriend/mom collabo" must have been a little weird). Either way, it was an emotional goodbye and it still gets me a little misty eyed to think of the way my mother looked at me after I hugged her and let go so that I could walk away. *Tear - Lip quiver*

*Oh, and I didn't end up getting the Amazon Kindle. Because of all the support I received from my congregation, friends and family (and also because the Amazon Kindle isn't very foreign country friendly) I got the Ipad instead! And I absolutely love the thing!!!

So at the end of the day, one thing is for sure, if you ever want to know who really cares about you, and I mean REALLY cares . . . move to a foreign country. Everyone that you see in those last few days, weeks, minutes are the people who care. The people who hand you a card, or even a picture of you and them . . . those are the people who care. People who try to find out if there's any little thing they can do to help . . . or better yet, the people who don't ask at all and just help you . . . those are the people who care. The people who call you out of the blue just to tell you that they love you and will indeed miss the hell out of you and make sure that you know you are appreciated . . . those are the people who really matter. Bottom line, I had NO IDEA that I had so many people who cared about me, BUT I also didn't know how many "extra" friends I can now delete from my life. Leaving the states was a very sobering experience. I didn't expect it to be this deep.

Well, that's all I got for now.

Officially Off the Hampster Wheel

So for those of you who (actively) follow me . . . does anyone remember the job interview post I did a couple months ago? You know?

Well, it didn't exactly go like that, but hopefully the picture (which is also a link) rings a bell. Now does anyone remember that this whole "job opportunity" came up at the same exact time that I had to purchase my plane ticket for Japan? Also, does anyone remember that I interviewed for the position because one of the head honchos at my job was really adament about my applying for it? Remember how he answered all of my post-interview questions as if I already had the job (i.e. "When are you looking to fill the position Mr. So-and-so?" "Well, when will you be done with you're current job, Arnetta?") Does anyone remember how I (for a split second) wondered whether I should consider taking this job, rather than going to Japan because it seemed like it was "already in the bag"? And I did that post asking everyone which side they were on . . . team Japan or team "stay my butt at home - with the manfriend and pup - in the United States"? Remember how I haven't really wrote anything about it since?

Well that was 2 months ago and believe it or not, I still have not heard anything back from the guy. (Not that I care at this point). But let me give you some background as to what happened after the interview. I called the guy up every other day to find out if the position had been filled to which he always said, "No, but I will let you know next week." I dropped a "Thank You" note on his desk a week and a half after the interview, to cover all bases. I made sure to show my face around the area in order to show that I am actively engaged in the workplace (or something like that). Now allow me to mention that I have some "over-achiever" issues. In other words, I am always going to try to do things to the best of my ability. So despite the fact that I had the Japan job in the bag, I didn't want to slack on my interview because that's just not my style. And regardless of knowing that this job may not have been what I wanted at this time in my life, I was still going to beat out the competition and go for it like I wanted it. (And yes, deep down I kind of wanted it....it's what I went to school for after all.)

So time passed by and I got more involved with another project and pretty much gave up hope for the job that I'd interviewed for. I figured that after all of this time, I probably didn't get it anyway and I was thankful that I ended buying the plane ticket to Japan. (And a special shout out to Islandbaby and Stephanie for voicing your "team Japan" opinions.) So the day that I gave my two weeks notice (last week) I heard through a bird that they offered the position that I interviewed for to some random outsider and that she TURNED IT DOWN because it was part-time and had LOUSY HOURS. Allow me to be petty for a moment.

Aaaagh hahahahahaha!!!! In your FACE!!!! You could have just hired me! I was ready and willing to do that job months years ago but now I'm heading out to a different country! Good luck finding another sucker to waste 5 years of their life doing overnight weekends.

Ahem! All right, I'm back. But seriously, if I didn't already believe the devil existed before this . . . I would be a believer right about now. Could you imagine if I didn't buy that plane ticket, how hard I would be kicking myself?! That whole situation was set up perfectly. I had the job that I'd always wanted being dangled in front of me like a carrot, at the very moment that I decided to tear myself away from the hampster wheel and attempt to live a fulfilling life. It still makes me shiver.

Either way, now I am POSITIVE that I was supposed to leave my current job and that although I am making a life altering decision and will be away from my man, my family, my friends, and my son dog, everything is going to be okay and I will finally start living the fulfilling life that God has in store for me. I guess that was the final mental boundary that I had to break through in order to take this huge leap. So at this point, all doubts have been removed and the countdown begins.

Off to Japan in exactly 30 days.

Food, Glorious Food!

It's official. The Master Cleanse is over. I sat down and had a (small) bowl of romaine lettuce covered with granny smith apples, gorgonzola cheese, spiced walnuts and tangy dried cranberries drizzled in italian dressing. Hold on . . . I'm having an orgasm. Ahhh yes!!!

Anywho, I found the gym that I would like to join. Being that we are on the verge of experiencing THE STORM OF THE CENTURY, CENTURY, CENTURY, I won't be able to go until Monday. So until then, I will have to behave myself until I can work it on out. I'm excited and can't wait to get started.

All right, what's going on in my little corner of the world? I have my interview for the ---- job on Monday. For all of you "pro-Japan" people, this does not mean I'm giving up on Japan. I'm just weighing all options and seeing if these folks will make me an offer "I can't refuse." Either way, the man-friend (for his own selfish reasons) hopes that I get this job. My mother is thinking it's a sign from God. Me? I stopped thinking a long time ago.

Ummm . . . what else? Nothing really. Let me get back to watching "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Thank god for instant viewing on Netflix. Some movies should never grace a television screen, lol.

Day 2 of the Master Cleanse Diet and Some Other Stuff Too

Day 2 of the Master Cleanse diet. I had a little headache last night as well as this morning. Also, I've been getting some serious stomach cramps. Still, I drunk my laxative tea and will be drinking my lemonade soon. Fun! Oh, and before I move onto the next subject I really want to say that I'm not hungry, so much as craving certain foods. The lemonade is still tasty, but everything else just looks and smells sooo much tastier. Sidenote: 3 hours of my day yesterday was spent tutoring my former-coworker on some software while she snacked on Tostitos and complained about the spicy salsa and her ex-husband. I wanted to kill myself. Onto more interesting topics . . .

Life Gets Complicated

In order to supplement my (lousy) income, I am working (temporarily) on an award show and got the chance to talk on the phone with "Mr. Huxtable" himself. The great Bill Cosby (and no, he didn't ask me if I wanted any pudding pops, daaaw!) He was delightful, but his involvement in my work puts a whole lot of pressure on me to do a good job.

Since our phone conversation, I've been running around getting things done for a video package I am putting together for him and one of the people I have to interview for the package works at my regular job. So while talking to the woman about the interview, my old manager walks past. To give you some background on the manager, he played a very big part in giving me a chance to actually work at my job in the first place. The lady I was interviewing beckons the guy over and asks him why he didn't come over to speak to us. The manager stands motionless, looking at . . . scratch that . . . grilling me.

"I'm mad at Arnetta," he says with the icey cold stare that he always gives me. He's like the really mean dad that I never wanted. Of course, both me and the lady break into the "whyyyy?" chorus like 2 whining children.

"Because there's a (blank) job open and she didn't even apply for it. Never asked me about it. Nothing."

Then there's silence. He does an about face and walks away. Now I'm going to pause things right there and mention that I have not been able to move up at my current job for over 3 years. I have been at the same part-time, overnight, weekend job for the past 3 years. Let me repeat that . . . OVERNIGHT, WEEKEND . . . 3 YEARS (that should give you an idea of my social life). Any attempt that I've made to move up has been ignored or brushed off. It has been my all time dream to move to a specific position at my job and everyone knows it. People have been lobbying for 5 years to get me to that position with no luck. Now, the job is open.

Problem: I am moving to Japan in May.

The job that he is speaking about has been on the company website for a month. I knew about it, and it hurt my heart to know that it was open, but my mind was already set on Japan so I never even thought about applying. I put so many years of my life going after this position only to be laughed at and told that I would never get it (at such a big company). That it wasn't possible. I was told that I should move to a smaller job market and try working my way up elsewhere. And after years of hearing this, I decided to stop wasting my life working overnight/weekends while everyone around me was getting married, moving up in life, traveling around the world and working interesting jobs.

Either way, I am seriously considering putting my heart on the line (again) and applying for the job. After all of the people I told about my going to Japan . . . after all of the money I spent for passports, documents, and insurance policies . . . after hiring a travel agent . . . after SIGNING A CONTRACT, I am considering not going at all. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about all of the crow I'd have to eat and all of the things I'd have to sacrifice if I end up staying. Of course another problem would be regret. The position would require that I work odd hours (again) and it's still only part time. So while sitting at work on a Saturday morning, will I be kicking myself for not going to Japan?

Downside to Japan

If I take the job in Japan, would I be giving up on a goal that I took 5 years of my life trying to attain? Would all of those years have been for nothing? Would I be burning a bridge?

It all comes down to whether I apply for this job and get it. For all I know, I could just get turned down anyway.

Either way, I have a bunch of crap to sort out. Time to drop off this resume!

(Oh, and Steph over at Not the Oxygen featured my guest post on her blog today, so check it out. Her blog is great and I am honored to be a part of it :-)

The Verdict Is In

I checked my email for the millionth time today and finally got a reply from the job teaching English in Japan. The verdict: I've been extended an offer for employment. Right now, I feel nothing-which is no surprise. My reactions to big events are always extremely delayed. There's a good chance that 2 months from now I will be writing the longest post about how I feel, getting offered this job overseas. For now, I'm just sitting on my couch with a blank expression on my face.

Maybe I'll write more when I am no longer in shock.

Last Step

Just got an email saying that there's only one last step in this whole "teaching conversational English in Japan" process before the company makes their big decision. I have to submit to a background check. I'm going to do that today!

Here goes nothing . . .

One Step Closer to Japan

*Written this past Monday (11/9)

My job interview for the teaching position in Japan is this Saturday and I have done nothing to prepare. Good job Arnetta! (Slow clap) Seriously, it's crunch time and I have to buckle down and tell everyone no. No, I cannot videotape this. No, I cannot edit that. No, I cannot help you move your furniture. No, I cannot shoot the breeze. No, no, NO!

I rented a "Learn to speak Japanese" DVD from the library and intend to watch it tonight. I've also got all of the names and contact info for all of my references, including a really nice reference letter from one of them. Now all that's left is putting together a lesson plan and creating a really nice presentation that I have to present for a group interview. This won't be the first time I've had to present something for an interview. I did it a couple years back and unfortunately didn't get the job, but was proud of the presentation that I managed to throw together. Here's hoping I can be proud again.
(That DVD ended up being crap and I couldn't get through the first 5 minutes, so I just picked up some books and CD's. Also, I managed to scrounge up another recommendation from an old coworker.)

*Okay, now we're up to date (Sunday 11/15)
I went on my interview yesterday and was very proud of my little presentation. First things first, lemme break down to you how this thing goes. There are 3 steps (kinda). First step, is the application process and if they choose your application, you attend the group interview and if you pass that, you move onto the (whispers) private interview. :-) So obviously they accepted my app and I moved onto step number 2 which was the group interview, including the 5 minute presentation (that I had a whole month to prepare for, but instead decided to wait till the last minute and do all in one day). Either way, I tested out my little presentation with my extra-bright, (extra tall) 3 year old niece. Most adorable part of our little practice session . . .

Me: Hello class!

Class (which consisted of my mother and my niece sitting on the couch): Hello teacher!

Me: Today we are going to learn about colors!

My Niece: Wait, wait, wait! You can't be teacher without name. You have to tell us your name!

The kid made a good point! LOL Either way, she responded very well to my little presentation (and now knows how to say 3 colors in Japanese) and I decided to use the same kind of presentation for my group interview yesterday. I had to work the night/morning right before my interview (because my hours suck) so I was a little worried about my brain cells failing on me. Either way, I made sure to exhibit as much energy as I possibly could because from my experiences with children, that's what gets their attention, and from what I read on the websites energy is VERY IMPORTANT in these kinds of interviews. Unfortunately, the other folks didn't get that memo and gave very lackluster performances. I think it was the fact that we were performing for a bunch of adults that kind of took the giggly, cheerful, happy-go-lucky spirit out of teaching a bunch of grown folks the ABC's. But I've watched enough Wiggles and Yo Gabba Gabba to know that you have to look like a fool to keep the kids happy and the company is hiring us on our ability to keep the kids happy enough to have their parents continue dishing out money.

So on our way out they told us they'd call us or email us by 8 o'clock to let us know if we were accepted to move onto the next round. I prettymuch deducted that an email = not being accepted and a phone call = moving onto the next round. So I decided to just eat dinner and watch Grey's Anatomy and not even think about checking my email until the next day. I forgot about my phone, however, and when it rang at 7:34pm it hit me that I may have very well gotten the invitation to attend Round 3 of the process. Ding! Ding! Ding!

So today, I go on my last interview. I don't know how it will end up but I have so much to think about if I do get this job. Whatever happens, I know it will be God's will. So nervous!

Some Side Notes about yesterday:

- The process lasted about 5 hours. From 12 when it started to 4 when my group was dismissed.

- I need to brush up on my grammar. I used to be very thorough, but ever since Spellcheck . . . smh. For example, I think I may have gotten the "Who" and "Whom" question wrong. Who actually uses the word "whom" anyway?

- There were a lot of worldy people up in there. At one point, some guy was explaining to one of the interviewers (if that's a word) that he might not be able to come back if they call him for the private interview because he has an important meeting in Paris. LOL Me and some other girl looked at each other, giggled and mentioned that we wished we had it like that . . . and later, the same girl I was giggling with was telling me about how she's planning on living in Brazil until it's time to go to Japan (if they call her back). Uh, yeah . . . I wouldn't mind getting it like that either.

- Maybe asking questions in order to "just ask" something is not always the best idea on a job interview. Some of the questions people were asking sounded really pretentious. Or maybe I'm just being a hater because I didn't have a million and one questions prepared. Either way, I thought some of those questions were silly and obvious.

- I was one of the "older" folks of the group. Everybody else was like fresh out of college. And the only other people my age were the well-traveled, already teaching, I have an important meeting in Paris types.

- Not to toot my own horn, but I am excellent at giving presentations. Yeah, there's always that initial nervousness, but when it comes down to it, the shakes fade and something else takes over. Gosh, I hate to compare myself to her - and don't laught at me - but it's like Beyonce's alter ego Sasha Fierce. I'm a whole nother person when I have an audience. (nother = other, kids. See, I'm already teaching English! LOL)

Okay, you can laugh at me now!

Today's interview is at 2:30. Here goes nothing . . .