"Un-Re-contracting" Dinner

Friday was our “re-contracting dinner”.   Medical exam in-hand, I went to Yuseong Hotel to sign up for another year (same city, but new school).  I’m still looking for other jobs in post-secondary, but it’s nice to know that I’ve at least got something if it doesn’t work out.

I received 3 copies of my next contract and went back to my table.  An announcement:

“Teacher’s transferring to a new school won’t be allowed to use their bonus vacation next year, they’ll have to use it during this vacation…”

I was halfway into signing my next contract when those words tumbled into my ears.

Transfer… new school…
SHIT! that’s me!

My pen stopped mid-G.   Last year I was able to take a week in the summer and I have a week scheduled to take this winter.   I asked what this would mean for me and one of the supervisors responded that I should just enjoy an extra long break this coming winter.   So I’d be starting off next year as a new teacher in a new school with two weeks less vacation than I was counting on.  Frankly it was nice having two calendar weeks in the summer and winter to unwind, while I’d be getting more time all clumped together this year would only leave me more wound up next year.  Plus I’ve met teachers whose vacation time was dolled out in two and three day patches by principals concerned only with squeezing every last bit of English from their native teachers.  Living in Korea can wind you up.  I’ve told countless teachers to take at least a month of to unwind between contracts, and here I am coming into my third straight year without a break.

I put my paper aside and gave it some thought.   Truth be told, I wasn’t coming back.   I went up to the supervisors and told them as much.