Job Discussion Forums

[Ace Teacher]

Next time you go for a summer holiday, make sure you do this:

Be the first to leave (before your mates do) and be the last to arrive back... Why? I'll tell you why.....

Your mates can't ask you for the usual favours such as:
1. Take them to the Airport!!!!
2. Paying the utility bills (cos they didn't have time to!)
3. Take their excess luggage since being single means you don't have to take much to England, but because your married friends do!!
4. Water the plants until you leave after them
5. Take any forgotten items and hand it to them yourself in England!! (I'm not going to elaborate on some weird things they forgot and ask you to bring with you!!)

The above is just a flavour of the list of few things your mates may ask you to do for them when they leave early and unlucky you, leave after them!

With regards to things they may ask you to do if you are the first to arrive are:

1. Call "Sameera" the cleaner and ask her to clean the house for your mates so that when they come here the place is clean!
2. Ask "Ali" the electrician to make sure that the AC's are working OK
3. Water the plants as soon as you arrive from England
4. Get them from the Airport!

I know that being a friend means helping your mates but don't you agree with me that sometimes it's just overwhelming and therefore it's better to be the first to leave and last to arrive?

Also can you think of any bizarre things they may ask you to do pre and post (the holiday )?

[veiledsentiments]

Through the years I have done most of those things for my friends and neighbors (excluding carrying baggage as I always had more than enough of my own... ). I never found it a big deal to help people out, and those same people did things for me in return. I must have worked with very different groups of people than you, as normally we all voluntarily offered to do things like this for each other.

VS

[dmb]

When friends returned I always made sure they had cold beer in the fridge. I had alot of friends. I've just worked out why

[veiledsentiments]

Years ago on the SQU campus - back when all teachers lived in campus housing - there was a construction problem that had to be repaired on every house. They decided to do it in the summer when we were all gone. It was about 75% done when we got back, and everyone found that the work crews had drank all their booze (but neatly put all the empties in their trash in the kitchen).

They must have been very disappointed when they got to my house. But, generally they apparently were having a grand time all summer...

Too bad about how they all ended up on a plane back to India within days of it being reported. The new crew turned out to be teetotalers. (the only other item reported stolen was a camera and it was returned after it was announced that the whole crew would be jailed for the theft if it was not...)

VS

[dmb]

I sometimes felt sorry for the TCNs. If something went missing they always got the blame. I remember once(in shared housing) a teacher's bottle of shampoo went missing. The Sri Lankan cleaner had been working in the same place for years. There had just been a new incrop of western teachers. Guess who got the blame? It's obvious really as we have no theft, 'borrowing' or collectomaniacs in the west.(well, apart from Richard Madley)

[grahamb]

dmb, you've got the wrong bubbles. Richard prefers champagne to shampoo.

[Ace Teacher]

VS.... if you ever consider teaching again in the KSA, please consider having me as a neighbour!

[veiledsentiments]

Sorry Ace... I taught around the Gulf, but avoided KSA for the obvious reasons. And now I'm retired... bliss...

VS