When I first arrived here in Southern Thailand in July of 2004, it wasn't three months before my damn phone was practically ringing off the hook at my home on Soi three, with people asking me to teach them English. Sometimes I'd get ten to fifteen calls a day. I turned down all of them since my free time is important to me...a kickback from a time I hit rock bottom from working too many hours in the states.
Since then, mostly the requests have died down as people discovered I wasn't interested in teaching privately. I did take an advanced English job twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday, teaching two hours a night in Ban Thung Lung, but gave up that job since the students were too lazy and wouldn't even do simple homework assignments.
Thai's, in comparison to people from the West, are incredibly lazy. They often work long hours, but the work they produce is typically second rate and sloppy.
This morning, for some reason, the requests began again. Right out of the blue, beginning at nine in the morning, I received a phone call from a recruiter at a school in Songkhla who saw my resume online. Then, minutes after telling him I was already committed, I received another call from another school. But, the real shocker was yet to come.
I left home to go to the local store and pick up a few things. The proprietors there know me well and I do a lot of business there...besides the fact I've taught English to both of their children. The mother, who typically runs the store in the morning hours, can be very annoying at times since she always takes so long to finally bag my groceries and finish the sale. This morning was no different, but with a twist.
She was talking on one of her many cell phones she keeps in her cash drawer. She rents phones out for three or four baht a minute and also uses a phone to transfer credits rather than have to sell phone cards outright.
I was getting impatient and began bagging my own groceries and counting out the exact change when she suddenly handed the phone to me. "What?" Who in the hell could this be?
On the phone was some Thai guy, struggling to speak English...but, it didn't take me long to figure out he was asking me if I would teach English...either to him or to his kids. I refused and told him I was sorry but I was in a hurry and gave the phone back to the woman, paid my bill and left.
The only thing I can think of is he either saw me at the store or saw me pulling up at the store and called the woman to talk to me. Before I had left she asked me for my phone number and I said to her in my crude Thai that I couldn't remember my number. I wanted to tell her I don't give my number out, but couldn't figure out how to say it.
Three job offers in less than one hour after months of trolling for open employment positions. When it rains, it truly does pour.
-Jeeem-
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