One of the things I miss about my previous job is the connection I had with my colleagues. Before I was hired as a public school teacher, I worked in an ESL company for more than two years.
It molded me into a much more confident individual and it made me grow, mentally and physically, hahahaha. From 41kg to 58kg. Sounds impossible, right? But it happened. When I am stressed at work, I used to have stress- eating. During weekends, we have this boodle fight with the kitchen personnel where everyone gets to enjoy the food and each other's company. That explains the weight gain.
After a month of teaching high school Korean students, I was moved to the office. I work under Research and Development Group. We make handouts intended for a course and for a certain length of time. We craft English Proficiency Test (EPT) every month for all the existing teachers. We make exams for each student, whether handwritten or oral examinations, per level. We also conduct trainings for newly hired teachers. True enough, my work was stressful but I had no regrets. It made me learn more, improve my teaching skills and open doors of professional growth for me.
Our department is composed of four individuals. One is incharge for the lay outing of our weekly newsletter, two staff including myself and our manager, Miss Uy, who according to the Korean bosses, the most important person in the company. When I get to ask, "How about us? Who are we in this company?" One of the bosses answered, "You are working for the most important person in the company." HAHAHAH With no second thoughts, it is undeniably true.
Our manager has proven her capacity of leading a team and a school to reach its peak performance. Working under her supervision is an edge, an opportunity and at the same time, a curse. Hahaha. Why? She doesn't accept outputs for compliance. She will hold you tighter, press you to your limits until you discover things, until you discover your hidden potential. She will guide you along the way and once she lets go of you, you have to soar high with your own wings. She's a good leader. No doubt she is dubbed as the most important person in the company. ( I'm sorry if I tend to overshare.)
The last Christmas party I attended with them was truly remarkable. My manager tasked me to craft a storyline for our presentation. This encompases the entire administrative personnel. I had to make a storyline that matches the theme. I decided who will act, sing before we will have our group finale dance. I made three different stories that highlighted the Yuletide spirit. I got to choose individuals to sing live, in between and after each act. I got to choose the music to be used for the finale dance. I was able to make use of the easy and common dance steps I know to be incorporated in our finale dance.
When I handed the plan and everything in it, she just agreed. And I was shocked.
We informed everyone in the office, manned the practices and final sets of rehearsals and guess what, we won. It was announced right at the party that it is a contest, not just a presentation.
Being the youngest in the administration department at that time, I was overwhelmed with the trust given to me. And the least that I could do is to never fail them.
Even up to now, we still have communication. Some of them went abroad, others still work in private companies while the rest are public teachers.
It was indeed memorable for me, not just because we were able to pull off a good presentation but because we created good memories together.
(Some of the photos were Fb tagged on me.)
This is all for this blog. Be well. Be safe. Until the netswriting.
