The dreaded apartment...

.. And here I assumed that all the stories I read by all the other ESL teachers, were exaggerated. Little did I know what I was getting myself into? When the principal dropped me off, the look on my face was priceless to say the least. The flippin’ tiniest thing I ever saw in my life. The shower is typical for Asian homes I’m told. I was mortified when I saw it. I had seen that dreaded picture of that thing they a shower on many Facebook ESL teachers, but had been praying that I wouldn’t get it. Well as you know, I always have the worst luck. For those of you who don’t have the faintest idea what I’m talking about, I’ve attached some pics of the shower and the apartment. In fact it is not even worthy to be called a shower but hey, I guess that’s how these people live. It just has a shower nozzle thingy attached to the bathroom sink, and when you switch it on, the entire bathroom gets flooded. The water goes all over, including the toilet seat and the bathroom cabinet. To you guys reading this, it may be a small thing, and you may be saying, “What the heck is this chick going on about”, but to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this kinda living space.
I have been told by all the other ESL teachers who are in my shoes, that the trick is to just make it my own, which is exactly what I intend dong over the next few weeks.. With absolutely no exaggeration on my part, it was everything that I had hoped it would not be. The guy that lived there before was obviously a slob and as you can imagine things were a mess.
The only good thing about him was that he had left a few cleaning supplies behind so I had a little of that to start. The first thing I did was try to clean the bathroom and kitchen. It made a tiny bit of difference but not much as it needs a through clean up. Im told by some teachers that in your first month, it is very possible to spend every cent you have on cleaning materials. There was also a few other things that the place didnt have, which I desperately need to get. A kettle, toaster, pot and wet wipes are a must..
At the moment I totally dread this experience and the dreaded apartment. I really do hope things get better and from what Im told, what Im feeling about now is totally normal and expected. Im also still waiting for the principal to hook me up with internet connection and cell phone. I really believe once I get that, it wont be that bad. But for the moment, lets just say it isn’t what I had expected.
Will update you tomorrow on how the teaching is going, the kids and the staff