I don't want to think about it, do you? Perhaps you're one of the lucky ones who gets to work in a public school. Then you've got five weeks off, right? I remember the two years I worked for a public school. Ah, such fond memories!
I had classes of 50 students, which, if I was lucky, would see half of them doing their math homework. Perhaps 20 might listen, and then of course 10 students will misbehave.
I also remember the great school lunches. Now, don't get me wrong, the first school I worked at in Shenzhen, Beishida Fu Zhao, if you will, was pretty good. One time the headmaster had told me, through an interpretor of course, that he had first started working at that school, fresh from Beijing, when he walked into the lunch room for the first time.
The teachers all greeted him warmly, and he probably didn't pay too much attention to the food that was being served to him, but he said that when he tasted it, he nearly gagged. Yes, it was that bad! So he had new chefs brought in to cook especially for the teachers. Screw the students, right?
The next year, at Shekou School, the lunches weren't so good, and there was no breakfast.
Another thing I fondly remember about working in a public school was the pay. I made a whopping 5,000 RMB my first year! Just think, about $800 each month! Oh, the things I could buy, like lots and lots of big Qingdao bottles to soothe my aching mind, and ego.
Well, perhaps I'm not that upset about having to go back to work this Friday. I may have to work a bit more, and not have as many holidays to boot, but at least I get paid good working at a training center.
So, Xin Nian Kuai Le, or Happy New Year!
If you want to learn more about Chinese New Year, check out these links:
Chinese Zodiac Story
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/ZodiacStory.aspx
Chinese New Year History
www.chinese.new-year.co.uk/history.htm