Today I got a new job. I didn't know it was going to happen, but it did! So at the Cambridge Women's Luncheon, I met a woman who told be about this company she works for called Fluency in English. Having taught English myself I was interested, so I spent some time chatting with her. When I told her that I had experience teaching small groups, and working 1 to 1 with people to help them with their English, and when she found out I was American, she urged me to email her my details. So I did- I thought, what the heck, it certainly won't hurt, and that's why I'm spending 15 pounds every month to come to these networking lunches. So I went to their website, and I saw that actually I was a very good fit for them, and their company was a good fit for me. I emailed her, and she and the guy who owns/runs this company set up a meeting with me today. They didn't call it an interview, but I suspected it might be a sort of informal one, which was fine with me. I had a great chat with this guy Nick, and he pretty much offered me a job on the spot as one of their pool of English teachers/tutors. He has been looking for people who have flexible schedules, experience with pronunciation in particular, Americans especially, and people with a very wide range of knowledge and experiences who would be good conversationalists. So he offered me a job.
They cater to people in the 30-50s range who want to come for a weeklong English intensive. They spend 8 hours a day with various tutors, in 2 hour blocks, talking, eating, and practicing English. The tutors push them to talk as much as possible, help them with pronunciation, etc. There are apparently 7 other tutors. So pretty much, when people are coming in, they email out and ask people when they are free, and then create a schedule working the tutors in as much as they can. Nick said you can get as many hours in as you want, or as few as you want. It changes week to week depending on who is coming in, and in the summer they are VERY busy with more people coming in.
Now I didn't look for this, but this freelance work is a perfect fit for me. It's a great opportunity to gain experience in my English teaching skillset, particularly working in England which is very good for the resume (we call it CV here). I love internationals, and can meet new people every week from all over the world, and make good contacts with people who might come to Cambridge for longer. We're free (I should say encouraged) to discuss politics AND religion with them, and since lots of them will be moving to the US I could potentially connect them with C's stateside who can befriend them and be the next link in the chain. I'm interested in this business model too- yet another useful business model for overseas applications. So I don't know exactly what Gd has going with this interesting and adventuresome plan of His, but I'm along for the ride.
On top of that, this guy looked at my work and wants me to put some up for sale in their office, because clients often want images of Cambridge to take home with them! I'll probably make up some flip books as well, to sell there. Talk about crazy.
I also made another useful contact today at Bounce A Round. There's a new woman, D, who is from Egypt and is a mslm, and she's just started coming. She has a lovely son, and her husband is Egyptian/British. Her husband happened to stop by today, and she mentioned to him that I'm a photographer and he started closely questioning me about rates, events, etc because he's helping to organize a forum for Arabic scientists, to help Arab countries deal with 3rd world issues. He has people coming in from all over the globe, and is looking for a photographer to photograph it! So we talked, and he thought he'd have an idea on what they can afford by the end of the month. I gave him a very reasonable rate, warned him that pros here in the UK charge twice that, and asked him to call me once he knew exactly what he needed and I might be able to cut him a deal. This sort of dealing is a middle eastern thing, so I just went with it. :) So I may have an all day event March 14th. I'm going to see what happens- the fact is I might do it for free just to make the contacts among the Arab community.
Speaking of people from Arab countries, I went into the Snappy Snaps place in Cambridge- they are the only professional printing service in town. I need to do some prints for an upcoming networking thing Tuesday morning. The very first thing I noticed is that the guy at the counter, when he realized I was a woman, would not make eye contact with me. I knew that he was middle eastern, and from that I can tell that he's at least somewhat serious about being a mslm. Mslm men should not make eye contact with women who are not of their family, and women are not to make eye contact with men who are not of their family either. So, knowing all that I just talked to his nose instead, which is what I usually do with Mslm men. I wasn't there long, but I wonder if he noticed, and when I go in next I'll be sure to do the same. Why do I do this? I could just look him in the eye like Western women do- he knows I'm not mslm anyway. Does it matter? In my opinion it does matter. I am not a loose woman, and I know that in his culture women who are modest and chaste do not look other men in the eye like that. I want to communicate that I am a modest woman, so I don't look him in the eye. If he notices, he may wonder about me, and since I plan to do some business there over the next few months, I may have the chance to talk to him more. In international work we especially do as Paul did, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." In fact, if I were to photograph this Arabic event, I would be happy to wear a headscarf, or even a burka (which is the black overdress that covers wrists to ankles which is worn in some mslm countries), and I would need to be careful not to make direct eye contact there as well.
It's been an exciting day- iBASE is tonight, and which is always interesting and exciting too.
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