Things Work in Weird Ways

Last week I went around to a couple language schools in my neighborhood to drop off my resume and see if I can pick up some private students or some extra teaching hours. I walked a few blocks to a school that specializes in tutoring and small classes. I dropped my resume with a short application form that took a couple minutes to fill out. The woman said she'd call me for an interview and I thanked her and headed off to the next school down the street. By the time I walked no more than 3 minutes from the school I received a phone call from the woman I just spoke with. "Can you come in for an interview?" As if we went warp speed to three days from now when any normal place would call for an interview. I laughed and said, "Sure, I'll be there in...2 minutes." So I wanted to joke and say something smart like, "Nice to see you again...so soon." She had me sit and wait for the principal; apparently she was on her way. The five minute wait I was anticipated went severely into Thai time, about 40 minutes. Then the woman comes out and asked me to walk with her down the street to where the principal was. This was so weird. So I walked with this woman as she told me about her life growing up in Chiang Mai, how her English wasn't good (but why she works at an English language school I didn't quite catch), and other little tidbits about her life. We reached another school and walked in where I met the principal and proceeded with the impromptu interview in the middle of the lobby where preschool kids were running a muck around us while parents were picking them up. Weirdest interview of my life. She offered me a full time job on the spot but I couldn't take it because of my commitment to the university. I told her I was interested in part-time work so hopefully they will have something for me, but the interview kind of ended on that.

Gets weirder. A little deflated (and hungry) after all that waiting for an interview leading to nowhere, I headed home. I walked by the school that I work at on and off when they have a class for me. Just the week prior I had a call from them and when I returned the call, excited for what they had for me, their reply was, "Oh, since I couldn't get a hold of you, I already called the other teacher, so I don't need anything from you. Thank you!" I peeked into the window of the school and waved hello, and they motioned me to come in. "Oh!! Perfect timing. Here we have a student for you. She needs a tutor for the IELTS exam. Do you know IELTS exam?" "No." "That's ok! You can teach her speaking, listening, and reading. You can start on Monday."

See how things fall into place in strange ways? If it weren't for the impromptu interview, I wouldn't have walked by at the exact moment to get my new student. I met with her today and she's an angel. Lucky me.