A couple of weeks ago I dropped off a resume at Notre Dame High School in Talafofo. When I did they told me that there was an opening for an English teacher. So I filled out an application and handed it in.

Monday I have an interview.

I'm already nervous.

I haven't gone into much detail on working at Liberal Academy but the shine has faded on that job. I still love working with the students but my co-workers are another story. The boss never has any money to support the school but has no problem loaning money to friends and taking trips to New York and Japan. The vice-president is a former Olympic swimmer. His primary interest is swimming. He teaches and coaches and organizes races, etc. He does almost nothing for the school.

I am supposedly the manager for the "English department" but that means nothing. It is a title for the business cards. I make requests to the boss for things like ink or paper for the copier and printer and she tells me she will get them. Two days later I still cannot copy or print worksheets for my students. The computer is falling apart and the Internet connection is sporadic at best. She said we could get a new one after her latest trip. Yesterday it kept dying, shutting down all on its own. She seemed surprised that we need another one.

And then there are the rubber paychecks. Wakana and I have started cashing our checks at her bank. That way we can deposit real money into our accounts... assuming there is money in her account to cover the checks. Wakana couldn't cash her April check until the end of May and she only cashed her May check last week... after someone loaned the boss enough money to give to Wakana. The boss had to make those arrangements from where she was in Japan, a hot springs spa in the mountains.

One of my co-workers commented that she thought the school really exists to launder money for the Yakusa, the Japanese Mafia. I wouldn't be surprised.The boss has plenty of money but none for the school. We don't have enough students to pay the expenses. She doesn't spend much time on the business. I can't think of another reason for it.

The explanation given to us is that her husband's company is providing money for the school. We have to wait for another payment from him before we can spend any money. And her trip to New York was a visit to her boyfriend! Hmm. What does the future bring? I think I want to watch from a distance.