Monday 14th June 2010

Soooo, last week I was called down to see the Chairman (the big man himself). I was terrified I’d be yelled at again because of the NGO programme, but it turns out he has decided that I’m not doing any CSR over the summer while the students are gone, and has ordered me to sit in admissions for the next two months smiling at prospective students because basically they need a white face down there and there isn’t anyone else left.

I’m supposed to chat to new students and gauge their English level (although if their English is crap they will still be admitted as the Uni needs the money and is desperate to up enrolment) so it’s utterly pointless – even if they haven’t got any English they’ll be allowed in, so having me interview them is only so they can be paraded past my desk to see that the University has white staff!
I’m not even allowed to stay in my office – I have to move downstairs to a cubicle in the admissions cell so as many people as possible will see me. Continue reading →

Friday 4th June 2010

Well hello again, time for another update from hell!

Things have predictably gone even more tits up since I last wrote. S and D have handed in their notice, H and M are on leave and no-one knows if they are planning to return, and T’s been fired, so in about a week and a half I’ll be practically the only foreign staff member left! My boss A has also been asked to leave, and she handed in her resignation yesterday, so that’s a plus!

The University is desperately short of cash – last month they were almost 2 weeks late in paying us, and kept making crap excuses about why the money hadn’t gone through, which could well be why they’re suddenly firing everybody – it’s the summer holiday and they probably don’t want to keep on paying teaching staff that aren’t doing any teaching for a couple of months. Continue reading →

Tuesday 11th May 2010

Hello hello!

Well, since the last time I wrote SOOOOOO much has happened I barely know where to begin! The complex politics at work? Dead body found on campus last week? Students attacked and beaten by faculty members? Or perhaps something more cheery such as my AMAZING weekend away in Gandhi Sagar National Park?

Frankly, there is so much to tell, I am torn between splitting it into two emails, or attempting to shorthand it (which we all know I’m incapable of – I do so love to embellish!). I couldn’t possibly leave anything out after that tantalising taster, so I guess I’ll have to just start writing and see where I get to…. Continue reading →

Friday 23rd April 2010

Well, what can I say? The last couple of weeks have been ever busier and more full of excitement, so I figured I’d better write it all down again!

Let’s see, S and D went on a well-earned holiday last week, and so I found myself doing some new and very interesting things! I promised S that I would supervise the HR team and sign off on anything important in her absence, and I also gave a couple of lectures to the MBA class to cover D while he’s away. The lectures were a lot of fun – I gave them a crash course in CSR, and it also means I get to keep my “Assistant Professor” job title! Hee hee! I feel like such a fraud…

As for HR, that was a bit more tricky, but luckily the girls in the office are extremely competent! Within about 2 hours of S leaving, her assistant came to see me with a small problem. H, my flatmate, needs to extend her visa, as it was about to run out.
In order to do that, she needed a letter from the police to state that she is currently registered and they have extended her registration etc. Continue reading →