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 →

Monday 5th April 2010

Hi again,

I know I just emailed last week, but there’s been even more fun and drama so I thought I would share it all with you!

The Inspection is all over now, and was actually quite funny. The University was so desperate to make sure that everything was in order and met the UGC guidelines that they ended up making all sorts of last-minute changes. The staff-student ratio was way too low, so about 2 days before the inspection they went round altering people’s contracts to make it seem like we had more teaching staff!

I was given a brand new contract, complete with a forged signature from the Vice-Chancellor, stating that I am now an Assistant Professor, and a member of the teaching staff! We were told we’d have to give back those contracts after the inspection, but if I offer to give a few lectures next year I can probably keep the title (although I’d feel a bit of a fraud putting that on my CV!). Continue reading →