It's not about the money

…I know it’s not, really. I’m supposed to get paid around the tenth/fifteenth of the month. Usually I don’t end up getting paid until the twentieth. Okay, no problem, I can get by, no need to complain about that. This is what frustrates me – going in to get paid, and finding out that I actually am getting paid less than I expected. This has happened to me numerous times before. Okay, I guess I should just be used to it, right? Well, one of my American friends (you know who you are, probably) told me that it’s our job as foreigners to let our Chinese friends/contacts know when something like that bothers us, so that they can handle it differently for future foreigners.

For this most recent incident, I decided to take my friend’s advice. I’m supposed to be paid 4500 yuan per month. It says so on my little salary sheet. So, imagine my surprise when I go in to get paid (just in time to visit my friends in Beijing – after getting no response from the Foreign Affairs Officer), and I’m handed 3000 yuan, instead of the usual 4500. I inquire as to why, and she (the FAO or “Waiban”) pulls out the contract, showing me where it says, in English, that my salary is 4500 for every full month, and it is prorated during partial months. Because the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival happened so late this year, March was not counted as a full month at this school. Okay, no problem, I can understand and accept that. The thing that really bothers me is that I expected to be paid 4500 yuan, and I didn’t find out otherwise until I went to collect the money.

So, the Waiban and I had a nice chat about how important it is to let the foreigners know immediately if something like that is going to happen, so they aren’t surprised and get upset. She apologized, and I did feel a bit better. It all but settled in mind, though, that I’ve about had it with the way things are done here. I’ve pretty much decided that I will not be back here next year.

I have mixed feelings about leaving. I really don’t want to leave my friends, and I really don’t want to leave and “loose ends.” I enjoy living in a foreign country, and I’ve gotten pretty used to living here (especially living on my own). On the other hand, it could be good for some of my friends to step out on their own without clinging to me, and I definitely am looking forward to being home again, seeing friends and family there. Still pr*ying about the next steps.