I Don't Think I've Ever Been This Frustrated!

Well, I hate to dissapoint, but I have absolutely nothing new to post. Except, I guess, the fact that my frustration with work has reached it's breaking point .

First, let me say that I love the people that I work with - the Turkish Staff, my fellow teachers, and my students. There are no problems there - except for the Head Teacher. He is a likeable fellow, but his tact and managerial skills are so fantastically slack that I wonder how he could have possibly landed this position. Due to the fact that it pays little more than a teacher's salary, with a heavy load of added responsibilities, most people won't accept the position; I assume they give it to whomever will take it.

At any rate, my contract states that I am guaranteed 2 days off a week. However, in case of emergency, English Time can demand that I work on my days off for 6 consecutive weeks in a 3 month period. After this period of time, it is the teacher's decision whether or not to work on thier days off.

This little 6-Week Clause has been my Istanbul experience thus far. I started working the day after I arrived, thrown into the chaos that was my branch. I was given classes, spread over all days of the week, allowing me no days off. Two snow days allowed relief, and I arranged for another teacher to cover another two days of my classes  for another break. Over an 8 week period, I've had 4 total days off - none of which were provided by the school.  I created a chart to illustrate this most clearly. The key to the chart follows.

Week    Date      Mon   Tu  Wed   Th   Fri  Sat  Sun
1        1/11-17                 ARRIVE  X     X    O1    O1
2        1/18-24        X     X     X       X     X     X     O2
3        1/25-31      O2     X     X       X     X     X      X
4        2/1-2/7        X      X     X       X     X     X      X
5        2/8-2/14     O3    O3    X       X     X     X      X
6       2/15-2/21     X      X     X       X     X     X      X
7       2/22-2/28     X      X     X       X     X     X      X
8       3/1-3/7         X      X     X       X     X     X     X
9       3/8-3/14       X      X     ? ?    ? ?  ? ?    X      X

CHART KEY:

X   -    Worked day

O1 -    Scheduled Days Off

O2 -    School Closed Due to Weather Conditions (Snow Days) . On 1/25, The head teacher sent a email notification of the cancellation late in the afternoon, after I had left to come into school. After and hour and a half commute, I arrived to discover class was canceled. I spend another hour and a half going home.

O3 -    Teacher Arranged Days Off. After asking around, a fellow colleague agreed to give up his days off that week to cover my classes for two days, thus giving me two days off. English Time had nothing to do with the arrangement of this.

? ?  -   Unknown Schedule. As of 3/9, all of my classes have ended, save my weekend morning class. We are usually notified a few days beforehand of a new class starting, so I am unsure as to whether I really have these days off, or if I will be given another class starting on these days.

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Now, I can take one for the team in case of an emergency. I have no problem with that. However, the other teachers at my branch are not subject to this rigorous schedule. It's only me - some teachers are soliciting more hours because their workload just isn't enough. This is just a case of poor organization and extreme negligence. Why am I being forced to work these 4 week stretches without a break, while other teachers worry their paychecks won't be sufficient at the end of the month?

Not that my paycheck is anything substantial. The wages are basically 11 dollars an hour - and we have to pay for transportation, utilities, and everything else (except a meager 300TL rent allowance) with that.

Maybe this is the voice of a crazy woman, but I just don't think it's fair. I'm tired, I'm stressed, and I've frankly started to feel a bit negatively towards this city because of my mistreatment. I've tried talking to my head teacher about this, but am met with a rather flippant and nonchalant attitude. He continues to forget about my predicament as well, showing how much my continuing reminders affect him. I've emailed the head of English Time, to kindly ask if there was any way she could ensure I get two days off next cycle. I haven't heard a reply; I know show is very busy.

I have never been this truly frustrated before. I feel taken advantage of - most especially because of the attitude of my boss- and taken for granted. I care about my students, I do a good job, I am always on time, dress very professionally, AND I bake for people in the office. I BAKE, gosh darn it! Is this the way I should get repaid?!

Please comment - I need some kinds words to make me feel better about this.