employment issues

The problem with using a contact email address at your own domain is that someone might actually look up that domain and read your thoughts. I know I do it, and I am slightly worried that one of my prospective/current students will too. It’s not that I’m going to mention names or describe lessons in detail, but there are times when I might want to share about what interesting or sketchy people answer my ads. Such as now. And I don’t want to offend anyone.

I did not realize how tough it is getting started. I had no idea how nerve wracking it was going to be replying to someone’s emails with available times only to fill up that slot thirty seconds later with someone on the phone. Confusion over names has happened a few times, as when someone introduces themself in an email with their first name, and calls in with their last name.

I’ve been “available for teaching” now for a little over a week and I have had trial lessons with students, businessmen, researchers, shy little girls, hyper middle schoolers, and more. I have people who email me all the time thinking that they can get some free English practice by asking as many questions about me as possible. Others don’t even bother with the English and just skip right into Japanese when I answer the phone, “Moshi, moshi.” I feel bad when I have to tell the interesting-sounding ones that my time is limited, and I feel worse when annoying-sounding ones respond first and grab up my time.

Such is the life, I guess, of a native English teacher.
Or, such is the life of a teacher who naively posted her picture along with her ad.