The Libyan Gambit

Here's an IM conversation with a colleague who recently spent a bit of time working in Libya. An action-packed tale of international adventure and intrigue, as usual.

English Teacher X:

how's the Libyan experience?
you get a holiday next week?

English Teacher M:

I left, couldnt stand the job

English Teacher X:

this one is pretty bad too
but so far we haven't done much yet
the real shit comes down in November

English Teacher M:

i was having to try to teach libyan first graders witn no english

English Teacher X :

we have students who actively refuse to do anything in class, but we're not really allowed to fail them
gee that does sound fun!

English Teacher M:

how old are they?

English Teacher X:
adults
18 - 50
they're employees here, they have to study for job training points, but they can't really lose their jobs or anything
they really hate it
most of them are welders and shit anyway, don't need to use english
where you at now?

English Teacher M:

back in the states, prob going back to iraq in november

English Teacher X:

they were recruiting like mad for this place, but now it seems they have far fewer students in november than they were planning for expecting 2000, got about 1200
there are something like 150 teachers here at the moment

English Teacher M:

damn
are they gonna get rid of some?

English Teacher X:

they were trying to make a night shift, but all the students refused it
i don't know what will happen, actually
if they offered me redundancy I'd certainly take it

English Teacher M:

money not worth it?

English Teacher X:

well, just barely
$7000 a month after accomodation expenses
but we sit around that fucking office 7:30 am to 3:30pm
not really allowed to leave
although we sometimes do

English Teacher M:

I would have made about $3600 in Libya, which is as good as it gets outside the gulf

English Teacher X:

they gave us fire and safety training last week, which I guess was kind of cool
I'm going to visit (Crazy Bob) and (Chuck) in the Emirates next week

English Teacher M:

I can prob make that in Iraq though if I pick up some extra classes at the uni

English Teacher X:

how long did you stay in Libya?

English Teacher M:

2 weeks
the whole thing was a shit show from start to finish
luggage lost en route from the US, still dont have it back

English Teacher X:

in Tripoli?

English Teacher M:

no one picked me up from airport
yeah tripoli

English Teacher X:

shit, the rebels probably got it

English Teacher M:

it never made it to Istanbul
its prob sitting in nashville or DC
speaking of rebels, my house there was next to a militia HQ
a bunch of teens with guns

English Teacher X: 

eeh, just like home

English Teacher M: 

and truck mounted anti aircraft guns in the yard
they were friendly

English Teacher X:

we have security guards with a .50 but we debate whether it's operational

English Teacher M: 

but there was gunfire every night, didnt know if it was celebrating or battling

English Teacher X: 

hell, probably both

English Teacher M: 

and a Russian woman recentkl killed a libyan there

English Teacher X:

a Russian woman??
what was she doing there?

English Teacher M:

so the libyan embassy
yeah, weird story
apparently she was a russian powerlifter/gaaddafite
no idea what she was doing there
but the libyan's family attacked russian embassy

English Teacher X:

????? sounds like a bad guy from THE EXPENDABLES

(Editor's note: The incident in question is discussed in this news story. It seems that the Russian woman in question was a bit of a Qadaffi groupie.)

English Teacher M:

so a pro-govt militia had to rescue the embassy
and i just read the PM was briefly kidnapped by a group over anger at his supposed collaboration in the US arrest of the al qaeda dude
which happened the day I left, thank God

English Teacher X:

yeah, I saw that

English Teacher M:

or else I would have been ripe for a retaliatory kidnapping

English Teacher X:

were there other foreigners there?

English Teacher M:

quite a few
mostly embassy personnel

English Teacher X:

did you live in a compound?

English Teacher M:

no, just a big 3 story villa withh 4 roommates
all from the UK

English Teacher X:

they were teachers?

English Teacher M:

yep
no internet

English Teacher X:

so just two weeks and thank you very much, I'm outta here
or did they give you any money?

English Teacher M:

I got about $1600 from them

English Teacher X:

plus plane ticket and stuff?
that can't have been cheap

English Teacher M:

walking around money when I arrived, visa reimbursement, and I harassed them into giving me a week's pay before I fled
yeah ticket included
my first runner


English Teacher X:

oh, you didn't tell them you were going?

English Teacher M:

nope
I felt no obligation toward them

English Teacher X:

Ah, the never-ending fun of TEFL.
Mind if I use this as a blog post interview, with the names changed?

English Teacher M:
sure
sure
title: STAY THE FUCK OUT OF LIBYA

English Teacher X:

something like that.
I thought maybe "THE LIBYAN ESCAPE"



English Teacher M:

that'll work
I have to say though the Libyan people were pretty friendly
i never felt in danger

English Teacher X:

I'll be sure and include that fact

English Teacher M:

I could have put up with the craziness of the country if the job had been tolerable

English Teacher X:

teaching first graders is never fun. big classes I bet, too

English Teacher M:

not that big, about 10 in one and 15 in another
but they had no discipline

English Teacher X:

eesh, I bet

English Teacher M:

and no academic structure at all at the school
no one knew what they were doing
in administration

English Teacher X:

had it been an operational school already or was it a new deal?

English Teacher M:

the owner was a rich construction guy who decided to open a school
I know its been open for at least a year

English Teacher X:

private english classes or full curriculum?

English Teacher M:

full curriculum
if you can call ithat

English  Teacher X:

reading and riting and rithmatic

English Teacher M:

in reality it was just trying to keep them in their seats and open the book by the time the bell rang

English Teacher X:

about the same here

English Teacher M:

that was my experience with first grade, apparently the higher grades were better
planning any trips to Russia?

English Teacher X:

next summer
I won't stay more than one year in this job, unless things change drastically
only 9 more months on the contract

English Teacher M:

it's amazing how little hold money has in the face of a shit job
can't put a price on sanity I guess

English Teacher X:

well, I mean I saved a lot already from my last gig
this is just icing on the cake
money is always useful, but now I'm worried about everything else in my life except money