Escape from what?? From life of a S’pore pavilion slave!Life sucks as a guide at the S’pore pavilion. I’ve not been more miserable about work than this I think. I’ve been writing about this on this blog, of which my sis is a fan of it. She cares a lot about me and felt that my parents should be aware of what’s going on in Japan now, so that they can find a way to help me. I didn’t tell my parents what I was going thru as I didn’t want to worry them.
I was very surprised when my close friend told me that my mum & sis told her to persuade me to quit this job. “Oh no, now my parents know about this!” I spoke to my sis online and was told that my parents are sad that I’m going thru this s*** in Japan and wants me to go back to S’pore. They are very serious about it, with my dad asking me to send my contract back to S’pore so that he could get his lawyer to check the contract, whether I could break the contract without having to pay any compensation to the company.Take the escape route? Or carry on with life of a slave?
I really wish I can quit this job. I knew this job has no relevance to my career plans, but it could help me brush up on my Japanese. However I ended up with duties at the pavilion that allowed very little interaction with the Japanese visitors ~ mostly menial work of distributing & collection of umbrellas. I thot “if I work in Singapore, what I learn in a day there would prob be equivalent to what I learn here in the whole 6 months”. When I thought thru this deeply, I realized that it’s not the quantity of what I learn that matters, it’s the value of what I learn that’s important.
No doubt I learn nothing from menial tasks at the pavilion, but I learn how to interact with people from different walks of life, manage a team, improve my interpersonal skills. I learn how to manage my emotions as well. I still go thru extreme mood swings occasionally but I’m trying to control it better in order not to affect other people.
When I knew of this escape route home I was both happy & troubled. On one hand I can’t wait to quit, on the other, I didn’t want to leave the team. If this was right in the beginning when we first started, I’d have jumped at this chance to leave. But after having worked together for a month, going thru all the s*** together, I can’t bring myself to just leave like this.
Think of the implications… we are already short of manpower, if I leave & no replacement is found, the remaining team would suffer, esp. if some others follow suit. If I quit, what would happen to the morale of the remaining members? As it is, morale is pretty low now & I don’t wish to make it worse by quitting, leaving behind people who wish to leave but can’t do so due to various reasons. Unless the whole team leaves together, my departure would not be a show of battle against the management, but start of an additional workload nightmare for the remaining team. I love my team of guides and want to be there for & with them. We will survive thru the remaining 5 months together.
Although this job is physically taxing & frustrating, I’d try to find ways to cheer myself up. I guess this is the most important lesson I’ve learnt here so far ~ to take things in stride and be positive. And I would say that being with a great team helps.
I’m a happier person ever since I knew of this escape route. It’s not knowing this route that I’m happy ~ it’s knowing that my family is behind me, supporting me that I’m touched and happy with. I’ve learnt to appreciate my family more, not to take them for granted. From this matter, I’ve also learnt to consider beyond my own needs & to think about others. Being able to care for & share with others is a joy. Trust me! To all at home, thanks for the possible escape route. Thanks but no thanks, I’d persevere till the end. I’d not be a quitter!
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