Monday, February 11, 2008

I had so many questions about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Lee's death, so I called my DOS to fish for more information. I asked for a Letter of Reference. She said OK. I asked again how Mr. Lee died. All she could tell me was that Mr. Lee was found dead at the school. Mrs. Lee arranged and attended the funeral, and then went straight home to Korea. She was quoted to say she would never set foot on Australia ever again. I asked if the staff would get paid for the last working period, my DOS said no. None of us would get paid, herself included. I didn't ask if students would get their money back. Probably not. Certficates? Don't think so. I think the certificates are very important to the students. Most of them would use the certificates to apply for jobs back home. They've spent a lot of money coming to Oz, they do some of the crappiest jobs to pay the school fee, they dragged themselves to school day after day, and this thing happened. I think I would be very pissed if I were one of them.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Mr Lee

Mr. Lee was the owner of our language school. He looked like a typical middle aged Asian guy. He never said much to the teachers. Most of the time, if you greet him, you would get half a smile and a grunt. Sometimes the teachers made fun of these grunts, when he wasn't around, of course.

I don't know much about Mr. Lee. The last and only time I talked to him, he asked me where I lived. So I asked him the same question too. Kingsford, he said. Oh! I said, Many Indonesian restaurant there.. Hrmf.. he grunted. Many Chinese and Thai restaurants. I suspected that Mr Lee (like many of my students, and other people) doesn't know the difference between India and Indonesia.

The last few days before I took a week off work, he was always busy. Standing or sitting near the front desk, watching Claire (our super receptionist, admin, accountant, etc.) like a hawk. He was often in a meeting with some businessman looking people. There was no sign that he was about to leave us.

My DOS called me yesterday afternoon, to inform me that Mr. Lee had passed away. She couldn't give me any details. She said the school is closed, maybe for a while, or for good.

Last week I felt that my days at work were numbered. It never crossed my mind that this would be the reason. Mr. Lee's death would affect the lives of so many people: his family, the teachers and other staff, the students.

As for myself, as of today, I am officially jobless.