I wasn’t really in the mood for tutoring today because I still need to get my freelance writing business up and running on fiverr and also to prospect for some clients, but nonetheless I had already signed up for two shifts so I had to complete my shifts.
Usually I sign into Cambly a few minutes before my shift starts so that I can perform my connection test to test out my internet speeds to ensure there are no problems and just to prepare materials or what not for my students. Immediately after signing in I had someone already requesting me right when I was doing my connection test. It was still several minutes before my shift began and it was kind of pissing me off because it was interfering with my connection test and slowing my results down which could potentially lead to me getting suspended again. Needless to say, I had issues with my internet connection speed because of this and I also had to log out so that this student wouldn’t be pestering me any more. It left a below average connection rating as a result of this.
What a great way to start a shift. Then within a few minutes later I was again hailed by another student. The student turned out to a young gentlemen from Saudi Arabia currently studying in Canada. My neck of the woods. He requested me because he had read my description and saw that I was from Canada. I guess it pays to have some familiarity with your students.
During our conversation, he joked with me about how he was going from an oven to a freezer because Saudi Arabia is extremely hot whereas Canada is extremely cold in the winter. He told me he really likes Canada because of our open minded culture compared to Saudi Arabia. However, he said he likes wearing shorts and t-shirts instead of winter coats and boots so he will return back home when he’s done his schooling here in Canada. We also talked about how much of a rip off rent is in Toronto compared to other parts of Ontario or even Saudi Arabia. I hope the housing bubble crashes here soon so that all of these greedy landlords get burned! Right now I’m paying $1580 a month for a 1 bedroom + living room apartment that is split with me and my room mate. The place is average at best and is actually kind of small for the price we are paying. Outside of the city, a place like this wouldn’t be worth more then $800 tops but somehow these landlords hugely inflated the prices of rent.
Hopefully my freelance business takes off soon so that I can move the hell outta this shithole here and stop getting ripped off!
Canadian Born Chinese (CBC) Tutoring Chronicles 