Joy, is when you have 287 pages of something you are unfamiliar with, to read. For an exam, of something you are entirely unfamiliar with. Good luck, me.
***
So I found a place where I could potentially work, for at least a short time, or I could carry it on during my studies, *if* I get accepted to study here. We tried out on Sunday, with me working for free. It's a Chinese restaurant near where I live now, in Nummela, and not in Helsinki. That, was my first worry; lodging, transport, distance. But that another story. I went to work anyway, thinking I'll decide after Sunday when I would know better.
It was a nice and good experience. I've never worked in a restaurant as a waitress before. Never in my life. I have always wanted to but I just never had the chance. I was in fast food and then a receptionist but never chanced upon a waitressing job, for some reason. So, this was my waitressing cherry being popped.
People were nice and patient enough to teach me and show me how things are done. The owners, husband and wife, both from China, were quite nice as well. The chefs were from China and Malaysia (small world!), and they were also very nice people. Work was manageable, although my favourite word of the day was 'Anteeksi', which means sorry in Finnish.
I did not manage to take any orders, unfortunately. It was something I was looking forward to as I wanted to use that opportunity to improve on my Finnish. But because orders had to be written in Chinese as the chefs could only read Chinese, I was at a disadvantage as I was not educated in Chinese. I can speak, read a few characters, but I can't write. So, all I could do was service.
On that day, I learned how to balance multiple dishes and glasses on a tray on one hand without tipping them over and walking in a fast pace; I learned how to stack plates of different sizes up on my palm and arm, together with all the forks and knives and gravies in between that made them friggin' slippery; I learned that time is of the essence, so you should carry as much as you could and if possible make only one trip to the kitchen (soiled dishes) and one to the bar (soiled glasses); and I learned that you should never eat the garnishes on the dishes, because they are only there to garnish, and not to be eaten. Really. Seriously.
But on cleanliness, for a Chinese restaurant, I'd say they're pretty clean.
It was nice to be in such familiarity; speaking Chinese and a few different dialects with the Malaysian chef, eating fried noodles, steamed fish and stir fried pak choy (all these I haven't had for a long time), and sharing the same channel since we're from the same culture. But their hiring method was a little, um...let's just say, more towards their benefit, which was my second worry from the beginning. I was not exactly thrilled to know my potential employers could be Chinese. But I continued to give the benefit of doubt.
In short, they want me to commit for at least 2 years, work 6 days a week, 50 hours in total, and the pay is low. Knowing that I would want to study in the near future (the most is one year from now), they already told me from that day I wouldn't be able to do that. So, it basically means, I would be overworked, underpaid, and not able to do anything else at all for my personal growth. I'm not giving away 2 years of my youth doing something I know I won't be happy for. This is not my goal. My goal is to seek self discovery and development, and not work my ass off in a foreign land for the money so I can send home (although, that's part of my hope but it's not my main goal).
So, the search continues. I've got 2 more weeks left before my permit expires. Good news is, I can still stay, but I'll be on visitor status for a maximum of 3 months.
I guess the plan now is to sit for this entrance exam in May, and then hope to get a positive answer by June/July. And then apply for a student's permit, which will still require me to find a job as I would need to prove my financial support, but it'll be easier as there are more jobs that would hire students.
So yea. First, I have to read 287 pages of the reading guide. Good luck, me.
No comments:
Post a Comment