Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Conversation >

Pretty Well Fucked.

16:12 / 24.02.02

Ok OK...

I kind of hate doing these "advice" things but I am thinking actually that you could help me this one.

So here I am, in Praha. I worked my fucking ASS off for this trip. Three jobs, etc etc. This is my dream, to be over here in Europe and be able to travel and teach.

I made three installment payments on the course I'm on. On January 10 I got a letter from the school that said I was paid in full. Now, the next bit that happened is partially due to bad accounting on my part, my bank's habit of giving me my available balance rather than what I actually have, and the school I'm at. They didn't charge me on one installment, and they split my last one, so I never saw my bank statement because I was all ready in London, but when my Dad said I had two charges from the school I assumed it was the last two payments.

Except it wasn't, and unbeknownst to me, they took $400 out of my bank the day the course started, which they wouldn't have done if I'd said, "please wait to charge me," which I didn't do because I thought I was paid in full, and had a letter from the school that said that.

$400 is not a lot of money. But it is enough for close to another month in Praha, or bumming around for a little bit. Without that I have enough cash to last me a few more weeks, then that's it.

Anyway. As I see it I have two options: if I'm lucky, I'll be able to do some work in London, either under the table, contract or teaching English and I'll be able to stay in Europe and move on. If I can't do that, I'll go back to the States for a few months, earn some money and then come back.

My question is not so much, "What should I do?" but rather do any of you London folks know if it is POSSIBLE to get this sort of works, or do you have any leads on it? If I can stay, I'm going to stay - it's more of a challenge, isn't it? If I have to go back to the States for a little while, I will, but I'm hoping it won't come to that.

I'm obviously pissed off/disappointed/slightly panicked about this situation, but I feel everything happens for a reason, and this is part of the challenges of travelling so I have to just roll with it and see what happens.

So, any tips/advice guys?

Thanks in advance.

16:24 / 24.02.02

Really wish I could help, Cherry, but I don't know enough about London to make useful suggestions. I guess bar work would probably be your best bet, eh? Anyone out there got exploitable connections?

16:25 / 24.02.02

cherry - first of all, crummy situation. you have my sympathies.

as for working in london - a lot of people i know have worked in bars, cash in hand. minimum wage, of course, no rights as such (take a night off sick, you're out). i'm pretty sure stuff like tax was not paid. you're coming back to london soon, right? ask around. you got experience? actually, having met you, don't think you'll need it - you have confidence to die for! <insert jealous smiley here> good luck.

16:29 / 24.02.02

Um, well there is a possibility that my pal Moya's sister might be able to hook me up with some freelance writing work, very similar to what I have done in Chicago, and this would obviously be ideal as that's usually fairly lucrative (or lucrative enough), plus I could do it as an independent contractor and get around employment laws. But yes, I need to exploit every possible connection I have, otherwise it is back to Big Windy for me, and I'm hoping to avoid that if I can.

17:39 / 24.02.02

there's under-the-table work in London, but it's badly paid and unpleasant. Furthermore it's a very expensive city, particularly where accommodation is involved.

if you know people in London you could stay with, it might be possible

17:48 / 24.02.02

Well, I have a place to stay, at least for about 4 - 6 weeks. That's sorted (for now). Really, I just need to find something that can work for me until I have enough money to get my shit together and start teaching English.

[ 24-02-2002: Message edited by: Cherry Bomb ]

18:02 / 24.02.02

if you want to teach english, I'd start contacting people now and get it sorted out as quickly as possible. I'm not sure quite how the visa situation works but I imagine it takes time to process.

19:08 / 24.02.02

Cherry, I was in a similar situation last week until I got a job as a waitress (£1000 a month). At the beggining it was odd ("me? a waitress? i'm a bloody journalism graduate!!"), but I've started to see it as an experiment.

What I say is: there are lots of job options in London, so don't freak out because you'll certainly find something. The fact that you have a place to stay is aliviating, btw.

About teaching, I think it's possible, though not very well paid. The reason is that there's an immigration flood to London, which means lots of foreign people eager to know english.

Two more tips:

1 - newsagents usually have job offers attached to their windows (people looking for nannies, cooks, bar staff, etc...). You could place ads near where you're living.

2 - some newspapers and magazines have very good job adverts. I'd recommend the "South London Press" (tuesdays and thursdays) and the magazines "TNT" ans "SX" magazines (both for backpacking communities, VERY handy when it comes to temp jobs) - you can get these two in bars and cafes in Earl's Court (green line of the tube), or in backpacker travel agencies.

Hope it helps, and my best wishes!