Crank it Up

Sept has been a month of getting going again. The month of July was really quiet for Gi’s work and then in August everything was closed and we were away. So Sept is all about cranking it up again, contacting clients, reminding people that they should take care of their health issues. He is becoming a little disillusioned with the centre. Well, it's mainly the smoking and apathy of the owners and staff that are the problem. Suffice to say he is struggling with a few issues. The clinic itself has great potential, and they have spoken with Gi a lot about minor renovations to improve the dynamics and layout, advertising campaigns, attracting new clients, a membership program, introducing new therapies ….he has spent a lot of time counselling, advising, working and generating interest and enthusiasm but Dora (the main boss) doesn't really action anything. He doesn’t get paid for any of this, just for the massage work he does there. So, he’s getting a bit disappointed in it all. He recognises that things take time here but until they are ready to make changes they won’t. They’ve been running the clinic as a beauty clinic for the last 15 years and I am starting to get the impression that most of their clients are part of the family/friendship circle who only get charged 50% of the regular price.

In the meantime Gi has joined a local association that run the Centro Shen right in the middle of the historical centre. It’s much more of a community organisation with a focus on breaking even and providing health support and services to the wider community, lower income groups and students, immigrants etc. They embrace an ethos more in line with Gigi’s. He is giving Qi Gong classes at 7am in a park near the bay on Tues and Thurs, and one Sunday a month. Then all day Tues he is at the centre for treatments. The most exciting thing though is the Centro Shen’s support of his interest in teaching. He gave his first seminar on the Tui Na massage and Chinese Medicine last Saturday; a whole day of lecturing and a bit of practical. This has now lead to a course to be held every second Saturday for 6 months. The manager of the Centro Shen, Marcia, is a balanced woman who is environmentally focused and (I think) has become something of a mentor for Gigi. Marcia is now organising for Gi to give his seminar, but over a weekend, at other locations, outside of Naples etc. He is very keen to do as much of it as he can. He can give a weekend seminar and it covers our rent for the month. Whereas the massage treatments are much more up and down. People don’t always turn up for appointments and there are a lot of untrained massage people in Naples giving poor quality massages for about €20 which devalues the market for people like Gi who are qualified. It’s largely a matter of educating people, about different massage types, the benefits of Chinese medicine and dietics, ways to genuinely improve their health, and effectively recognising the benefits of investing their time and money in their health.

Every now and then I feel responsible for dragging Gi away from a beautifully functioning clinic in Newstead, Brisbane, where he was very busy and enjoying his work, to Naples where it’s a struggle and he is constantly being confronted with people’s ignorance, apathy and the lack of general appreciation for work that he does. He keeps saying he only wants to stay here for a year, but I have a feeling that life will present us with something at about that time that will point us in the right direction. These challenges are making him much more responsible in terms of being self employed and slowly he is recognising the value of his diversified skill base. It’s about finding your place in the market really.

And me, well after some induction, a bit of training and then talk of a teaching test I was called last week by the school to say that I would be teaching a group of govt employees Tues and Thurs afternoons from 2.15 – 4.45 for 2 ½ hour sessions for the next six months. They haven’t had time to do an in classroom assessment of me, but they don’t seem worried about it. I’m a bit miffed really. There has been about a 50% turnover of teachers at the schools (over the two campuses in Naples) with about 8 new teachers starting in Sept with me. I have met six of them, at least I can remember six of them…and that is without AFS name stickers!! The scary thing is that they all have TESOL, or TEFOL or some equivalent, qualifications and I don’t. A few of them are young, early 20’s, and without any teaching experience under their belt except for prac during their studies. I did a bit of teaching last time we lived in Naples and then a bit in Thailand, but it was very much fake-it-til-you-make-it stuff for me. However, I have realised that I am one of the oldest teachers at the school (although most of them don’t realise that either), and the Director of Studies and Manager seem more focused on the ‘younger’ ones before they let them loose in the classroom. Somehow, something has given them the impression that I’m already ‘capable’, although secretly I feel anything but capable when dealing with teaching English and grammar without using any Italian to a bunch of noisy Italians.

Most of this week has been focused on lesson plans and getting myself prepared for five hours of standing in front of 25 adults who have a reasonable level of English and want to know what sort of grammar you are trying to teach them!

I have a stack of writing to catch up on; the story of the summer saga is well under way. I am hoping that I soon find the courage to start sending off query letters for freelancing and that I can find a routine for writing, teaching and planning. I feel a million miles away from my accounting job at home, although I still get email questions.

The weather is changing. It’s raining quite regularly, which is normal for Oct but not for Sept. I am actually looking forward to the colder weather, although the missing boxes mean that I am without my favourite boots, scarves and winter skirts. I feel like I wear the same clothes all the time….I’ll just have to work on a replacement program!

For the second time this week a police helicopter has been hovering over our little quarter, sweeping back and forth as though looking for someone. I was out in the market and saw three lots of police standing around at intersections, one cop waving down cars while their partner stood to the side with a semi automatic gun at the ready. I don’t know what’s going on but have found the heavy helicopter activity rather unsettling.