“What’s this?” I asked.
“Your message” said Stephen.
The note had come from Alexia’s school where I have been trying to help out for the past couple of weeks but each week I’m asked to submit more materials and wait until the following week.
I had no idea what I was being asked for. “Testimonial” for some reason made me think of the few Real World episodes I’ve seen where people sit in a room alone and talk to a video camera about their experiences in the house during “confessionals”. I had a feeling this isn’t what she wanted. Dorcas explained what she thought it was and agreed that my resume should suffice. I think she was more interested in getting a letter of recommendation from me.
I stopped by the kindergarten’s office later in the day and handed over my resume.
“I wasn’t sure what you were asking for, but I brought you my resume.”
Glancing over it, “Where are your certificates?”
Having no idea what she was referring to, “What certificates?”
“Your certificates! From secondary school.”
My high school diploma? In disbelief, “Umm I’m pretty sure that’s in a binder in the back of my closet back home. I’ve never been asked for it before.”
Obviously frustrated and unsatisfied, “OK. Then where is your CV?” A CV (curriculum vitae) is essentially the international version of a resume. The ones I saw in France included a picture as well as things like marital status. It’s a little more in depth than the resumes we’re used to in the United States. Keeping it to one page isn’t really a rule.
“That is my CV.”
“Hmph. OK I will submit this and get back to you.”
Haven’t heard back since. I didn’t realize it was such a process to play outside with kids during their 30 minute recess, as that’s all they want me to do. I’ve been learning that most of the projects I’ve undertaken here require a long, drawn out multi-step process before things really get going.
Patience is crucial.