Monday, October 16, 2017

The Asian job.

Never underestimate oneself. Their potentials and possibilities might be beyond what you can comprehend. 

We have heard a lot about this kind of motivational quote. It might be because of this, we dare to chase what we dare not to chase. We have planted a little seed inside our hearts and water it with passion, hard work, positivity and nurture it with Words of wisdom, be it from God or human. 

--

I quit my job recently. That was my 2nd job in my life. My friend recommended me this job as she is working there. Thank God for her, I got this job, serving as a waitress in the restaurant. 

It was a jolly experience when I went for the work trial. I was happy and enjoyed what I was doing. I asked a lot of questions, of how to do this and that. It was the first day that I learnt about their work culture, the restaurant culture, of how they run the business efficiently by following several organised systems. It was a lot about communicating in between the kitchen, bar and the floor staff. 

I went to the shop for my first shift one week after my trial. My shift was on a busy night. I was terrified. Literally terrified by the amount of customers and the pressure that every staff had on that that night. I couldn't remember a lot of things, like what dish is what name and what to put where. It was 10.30PM when all the floor staff finished our work. I headed back home and talked quite a bit with my colleague. Talking to my colleague made me feel better. If feeling has a graft, talking to him was like a positive linear curve with marginal effect. After saying goodbye to him, I walked alone to my house's direction. I searched for my phone in my bag and saw the messages and I told my friend that it was a bad experience and that I wanted to quit. My friend called me and asked if I was ok. I said yes, I am okay, all good. I ended the call with a laugh. 

Immediately I put down the call, tears started rolling down on my cheeks. It was the worst experience I had ever had in my life. It was worst that any examination I had ever had. It was as if I went back to primary school and got canned by my teacher because I forgot to bring my textbook or homework. I couldn't stop tearing. 

-- 

I bit the bullet and went through the torture for 4 months. It was the first time that I experienced work as a curse. It felt like exactly the same thing that was mentioned in Genesis when Adam was cursed with work. Work is really a curse. It was like getting blame without any justification and feeling pressured without having any reward.

The pay is $10 per hour. I knew that I was a cheap labour. I was. There was no way that I could get a job other than lowering the price that I wanted people to pay for my time and work. It was the only choice. 

I hated the fact that it was only $10 and that I was constantly under pressure. It was more stressful than studying for 4 exams. It was. The fact that I couldn't make mistake and that I was still new but they wanted me to act and do things as if I was an experienced worker stressed me more. The U curve that was drawn by my mouth on my face was no longer there. I felt very sad about the reality. 

I experienced the unfair treatment of being an international citizen. I experienced the hardship that Asian faced when they work in a "white" country. The double standard is real. 

X

No comments:

Post a Comment