Curveball.

Big, angry, smack-you-in-the-face curveball. Here's how it happened.


I've been stressing out for weeks about this librarian thing- I wanted the person I hired to be perfect so that when I'm gone, the library will be in good, capable hands. I found two candidates, interviewed them, then spent lots of time weighing and worrying about the options. At the last second before I was supposed to meet with my director to finalize the choice, he announced that he'd found another candidate and wanted me to interview her. This is not the curveball.


I meet her. I ask her questions. She's not too easy to get talking, but she's smart and understands both libraries and system management. I meet the director, we chat, we choose her. He calls her into the office and motions to me. I offer her the job.


Director: "Congratulations, yes, we'll be very happy to have you. Can you start Wednesday? Yeah, so this year Mme. Melissa will pay your salary, and then next year... Well, we might pay you... Or we might just get some professors to volunteer to take care of things... I don't really know yet, we'll see..."


Um, what?


"Yeah, the parent association hasn't accepted to pay the librarian for the next year, so I need to talk to them first..."


It should be noted at this point that the school paying a librarian for minimum two years after I leave was one of the conditions I required before starting the project. That means he was fully informed last September, and we've talked about that obligation several times since. This should not be an issue, ESPECIALLY not this late I'm the game.


I was pissed. I still kind of am, but now I'm functional and pushing forward. I'm not paying a librarian tjis year if all of that training will be wasted next year when they don't hire her back. So, the plan: He's having a meeting with the parents within the next week. I will be at that meeting, and I will present the project and push for funding. A Peace Corps administrator came and visited my post last Wednesday, and she helped me out a lot by calling him out on the issue and making him promise to get a signed contract of engagement for a librarian by next week. Hopefully things will work out if I stay on top of them... But seriously, waiting til April, after I hired a librarian, to unveil this giant, seriously project-altering problem? Not cool, sir. Not cool.