I share an office at school with 6 other Lao teachers. I teach at 8:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
One Tuesday morning I came to school at 7:40ish to get some of my things together before heading to my class at 8:00. My classroom is about a ten minute walk away. But there was a new padlock on the door and I couldn't get in. So I waited around for a while for another teacher to come and open the door. Another teacher came a few minutes before 8:00. I went in, got my stuff and was only a few minutes late for class. Not a huge deal.
It happened again on Wednesday morning. This time, the teacher didn't come until 8:10, so I was 15 minutes late for class. They told me that last week some money from our office was stolen at night, so they decided to start padlocking the door over night.
I asked a teacher for a copy of the key. She said she would ask the boss. Which I knew meant I would not get a key. It wasn't a big deal, I could take my stuff home Monday and Tuesday afternoons for my morning classes on Tuesday and Wednesday and get into the office after class. (They only padlocked the door overnight, I had a key for the normal lock.) I also had a key for our office from last year, so I would usually put my helmet in that office right away in the morning and then go to class.
So I did that for the next two weeks. It was a bit annoying but oh well.
One morning I went to put my helmet in the other office before class, but realized they had changed that lock so I couldn't get in. I had other junk with me from grading and such the night before at home, but now had nowhere to put it. After class I decided it was pretty annoying not being able to get into my office and I asked the teacher again if I could copy her key. She said she had to ask the boss. I asked again, can I just copy the key that you have? She repeated that she needed to ask the boss.
The next day I asked the boss if I could copy the key. She said they would need to have a meeting to see if I could have a key to get into my own office. She said I could call teacher Phonesavahn when I come in the morning. Since Phonesavahn teaches at 8:00 everyday also, she can let me into the office. I usually go to the office before quarter to 8 because I like to get my stuff together. And I like to start class at 8:00 or soon after. Lao teachers start class between 8:15 and 8:30.
The next Tuesday I went to the office to see if it was open. It wasn't, but I decided to see where Phonesavahn was. So I gave her a call a bit before 8:00. She said she was at the classroom already (which is a ten minute walk away) and she wasn't coming to the office before class. She said maybe another teacher will come soon.
I am still without a way to get into my own office. My boss is going to talk to the boss to see if he can get me a set. We'll see what happens. : )
