st. patty's what?

Tuesday March 17th 2009
Not too much happened today. I had a student at 8:15 this morning. Last week I emailed him a podcast to listen to. To my surprise he listen to it and made notes. I didn't expect him to prepare for the class. Most of my adult business students aren't eager to learn English, they just want it to happen (just like me).

I was suppose to meet with a friend for conversation exchange, but she canceled on me. At 1pm I met with my Spanish teacher. We went over commands / imperative. wow! these are going to be a challenge to remember. I think I get it, but I'm not even going to try to explain.

During my Spanish lesson my weekend portero (doorman / maintenance man / porter) started to paint my apartment. What I didn't realize is that he has to scrape all the paint off the wall first! Then he'll have to go over it with plaster to smooth it out. Then he'll paint it. What a process! I thought he'd simply come over an paint.

Later in the day I went out for some exercise to my favorite parks.

(photo below: I walk past the zoo on my way to the Rose Garden. There was a break in the bamboo hedge so I was able to sneak a peek at the giraffe)
(photo below: for all the times i've been to the rose garden, i never seen this structure. i'm not sure exactly what it is. there is a small fountain in the center of it)
Wednesday March 18th, 2009
Ha, I didn't even realize until today that yesterday was St. Patty's day. I guess that tells you that not many people celebrate it here. I'm sure there were a few people that did, but it's nothing like in the states...and of course nothing like Ireland.

At 11:30am this morning I met with my 'a million and one places but here' type of boss. She really is a good teacher and has her teaching shit together, it's just too bad she has a bad case of A.D.D.

She said that she'll give me more students in April and she started to form a lesson plan for each of my students that will align with their grammar teacher's lesson plan. She also finally paid me for the month of February (and we're at the middle of March).

At 1pm I met with one of my cute student's brother for a private lesson. Cute student's brother is not as cute and very young but has the same amazingly clear bright blue eyes. We had a class for 2 hours. We casually spoke and I wrote some things down that he didn't understand. He's a beginner so I will have to prep more for the classes. It's a challenge that I welcome.

For the rest of the day I found material / articles / podcasts for my students that I will teach tomorrow.