one of my classes today reminded me of a conversation i had this weekend. one of my friends asked 'what do i do if a student asks me what a word is and i don't know'.
first. i try to always be prepared. i always choose the article that i have them read, based on their ability and what i think they may be interested in. some students i need to challenge and others i need to take it easy with. some like to read articles related to their job, others would rather read about gossip or movies. so i always choose the article. i also ALWAYS read the article before i give it to them to read. i look up words in the dictionary if i don't know them and i try to anticipate what they may ask.
today, some religious words came up; we were talking about a new movie called 'doubt'.
my student's question: "what is the difference between: sermon, mass, and service."
my answer: "that's a good question. i don't know. i didn't grow up with a religion. i'll look into it and email you."
i also, always, carry an english dictionary with me. to be honest sometimes the easiest words, that i know, are difficult to give a one word explain. i usually start off by using the word in a sentence or two, then i'll look the word up in the dictionary.
overall, i'm honest with them. i just say i don't know, it's not a common word. sometimes the word is industry / profession specific and i tell them just that.
with that, i almost always look up the word when i get home. out of my own curiosity and to pass on the info.
Showing posts with label teaching english. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching english. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
hours worked teaching english
before moving to b.a., i couldn't figure out, from other peoples blogs or articles, how many students it was possible to teach in a week, since there is a lot of traveling involved.
the number of students i have is constantly changing. i get new students as other student's get too busy to take classes. i get new private students, but then my schedule isn't compatible with theirs, so i've stopped trying to count.
but, i was curious to see what the latest number is after 6 months of living here. so.... this coming week i have 29 students, 3 of these students i'll teach for 2 hours instead of 1. this is a full schedule (factoring in travel), but i'll still find time to take 3 hours of spanish classes a week and i don't teach on the weekends.
last month, april i taught 64 hours through the institute i work for and 12 hours of private students. so 76 hours for the month of april is ruffly 19 hours a week.
for may, i taught 70 hours through the institute and 12 hours of private students. so 82 hours for the month of may is ruffly 20.5 hours a week. *for the month of may i canceled several classes so that i could spend time with my family while they were here.
the number of students i have is constantly changing. i get new students as other student's get too busy to take classes. i get new private students, but then my schedule isn't compatible with theirs, so i've stopped trying to count.
but, i was curious to see what the latest number is after 6 months of living here. so.... this coming week i have 29 students, 3 of these students i'll teach for 2 hours instead of 1. this is a full schedule (factoring in travel), but i'll still find time to take 3 hours of spanish classes a week and i don't teach on the weekends.
last month, april i taught 64 hours through the institute i work for and 12 hours of private students. so 76 hours for the month of april is ruffly 19 hours a week.
for may, i taught 70 hours through the institute and 12 hours of private students. so 82 hours for the month of may is ruffly 20.5 hours a week. *for the month of may i canceled several classes so that i could spend time with my family while they were here.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
distrust of the man
i had a meeting with my boss this morning (more on that later. as always she deserves her own post).
something i found odd was that she told me to be careful of "dengue fever". when i told her that i heard about it, that the U.S. embassy here issued a warning but they, the media and newspapers all said that the people infected with dengue fever were all in northern argentina or vacationing in the north. no one has been infected in capital federal (the center of the city and it's close suburbs).
she said she doesn't believe the media or trust that the government is telling the truth. she said we'll only find out that it's in capital federal when a person from a rich neighborhood dies. then the media will know.
(for anyone who reads the history of argentina it's understandable why their people feel like this)
something i found odd was that she told me to be careful of "dengue fever". when i told her that i heard about it, that the U.S. embassy here issued a warning but they, the media and newspapers all said that the people infected with dengue fever were all in northern argentina or vacationing in the north. no one has been infected in capital federal (the center of the city and it's close suburbs).
she said she doesn't believe the media or trust that the government is telling the truth. she said we'll only find out that it's in capital federal when a person from a rich neighborhood dies. then the media will know.
*capital federal is like the new york city of new york state. buenos aires is both a city (referred to as capital federal) and buenos aires is a province (like a state)this has been a reoccurring theme with my argentine students. more than half of them have made comments about how corrupt the government is. yes, people talk about how the u.s. government is corrupt, but not to the extent that people distrust here.
*dengue fever transmitted by mosquitoes. there is no vaccine.
(for anyone who reads the history of argentina it's understandable why their people feel like this)
bad boss bad
i met with my boss this morning. we met to discuss my news students for next week. as usual she got my knickers into a knot.
she doesn't treat me with respect or like i have a brain. maybe i'm extra sensitive to this because i was treated with the utmost respect from my last two managers.
she says things like, "don't ever talk about abortion with your students", to which I reply "of course not, i would never talk about it in the states, even with friends". without hearing me she continues to say "you don't know how they would react...." and on and on. want to say "that's obvious!!", but i didn't ......
next i ask her to be paid for the month of march (we're already 9 days into april). she says "next time we meet". i tell her i need to pay rent. she says "next time". i say my dueno is asking for it. again, with no apology she says "next time". she didn't even have a simpethetic face.
throughout the meeting she continued to drill it into me that i need to do conference call simulations with my students. i asked her for the material. she said she would get it to me next time (she said the same thing when we met last month).
she asked me what i was doing with students. i told her about the articles i found with accompanying audio and some easy podcasts. she asked for the websites and i gave them to her, then she asked me to send her all the articles i found so that she can give them to the other teachers to use. i told her no, that i wanted to use the articles for all my students. second, she isn't paying me extra for my research, that she will pass off as her own. third she didn't even acknowledge the extra time i spent finding articles for my students.
then she asked me if she could have all my english magazines so that she can make copies of them for the other teachers. this won't happen. if she can't pay me on time, i don't think she will care about returning my resources. second, if she makes copies, than what will i discuss with all the students?
showing me no respect and giving me no encouragement that i'm doing a good job she asks me to make her look good. next week i'll be meeting with a student who doesn't like her. it's the student's first class with a native english speaker. she told me i have to make a really good impression. the only thing she wants him to say is "that he feels like an ass for treating her badly" (she said this). i won't be going out of my way to make her look good, but i also won't be doing anything to make her look bad. I'm planning our first topic of conversion to be abortion.
(joking)
i'm keeping in mind that i'm happy with my students. i enjoy meeting with them each week. i'm happy that as an english teacher in b.a. i don't have to travel like other teachers do. ( i just go into two offices which are walkable from one another) i don't teach grammar and i'm paid well compared to other schools or the other offers i received. if the only thing that gets under my skin is my boss, who i rarely see, i can deal.
she doesn't treat me with respect or like i have a brain. maybe i'm extra sensitive to this because i was treated with the utmost respect from my last two managers.
she says things like, "don't ever talk about abortion with your students", to which I reply "of course not, i would never talk about it in the states, even with friends". without hearing me she continues to say "you don't know how they would react...." and on and on. want to say "that's obvious!!", but i didn't ......
next i ask her to be paid for the month of march (we're already 9 days into april). she says "next time we meet". i tell her i need to pay rent. she says "next time". i say my dueno is asking for it. again, with no apology she says "next time". she didn't even have a simpethetic face.
throughout the meeting she continued to drill it into me that i need to do conference call simulations with my students. i asked her for the material. she said she would get it to me next time (she said the same thing when we met last month).
she asked me what i was doing with students. i told her about the articles i found with accompanying audio and some easy podcasts. she asked for the websites and i gave them to her, then she asked me to send her all the articles i found so that she can give them to the other teachers to use. i told her no, that i wanted to use the articles for all my students. second, she isn't paying me extra for my research, that she will pass off as her own. third she didn't even acknowledge the extra time i spent finding articles for my students.
then she asked me if she could have all my english magazines so that she can make copies of them for the other teachers. this won't happen. if she can't pay me on time, i don't think she will care about returning my resources. second, if she makes copies, than what will i discuss with all the students?
showing me no respect and giving me no encouragement that i'm doing a good job she asks me to make her look good. next week i'll be meeting with a student who doesn't like her. it's the student's first class with a native english speaker. she told me i have to make a really good impression. the only thing she wants him to say is "that he feels like an ass for treating her badly" (she said this). i won't be going out of my way to make her look good, but i also won't be doing anything to make her look bad. I'm planning our first topic of conversion to be abortion.
(joking)
i'm keeping in mind that i'm happy with my students. i enjoy meeting with them each week. i'm happy that as an english teacher in b.a. i don't have to travel like other teachers do. ( i just go into two offices which are walkable from one another) i don't teach grammar and i'm paid well compared to other schools or the other offers i received. if the only thing that gets under my skin is my boss, who i rarely see, i can deal.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
malvinas
on friday i taught 5 students. my last student of the day was an older man. he told me "i don't want to offend you, but i just don't like the english language. i don't want to learn it, but i have to for work". no offense taken.
i thought i sent him a conversation topic, but i must have forgot, so i started the class by asking him about projects he was working on. then, knowing that it's a very sensitive topic, i asked him about thursday's holiday. (to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the malvinas war in 1982). i told him that i read about the holiday and i understand what happened.
but what i didn't understand, and wanted him to explain, was why does Britain want islands that are so far from Britain and so close to Argentina? to me, it would just make sense that these islands are part of Argentina. i didn't understand why england wants them so badly.
my student explained. when Britain first seized the island no people lived on the islands. so Britain arrived, set up shop and called it their own. then he explained that they want the islands because the ocean surrounding them is fairly shallow and there may be an opportunity to drill for oil. lastly he explained that at this time, no country owns the south pole, but there is talk about sectioning it off to the countries that are closest to it. for example argentina would get a slice of it....and with Britain owning these islands, they will have a slice of the south pole too.
after our class was over my student said he really enjoyed talking to me. it made me happy that he ended the class being happy to speak english since he started the class not wanting to and not liking it.
(photo below: In England known as the Falkland islands / In Argentina known as the Malvinas. The islands lie all the way south east of Argentina. (there is a half red circle around them))
i thought i sent him a conversation topic, but i must have forgot, so i started the class by asking him about projects he was working on. then, knowing that it's a very sensitive topic, i asked him about thursday's holiday. (to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the malvinas war in 1982). i told him that i read about the holiday and i understand what happened.
but what i didn't understand, and wanted him to explain, was why does Britain want islands that are so far from Britain and so close to Argentina? to me, it would just make sense that these islands are part of Argentina. i didn't understand why england wants them so badly.
my student explained. when Britain first seized the island no people lived on the islands. so Britain arrived, set up shop and called it their own. then he explained that they want the islands because the ocean surrounding them is fairly shallow and there may be an opportunity to drill for oil. lastly he explained that at this time, no country owns the south pole, but there is talk about sectioning it off to the countries that are closest to it. for example argentina would get a slice of it....and with Britain owning these islands, they will have a slice of the south pole too.
after our class was over my student said he really enjoyed talking to me. it made me happy that he ended the class being happy to speak english since he started the class not wanting to and not liking it.
(photo below: In England known as the Falkland islands / In Argentina known as the Malvinas. The islands lie all the way south east of Argentina. (there is a half red circle around them))
Thursday, April 2, 2009
11 more students
good news, my boss just called. she's giving me 11 more students. hey, i might actually be able to survive here without pillaging my savings account.
i ask her if we could meet so that i can be paid, because i need to pay my rent. she said she hasn't gotten paid yet and that she's in the red. she'll pay me when she gets paid. (very argentine)
i ask her if we could meet so that i can be paid, because i need to pay my rent. she said she hasn't gotten paid yet and that she's in the red. she'll pay me when she gets paid. (very argentine)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
46 hours a month
Tuesday, March 31th, 2009
this morning at 11am i met with a new private student. he was referred to me by one of my cute students. i met with him for an hour. going forward i'll meet with him for one hour a week. my other private student i meet with twice a week for 1 or 2 hours.
this afternoon i did my billing for the month of march. it's really pathetic if you ask me. i thought i'd be working much more at this point. for the month of march i worked a measly 46 hours (for the month!). this is just enough money to pay rent without any pesos left over. (not complaining, i knew it wouldn't be pretty coming here, but i wanted to give a heads up to anyone else who wants to teach english here)
i tried to get in touch with my boss to see if she will give me more students, but she's difficult to reach. i've already told her once before that i'd like more students.
at 6pm i was suppose to teach again but the student canceled last min. (i'll still get paid). i'm happy i didn't leave my apartment yet. so instead of teaching i went for a short run/walk to clear my mind.
tonight i stayed in and worked on my professional website. it's a real pain in the bum. i can't work out in my living room because it's STILL under construction, so I sit in my room on my bed. my old computer is old (the one with the software i need to develop). it's battery is shot so it needs to be plugged in. well, every time i bumped the cord (6 times) the computer shuts off. i must be picking up the culture here because, each time the computer shut off i didn't complain or get mad, i just hit the power button and waited 5 min for it to boot up again.
this morning at 11am i met with a new private student. he was referred to me by one of my cute students. i met with him for an hour. going forward i'll meet with him for one hour a week. my other private student i meet with twice a week for 1 or 2 hours.
this afternoon i did my billing for the month of march. it's really pathetic if you ask me. i thought i'd be working much more at this point. for the month of march i worked a measly 46 hours (for the month!). this is just enough money to pay rent without any pesos left over. (not complaining, i knew it wouldn't be pretty coming here, but i wanted to give a heads up to anyone else who wants to teach english here)
i tried to get in touch with my boss to see if she will give me more students, but she's difficult to reach. i've already told her once before that i'd like more students.
at 6pm i was suppose to teach again but the student canceled last min. (i'll still get paid). i'm happy i didn't leave my apartment yet. so instead of teaching i went for a short run/walk to clear my mind.
tonight i stayed in and worked on my professional website. it's a real pain in the bum. i can't work out in my living room because it's STILL under construction, so I sit in my room on my bed. my old computer is old (the one with the software i need to develop). it's battery is shot so it needs to be plugged in. well, every time i bumped the cord (6 times) the computer shuts off. i must be picking up the culture here because, each time the computer shut off i didn't complain or get mad, i just hit the power button and waited 5 min for it to boot up again.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
thursday / jueves
I had a class at 9am, 10am and 11am. All the students work for the same company.
One of them just returned from summer vacation so we just talked about his travels. Last week I asked my second student to choose an article to read in a magazine that I gave her, but she didn't. She's very talkative so we had no problem finding things to talk about. For next week I told her which article to read. I asked her just to read 3 paragraphs since she is busy. For my third student I found a short article about St. Patty's day in NYC this year. I had my student read the article out loud. After each paragraph I stopped him to correct the pronunciation and discuss words that he didn't know.
At noon, I walked over to the next office building where I teach. For the first time I treated myself to a nice lunch. I treat myself to dinners with friends, but it's more for the conversation / entertainment factor. Eating by myself is such a drag, so I usually just grab medialunas and a coffee and study. Today I had a wonderful salmon salad with shrimps and water with carbonation (ha, 4 months ago I thought water with carbonation was gross). 35 pesos ($10)
My 1:30 student was a half hour late coming down to the lobby to get me.
At 3pm I returned to the same company where I taught this morning. My last two students of the day were my cute students. In both classes we read an article and discussed it.
I'm now privately teaching the brother of one of my cute students...today the other cute student asked me if I would teach his cousin.
When I finally arrived home the time flew by. I ate a little pasta, prepped for my private class tomorrow and then had my Spanish lessons tonight from 9pm to 10:30pm. I'm still learning the imperative form / command. I learned the informal you and the formal you yesterday and tonight I learned the plural you. Why can't it be as easy as saying "get me the paper". Get implies your child, your husband, your dog, whoever is listening....
Today I had a craving for mate!!! How crazy! I didn't even know that I like it. When I'm with an Argentine I'll take a couple sips, but I never thought I'd crave it. Well, I didn't have a craving like I do for ice cream, but it was a thought 'ummm, I could go for some mate now'
And right now I want ice cream...
(as usual)
One of them just returned from summer vacation so we just talked about his travels. Last week I asked my second student to choose an article to read in a magazine that I gave her, but she didn't. She's very talkative so we had no problem finding things to talk about. For next week I told her which article to read. I asked her just to read 3 paragraphs since she is busy. For my third student I found a short article about St. Patty's day in NYC this year. I had my student read the article out loud. After each paragraph I stopped him to correct the pronunciation and discuss words that he didn't know.
At noon, I walked over to the next office building where I teach. For the first time I treated myself to a nice lunch. I treat myself to dinners with friends, but it's more for the conversation / entertainment factor. Eating by myself is such a drag, so I usually just grab medialunas and a coffee and study. Today I had a wonderful salmon salad with shrimps and water with carbonation (ha, 4 months ago I thought water with carbonation was gross). 35 pesos ($10)
My 1:30 student was a half hour late coming down to the lobby to get me.
At 3pm I returned to the same company where I taught this morning. My last two students of the day were my cute students. In both classes we read an article and discussed it.
I'm now privately teaching the brother of one of my cute students...today the other cute student asked me if I would teach his cousin.
When I finally arrived home the time flew by. I ate a little pasta, prepped for my private class tomorrow and then had my Spanish lessons tonight from 9pm to 10:30pm. I'm still learning the imperative form / command. I learned the informal you and the formal you yesterday and tonight I learned the plural you. Why can't it be as easy as saying "get me the paper". Get implies your child, your husband, your dog, whoever is listening....
Today I had a craving for mate!!! How crazy! I didn't even know that I like it. When I'm with an Argentine I'll take a couple sips, but I never thought I'd crave it. Well, I didn't have a craving like I do for ice cream, but it was a thought 'ummm, I could go for some mate now'
And right now I want ice cream...
(as usual)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
viernes 13
I got lucky this Friday the 13th. It's not a superstition here. However, I have to watch out for Tuesday the 13th; that is a supposed bad day.
8:30am Friday I went to Recoleta to meet a convo.exchange friend. We met at her apartment, spoke some English but mainly Spanish over some mate. Today was my 3rd time having mate and I'm really warming up to it.
My 10:30 student canceled, so my friend and I continued to chat. Around 12:15 I had to leave to go meet another student. I noticed outside her window that I could see the top of the Recoleta cemetery. I commented on how beautiful the view was. Then she took me to the rooftop of her building...
wow. I had no idea how large the cemetery is! I didn't even walk around 25% of it when I was there. It was amazing from that view point. Amazing.
(photos below: These are all mausoleums in the Recolate cemetary. Evita is buried here)
1pm I met with a student in Puerto Madero. The last time I met with this student she seemed stand offish and had negative remarks about both Argentina and the U.S. Today she was a lot better, but still not completely personable. Her personality surprised me because all my other students are so kind, so sweet, so talkative and so polite. (she wants to be learning English, it's not that her work is forcing her to take the classes)
This week was a good week for my pocket book. I picked up two private students for next week! One new private student is the brother of my cute student. Thank god the brother is much much younger than me. I don't know if I could handle another cute student that is in my age group. The other new student was given my name by my convo.exchange friend who does translations for a living.
In the evening I went to a house-warming party at 11pm and didn't return to my house until 5am.
8:30am Friday I went to Recoleta to meet a convo.exchange friend. We met at her apartment, spoke some English but mainly Spanish over some mate. Today was my 3rd time having mate and I'm really warming up to it.
My 10:30 student canceled, so my friend and I continued to chat. Around 12:15 I had to leave to go meet another student. I noticed outside her window that I could see the top of the Recoleta cemetery. I commented on how beautiful the view was. Then she took me to the rooftop of her building...
wow. I had no idea how large the cemetery is! I didn't even walk around 25% of it when I was there. It was amazing from that view point. Amazing.
(photos below: These are all mausoleums in the Recolate cemetary. Evita is buried here)
1pm I met with a student in Puerto Madero. The last time I met with this student she seemed stand offish and had negative remarks about both Argentina and the U.S. Today she was a lot better, but still not completely personable. Her personality surprised me because all my other students are so kind, so sweet, so talkative and so polite. (she wants to be learning English, it's not that her work is forcing her to take the classes)This week was a good week for my pocket book. I picked up two private students for next week! One new private student is the brother of my cute student. Thank god the brother is much much younger than me. I don't know if I could handle another cute student that is in my age group. The other new student was given my name by my convo.exchange friend who does translations for a living.
In the evening I went to a house-warming party at 11pm and didn't return to my house until 5am.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
perpetually late
Yesterday I was late to everything and it drove me nuts. I've become ok with 5 min of lateness, it seems normal now, but I was 15 min late or more to everything.
Had my hair cut in the morning - late. My hairdresser was running late so that I was running late again... I ran out his door to catch a bus. There was a long long at the bus stop. It's a stop where two bus lines stop. The line of people for in B.A. are always nice and straight and single order.(it's quite remarkable to see) I followed suit....and got in the "cola". I saw my buss coming, a woman put up her hand, the bus slowed down, no one in front of me moved so the bus pulled away! umph. At this point I was already 10 min late and had to go fairly far, so I hopped in a taxi. 10 pesos later and I was at my destination, but 20 min late.
My conversation exchange friend asked me to help her with a translation project she was working on. She already translated it, so I just helped her refine it with common phrases. For a 1/2 work she paid me 20 pesos. The rest of the time we spoke Spanish.
Once we were through I started to page through my guia T (bus bible) to see which bus would take me to the centro to meet my 7pm student. I couldn't figure it out where the 93 came through so I asked the waitress at a cafe. She pointed me to the correct bus, the 111. Once I found the stop and boarded the bus the sky opened up and it started to pour.
20 min late, I met my student in a cafe.
To add to the craziness I was sending emails and texting my students throughout the day to confirm their classes for Thursday. Many canceled or wanted to rearrange the time.
Later in the evening I met with a friend for a drink. I think I was only 10 min late. A nice bottle of red wine, a bottle of water and some chilling out. 27 pesos. It was a nice way to end a crazy day.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Oh boy, my lateness carried over and polluted today. I woke up late and missed my first two classes of the day. I felt so ashamed. It was my fault. I stayed out too late last night. Luckily I was able to reschedule one of the students.
So, this morning, in a furry, I got ready and headed out the door. Then my subte car broke down. It was packed as normal. At one of the stops the train wasn't moving. The conductor came over the speaker and everyone got off. For this being a Latin culture with a heavy Italian influence only one short older lady yelled obscenities and everyone else laughed at her. I just would have thought people would have shouted and yelled. I'm sure people in the U.S. would have made a stink over it.
I taught just 3 students today (2 of them cute) and I missed 2 and 2 canceled. Not a good day.
To try to cure myself of a bad day I went for ice cream and watched 20 min of TV. I kept flipping channels. The last channel, channel 98, was just a black and white picture. I passed it by. Then I flipped back to it. It looks familiar? OMG, It's the lobby of my building! There is a camera there!! No way! I had No idea and it's one of the channels on TV!
Had my hair cut in the morning - late. My hairdresser was running late so that I was running late again... I ran out his door to catch a bus. There was a long long at the bus stop. It's a stop where two bus lines stop. The line of people for in B.A. are always nice and straight and single order.(it's quite remarkable to see) I followed suit....and got in the "cola". I saw my buss coming, a woman put up her hand, the bus slowed down, no one in front of me moved so the bus pulled away! umph. At this point I was already 10 min late and had to go fairly far, so I hopped in a taxi. 10 pesos later and I was at my destination, but 20 min late.
My conversation exchange friend asked me to help her with a translation project she was working on. She already translated it, so I just helped her refine it with common phrases. For a 1/2 work she paid me 20 pesos. The rest of the time we spoke Spanish.
Once we were through I started to page through my guia T (bus bible) to see which bus would take me to the centro to meet my 7pm student. I couldn't figure it out where the 93 came through so I asked the waitress at a cafe. She pointed me to the correct bus, the 111. Once I found the stop and boarded the bus the sky opened up and it started to pour.
20 min late, I met my student in a cafe.
To add to the craziness I was sending emails and texting my students throughout the day to confirm their classes for Thursday. Many canceled or wanted to rearrange the time.
Later in the evening I met with a friend for a drink. I think I was only 10 min late. A nice bottle of red wine, a bottle of water and some chilling out. 27 pesos. It was a nice way to end a crazy day.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Oh boy, my lateness carried over and polluted today. I woke up late and missed my first two classes of the day. I felt so ashamed. It was my fault. I stayed out too late last night. Luckily I was able to reschedule one of the students.
So, this morning, in a furry, I got ready and headed out the door. Then my subte car broke down. It was packed as normal. At one of the stops the train wasn't moving. The conductor came over the speaker and everyone got off. For this being a Latin culture with a heavy Italian influence only one short older lady yelled obscenities and everyone else laughed at her. I just would have thought people would have shouted and yelled. I'm sure people in the U.S. would have made a stink over it.
I taught just 3 students today (2 of them cute) and I missed 2 and 2 canceled. Not a good day.
To try to cure myself of a bad day I went for ice cream and watched 20 min of TV. I kept flipping channels. The last channel, channel 98, was just a black and white picture. I passed it by. Then I flipped back to it. It looks familiar? OMG, It's the lobby of my building! There is a camera there!! No way! I had No idea and it's one of the channels on TV!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
si o no?
8:15am I met with my student who rescheduled from yesterday to today. He was in the U.S. last week to give a presentation. He said when he was in the U.S. he noticed the recession. He said he found incredible prices on clothing and not many people where out at the restaurants. The reason for his meeting in the U.S. was to cut costs.
9:15am I was finished teaching, so I quickly flipped through the pages of my 'Guia "T"' (bus bible) to see which bus would take me home. It's so much easier to use the Guit T when you know the names of streets. Proudly, within seconds, I knew which bus would take me home.
9:30am I met my conversation exchange friend in my favorite cafe. Since she doesn't speak much English and she is a waitress I thought we'd talk about food (in English). I brought a U.S. takeout menu along with me, so we had something to talk about. We spoke a lot of English for the first hour, but always resorting to Spanish to explain. She needed to leave early to let her boyfriend in her apartment, so she invited me over for mate. On the way to her apartment and while we were in her apartment we spoke only Spanish. It seems like once I get rolling I can have a conversation, it's just the 'get rolling' part that is difficult to do. My second go at mate was better. I'm starting to warm up to the national drink of Argentina.
1pm I met with my Spanish tutor for an hour and a half. We continued with reflexive verbs (there are more than I thought existed) and reciprocal verbs which when written looks the same as reflexive verbs (ex. They "hugged each other").
I took a short nap, ate a little and headed back out the door at 5pm to go observe an English class at an institute that can offer me classes (the 20 peso place). I was not impressed. I sat in on a conversation class with a native English speaker who answered all questions with "si" (yes) and "bueno" (good) and "mas o menos" (so so). Seriously? She's teaching English AND is a native English speaker and told me she doesn't speak Spanish so WHY is she answering questions with Spanish words? Her student called her out on it. He said "do you mean yes or si?". She laughed it off, said it's a bad habit and then said it's her class and proceeded to answer in si and bueno.
no bueno.
After a week and four days of living in my new apartment I ventured in the other bedroom to 'test' out the TV. (I'm not a TV person, that's why it's taken me so long) But before 'testing' the TV, I went for my Argentine addiction that I can't seem to kick (helado) (pronounced: ah-lado). 9 pesos and choosing 3 flavors later I came back to my apartment and watched a Spanish version of the Simpsons. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand (but not even 50%, but more than I thought)
What good end to the day. Ice cream and some TV.
Money spent today
--------------------------
1.10 bus to teach
1.10 bus return
10 pesos - coffee & 3 medialunas during convo.exchange
1.10 bus to friends apt.
1.10 bus home
30 pesos - 1.5 hours of Spanish lessons
1.10 subte to observe spanglish teacher
1.10 subte return
100 pesos - I found some suitable black shoes
9 pesos - heaven (ice cream)
----------------------
155.60 pesos ($44.45)
9:15am I was finished teaching, so I quickly flipped through the pages of my 'Guia "T"' (bus bible) to see which bus would take me home. It's so much easier to use the Guit T when you know the names of streets. Proudly, within seconds, I knew which bus would take me home.
9:30am I met my conversation exchange friend in my favorite cafe. Since she doesn't speak much English and she is a waitress I thought we'd talk about food (in English). I brought a U.S. takeout menu along with me, so we had something to talk about. We spoke a lot of English for the first hour, but always resorting to Spanish to explain. She needed to leave early to let her boyfriend in her apartment, so she invited me over for mate. On the way to her apartment and while we were in her apartment we spoke only Spanish. It seems like once I get rolling I can have a conversation, it's just the 'get rolling' part that is difficult to do. My second go at mate was better. I'm starting to warm up to the national drink of Argentina.
1pm I met with my Spanish tutor for an hour and a half. We continued with reflexive verbs (there are more than I thought existed) and reciprocal verbs which when written looks the same as reflexive verbs (ex. They "hugged each other").
I took a short nap, ate a little and headed back out the door at 5pm to go observe an English class at an institute that can offer me classes (the 20 peso place). I was not impressed. I sat in on a conversation class with a native English speaker who answered all questions with "si" (yes) and "bueno" (good) and "mas o menos" (so so). Seriously? She's teaching English AND is a native English speaker and told me she doesn't speak Spanish so WHY is she answering questions with Spanish words? Her student called her out on it. He said "do you mean yes or si?". She laughed it off, said it's a bad habit and then said it's her class and proceeded to answer in si and bueno.
no bueno.
After a week and four days of living in my new apartment I ventured in the other bedroom to 'test' out the TV. (I'm not a TV person, that's why it's taken me so long) But before 'testing' the TV, I went for my Argentine addiction that I can't seem to kick (helado) (pronounced: ah-lado). 9 pesos and choosing 3 flavors later I came back to my apartment and watched a Spanish version of the Simpsons. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand (but not even 50%, but more than I thought)
What good end to the day. Ice cream and some TV.
Money spent today
--------------------------
1.10 bus to teach
1.10 bus return
10 pesos - coffee & 3 medialunas during convo.exchange
1.10 bus to friends apt.
1.10 bus home
30 pesos - 1.5 hours of Spanish lessons
1.10 subte to observe spanglish teacher
1.10 subte return
100 pesos - I found some suitable black shoes
9 pesos - heaven (ice cream)
----------------------
155.60 pesos ($44.45)
Monday, March 9, 2009
shoehomesickness
I realized that I haven't written about teaching lately...
My weekly 8:15am Monday student rescheduled, so I started my Monday at 10:30am.
As I was waiting for my student to buzz me into the office, the elevator door opened and my cute student got off. I love greeting all Argentines with a cheek kiss, especially cute ones. He let me into the office to wait for my scheduled student.
I always plan a conversation topic for this student, but we always talk about something else. She can really talk, which makes my job easier, but she also needs to practice listening, so I try to interject with some stories to see if she can follow.
My other cute student walked past the conference room I was sitting in and waved. I hope the student I was with didn't catch me blushing and notice my smile was bigger than normal.
My 11:30am student has a nervous twitch in his leg which made me nervous. My topic of conversation with him was 'education'. We talked about the University system in Buenos Aires and the U.S.. I found out that University here is 5 years instead of 4. Since University is free, the first year students take classes and then exams to see if they can continue to study. Interesting. There are private Universities, but you're paying for smaller class sizes and better resources. He mentioned chairs as a resource.
My 12:30 student canceled so I went to a nearby cafe for coffee, to read the newspaper and to study some spanish. On my way to the cafe a passed a band playing on the sidewalk. They were really good. The band included an accordion player and a violinist who followed me with his eyes. I know because I kept peeking. Something I know not to do, but still enjoy looking up intermittently. Then I passed a waiter walking on the sidewalk with his tray, two covered sandwiches and two cups of coffee...he was no where near his restaurant, but rather on his way to deliver the food to a nearby office. So Buenos Aires, I love it.
2pm I returned to the same office for my next student. Luckily his co-worker let me into the office because my student was not there. He was 1/2 hour late. We spoke for the remainder of the class.
3:30pm. I went on an interview to teach English because I want to pick up more students. The interview was with a language school. They offered 20 pesos an hour for the first 3 months then a 5 peso raise. I told them I'd like to teach just one of my free days. I'm going to hold out for another language school that pays a little better.
After the interview I took the subte half way home. I got off early to walk along Santa Fe in Recoleta to look for shoes. I'm looking for some fall shoes for work and casual wear, but I just left Recoleta frustrated and missing my favorite stores in the U.S. (this type of behavior for me is out of the norm). I got so frustrated today because every store I went in, they had the SAME shoes!!! Tell me, how would you feel walking into different stores with the same options. I'm not talking similar either...I'm talking the SAME shoes! Is there one shoe manufacture in all of Argentine who sells to all stores? Is there a shoe monopoly in Argentina?! The shoes that I did like were poorly made. The U.S.'s 'poorly made shoes' (ex.Payless) would be considered high quality here. (not kidding either) I used to think that Old Navy and H&M in the states were poor quality clothes....until I saw clothing in Argentina. The clothes are pilling up and they're still on the hanger!!! ......breath...
ok, I'm finished with my hissy fit and my shoehomesickness. I will cope without shoes for a bit.
Tonight I made some crab empanadas. I'm getting better at making the empanadas. I made sure to fork these so they didn't end up to be air empanadas.
Money spent today
----------------------
1.10 subte
12 pesos coffee, tiny oj & timy water and 3 medialunas
2 pesos tip
1.10 subte
1.10 bus back to my apartment
0 pesos on shoes
-----
17.30 pesos ($4.94)
(with a 3.5 u.s. dollar converstion although i thinks it's up to 3.6 now?)
My weekly 8:15am Monday student rescheduled, so I started my Monday at 10:30am.
As I was waiting for my student to buzz me into the office, the elevator door opened and my cute student got off. I love greeting all Argentines with a cheek kiss, especially cute ones. He let me into the office to wait for my scheduled student.
I always plan a conversation topic for this student, but we always talk about something else. She can really talk, which makes my job easier, but she also needs to practice listening, so I try to interject with some stories to see if she can follow.
My other cute student walked past the conference room I was sitting in and waved. I hope the student I was with didn't catch me blushing and notice my smile was bigger than normal.
My 11:30am student has a nervous twitch in his leg which made me nervous. My topic of conversation with him was 'education'. We talked about the University system in Buenos Aires and the U.S.. I found out that University here is 5 years instead of 4. Since University is free, the first year students take classes and then exams to see if they can continue to study. Interesting. There are private Universities, but you're paying for smaller class sizes and better resources. He mentioned chairs as a resource.
My 12:30 student canceled so I went to a nearby cafe for coffee, to read the newspaper and to study some spanish. On my way to the cafe a passed a band playing on the sidewalk. They were really good. The band included an accordion player and a violinist who followed me with his eyes. I know because I kept peeking. Something I know not to do, but still enjoy looking up intermittently. Then I passed a waiter walking on the sidewalk with his tray, two covered sandwiches and two cups of coffee...he was no where near his restaurant, but rather on his way to deliver the food to a nearby office. So Buenos Aires, I love it.
2pm I returned to the same office for my next student. Luckily his co-worker let me into the office because my student was not there. He was 1/2 hour late. We spoke for the remainder of the class.
3:30pm. I went on an interview to teach English because I want to pick up more students. The interview was with a language school. They offered 20 pesos an hour for the first 3 months then a 5 peso raise. I told them I'd like to teach just one of my free days. I'm going to hold out for another language school that pays a little better.
After the interview I took the subte half way home. I got off early to walk along Santa Fe in Recoleta to look for shoes. I'm looking for some fall shoes for work and casual wear, but I just left Recoleta frustrated and missing my favorite stores in the U.S. (this type of behavior for me is out of the norm). I got so frustrated today because every store I went in, they had the SAME shoes!!! Tell me, how would you feel walking into different stores with the same options. I'm not talking similar either...I'm talking the SAME shoes! Is there one shoe manufacture in all of Argentine who sells to all stores? Is there a shoe monopoly in Argentina?! The shoes that I did like were poorly made. The U.S.'s 'poorly made shoes' (ex.Payless) would be considered high quality here. (not kidding either) I used to think that Old Navy and H&M in the states were poor quality clothes....until I saw clothing in Argentina. The clothes are pilling up and they're still on the hanger!!! ......breath...
ok, I'm finished with my hissy fit and my shoehomesickness. I will cope without shoes for a bit.
Tonight I made some crab empanadas. I'm getting better at making the empanadas. I made sure to fork these so they didn't end up to be air empanadas.
Money spent today
----------------------
1.10 subte
12 pesos coffee, tiny oj & timy water and 3 medialunas
2 pesos tip
1.10 subte
1.10 bus back to my apartment
0 pesos on shoes
-----
17.30 pesos ($4.94)
(with a 3.5 u.s. dollar converstion although i thinks it's up to 3.6 now?)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
catching up...thurs,fri,sat
thursday, march 5, 2009
i had a full teaching schedule today. i met with 6 students for individual conversation classes from 10-5. after teaching i came home and then had a spanish lesson with my tutor. my brain was not in spanish mode. it was so much harder for my words to come out.
friday, march 6, 2009
in the morning i went to spend some time with friends from home. i went to their hotel to pick them up and bring them back to my barrio. i wanted them to see the less touristy / non business district side of B.A. it was nice to hear about home and to see B.A. again through their fresh eyes.
on my way to pick them up, a nicely dressed man smiled and winked at me. nothing out of the ordinary. i know not to smile, but i did, just a little. two blocks later and he was at my side asking for my phone number. i think i jumped when i saw him. first time that happened!
later in the morning we walked around the botanical garden. another man smiled, i fully ignored him. my eyes dropped straight to the ground. this didn't discourage him from following and making "sh sh sh" sounds like he was calling a cat.
we had a nice day walking around the plaza serrano area.
after i dropped my visitors off at the subte, i went into a store and tried on a cute 50 peso shirt. i spoke with the girls who worked there, made my decision and went to buy it. the sales girl said she couldn't sell it to me. it was new as of today and she didn't know the price. she made 3 phone calls to which no one picked up. she said sorry and took the shirt away. i couldn't buy it. how strange!! but how Buenos Aires!!
saturday march 7th, 2009
i met a friend for coffee, medialunas and to catch up. later in the afternoon, a group of us met up to go to a "thai festival". there was FREE food and it was good good good! what a treat! afterward we went for ice cream near by.
(photo below: after the thai festival we had some ice cream across the street from this church.)
i had a full teaching schedule today. i met with 6 students for individual conversation classes from 10-5. after teaching i came home and then had a spanish lesson with my tutor. my brain was not in spanish mode. it was so much harder for my words to come out.
friday, march 6, 2009
in the morning i went to spend some time with friends from home. i went to their hotel to pick them up and bring them back to my barrio. i wanted them to see the less touristy / non business district side of B.A. it was nice to hear about home and to see B.A. again through their fresh eyes.
on my way to pick them up, a nicely dressed man smiled and winked at me. nothing out of the ordinary. i know not to smile, but i did, just a little. two blocks later and he was at my side asking for my phone number. i think i jumped when i saw him. first time that happened!
later in the morning we walked around the botanical garden. another man smiled, i fully ignored him. my eyes dropped straight to the ground. this didn't discourage him from following and making "sh sh sh" sounds like he was calling a cat.
we had a nice day walking around the plaza serrano area.
after i dropped my visitors off at the subte, i went into a store and tried on a cute 50 peso shirt. i spoke with the girls who worked there, made my decision and went to buy it. the sales girl said she couldn't sell it to me. it was new as of today and she didn't know the price. she made 3 phone calls to which no one picked up. she said sorry and took the shirt away. i couldn't buy it. how strange!! but how Buenos Aires!!saturday march 7th, 2009
i met a friend for coffee, medialunas and to catch up. later in the afternoon, a group of us met up to go to a "thai festival". there was FREE food and it was good good good! what a treat! afterward we went for ice cream near by.
(photo below: after the thai festival we had some ice cream across the street from this church.)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
first day of school for b.a kids
Monday, March 2nd 2009
Today was the first day of school for the children of Buenos Aires. It was very hot today too (poor kiddies).
I helped my first student of the day with his English PowerPoint presentation. There were many small errors to fix, so I didn't have time to mention all the HUGE graphical, mixed font size, non coordinating bullets that were throughout the PowerPoint. My eye kept focusing on the mismatched bullets rather than the English.
On my walk to meet my next student I walked past a shoe store with many super cute shoes that were on sale. I tried on 3 pair but only bought one. New sandals were only 55 pesos ($15) (exchange rate changed again. it's up to 3.5)
My second student today was a woman. She was telling me how it was her daughters first day of school. She also answered a question I had. "why do school children wear lab coats to school?" Private school children wear uniforms where public school children are allowed to wear street clothes, but in the class room they have to wear lab coats over their street cloths so that they are all equal. All girls have to pull their hair back and wear a headband and boys have to cut their hair short. My student told me 'in her day', she had to where a smock (like a button down shirt, but worn backwards) and a huge bow on the back.
Today was the first day of school for the children of Buenos Aires. It was very hot today too (poor kiddies).
I helped my first student of the day with his English PowerPoint presentation. There were many small errors to fix, so I didn't have time to mention all the HUGE graphical, mixed font size, non coordinating bullets that were throughout the PowerPoint. My eye kept focusing on the mismatched bullets rather than the English.
On my walk to meet my next student I walked past a shoe store with many super cute shoes that were on sale. I tried on 3 pair but only bought one. New sandals were only 55 pesos ($15) (exchange rate changed again. it's up to 3.5)
My second student today was a woman. She was telling me how it was her daughters first day of school. She also answered a question I had. "why do school children wear lab coats to school?" Private school children wear uniforms where public school children are allowed to wear street clothes, but in the class room they have to wear lab coats over their street cloths so that they are all equal. All girls have to pull their hair back and wear a headband and boys have to cut their hair short. My student told me 'in her day', she had to where a smock (like a button down shirt, but worn backwards) and a huge bow on the back.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
getting over my summer cold
Again, not too much sleep last night. I went to bed at 10pm only to wake up at 1am. I just listen to the iPod until I fell back asleep. Thank god for NPR podcasts. I love NPR.
I was up and out the door by 9:30am. The subte was wicked packed today. It was the worst I've ever seen it. People kept pushing on and pushing on. I can't even describe just how packed it was. I'm just happy everyone smelled nice.
I taught 4 students today (no cute ones). By my last student I was exhausted. My job isn't difficult or exhausting, but I'm still getting over my cold. My body was so tired and worn down. As soon as I returned to my apartment I crashed; I slept for 2 hours.
I'm feeling better. Tonight I went to an outdoor ballet with my roommate. The ballet was held in a nearby park. We were able to walk there. The ballet was free, it's part of the B.A. summer cultural program.
Afterward we went for ice cream!
Money spent today
2.20 pesos for round trip subte
13 pesos for hot tea and 2 empanadas
5 pesos for a head of lettuce, a tomato and an avocado
6 pesos for 10 oreo cookies
9 pesos for ice cream
-------------------------
35.20 pesos / $10.12
I was up and out the door by 9:30am. The subte was wicked packed today. It was the worst I've ever seen it. People kept pushing on and pushing on. I can't even describe just how packed it was. I'm just happy everyone smelled nice.
I taught 4 students today (no cute ones). By my last student I was exhausted. My job isn't difficult or exhausting, but I'm still getting over my cold. My body was so tired and worn down. As soon as I returned to my apartment I crashed; I slept for 2 hours.
I'm feeling better. Tonight I went to an outdoor ballet with my roommate. The ballet was held in a nearby park. We were able to walk there. The ballet was free, it's part of the B.A. summer cultural program.
Afterward we went for ice cream!
Money spent today
2.20 pesos for round trip subte
13 pesos for hot tea and 2 empanadas
5 pesos for a head of lettuce, a tomato and an avocado
6 pesos for 10 oreo cookies
9 pesos for ice cream
-------------------------
35.20 pesos / $10.12
Friday, February 20, 2009
Casi 40
(Thursday, February 19th, 2009)
Casi 40 means "Almost 104"...... degrees Fahrenheit that is.
It's actually 90 degrees today but feels like 98.6 (37 C)
No complaints from me...but it was a bit hot.
This morning I taught 4 students at the same company. Both cute students were there. I was relieved that the really cute student wasn't as cute today. He grew a beard. meh. After teaching them I walked about 10 min to the next student's office. I was early so I had a cup of coffee and a bland toasted white bread sandwich with cheese. 16 pesos. At 3pm I went over to his office, checked in with the receptionist and 2 min later he called down to her to cancel our class. I still get paid for the hour, but it was really hot to walk all the way there. I don't mind walking in the city when it's hot because you can always find shade next to one of the tall buildings, but where this student's office is, it's in a newer area, so there aren't many tall buildings and the trees aren't mature yet.
I've written before about eating 'on the go here'; it's not acceptable. No body does it. I watched a tourist video about Buenos Aires and they even mentioned that eating on the go is considered rude. This morning I didn't have any food in my apartment for breakfast, I was running behind schedule so I grabbed 3 medialunas from a pastry shop near where I teach. I didn't want to eat in front of my students, but I didn't want to be 'rude' and eat them while I walk to their office.....so I stood next to a building and picked off small pieces in the bag and then I sneaked them in my mouth. Eating on the go is sooooo normal in the U.S., so it felt so strange for me to know that, if I want to blend in, I shouldn't be eating 'on the go'.
Casi 40 means "Almost 104"...... degrees Fahrenheit that is.
It's actually 90 degrees today but feels like 98.6 (37 C)
No complaints from me...but it was a bit hot.
This morning I taught 4 students at the same company. Both cute students were there. I was relieved that the really cute student wasn't as cute today. He grew a beard. meh. After teaching them I walked about 10 min to the next student's office. I was early so I had a cup of coffee and a bland toasted white bread sandwich with cheese. 16 pesos. At 3pm I went over to his office, checked in with the receptionist and 2 min later he called down to her to cancel our class. I still get paid for the hour, but it was really hot to walk all the way there. I don't mind walking in the city when it's hot because you can always find shade next to one of the tall buildings, but where this student's office is, it's in a newer area, so there aren't many tall buildings and the trees aren't mature yet.
I've written before about eating 'on the go here'; it's not acceptable. No body does it. I watched a tourist video about Buenos Aires and they even mentioned that eating on the go is considered rude. This morning I didn't have any food in my apartment for breakfast, I was running behind schedule so I grabbed 3 medialunas from a pastry shop near where I teach. I didn't want to eat in front of my students, but I didn't want to be 'rude' and eat them while I walk to their office.....so I stood next to a building and picked off small pieces in the bag and then I sneaked them in my mouth. Eating on the go is sooooo normal in the U.S., so it felt so strange for me to know that, if I want to blend in, I shouldn't be eating 'on the go'.
Monday, February 16, 2009
monday sleep
This American girl can't handle the Argentine life. I went to bed at 1am last night and woke up at 11am this morning. That was 10 hours of sleep! ..... well needed sleep from this weekend.
At 2pm today I went for coffee and medialunas at a local cafe. I read some of the newspaper too. For the first time here, when I ordered in Spanish, the waiter answered in English. This sort of thing would always happen to me in Sweden, but not here. I like that I "have" to speak Spanish here. I just answered the waiter back in Spanish, but then spoke to him in English....I felt bad for him, I didn't know if he wanted to practice.
At 4pm I went on an interview. The language school didn't have a copy of my resume and the woman who interviewed me didn't speak English very well. She told me about the school and asked me to come back next week for a second interview where I would give a 10 min. class demo. She wouldn't tell me how much they pay. She said that would be discussed after the second interview. It may be a waste of my time, but I have time to burn. Next week I'll go back and give a 10min lesson.
I had a student scheduled tonight from 6-7, but she canceled last min. I was looking forward to teaching, but it's ok, I still get paid for the hour since she canceled less than 24 hours before the class.
Tonight I'm going to have a low key American night here in Argentina.
At 2pm today I went for coffee and medialunas at a local cafe. I read some of the newspaper too. For the first time here, when I ordered in Spanish, the waiter answered in English. This sort of thing would always happen to me in Sweden, but not here. I like that I "have" to speak Spanish here. I just answered the waiter back in Spanish, but then spoke to him in English....I felt bad for him, I didn't know if he wanted to practice.
At 4pm I went on an interview. The language school didn't have a copy of my resume and the woman who interviewed me didn't speak English very well. She told me about the school and asked me to come back next week for a second interview where I would give a 10 min. class demo. She wouldn't tell me how much they pay. She said that would be discussed after the second interview. It may be a waste of my time, but I have time to burn. Next week I'll go back and give a 10min lesson.
I had a student scheduled tonight from 6-7, but she canceled last min. I was looking forward to teaching, but it's ok, I still get paid for the hour since she canceled less than 24 hours before the class.
Tonight I'm going to have a low key American night here in Argentina.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
boss,work,apt,chocolate
my boss:
she has been treating me with more respect lately. after that crazy meeting i had with her last week, she called me on the phone that same day. i was still feeling upset and frustrated by her behavior during the meeting, so i told her in a professional way that i felt like my time wasn't being respected. i told her i was serious about this job, that i held a professional position at a large corporation in the states and that i know how to handle myself and i didn't feel respected. at the time of that call she didn't own up to her actions, but now, i can tell my talking to her helped. she calls me sooner now to tell me which students i'll teach, she also keeps reminding me to bill the students when they cancel less than 24 hours in advance. i can also tell that she speaks to me differently. i'm glad i spoke up for myself.
work today:
today i met with my cute student at 10 for 1 hour then his colleague at 11. my 12:30 student at a different company canceled last min, so i had a cup of coffee and some medialunas while i waited for 1:30 to come around. my 1:30 student was late coming down to the lobby to get me. then at 3 i headed back to the company i was at earlier in the day to teach the other cute student; who really could be in an abercrombie advertisement. my 8pm student canceled but i'm glad he did because i get to go to my friends party tonight on time (on american time).
apartment situation:
i'm still emailing apartments, but not too many people emailed me back. i'll go see two apartments tomorrow. also, another possible option, but i'm not holding my breath is to move into an apartment in my building. the neighbor guy who talked my ear off two weeks ago has two apartments in my building. the apartments were his parents, who have now both passed away. in the one apartment, his mothers, he still has all her furniture but didn't go through it yet. he said no one is living there and he can't rent it until he goes through it, but said i could live there and give him rent until he gets things in order to go through her apartment. i haven't seen the apartment yet, i know it looks like the one i'm in, but i don't know it's condition. also we didn't talk specifics when it comes to money, but i did tell him my range. he said i could move in on the 27th of feburary. i'll meet with him tomorrow at noon. my fingers are crossed. i'm also viewing another apartment in the evening.
chocolate:
so the mammoth chocolate bar (5lbs Hershey's chocolate bar) is gone. i finished it within 2 weeks of receiving it. yes yes, i admit i have a chocolate problem. well, to tell you the truth it's not completely finished. there is still a corner chuck left. i'm trying to save it.
she has been treating me with more respect lately. after that crazy meeting i had with her last week, she called me on the phone that same day. i was still feeling upset and frustrated by her behavior during the meeting, so i told her in a professional way that i felt like my time wasn't being respected. i told her i was serious about this job, that i held a professional position at a large corporation in the states and that i know how to handle myself and i didn't feel respected. at the time of that call she didn't own up to her actions, but now, i can tell my talking to her helped. she calls me sooner now to tell me which students i'll teach, she also keeps reminding me to bill the students when they cancel less than 24 hours in advance. i can also tell that she speaks to me differently. i'm glad i spoke up for myself.
work today:
today i met with my cute student at 10 for 1 hour then his colleague at 11. my 12:30 student at a different company canceled last min, so i had a cup of coffee and some medialunas while i waited for 1:30 to come around. my 1:30 student was late coming down to the lobby to get me. then at 3 i headed back to the company i was at earlier in the day to teach the other cute student; who really could be in an abercrombie advertisement. my 8pm student canceled but i'm glad he did because i get to go to my friends party tonight on time (on american time).
apartment situation:
i'm still emailing apartments, but not too many people emailed me back. i'll go see two apartments tomorrow. also, another possible option, but i'm not holding my breath is to move into an apartment in my building. the neighbor guy who talked my ear off two weeks ago has two apartments in my building. the apartments were his parents, who have now both passed away. in the one apartment, his mothers, he still has all her furniture but didn't go through it yet. he said no one is living there and he can't rent it until he goes through it, but said i could live there and give him rent until he gets things in order to go through her apartment. i haven't seen the apartment yet, i know it looks like the one i'm in, but i don't know it's condition. also we didn't talk specifics when it comes to money, but i did tell him my range. he said i could move in on the 27th of feburary. i'll meet with him tomorrow at noon. my fingers are crossed. i'm also viewing another apartment in the evening.
chocolate:
so the mammoth chocolate bar (5lbs Hershey's chocolate bar) is gone. i finished it within 2 weeks of receiving it. yes yes, i admit i have a chocolate problem. well, to tell you the truth it's not completely finished. there is still a corner chuck left. i'm trying to save it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
the travel bug
(monday, february 9th, 2009)
today i had my first female student. i met with her in the afternoon at the same company where i've been teaching. she's the HR director of latin american. she was so much fun to talk to. we talked about all the differences of corporate america vs. corporate latin america.
she met me at the front door and she walked me through the office to the break-room to get us coffee. the floor is made up of mostly IT staff, which happens to be all male. when we walked through the cube farm (mass of open cubicles) she made the comment on how all the men blatantly stared. she said "did you see how they all looked at you" and I responded in a very non cocky way "isn't that normal".....meaning that latin men have no trouble at all hiding the fact that they look at women. i was also the new girl on the floor, of course they were curious to see who i was, attractive or not. she said this would never happen in the u.s....and i agreed. men will look at you in the states, but they're discreate; they keep it on the dl (down low).
we also talked about how people from the states will beat around the bush when tring to tell you something unpleasant where latin americans will just tell you. also americans are very professional / stiff / politically correct at their jobs where latin americans are passionate, loud and animated when speaking. she said she feels like she had to 'tone it down' when she travels to the states.
mid-day i went for a cappuccino at a near by cafe and the cafe really messed it up. i told the waitress that she accidentally gave me a hot chocolate, not a cappuccino. she said they put chocolate in it, so she added more coffee. umph. it was terrible and a waist of 13 pesos, but i did get to read some spanish magazines.
in the evening i went to a friends house where we made the rest of the empanada mix!!! yeah! now i just have some left over crab and chicken to make. i had a very nice evening. they have the same traveling bug as i do. it makes me happy to think that i could continue to live my life without ridding myself of the travel bug.
today i had my first female student. i met with her in the afternoon at the same company where i've been teaching. she's the HR director of latin american. she was so much fun to talk to. we talked about all the differences of corporate america vs. corporate latin america.
she met me at the front door and she walked me through the office to the break-room to get us coffee. the floor is made up of mostly IT staff, which happens to be all male. when we walked through the cube farm (mass of open cubicles) she made the comment on how all the men blatantly stared. she said "did you see how they all looked at you" and I responded in a very non cocky way "isn't that normal".....meaning that latin men have no trouble at all hiding the fact that they look at women. i was also the new girl on the floor, of course they were curious to see who i was, attractive or not. she said this would never happen in the u.s....and i agreed. men will look at you in the states, but they're discreate; they keep it on the dl (down low).
we also talked about how people from the states will beat around the bush when tring to tell you something unpleasant where latin americans will just tell you. also americans are very professional / stiff / politically correct at their jobs where latin americans are passionate, loud and animated when speaking. she said she feels like she had to 'tone it down' when she travels to the states.
mid-day i went for a cappuccino at a near by cafe and the cafe really messed it up. i told the waitress that she accidentally gave me a hot chocolate, not a cappuccino. she said they put chocolate in it, so she added more coffee. umph. it was terrible and a waist of 13 pesos, but i did get to read some spanish magazines.
in the evening i went to a friends house where we made the rest of the empanada mix!!! yeah! now i just have some left over crab and chicken to make. i had a very nice evening. they have the same traveling bug as i do. it makes me happy to think that i could continue to live my life without ridding myself of the travel bug.
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