Contrary to appearances, I have not dropped off the map! I'm still right here in this lovely, nearly magical kingdom. I am, however, recovering from such a rush of work and total blackout of my computer that this has been a very long time coming. Sorry for the silence.
First the rush of work - - - this is exam time. I don't know why I let it it take me by surprise, but I guess that is probably true to form. And of course, I've made multiple resolutions about how I will do it differently next time. (And next time, hopefully, I won't be "under the weather" for the whole period. Thank goodness I am, at very long last, feeling like myself again, just in time to launch into the new term. And there's a rumor that spring is coming. Hooray!)
Exams are an interesting phenomenon at StJ and most of the other schools around here. I certainly understand why the school promises client companies they will be kept informed regarding their employees' progress. I've had moments of almost/nearly/possibly offering to put a course together for the school to offer to various HR departments about how they could get the most for their dollars. Now, I'm not quite that foolish, but it is a bit disturbing to see little things which would be relatively easy to "fix" and which would make for a better experience for everyone (selfishly, I would add, me included). Be that as it may, the big yard- or meterstick is grades for all students in January and June. First, of course, for some of the classes it is a DIY (the "Y" being me!) project. At least this time I knew to collect material for that. Others are required by their companies to take a standardized exam written by the school. Easier at the front end, more difficult on the other. And then there is the grading, the explaining, and entering lots and lots of data into the school's database. Because it was just upgraded, we also had to enter extra reports on all students. O.K. -- lots of work, but that's just part of the job.
Sorta -- in the middle of it all the "new and improved" DB decided it didn't like my computer, and shut me down completely. It wasn't just the i'net I was missing, as has happened so often before. It was the whole thing. All I had was a screen showing that I was beginning a reply to an email -- only the reply box was black. Talk about frustrating -- or not talking about it would be better! Anyhow, thanks to the magic of technology and the wizardry of my incredible NC computer man, I am now back up and running!
It's all come together in a perfect combination -- exams and reporting completed, good health in spite of all the germs flying around the trams and metro, and a fresh start with some current students as well as a new beginning with a couple very interesting students. What a great time!
Then a great weekend to enjoy the freedom! Yesterday morning was my Czech class. Oh, it is not easy! I never thought it would be, but it's especially difficult when I give time to exams and health instead of homework! And yes, I have enormous empathy for my students. Fortunately, I had a realistic picture of life before I started Czech lessons -- we all work and we all have other obligations. And now I not only can can understand just not being able to fit in homework but also with why some parts of our grammar are so difficult for Czechs to learn. Our teacher is SO good, and is moving to Majorca soon to be in the same country as her husband. Great idea for them, not great for us! I've learned so many things from her, not just some of the language.
Mid-afternoon was the start of another great party. My T'giving party friend hosted a "Mid-winter Blues" party. What fun, what great food in enormous quantities (yes, I did my part to cut down the amount of leftovers!), what a marvelous way to spend a Saturday.
Now it's time to play a bit of catch-up and get ready to see a movie with a Czech colleague. We're going to The Curious Story of Benjamin Button, which is, I've heard, an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. I've also heard it's VERY long. So much for the rest of this day - - -
I've made a "starter" list of places to go / things to do when the weather is a bit more hospitable. And slowly I'm gathering folks who say "I'd love to go there with you." Just little one-day leave-in-the-morning, explore the town, return-in-the-evening excursions. Of course I'll "take you along with me." Until we start that, you just know I can't keep from telling you about this marvelous town. Yes, I'm happier than ever here. Yes, it's a wonderful life! And yes, I know there'll be more to share as I move into a more normal routine. Until then, I wish you joy, wonder, and good health in all your daily travels.
Showing posts with label Routines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Routines. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Circle I'm In
Another busy week, full of the ordinary, blessed with those shining moments of anticipation/realization which seem to give life to more moments that are equal mixtures of routine and shimmer.
The week started with a marvelous morning at the Foreign Police. And I am passing it along for two reasons: first, because it is so seldom that marvelous and Foreign Police are used in the same sentence, and second because it was such a successful encounter. It was not wonderful to answer the alarm at 3:30 a.m. and realize my US friends had not even gone to bed yet. (I'm sure that jolt was not helpful in getting re-oriented to Prague time!) I am now carrying (a copy of) my "Long Term Resident" visa around with me. And every once in a while I look at it just for the joy of knowing that is really me! I must admit the pictures are getting worse, and I hope just a little of that downhill trend is the photography, not the aging of the subject. This time the photographer would not let me smile. Oh, well. Didn't keep me from getting the visa :-) and yet again :-)
I am still struggling to make a slow return to "normal" health, which could be interpreted multiple ways at this stage of life. By the end of the week I'd shaken off almost all remainders/reminders of my post-holiday cold. I even have leftover medicaments (Czech term) from the Lekarna (trans. "Chemist" -- a pharmacy with only few other items for sale, all having to do with health and well being) just in case whatever-this-is hits again. Since it seems to be making the Prague rounds, I'm hoping the leftovers will be a voodoo spell against the bug entering the flat again! Maybe it will recognize there is no welcome here and leave me alone.
The week also contained some wonderful students "ups" and some disappointing "downs". Lately I've been enjoying the emergence of humor in a second (or third/fourth) language in several of my upper level students. It is my theory that spontaneous humor, not just a repeated joke, is yet one more sign of fluency. You have to know your way around a language and have a feel for the lovely nuances of just the right word to be able to engage in irony, puns, or simply a good turn of a phrase. This week I was gifted with three different examples. Here's one: a student began our session asking if I'd heard about the new airport in NYC. "Well, it was actually only one more runway. . . " And he knew it was acceptable to joke about the USAirways landing in the Hudson because there had been no serious injuries.
The "downs" are cancellations of classes I really enjoy. I've lost eight teaching hours in the last week or so. I anticipated I would be losing hours because of the economy, but that was not the cause of any of them (yet!). Just a "perfect storm" of unusual circumstances which is leaving me with my eyes open for new students and feeling the loss of some whose company I really enjoyed. It will be really interesting and painful to watch events transpire over the next few weeks and months.
This is an especially busy time (not good when what I really want to do is sleep!) preparing exams, writing end-of term narrative reports on each student, and doing a lot of rescheduling to keep up with frequent absences. I must admit it is much more difficult to begin and end the day in such darkness. I enjoy all the "little" things I'm learning, such as what it means to live in a "higher" latitude than any US city below Alaska. It's wonderful to know that the days are getting longer, but it is definitely not noticeable yet. Add all the cloud cover of snow, near-snow, "freezing fog" -- first time I've encountered that forecast, and it's pretty dreary much of the time. Only the weather, that is!
There is "time off for good behavior" this weekend! A French colleague is hosting a "French Toasts" get together at his home. I'm curious how his French toast differs from mine. I know that the first difference is a chestnut spread, brought from home when he visited at the holidays. And the second is that he's sharing his mother's homemade jams, also the accepted topping, with all of us. Add in the international flavors with pot lucking, the accents, and the enjoyment of each other's company, and it will be a great afternoon. Wish you were here to share it with me.
It will soon be my first anniversary! What a wonderful year. It seems silly and redundant to say yet again how happy I am to be here. Life always has its routines; it always takes work to make things happen; there are smiles and new friends and hundreds of stories everywhere. How blessed and contented I am that this is the place where I can do that continuous learning. My wish for you -- that you are having the same "new" year where you are.
The "circle of days" is such an apt expression for my life right now. None of them goes far off course on its own new trajectory -- maybe there will be a little of that when spring arrives. And each of them brings its own particular joy, something to treasure and protect as the circle continues, along with all the ordinary daily tasks which carry them forward. It is -- really -- a wonderful life!
The week started with a marvelous morning at the Foreign Police. And I am passing it along for two reasons: first, because it is so seldom that marvelous and Foreign Police are used in the same sentence, and second because it was such a successful encounter. It was not wonderful to answer the alarm at 3:30 a.m. and realize my US friends had not even gone to bed yet. (I'm sure that jolt was not helpful in getting re-oriented to Prague time!) I am now carrying (a copy of) my "Long Term Resident" visa around with me. And every once in a while I look at it just for the joy of knowing that is really me! I must admit the pictures are getting worse, and I hope just a little of that downhill trend is the photography, not the aging of the subject. This time the photographer would not let me smile. Oh, well. Didn't keep me from getting the visa :-) and yet again :-)
I am still struggling to make a slow return to "normal" health, which could be interpreted multiple ways at this stage of life. By the end of the week I'd shaken off almost all remainders/reminders of my post-holiday cold. I even have leftover medicaments (Czech term) from the Lekarna (trans. "Chemist" -- a pharmacy with only few other items for sale, all having to do with health and well being) just in case whatever-this-is hits again. Since it seems to be making the Prague rounds, I'm hoping the leftovers will be a voodoo spell against the bug entering the flat again! Maybe it will recognize there is no welcome here and leave me alone.
The week also contained some wonderful students "ups" and some disappointing "downs". Lately I've been enjoying the emergence of humor in a second (or third/fourth) language in several of my upper level students. It is my theory that spontaneous humor, not just a repeated joke, is yet one more sign of fluency. You have to know your way around a language and have a feel for the lovely nuances of just the right word to be able to engage in irony, puns, or simply a good turn of a phrase. This week I was gifted with three different examples. Here's one: a student began our session asking if I'd heard about the new airport in NYC. "Well, it was actually only one more runway. . . " And he knew it was acceptable to joke about the USAirways landing in the Hudson because there had been no serious injuries.
The "downs" are cancellations of classes I really enjoy. I've lost eight teaching hours in the last week or so. I anticipated I would be losing hours because of the economy, but that was not the cause of any of them (yet!). Just a "perfect storm" of unusual circumstances which is leaving me with my eyes open for new students and feeling the loss of some whose company I really enjoyed. It will be really interesting and painful to watch events transpire over the next few weeks and months.
This is an especially busy time (not good when what I really want to do is sleep!) preparing exams, writing end-of term narrative reports on each student, and doing a lot of rescheduling to keep up with frequent absences. I must admit it is much more difficult to begin and end the day in such darkness. I enjoy all the "little" things I'm learning, such as what it means to live in a "higher" latitude than any US city below Alaska. It's wonderful to know that the days are getting longer, but it is definitely not noticeable yet. Add all the cloud cover of snow, near-snow, "freezing fog" -- first time I've encountered that forecast, and it's pretty dreary much of the time. Only the weather, that is!
There is "time off for good behavior" this weekend! A French colleague is hosting a "French Toasts" get together at his home. I'm curious how his French toast differs from mine. I know that the first difference is a chestnut spread, brought from home when he visited at the holidays. And the second is that he's sharing his mother's homemade jams, also the accepted topping, with all of us. Add in the international flavors with pot lucking, the accents, and the enjoyment of each other's company, and it will be a great afternoon. Wish you were here to share it with me.
It will soon be my first anniversary! What a wonderful year. It seems silly and redundant to say yet again how happy I am to be here. Life always has its routines; it always takes work to make things happen; there are smiles and new friends and hundreds of stories everywhere. How blessed and contented I am that this is the place where I can do that continuous learning. My wish for you -- that you are having the same "new" year where you are.
The "circle of days" is such an apt expression for my life right now. None of them goes far off course on its own new trajectory -- maybe there will be a little of that when spring arrives. And each of them brings its own particular joy, something to treasure and protect as the circle continues, along with all the ordinary daily tasks which carry them forward. It is -- really -- a wonderful life!
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