back to school

Yep, after a few months of a translator career I’m back to teaching English as a second language.

What can I say; I missed the drive and the extreme of school life... and got a huge doze of it on day one. There were no books to work with. The administration was kind enough to order new student’s books for each and every pupil but didn’t purchase a single one for teachers!

On the 1st of September I had neither textbooks nor teacher’s books and a crowd of well-equipped pupils. It was okay at first, as we just got acquainted I explained the classroom rules and dictated the list of required stationery. Then I launched a summer holiday survey to get the pupils speaking. By the next lesson I had downloaded exercises from the Internet and devoted it to grammar revision. So far, so good.

The second week went smoother as some teachers’ sets of books had been delivered. There are also some student’s books available on the Internet. They help me keep the students occupied.


God bless the web for a huge amount of downloadable materials, I would have never survived the past two weeks without them.

...keep smiling

to go or not to go

The issue of utmost importance now is a possible moving in another country. My fiancé insists on living in his motherland, because everything is settled there: he has a job, an apartment, a summer house and a teenage daughter to look after. While I will be a unwelcome emigrant, who has no job, no citizenship and speaks a local language badly. Sounds exciting, isn't it.

I’m now considering if I can survive without my beloved family and friends and if I manage to stay sane there.

Besides, the whole citizenship status thing thrills me, as it requires too much time, efforts and bureaucracy. And I hate waiting in queues and gathering papers from the authoroties.

P.S. This whole situation reminds me "Mistery" by Hugh Laurie

new job

I'd been dreaming about a regular job for a few months and finally got it. Hope, I will survive two months of probation.

The office is a lively place filled with sales managers, who are distributing marine equipment and I’m to translate every document that all these guys feel like giving me. For two weeks I’ve been working on translation of technical specifications, brochures, information notices, drawing, what not, which is quite exciting. I have never translated anything on this topic ever (!) and now learn more and more useful vocabulary. I know I’m going to like all those ships, pumps, navy planes, towboats and so on.

Two sales managers of maritime equipment are sharing desk with me. They are quite peculiar personalities. The guy is a short fat fun-loving fellow, who jokes and laughs all the time, comments any remark heard in the office, mocks on stupid clients, green translators, received e-mails and so on. In the evening he quarrels with another guys in the office claiming that the other guy is lazy and bolder than himself, that this guy has stolen his magazine, talks to much or to little and is an ugly one in general. While the lady is a tall, middle-aged, strict Madame, who is always tired, sick and annoyed with overwork, stupid clients and customers, her desk-mate’s comments and “this whole thing”. She rarely smiles and always complains. Her assistant is a twenty something fellow, who works really hard, is uptight and feels uneasy if there is nothing to do. At the same time he watches working hours, comes exactly at 9am, leaves exactly at 6 pm and has a late lunch out of the office exactly from 1pm to 2 pm.

Watching these guys I do my best to concentrate on translating.

animal planet

"Teach your children to honor themselves with integrity and you will teach them to honor your love."

Wes Fessler

animal planet

animal planet

"Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait"