Last month i wrote that one of my resolutions for 2010 was to find a job.
Guess what? I have! In fact, i've found three! I think i mentioned before that there was very little chance of me getting a full-time teaching position here in Germany, due to the fact that companies really don't want to be responsible for all the benefits (pension, health-care, whatever) This means that i have had to accept the fact that i am going to be a freelancer (ie working for at least 2 companies).
In January, I had interviews with 3 different coprorate training companies & all three accepted me. Woohoo! I've already started working with 2 of the companies & start with the third tomorrow. I am teaching business people of all levels & needs & so far, so good. Now is just a matter of building up a schedule & fitting as many classes together (but not so many that i begin to neglect my hausfrau duties....)
Otherwise, not much else has gone on. Both K & me had birthdays. As did my mum. And K's mum. And the biggest milestone of all was my grandma who reached the milestone of 90. NINETY! Can you believe that? And have you ever gone shopping for a 90th Birthday card? Surprisingly, there was a (limited) supply in the shops. They were, however, hideous. Apparently, anyone who has reached the age of ninety is supposed to like roses and soft pastel colours. And anyone who has met grandma, the woman who loves bright red & bought herself a frog green leather jacket, would know that pastel peach roses are *so* not her. Instead i bought a Happy 60th card & Happy 30th card and told her to choose which one(s) she felt was/were more appropriate!
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Last week's amusing teaching anecdote:
We were studying the difference between informal & formal requests and the students had to fill out a table of requests. Sometimes the formal version was missing, sometimes the informal...
Textbook:
FORMAL: May I have another glass of beer?
INFORMAL: ????
Students discussing the answer:
Student 1: Hmmm...
Student 2 (in a loud voice & empty beer mug gesture): Beer, please!
Teacher (me): Isn't that a little too direct?
Student 1: No, that works.
I couldn't really disagree with them, could i?
