Round up

So it's the end of another teaching week and it's been pretty good. My proficiency students have come to terms with the schedule they've set themselves (I only had to say "You set the timetable" twice before the complaints stopped), the rest of my exam classes are beginning to see the light and actually get down to some work and I'm starting to feel a little inspired again - but only a little.

A couple of my teenagers have recently turned 18 and they think it gives them license to leave early without their parent's permission (they have to bring a note if they are under 18). I've told them not to make a habit of it because I will, still, contact their parents to check that it's kosher.

Talking of kosher, I believe that it was recently the Jewish New Year, that next weekend is Yom Kippur and that, in between, there have been some days of special significance. Unfortunately I can't make head nor tail of my students' explanations so if anyone out there could do a 'Judaism for Dummys' (which is probably copyrighted) crash course for me, I'd appreciate it.

Tomorrow we have a semi-annual open meeting for teachers and I've been asked to chair it. Sounds like all those years of experience will come in handy - wonder if I was first choice?

Trembling

I have had such a long day today. One of my colleagues is away on a birthday trip to Brazil and I agreed to cover one of his classes, so my day went like this:

up at 7:30
BREAKFAST
into work at 8:30, photocopying etc.
start teaching 9:30
finish teaching 12:30
travel to private student 12:45
start teaching private student 13:30
finish teaching private student 14:30
arrive back home 15:15
LUNCH
back into work 15:30
start teaching 15:45
finish teaching 17:15
BREAK
start teaching 18:15
finish teaching 21:15
leave work 21:30
home 21:32
DINNER

In total eight and a half hours teaching with one and a half hours travelling. Funnily enough, despite feeling tired, I'm feeling good (although I do expect to sleep well tonight).

On several occasions recently I've been sitting at my computer when I've suddenly felt like I was rocking back and forth. The feeling was extremely weird, like standing on a ship in choppy water. I had no idea what was wrong with me and I began to worry that I might have something wrong with me - maybe my balance sensors were out of whack or my nervous system was breaking down.

Anyway, just as I was packing up this evening L asked me if I had felt the earthquake on Sunday. The feeling of relief that washed over me was unbelievable. Having been told this, I checked the earthquake lists and found several quite bad earthquakes in the Mendoza area which were strong enough to cause tremors here in BsAs.

So, the good news is I'm not falling apart although the apartment block gets the shakes every now and then.

Photos

Ok, I've finally got around to sorting out a flickr account so all my Argentina photos are up for you all to see. I apologise for the poor quality of some of them but they were taken with a 2.1 megapixel digital camera (which was as good as it got when the camera was given to me as a present) and, yes, I know some phone cameras are better than that now - go figure. I still haven't got my other (conventional) photos developed yet but hopefully I'll be able to do so next week, once I've been paid.

There are photos from La Boca, my winter holiday and my recent trip to Recoleta Cemetery. More will be added as they are taken.

Enjoy.

Recoleta Cemetery

I've been meaning to go to this place almost ever since I got to BsAs.

Recoleta is a posh part of BsAs and the cemetery is the last resting ground of it's rich and famous - and, of course, this includes Eva (Evita) Peron (although her husband, Juan, didn't make it here and is buried in a slightly less posh place (Chacarita Cemetery), however Evita's family had a mausoleum here and here she is kept (buried isn't quite right as the coffins don't go into the ground).



The cemetery is a wonderful place, full of grandiose buildings in many different styles. The mausoleums range from simple brick built boxes (some so narrow that there's just room to get the coffin in) through to ornate miniature cathedrals (one reminded me of Westminster Abbey). The building materials are similarly varied with bricks, sandstone, granite, marble and a host of other materials I can't identify. All of them have windows of some sort so you can see either the coffins or the stairs down to the vault. Quite often the windows are stained glass and, like all stained glass windows, are meant to be seen from inside the building. I got this photo by looking though a window in a door.


Even though it's in the middle of the city, it is very quiet because it's surrounded by a pedestrian only area (and several expensive hotels) although there is a good market not far away - I even bought a pair of earrings. So there's no sound of cars just the whirr of camera and birdsong. While there I was stopped by three people who tried to ask me in Spanish where Eva Peron's mausoleum was. The look of relief on their faces must have echoed my own when I replied in English - and they found what they were looking for!

Negotiating

I was woken up by the hammerers again today and I've been like a bear with a sore head all day because of it.

I had my Spanish lesson this morning and I could not concentrate at all. I couldn't remember any of the vocabulary I've spent hours learning, I couldn't remember the simplest verb (to be, to have, to know etc.) and, in all honesty, I hated being there. I know I'm not a good language learner or a good student but when I have made the effort to learn, it really annoys me that I can't use the damn language.

From there to the teachers' room and an afternoon spent planning.

I may have alluded here to difficulties I have with one particular class. Teenagers who have a very high level of English and absolutely no self-control. When I'm trying to teach them, I often feel like a fox surrounded by a pack of hounds which are about to rip me to bits. I can be talking to one student, answering their question, and another will start talking as if they are the only one in the room with me - and then get upset when I don't respond immediately. Anyway, I turned the tables on them (in the nicest of ways) last Wednesday. We only have ten weeks until the end of term, so I asked them to plan what they wanted to do in the lessons until then. Being a responsible teacher, I did provide a series of questions to guide them but then I left them to it (not that I left the room, you understand). In all honesty, what they came up with is a bit of a nightmare - bits of everything with no common thread linking them together. However, that is my job so I've spent today looking at what they want to do and turning it into proper lessons. Hopefully, I won't be hearing "Why are we doing this?/Do we need it?/What's the point of this?" again but I'm not holding my breath.

On a related note, my adult class at the same level also opted to plan the rest of the term but their plan is much more coherent. Rather than chose things from the coursebook, they chose themes and asked for vocabulary and exam type tasks (including writing, which surprised me). Much easier for me and much more meaningful for them.

Both of these mean I don't get much of a weekend this weekend but it will make things much easier for the rest of the term.

On a completely unrelated note, I haven't had a lot of energy over the last week or so and I've been feeling quite miserable. I checked my biorhythms yesterday and everything is negative but (and here's the good news) they are on the rise so things should be looking up soon.

Students' Day

Today is an unofficial holiday here. It's Students' Day. All the students (in BsAs at least) get the day off to meet up with their friends, have picnics, do daft things etc. This is on top of Teachers' Day (about two weeks ago) which is suppposed to be a day off for the teachers (but in reality is another day off for the students) and which I didn't get off (although I was sick on that day with the dreaded grippe). In addition, students in their final year of high school get an extra two week holiday in term time when they go to a resort and ski/dance/have fun. [And they feel so hard done by - they are always complaining about the amount of work they have to do. Huh!]

So I thought I'd have a nice quiet day of pampering. I booked a facial at the local beauty parlour and planned a long lie-in.

I was woken up at 8am by the sound of hammering, and not the consistent hammering of a skilled carpenter but the irregular tapping of someone taking tiles off a wall - in fact, two someones taking tiles off a wall. And because flats are built on the stack principle all the bathrooms are in the same place so it sounded like the noise was coming from my bathroom. Oh well...

I had the facial - very nice - and I've booked another. They aren't cheap but I need them, my skin is really suffering here, the water is quite harsh and I haven't found a cleanser I like (and, let's be honest, I've never had good skin).

Thankfully the hammerers have stopped for the day so it's nice and quiet at the moment. I'll be going to the gym this evening for the first time in over a week, now that I can breathe through my nose again.

Oh, and the sun is shining and I'm wearing flipflops again.

It's not our fault

Went to the mobile phone shop this afternoon to try and sort out my messaging problem. You see, I can send messages to Italy - where I'm assured they are received - but I can't receive messages from Italy.

I had a similar problem with the previous service provider (but couldn't send or receive) and was told it was because there wasn't an international agreement between Argentina and Europe! This time (different provider) I thought it might just be the settings on my phone. But, OH NO, it seems that the problem is in Italy - their equipment isn't compatible.

So there you have it, Italy (a first world nation) doesn't have the right equipment to interact with Argentina (a second world nation - despite what it thinks).

Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with Argentina defaulting on a government bond which left thousands of Italian pensioners broke, or Argentina defaulting on payments to the World Bank/IMF (don't know or care which one) both of which actions have left Argentina with a less than glowing credit status. No, it's the fault of the equipment in Italy.

Sulking

I've been sitting here for ten minutes staring at an empty screen wondering what to write about. Should I refer you to some of the other blogs I read? How about I update you on the colour and consistency of my phlegm? Or maybe I could tell you about how bored I am here in BsAs? The trouble is nothing seems to happen except work and crashdown from work. Even on those weekends when I do something social, it doesn't exactly set the world on fire. The thing I miss most here is decent conversation. It's not that I have no-one to talk to, but none of us know each other well enough to have one of those free-ranging conversations that make you cry (either from sadness or laughter).

My friends I miss you.

It's my birthday soon. I don't want any prezzies (too old to need that kind of validation) but I would like to know you read this. So please, stuff my comment box with messages.

Or I might sulk.

Walkies

Where has today gone?

I slept until late and have spent the afternoon and evening listening to the radio. I haven't actually done anything today. I haven't even been out of the flat. I know I shouldn't do this but having been so ill this last week, I've used today to catch up on my sleep and to enjoy some brain-dead time. It has felt good not to do any thinking and to switch off the need to concentrate, allow sound to wash over me, words to go in one ear and out of the other.

But, and it's a big but, this is becoming a bit of a habit. I started changing things before I got the bloody cold and I intend to get back on track next week. I find I'm getting fidgety after sitting around all day (albeit sitting around interspersed with getting up making cups of teas and omelettes) so I need more physical activity but I really don't want any more mental activity because I get more than enough of that during the week.

The gym beckons but it's shut until Monday so I guess I'll have to go walkies!

Bleeding 'ell!

Ah the weekend, such a lovely time of the week, and good news from this end. A mole which decided to bleed about four weeks ago is not in any way dangerous according to the dermatologist.

I didn't like the look of it but the doctor is an expert in these things and, having seen it twice, says it's a verucca (which in Spanish is used to describe anything that's not a mole) and definitely benign. She doesn't speak English and my Spanish is somewhat limited but the word benign is the same in both languages.

She also told me I should map my moles. Anyone interested in getting naked with me?

(Do not answer that question!)

Bouncing 'round the classroom

I went back to work today. Not fully recovered but so bored that the thought of spreading my germs didn't hold me back one little bit. Luckily I wasn't teaching in the morning so I had a long lie in.

Only three classes today, the first of which only had two students. Interesting though and it gave me the chance to concentrate on their individual needs. Unfortunately they were the best and least best of the group (don't you love that euphemism?) so finding a happy medium wasn't easy - in fact it wasn't possible.

Best bit of the class? Shiralee's uncontrollable coughing fit. You know how, once you get started, you just can't stop? Well that was me. So I'm half way through telling them what I want them to do and I get the urge...

Now normally I can control my cough reflex but this one wasn't to be held back. I tried to keep talking, I reached for my bottle of water, I unscrewed the top but before I could raise the bottle to my mouth, the coughing started.

And once it started, it didn't stop. This was coughing with a vengence. All those times I'd supressed a cough, all those times I'd washed away the urge with a drink of water - the cough was back and it meant business!

First it was the coughing, then going red in the face, then my eyes started watering, then I had difficulty finding time to breathe, finally I bounced around the classroom. All this time my students were staring at me...

And what was going through their minds?

I wonder if she'll forget to give us homework!

Time Off

You know how it is. When you're working and everything is piling up, you long for a day off when you can catch up with all those little irritating things that cause you to trip up all the time. Then your body says 'enough!' and inflicts a nasty headcold on you with it's associated problems.

So I haven't been:

• sleeping properly - waking up every half hour to wipe my nose, clear my throat, dispose of the phlegm


• eating properly - an extremely sore throat does not lend itself to good food and, much as I like ice-cream, there is a limit even for me


• able to concentrate - after about 20 minutes I feel like I want to doze off (but see above) and I keep losing track of what I was doing, starting and not finishing things


• able to see my friends/colleagues and join in social activities

I really wanted some time off but not like this - hell, I can't wait to get back to work.

Pity me (pleeeeease)

So I woke up this morning and, guess what? My sniffles had decided to transform themselves into a full blown head cold with sinus pain, sore and swollen throat and a running nose. To make things worse, I could hardly speak and swallowing was the most painful experience I can remember (and I know the body ensures that you forget pain as quickly as possible - why else would we keep on doing daft things?). So I didn't go to Tigre, I spent the day in bed, dozing and having weird dreams - generally about work.

The only thing I've been able to get down me today has been drinking yogurt. I know I'm not supposed to eat dairy products when I have sinus problems but it was the only thing in the fridge which was a) liquid, b) cold and c) contained some kind of nourishment. The cool loveliness of the yogurt seems to have calmed my throat down a little and I can now swallow without wanting to cry.

In a little while I'm going to venture out and buy some ice-cream - bugger it, I'm ill and I deserve it!

The Weekend

I can't believe it's the weekend again! Where does the week go? I haven't been very well this week, a bit of a cold and a sore throat - damned inconvenient. It's meant that I haven't taught my private student (lack of money) and I haven't been to the gym (lack of exercise).

Still, it's given me time to slow down and catch up on all sorts of admin stuff that I got behind with. I still have boletines outstanding but I'll do that on Sunday when it's all nice and quiet here.

The school has taken out a lease on a house in Tigre and it's a birthday weekend for one of my colleagues so they have arranged a party/barbeque for tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll be well enough to go as I have the house for my birthday weekend and I'd like to know how to get there. I'm expecting to spend an easy day doing very little but sitting down and chatting to my colleagues but we'll wait and see.

My oh so interesting life (not)

So what have I got for you today? Not a lot, I'm afraid.

My days at the moment are consumed with marking homework, bringing my records up to date, planning lessons (which my students complain about - ie. they have to do some work and they don't want to) and writing reports.

I've also got a bit of a sore throat at the moment so I didn't see my private student today - instead I spent the time doing paperwork, aren't I a good girl? On the downside, I won't be going to the gym tomorrow as I still have a load of stuff to do and I've got no energy. Still once this week's over, things will get easier.

I had a bit of a row with my proficiency teenagers today. It seems that Monday is "Teachers' Day" which those students took to mean that they don't have to come to class. I wouldn't mind so much but I don't get the day off (it's supposed to be only Primary School teachers but it's been extended to Secondary teachers) so I don't see why they (who have a very expensive and difficult set of exams in December) should take the day off. On top of that "Students' Day" is coming up, and they get that day off. The trouble with these 'holidays' is that they are not official holidays but traditions (like Mothers' Day), however, it's any excuse not to go to school. My students think they have a hard life (they are all middle to upper class) but all they have to worry about is doing their schoolwork (and they don't always do that). Not one of them works (Saturday job? what's that?) nor will any of them until they've left university (when they're 23/24). God only knows how they would cope with the real world if mummy and daddy suddenly lost all their money.

OK rant over. I've decided to do a DVD or video lesson on Monday evening, maybe...

Oh My God....

I've just re-read my recent posts and OH MY GOD, how boring are they? Very, very, would be my response.

Sorry.

The holiday seems such a long time ago that I can't remember any of the little things that made it so enjoyable and I still haven't been able to afford to get my proper photos developed (next payday, I promise). I will have a look back through my posts, I'm sure I left some notes for myself somewhere and then I'll make it all lively and smashing (or stop writing about the holiday all together).

We're back into boletines here! So, for the second time this year I have to fill in non-sensical pieces of paper and cardboard to tell my students (and/or their parents) how wonderful/awful/in-between they are. When I asked why we had to do this three times a year even though we only have two terms, I was told 'because the schools do it and the parents expect it'. Biggest load of nonsense I've ever heard. I'm damn sure that if the school told the parents that they would get two reports, one at the end of each term, they (the parents) would accept it. Additionally, the teachers would much happier, it would cost the school less and there would be less paper floating around. I'm not sure what the rationale is for how our systems work but I've got the feeling that they've just evolved that way and no-one has thought to put a stop to the proliferating paperwork. It's not even that there's so much information, it's just that we seem to have to repeat things two or three times in different places - thank god the school provides pens.

It reminds me of when I was working for the NSPCC and I had to produce weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual statitical reports. I soon realised that no-one was even looking at them (in fact when I accidently forgot to send a batch out - back in the days when everything went by post - nobody noticed). Over the next few months and years I slowly eased out the weekly, then monthly reports. Next I reduced the information in the quarterly reports and more finely targetted it to the audience. Finally I was left producing an annual report (by then computers were much more common place) which was basically written by the people who dealt with the team activities. In the end I reorganised myself out of a job - although I continued to work for the NSPCC in various capacities for many years after. Anyway the point is, most paperwork is done because someone at sometime thought it was a good idea and it hasn't been reviewed since.

Of course, I could be totally wrong about this and the system could have been overhauled recently but, somehow, I doubt it.

Social Weekend

So what did I get up to last weekend? Yet again, I was a busy bunny. Friday was full of Spanish lessons, Language Awareness, Teacher development and general admin.

When I got home at 3pm on Friday, it was to discover that I had no gas. They (the mysterious they who shall not be identified) have been doing work on the block, principally the heating system which has been causing damp in my flat. It seems that part of this process involved turning off the gas to the building but once the gas is turned off, it can only be turned back on by a qualified 'plumber'. I was assured that this would be no later than 7pm.

Friday was not a good day, first my Spanish teacher was late and then went to the loo and made a cup of coffee, then most of the other teachers were late for the input session which itself went on way too long, then the plumbers hadn't turned up by 7:10pm and I had arranged to meet L at 7:30 to go to tango. As I left the Encangardo (Janitor/caretaker) told me the plumbers would be there soon (within twenty minutes which in Argentina means within an hour) so I said NO and walked out. I hadn't gone ten metres when I realised that I was cutting off my own nose, so I phoned L but only got her answerphone (twice). So I hustled my behind to be at our meeting place (via the bank) only to find she wasn't there! When she turned up 5 minutes late, she told me she didn't have change for the bus and would have to go back to a kiosk to buy some water. By then I was fuming, it's not as if this was the first time we'd done this journey and knowing that I'd given up the chance to get my gas turned on didn't make things any better. In the end I realised that there was no way I could spend the evening with L and not be extremely nasty to her when she kept me waiting (as she does all the time), so I told her that I was in a foul mood and was going home. And I left.

I got back to the building just in time to stop the plumbers leaving. The turning on ceremony consisted of them turning on the supply to my flat, turning on all the burners on my cooker and lighting them then lighting the pilot of the boiler. This is standard practice but it seemed so unnecessary.

Anyway I was soooo wound up that I couldn't sleep and didn't go to bed until 4am. What's worse is that I woke up at 9am and realised that there was no way I could get back to sleep. So I got up and did all my washing, sorted out a few things and finally plucked up the courage to go to the gym.

The gym was good. The 'personal trainer' decided that my programme should consist of 20 minutes on the treadmill at 6 km/h followed by 15 minutes on the stationery bike. When I'd done that I went to see him and he said I was finished for the day! I put my foot down (in the nicest possible way) and insisted that I wanted to do some strength training. He was dubious, I think he just saw a fat middle-aged woman and couldn't think beyond aerobic/cardio-vascular work to shift the pounds, but he did what I wanted and once I showed I know how to use the machines he was more ameanable. It is a little funny that people who work in the sport/fitness industry can only see fitness in terms of slimness. I don't claim to be the fittest person around but I think I can, and do, do a lot more than the statistics of my age, weight and height would suggest. I ached like crazy the next day but it was worth it.

I'm going to follow the programme for at least a month and then try to get into the classes. Oh, and I'm still climbing the stairs although I've decided to repeat floor four this week and move down to floor three next week.

That Saturday night, I went to another amateur performance in San Isidro. This time it was a two-hander called The Gin Game. I really enjoyed it. It could have been tighter in places and the acting got a little hammy occasionally but it was well worth the journey and the twelve pesos. I have to admit that I was so tired after the play that I went straight home to bed.

Sunday was a lovely, long, lazy day - unfortunately I didn't do any planning but I managed to wing it today - and it was well worth the rest. This week is going to be hectic, we have reports (again!) and I'm leading a language awareness session this Friday and my register is in a bit of a mess - I've done the essential paperwork but not all the little bits that help me keep track of what I'm doing.

I'll be going to the gym tomorrow morning and then straight into work to do admin, reports, sorting out etc. I have a feeling that this time tomorrow night I'm going to be in bed asleep, dreaming sweet dreams.

Back to the holiday Part 4

So we're back in Salta, arriving last on the Sunday evening. Back we trog to the same hotel we had stayed at previously, different room and so cold. But we were only there for one night and up at 6am the next morning. We met up with the Movietrak people at 7am, loaded ourselves into the 4WD and off we went. Our trip followed the Tren a las Nubes (Train of the Clouds) and 8am found us walking along train tracks which were very slippery - I didn't walk far - and watching our breathe coalesce in front of our faces.

Up in the mountains, we could see goats bounding from rocky outcrop to rocky outcrop and heard a kid demaning it's mother come back to fetch it (but got not response). A brief stop for coffee and we were on our way again. Our next stop was at a small village with a loo and a small market. That's where I bought my llama wool gloves - lovely and warm. From there we continued up the mountains until finally we reached San Antonio de los Cobre. This is the midway stop to the 'top' of the mountain. It is an old copper mining town but a lot of investments has been put in to develop it as a community. We stopped there for two reasons, firstly to allow us time to acclimatise and secondly to have lunch. We didn't get any choice about where to have lunch or what to have for lunch but it was good. The locals approached us all the time offering goods for sale and photo opportunities (kids [human] with kids [goats]) but I declined.

From there it was onto the salt lakes. On the way we were flagged down by a man whose group had decided to drive their hire car onto the salt flat at a place where no-one else went. Our driver Federico drove our vehicle out as far as he could, then he and the other blokes (ladies were not invited or expected to do any heavy work) walked out to the stranded car and pushed/pulled it back to safety. It seems that this kind of aid to those in need is part and parcel of driving around in such desolated areas - I was pleased we stopped (even though I had no say in the matter).




From there we went onto the salt flat where everyone else was. From a distance, it just shimmers white on the horizon but when you get up close it looks like an ice rink.












When we got out of the vehicle I was worried that I would slip over but the reality was that it's a salt flat - what do we put on ice to provide traction? yep, salt. There was no slipperiness and, in fact, as we walked out on the lake we noticed the hexagonal ridges where the salt has crystalised.




Several rectangular slabs had been cut out of the salt which showed that the water-level was only about eight inches below where we were walking and the water was freezing cold.

By now the sun was up although it wasn't that warm and we walked around a took photos while the wheel was changed and then we were off again, from there to Humahuaca and I think I'll save that for another post!