Fun Monday & Tuesday

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day this morning and a conviction to be a better teacher this week, i.e., have my lessons better prepared. And my three classes went well today and were fun - what a difference preparation makes! I just couldn't get into it last week for some reason.

I did an extra lesson with two students at the end of the day and we had so much fun! They are preparing for a competition in English and want the extra time speaking on each of the potential topics. I had prepared shopping phrases, such as sell out, stock up, shell out, etc., on a worksheet and we had so much fun going through them and talking about everything else that came up along the way. The 45 minute lesson turned into a hour and a half!

These two students couldn't afford private tutors so I have agreed to do this for free. But, when I told them about the school dinner and dance in Mariapocs and that I needed to learn how to dance the Hungarian (?), they volunteered to teach me. One of them took folk dancing lessons for years.

My first class today was the advanced 9E and I couldn't believe the gall of one of the students. The students keep trying to do their homework for other classes in my class, and I waited until all the notebooks were put away. Then, this one gal in the back kept talking to her seat mate and she had out her cell phone. I told her to give it to me, but she said "no" and put it in her pocket. So, I moved her up to the front of the room, and the next thing I know, she is talking on her cell phone, using her earpiece and trying to hide it all with her hair! I asked her to step --- no, I told her to step out side into the hall with me, and in the hall I took her phone, told her she was rude and that she needed to do the work. I told her from now on, when she comes into my classroom she has to turn over her cell phone for the class period. I have them again tomorrow and I am going to be so all over her. I told her form teacher what happened as well, so I am curious to see if she will be apologetic or not...probably not.

This afternoon, Mary Frances and Dana, the couple I met in Nyiregyhaza on Sunday, drove up to see the country side and to visit. I walked them through town and then we went to have tea, but the place I wanted to go to was closed. So we ended up at the coffee house close by and about 5 minutes after we sat down, about 20+ of my students walked in! They were all very polite and said hello, and I introduced one of them to Mary Frances and Dana. We had a good visit there, talking about some of the things we've both had to adjust to, including British English. Mary Frances is a speech therapist, so it really impacts her work. She said she had to learn right away that to call someone is to visit them and to ring them is to call them on the phone. She travels to different towns to work with her clients and has to schedule appointments, so it was a bit confusing to begin with. They are heading into Budapest tomorrow and I was able to help them with the train schedule and gave them a map to have when they arrive. I was great talking to fellow Americans close to my age, although it was a bit short.