Am I a bitch?

There are some things that make our life somehow more difficult than it really is, and force us to behave in a way we don't like. Even though we want to smile all the time, and be such loving and cute people, something comes up in the way, and we become...let's say...bitches...
I can admit it, without any fear or remorse, that I quite often become one, and I am very glad for doing so...Whenever I see the results of it, I congratulate myself, for showing character and firmness...
I think it is impossible to have some things done, to make them do what is needed, if you don't get bitchy from time to time..
I don't want to love me, I want to respect me, to see that what I do, is for their best interest, and in the long run, they will take back all the bad things they have said, and all the negative thoughts they have made.
This, has happened so many times up to now, that I should have been used to it, but still...every time is a different story.
The same thing goes with the people I work with, or they work for me..
I can show tremendous patience and understanding, but there are some subtle things, that when they happen, I totally change my attitude and feelings.
Oh....I wanted to write something funny, and it came out serious...So I stop, until my mood gets better..

Life goes on!

Having English summer courses is a tricky task.
First of all,parents and children do not want to have any homework. This is something that can be arranged, not without any consequences of course!
Then, they do not want a lot of hours....Xmmmm! How is it possible to cover a nine months' material in two months with just 6 hours per week?
O.K. I am not good at maths, but you do not have to be genius to figure out that this is a mission impossible!
So, what can someone do?
First, smile with understanding and compassion, for the little darlings who have to suffer!
-I AM the one who suffers when I have to deal with people like that!
Second, you try to inform them about all the possible alternatives to keep a decent level of logic...which is in vain...of course.

But, alas! Times are difficult, and always there is someone around to promise whatever they want, and that drugs you down ....to a level you had never thought of!

And life goes on, like a show! What is it going to be? Who are you going to be?

Sex talks!

There are some times that we , as we say in Greek, Make the sign of cross. It is like drinking coca-cola...it suits with every taste and can company every situation..
Anyway, what do you do when you realize that instead of attending the lesson, they have a nice talk about HER first time!
So, without knowing what to do, I continued the lesson pretending that I had not understood a thing... At the same time thin voices, were coming to me, tearing the silence of the classroom, spelling in my ears their secrets.
She was only 14.5, and the boy was her first boyfriend...It was so nice to make it for the first time with someone she loved so much....
A little voice screamed in my mind...-YOU ARE ONLY 14.5 -!! but I didn't tell anything....

Another time, another 15 year old girl , was asking for advices concerning her sex life...

-I made love for the first time when I was 13. I wanted to know how it was, then I fell in love with another guy, but we broke up!! I didn't want to make love with him, I felt that it would be a mistake...But now, the boy I am with, keeps asking me .....I don't know what to do, as I feel I am still in love with my ex.......-

While I was listening carefully, trying to keep calm and respond like Opra to all her difficult questions, I thought that she was very young , just a child, and yet we talked like friends.....

So many talks ...and the same old question - DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW?- Of course not!

Mothers who want to be friends, learn only what their daughters want them to know. After so many years, they know exactly what their mothers can handle,,and behave accordingly ....

So mothers be aware!

LAZYBONES!

On Saturday three of my students sit for their Advanced- ALCE certificate...
This morning they wrote English at school, and then we had arranged to have a couple oh hours..
So, I went and waiting ....and waiting....until one of mothers called to tell me, that her dearest son had decided to have lesson in the afternoon...He had also informed the others as well!!

I was ...speechless!! Instead of telling him to rush to his lesson, she acted like a secretary or something...
Of course, I immediately regain my composure, and my...speech..and I started calling the other mothers, to locate their sons and send them to the lesson...
After a lot of calls, they came, and I Kept them half an hour more, to compensate for the missing one...
I gave them a huge katsada, which is like scolding, but not quite, and admitted that they had acted very childishly..

Anyway, the point is, that you have to be very persistent and firm and use every mean to reach your goal, and mine is , them to pass their exam...Even they want to , or not....

Now....what?!

As I have already written I should convince myself to write an essay...
But some problems have arisen...
I need to go to the toilet....urgently...............O.K. I am back!
Now I have to finish my book, which will take a while....It is a thick book, and I hope to be finished by the end of....... this month! It is called : Angels and Demon" by Dan Brown. Very nice...
I have just finished " Confessions of a shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella. It is so funny! As you can imagine, this was my inspiration to name my blog...

If you think that now I am ready to write the god damned essay you are WRONG!
Not before watching Lazopoulos on Alfa TV! Then I will be very tired, to think seriously...or I will write to my friends' blogs, or find out what it is going on on the Facebook......

Tomorrow it will be a difficult day, so I don't think I will have time to write it.... I need to go to the hairdresser and have my hair dyed......
How is it possible to concentrate on an essay since I have not decided on the right color yet!

Thank God I am not a student, and I don't have to sit for tests or write obligatory essays....
I am a teacher and, I write on the blogs!
Who said that getting old doesn't involve a lot of ....cookies!!

It is good to protect yourself!

Sometimes I need to be strong and strict, and stiff and obstinate and all the difficult stuff....
When someone does something to hurt you professionally, or acts behind your back, then you get angry and want to protect yourself and pay back, if it is possible, of course!
We live in a cruel world, and you can't tell apart the sheep from the wolves..

snobbish mothers!

In the last post, I wrote about call somebody names, and in a day's span, the time came to use some of them....
A mother called me for summer lessons and she said that her lovely and sweet daughter has a kind of phobia with classrooms and she asked me to go to their house to start and to see how it will go....
Do you really bite that? I don't! They just get so, very bored to get dressed and hurry the poor child to her lessons, so they thought of a very modern excuse....
Suddenly a lot of people admit phobias, where they don't have any, just to look more sophisticated, or to avoid responsibilities...
I don't know what it is happening in the rest of Greece. I can only speak about this small corner of the country...but in the lest decades Greek people have develop a very snobbish attitude..
What I think is that they have a lot more complexes than phobias....Should I feel bad for writing it?
I don't know and ...I don't care....
So dear Xpal, or just X for short, yesterday I went out. And it was really out..in the country. There, under a huge tree, in a taverna, a friend had invited us to celebrate his wife's name day..
So far, so good! A lot of people came, all couples and some of their children...
What I really hate in such gatherings is the way people are seated... Men to one side, women to the other..I find the Arabic way much more honest,,,to sit to other room,,,! So, you find yourself among women, that you don't really know that well, not knowing what to say,,,not having anything to say to them actually...They don't get into trouble to introduce the ones you do not know, the others who are closer do not bother even to say good morning..
From one point of view, is just like taking your kid to the park...You sit on a bench and look around from time to time, to see if everything is alright...Sometimes a polite person sits next to you and have a little chat for a while.. That's it!!
As I said in the beginning , snobbish attitude...very problematic indeed!
The funny thing is, that they boast about their high lever of character!! But to me..they are still in the basement...

Calling names!

Calling names, sounds such an innocent expression comparing it to its Greek equivalent, vrisia!
With the first three letters, all the frustration is spitted out of your mouth! Then, comes the next two, ia, and with their open sound, relieves the anger, the negative feelings, the contempt, whatever you want to express!
To tell you the truth, I like telling bad things in English, as I don't feel the weight of their meaning as I feel it in Greek! Lets say one of my favorite...stupid cow or, Aren't they great!?
I know that it is not a proper thing to do, but I don't want to be always polite..it can't represent my emotional state when something bad happens.....It is also a great way to communicate your meaning! There is no way to be misunderstood!

Well, dear reader! I should find a name to call you! A nice name since you get into trouble to read my posts... Lets think! What do you think of....Xpal? X, because I don't know who you are, and pal...because we share some private thoughts!

Well, I don't f........g believe it! The bad words, just weren't published ! There is inner censorship!

An idiot customer!

Our customers are called students...The sad fact is that they have parents, who are called customers, as they, are the ones who pay the fees... Some of them are alright, but some others are awful! They consider themselves experts in everything, and they have a strong opinion of how teaching should be, even though they don't have a damn idea about teaching ,and English..
Greek mothers are the worse sample of a mother when it comes to that...
So, I am thinking that writing in English is great, since a lot of Greeks don't have a clue not only of blogs but also English..So I can write freely whatever comes to my mind and never be found guilty of something...Foe example, I can confess that I imagine that one day someone will discover my huge talent ,and I will be asked to be published, and who knows....I will be interviewed about my successful blog...and I will be famous!
This is a diary, and if not writing nonsense in diaries...where should we ?
Greece is a small country and I wouldn't like to meet someone who reads this stuff....He will probably have the idea that I am a swallow and absent minded person...while if he reads my Greek blog he will have another idea! At least, this is what I think......
I am running out of battery .....so, this is the end for now!

My first confession!

I am so thrilled!!
I have been thinking for a good way to improve my English for a long time. I have already started lessons for the Cambridge Proficiency. ( I have the Michigan). So, as part of this, I have to write essays...This is difficult for me because I really don't like writing stuff like that! On the contrary, I love writing poems. stories, tales, articles, whatever that is, except essays!
Well!..After I slept on it, I decided to create this blog, and write my story , my feelings, and experiences...
I think it would be fun, and at the same time I will improve my English...... Be patient with me, laugh with my mistakes, write what you think...
Thank YOU! for reading my first post, and I really hope to stick to it....to see how it will go......

I had to rush my son to his computer lesson, so now I am back and ready to share my thoughts..
What I have to do, is to open my books and do a test....But before that, I NEED to write a little more on the blog. Then I have to cook, to tidy the house, to go shopping....Whatever comes in the way.....I search for excuses before sitting down and start working....seriously!
After I have finished with the proficiency, I would be able to continue with a master, and who knows...one day I will be on the papers as the oldest teacher learning the basics....
Don't get me wrong! A lot of my students have taken the proficiency...
I can't understand, what happens when I am in the classroom...Suddenly all the right things are there..
I believe that practice brings excellence, so please, share my feelings and leave a supportive note!