A few minutes could make a difference

This is my third week with my Pre-Int & Int classes so it's no surprise that I've gotten to know their personalities and moods by now. This morning, when one of my students, who I'll call "A" walked into the classroom rather quietly instead of his usual smiling face, I immediately knew something was up.

I quietly asked him if he was alright. He said no. I asked if he was sick. He said no. I asked him if there was anything he'd like to talk about, and he said he'd tell me after class.

A is in his early twenties. He's sharp, witty and generally a nice guy. So when he spoke to me after class and told me about his "problem" I felt two things. Firstly, I was glad that he felt he could trust me enough to open up and tell me what was bothering him.  Secondly, it reminded me how each and every student comes with their own unique background. Within 90 minutes, I travel between Cape Town, Brazil, Columbia, Angola, Saudia Arabia and many other countries. Each student in my class has some story to tell. They're mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives etc. After a 90 minute lesson, I feel more rejuvenated than tired - believe it or not!

Being a teacher does not mean merely teaching. It means learning just as much as the students. It means empathizing, but at the same time being cautious so as not to become emotionally attached to students.

We have to remember that a language school is like a business. As teachers, we are the service providers and the students are our clients. Each "client" has a particular need and it is up to us - the teacher - to ensure he/she is comfortable as many have traveled far and wide to be here in our country to study English.

By just taking a few minutes of your time to chat to a student, you could be making a big difference for him or her. Just by knowing that somebody cares!

Borders are for people...

For the past few days, I have been mesmerized by the opening lyrics of a song from the Bollywood film, Refugee (2000) directed by JP Dutta, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. With music by Anu Malik and lyrics by Javed Akhtar, the song Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke was sung by Sonu Nigam & Alka Yagnik.

Panchhi nadiyan pawan ke jhoken (Birds, rivers, gusts of wind)

Koi sarhad naa inhe roke (No border inhibits them)

Sarhaden insaano ke liye hain (Borders are for people)

Socho, tumne aur maine (Think about it, what have you and I)

Kya paaya insaan hoke (Obtained by being born as humans?)

Many of us are taking emotional stock take of our lives as 2011 draws to a close. This song speaks about what it means to be born as a human and how birds, rivers and gusts of wind have no borders which inhibits them. I don't know about you, but it's almost as if I envy birds, rivers, mountains, flowers and trees. Compared to these natural beauties, we are on this earth for far less than they will be. As humans, we continue to be arrogant, we hate more than we love and we worship material goods far too much.

What does it mean to live a simple life?

For me, it means having few or no material items. Think about it - the less we have, the less we have to worry about it. How often do we go away on holiday and immerse ourselves into complete relaxation mode? More often than not, we're worried about our home that is locked up and guarded by a security alarm. A house filled with valuables. Electronics? Computers, laptops, TVs, DVD players, DVDs. The list could go on.

Imagine what life would be like as an animal - either wild or domesticated. What about life as a plant? As a tree...living through harsh weather conditions, yet still remaining strong and majestic.

Simply put, we live in a harsh world. Deadly diseases and crime rob us of our loved ones on a daily basis. We gossip about others to feel better about ourselves and kill our soul with that six letter word called "STRESS".

If you're reading this, no doubt you're a fully functional person. We can't suddenly transform into a sunflower, river or a mountain. However, while we're here on earth, let's try to love "things" less and people more.
This brings me to another quote I read recently:

People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved...and people are being used.

The more I think about it, the more I would love to be reincarnated as a part of nature - a bird who soars freely through the open skies, a mountain - standing tall and proud, or a rippling brook...drifting into a river and the ocean. Never-ending. Without any borders. Borders are for people.

My very own "Mind Your Language"

It's been a week since I met my two classes (Intermediate & Pre-Intermediate). My students hail from all over the world - literally, namely Angola, Brazil, Columbia, Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Ivory Coast, Canada, Taiwan, Vietnam, Egypt, Belarus and Yemen! I'm rather proud of myself that I know all student's names - which, of course, sounds very exotic to my South African ears!

My two morning classes (focusing on General English) is 90 minutes long. Sounds like a long class, but in fact, I wish it were longer. Conversation seems to snowball in the class and interesting debates have ensued over the past few days.

The past week has taught me so much, especially how we, as native English speakers take the language for granted. What we regard as "basic" or "everyday" words actually seem to be problem areas for some of my students.

The topics covered so far have been Business and Health. This week, my Intermediate class is studying the unit on Design, while my Pre-Intermediate class is focusing on the Natural World. For each lesson that I prepare, I'm learning just as much as what I'm teaching my students. Sometimes I feel like I'm back at school with the Grammar aspect of it. I must be honest, though - it's not as grueling as I thought it would be...yet!

Some of my friends have joked around saying that I sound like "Mr Brown" from the old British sitcom, Mind Your Language. Honestly speaking, I do feel like Mr Brown - without the intense classroom fighting and minus the pompous principal, Ms Courtney!

Mr Brown & his colourful students in Mind Your Language

Speaking of which, I work with a fantastic bunch of people. Each teacher brings something very special to the staff room.  Many have either traveled extensively or have had several years experience in this industry, making the work environment a very stimulating place to work in. There's always some kind of interesting conversation happening - whether it's about books, theater, teaching methods or lesson idea's.

Everyday when I leave a classroom, I take a bit of my students with me. I love that even though I'm a teacher, I'm learning from them - about their respective countries and cultures - every single day.

Back in the classroom!

This morning, I found myself at the same language college where I got my TEFL qualification in 2007. This time, not as an eager, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed student - but rather an eager, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed teacher!

For two days, I will observe classes and lessons and on Friday, I will act as a substitute teacher. On Monday, I take over from another teacher.

Anyway, being back in the classroom - this time, only adult students - reminded me what an exciting industry TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) is. I will try my best to blog & update on my experiences and challenges as often as possible. So far, I'm looking forward to it all - I'm going to be working with a great bunch of people...students & teachers.

That's all for today - lights out for me now!

Glued in...

Imagine my confusion when, this morning, I couldn't even put my (apartment) key into the keyhole from the outside. It worked fine from the inside, though. It seemed like something was stuck inside. But I certainly couldn't have broken a key in it?!

Much to my dissatisfaction, I had to leave my place unlocked for the morning till a locksmith came in the afternoon. After putting some oil and trying to maneuver whatever was blocking the keyhole, the locksmith asked me, "Do you have any enemies in the building?" Well - that was enough to shake me up!

He said it appears as though there is super glue in my keyhole.
I was shocked.

Over R400 later - my locks were replaced and I was given a new set of keys.  I looked this up online and the results I got from "super glue, keyhole" was "revenge". Creepy, right?

So let this be a warning to one and all - apparently, some people do it on car door locks as well.
Just be aware...

2011 - Nightmare from Hell

I'm all for positive blog posts and whatnot, but for this particular post, I would like to have a few words with something better known as 2011.

I don't remember another year which was as hard as 2011 was for me. No other year brought as much tears to my eyes as it did. From heartache to heartbreak, the last few months have felt like I was stuck in a nightmare and just couldn't wake up.

There are some days I would never want to re-live, where days seemed so dark I cursed life like never before.

Rejection hit me over and over and over again....and then some. I remember one particular phone call where I spoke to a person (for a job) and actually found myself saying, "Please...I'm on my knees begging you." Believe me, that is how desperate I was.

The day before my birthday, my e-mail account was hacked and Twitter account deleted. I cried bitterly - mostly because with all my e-mails and contacts that were gone, so were all my dozens of job applications. To this day, I'm still trying to re-build my Twitter following which was made up of teachers, writers and friends across the world.

People also walked out of my life this year. I've made peace with that and now realize that by them taking the exit, they were merely making space for greater people to enter my space. Everything - after all - happens for a reason. We may not realize it right now, but we will when the time is right.

I also feel like 2011 robbed me of my voice. It felt incredibly hard to string words together like I used to. I didn't feel the need to write like before. It was like my emotions were numb. Typically on a day where the skies are clear and the sun is shining, I would be in the happiest mood. This year, I saw very little sunshine and blue skies. I don't think I even heard birds chirping as much as before.

I know other people who also fell victim to the horrendous grey clouds that 2011 brought with it. Some experienced illness and others, death of loved ones.

So to turn the grey cloud around, if there's one thing I am grateful for is my health and the fact that I have two parents. Also grateful for my brother who at the best of times, has an old soul.

There's just one month left of this year and I will be glad as ever to see its behind on December 31 2011. I'm  fairly certain that 2012 will be a better one. For all of us.

Who are you, really?

If I were to ask the question, "Who are you, really?" - what would your answer be?

Would I say - I'm a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, friend, citizen, etc etc etc...

These labels may be true, but is that ALL I am? Is that all YOU are?

Here's another question - Who are you in those last few seconds before you fall asleep?

...will discuss this further on a later post!