Yes, updating would be good...like having a 30-hour day, really

...which for the moment is not possible...
So, for what is going on at the moment:

- started the DELTA. This means a looooot of work, tons of books to read, and stress levels as high as possible as I think of the observations, and of the little time I have to do everything... It does feel extremely good, though, when I see my desk crowded with books, and I spend weekends making notes, detailed tables, I jot down ideas, prepare students' questionnaires and learn of new ways to teach... I am a nerd, ultimately...

- contract extended until December, then we keep our fingers crossed, don't we? I do love it there: have just finished teaching the run with the hopeless L5 students, who are becoming more and more neurotic, suffering from acute blocking syndrome, which means that now they won't speak until they can see a positive reaction from me that confirms that yes, the grammar is right, yes, the structure is right, yes, that is the right word to use... So not good for them. At the same time, having such a large number of Arabic students, I see to be picking words and things from their language...funny.
- Have also started teaching advanced: how exciting! This would have never happened in Brighton! I was condemned to elementary and pre-intermediate, with the good excuse that nobody else was as good as me at those levels. Here they need someone for the advanced, and I am a teacher like anybody else, so here we go: it's so cool. Stressful as I have never taught it before, which means more preparation, but useful and interesting as it is good experience, and after three weeks I am confident enough to "try stuff", and the DELTA classes are very useful too, so have already recycled an idea, and probably will do again this week.
- Oh, am teaching my housemate this week. She's "blond", you know... Seriously stupid, I'm sorry to say. Called for hours on the Sunday she was supposed to arrive, until I finally picked up the phone, and then she told me that she was in London and would arrive at 3. Ehm...so what? Then on the first day she got lost and arrived at school late. Surprisingly she ended up being an upper-intermediate, in spite of her really bad comprehension and speaking skills, which include a really funny use of "hello" when she should actually say "goodbye".... Had to tell her off twice already for her extensive use of the bathroom when other people (read: me) need to use it too, and am looking forward to torment her in class, to be honest... The evil side of teaching...

In other news, am just back from an interesting albeit slightly disappointing day in London: but the exhibition at Tate was worth it indeed. And so was the lemon cake and coffee afterwards, and the stroll along the Thames with my friend, and the long talk we had about...everything, which for the moment means her acting, my teaching and studying, and John.
But this is a complicated side of the story, and too personal to mention here. I should be strictly a teacher online...So I'll go update my portfolio, then. And then, lesson planning, studying, note-taking, and Action Research Planning... This is a DELTA teacher's life.