Second week has started
Soooooo, last week was wonderful. Really really intense but in a good way. Lots of laughter, lots of vocabulary, lots of helpful advice. We remained a quite small group throughout the week which made it even more effective.
This week's a bit different. New people have arrived, so we went from a group of three to a group of seven. I knew it would be different, but I think you never really know to what extent. Our group consists now of two teachers from Denmark, two teachers from Sweden and one teacher from Slovenia. Well, and us two from last week. The pace is still fast. There are still new words we're learning, but it's now more interacting with each other rather than with Peter, our trainer. I guess that's how it should be. I really liked the way things were last week because I felt like I was given feedback on way more aspects than today. For example Peter would always comment on our pronunciation or give us very specific advice. Now of course that has changed.
What this tells me you want to know? First and foremost, I guess it tells me that I'm not as flexible as I thought I was. I get used to certain situations very fast, especially when I feel comfortable. So whenever the situation changes I don't really like it. I want to work on that. I am still an open person, ready to learn and make new contacts and such. But I feel a bit more reserved and awkward. It's funny how these things happen and you notice that something's up, but you can't really put your finger on what exactly is bothering you. Only after reflecting and asking yourself 'ok so what is it that made today so different from last week' you realize that it is the change in fact that you're not very comfortable with.
Ela, the polish girl, feels the same, which kinda gives me comfort. We spent our break together analyzing and also in a way evaluating the others. With the conclusion that we liked last week way better. We agreed that the others were all nice and interesting, but still: having a trainer to yourself is soooooo much better.
The upside: I've never got to work with teachers from northern countries before so it's really interesting to find out about their ways of teaching, their habits, their approaches, and cultural differences that we have.
Today, for example, we spoke about kissing. Fun topic. Apparently, in Denmark it's very unusual to kiss people - relatives, friends - on the cheek when greeting them. Again, upon hearing that Ela and I exchanged doubtful looks. 'But why?' 'Not even your parents'. I had the impression that people who lived in the north were sometimes more distanced, but not to that extent. So that's something that I've learnt and something that's made me think twice about how different people can be. How different cultures are. How societies work sometimes. And ultimately, how prejudiced I sometimes am.
I'm curious to see how this week's gonna progress and what else will come up in class. I really want to pay more attention to being open and judge situations less quickly. There's something to learn in each and every possible occurrence.
On a completely different note: On my way to school I pass a construction site. So every morning for now seven days I've passed this construction site twice or even four times (cause I went running every morning before school). When I pass it, there's always this older Italian guy who randomly and out of the blue started greeting me in Italian. I of course reply. Today he stopped me and started asking where I was from, what my name was, what I was doing here. His name is Antonio, he's from Sicily, where he's going on Tuesday - so he wanted to know if I needed anything, food, sweets, anything.
How nice is that?! I smiled all the way to Sliema after that. I love Italians and their hospitality and way to make others feel. So this goes our to Antonio, the very nice construction worker, who greets me every morning and wishes me a good day every day. You're a very nice person and you've made my day.
This week's a bit different. New people have arrived, so we went from a group of three to a group of seven. I knew it would be different, but I think you never really know to what extent. Our group consists now of two teachers from Denmark, two teachers from Sweden and one teacher from Slovenia. Well, and us two from last week. The pace is still fast. There are still new words we're learning, but it's now more interacting with each other rather than with Peter, our trainer. I guess that's how it should be. I really liked the way things were last week because I felt like I was given feedback on way more aspects than today. For example Peter would always comment on our pronunciation or give us very specific advice. Now of course that has changed.
What this tells me you want to know? First and foremost, I guess it tells me that I'm not as flexible as I thought I was. I get used to certain situations very fast, especially when I feel comfortable. So whenever the situation changes I don't really like it. I want to work on that. I am still an open person, ready to learn and make new contacts and such. But I feel a bit more reserved and awkward. It's funny how these things happen and you notice that something's up, but you can't really put your finger on what exactly is bothering you. Only after reflecting and asking yourself 'ok so what is it that made today so different from last week' you realize that it is the change in fact that you're not very comfortable with.
Ela, the polish girl, feels the same, which kinda gives me comfort. We spent our break together analyzing and also in a way evaluating the others. With the conclusion that we liked last week way better. We agreed that the others were all nice and interesting, but still: having a trainer to yourself is soooooo much better.
The upside: I've never got to work with teachers from northern countries before so it's really interesting to find out about their ways of teaching, their habits, their approaches, and cultural differences that we have.
Today, for example, we spoke about kissing. Fun topic. Apparently, in Denmark it's very unusual to kiss people - relatives, friends - on the cheek when greeting them. Again, upon hearing that Ela and I exchanged doubtful looks. 'But why?' 'Not even your parents'. I had the impression that people who lived in the north were sometimes more distanced, but not to that extent. So that's something that I've learnt and something that's made me think twice about how different people can be. How different cultures are. How societies work sometimes. And ultimately, how prejudiced I sometimes am.
I'm curious to see how this week's gonna progress and what else will come up in class. I really want to pay more attention to being open and judge situations less quickly. There's something to learn in each and every possible occurrence.
On a completely different note: On my way to school I pass a construction site. So every morning for now seven days I've passed this construction site twice or even four times (cause I went running every morning before school). When I pass it, there's always this older Italian guy who randomly and out of the blue started greeting me in Italian. I of course reply. Today he stopped me and started asking where I was from, what my name was, what I was doing here. His name is Antonio, he's from Sicily, where he's going on Tuesday - so he wanted to know if I needed anything, food, sweets, anything.
How nice is that?! I smiled all the way to Sliema after that. I love Italians and their hospitality and way to make others feel. So this goes our to Antonio, the very nice construction worker, who greets me every morning and wishes me a good day every day. You're a very nice person and you've made my day.
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