still thinking

It has been raining for 5 days. We have had our Internet blown out again by a lighting strike. Our phones are still not working and may need to replace the actual phones. Tomorrow the washer will get a new panel (hopefully). Then maybe life will get back to normal until the next major storm comes through.

A few weeks ago (http://gingersflowers.blogspot.com/2009/10/today-i-have-appointment.html)

I talked about having a meeting with the Private language school, Britannia. I went to the meeting, really enjoyed talking to the coordinator for the course. She was young (and late by 30 minutes) and enthusiastic, easy to talk to. I was given a 'task' to do to tell them were I was in my knowledge of English. I just imagine that this is more for Brazilians wanting to take the course - to see where they are. BUT if you can imagine I learned English grammar what 50 - 55 years ago. I speak it well, and if you ignore punctuation errors, I write it well. To tell you what verb tense I am using and why I am using it, to tell you the difference between thin versus skinny or win versus beat, or to define modal verbs, I was somewhat lost. Really all of this is beside the point. The point being that I have decided that I do not want to pay a lot of money to earn so little. IF I start teaching right away, IF I teach routinely, if I find I LOVE teaching, if I don't take any trips to the USA or elsewhere for a year or so, If I deduct the cost of going and coming and supplying materials, IF - I can recoup my money in close to two years.............. This just doesn't work for me. Bottom line, I refused the Britannia course. Do you remember the course in linguistics I took a couple years back? One of the professors ask is I would (volunteer) to help a young Brazilian taking the course this year with her monograph. This I will like doing and don't mind doing it for free. Helping her organize her thinking, clarify statement, keep her on track - this I can do and I think do it well. For now it will do.