The happiest day of my life!

My boyfriend, Wojtek, told me that he was taking me for a surprise trip for few days. It was only in the car, where I’ve found out that we were going to Paris :) Together with Wojtek’s brother we have spent three fantastic and enjoyable days in France.
It was planned that on the 15th of March we go to see the Eiffel Tower. At the top of it, Wojtek kneeled, opened a heart box with a gold diamond ring and asked me to marry him in 17 months.

What could I say? ;) I was moved, happy and certain that he is the one with whom I want to spent the rest of my life! So, it has already been year since I am engaged. I cannot believe that in five months I will be married :)

In memory of JS

Two weeks ago we lost a dedicated, patient, optimistic, tolerant, never wanting to offend anyone, having a sense of humour teacher.
I was priviliged to be his student. He always wanted his classes to interesting and original. He taught me History of England and British culture and life. I especially enjoyed the latter because he used to give us some unique facts about British, which couldn't be found in a normal coursebook. I remember very well that one of his first words during this class was: "Americans always cause problems" :D Let's take few more examples:

• Delia Smith was the one who has changed British attitude to food
• local - it's a name for a place where British drink regularly
• on BBC Radio 4 there is a forecast for ships very popular
• in Britain there is a great tradition of sports. "If England is beaten, Scotland is happy, no matter who they play with."
• in 1966 England won the World Cup. "However, it's controversial" (with a sense of satisfaction ;))

And did you know that a saying "Dr Livingstone, I presume" is used to greet someone for whom you were looking a long time? I've learnt this on his History lectures.

Unfortunately, noone is ever going to learn anything like that. May John Solan rest in peace.

'YES' for Valentine's Day *

Although it’s been two weeks since Valentine’s Day, I still have some Valentine’s decorations in my room ** and feel that “Love is in the air” :) Furthermore, the coming of spring makes it even more visible, don’t you think so?

Some people say that Valentine’s Day is only a commercial day, but isn’t it nice to give, or receive, a cute Valentine’s card or a lollipop? It’s a simple as well as romantic way of showing the other person that you care for him/her.
Other people state that each day is a good day for expressing your love, so why don’t we use this day to celebrate it in a special way?
Opponents of Valentine’s Day also claim that weather conditions in February are not favourable for celebrating the day; however, I firmly believe that time for Valentine’s Day is perfect! All those couples in love, good friends and happy families make the world warmer!

If you don’t like going to cafes or to the cinema, you may try something original. That’s where I was taken this year… ;)



* I wanted to post it earlier, but I was too busy…
** I just love decorating my room – it makes it more cosy and enjoyable to live in :]

Exams.

An exam session has come; in Polish - SESJA, which means:
S omehow
E veryone's
S tudying
J ust
A bnormally.

But I'm happy today because of the fact that the first semester of our last year at College has ended. We'll no longer have to spend whole days at University, hopefully. We may devote our time to writing our B.A. papers and to improving our general knowledge of English - isn't it fantastic? :D

To cheer us up, I've added "a joke a day" to my blog! ;-) Today's one: A man was walking on the beach one day and he found a bottle half buried in the sand. He decided to open it. Inside was a genie. The genie said," I will grant you three wishes and three wishes only." The man thought about his first wish and decided, "I think I want 1 million dollars transferred to a Swiss bank account. POOF! Next he wished for a Ferrari red in color. POOF! There was the car sitting in front of him. He asked for his final wish, " I wish I was irresistible to women." POOF! He turned into a box of chocolates. :D

Good luck with your exams, dear all!

Time flies...

You know what? My little Brother (OK, he’s not little – he's 1.85 meter in height…) went for his „Studniówka” (a traditional ball 100 days before high school leaving examination) today. He looked so handsome and mature! I know, I’m emotional, but still. I remember him coming to my bed because he was afraid of sleeping alone in a new place. I remember playing with him: with his cars, bricks, with my dolls. I remember his favourite play before falling asleep – I had to tell names of football players who were on stickers on his furniture. Not only did I have to know the correct order of footballer’s stickers but also in which club they played! :D He was so dangerous when after watching “Rocky” he practiced boxing at me ;) And he was so cute when I was getting ill and he was bringing me a glass of Pluszcz saying: ‘Drink it now.’ And today he is an adult: almost 19 years old, passed his driving licence test this week, made ‘a media career’ in our 8th high school – yeah, being aware of hard work, he went to the same one… :) Nowadays, we have different roles to play in life – I’m getting married, he’ll begin his studies. I hope we’ll never lost touch with each other because he’s my only brother and despite all the differences, all quarrels and all misunderstandings, I love him so!

Because of the fact that my Brother’s ball evoked memories, I’m posting a picture of me taken three years ago when I was leaving for my "Studniówka" :)

“For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.”

Barack Obama is aware of the importance of his presidency. “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.” I liked his inaugural address – he was self-confident, courteous and firm. I am under the impression of his image – natural, smiling, loving husband and father (can’t dance well, unfortunately ;)). And I liked him even more when I got to know that he is left-handed! He must be intelligent :D Being the first Afro-American American President, he IS making history. Therefore, I am glad I witness such an important event.
Personally, I hope for a positive change not only in the US, but also in the world because of the fact that the US has impact on all the world’s issues. I want to believe in Barack Obama’s promises. I have fingers crossed for him. I also wish good luck to his wife and their lovely daughters. I can imagine what a change happened in their lives! I am sure they are proud of Barack Obama’s success but also afraid of what the future may bring them.
“America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations. “ said The 44th President of America in his inaugural speech on 20th January 2009 and let those words by my wishes to him.

Love it!

Actually, I always wanted to be a teacher. As an older sister I used to teach letters to my younger brother. I also taught him singing – we have even recorded ourselves :) However, even as a child I was aware of the fact that teachers do not earn much, so I sometimes dreamed of becoming a tennis player (but I do not have any talent for that) or a model (but I’m too short).
I came to Teaching Training College because – ok, let’s face the truth – I wasn’t admitted to pedagogics. All in all, it turned out to be an ideal place for me ;) Not only have I improved my English but also learnt a lot on the subject of teaching. After graduation, I plan to continue my education in elementary pedagogics, so my teaching practice haven’t made me change my mind.

I started my teaching practice in September in Junior High School in Skórzewo. The first lessons came a little bit unexpectedly as I went for the observation and my ex-teacher said: ok, so tomorrow you’ll start teaching. I had only one afternoon for preparing to them, oh no :] I was afraid because I knew that teenagers at the age of 13-15 are the most misbehaving. But I’ve made it and everything went fine! I did my job according to my plan, and what’s more, learners were cooperative as well as friendly.
I also have good memories connected with high school teaching. I have to admit it was a very demanding task as those learners had many questions and got bored easily but, on the other hand, it was so satisfying to see them interested and engaged in the lesson.
I look forward to teaching in a primary school as that’s what I always dreamed of!

Summing up, although teaching is time-consuming (preparing all those additional materials: pictures, games etc.) and challenging (copying with different attitudes, abilities, character traits of students), I love it!