Ay caramba, the day is approaching! I'm allowing myself to be fooled into thinking I have much more time in Chicago than I actually do. My family and I leave for Michigan on Saturday, and we're there for 2 weeks. When I come back on the 16th, I only have 5 days until I leave! But since I have that 2 weeks in Michigan, my mind is somehow not understanding that in reality, I have about 8 days left in Chicago. Jesus christ.....8 days.
There's a ton of stuff I still have to do before I leave. Maybe if I write everything down I'll remember....
Checklist to self:
-Change ComEd and Peoples Gas accounts to Bob's name.
-Cancel YMCA membership.
-Get free manicure from former student (she gave me a thank-you note with a gift card!)
-Visit Chicago Teacher, Inc. to buy lame teacher supplies.
-Practice Hungarian in car, in Michigan, in sleep, etc.
-Finish ripping CDs onto laptop.
-Test negative for AIDS.
-Get Skype.
-Buy "professional" clothes so I don't look like an American bum.
-Fake pack, so I don't freak out when I pack for real.
I know that 2 weeks in Michigan is gonna be reeeeaaaal good for me. I've been just a tad stressed out here. It'll be nice to have no excuse not to relax. But when I get back, DAMN, I'm gonna be in a panic!
Ok, time to cut down that list up there. See ya.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
We're In Business
Well well well. This makes it official: I know I'm definitely going to Hungary in a month and a half, because I signed up for a fancy new blog. (Is it fancy? I dunno, it was free....looks fancy to me, though. Blogs have come a long way since the early 2000s!)
So, here's the deal: I leave August 21 for Budapest, will be there for a week, and thenceforth will live in Koszeg. It's right next to the Austrian border, which means Vienna should be pretty easy to visit, that is if I can find a reliable mode of transportation. I don't think Koszeg is on a railroad. In retrospect, I probably should've checked that detail in advance.
On to my job: I will be teaching conversational English to high schoolers. Will it suck? Will it be amazing? I have no idea!! One thing that makes me feel a little better about the terrifying job of teaching to high schoolers is that I've basically done it already. I currently teach English at a private school only for adults, which you'd think--you'd REALLY think--would mean they're more mature...but have you guys MET Poland? Any Pole under 40 is basically fifteen. They make up hilarious reasons for missing class, they text each other from across the room, and they cheat on tests...RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! So, all things considered, I might be kind of well-prepared to teach a bunch of teens. Only time will tell!
Anyway, these are the basics. I don't leave for another 7 weeks, so in the meantime, my agenda includes a lot of watching Cubs games, eating Mexican food, hanging out with actual Mexicans, drinking drinks with lots of ice, enjoying this fine city of Chicago, and getting my fill of torrent downloads while I can. Wow, I don't think I've ever summed up my love for this country in more accurate terms!
So, here's the deal: I leave August 21 for Budapest, will be there for a week, and thenceforth will live in Koszeg. It's right next to the Austrian border, which means Vienna should be pretty easy to visit, that is if I can find a reliable mode of transportation. I don't think Koszeg is on a railroad. In retrospect, I probably should've checked that detail in advance.
On to my job: I will be teaching conversational English to high schoolers. Will it suck? Will it be amazing? I have no idea!! One thing that makes me feel a little better about the terrifying job of teaching to high schoolers is that I've basically done it already. I currently teach English at a private school only for adults, which you'd think--you'd REALLY think--would mean they're more mature...but have you guys MET Poland? Any Pole under 40 is basically fifteen. They make up hilarious reasons for missing class, they text each other from across the room, and they cheat on tests...RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! So, all things considered, I might be kind of well-prepared to teach a bunch of teens. Only time will tell!
Anyway, these are the basics. I don't leave for another 7 weeks, so in the meantime, my agenda includes a lot of watching Cubs games, eating Mexican food, hanging out with actual Mexicans, drinking drinks with lots of ice, enjoying this fine city of Chicago, and getting my fill of torrent downloads while I can. Wow, I don't think I've ever summed up my love for this country in more accurate terms!
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