I'm feeling quite bright at happy today. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and I'm relaxing in a classroom on the eighth floor that has a view over the city and to the hills of Austria. The golden spire of St Martin's cathedral is shining, Bratislava castle is capping the hill it stands upon with its bright, white walls and the forest in the distance on Kamzik is beckoning me. How I do love the sun in January.
It's times like these that I'm compelled to reflect upon the perks and joys of my new profession. While EFL teaching isn't likely to leave you rolling in money by any stretch of the imagination, the experiences of new places and people that you get are quite wonderful. I write this having recently finished testing and speaking to a new student. She was interesting, friendly and spoke good English. As part of her exam, she quizzed me on my opinions about the Eurozone, British culture, British food and then we discussed different experiences in life.
The range of people that I teach and have regular contact with is quite extensive and surprises me at times. From the top of my head I can think of the following jobs my students have: a petroleum company manager, an architect, the head of some radio and TV stations, technical IT specialists, fibre-optic cable designers, students, a bank employee, a teacher specialising in Autism and special needs children, and many more.
Inevitably, when talking to one another we use our own lives as source material for discussion. I've been exposed to so many different stories and backgrounds. Of particular interest to me are the tales from people who lived a portion, or a lot, of their lives under the Communist regime. These stories, and those of the transition out of Communism in 1989, are a fascinating glimpse into what was such an abstract piece of history to me. Several of my students were at university during those years and they speak fondly of it in a number of ways, though they admit that the country is better off now. I get challenged daily by different viewpoints and cultural backgrounds. I bring out discussion questions for my higher-level students and they often force me to defend my own position that comes from a different background and life experience.
It makes me very glad to have taken the step forward in life and to find something that really works for me. I love seeing new countries, experiencing new cultures and meeting people whose life stories enrich my knowledge of the world.
There is the story of this teacher and just a few of the people I get to meet.
All the best,
Pete
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