Maybe I mentioned it earlier, or maybe not, but this past two months have been fraught with more than just the tension of moving; I've also been in an application process for a new course of professional education that will hopefully make me a better teacher, and will certainly almost double my salary, should I succeed in completing it.
The qualification I have now, other than my native ability to speak English, my college degree, and my immense charm, is a Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching for Adults (CELTA), which is an initial qualification, and the one I have been hoping to take on next is the DELTA -- the Diploma in all that same shit. The acceptance process is extensive. It involves a written application including an essay about my teaching philosophy and loads of language analysis, followed by an interview in which I was asked to analyse more grammar and coursebook material for clear aims and effectivness, and was capped off, this very morning, with an observed lesson, in which the tutor examined my teaching skillz in action, and my observation was a real one-two punch, because I actually had two simultaneous observations: one to determine if I am qualified to take the DELTA, and the other to determine if I would be allowed to actually KEEP MY JOB.
So, yeah. I was a little anxious. My class, though, which is composed entirely of extremely lovely and charming ladies, was AWESOME, and even though I fumbled loads because I was actually on the verge of keeling over dead from the nerves for some crazy reason, they backed me up 100%, totally delivering on the goods in terms of actually tackling the vagaries of modal verbs as used in their many permutations and myriad meanings in the perfect infinitive form. That's English teacher talk for "really hard, cumbersome, complicated grammar that flummoxes students and makes teachers cry."
The good news is that not only do I get to keep my job, but I was also accepted onto the course. I will begin in September, and will be buried in what I hear amounts to mountainous tons of work for the duration of the next school year... which is the bad news, I guess.
Moreover, as I may have mentioned to you all, I live in PRAGUE. This morning, on my way to be JUDGED, I rode the tram over the river, and took in the breath-taking view of the castle and the Charles Bridge under a clear blue sky. It's Spring, you guys, and that means the gloriousness of it all is turned up to 11 these days. At the time, I was sitting on Jack's lap. I was bemoaning the obvious fact that I was totally going to fail, and that then he would probably dump me for some girl who was capable of passing the DELTA application process. He denied it, told me everything would be ok, and that obviously I would pass, and even kissed me on the forehead. Yeah. Feel free to barf.
I know I keep saying this, and I know it must be getting boring, but the round-up is this: I love my job, I live in the single most beautiful place I have ever seen, I have the affections of a lovely man who is definitely far too good for me, and I'm just not complaining about any of it. Life is good these days, and I'm stoked.
Next week: Mr. Johnso rolls into town with his crazy Hollywood movie-making machine.
Should be interesting.
