ohb

crunchie

Spent most of last night trying to sort out Mom's visa invitation and application. It's going to be really expensive, so for all of you who are too lazy to come and visit you can just blame the cost. The Russian embassy in Dublin have hiked up the price of a tourist visa to 80 euro, this is before you look at flights, airport charges or anything I'd say they'll be getting loads of Irish tourists!
It's a good job its Friday, I am wrecked, I had to teach a load of extra classes this week as Artyom and Andrew are gone to this other city called Toulon, I must look it up on the map, I don't know why they are there, something to do with setting up another school, but I can't really see how that would work out, we've enough problems with just the one here.
There was some lady peering around corners here yesterday, Volodya popped his head into my classroom mid way through one of my classes and I heard him say 'that's Orlagh, our native speaker" It was reminiscent of the gravy train at the zoo, "and here is Nelly, one of our elephants and on your right if you look closely enough you will see an example of the strange and now rare species, the 'English teacher'".
It hasn't been too bad of late, but it never really fades, the fact that first and foremost you are a native speaker, like a robot who is programmed to speak in this strange and wondrous language. Feelings, personality and individual characteristics are always secondary to this fact. It used to get me down a bit but I try not to dwell on it too much......
In other news, I was talking to Ais last night, she's deadly, though she had a bit of an altercation with an insect, ask her yerselves!

posted by orlagh @ 5:39 am