Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Today is nice, but you should have seen the rain yestersday!
Well, I did go out only long enough to put up a hand written (and decorated!) ad for English lessons, help with English homework, and so on at the Student housing down the way from me. The idea to do it was suggested by Owen, but I wasn't online yesterday, so he can't take credit for the advice. The same advice came from one of my two friends that run the dress shop in Bascarsija.
It is a nice day out, unfortunately there is a big demonstration downtown. Basically by the Parlament this time. Last week a politician beat up a reporter. It isn't the first time this has happened, neither in general nor by this particular politician who is a representative of 'Party for BiH' (Stranka za BiH in Bosnian). Anyway, it is large, and blocking traffic and a good reason to stay closer to home. My landlady seems to have left for Austria. I got to meet her mother, a lovely older woman, who was delighted I speak a little Bosnian. She was out enjoying the sunshine, while the landlady did some of the extensive garden work that she did this visit. She even was doing some work late into the night before leaving!
I had gone to sleep early because of having been out in that rain! After being out in the rain, the best place to be is bed, with a book and a glass of medovaca on the night-stand!
What was I doing out in the rain? After putting up my ad, I decided that crossing the road to come down here was NOT a plan! Especially after getting my umbrella blown inside out! That was almost funny!. I know how to fix an umbrella so I took the messed up umbrella back home. I went to the maloprodovnica on the corner. The guy in there was like 'Your umbrella is FINISHED! You should throw it away!' and I said, 'I know how to fix it, it will be as good as new when I am done!' 'Which it is actually. I plan to stitch it a little so it doesn't break again.
Anyway, I picked up a few packets of t he S.O.'s favorite chicken noodle soup mix. I do stuff with it like ad vegetables and a few dumplings, and it is pretty good.
I got in and of course got all my wet things off, put them on the radiators, cursed the strange heating system that won't let us get any heat, even though I cranked it up to 30, for the benefit of my landlady's mother, and her father-in-law, because the other annoying thing about the heating, is my setting controls downstairs! That is not fair to either them or me. I am trying not to spend a fortune on gas! :). I don't need to be all that warm. If I am too warm I get hot flashes! :)
Anyway, tomorrow, I will go do my other ad, and hopefully get some decent people, and put up hand written ads elsewhere. Educational facilities are scattered all over Sarajevo. I am by no means limiting my ad campaign to the newspapers.
One thing really distresses me, and that is that several people are advertising that they teach English, and are charging extremely low prices for it. Of course odds are their students will all end up talking like 'Borat'! It's like the same people who charged 10KM last time. I recognize the phone numbers! One guy was 25KM a lesson, and would go to your house. Now it's like why are they all at 5KM? EXCUSE me but teaching a language WELL is hard work! You get what you pay for!
Anyway, I am just going to put, cijene po odgovor. I never put a price in the ad. But I will name and justify a price when someone S.M.S.s me.
Some student that just needs minor homework help should not need to pay the same as someone starting at the beginning. Then again someone who speaks some English and even reads and writes a little may need major work with their grammar, or they may need a serious accent coach. English is not an easy language for Bosnian people to pick up, an amazing number do know some! Usually, people know numbers, how to count change, or tell a price, Hello, Goodbye, Thank you.
The people who would really benefit from English lessons are taxi-drivers, people who work in stores, especially stores catering to tourists, and often these people want to learn English, they know it would be good for business.
Notes on American stuff, Hillary may be ahead a little in Pennsylvania, but only by 5% I don't call that a wonderful lead! It is a lead that she can easily blow.
I frankly still feel burned by her exaggerations about Tuzla. Totally a bad idea, and really an insult to the soldiers and even the Secret Service guys who made the area secure. That was pretty key in changing my mind and switching me to Obama.
I hope that whoever becomes president, keeps Charles English in Sarajevo, he is really very effective and well liked here.
He was on the news again in his trademark green necktie.
The S.O. continues to improve, he still has the problem with being dizzy a lot of the time, and had to go have that checked out. They are going to try some new medications on him, which I hope will work. Everything else thank God is going well. He is feeling quite a lot better.
It is a nice day out, unfortunately there is a big demonstration downtown. Basically by the Parlament this time. Last week a politician beat up a reporter. It isn't the first time this has happened, neither in general nor by this particular politician who is a representative of 'Party for BiH' (Stranka za BiH in Bosnian). Anyway, it is large, and blocking traffic and a good reason to stay closer to home. My landlady seems to have left for Austria. I got to meet her mother, a lovely older woman, who was delighted I speak a little Bosnian. She was out enjoying the sunshine, while the landlady did some of the extensive garden work that she did this visit. She even was doing some work late into the night before leaving!
I had gone to sleep early because of having been out in that rain! After being out in the rain, the best place to be is bed, with a book and a glass of medovaca on the night-stand!
What was I doing out in the rain? After putting up my ad, I decided that crossing the road to come down here was NOT a plan! Especially after getting my umbrella blown inside out! That was almost funny!. I know how to fix an umbrella so I took the messed up umbrella back home. I went to the maloprodovnica on the corner. The guy in there was like 'Your umbrella is FINISHED! You should throw it away!' and I said, 'I know how to fix it, it will be as good as new when I am done!' 'Which it is actually. I plan to stitch it a little so it doesn't break again.
Anyway, I picked up a few packets of t he S.O.'s favorite chicken noodle soup mix. I do stuff with it like ad vegetables and a few dumplings, and it is pretty good.
I got in and of course got all my wet things off, put them on the radiators, cursed the strange heating system that won't let us get any heat, even though I cranked it up to 30, for the benefit of my landlady's mother, and her father-in-law, because the other annoying thing about the heating, is my setting controls downstairs! That is not fair to either them or me. I am trying not to spend a fortune on gas! :). I don't need to be all that warm. If I am too warm I get hot flashes! :)
Anyway, tomorrow, I will go do my other ad, and hopefully get some decent people, and put up hand written ads elsewhere. Educational facilities are scattered all over Sarajevo. I am by no means limiting my ad campaign to the newspapers.
One thing really distresses me, and that is that several people are advertising that they teach English, and are charging extremely low prices for it. Of course odds are their students will all end up talking like 'Borat'! It's like the same people who charged 10KM last time. I recognize the phone numbers! One guy was 25KM a lesson, and would go to your house. Now it's like why are they all at 5KM? EXCUSE me but teaching a language WELL is hard work! You get what you pay for!
Anyway, I am just going to put, cijene po odgovor. I never put a price in the ad. But I will name and justify a price when someone S.M.S.s me.
Some student that just needs minor homework help should not need to pay the same as someone starting at the beginning. Then again someone who speaks some English and even reads and writes a little may need major work with their grammar, or they may need a serious accent coach. English is not an easy language for Bosnian people to pick up, an amazing number do know some! Usually, people know numbers, how to count change, or tell a price, Hello, Goodbye, Thank you.
The people who would really benefit from English lessons are taxi-drivers, people who work in stores, especially stores catering to tourists, and often these people want to learn English, they know it would be good for business.
Notes on American stuff, Hillary may be ahead a little in Pennsylvania, but only by 5% I don't call that a wonderful lead! It is a lead that she can easily blow.
I frankly still feel burned by her exaggerations about Tuzla. Totally a bad idea, and really an insult to the soldiers and even the Secret Service guys who made the area secure. That was pretty key in changing my mind and switching me to Obama.
I hope that whoever becomes president, keeps Charles English in Sarajevo, he is really very effective and well liked here.
He was on the news again in his trademark green necktie.
The S.O. continues to improve, he still has the problem with being dizzy a lot of the time, and had to go have that checked out. They are going to try some new medications on him, which I hope will work. Everything else thank God is going well. He is feeling quite a lot better.
# posted by Katja R. @ 2:51 AM 
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Now if some other great minds would realize that working on their English with me is a Brilliant Idea! :)
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