Test chuckles and more

A student had to write a resume. He put his date of birth as '91, which is perfectly correct, but then added (quoted verbatim):

"I teaching English a 20 year and a native in England."

I must add that this is an advanced student *sigh* The part that made me chuckle was having taught English for 20 years, but was born in '91. The things we say under test pressure... ?!

Yesterday, I had a jaw dropping moment in the supermarket. Here, I often see folk helping themselves to supermarket food, usually produce, cookies, crisps and so on. I used to feel rather indignant, but then I got used to it. When I see old folk sampling the fruits and veg, I wish I could buy a whole pack for them. Pensions are terrible here and fruit and veg is expensive. This incident took the cake though. The woman had grabbed herself a loaf of whole wheat bread, a very costly bread here, half the size and almost double the price of normal bread. She also grabbed herself some ham and cheese and had actually made herself a sandwich! She was walking along, apparently stopping to check prices and taking a bite or two every time she stopped.

It seems we have a new student, an elderly chap who called while I was out teaching yesterday. I walked in and found Jurgis talking on the phone... and talking... and talking. I teased him, as I always do, that he kept the poor guy talking for hours. Today, Tat called him back and he talked... and he talked... and he talked. Her ear was beetroot red when she hung up! He is retired and loves travelling and he likes the sound of us and wants to know if we mind that he refers us to the rest of his travel buddies. He sounds sweet. He wants to meet the entire family, but especially Jurgis. Methinks my husband has himself a student ; ) We meet him on Monday.

Today (it's after midnight here) is a Civic holiday in the state of São Paulo.... only São Paulo. I have no clue what it is for. Fun. Oh wait, I keep forgetting. Google is my friend. According to Google, it is to commemorate the Constitutionalist Revolution (Revolução Constitucionalista) of 1932, also called the Paulista War. Anything remotely related to São Paulo is 'Paulista'. Hm... I learnt something tonight.

I noticed today that the world is full of unexpected kindnesses... a post office worker who let Tat pay instead of insisting, as usual, that Jurgis goes in; a pharmacist that goes out of his way to point out that there is a generic available; a daughter who does the dishes; a husband who shared the joke when the pot bungee jumped off the counter top

 

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