thank God the week is over

but I wont be getting any rest because I am playing tour guide.

Having people over is a lot of work. I have never done this before. I have usually been the guest. In Korea I had a couple of friends come stay a night or two, but no one longer than that.

And are these feeling of fatigue pre-holiday psycho sematic? I mean would I feel as wasted as I do if i didnt have holidays coming up in 2 weeks? Or is it all in our heads? I seem to not be able to get enough rest these days. S said today that he slept ALL day and I SO envied him (and his pillow for being right near him through his snooze). But really I feel as if my arms each weigh about 50 kilos and its such an effort to type this.

And it seems to me that the kids are getting noisier by the day (kids if you read this TAKE NOTE) and I cant get any rest anywhere. And my marking is piling up.

Tomorrow we head to Plovdiv. Honestly I wish I could sleep all weekend, but that is not to be. I will sleep in England it seems. I have a symphony of snores, and Oscar has recently joined in, in the bass section (how can a dog so tiny make such a deep sound) and so even the earplugs are absoloutely useless. so I go to bed cross eyed and wake up fatigued. God help me!

Having mom here is great though. They overheat the place but at least when I get home there she is waiting to pounce on me and give me all the love I have been lacking. Today I came in and smelled chicken soup. I said to myself, I hope this smell is from my place and sure as hell it was! Thanks for moms loving cooking, a simple chicken soup smelled and tasted like home to me. Now I have to convince her to make the "kitchen sink" soup. (More on that later)

I just had my first parental call. I have a student who has transformed from a weak one to quite a strong and enthusiastic student. I think I can honestly say Albena and I can take credit for this because we pushed him, and pushed him even when he was kicking and screaming. We said we wouldnt back down whatever he did and we explained to him that we were pushing him because we believed he was capable of better, not because we were ganging up on him. So he came back with an email last week saying he will never give up! Music to my ears. And he is keeping his word.

So I had a short chat with his mom because he is in this horrid hotel we use as a dorm. Now I was an odd duck as a kid (some would argue that I still am, of course)and I was teased to death by my classmates. If I had to live in that environment, my goose would have been cooked (like all the fowl references??) so I think this living arrangement is enormous pressure for these kids and it takes a real team player, a joiner to make it in that atmosphere. Now that is not a criticism, but this particular student is finding it understandably hard. And his mom and I just discussed him moving out on his own.

Shall I say that conversation made me feel rather old just now? I think I hadnt noticed how much of a teacher I am! YIKES! Feels good in a odd (duck) sort of way. Responsibility has its priviliges!