It's a Small World

by Kathryn

What a small world we live in...

I have had two such instances happen this week to make this world smaller. The first one is more about the internet than anything else. As you know from reading past blog entries, Dom, Emily, and I - Andrew hasn't been convinced yet - are Survivor fans. The degree of fanaticism just increased a few weeks ago when we found Jeff Probst's blog about the current series. We watched some of the video on it and the three of us chose who we thought would win (one of Emily's has already gone home). Jeff Probst's entry yesterday said something about how many series of Survivor there have been. I made a comment about that comment AND HE WROTE BACK! So in essence I got to speak to Mr. Probst and he responded to me! Cool! Check it out if you want...

The other one is even cooler! Many of you don't know that Dom is applying for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) jobs in Europe and has actually been interviewing with one of them. He's between the 2nd and 3rd interview when the company suggests you talk to some of the current and former employees. Dom mentioned that we might know one of the teachers. I looked up when we'd met him in an old journal, and asked Dom to email him a question that would tell us if it was him or not. He thought the question was really weird, but indeed it's the same guy who taught at the language school Dom worked at in Porto, Portugal and I, Kat, had Thanksgiving dinner with him and several other Americans back in '92! Then when we went to Portland, OR for Dom to work in a language school there, we found out this same guy was working at the sister school down in Santa Monica! Now here our paths cross again - at least to the point where Dom had a phone conversation with him this morning.

Who would have thought all those years ago when I would teach "It's a Small Small World" to my ESL students, that the world would prove to actually BE that small... mind you it was before the internet...

Learning from the past??

Well, thanks to the exciting possibility of a teaching English job in Germany, I've been at the library rediscovering English grammar! And teaching to internationals. I've been rummaging around in cupboards to find boxes with folders containing all the teaching material and books and mind maps connected with my Diploma in ELT, completed back in 95. Gosh, I nearly threw that stuff out, and until a few months ago wasn't thinking about it at all. 

Ever nearly chucked stuff out and then found out a use for it?

I also have old diaries and notebooks with "great spiritual insights" I had back 5, 10, 20 years ago, and I found some of them too. It seems God is teaching me the same stuff over and over and over again! I'm suspecting He is capable of supernatural levels of patience!

Survivor

I know, I know, two posts in one day.  We won't  let this happen too often, I promise.  But we just had to tell you about what Emily, Dominic, and I have done in preparation for this coming season of Survivor (which starts on Dom's birthday no less).

Dom discovered the went to this website:  http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20221152_20221155_20221313,00.html

On it are little bio's of the contestants for Survivor Gabon.  Then he, Emily, and I all separately watched these little movies and read a few comments.  We thought we'd try to pick the final two out of the 18 people.  Here are our pick:  Emily chose Crystal ( the 04 Olympic medalist) and Paloma.  Dom and I - now we watched separately mind you - both picked Jacque and Marcus.  We looked at each other said, "We've been watching this too long!"  

Thought we'd post this so that you Survivor fans out there can laugh at us  when our folks get voted off...OR start a betting pool one!

Andrew's first day of school

I wanted to let you guys know that Andrew's first day of school went well. He seemed to be especially jazzed that one of his set texts for reading comprehension and literary appreciation this upcoming semester is his good friend and mine, Willie Shakespeare, as seen in the above picture...

His other set texts include: To the Lighthouse, Shelley - Selected Poems, Aeschylus's The Oresteia, Goethe's Faust (Part one) and Hedda Gabler... 

BUGS!!!

This morning with about to be a hurricane Hanna aiming for us come Saturday morning, we thought it was a good idea to cut the grass so we wouldn't need to buy a goat for a pasture...  Dom proceeded to get the mower out of the shed, but came back in talking about 2 HUGE bugs outside on the lawn chair and the shed door. 

Now, you must understand Dominic is the bug man of the house.  On our honeymoon he came into our cabin to find his new bride pointing at the ceiling saying "Kill it!"  It was one of those enormous South American cockroaches.  He told me to go in the bathroom and close the door while he fought his first battle as my new husband.  He won!  And ever since whenever there's been a roach, big spider, wasp, or even mouse in the house, he bravely goes where I do not dare - and even doesn't kill the wasps, but captures them and releases them outside.

But you must also understand that Dominic is NOT a Southerner.  Not an ounce of Confederate blood in the man...even though he is Scottish which is basically a predecessor.  But I digress...

Back to the HUGE bug.  I went out to see this gigantic bug...and then picked it up!  Instead of Dominic "enjoying" hearing my scream, he almost did - "Don't pick it up!" Then I walked inside to show Andrew who wouldn't touch them either.

So what was it?  Well, if you are from the South, you grew up picking them up - or rather what's left of them.  These were two empty shells left over from molting katydids/cicada who have been caressing our ears all summer.  They are the ONLY kind of bug I will pick up without a Kleenex.  It was an entertaining way to start the day :-)