A while back we got involved with playing host family to an Italian student who would be in Newcastle for a week while she was involved in a drama festival. We did it on a voluntary basis to help out a neighbour who was helping out someone from work. Anyway long story short, we had 19 year old Silvia Pallotti staying with us for one week, where we provided bed, breakfast and a packed lunch and that was it. The boys loved having her here, they loved sharing their lives with her, and finding out about where she came from and learning a little bit of Italian as well.
Having her with us had been no problem at all, it hadn't impacted negatively on our family, and if anything, we had all grown from the experience. This made Steve and I think about doing it as a source of income, and we talked about it off and on for a while, until I saw an advert in our local paper. It said if you were a graduate, or a qualified teacher, you could host foreign students and get paid to teach them english.
I rang up, we got interviewed, the house was assessed, out references were checked and the next thing we knew, we had our first student booked in! It all happened very quickly and despite some serious worries on my part about whether or not I was actually going to be able to teach English, we were set on going through with it.
We turned Jen's room into our 'room for hire', painting it, moving furniture around and buying a desk and new soft furnishings - and it looked pretty good. We were ready for our first student to arrive on the 15th of July... until we got a call to say that there was a 16 year old Italian girl wanting to come on the 2nd of July for 2 weeks, could we take her?
We said yes and that was how we came to have the lively, lovely Margherita staying with us. She was wonderful, keen to learn and happy to try anything. The boys were both completely besotted with her and she was happy to spend time with them, eagerly recounting to me how they had taught her to play Hide n Seek!
It has been three weeks since I started writing this post, leaving it in limbo, telling myself I had too much to do, busy, busy.... but the I realised last night that the truth was different. Yes I was busy, but the reason I hadn't got round to finishing it was because I was BORING myself. I was avoiding it because it was like walking through sinking sand trying to make this sound interesting. This blog is not meant to be a tedious day by day recounting of the mundane and the ordinary and it is not meant to BORE ME.
We take in foreign students, provide food, accommodation, company and lessons. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it is bloody hard work. The money is good, but erratic.
Steve and I are both currently unemployed and we will both be attending the Jobcentre on Friday to start claiming Jobseekers Allowance - the horror that I feel about this is for another time.
Boring stuff up to date, and over!!!
Having her with us had been no problem at all, it hadn't impacted negatively on our family, and if anything, we had all grown from the experience. This made Steve and I think about doing it as a source of income, and we talked about it off and on for a while, until I saw an advert in our local paper. It said if you were a graduate, or a qualified teacher, you could host foreign students and get paid to teach them english.
I rang up, we got interviewed, the house was assessed, out references were checked and the next thing we knew, we had our first student booked in! It all happened very quickly and despite some serious worries on my part about whether or not I was actually going to be able to teach English, we were set on going through with it.
We turned Jen's room into our 'room for hire', painting it, moving furniture around and buying a desk and new soft furnishings - and it looked pretty good. We were ready for our first student to arrive on the 15th of July... until we got a call to say that there was a 16 year old Italian girl wanting to come on the 2nd of July for 2 weeks, could we take her?
We said yes and that was how we came to have the lively, lovely Margherita staying with us. She was wonderful, keen to learn and happy to try anything. The boys were both completely besotted with her and she was happy to spend time with them, eagerly recounting to me how they had taught her to play Hide n Seek!
It has been three weeks since I started writing this post, leaving it in limbo, telling myself I had too much to do, busy, busy.... but the I realised last night that the truth was different. Yes I was busy, but the reason I hadn't got round to finishing it was because I was BORING myself. I was avoiding it because it was like walking through sinking sand trying to make this sound interesting. This blog is not meant to be a tedious day by day recounting of the mundane and the ordinary and it is not meant to BORE ME.
We take in foreign students, provide food, accommodation, company and lessons. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it is bloody hard work. The money is good, but erratic.
Steve and I are both currently unemployed and we will both be attending the Jobcentre on Friday to start claiming Jobseekers Allowance - the horror that I feel about this is for another time.
Boring stuff up to date, and over!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment