The tuesdays kill me

I'm starting to be really busy and that's good by one hand but by the other I have less time to write on the blog. I'll try to be more regular. Actually, the last week has been a good example of what the weeks start to be for me. Starting by last saturday, I went to have dinner to The Eagle and The Child (a pub I've mentioned in other entries, where Tolkien spend his time) with a colleague from the department and another girl from the company. The dinner was good, cheap and served quite quick. Then we went to a concert which was really good and I enjoyed a lot. Three bands performed although the one I wanted to see was The Marmadukes (click on the name to visit their site in Myspace and listen some songs, they're really good). The singer, Nick Croxson, was a colleague in the Buildings Department although he left some months ago. I knew he played in a band and that was a good opportunity to listen them, actually much better than I thought they could be. The best of all is that I got their cd and I can listen it as many times as I want.

On sunday I met some other friends from the company and from other places to have the typical English meal: the Sunday roast. I have told you about it other time, didn't I? I think so, in a restaurant called The Mitre. It is a very nice place and the prices for the the sunday roasts are quite cheap, specially if you order the roast chicken: half a chicken so tasty that, once you have finished with it, you wish you could it the other half.

In the office the things are just going on. Six projects at the same time are a lot and I'm finding some difficulties to manage with all the work. They told me yesterday I must finish one of them for the next friday and then another one for the following one. Exactly those two I haven't been focusing on... I'll have to work hard because there are many things I don't yet know about how to work with others departments in the company like Archives, Graphics... Fortunately, everybody is very kind and helpful, always happy to explain me everything.

But what really takes my time now is my new "job": I'm teaching Spanish in the company every tuesdays. I have 15 pupils in three different levels, 13 are from Oxford Archaeology and other two are friends of two members of the staff. Actually, these four people were who make me start with it. They have studied already Spanish for some years and now they were looking for a Spanish teacher and I offered myself to try if they were patience with me (I have never taught groups). We started two weeks ago and, since the Company let us use a meetings-room in the evenings, we agreed to offer another two places (to fill a group of 6) to the rest of the staff in the Company. The result was that two persons were interested, yes, but another 8 persons were interested in starting a beginners group! And on top of that another person wanted one-to-one classes!

I hope they enjoy the classes as well as learn some Spanish. I don't charge them expensive first because it is good for me to have some "training" as a teacher and second because I'm happy to offer cheap classes for the people in the Company since it is letting us use the rooms. Among my students, I have people from several countries: France, Italy, Poland, Finland and of course the UK. Also people from different departments (although Graphics are the "champions" with three members of the staff). I have a person who is involved in many good causes and collaborates with several charities and NGO's. She's unbelievable: she has the tightest schedule in the office (with several kids) and she was the first one interested in the classes! On top of that, she makes everyday cakes, sponge cakes, muffins, etc. that leaves in the office's kitchen to sell and get some pounds for these good causes. And there is never a single spare muffin because they are really good. So I told her to come to the classes and don't pay me any money but put those coins together with the rest of the money she gets for the charity. It's just a tiny gesture compared to everything she does.

I'll tell you a bit more about what that money is used for. I found it interesting. As always, please be patient because I'm really finding little time to write the blog. I promise to do an effort and write more often because otherwise the things accumulate.