The rain is finally here!
This fall I've been working from home as an online English teacher, meaning lots of peeking out the window at the rain + lots of weather updates from abroad. Most of the students are Ukrainians (hooray!) so that makes Ukraine seem a little less far away. All the students are reporting rain where they are too, but some also have snow on the horizon.... I'm kind of jealous! Hopefully Portland will get a snow day this winter. For now, we'll have to be content with rainy afternoons.
Here are some quotes I like to remember when it's raining. Hope you enjoy them too!
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| Portland rain |
The sound of the rain needs no translation.
~Alan Watts
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| Portland rain |
It's always a nice day above the clouds.
~James Stoddah, A Parallel Trust
~James Stoddah, A Parallel Trust
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| Portland rain |
There
is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather
until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and
weekends.
~Arnot Sheppard
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| Kharkiv rain |
Rain makes me feel less alone. All rain is, is a cloud- falling apart,
and pouring its shattered pieces down on top of you. It makes me feel
good to know I'm not the only thing that falls apart . It makes me feel
better to know other things in nature can shatter.
~Lone Alaskan Gypsy
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| Kharkiv rain |
On the late afternoon streets, everyone hurries along, going about their own business.
Who is the person walking in front of you on the rain-drenched sidewalk?
He is covered with an umbrella, and all you can see is a dark coat and the shoes striking the puddles.
And yet this person is the hero of his own life story.
He is the love of someone’s life.
And what he can do may change the world.
Imagine being him for a moment.
And then continue on your own way.
Who is the person walking in front of you on the rain-drenched sidewalk?
He is covered with an umbrella, and all you can see is a dark coat and the shoes striking the puddles.
And yet this person is the hero of his own life story.
He is the love of someone’s life.
And what he can do may change the world.
Imagine being him for a moment.
And then continue on your own way.
~Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
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| Kharkiv rain |
I think that the world should be full of cats and full of rain, that's all, just
cats and rain, rain and cats, very nice, good night.
~Charles Bukowski, Betting on the Muse: Poems and Stories
cats and rain, rain and cats, very nice, good night.
~Charles Bukowski, Betting on the Muse: Poems and Stories
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| Kит's attitude towards rain |
I found an old video from around this time in 2011 (click here if it's not visible below). Nothing like that here, just a constant background drizzle that makes it seem like the day is already over at 3 PM.
What's it like where you are? Are you out in it or indoors?
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| Kharkiv rain |
I honestly can't complain about the lack of rain here. I've been enjoying the glorious fall sunshine and long, carefree walks. Last year we had our first snowshower on November 6th. We'll see if we get any snow before December this year...i'm hoping not!!!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for you guys :) Or just send the snow this way!
DeleteHope you're feeling better, by the way.
Hi Kate! The next rainy season won't be here until January and by then of course, it will be snow! You sound good and Kit looks great! How did you find that great job as an online English teacher? How do your lessons go? It must be so different than the classroom. Who is the organization? Can you hook me up?
DeleteHi Jo!! Long time, no talk! I was noticed today that you're blogging again, hooray :D The tea quilt is looking awesome, btw.
DeleteAbout the teaching- it's something that grew organically from teaching one student earlier this year to now teaching 7 students, many of whom are referrals from that first single student. I try to plan the whole course out before it starts (this never actually happens) and then have everyone getting the same material at the same time (Google Drive) and following it up with one-on-one Skype calls. Paypal for payment. It IS so different from the classroom and sometimes feels so limiting, but I've slowly been adapting to it. Got lucky in that all the students are really great and dedicated to improving their English :) Unfortunately I don't know of any reputable online teaching jobs... only had a friend who did it for a Moscow company and he didn't have glowing things to say afterwards... Have you ever thought about advertising yourself as a tutor / teacher on a site like italki or verbling?
Кит says hi to Miss Mouse!
Oy Kate! Thanks for following. I learned how to combine my blogs (I had 3, got rid of 1 and then combined the rest) so it's easier now to write. I used to write about my studio practice in the other blog and it just made sense to combine them now, since I am no longer with the Peace Corps. I'm happy you like my quilt! I have 2 in progress now but need to finish them because I have a show going up in 4 weeks at the airport here.
DeleteThanks for the ESL info. I didn't know about those sites and I never even thought about renting myself out. What a wonderful idea! I am just imagining myself teaching in my slippers! LOL I saw an ad on Craig's list today and the pay is like $22 an hour. It sounds like a lot and I don't trust it. IMPORTANT: What do you charge? Oh and I tried to write you an email and it came back as a bad address...have you gotten a new email? Miss Mouse is HUGE with her new fur coat. She is decidedly looking more Ukrainian by the day! (You know the big fur hats everyone wears? Her whole body is like that!!) Please send me your regards with your new email.
Privet Jo! Oops, yep, different email now. I'll send you an email right now :) And will you share some pics of Miss Mouse on your blog? Would love to see her!
DeletePrivet! I suspected that there is a huge demand for English lessons in Ukraine now. Recently Canada announced that they'd be giving 10 year visas to Ukrainians, so I believe this fact will raise the demand even more. The major problem in Ukraine is that English teaching at schools and universities is quite good, but there is a huge lack of speaking/listening practise with native English. And I also guess that not every Ukrainian can afford paying to native speakers. You might find a lot of Ukrainian (and Russian, too) people in IT who want to practise English and who can afford that.
DeleteCool, thanks for the info, Andrey! There you go, Jo :)
Delete