No paper :-(

Well, in the end I didn't manage to send in my paper on Spanish literature because the ¤&¤"%# connection was so lousy all weekend so I just couldn't get on the university server and download the files I needed. This is making me CRAZY!!!!

So,it's Monday today and I should be doing my weekly Home blessing. Well, I haven't started yet. I will, in a little while. I have to get the laundry first and then I'll have a quick go at the living room (the Zone today). I really NEED to study but I also need to have a clean house. Help! Where do I start? *lol* 2 more hours before I have to go and get the kids. I think it's time I put on my cleaning shoes and get going. Go, go, go!!!

How much time do you spend cleaning your house? Do you do Fly Lady or some other method? Or do you have a maid or cleaning lady?

I'm not here ;-)

I'm not here actually, I'm studying like crazy. *lol* I have to send a paper about Spanish literature in the 15th century to my tutor before tomorrow night and I still haven't written a word. :-( I need to do a lot of research and my internet connexion is so lousy I just want to cry.... I've been trying for 5 days now to get on to the school's server but no way José. I need to download some texts, read them and make a resume but there's still no luck. I don't think I'll make it on time because if I was all alone I could stand a day without food and a night without sleep but I have to take care of the kids and they are almost bored to death at home. This is getting much harder than I ever thought it would be. But I'm not giving up! NEVER!

So, if you see me around here this weekend, please give me a hug and a friendly kick in my butt because I really HAVE TO READ several hundred pages instead of hanging around the internet...

See you on Monday after I've got a bit of sleep!

One done, two more to go

I've done my first exam. It was in Spanish Medieval Literature and it was one of the hardest exams I've done so far (and I've done a lot of exams in my days....). We had 2 hours to do the exam and there were only 3 questions. Piece of cake you might think... Wrong! How do you write about an author in just a few lines? That's just impossible. So I wrote about two pages on each question and finished the exam after 1 hour 58 minutes, but another hour would have been great.

I think - I hope! - I did okey. I would be very, very,very disappointed if I don't pass that exam because it was so hard and I think my answers were quite good. I hope the teacher thinks the same. I won't know for at least 6 - 8 weeks, so there's plenty of time to worry...

I have two more exams to do before I'm done this time. I have Linguistics and Phonology/Phonetics in 8 and 10 days and I haven't even opened the books yet. G was sick yesterday (again!) and today I've spent the whole day cleaning.I just couldn't stand living in a dirty home anymore so I had to clean up the most visible mess in order to breath properly. I HATE living in a dirty, messy home - then why am I such a SHE? I really enjoy cleaning, so once I get started I kind of enjoy getting things done. But I can procrastinate about actually starting for ages, I think I've used every excuse in the book. I don't know why, and I wish I can get back to my Fly Lady routines soon, because they help me a lot.

Anyway, I have to get back to my books, i.e. open them for the first time and start studying...

And where the #%&"! is my book???

I think I'm going crazy.... I've been looking for my literature book since Saturday night and it's all gone. It must have vanished into thin air because I've been looking all over the place and it's not to be found anywhere.... *arghhhh* I really NEED to get some shelves so I don't have to leave my books everywhere... There are days when i wish I had a magic wand or a son like Harry Potter...

My inspiration is back!

Yay, I've found my inspiration again. *doing the happy dance* I guess those hours of cutting paper and not studying made all the difference. So far I've done 3 cards and I've got a lot of ideas (but not enough time).

It's been raining cats and dogs today so I haven't been in the mood to do anything. At least not study... I just wanted to get back into bed and stay there all day. Instead I made chocolate muffins, an apple pie and now I'm preparing spinach soup. But now I really, really need to study for about half an hour until I have to rush to school to get the boys.

Have a great week everyone!

A day at the library

I really have to study. When I show people what I need to study for my first exam they almost faint, because of the number of pages I have to read and memorize. I feel a bit rusty, it has been a long time since last time I needed to study this much. Only 10 days left for my first exam and I need to study day and night.

Today we spent most of the day at the library at work. First I studied at home for about an hour early in the morning. After breakfast and a short fling boogey at home we went there in the morning, around 11 and came back home at 3 PM. We had lunch, the kids watched a movie and I did some decluttering and cleaning. At 5 PM we went back to the library and we stayed until well passed 9.30.*phew* That's a lot of hours! My head feels like SpongeBob Squarepants, full of holes where everything I've read today has slipped out.My head is sooo empty! How on Earth am I going to memorize everything about the Spanish literature between the 11th and 13th centuries? I just don't get it, because there are so many details, years and names... Oh well, the only thing I can do is to do my best, study as much as possible and let God decide. I really, really need to pass this exam, it's a very important one. Only 10 more days....

The Muslim New Year

The Muslim new year starts tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow (Friday). The Muslim calendar follows the moon and not the sun, as the Christian calender does. That way one can never know for sure when a special occasion will occur and everything goes into "stand by" the day before. If there's a full moon, then there's a new month and the holiday begins.

My kids' school, just like most schools, will be closed both on Thursday and Friday, just in case. Friday is a holiday anyway, it's Independence Day. But Moroccans don't celebrate much, at least not in public. Everything is done at home, together with family and friends.

So far we don't have any plans for these days off. All I know is that I HAVE to study, so I guess we'll spend a lot of time in the library at work, because the kids can play there, with the other teachers and in the patio, while I study. I'm so grateful for my friends. They take turns in playing/talking with my kids, so I can study.

Exams!

Now it's official, the list with the dates and hours for the exams. I will have an exam a day between January 21 and January 25. Woohooo!!! An exam a day, I will become a nervous wreck.:-(

Oh well, I'd better get back to packing. We're leaving on Wednesday morning and I haven't even started packing yet...

And then there were two...

... sick kids at home. Oh no, how am I going to study with 2 kids at home? The "Mama, I'm thirsty!","Mama, I'm cold", "Mama, I'm bored. Play with me" will be double. I don't know how I'm going to manage. My To Do List for today is very long and I get the impression that I'm not going to finish... And I HAVE TO finish an exam I have to deliver by Wednesday, printed and ready.

Or maybe they will keep each other company and won't spend the whole day arguing, so there's a slight chance I get a few hours of peaceful study time. I hope so, because I'm still behind schedule and the exams are around the corner. This year I'm not really enjoying Christmas, I don't know where my Christmas spirit is... I hope it will appear as soon as I deliver the exam and can start to think about other things as well. At least I've begun to decorate the house a little bit. Not much and not enough, but at least you can see that Christmas is celebrated in this house. *lol*

I'd rather look at furniture...

I should be studying Linguistics right now but I'm a bit bored. Having sick kids are getting on my nerves and I'm having a hard time concentrating on my studies. So I decided that I needed a break. I decided I'd look at furniture instead. *lol* Today a friend of mine asked me what I would do if I had the chance to decorate a home all by myself, money being no problem, and being able to chose exactly what I want without having to consult with the rest of the family. Wow, isn't that a great thought? What would you do? Would you stay in your home or would you buy a bigger/smaller one?

I ended up on Furniture From Home, the bedroom store. I've been there before so it was easy to find what I was looking for. I want a new bed. Well, actually, I'd love to be able to get myself a whole new bedroom set. So let's pretend that I can pick whatever I like and that I'm the owner of a big apartment with at least one huge balcony. My choice for my big bedroom would be Cherry Hardwood Marble Top Bedroom Furniture Set or the Cherry Hardwood Marble Top Bedroom Furniture Set.

And in my pretend home I would have at least two livingrooms. One Moroccan with couches and one European with "normal" sofas. Actually I don't like leather furniture. I don't know why, I just dislike it. But I did find a sofa I like. It's called Chaise Couch Lounger Sectional Sofa Set and it reminds me a bit of the Morrocan style.

After this trip to the furniture store it's about time I got back to my studies. Because I need to study so I can get a well payed job and buy that huge apartment with views of the Mediterranean. *lol* If I don't study there won't be an apartment, so now I'm off to work on the apartment. ;-)

Exam preparation software

This is a something I know just too well. Going back to school is not just about learning because it's fun, it's also about preparing for exams, learning a lot of useful/useless information by heart and read more pages than you care to remember.

I'm always on the lookout for things that will help me prepare for my exams. As I told you in a previous post, I'm not doing too well. So far I haven't been lucky when it comes to my studies. First of all I missed the first month of classes and so far I haven't been able to catch up. I have been looking around the Internet to see if I could find useful things to help me prepare the exams, but unfortunately there's not much on Spanish, Spanish literature, Linguistics or Phonetics. But I keep on looking. I did find one interesting thing though, exam-prep.com, which is for people studying Real Estate, Real Estate Appraisal, Home Inspection, Insurance, Mortgage Lending and Securities. They sell a full range of study material and Exam Prep Software, suitable for people in different US states. From what I can see this is a great thing to have if you're in that walk of life. The software is divided into several areas. The Review area gives you interactive questions and answers (and thus checking your knowledge) and the Exam area will present you with an unlimited number of test exams. I wish I could find something like this on Latin, Linguistics or Phonetics. Then I would buy it right away!

Only a few weeks left!

No, I'm not talking about Christmas, I'm taking about my exams. And I think I'm going crazy.... Things are not going my way when it comes to my studies. :-(

I take 5 classes this first semester and then I'll take 6 classes next semester. Before the classes began I thought it would be a lot easier and that I would pass at least 4 exams in February but no, that will not happen. Right now I'd be happy if I pass 2 of my classes in February because I'm too far behind.

Being a sort-of single mom with two kids, working part time as a teacher and studying full time - that's just plain impossible to cope with. But I'm not giving up! I know I'm a great teacher and I know what I want to do with my life, so I just need to take it slow. Ok, so I won't pass all the exams in February, that's okey. I have two options for the classes I don't pass in February - either do the exams that correspond to the second half of the class in June and the first half in September OR do the whole class in September. Either way I will have to spend the summer studying. Oh well, that's life.... I'm glad I live by the beach because I can take the kids to the beach and study while they play in the sand. That's not such a bad thing. *lol*

A training course

I have completed my first month as a payroll teacher. I feel really exhausted but also very, very happy. Finally I've found the job for me. Being a teacher is what I'm supposed to do, I'm sure of that now.

I have had several jobs before this one, I've worked as a nursery teacher (working with kids aged 1 to 6), a substitute teacher for grades 1 - 3 (kids aged 7 to 9), a waitress, an interpreter, translator and a cook, among other things. The one I liked the best was being a SAHM and in a way I miss "just being at home", but at the same time I know I need to work and have a social life. I don't really work for the money, because our center doesn't get any funds so the tuition fees goes to pay the bills in the first place and then there's a small part that goes to the teachers. I work because I was getting too isolated at home. I rarely left home, except for picking up my kids at school and I hardly ever had any adult conversations. That was getting on my nerves because I need to communicate with people, I really need to have a social life.

Next weekend I'm going to spend in class, but this time as a student. I'm going to a training course to become a better teacher. I'll have to ask my MIL if she can look after the kids because I can't bring them to class with me and I can't leave them alone. I hope she won't mind.

The teachers at the training course all work for the Instituto Cervantes, a Spanish world wide organization, with libraries and Spanish courses in several countries. In the US there are centers in Albuquerque, Chicago, Seattle and New York. This is going to be my third training course and I'm really looking forward to assisting because they are usually very good and aimed exactly at teachers like us. It's going to be so much fun!

Too much noise

It's hard to study with the kids at home. Even when I go into another room I can still hear them and that makes it hard to concentrate on what I'm reading. My house is still suffering from the makeover so at the moment we only have one table where I can sit down and work, and that's the dining table, in the middle of the apartment. Surrounded by toys, TV and kids... I think I need ear plugs. There are actually ear plugs made especially for students!

Even when I study in the library at work I get distracted. There's so much noise everywhere. And I'm getting worn out by studying at night, because I don't get enough sleep. I really, really need to get back on track and learn how to study at home. I know what I need to do - get my home back in shape, buy the furniture we so badly need, get some ear plugs, a lamp for the living room and most important, get organized. I have my books all over the place, because I don't have a desk or drawer or even a shelf to put them on, so I leave them wherever I can. I might not pass all my exams in January, I accept that, because things have not been going my way lately, but I will do my best. Out of 5 classes I hope to pass at least 3 of them. Right now I feel like I won't pass a single one, I don't feel prepared at all, but I'll study like crazy all Christmas and we'll see what I can come up with. I'm still very much in the game.

Spanish medieval literature

One of the books I have to read for my literature class is "Cantar de mio Cid", originally transmitted orally but written down in the 12th century. It is written in medieval Spanish, which is sometimes very difficult to understand, even for a Spanish native.

The Cantar de mio Cid is based on a true story. It tell the story of a Spanish hero called El Cid or El Campeador, during the Reconquista, or reconquest of Spain from the Moors. He fell into the disfavor of the king and had to leave his home country, Castile. To regain his honor, he participated in the battles against the Moorish armies until the king forgave him and let him come back home. It really is an exciting story and a great way to learn about a period in history so different from ours.

Medieval literature is one of my favorite classes. It's fun and interesting but also one of the hardest this year, due to the amount of pages we need to read and memorize. It's okey, because I love Spanish literature and I've been looking forward to doing this class for several years. I'm so happy I decided to give it a try.

Far behind on my reading list

Lately I've been too busy to read any blogs. Usually I visit my favorite blogs and those on my reading list at least once a week but since I went back to school I haven't read many blogs. There just isn't any time for reading until I finish my first exams.

When I finish my exams I hope to add more travel blogs to my reading list. I think that's the perfect combo - a blog about traveling. I love going places, not for the thrill of going far or getting a stamp in my passport, but to see new things. Actually, you don't have to travel at all to discover new places, just go for a walk in your neighborhood and look at everything with "new" eyes. I'm sure you'll discover lots of things you never thought about before.

One thing I like about travel blogs is that they usually have a wider approach to the place they visit and not just a travel agent's point of view. A travel blog can deal with just about any subject and then you can leave comments. I think that's part of the fun, to talk about your experiences while traveling.

Only 2 more weeks before my first 3 exams. When I'm done with those I think I'll take a whole day off and just relax. And do some serious blog reading. *lol*

Be happy, don't worry

One of the bad things about being a student is that you don't make any money and if you do, you'll probably spend it on books anyway, so you're always poor. It's okey when you're young and live with your parents because they will probably help you out as much as they can and you could get a scholarship. You might even get by without taking a loan. But when you've already passed the college age, don't live with your parents anymore, have a family to take care of, then being a student is an even tougher situation. Not only do you have to worry about your studies and exams, you also worry sick about money. At least if you don't take a private student loan. And if you plan to work part time you have to know that the more you work, the less you can study. Ask me, I know.... :-(

After several years of studies my best tip to all future students is to take a close look into student loan consolidation because consolidating your student loans can help you reduce your student loan payments. The best thing is to think about how to pay for your studies even before you register at college. Once you're in college and you run out of money it can get really expensive to take a quick loan without thinking. You're going to be in college for quite some time so you have to think twice about your economy. With a good plan and student loan consolidation you can avoid worries and concentrate on your studies.

Good luck to you if you're in college and please wish me luck, because I have 3 exams in 2 weeks time and I really should spend more time studying. But you can't live on air alone, can you?

Study group

I'm glad I've found a group of girls to study with. We are 5 girls and we all live in different cities, so we study online. So far it works great!

There is so much to study so we have divided the work between us and then share our notes. We chat almost every day and also have fixed hours when we talk about different classes. Like today, it's Sunday and in less than an hour we'll talk about Spanish Medieval Literature. Thanks to the girls I'm slowly catching up on everything.

I spent 5 hours at the library on Friday and hopefully I'll be able to study at least 3 hours at the library tomorrow. I haven't been able to study much this weekend so I really need to work hard next week. And no scrapping. :-( I just hope the stupid carpenter will show up tomorrow and fix my bedroom closet because I'm sick and tired of not having a place to put my clothes.

Well, these are my plans for next week. What are yours? Are you doing anything fun?

Ink or not ink...

I spent all morning today printing notes and summaries for my Literature class. This year I'm studying Medieval Literature which is one of my favorite subjects actually. But there is so much to read. First of all we need to read like almost 1000 pages in different text books and then we also need to read 7 works in Medieval Spanish. *phew* And that is just one of the classes I take this year.

I think every student these day needs a computer with a printer, because copying notes by hand takes such a long time. Having a printer really is a blessing, because you can copy whatever you need, print it out and take it with you, to be read wherever you go.

So far I´ve spent a lot of money on ink for the computer. I am very forgetful and never remember the name of the ink I need for my computer. This is the usual scenario for me: Getting to the shop and not remembering what cartridges I should buy... That is so very embarrassing. I go back home, jot the name on a piece of paper and go back to the store, just to discover that I've lost that piece of paper. Isn't that annoying?

Recently I found Cartridge Finder, which is a user friendly site where you can find the name of the devices so you buy the right kind of ink. They carry cartridges for printers, copiers and fax machines. They also check PriceGrabber.com's merchant listings in order to give you the best price available. At least I know where to go next time I run out of ink. Which will be any time soon I'm afraid.

Studying....

This is how I spent part of our holiday: studying. My parents took care of the kids so I could study alone. That was really great and much needed. So far I've lost almost one month of studies so I'm very far behind, but I try not to let that get me down.

I feel proud of myself. Today I've read about 40 pages of Phonetics. It's not the easiest subject, so I think I did great. I hope I can finish the book tomorrow. Actually it's not the book I need to read for class. This one includes more or less the same things but it's shorter and the language is easier. I think it will be easier to read the other book once I've finished this one. I will try to catch up on Phonetics and Linguistics next week and then work really hard on Literature the following week. Actually I have 5 subjects this semester, but I've sort of given up on Literature Theory and so far I have only done 3 chapters of Latin. And time is flying... Guess what I'll do during Christmas break? *lol*