Gainfully Employed

Hola Blogers,

Its Jose´s birthday today so I ahve just been marching around looking for a suitable cake. Mission accomplished - I have a chocolate Hedgehog in a box under my chair as I write. Why the hedgehog you ask. Why not? No, actually I often call him a hedgehog if he has put too much wax on his hair so its kind of a lovey dovey in joke kind of thing. He´d better be anyway because it cost 15 euros and its not very big if you ask me.

I´m giving my new fondue set a test drive tonight - for the old birthday meal. So if you don´t here from me again, chances are I will have set the flat a light with a combination of incorrectly lit fondue sets and candle adorning hedgehogs.

From the title of this blog entry you would not be wrong to suspect that I have got off my arse and got a little job. Correcto - but not exactly thanks to me getting off my arse. More thanks to something falling right into my sofa sitting lap. Through a friend I have been recommended to a family with five children seeking English language assistance. Starting from Monday I shall be tutoring the youngest one three times a week on an intense programme aiming at getting her into English boarding school next september. No easy task as entrance xams involve Latin, chemistry, biology, physics (none of which she has studied before!) as well as english , maths, history, religion, geography and modern languages. Two days of exams for the little lamb and she´s only 12. I am trying to get though to the registrar of the school to tease some past papers out of them or better still some text books. Then we´ll be well on our way (I hope).

The family have also enlisted me to tutor the second youngest daughter (aged 16) on a more general conversation basis. That will be twice a week. So, all in all I will be up at their house every day of the working week. I remeber putting something in this blog about my life being like that of Little House on the Praire without the kids. Well I spoke too soon - here come the kids! All good practice for the future (God willing!)

There is the added angle that the father of this family is a lawyer here in BCN and he has already had me in his office for some business talks. So, lets get the bambino packed off to boarding school and then you never know I might take him up on his offers of legal or legal related work. Nothing too strenuous of course - as I am rather used to the lady of leisure thing.

I recommend Woody Allen´s new film Match Point if any one is considering a trip to the cinema. Although, It might not have the same appeal for those of you still on the island. Maybe I just enjoyed the sight of the black taxis and country estates due to my current residence.

The cultural highlight of Spanish life this weekend is the Barcelona v Real Madrid match taking place on Saturday night. Of course I will be keeping my eyes for Beckham, Raul and other such Madrid beauties firmly under my sombrero as it wouldn´t be proper to be anything than the most ardent of Barcelona fans considering my romantic attachments.

Right, I shall carrying on tearing out interesting articles from English papers and magazines for my older student. You know its surprising how little there is of interest in a paper for a sixteen year old, well for all of us really, but we just read out of obligation don´t we, or out of some deep rooted fear of looking stupid in the wrong company.

Wish me luck with the fondue and hedgehog!

S xx