Today...

The weather here has really taken a turn for the worse. It rains constantly (not that I'm complaining - it reminds me of home!). But I'm learning the hard way that long skirts and dresses are NOT suitable for this weather. I came home today absolutely drenched!

Today, I was enjoining a hot cup of tea in one of the admin offices of the university where I'm studying Farsi - a privilege not shared by other students! As I was making my way back to class, one of my fellow students came and said that classes for the day had finished and could we share a taxi home. It was slightly annoying, as we had only had an hour of class, as opposed to the usual 4, but when you're balancing work, school and a home, every extra hour is a bonus.

Today has some special significance in the Modern Iranian calender (something to do with the revolution?!) So instead of classes, they were taking people to the Shrine of Lady Masuma. I decided to come home and prepare my class as I'm teaching later on today.

About 3 weeks ago, I had a phone call from one of the bozorgies (big people) of the post graduate centre at Jamiatuz Zahra (Jamia means university, Zahra is the daughter of the Holy Prophet of Islam - this is the place where I learn Farsi). They had recently started an English programme for their MA and PhD students to enable them to go to the West and be able to give lectures in English. They had run out of teachers and asked if I (as a native speaker) could come and help them out. I jumped at the chance!

My class has 8 students from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. 5 of them are postgraduates and 3 of them work in the university. (n.b. one of them is the VERY scary head of the dormitories!) It's the first time I'm teaching adults, but its really good fun. The students are eager to learn and they help me with my Farsi too! The books we follow are very politically correct and sometimes a bit American, but I'm hoping to supplement the book with role plays, CDs and kids cartoons. If anyone has any teaching tips for me, please post them!

I teach 3 afternoons a week, and because I'm a teacher, they send a car to pick me up from my house :-)))))