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stacey_dream · 04-06-2012 11:24 AM

Thank you fireflyz56! glomp

Ish · 04-06-2012 05:28 PM

Hi Stacey, this is amazing news! It's great to be achieve your dreams. I love London. Hope you get the visa real fast :dance:

stacey_dream · 04-06-2012 11:26 PM

Ish Thanks a lot darling! :hug:

I hope so too! I still can't believe this is actually happening to me! :angel:

stacey_dream · 04-07-2012 01:47 PM

DAY 5

This day was really lazy. I I made some steps toward my London-dream, so Spanish was postponed till midnight. I managed to study only one Chapter, because the grammar was really difficult and I didn't have a choice and had to learn the words by heart.

I give myself 3 out of 10 because I haven't done much, and even when I was doing the exercises, I was thinking about London.

Shame on me!

I can't wait to finish this book and to start actively chatting - this is much more useful!

Lina · 04-08-2012 01:38 AM

(04-07-2012 01:47 PM)stacey_dream Wrote: This day was really lazy. I I made some steps toward my London-dream, so Spanish was postponed till midnight. I managed to study only one Chapter[...]

Look at it like this: even if it wasn't much, you still studied! Allow yourself to be excited so the next day you'll have full focus on your work.

stacey_dream · 04-08-2012 12:25 PM

Lina thanks a lot for your support! I've been really tired after work lately, so you are right - the only fact that I found time for Spanish is already great!

DAYS 6 & 7

The 1st week of my challenge is over. I've finished the book for dummies and I guess I quite got their tenses. I haven't learned all the words, but I just know I won't need most of them any time soon.

Beginning today, I'll be watching Spanish video course 'Extra' and doing exercises on livemocha.com. I'm also planning to chat with native speakers every day. We'll see how it goes!

I rate my first week 6 out of 10 because I was tempted to skip the studying more than once, but I never did. So I managed to find about an hour every day for Spanish, which means anyone who wants - will do it too.

elezhara · 04-08-2012 08:13 PM

Hi Stacey!! Congrats on completing your first week!! You´re doing great!
Starting next week, I´ll be on Skype from 20:00 or 21:00 onwards. I´ll be back from my holidays tomorrow, which means I´m back to my routine and as I´m usually on my computer at that time, I hope we can chat a little whenever you can

stacey_dream · 04-08-2012 08:59 PM

Sara I look forward to talking to you! glomp

And thanks a thousand times for your support and your patience with silly me

stacey_dream · 04-08-2012 11:28 PM

DAY 8

Today the second part of my challenge started, and I must admit I like it a lot more! I studied 2 lessons on livemocha.com - some things were new, while others I'd already learned. I also wrote a short text and recorded my reading, and native speakers marked my work good and even excellent

. I also watched 1 lesson of a video course and I saw that I could actually understand about 80% of what the actors were saying! I'm so happy!

I rate myself 7 out of 10, because even though I enjoyed the studying process a lot, I still have a feeling that I can study more and learn more. And I didn't practice Spanish with native speakers online - shame on me! I hope tomorrow I'll have my evening chat with Sara :angel:

stacey_dream · 04-10-2012 02:43 AM

DAY 9

Today was great! I studied a lot and was more than satisfied with my results. I watched the educational video "Extra" for 30 minutes and could understand almost everything! That was a lot of fun! :dance:

I also finished another lesson on livemocha.com and did pretty well. Then I chatted with Sara, my Spanish friend, for an hour or so. I even managed to write some things correctly and without the help of google translator. I'm SO proud of myself! This is true that you can achieve anything as long as you want it and are ready to work.

I rate myself 9 out of 10 - such a productive day it was! I haven't had so much Spanish in one day for a long time... actually, never

stacey_dream · 04-12-2012 01:04 AM

DAYS 10 & 11

Yesterday I was so worn down after work so that I only managed to read a simple Spanish book for about 20 minutes.

The thing is, I have a lot of work now - more and more people are coming to me to study English. So, I really don't have time for Spanish anymore! I guess I'll keep on practicing it with native speakers and on livemocha.com, but my priorities now are mostly in the field of English. I want and need to grow both as an English speaker and an ESL tutor. I must do it for myself and for my students.

I don't know what to do to find energy and strength for everything I want to accomplish. Even time is not a problem - I'm so weak and exhausted right now. I'll try to concentrate on English for the time-being, as this is also the process of learning and growing (I won't quit my challenge anyway). But as for Spanish - I'm taking a break!

Tomorrow I'll make sure to find some time for English!

And now - sleep!

stacey_dream · 04-13-2012 01:10 AM

DAY 12

Today I had one teaching session with a beginner and in the evening I studied some Advanced vocabulary and Grammar. I found out that I have some problems with grammar - particularly with prepositional phrases. I must learn most of them all over again! This really sucks when you study something but then forget due to not using it.

I also started thinking of opening my English school and working with groups (now I work at home one-to-one). It's just that more and more people are coming to me, and soon I simply won't have time and energy for all of them. So I'll have to rent an office and open a school sometime this year. If I go to London, I'll make changes happen right after I come back!

Matt · 04-13-2012 11:41 AM

Glad to hear your services are becoming so popular. What kind of students do you attract? Is it mostly people still in school and university or people who want to learn English to enhance their careers?

stacey_dream · 04-13-2012 01:49 PM

The majority of my students are 25-30 y.o. They want to know English both for career purposes and for traveling. They are all very diligent and hard-working, and I'm really grateful for that, because it makes my job much easier - I don't have to push them hard to make them do the homework. They show results very quickly, and it also makes me happy!

This is really awesome when you're crazy about what you're doing! :dance:

squiggle · 04-17-2012 04:01 AM

Stacey, that's such great news about London!

Hopefully you'll get your visa sorted without any problems.

It sounds like you're doing really well with your studying as well! Congratulations!

stacey_dream · 04-18-2012 02:18 AM

DAY 17

I haven't been studying, but I've done a lot of English-related work lately: I started working on a new course based on 'Desperate Housewives'. Whenever I create something new for my students, I feel a little scared and at the same time excited - it always turns out alright! Now my students are as excited as me about this course - we'll see what results it will bring!

I've been also slowly translating the documents for UK Visa - this subject makes me sick to my stomach, because I can't imagine not getting the visa and losing my greatest dream! So I'm hoping it all goes well and I achieve this beautiful goal soon!

As for learning English - I just don't have time for it! I have too much teaching every day that I have no energy for educating myself. I prefer to read Ayn Rand 'Atlas Shrugged' instead of studying new vocabulary and grammar... Maybe it's just not the right time for learning yet...

All in all, I'm more than satisfied with how my challenge is going - I'm improving in my professional field and this is definitely a part of learning new things. And I love it! :heart:

Matt · 04-18-2012 11:44 AM

How is "Atlas Shrugged"?. It's been on my to-read list for years but I have never bothered to pick it up.

"A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read." ~ Mark Twain

stacey_dream · 04-23-2012 02:10 PM

Matt, Atlas Shrugged is great! I just can't stop reading it! A very meaningful book about our society and the types of people that surround us.

As for my challenge, I've been extremely busy lately - not only working, but thinking. I'm really tired of thinking and analyzing things so much! I can't relax and enjoy my life - I keep on creating problems out of nowhere... Maybe my 'learning-new-things' challenge wasn't the best choice - because I always learn something new anyway.

Currently I'm facing another priority for self-development: positivity (which is gone since the positivity challenge is over) and finding life purpose. I feel like I just can't choose between career and family, movement forward or peaceful being in the present... This is hard for me to finally decide what I want from life and stick to it. I'm very confused at the moment as for what direction I'm willing to take. And I know I just can't be everything at once - a perfect wife and a successful business woman. I have to choose.

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