Calculations

The other day, we engaged in a conversation about abacus, and thus about calculations.

Especially, regarding the methods one uses in order to make calculations.

I did not make so much use of the abacus when I was a child, but I do remember one ingenious method that I discovered while I was an English teacher in an afterschool.

I had finished the English class and I stayed in order to keep an eye on 8, 9 years old children doing their Mathematics homework. The management was really clear that us, the teachers, should be very careful not to let the children solve their exercises by using the calculator.

I was thus on a serious mission while surveying the little ones, when one of them drew my attention. I discreetly approached him and asked the little boy to draw out from underneath the desk whatever he was using to solve his exercises. He looked me in the eyes, with a mix of amazement and shame, and pointed towards one of his feet.

I took a better look and saw that both his feet where on the chair. Thus, I asked him to explain to me what he was doing.

Unaffected, he replied that the exercise he was working on needed more than the number of fingers from his hands in order to be solved so he went and used his toes, too.

It is during moments like these when a teacher really discovers the beauty of her/ his profession.

Scenes from buying books

This summer, we visited Slovenia.

It was quite a beautiful experience and we enjoyed the scenery and the people.

Ljubljana is indeed very beautiful, but it was Maribor where I could actually find books written by Slovenian writers translated into English.

I entered a beautiful bookshop in Maribor and asked the shop assistant to direct me to the shelf of translated Slovenian writers. She was quite puzzled and when I got to the counter to pay for these books below, the shop assistant said:

‘Oh, you only bought Slovenian writers' books. Are you a teacher here, coming to teach English?’

‘No’, I said. ‘I am a tourist, but I am really interested to discover writers from everywhere I go’.

That smile. A mixture of pride, humbleness and joy. That is something one can never take for granted.

And to embellish them all, I found a keychain with my favorite dogs breed.

(I love my West Highland White Terrier)

Measure your words

In a world where we are all communicators, whether we like it or not, it’s important that we do not lose track of the meaning of words.

In Romania, most of us use the English language at work more than the Romanian one. This is how the Rom-English language appeared, and words in Romanian are butchered constantly.

 

Sometimes, we use English words without knowing the proper meaning to them. For example:

‘I thought you were a professional, so I do not need to explain what I want.’

Well, you do. Everybody does. No one, not even those with a lot of personal or professional experience, can guess what’s in your head. You are the one that must direct them to what you need or want. This is how speech appeared, to facilitate the understanding among people. The more explanations, the better. Trust me!

 

Try and make an effort and think about what words you use and how you use them. It will go a long way for your business or personal relationships.

Autumn in the garden

Autumn has already beautifully colored our balcony. Sure, if it was not for the great gardener that took care of it, the harvest would have been less rich.

Queen

Real music never dies. It stands out so easily from the noises in fashion.

The other day, my cousin showed a picture of Freddie Mercury to my nephew and the latter admitted that he did not know who that man was. And maybe it’s not at all that bizarre given that when I was 12 years old I did not know how John Lennon looked like. But I did know that song. 

Once I arrived at home, I started listening to Queen’s albums, one after the other. Inevitable, I have my favorite songs.

Who wants to live forever?! 

Who does not get goosebumps when listening to the song above?!

The Speech

(Photo Copyright - IMDB)

If you must see a movie this year, let it be The Speech.

A great comedy, with funny lines and monologues that are, from time to time, tender and touching.

It is a while since I laughed the way I did while watching this movie. And I must add that some theater techniques used in the movie give it a special charm.

Until you go see it, here’s a line to ponder on:

‘You will fall a couple of times and you will get hurt because life is a bicycle with no training wheels.’

First article in English on Bookster

You already know that I have some works published on the Bookster platform (and you can also borrow one of my books - the bilingual edition of 'Adventures of tourists').

Thus, there are 16 works of mine to be borrowed by you, and starting from today you can also find there an article written in English.

Happy reading!