It is a good feeling being busy. Also, one of the positive things about living with a host family is that I personally wouldn't feel as comfortable sitting around all day doing nothing in someone else's house as I would in my own house or apartment. It makes me get out more.
About a month or a month and a half ago, I actually started getting annoyed at myself for not going out and meeting new people. Part of what fascinated me about study abroad was that I was meeting new people every day. Being in a big university city, you makes friends with the friends of friends and so on and so forth and the cycle never ends. Being a teacher and not a college kid though makes things harder. So, when I realized I was getting cabin fever I decided to make a profile on Meetup.com which is a website which tells you "meet ups" that are happening in your city. A couple of the ones that I remember were:
-"Indian dinner" which was a group of people that meets up once a week to eat out at an Indian restaurant because they really love Indian food.
-"Young Professional Women" which is exactly what it sounds like i.e. young professional women getting together to socialize, chat, discuss their experiences
I decided to join a group called "Cheers Milan" which organizes an English speaking night at a local pub every Thursday. The afternoon that I made this decision was actually a Thursday, so I made up my mind to go out that night. Yesterday, I just went there for I believe the fourth time and it is always a good time. Most of the people that show up are Italians who want to practice their English so they always get excited and want to talk to my friends and I. I'm not complaining! As with all pubs, there are always a few characters in the mix and people always have crazy stories to tell that make me die laughing. It is great to get out.
Also, while for the first 2 months not a soul seemed interested in a private English tutor now I'm being flooded with requests. I guess word of mouth has a delayed, but strong response. I actually had my first two tutoring sessions this past Wednesday.
One woman rents out apartments to foreigners so she speaks English for work and wants to become completely fluent. She really takes the reins, knows exactly what she needs me there for, and is full of questions. If anyone who is reading this is in Italy, is thinking about giving private lessons, and wants to know what is a good price per hour you can ask me. The teachers at school told me what the typical price is and it was actually much more than I expected and much more than I would have ever asked for if I hadn't double checked with them first. Don't sell yourself short!
Anyway, the other lesson was more informal. We just met up for an aperitivo and she paid for my drink, which in Milan can be fairly expensive so it worked out well as a payment.
No comments:
Post a Comment