Quicky update

Well, either I don't have too much to share or I'm not really in the mood to write this blog right now.  I'm going to write it anyway, mainly because I woke up in a bad mood today and combined with having cramps, bloating and muscle pain, Im bored.
I always kind of wonder how I can just wake up already in a bad mood.  Clearly nothing happened - it's just my hormonal imbalance showing up for the party.  And well, I'm not in a very bad mood - I'm just feeling impatient and irritated.
So, just a little update into my life right now - the first week back from our trip was not good.  For both of us, but I'm only speaking for myself right now.  I was feeling completely useless, with no purpose in life, wondering what we were even doing here in the first place?  It's just that, Ro and I are used to having responsibility.  I managed a fitness club before coming here and he managed an office building.  We lived in a condo close to the lake in downtown Toronto.  We exercised everyday (at least tried to), we cooked our own meals, we paid our cable, cell phone, internet, hydro, grocery bills with our hard earned cash.  At night, we sat down in front our TV in the living room eating dinner and watching whatever we liked.  We really like working, making money and being able to support ourselves and live comfortably.
We don't have any of that now.
While it may seem like a dream to some (the taking 6 months off of work, not having to pay rent, cook for ourselves, clean our own bathroom etc.), it's causing a little cabin fever and lack-of-anything-to-do anxiety.  That and we're out of money.

Obviously, in the beginning, it was pretty sweet because frankly we were tired.  We had all of this responsibility but we were really overworked.  Ro's family has been nothing but supportive of us, financially and otherwise.  We're just ready to get back into a routine. 

So, we started looking for jobs immediately because that's the number one thing that will give us our financial freedom - having an income.  My dream, since I was in university, has been to teach English abroad.  I've never really had another set, established dream like this so THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO.  That, and I don't really have another option anyway hehehe.  Anyway!  Applying for a job has been beneficial for me in a few ways - first, it forced me to speak in Portuguese over the phone.  Second, I was able to learn my address and postal code!  (like a baby)  Third, it has given me something to focus on and get my brain back in action (but c'mon, you know it never stops ;))
So, with my efforts I was able to snag two interviews.  One with a school called New Start which caters to Business English specifically.  They also pay more than most of the other schools.  The other school I had an interview with is Wizard, a school I see around pretty often.

The lady at New Start was a little hesitant because I only have a TESL certificate and she is used to hiring people with CELTA (which is more intensive and longer).  BUT (and this is the only benefit I can foresee to me living in Recreio, aka NOT where foreigners live) because I live in the far west end of Rio and she needs someone out here, she agreed to give me a try.  I did a day of training with her and she gave me 3 classes to teach (the same group).  After the 3, she is going to get their opinion and if they like me, she is going to hire me on for that class!  YAY!
The first class was this past Monday and oh my god.  Yes, I have the TESL cert. but I did it seriously 5 years ago.  I remember nothing.  I literally planned for this class (on my own) for 10 hours.  I mean, I totally had to catch up on grammar, verb tenses and parts of speech, otherwise known as the basics.  Then I planned the lesson (almost word for word, haha, what can I say, I like to be prepared).  When I got there, only one guy was actually at work that day so it ended up being a one-to-one which was ok anyway because I was able to relax a little.  His English is intermediate/advanced so that certainly made it a lot easier.  Anyway!  It went pretty well I thought!  I definitely need to work on my explanations and timing but I think at least that I made a good impression.

Oh, and the Wizard interview?  How about halfway through the woman said,
"Ok, now we're going to see how your Portuguese is and do the rest of the interview in Portuguese."

Seriously?  Thanks for the heads up.  I kind of stumbled through but it wasn't so bad... let's say it wasn't a train wreck.  Anyway, I should be hearing from them this week!

So yay so far for some progress.  The next big exciting news is that my mom and sister are coming to visit on Saturday!!  I'm really excited to see them and our families will be meeting for the first time!  A little nervous about the communication, but at the same time I'm not.  I made it through and barely spoke anything in the beginning.  Ro is a very good translator and now I can help too.  So, if I have time, I will update to let you know how it's going.

Until then, that is my update!  Ohhhh and Nina is getting so big!  God, she's sooooo long!  I think she's going to be the longest cat in the world.  Here are some cuuuuuute pics to keep you interested...

Haha sleeping with her tongue out!!