Challenge Write an EBook in November

There are actually a couple of Ebook writing challenges for November.

From http://comerecommended.com

One fiction [Thank you Mr Copy blogger]

One non fiction 

It's up to you which you choose but I'm currently thinking of at least giving it a shot! I may fail but hey there is no loss there is there! It starts tomorrow so you don't have long to weigh up your options.

So who is with me.

Teaching Observations and Life

During my CELTA [training to become an English as a foreignlanguage teacher] one of the very first things we did was to take part in a sample lesson where we could see the methodology we would eventually teach with being done on us. The next thing was to watch a lesson on some students fromour course supervisor.

These initial observations were very useful as sometimes words can only go some far and it can be a lot simpler to just show how to do something than explain it.

I think the apostle Paul understood this, he didn’t just preach [Although he certainly did that! Remember the in Athens or what about when he bored a boy to sleep who then fell to his death after he had beenpreaching for “some time”] but he also demonstrated with his actions.

In fact he even goes as to say that he shared his entire life with the church in Thessalonica. And that they became imitators of him whilst he was there.

Now whilst I certainly haven’t observed as many teachers since finishing my CELTA I still continue to do this.

These observations are still good.

Sometimes there is a revelation about teaching that I hadn’t thought of until I saw another teacher do it.

In the same way as Christian we should continue to observe the lives of other Christians. We should continue to be challenged by their example, and become imitators of them and ultimately God.

So who are you imitating? 

Music from Ukraine: Okean Elzie

This is a band I was introduced to early on during my time here there name is Okean Elzie and they are probably the biggest Ukrainian rock band around. Not only that but they sing...In Ukrainian!!! Not Russian.

I've been listening to them for a while and really like them. In fact I've posted some of their music on the blog before in some of my reviews of the month. The track bellow is probably my favourite song of theirs.





It might [is] be hyperbole but I would actually dare to suggest that Okean Elzie are probably the modern inequivalent of Taras Shevchenko [no not the footballer] in terms of promoting the Language via artistic means.

Jesus and present simple sentences

After introductions and basic questions about themselves we usually move on to teaching students present simple sentences [starting with affirmative, positive statements and then moving on to negatives and interrogative (or question) forms] Jesus seams to follow this pattern.

The Beatitudes

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sonst of God.

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you
 

The beatitudes in Matthew five are full of present simple sentences. Blessed are....

For those of you who don't know present simple is used for stating repeated actions [with varied frequency] and facts. Here Jesus is stating facts and repeated actions. When you are persecuted (this isn't a single offense) you are blessed [you may not my choice of a zero conditional there, to exaggerate the nature of this being a fact.]

Let's look at the grammar a bit deeper, these are actually all passive voice sentences. They don't state who does the blessing. We use passive voice when we don't need to state who is doing an action as the result is more important OR we know who is doing the action.

So which is it in this case? Well it is certainly possible that Jesus wants to focus on the positive outcomes of these blessings and the nature of the blessings. However if we look at the end of the section we can see that actually there is the assumed knowledge there ("for your reward is great in heaven")

So Jesus's first sermon started with a load of facts in the present simple passive voice. They were all about how God blesses the unlikely and people who appear to be losers (in the fullest sense of the word)

How am I blessing people?

One of the things I've been contemplating over the last few days is "How can I bless the people around me?"

The reason for this pondering comes down to a few things. 

The first is that I have been very blessed and I am very thankful for that. So I should pass on this blessing.

Secondly I believe that Christians should be agents in bringing in the Kingdom of God on Earth. The Kingdom of God is complete fullness of life for people both here on Earth and In the age to come. If this is true then I certainly should be blessing the people closest to me. After all the closer you are to a light, the brighter it is for you and the greater effect it has.

Thirdly I do want to bless the people around me. It's not always an active thought in my mind but I want to turn this desire into more actions.

Fourthly my girlfriend asked the question of how we can bless people together back in England?

So How can I bless people around me?

The first step is not really a blessing but merely doing my part. If I am making a mess and leaving it to others around me to tidy up then I can't really be a blessing to these people.

The second would be to work out what things are burdening the people around me. How can I help easy these Burdens?

The final is what token gestures can I do to bless these people? What little extra nice touches can I do.

Take for example fellow teachers, the first step would be to make sure I am doing my work well and not forcing my DOS to chase me up over missing paperwork or other teachers reguarding what I taught. The next step would be to work out if I can help other teachers by making lesson material or providing lesson plans on day's when they are very busy. And the final might be bring in some chocolates to the staff room.

Overall I think the second step is the most important of these, Helping people when they feel burdened really does make a difference and really blesses them.

These thoughts were inspired by Galatians 6: 1-8 and my girlfriend.

Video Challenge 3!

Okay here is your next challenge, 

there are two parts, one easy one not so easy.

Number one: write down your favourite meal to cook preferably with a link to a recipe for this meal.

Number two: Invite at least one person round and cook it for them.

Previous Video Challenges.
Challenge 1. What makes you feel like yourself?
Reward: Picnic video

Challenge 2: Draw a Self-portrait. 

Canadian Thanksgiving

Today I'm going round to my fellow teachers house for Canadian thanksgiving. Whilst my initial reaction is to think of all the wonderful food that I am sure I will soon be thankfully for eating (I'm very interested in trying pumpkin pie!) it has made me think of some more things to be thankful for.

1. I am of course thankful for my girlfriend who continues to amaze me everyday.
2. My great friends who have been such a help and great companions, especially during hard times.
3. My parents for all they have done and all the help they gave when I was growing up.
4. Being born in a very affluent area where I have had more than I need all my life.
5. The opportunity to go to university and study a subject I really enjoyed.
6. My great job that I love, even if it can be hard work.
7. And last but not least for Jesus's sacrifice. I don't think there is anything I can be more thankful for. 

What are you thankful for?

Dnipro Day 2011

Dnipro day has been a slight highlight for me after my amazing experience last year. Being the first Ukrainian Public holiday I experienced I was taken aback last year by the difference between the UK and here.

As such I was looking forward to Dnipro's "day of the city" [the actually name of the day rather than my haphazard renaming of the day.] and yet this year I actually missed the day itself. Instead I was relaxing at a Dacha just outside the city. 

However the day before still shared some of the celebrations so I shall share my experience from then.

Waking up early things immediately seamed different. Even from my flat I could hear more noise outside from the nearby globa park where celebrations were in full flow.

Globa Park

The Children's train had been redecorated, the fountains were belting water out full power, the central area was a mass of people writing messages in chalk about the city and there were many marketing symbols wondering around handing out free things. 

I didn't hang around there too long however I did end up bumping into several friends whilst I was there which was a nice surprise especially as many of them I hadn't seen since I arrived back.

Fireworks

In the evening I made my way down to the embankment and witnessed the amazing firework display that I had seen last year. Bellow I have included a video.

I wish I could write more but unfortunately I missed all the concerts in the centre of town [mainly due to being too tired, being away at the Dacha and having been warned of the vast amounts of Alcohol that some would be drinking. ]

How does a writer seek inspiration?

I recently wrote about the importance of seeking inspiration for overcoming writers block and I thought perhaps it was time to write a bit about how we should seek this inspiration, and specifically how I seek this inspiration. Of course depending on what you write about [fiction/non-fiction] will determine how useful these things are.

There is a quote I often read online from Stephen King which goes

"There are two things a great writer does, write and read."

 It's true, exposing yourself to different writers will have an impact on you and helps you encounter ideas. Within this there is a two fold element.

The first is to look at what topics they are writing about, is this something you could write about? what topics do they deal with? What perspective do they offer on this? What do you think about this? [Note: don't commit plagiarism. You know where the boundary is I don't need to say anything else.]

The second is language analysis and taking good elements of writing from other writers. Look at what tricks they are using in writing, are they sticking to the grammar rules? How are they breaking them? What Lexis do they use? Are there any words you don't know? How often do you encounter them? Can you work them out from context? How often do they use adjectives and adverbs? etc.

Next look beyond books.

What can you take out of songs, pictures, experiences, dreams?

For me personally I write about my faith, my life in the Ukraine and teaching.

For my faith the biggest sources are prayer and reading the bible. Whenever I am doing these two things I notice that it is much easier to blog. [That is not to say that If i'm not blogging then I'm not praying/reading the bible, though it is quite possible, sometimes I just don't have time.]

My life in the Ukraine is pretty obvious how it is a source of inspiration.

As for teaching sometimes inspiration comes from teaching a lesson and learning something from that, sometimes from a training session, reading a book, reading a blog or just a conversation with a friend. What I've noticed is that teaching seams to inspire me in other areas too. Sometimes I think about how this can be applied to my faith or to my other hobbies.

2011 aims: September update

Well the end of another month and another update on my Aims for 2011 and a reminder that I've been in the Ukraine for over a month!

1.I will give at least a 10% tithe in addition to any other giving I will do.

This year there has been a change In our payment method, meaning we now get half our salary in advance and the rest later. As such this has greatly helped with giving as it's much easier to give 10% of a smaller amount.

2. Making Prayer a stronger habit. 

I have definitely noticed an increase in my prayer life which has been great and exciting. However this prayer has been quite self centered so the next step is to increase my prayer for other people. One thing I am going to do for this is to put prayer request and thoughts about the ukraine/dnipro/other countries and people. If you would like me to put something up about you then send me a message.

3.Use skype more to chat to people back home/Britain
Again there has been a definitely increase due to my girlfriend back in the UK. Having said that I have also been able to chat to my brother who has just gone to university and my very good friend ollie (who has finally got round to getting skype!)

4.  I will improve as an EFL teacher.

I am now well underway of my two IH courses and I can see how the reading I did over the summer has helped me grow. In addition I have already published two posts on my new tefl blog and I have a couple of more thoughts on posts to do. I've also added some new TEFL blogs to my personal reading list. I'll post an article linking some of them soon.

5. I will improve my Russian.

Russian has been a real struggle recently, I've had a couple of incidents which have dented ny confidence recently and I have slacked off studying recently. This is mainly due to the fact that I have reached a point where it's become a lot harder. Still I'm determined to push through. I have thus set aside 30 mins at the start of the day to study.

6. I will write more songs.
[this aim is no longer being pursued]

7. Host a weekly meal at my flat.

I have once again started to host meals at my flat with the first of the year happening last week. I hope to do some more soon, I am just weighing up when is best to do them this year, during the week or weekend?

8. Regular and higher quality blogging.

This month I had my third highest amount of page views ever, I set up a second blog and, despite spending a couple of weeks at the start not really blogging, I published 13 posts [there was a period of over a week with no posts!] in addition I redesigned the blog. Came up with some new ideas for series to do, improved the format of my blog posts and have updated the recommend on facebook button and follow on twitter button [why not try them out on the left!]

9. I will get involved with some form of charitable work in the Ukraine.

I'm afraid that this goal has been on hold whilst I look at whether I can go back to the orphanage or not. If I can't then I'll have to look at doing something else.

10. I will make a Public video each month.
No video as of yet. I had a few difficulties with having no USB cable to connect the camera...then I discovered that I could use another one! As such the new challenge video should be coming out very soon.

So that's this month!

Overall some pretty good progress but still some areas to improve upon and keep up the effort in. If you have any suggestions for how I can keep my aims please write them.