So boom, there goes another week!

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Buondì.

Like this one, last Wednesday’s article was written in a hurry on Tuesday afternoon. That was because Bug’s petting zoo announced it would be closed on the Wednesday, leaving me as temporary keeper, which I anticipated would mess up the whole day (it did.)

Things were back to normal on Thursday, at least until one of my adult-daughters arrived with a new boyfriend in tow, meaning a weekend of even more grocery shopping, cooking, and washing dishes than normal.

My family moan about Mondays, but for me they’re often a nice break! Not this one, though. It was the end of the month, which means bills and wages to pay, numbers to analyse,and lots of spreadsheets to update.

I detest the end of the month, and unfortunately, there’s one each month, come rain or shine. But in particular, I DETEST PAYING TEACHERS.

That’s not because I’m mean, but because there’s always someone who messes up their pay claim, sometimes making multiple blunders. Honestly, you wouldn’t believe. Every 4th/5th of the month, I’m tearing my hair out!

Above-mentioned adult daughter earns some euros each month checking the thirty or so payment requests from NativeSpeakerTeachers.com staff before they even get to me but – despite reminding them via email each month of what’s required – there are so many screw-ups she doesn’t catch everything.

So come the first Monday morning of the month – and after the weekend there’s work piled up so high I could drown in it – the job of getting people their money on time can’t get done because – someone was late with their claim – someone else changed bank account without saying anything (so the money bounces right back) – someone else copied an old document to save time and that one had a bank account number that no longer exists – someone else has bank details for an account in some weird country which only accepts payments in dinars – someone else left last month’s date on – someone else appears not to have an address – someone else sent a photo of their claim which the bookkeeping software can’t read, and so on.

We’re basically agreed around here that teachers (present company excepted, obviously) are some of the least competent people we ever deal with. Except, hopefully, at actually teaching.

A good rule of thumb for academic managers is that teachers who don’t read emails, are late getting you what you need to pay them, have no idea how to use a spreadsheet, and OF COURSE are negligent at filling in records of the lessons they’ve done and hope to be paid for, those teachers (we all know who they are), might, fingers-crossed, be really, really great with their students. And so have to be, at least, tolerated.

Which reminds me, NativeSpeakerTeachers.com is doing its twice-yearly FREE TRIAL LESSON OFFER next week. If you’ve ever fancied doing a one-to-one online with a native speaker, but have hitherto not plucked up the courage to do so, from Monday 12th to Sunday 18th February 2024 you’ll get your chance. A half-hour Italian, French, Spanish or German lesson, worth £22, will be on offer to anyone who hasn’t already done a free trial.

Read more details of that next Wednesday or, better still, join the NativeSpeakerTeachers.com mailing list (there’s a widget in the sidebar of their site) and hear about the offer when it begins, on the Monday.

So where was I? Last Wednesday was messed up as I was shovelling dung, the weekend was crazy, and Monday morning was wasted by idiot educators who really don’t deserve to get paid the correct sum, and on time.

Then, as Monday lunch time was approaching, and the prospect of a siesta, the phone rang. It was Bug’s petting zoo, moaning that he had a temperature. His fur was all sweaty. We’d have to bring him home, and then (today) to the vet. And we mustn’t even think about taking him back until he’s been temperature-free for at least two days (by which point it’ll be the weekend…)

So boom, there goes another week!

I would write that I hope to have something less moany to write about next Wednesday but, frankly, the odds aren’t looking that great…

Never mind. There’s a new ebook for you to check out (more about that below), an ‘easy news’ bulletin to listen to, and perhaps a Free Trial Lesson next week, for those who’ve never dared…

Alla prossima settimana.

New ebook ‘easy reader’ level B2 – 25% off the first week!

Yesterday our ebooks store published a new ebook ‘easy reader’, and they’re running the usual 25% launch-week discount. Below is a copy/paste of the mailing that went out this morning (Tuesday), for the ten thousand or so of you who aren’t on their list but might anyway be interested.

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Improve your Italian reading and listening skills with Odissea (attributed to Homer), a B2-level Italian ‘easy reader’, and a follow up to the B1-level L’Iliade that we published back in November.

L’Odissea è un poema epico scritto in greco antico nell’VIII secolo a.C. Il titolo significa “le avventure di Odisseo” e, insieme all’Iliade, è uno dei testi fondamentali della storia occidentale.

Odisseo (che i Romani chiamano più tardi “Ulisse”) è il mitico re di un’isoletta greca chiamata Itaca. E’ nipote di Ermes, il dio greco degli imbrogli. Odisseo è molto curioso e astuto: ha un’intelligenza di tipo pratico che gli permette sempre di risolvere i problemi e salvarsi in situazioni difficili, che non mancano!

Ha affrontato dieci lunghi anni di guerra a Troia e, insieme agli altri re greci suoi alleati, ha finalmente preso la città (una parte di questa storia è raccontata nell’Iliade.) Finita la guerra, Odisseo deve affrontare un pericoloso viaggio per ritornare a casa…

Why read the Italian version of a classic of world literature? Well, why not? Sometimes a familiar tale is reassuring when faced with the complexities of reading and listening in the language you’re learning.

Besides, you can do both! We have ‘easy reader’ versions of some of the classics of Italian literature, too!

• .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
• .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
• introduction + 8 chapters to read and listen to
• Comprehension questions to check your understanding
• Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
• Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Buy Odissea (B2) just £7.49 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog | World Literature | Italian literature

How do I access my ebooks?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

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P.S.

Have you read/listened to Tuesday’s FREE bulletin from EasyItalianNews.com?

I confess, I haven’t, due to sick puppies and so on.

Nor did I read/listen to Saturday’s FREE bulletin, this time due to a house-full of adult children and their grandparents, who all wanted feeding and sousing in wine.

I hate it when stuff piles up like that, don’t you?

So I’m going to step aside from vomit-cleaning duties (Bug threw up in the vet’s office today, just as she was showing me how to hold him, nice and vertically, so he wouldn’t: there was a loud splash behind her, and a sizeable puddle on the floor) and dedicate an hour or so to catching up.

Maybe you should, too.

N.b. Subscribing to EasyItalianNews.com  -and so receiving each ‘easy news’ bulletin via email – is also FREE.
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