April 2024 retrospective: more gratitude and joy
my Beeminder goals
my Intend life areas
derailments
I derailed 6 times on individual household task goals (just like last month) and twice on a fitness goal. Happy with all 8!
Using honey money instead of individual credit card charges has been a great change. Some of you may remember when I waxed lyrical about an exercise app that took my money up front, then gave it back if I met my goal – somehow that approach works better for me than paying after the fact. Well, honey money hits that same spot. It’s like an investment in myself, instead of punishing myself. It’s majorly helping me reframe derails as healthy, inevitable choices that reflect more progress, not less (because I’m aiming just beyond what-I-would-do-anyway).
life areas
I’ve archived FIND at Intend; it was always meant to be temporary. Going forward with FEED, BE, and FIT.
still multiple refugee days; no paid work (yet?)
For May, as in April, I’m volunteering 2-3 days each week with the Dutch Refugee Council.
I haven’t found a paid parttime position, and in April I got clear on needing to stop trying to force things, and to remember that I am someone who thrives with time alone that isn’t uber-scheduled. So I’ve stopped actively searching for work to fill a mythical magical number of hours and will take a more passive tack going forward. If something perfect shows up, I’ll go after it; but my stance is more “on the lookout” and less “on the prowl”.
teacher training preliminary course has started
The NT2 (Dutch as a second language) teacher training program doesn’t start until September, but there are four preparatory sessions underway. The first one was fascinating! The history of Dutch immigration policy and how it’s changed in the last 75 years. Great context.
The next two classes cover major theories on second language acquisition, and how they’ve influenced NT2 methods – super interesting stuff. I was already familiar with Stephen Krashen, from my obsessive interest in languages, but was particularly struck now by his “affective filter” hypothesis while reading the preparatory material ahead of the lecture. He says that a critical role, perhaps the critical role, of the language teacher is to spark interest, provide a low-anxiety environment, and bolster the learner’s self-esteem. This approach has my name written all over it :). It feels like confirmation that (though there are a multitude of ways I could be a light in the darkness for refugees) becoming an NT2 teacher is absolutely in the group of most effective ways.
foreign languages still beckon
I noted in previous month(s) that I don’t need to speak other languages to work with refugees; we use interpreters and, for ad-hoc communication, hand gestures and apps like Google Translate and SayHi. But I’ve kept at the back of my mind the fact that I just plain enjoy learning things about other languages. I’m low-key musing on how I might reinstate language learning as a satisfying hobby, disentangled from any expectation of progress or prowess (which is where it goes from ‘fun hobby’ to ‘slogwork I am slacking off on, bad me’).
health is healthy
I’m still doing the shakes, though generally once a day instead of twice, and getting plenty of steps, outdoor walks, and mini-strength-training sessions. I’ve been feeling great, and my weight is steadily dropping back toward my pre-menopausal steady state.
worldview is wonderful
I have so much I could say about this, but this forum isn’t the place. So I’ll just say here that I’m moving steadily into the sun and out of the dark, and I’m so glad for that.