An introverted teacher.

Teaching does not seem like a career suited for introverted people: you spend all day talking to others, be it students, your colleagues or managers, you can't hide yourself in the office and pretend you're not there, because it's not that sort of a job.

When I started teaching, I was a little worried about this side of things. I had an office job one summer and it was really enjoyable, just sitting at my desk, getting tasks done with very little distractions. Having come to a classroom, I had to get used to high pace, unpredictability and sometimes controlled chaos. And having people around you all the time.

I don't crave human contact after work, I'm not keen on those pub outings on Friday afternoon: after a buys day, I just want to go home and finally be on my own. I will call Mr Magic and speak to my parents as well, but beyond that, I'm pretty happy to do my own thing. Every fortnight or so I might reach out to a friend to go out for a cup of coffee or to see a movie, but I'm not a sort of person who needs entertainment involving other people every night.

As it turned out, teaching is a pretty good match for my introverted personality. I reckon it's all about purposeful interactions.

If I went to a crowded party, it would make me feel uncomfortable, because these interactions would have no defined purpose. However, in a classroom, the purpose is really clear: I'm there to teach the children, and the children are there to learn. Of course, it's also about building relationships and I don't spend 100% of time talking about Maths. But this is something that I had to get used to, because I'm not naturally good at having those little chats about pets, movies, apps and whatever else children are obsessed about at that moment. So it took me some time to become comfortable with interactions going beyond strictly teacher-pupil structure. But as I got more confident and got to know my pupils better, these unstructured moments became less painful. Sometimes I'm still thrown off guard but what my pupils share with me, but I feel that I can deal with it in a much better way now than before.

Being an introverted teacher really gives me the best of both worlds. I get my dose of human contact during the day, but after work I get home to my quiet place where I can recharge. Of course, I need to manage this human contact during the day: I have quite a low noise threshold, so I struggle with loud classes and this drains me more than anything. After an hour in a particularly noisy environment I need time to recover and this might not be possible immediately, since there might be more children waiting at the door. But I can spend a break in a quiet space, or close the doors for a minute and gather my thoughts before moving on. It takes a bit of thinking and effort in terms of finding techniques which work for me, but it it necessary: otherwise the danger is that I will become emotionally burnt out.

I love my pupils and really enjoy working with them. Teaching is such a fulfilling profession and I wouldn't change it for another job. In the past two years I've found that my introverted nature doesn't hinder me at all in becoming a successful teacher. I embraced who I am and how I work, letting go of the ideas what teachers should be like or what they should do. I'm doing things my way instead, making it work for me and my pupils.

Things I don't buy.

My Lenten challenge this year was NOT to spend money. I've realised that I was buying a lot of stuff, from shoes to notepads and it added up to a lot of money. So, for over 40 days, I've decided not to spend money on anything other than bare essentials, that is food and travel. I've actually purchased a book (£2 in an antiquary bookshop) and a toothbrush, because I managed to leave my old one at Mr Magic's, but apart from that, no shopping for me.

This was such a positive experience, especially coupled with decluttering most of my possessions. There is actually not that much that I need to be happy and content with my life. And it made me think of the things that I used to buy but no longer need, not only because of my Lenten challenge, but also because of the choices I made last year to improve the quality of my life.

Here are 7 things that I no longer buy in the following categories: entertainment, personal care and kitchen.

ENTERTAINMENT

Video streaming subscriptions

My experience is that if you have a Netflix or Prime Video subscription, it is so easy to completely lose track of time spent watching your favourite series, because you've already paid for that month and you can stream whatever you want whenever you want. I binge-watched nine seasons of Big Bang Theory in about two weeks in summer. Did I enjoy it? Oh yes! I love Sheldon. Was it healthy? Most definitely not. I've found that unsubscribing from Netflix meant that I relied more on freely available material that often had more educational value. Youtube is full of really good TEDTalks for instance. Also, there are other options if you want to watch something specific. Google, Amazon and YouTube allow you to purchase or rent specific films or TV series without subscribing. And this actually makes you really think if you want to watch that specific thing. Because I now only pay for films I really want to see, I actually watch less of them. This means more time spent doing other valuable activities, like reading or baking. I sort of treat this like going to a cinema, but without leaving my house.

Stationery

This one is a challenging one, because I really like cute notepads, different coloured pens, sticky notes in various shapes and sizes, stickers and other accessories of this sort. But I have so much of it already, I won't have enough time in my life to use all of this up. So if anybody is in need of some stationery supplies, please get in touch, I will happily part with most of it. My problem with stationery is twofold: most importantly, an environmental one, because not so much of those items are actually made of recycled materials; but secondly it's such a drain on your wallet. These things are really expensive.

PERSONAL CARE

Nail polish

I had this idea a few years ago that I will do my nails, paint them with beautiful rich colours and be this really neat looking young lady with nail polish matching my outfit. In reality, I simply don't have time for that, painting and drying your nails is too much of a hassle plus I don't like the chemicals contained in nail polish. There are plant-based alternative, but I was never committed enough to actually invest in those (it's over £10 per item, so compared to around £3-£5 for a regular nail polish, the difference is insane), so a month or so ago I discarded the only nail polish that remained in my cosmetic bag, admittedly a beautiful shade of red, but I wasn't using it, so it had to go.

Female sanitary products

No, I didn't stop having my periods, but I switched to reusable cloth pads last summer, and never looked back since. They do require a bit of an upfront investment, but will last for a good few years and you will not create waste throwing those products straight after use. This is what really bothered me about female products, that you would spend a lot of money on those each month, but you would actually only get a few hours of use out of them at best and then discard that item, never to see it again. The advantage of cloth pads is that you can use those again and again. It does require a degree of organisation, having a wash bag ready in your bag and you need to do an extra low temperature wash, but I found it so much more comfortable both in actual physical terms and in terms of my psychological feeling of doing something good for the environment, that I simply got used to functioning a little bit differently.

KITCHEN

Teabags

Most teabags are sealed with plastic, which contributes to plastic pollution given how much tea I drink and many people in the UK drink. I used up all the teabags in the house now, invested in a tea strainer, and now I only brew loose-leaf tea which is less convenient, but the taste is far better and it avoids all the plastic contamination that I was contributing towards, albeit inadvertently, while drinking five or six cups of tea a day.

Kitchen towels
I have one more roll under my sink, but it has been there for ages, probably since summer and I can't see it being used any time soon, I'm still on the previous roll from that pack. It's just such a waste, because you use a piece and then it ends up in the bin straight away. It's like throwing your money away. Instead of paper towels, I have bought a set of cloths that can be used to cleaning, wiping, dusting and drying. They can be washed in the washing machine with kitchen towels. No brainer!

Single purpose kitchen gadgets
Think nutmeg grater, cheese grater, waffle maker, spiraliser, ice cream scoop, crepes pan, smoothie maker, tiered cake pans... I love cooking, but I've realised that most of the dishes calling for some special equipment can be made as successfully with standard utensils. I've decluttered a lot of items and left those essential ones. When I think about it, our grandmothers managed to cook without all these fancy single purpose gadgets. I can do without the too. Especially that storage space is precious in my kitchen and I would rather not take it up with a multitude of items.

Sunday Special: He is RISEN!

Have you experienced the Resurrection in your life?

It's only this year that I fully embraced the meaning of Easter. My Lenten journey was full of ups and downs, but when I reached the time of Sacred Triduum, I suddenly felt ready. I haven't reached the heights of holiness, my sins remained a problem, but I felt an immense longing for the Risen Lord. I wanted Jesus to lift me up from the abyss of death into a place filled with light. From grave to Resurrection.

I am certain that I will continue to struggle with sin and that I will need all mercy I can get, but this Easter filled me with such hope. Hope that whatever might be going on in my life, Jesus is there with me, even in the pit of despair where it feels that God has forsaken me. 

The Mystery of Easter has shown me with all its power that hope is greater than despair, that life is greater than death, that love is greater than fear. I believe that when Jesus rose from the grave, he was thinking about me. About life eternal spent with me, his daughter. And I have no doubts he was thinking about each one you as well.

We have eight days of Easter celebrations ahead. Let's make it eight days of incredible joy and praise for the Risen Lord. He is truly risen. And he wants you to experience his love as manifested through his Resurrection.

‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 

Psalm 16 

Eesti.

I've realised that my trip to Estonia happened over a month ago, but I haven't shared any pictures or thoughts from that adventure! So here you are, have a look at mostly Tallinn.

Estonia is a small country in Northern Europe with a population of 1.3 million. Below you can see the size of Estonia compared to the UK. Estonian is the main language spoken, but for historical reasons, there is a big Russian-speaking minority there as well. Some parts of the country are mainly Russian-speaking: essentially, the more East you go, the more Russian speakers you meet. In some places people speak Russian only.

Source: http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/EE

Estonia welcomed us with snow and some seriously cold temperatures. But that wouldn't stop us from exploring the city centre which turned out to be absolutely charming with its little cobbled streets.

We've made three amazing discoveries in Estonia, two culinary and one cultural. First one was Rukis, a cafe in the Old Town with an amazing selection of cakes, tasty light bites and really classy decor. If I could, I would spend hours there, such a cosy place, with nice staff and those cakes!

The second culinary discovery was rather sketchy at first... Really sketchy.

But the reviews on the internet said not to be put off by the entrance, so in we went and discovered most delicious pancakes for about 5 euros each. It was absolutely perfect and is definitely a place that I will visit again if I come to Tallinn again.

The third discovery was Seaplane Museum. On entry, I thought I was transported to the depths of the sea.

I'm not a maritime enthusiasm, but there was so much to do there! There was a shooting simulator (7% accuracy), a submarine simulator, an actual submarine that you could enter, a plane simulator (which I managed to crash twice), a place to take picture in various uniforms and, most importantly, some longboats, which was the real reason I wanted to go there.

I don't think Estonia is a place that comes to people's mind as a trip destination, but definitely go there if you get a chance. A couple of days would be sufficient for Tallinn itself, maybe couple it with a trip to Helsinki (you can easily get a ferry across the water) or St Petersburg if you sort your visa out beforehand. And maybe avoid Estonia in the middle of February, unless you like cold or are a fan of wearing thermal clothing. As charming as all the snowy landscape was, I think I would appreciate  everything even more in positive temperatures.