Journalled on Tuesday, the 7th of March 2023 | Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 31 degrees, hot, sunny, and slightly overcast.
This Tuesday was just another Tuesday of exercise, work, and resolving problems, but it was filled with a pinch of happiness throughout the day.
I completed a strenuous morning workout, arriving home drenched in sweat but feeling content and accomplished. After showering and changing clothes, I was ready to teach classes.
After lunch, I would have to give a class to Dona Vera at 3:30 in the afternoon. The temperature would be in the mid- to high-30s. Boiling!!!
She had sent me a message earlier confirming our class, but she also gave me the option to cancel if I wished.
I could have cancelled, and everything would have been okay. I wouldn’t have had to walk 3 kilometres there in the boiling sun and back; it would have been a blessing, but I decided to do my duty and what was right.
Deep down, I know she likes my company in the afternoon, and it is good for her. Sometimes, the classes are more about talking, even in Portuguese and giving warmth and affection to a person verbally than objectively trying to teach somebody in a fixed, didactic way. It is all a part of what a teacher is trying to do and should do.
Halfway through the class, she offered me a coffee, which I accepted. We went to the kitchen to have our coffee there with her reliable, convenient, and expensive Nespresso machine.
After the coffee, we returned to the living room, where I tried to continue, but the class’s rhythm had been broken, and it was too late. The class was almost finished, and after about 10 minutes, I was leaving.
Later that evening, after going to the supermarket, talking to Yasmin, and doing some other chores, I received a simple message from Dona Vera thanking me for the class.
Although I thought the class was didactically weak, she told me that one of the highlights of her life these days was having lessons with me and that the class was perfect.
The message was concise and straightforward, but I could feel the warmth of her sincerity and gratitude in every word. I promptly replied that it was my pleasure, that I enjoyed teaching her, and that I appreciated her kind words.
Later that evening, I beat Yasmin at chess, 2-1, for the first time. Overall, it was a good day!
In bed by 9:30 p.m.
Thanks again.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
