Eleven! – Tagged by @dougpete, @cgoodey and @yearinthelifeof

Not Ocean’s Eleven : ) (Image taken from http://www.musicland.in)

There is a great blog challenge making the rounds these days – and I have been tagged by three educators I admire tremendously (in order of tagging!): Doug Peterson in Canada, Carol Goodey in Scotland and Adam Simpson in Turkey. I have met Adam and Carol in person, but could it be 2014 that Doug and I will finally meet? I sure hope so! And I am sure it will happen in a Tim Horton’s ; )

So if you are tagged, here is what you need to do:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
4. List 11 bloggers.
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you.

11 Random Facts About me

1. I love reading and have around 500 books, which are multiplying like crazy : )
2. I don’t know how to drive a car, ride a bike or swim.
3. I am afraid of earthquakes, clowns and heights.
4. I don’t like eating watermelon or honey, and I am allergic to apples, pears and kiwis.
5. My oldest ancestor we managed to track down and lived in the 1700s, was French.
6. Vicky is short for Vassiliki (a Greek name), which is my maternal grandmother’s name and means of royal descent : )
7. I became a teacher by accident. As long as I remember myself, I wanted to be a lawyer : )
8. While my sisters were amazing ballet dancers, I loved and played basketball.
9. My favourite philosopher in university was (and in general is) Ludwig Wittgenstein, and I later discovered that we share the same birthday.
10. I never drink alcohol (not my cup of tea) but I love coffee, tea and coca cola and drink loads.
11. If I were to be told that I cannot live in Switzerland anymore, I would move to a Scandinavian country or Turkey : )

Now I hope you will be patient as I answer the questions:

Doug Peterson, Canada

Doug’s Questions:

1. When was the last time you backed up your computer? I think it was in March – unfortunately, it crashed and asked me if I would like to back it up. I wish I had done it earlier, but I managed to save the majority of my files.
2. If you could speak any language other than English, what would it be? I wish I could speak Turkish and Finnish fluently. They have always been languages that I would love to learn. I started off with Turkish and hope to start Finnish too.
3. Where would you go for your dream vacation? I would love to go to Corsica, because I have been told a lot and shown lots of photos by a French student of mine.
4. Have you ever received a parking ticket? No, because I don’t drive! Ha ha!
5. You’re in control of the thermostat.  What’s your ideal room temperature? Really warm, because I get cold easily.
6. Have you ever taken an online course? I have – it was a 60-hour TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course which I enjoyed immensely, and a Grammar one too.
7. What was the last educational conference that you attended? It was the IATEFL BESIG (Business English) conference in Prague, in November. I loved the sessions, the conversations that emerged from them – but my only disappointment was that I didn’t manage to see Prague almost at all, as I was there for only two and a half days.
8. When was the last time you were in a public library? Very recently – it is one of my favourite places to be : )
9. Have you ever dabbled with Linux? No ; )
10. What would you consider to be the best photo you’ve ever taken? A sunset over Lake Zug. The colours were astounding and I was really surprised it came out that good, as it was taken with my phone.
11. What, and where, is your favourite park? I love the parks in Niagara-on-the-Lake (well, actually the whole place : )

Carol Goodey

Carol’s Questions:

1. What do you most enjoy about blogging? I love writing, and I love the comments – they make me think and I learn tons from them.
2. Do you play a musical instrument? If not, would you like to? Which one? I don’t, but ever since I was little, I wanted to learn how to play the piano.
3. How far do you travel to work? How do you travel? I used to commute a lot for my work up until I opened my new school, but now I commute very little, to some company classes. I take the train (takes 13 minutes)!
4. What do you enjoy most about the work that you do? The interaction with the students and the fact that there is a whole variety of cultures and ages: one hour I am teaching a four-year-old, the next an adult!
5. What was the first thing you ate today? Coco Pops! That healthy ; )
6. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Why? Canada, because I terribly miss it!
7. What month next year are you most looking forward to? Why? July, because my baby sister is getting married!
8. What meal do you prepare most often for friends? Roasts and salads.
9. What was the last movie you saw? What did you think? I saw Night on Earth and I loved it! It is five stories happening in a taxi, in five different cities, on the same day : ) It was in English, French, Italian and Finnish.
10. What three things do you like to have with you when working? My tablet or computer, so I can check in on social media in the breaks, tea and lots of coloured pens!
11. What do YOU think about reality TV shows? I don’t watch any, because I don’t have a TV : )

Adam Simpson

Adam’s Questions:

1. I am aware of the phenomenon called ‘twerking’ but I don’t really know what it is. Do you? Would you explain it to me in one sentence? Some form of dance? *hides*
2. The Soviet Union still exists. Why does this make you happy / sad? It does?
3. What did you eat for dinner last night? Farfalle bolognese with tons of parmesan cheese.
4. I’m new to this planet. Tell me what a dog looks like. It’s the cutest animal ever, with four legs and you can keep one at home!
5. Go to YouTube and basically surf around until you find a song that you’ve never heard before. Share that song with us here. I just typed in the letter h and got Happy by Pharrell Williams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM
6. The 60s or the 70s? Why? The 70s – I was born at the end of this decade of awesome music – The Clash is one of my favourite bands.
7. Invent a word for something that doesn’t have a word to describe it. Share your word and description here. Now that is really hard!
8. Would you prefer to be that guy from ‘Memento’ who wakes up and can’t remember the previous day, or that guy from ‘Groundhog Day’ who wakes up to exactly the same day over and over again? I haven’t seen either, but the second seems more appealing ; ) I’d be scared not to remember.
9. Go to this YouTube video. Be honest, how long did you last? Two minutes! Ha ha!
10. What are your thoughts on becoming one of the first Mars colonists? If there are books and chocolate, I’m going!
11. Based on the way things are going, which language should we learn to be a good world citizen by the year 2030? A lot of people say Chinese. Perhaps?

Here are the bloggers I’d love to see take up the challenge, if they would like to:

1. @yitzha_sarwono
2. @theteacherjames
3. @Chieka_slw06
4. @Priscilamateini
5. @rosemerebard
6. @leoselivan
7. @michaelegriffin
8. @AnneHendler
9. @JosetteLB
10. @FLCasella
11. @tamaslorincz

And my questions for them would be:

1. If you were not an educator, what line of work would you imagine yourself in?
2. Which person in ELT would you like to meet in person and why?
3. What new activity / hobby would you like to start?
4. Which is the best book you have recently read? Why?
5. If you could change one thing in the world, what would that be?
6. Which is the nicest destination you have visited so far and why?
7. If you decided to write a book, what would it be about?
8. What is your favourite song this period?
9. What is your favourite and least favourite food?
10. Which is the next conference you plan to attend?
11. With whom from the PLN was your first meeting in person? What was it like?

Thank you Doug, Carol and Adam! And thanks in advance to those bloggers who choose to take up the challenge!