One day during our vacation in Cancun, Mexico, my husband and I went to a grocery store and asked one of the workers for something we couldn’t find. We didn’t speak Spanish, but we tried our best to communicate what we wanted using hand gestures and a few Spanish words. But she was so terrified […]
What surprised me when I moved to the US
The superpower of resilience
Some of you might not know, but I am a tennis lover. Although I don’t play tennis, I love watching it. There is nothing better than watching two world-class athletes being on the verge of their physical capabilities and not giving up. But a few days ago, during the Paribas Open tennis tournament, the former […]
To fake it till you make it or to be authentic?
When I was in elementary school, my physics teacher – a very good-hearted, but often contradicting herself – once looked at the class and said: “I’ve never told you, but let me repeat.” She proceeded to explain whatever she was trying to explain at the moment, but the rest of the class and I couldn’t […]
Embarrassed due to a mispronounced word?
Not long ago, one of my students shared with me a funny, but slightly embarrassing story regarding mispronunciation. She wanted to thank the technician who was fixing something in her house. But instead of “thank you for your patience,” what came out of her mouth was “thank you for your passion.” The guy looked perplexed […]
How to memorize words
Almost native: the power of an adverb
Shitty draft – embrace fear and start writing
Have you ever written a shitty draft? You’d probably say: “Of course, I’ve written many shitty drafts” 
. But I’m actually asking if you’ve done it on purpose. Last month I was taking a class at the university, and because summer classes are only six weeks long, the workflow is heavy, to put it mildly. […]
How to keep going when the task lasts forever
“Why should I keep going? I will never be able to learn English well. I will never feel fluent.” I’ve heard these words from many English learners who, with frustration in their voice, tell me that they’ve started learning English a long time ago, but still don’t feel confident in their abilities to speak the […]
Biting off more than you can chew
“If you’re always biting off more than you can chew, you’ll never end up swallowing.” This quote by Marie Forleo caught my attention because when it comes to my life, it’s true – literally and metaphorically. When I was a little girl and going to preschool back in my native Bulgaria, I had a hard time […]