Interesting Week

I went to a school for Air Traffic Controllers last week. They are required to know English, and so every two years they go to a ten day refresher English course. It was really interesting. I was asked to go and speak so that they could hear the American accent. I think it interesting that they have to know English. It is the Universal language over the airwaves, I guess, so that is how they communicate with all out of country flights. They said they don't get a lot of international flights here, but they come in contact with charter flights that are just passing through the area. I have never really  thought of air traffic controlling as an occupation or future occupation, so it was really interesting looking at all the flying lingo they have to learn and whatnot.
It was just neat to even learn that English is required of these people, let along all of the lingo they must learn for understanding pilots. I wonder if they can understand a Southern accent or not. I am not sure why I am wondering this, as the chance that they would have ever come into contact with one is slim, but still it is an interesting question. They told me that most pilots they talk to are just requesting to fly lower. This is because planes cannot fly in too cold of weather, so they have to come lower to the ground for better lift. The air is thinner in colder temperatures.

The whole group I gave my presentation to.

I also taught them that Americans don't say "minus twenty degrees" but "negative twenty degrees." I hope that is correct and not my mind just flip flopping my language around. It is starting to do that. I kind of wish I had brought some Jane Eyre or something so I could keep my brain muscles healthy. Not studying anything other than language is kind of making it whither. They were all guys and there was one woman. About three of the classes combined just to hear my presentation. There were less than 7 people in each class, so it was no biggie. After my presentation and a time for questions they went back to their respective classes, and I chilled with the one in the room in which I gave my presentation.
How I was invited to this school was from Vlad's father. He is attending the class I stayed in. Once again, I think it was just as cool for me to go  to the school as it was for them to have me. Although, if you will all forgive this negativity, I sounded pretty stupid at times. I would sometimes talk just to hear myself speak, not having a point. It was sad, but I think it is because I have been silent for so long (because of the risk of getting lost in translation or wishing I could say it in Russian) that all these words just spilled out of me. Like this class made the little boy take his finger from the dyke holding back all my words and they just poured from me. I could hear myself thinking after I would talk for like two minutes straight "and the point is. . . oh wow I forgot what the point in my talking even was!" It was bad. But I did feel a heck of a lot better afterwards. Now the word (get it, instead of water because I am sticking to my metaphor?) level is down again.