“It is well, if when a man comes to die, he has nothing heavier upon his conscience than having been a little rough in conversation.”
Samuel Johnson
Welcome!
As a long time semi-retired English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher and teacher trainer, a love of language is at the heart of everything I do.
What happened?
My so-called two-year plan to teach abroad before finding a ‘proper job’ started in Prague in 2005, before moving onto Ukraine (Lviv), Basque Country, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, the US and then back to Ukraine (Kyiv) in 2010. I left Ukraine on Valentine’s Day, February 2022, the day after my daughter’s 4th birthday, with return tickets for mid-March.
I currently live in Vienna with my family, wondering if we’ll ever be able to return to Ukraine. These decisions are tough - my daughter doesn’t want to go back. She’s madly in love (for the third time in her life) and she wants to stay here.
She’s six years old.
Where am I from?
Don’t ask – it’s complicated. I’m not trying to sound cool, as in “Oh look at me, the global citizen!” Seriously, I’m not sure where home is or if I have one. I sound American, I feel and write and spell things British, and I support Northern Ireland in soccer football (sic).
Follow along and we’ll put the pieces together.
The more the merrier!
Although I started this newsletter as a resource for language learners, it’s evolved into a completely different beast. I take an eclectic, wide-ranging and niche-less approach. Can I call my writing genre-fluid? Or has someone already stolen that joke/idea? I promise you that I haven’t seen it anywhere else.
I’m insatiably curious and read voraciously. I’m a bibliophile/bibliomaniac, whichever is more positive. Everything is fascinating and nothing is boring. The world is an incredible place. It can also be incredibly confusing and frustrating and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on, to make sense of a few things.
As a teacher I try to instill in my learners a love of reading and exploring beyond your own field. This newsletter employs a similar approach, covering “everything in general and nothing in particular.” This is what my grandmother used to say when I asked her what she was thinking about as she wistfully stared off into the distance.
What will you find here?
Stories and tips for language learners
Reflections on two decades of teaching
Occasional wisdom and life lessons
Bad humour and plenty of venting (I’m quite the shining wit)
Travelling [mis]adventures and shenanigans
Dated cultural references that 7% of my audience will absolutely love, with the other 93% scratching their heads, thinking “what the hell is he talking about?”
Don’t read everything I write
I cover so much, and I know how precious a resource time is. There’s way too little time to read everything I want, and I wouldn’t expect you to read all my nonsense.
I have so much on my mind that I’m eager to share, including some deeper and more introspective stuff: relationships, heartbreak and romance; inner turmoil; identity; parenting ruminations (both funny and serious); education; literature; and much more.
One post might grab you and be the most awe-inspiring thing you’ve ever read, another might make you question why you ever chose to subscribe. There’s no pleasing everyone. Stick around and you’ll occasionally be rewarded with something mind-blowing.
Adjectives to describe me
Irreverent but respectful; cynical but open-minded; sarcastic but ironic (or should it be ‘and’ ironic? or ‘yet’?); self-deprecating but confident; misanthropic but caring.
I’d like to think that I’m a well-rounded polymath (yes, that’s a tautology, and as my dear grandmother would have said, “You can think.”)
I don’t take too many things seriously, especially myself. And also, life - it’s far too important for that. If that phrase sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because I once said it many years ago and it went viral, but people mistakenly attribute it to Oscar Wilde.
What I’m working on, personally
Simplifying stuff and overcomplicating things.
Trying to be less sarcastic and cynical. Actually, I’m only joking, there’s no point in changing these things, I am who I am.
My book
My first book, A Classroom in Kyiv: Life Lessons for English Learners, is available now at Amazon, other places worldwide, and my own website: danielpuzzo.com. It’s not bad. There are decent reviews and they’re objective, I swear.
I love language
I hope this will be an valuable/invaluable* resource if you’re a language learner or lover (language lover, that is). Even if you’re not, life is a lifelong learning process, and there’s so much out there to learn. And I promise you, I offer much better writing than that previous sentence with too many words beginning with ‘L’. I can’t think of a nicer way of rephrasing ‘life is a lifelong learning process…’; and perhaps the sentence isn’t as bad as you think - as a service for language learners, you’ll notice different word forms: learner (noun); learning (adjective); learn (verb). Read on for more stimulating content!
(*They mean the same thing – English is a pain, isn’t it?)
If you haven’t read the first post
It’s never too late. To find out more about my inspiration for starting this project, have a look at my first Welcome post from July 2023 and a re-introduction/re-evaluation from December 2024.
What can you find in each section?
It’s constantly changing, but along with the main page you’ll always find:
Learning resources – stuff targeted at language learners
Cantankerous Curmudgeon – this is my co-author and alter ego Groucho Marks’ page. He’ll be making guest appearances lamenting the sorry state of the world, trying to make it a better place.
Other than that, those sections are an always evolving process. New sections appear and disappear on a whim. I should probably just have an Other section.
What will you get for smashing that subscribe button?
A broken keyboard or a cracked phone screen. So don’t do it.
But if you insist…(and I do), then full access to the newsletter and website. It’s completely free.
Many Substackers have paid subscription plans; I don’t. And I don’t plan to, but hey, never say never as they say. If you want to support me, buy my book. If you’re passing through Vienna, get in touch and you can buy me a coffee or a beer and I’ll summarise the contents of the book for you as well. I don’t mind if you tell other people about this Substack or my book either. In fact, I’d be awfully grateful.
I’m aiming for at least one post a week. I have a lot on my mind, so it could be more. Sorry in advance for some of the nonsense that I spout, but I do it with the best intentions.
