Hey,

today we first warmed up with the theme "X-mas shopping and shops open on Sundays" and here is what we said:

 It’s practical when the shops are open; people who work during the week have more time to shop for their X-mas gifts / Christmas presents.
The shop assistants must be tired and over-worked; and people who are accustomed to shopping on Mondays will be disappointed if the shops are closed.

Then we continued the class with a recap about Ana's difficult conditions of travel to the US. We continued studying the text and here is what we said about her story, her feelings, and her present situtation:

Before arriving in the USA, Ana used to live a miserable life with only about 20 dollars a week to feed her family and pay the bills. She was destitute / miserable.
She used to live in misery / hard conditions / an impoverished neighbourhood.
Compared to the average wages in the US she earns half what people earn. However, because her business is off the books, she does not have to pay taxes.
She has met Christina, a teacher, who offered her a job. That’s how her salary / wages/ income have / has increased. She now earns more money than Christina.

Additional vocabulary:

- (to) be over-worked

HW:

- Complete the worksheet about the text (download it here)
- Prepare an oral summary about the text, i.e. a 5-minute presentation.
- Essay: Answer on of the two questions from your worksheet (cf. Going Further #4 or #5) in about 250-300 words.