The Third Conditional

Today I practiced the third conditional with my advanced adult group and teens. To form the third conditional, you use If + past perfect, would + have + past participle. For example: If I had been able to plan everything for this concert myself, there would not have been this many problems! Today's lesson tied in perfectly with tomorrow's concert.

I am no longer going with the person that was supposed to take me. She went from being able to host me over night, to not even wanting to take me to the train station in a taxi because she lives on the other side of a city. I also found out that she would only be able to pick me up about an hour before the concert starts which means I would have to pay for the taxi and hope to get to our seats just in time. So basically, she was getting a free concert ticket for hailing me a cab. I expressed my concerns to Liljana and lucky she was very understanding, especially when I said I could easily do this myself. I can hail a cab myself, the tricky part is not getting ripped off when you have to pay them at the end - that is when you need a native! I was afraid my hosts would be really offended when I told them how I felt. They were very understanding and were also disappointed in how much her availability kept decreasing.

So who am I going with? A complete stranger I just met on the internet! Yep, I'm serious and I am really looking forward to it. There is a website called www.couchsurfing.com. It's like a facebook for people all over the world who are willing to let complete strangers sleep on their couches. I know this may sound really shady, but it's actually a lot of fun and a great way to meet people because 99% of the people on this site are just great people that like meeting others from around the world. I first couch surfed in Beauvais, France and then again with Tom in the Czech Republic. I did a search for women my age with their identity confirmed (meaning they have hosted people before). I emailed a few, and one emailed me back within minutes.

I am going with a woman named Ana. The best part is that she is coming to Baltimore in 2 weeks and staying for 6 months so our paths will definitely cross again! The first thing she wrote was that whether or not a concert ticket was involved, I was welcome to stay with her. She offered to come to the city and then take me back to her place so I can rest before the concert and leave my stuff there. She also said she can show me around the city a little. She is even looking up the bus schedules back to Padina as I am typing! Such a difference from the other girl who only wanted to meet minutes before the concert and put me in a taxi afterwards. I think I can finally look forward to the concert with confidence!