Introducing Beekeeper: JoAnn

[Megan]

Let’s get to know JoAnn!

Name

JoAnn Augustus

Place of Origin

Ohio, USA

Place of Residence

Heidelberg, Germany

Languages spoken and how you learned them

English is my mother tongue and I learned German going to various language schools before I entered university. I am currently working on improving my Spanish and will start lessons on Chatterbug!

When did you start tutoring with Chatterbug?

I started tutoring English in January!

Favorite place in the world and why?

Haven’t found my favorite place yet. There’s still so many places to visit!

JoAnn’s Favorite Food

Indian and Thai cuisine.

3 Fun Facts about JoAnn

1. I love plants
2. I like collecting greeting cards (have to be prepared for every occasion!)
3. I can’t bake…with or without instructions.

How do you motivate students?

I motivate students by celebrating their strengths. Don’t be too hard on yourself, step by step you’ll learn the language. Don’t forget to celebrate the small victories.

What is your favorite Chatterbug moment?

My favorite Chatterbug moment is interacting with new students and catching up with reoccurring ones.

Say hello to @JoAnn!

[SKrausser]

Maybe you can ask @aligcrespo to publish an easy recipe to follow;-)

[JoAnn]

Thanks for the great tip, @SKrausser! I checked out @aligcrespo’s post Cocinando con Alicia/Cooking with Alicia :) and it’s really great! Can’t wait to see what she uploads next!

[aligcrespo]

That´s a challenge for me… I will work on an easy baking recipe and see if you can follow it or not!

[JoAnn]

Yes, I need major help.

[27sp.sandra]

Hi @JoAnn I also like plants but they don’t like me any recommendation on easy care plants (not cactus) that you could share with me?

[Bea94]

Oh! I also love plants, @JoAnn! The more, the better! My room and balcony in Valencia look like a jungle!

It is so nice to find people with the same interests!

Hello again, @27sp.sandra! I have three recommendations for you:

1. ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
2. Sansevieria
3. Potos

They don’t need much care and water (well, the potos maybe is the one who needs more water, once per week or so). They need lots of light… just place them next to a window without direct sunlight or in a bright room. They are very decorative and will give your room a green and fresh look!

[Amandine]

Oh I love Sansevieria!! In France we also call them “langue de belle-mère” (mother in law’s tongue) because of their sharp and pointed shape

[27sp.sandra]

Hello again, @Bea94 Thank you so much ! I’ll look for them. I would really like to see my house full of green, but they start to get yellow, and then it’s the sad story all over again .

[Bea94]

that’s a sign that you water them too much! Only water your plants when the soil is dry!

[27sp.sandra]

Now that I know I promise I’ll stop drowning my plants Gracias!

[JoAnn]

Hey @27sp.sandra! I get it, some plants I still haven’t mastered (like orchids!)

Adding onto @Bea94s list I would also get

1. Spider plant (they grow like crazy and it’s really resilient)
2. monstera deliciosa (their leaves are so beautiful!)
3. Chinese money plant ( Pilea peperomioides)…ok so I pay attention to leaf shape this one is my absolute favorite the leaves looks like small coins!!

And yeah adding to watering tips I usually ‘bathe’ my plants. If you stick your finger in the soil and it’s bone dry you can saturate the soil with water and let them drain the excess water for around 15min OR place the plants in your sink/ tub filled with some water (up to the first notch of your index finger) and leave them there for 30min. The roots will soak up the water directly.

Hope his helps and please do share which plan you choose to buy!

[JoAnn]

Oh man, my biggest dream is to have a small garden oasis but my student apartment won’t allow it

Do you have any suggestions for flowering plants? I have a lot of greens, yellows (not dead ) and purple leaves but I haven’t explored any flowers

[27sp.sandra]

Thank you, @JoAnn those are really nice suggestions, the Chinese money plant is really cute . I even have an app to tell me how much water to give to the few I have now , but now I’ll try with this new advice . I’ll share as soon I have the chosen one .

[Bea94]

Mmmh… I’m not really a fan of flower plants because they are way more delicate than plants, but I would recommend these ones: zantedeschia aethiopica, peace lily and anthurium andreanum. I had three of them and it is not difficult to take care of them!

[Anika_S]

Hey JoAnn so cool that you’re a beekeeper!
Spider plants are great! I heard they are easy to keep, don’t need a lot of care and never stop growing!