I guess I'll start off with the cultural differences of the week. First and forecutest, BABY SLEDS. In the winter, moms put away their strollers on wheels and get out these mini-sleigh looking things (still with push handles). These sleds are full of all the Russian babies stuffed into their Russian snow gear that makes them wider than they are tall. It makes sense considering that Russians DON'T clear the sidewalks off in the winter. Or wait, they do--down to the layer of sheer ice that lurks under the new snow. And then, they call it a day and stop. Apparently this is what the sidewalks are like all winter. I fall all the time, and I've had to stop walking to work unfortunately. Second cultural difference: white out. All my students have these white out accessories (pens, bottles, buckets, you know) and they use white out all. the. time. Grown men in business suits sit and delicately white out test mistakes, or stranger, blow frantically on white out while I lurk over them and tell them time is up. (Part of me wants to just tell them to SCRIBBLE THE ANSWER OUT AND WRITE SOMETHING ELSE, I mean serious, what are they thinking?????????????) Finally, Russian lines. Post office, fast food, bus station, it makes no difference. They don't line up, they just kind of...hoard. And push each other. And, get this, cut in from the sides. Even if there are 20 people already milling in the hoard behind the person getting served, it is 100% fair game to dart in from the side and start asking questions EVEN BEFORE THAT PERSON IS FINISHED. Which basically means that the poor polite American struggling with Russian grammar has no chance of being the person most aggressively demanding service...
Anyway, all the other teachers except Emily have gone back to America, and things are pretty quiet around here. We are having our Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow, so we went to the market today and got tons of fabulous food. I also went to the bus station and got tickets back from Moscow, so our holiday plans are pretty much set. We are going on the 26th to Moscow where we will see an opera, on the 28th we will go spend a couple of nights with my friend Masha in Tula, then back to Moscow for New Year's Eve. On the first we will take a train back to Vladimir so that my students can pick us up on the 2nd and drive us to Nizhniy Novgorod. And that night Emily and I will hop a train to Kazan for three days! It should be pretty spectacular.
Miss and love you all! Merry Christmas!
Rosalind
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
End of my first term teaching....
So I'm coming up on finals week, which means I've successfully bluffed my way through my first term of teaching. It sounds like I might even make it into the Carleton alumnus magazine in January, which proves that my life is interesting! Yeah! I realized that I'm really going to miss some of my students, especially the 14-15 year olds who I can't really...invite to hang out....or anything. I actually feel pretty bad, I told one student who probably isn't going to pass the class that he could come get extra help...and then I forgot. So, now I invite him to come to an exam review, stand him up, and...fail him? It isn't looking good for me :(
Also, this may have slipped my mind in my last post, but I was legit stopped by the Russian police on Thanksgiving night! Adam and I were leaving a bar at about 1am and I sat down on the steps outside of a building to fix my shoe and wait for a taxi to come by. BIG MISTAKE. Russians DON'T sit on stone. Ever. Especially women. It is common knowledge that after that you are no longer capable of having children. Anyway, like a storm of buzzards to carrion, the militia swooped down upon us. They first demanded to see our passports. (All Russians carry passports with them all the time, it's their identification. Weird right?) Then they wanted to know where we worked and so on. The leader finally said, 'We have hooligans in Russia too!" with a derisive laugh and walked away. Hmmm..... But I was pretty cowed all around I must admit. Adam on the other hand was asking very diplomatic, carefully worded questions such as: "What, we're not allowed to sit here??" which is VERY out of character I might add.
There is just so much about Russia that makes me realize that I don't know how to predict even tiny aspects of life here. So much stuff that you completely take for granted in America. Like, when you walk into a room, you have a pretty good idea of where the light switch might be located, right? Even if you don't know where it is, you know where to look. And something you might not have considered before, when you see a bathroom door completely closed, you assume that someone is in there. Americans usually leave the door cracked if it's available. Heck, you even assume that there is going to be toilet paper in public bathrooms, that the public bathrooms in malls will be free, even that there are GOING TO BE public bathrooms.
Let's see, what else. Russians don't have voice mail on their phones, so you can either text someone or not leave a message if they don't answer. Even businesses rarely have answering machines and personal cell phones certainly don't.
You also rarely see young teenage boys photographing each other in what I can only call "artsy ways". In general the photo culture here is WEIRD. Every time I turn around there are Russians taking pictures of other Russians. And not just snapshots, we are talking draped all over the wall, peering longingly through iron fences, languishing on park benches photos. WITH NO SHAME. Men and women alike. It is also perfectly normal (as I found out) for a young man to tell his guests that he wants to show them some photos....of himself. And then just click through his photo album. Full of all these posed, artistic, emo-looking photos. I mean, what do you even say in that situation??? Let's be for real, it's weird.
Two other significant events to touch on before I end this. First, I visited Kamila's English class the other day, and it. was. awful. No wonder Russian students are afraid to talk in class when they first come in! No wonder they don't know how to relate to us and in some ways don't show respect at all! We don't act like teachers! Apparently my experience over the summer was me getting off easy. This teacher was rude, domineering, she bullied her students, she IMMEDIATELY got on them the second an incorrect word came out, she tried to use me to back up her crazy assignments (every time someone spells a word wrong in homework, they all write that word 20 times or something), she was totally threatened by me (didn't introduce me...ever...didn't really direct questions at me during our little discussion over snacks....). And everyone was really surprised when I told them I thought she was really strict!
Finally, I went to a Russian orphanage with Adam and Emily on Wednesday. Everyone told us beforehand that it was going to be really, really sad, really depressing, etc. Russians don't have a volunteering culture, AT ALL, the idea is almost incomprehensible to them. Anyway, we were braced for the worst, but actually it was pretty nice. The place was colorful, there were toys, there was a routine for the kids (aged newborn to 3 years), they had photo albums full of holidays, their summer garden and their little outings. A lot of the children were disabled in some way or dealing with emotional issues. (For example, when we first came in they all began chorusing mama? mama?) A lot of them LOVED Adam, he was the only man I saw the entire time we were there so they kept asking me and Emily "Who's THAT?" We are going every Wednesday from 10 until noon, which is their playing outside time. We are going to stuff them into their little snowsuits and pull them around on sleighs. Last time I pulled one little boy for about 40 minutes and he didn't seem to be having fun or even noticing, but as soon as I took him off the started crying. It was sad....but I think the reason it seems so sad to the Russians is because there are people with disabilities *gasp* IN VIEW. There are no handicap facilities anywhere, really, and it obviously isn't a part of the school system, so seeing those children is almost horrific to some of my friends here. It is really sad, but at least the facilities weren't the concrete prison I was imagining.
That's all this week! Happy Holidays everyone!
Also, this may have slipped my mind in my last post, but I was legit stopped by the Russian police on Thanksgiving night! Adam and I were leaving a bar at about 1am and I sat down on the steps outside of a building to fix my shoe and wait for a taxi to come by. BIG MISTAKE. Russians DON'T sit on stone. Ever. Especially women. It is common knowledge that after that you are no longer capable of having children. Anyway, like a storm of buzzards to carrion, the militia swooped down upon us. They first demanded to see our passports. (All Russians carry passports with them all the time, it's their identification. Weird right?) Then they wanted to know where we worked and so on. The leader finally said, 'We have hooligans in Russia too!" with a derisive laugh and walked away. Hmmm..... But I was pretty cowed all around I must admit. Adam on the other hand was asking very diplomatic, carefully worded questions such as: "What, we're not allowed to sit here??" which is VERY out of character I might add.
There is just so much about Russia that makes me realize that I don't know how to predict even tiny aspects of life here. So much stuff that you completely take for granted in America. Like, when you walk into a room, you have a pretty good idea of where the light switch might be located, right? Even if you don't know where it is, you know where to look. And something you might not have considered before, when you see a bathroom door completely closed, you assume that someone is in there. Americans usually leave the door cracked if it's available. Heck, you even assume that there is going to be toilet paper in public bathrooms, that the public bathrooms in malls will be free, even that there are GOING TO BE public bathrooms.
Let's see, what else. Russians don't have voice mail on their phones, so you can either text someone or not leave a message if they don't answer. Even businesses rarely have answering machines and personal cell phones certainly don't.
You also rarely see young teenage boys photographing each other in what I can only call "artsy ways". In general the photo culture here is WEIRD. Every time I turn around there are Russians taking pictures of other Russians. And not just snapshots, we are talking draped all over the wall, peering longingly through iron fences, languishing on park benches photos. WITH NO SHAME. Men and women alike. It is also perfectly normal (as I found out) for a young man to tell his guests that he wants to show them some photos....of himself. And then just click through his photo album. Full of all these posed, artistic, emo-looking photos. I mean, what do you even say in that situation??? Let's be for real, it's weird.
Two other significant events to touch on before I end this. First, I visited Kamila's English class the other day, and it. was. awful. No wonder Russian students are afraid to talk in class when they first come in! No wonder they don't know how to relate to us and in some ways don't show respect at all! We don't act like teachers! Apparently my experience over the summer was me getting off easy. This teacher was rude, domineering, she bullied her students, she IMMEDIATELY got on them the second an incorrect word came out, she tried to use me to back up her crazy assignments (every time someone spells a word wrong in homework, they all write that word 20 times or something), she was totally threatened by me (didn't introduce me...ever...didn't really direct questions at me during our little discussion over snacks....). And everyone was really surprised when I told them I thought she was really strict!
Finally, I went to a Russian orphanage with Adam and Emily on Wednesday. Everyone told us beforehand that it was going to be really, really sad, really depressing, etc. Russians don't have a volunteering culture, AT ALL, the idea is almost incomprehensible to them. Anyway, we were braced for the worst, but actually it was pretty nice. The place was colorful, there were toys, there was a routine for the kids (aged newborn to 3 years), they had photo albums full of holidays, their summer garden and their little outings. A lot of the children were disabled in some way or dealing with emotional issues. (For example, when we first came in they all began chorusing mama? mama?) A lot of them LOVED Adam, he was the only man I saw the entire time we were there so they kept asking me and Emily "Who's THAT?" We are going every Wednesday from 10 until noon, which is their playing outside time. We are going to stuff them into their little snowsuits and pull them around on sleighs. Last time I pulled one little boy for about 40 minutes and he didn't seem to be having fun or even noticing, but as soon as I took him off the started crying. It was sad....but I think the reason it seems so sad to the Russians is because there are people with disabilities *gasp* IN VIEW. There are no handicap facilities anywhere, really, and it obviously isn't a part of the school system, so seeing those children is almost horrific to some of my friends here. It is really sad, but at least the facilities weren't the concrete prison I was imagining.
That's all this week! Happy Holidays everyone!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
23 YEARS OLD!!!!
I just had my birthday on Saturday, and I have to say, it was one of the best birthdays of my life. I was up until midnight the night before just hanging out, so I got to ring in the first few seconds of the big day, which I have always wanted to do. Then I got a 7am skype call from my family after which I met Adam at the American Home for breakfast. There Boris, Artem and Sasha found me around 10:30 (the fact that Sasha was up before noon STILL amazes me) and presented me with the most glorious, absurd, humongous, beatiful over-the-top cake I will ever, ever get. I'm not kidding. This cake was a cake to weep over, a cake to put wedding cakes to shame. It was two layers and pink and white and green, it was covered in rice paper butterflies and swirls of frosting and edible pearls and glitter, 23 sugar roses adorned the sides and top and made the "i" of "Rosi". I stared in astonishment, shock even, while they sang a round of 'happy birzday' and the security guard looked on. I thanked them profusely, but only in English, having temporarily forgotten Russian. We busted that cake out that night and there is still some hanging around. It was a marvel of sugar and cream and butterscotch and crunchy stuff, really a unique experience.
So, then I hit the sauna at 11am and on the way back stopped at the local market. We picked up fresh vegetables and pickles and a pomegranate and basil and soy sauce and hauled all of our loot back to the American Home. Everyone was there cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving and listening to oldies but goodies, and I made stir fry while dancing the twist. The security guard even came in in his super quiet unassuming way and started helping peel potatoes.
Then, after we had the birthday cake experience, Emily and Adam brought me upstairs to give me THE CRISTAL WINE DECANTER FROM ST. PETERSBURG!!!!! It was the one that I saw in the market there, hand engraved with the rest of Queen Ekaterina, which looks so much like my parents' wedding present. I had even got back to visit in on our last day there, but couldn't quite bring myself to buy it for myself. I've been mourning it ever since. I really can't remember being happier getting a gift, it is exquisite. I'm terrified at the idea of taking it downstairs, much less getting it back to America. Pretty unbelievable...
THEN, around 5pm, me and Emily put on our fabulous dresses and put our hair up and headed to the theater with Adam and Alex to meet Adam's student. I had been REALLY excited about the play (Three sisters) because I had a long discussion with Nelli about it in my Friday class. It ended up being AMAZING, though the beginning was really strange. It wasn't traditional theater at all, there was dancing and aerial parts incorporated. The first half was extremely overacted, almost irritating at points, and then the second half SLAMMED into a really serious, dark ending. The imagery was amazing, we've been talking about it for a couple days now. (I also saw one of my older students there and she complimented me on being a serious girl, not out in some club for my birthday like she would have thought.)
So, of course, immediately after that we hit the bars. I got hilariously dorky birthday cards and chocolate from the gang here, and the Vladimir English teachers who invited us over last weekend couldn't make it, but one of them came and dropped off a rose and a birthday card for me while I was at the play. I finally got home around 1am, where I found a little birthday bear and roses from Kamila, and we had shots of vodka with her boyfriend until 3am.
On Sunday we had our big Thanksgiving dinner (which was AMAZING), and Galina Petrova gave me a really classy hand painted fillaq necklace (decorated with...roses) and everyone toasted me with champagne.
Sunday night Sasha, Artem, Kamila and Boris went to a restaurant with me and gave some Russian toasts in my honor, which is another unique experience. We had a blast talking about some silly stuff and some serious topics (Russians are obsessed with who did more in World War 2, Russia or America). Monday morning, I had class with Nelly and got a stone pendant made by a friend of hers, followed by an hour of talking about the play we saw. I finally dragged into my English class on Monday afternoon to find....my teenage students waiting with balloons and chocolate and two AMAZING handmade birthday posters covered in pictures of me and wishing me happiness, success, love and...welfare????
Then on Tuesday, I got birthday cards from my grandmas and in class my more advanced students gave me a postcard from 1971, a hand made scarf/shawl, more roses (the connection to my name is too good to pass up), a hand warmer (it's already 15 below), birthday cards, REALLY nice champagne, and some killer French chocolates. We talked about how Russians give lots of gifts for birthdays but expect the birthday person to organize all the activities and cook for everyone, and I pointed out that I had the best of both worlds since I have American friends here, and then we took pictures and ate chocolate while watching Forest Gump....it was quite the string of partying. I think the best thing is that, at every step, I thought, ok this has already been enough to call his a fantastic birthday, but the people around me kept doing more and more to make sure I had a good birthday in this country. And I haven't known any of them for more than 4 months!! Plus, I really like the number 23....
So, then I hit the sauna at 11am and on the way back stopped at the local market. We picked up fresh vegetables and pickles and a pomegranate and basil and soy sauce and hauled all of our loot back to the American Home. Everyone was there cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving and listening to oldies but goodies, and I made stir fry while dancing the twist. The security guard even came in in his super quiet unassuming way and started helping peel potatoes.
Then, after we had the birthday cake experience, Emily and Adam brought me upstairs to give me THE CRISTAL WINE DECANTER FROM ST. PETERSBURG!!!!! It was the one that I saw in the market there, hand engraved with the rest of Queen Ekaterina, which looks so much like my parents' wedding present. I had even got back to visit in on our last day there, but couldn't quite bring myself to buy it for myself. I've been mourning it ever since. I really can't remember being happier getting a gift, it is exquisite. I'm terrified at the idea of taking it downstairs, much less getting it back to America. Pretty unbelievable...
THEN, around 5pm, me and Emily put on our fabulous dresses and put our hair up and headed to the theater with Adam and Alex to meet Adam's student. I had been REALLY excited about the play (Three sisters) because I had a long discussion with Nelli about it in my Friday class. It ended up being AMAZING, though the beginning was really strange. It wasn't traditional theater at all, there was dancing and aerial parts incorporated. The first half was extremely overacted, almost irritating at points, and then the second half SLAMMED into a really serious, dark ending. The imagery was amazing, we've been talking about it for a couple days now. (I also saw one of my older students there and she complimented me on being a serious girl, not out in some club for my birthday like she would have thought.)
So, of course, immediately after that we hit the bars. I got hilariously dorky birthday cards and chocolate from the gang here, and the Vladimir English teachers who invited us over last weekend couldn't make it, but one of them came and dropped off a rose and a birthday card for me while I was at the play. I finally got home around 1am, where I found a little birthday bear and roses from Kamila, and we had shots of vodka with her boyfriend until 3am.
On Sunday we had our big Thanksgiving dinner (which was AMAZING), and Galina Petrova gave me a really classy hand painted fillaq necklace (decorated with...roses) and everyone toasted me with champagne.
Sunday night Sasha, Artem, Kamila and Boris went to a restaurant with me and gave some Russian toasts in my honor, which is another unique experience. We had a blast talking about some silly stuff and some serious topics (Russians are obsessed with who did more in World War 2, Russia or America). Monday morning, I had class with Nelly and got a stone pendant made by a friend of hers, followed by an hour of talking about the play we saw. I finally dragged into my English class on Monday afternoon to find....my teenage students waiting with balloons and chocolate and two AMAZING handmade birthday posters covered in pictures of me and wishing me happiness, success, love and...welfare????
Then on Tuesday, I got birthday cards from my grandmas and in class my more advanced students gave me a postcard from 1971, a hand made scarf/shawl, more roses (the connection to my name is too good to pass up), a hand warmer (it's already 15 below), birthday cards, REALLY nice champagne, and some killer French chocolates. We talked about how Russians give lots of gifts for birthdays but expect the birthday person to organize all the activities and cook for everyone, and I pointed out that I had the best of both worlds since I have American friends here, and then we took pictures and ate chocolate while watching Forest Gump....it was quite the string of partying. I think the best thing is that, at every step, I thought, ok this has already been enough to call his a fantastic birthday, but the people around me kept doing more and more to make sure I had a good birthday in this country. And I haven't known any of them for more than 4 months!! Plus, I really like the number 23....
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Culture tips from Nelli...
My Russian classes have gotten really cool lately. Basically, my professor knows everything about everything cool that goes on in the cities of the area and she is always giving me tips on interesting places to go, museums, etc. I take that information and have my awesome Russian friends drive me to those places. It works like a dream :)
I'm also going to see a Russian play on my birthday, so I told Nelli about that and we are going to discuss it in class before I go so I have some cultural context for it. I'm really digging having these private lessons which can really take any direction that I want them too. In fact, about three days in a row I've delayed Ann's lesson for 15 minutes just because we get so into talking about stuff.
One really interesting thing she told me is that all Russian city streets used to end in churches. (That was the thing to do apparently). Anyway, now there is only one street in Vladimir that still does that (she told me where to find it, of course!).
On one of the Nelli-inspired outings, Artem took me and Emily to Suzdal where we saw this really cool church made out of wood, as well as other old fashioned buildings on display. We also picked up some AMAZING mead, which the city is famous for, and made fun of the Russian abhorrence for making change. Seriously, in America, would you ever hand someone a $20 bill for an $8 purchase and get a look that could kill? That is the norm here. People are always sighing, asking if you have less, even fricking shaking you down if they hear change jingling in your pocket!!!! A lot of times, there isn't change, but even when there is it is ALWAYS an issue. We have adapted a rap song to commemorate the frustration we feel for this sort of encounter. Some key lines include "Make some change, make some change, make some mother *****ing change (I see that money in your box) it's your JOB to make that change..." and so on :D Artem and Andrey found that pretty funny, too.
I also bullied Sasha into taking us on a wild adventure to Mstora, a city famous for making the elaborate lacquer boxes Russia is famous for. Artem decided to skip school and we just made a day of it, leaving Vladimir at 7:am in the dark. We got there to find this INCREDIBLY small, dingy, old fashioned Russian town. No famous museum, no glitz, no glamour. And yet, people travel from all over the world to get art made from that city. Anyway, we were an hour early for the museum, Sasha was totally sure that we were going to get robbed, but we made him get out and walk around for a while. We also decided to ask people for directions in English just because it was SUCH an out-of-the-way little town and we wanted to see what people would do, but Artem ruined it by jumping in in Russian, making us look like TOTAL jerks since he was obviously Russian lololol.
Anyway, the museum wasn't all that great, and they told us that we couldn't see the actual artists without calling first (which my director already had done), but luckily she is always willing to go to bat for us, so between me, Artem, Sasha, and Galina Petrova (via cell phone) we managed to bully our way into a tour of the
'factory'. It was really just a bunch of people working in various rooms of a big, dingy old house, but the art was amazing. We didn't see the most famous artists, because they wont show anyone their secrets. But, we did get to see the feathers and wolf teeth that are used in the polishing and dusting processes, and watch the artists paint with magnifying glasses and even ask some of the nicer ones questions. It was really the coolest thing ever, and I am SOOOOOO happy that I have such amazing students who are willing to show me parts of Russia I could never see on my own :D Sasha even saved us about $30 by accidentally telling our guide that we had already paid when we hadn't. They were so rude to us that no one really minded....
This next week we are doing progress reports and getting ready to cook a Thanksgiving dinner....I'm excited for my birthday and trying to come up with a good plan for the winter break....I've been playing ping pong with my students and we are hoping to make dinner together soon....all good things.
Love you all!
I'm also going to see a Russian play on my birthday, so I told Nelli about that and we are going to discuss it in class before I go so I have some cultural context for it. I'm really digging having these private lessons which can really take any direction that I want them too. In fact, about three days in a row I've delayed Ann's lesson for 15 minutes just because we get so into talking about stuff.
One really interesting thing she told me is that all Russian city streets used to end in churches. (That was the thing to do apparently). Anyway, now there is only one street in Vladimir that still does that (she told me where to find it, of course!).
On one of the Nelli-inspired outings, Artem took me and Emily to Suzdal where we saw this really cool church made out of wood, as well as other old fashioned buildings on display. We also picked up some AMAZING mead, which the city is famous for, and made fun of the Russian abhorrence for making change. Seriously, in America, would you ever hand someone a $20 bill for an $8 purchase and get a look that could kill? That is the norm here. People are always sighing, asking if you have less, even fricking shaking you down if they hear change jingling in your pocket!!!! A lot of times, there isn't change, but even when there is it is ALWAYS an issue. We have adapted a rap song to commemorate the frustration we feel for this sort of encounter. Some key lines include "Make some change, make some change, make some mother *****ing change (I see that money in your box) it's your JOB to make that change..." and so on :D Artem and Andrey found that pretty funny, too.
I also bullied Sasha into taking us on a wild adventure to Mstora, a city famous for making the elaborate lacquer boxes Russia is famous for. Artem decided to skip school and we just made a day of it, leaving Vladimir at 7:am in the dark. We got there to find this INCREDIBLY small, dingy, old fashioned Russian town. No famous museum, no glitz, no glamour. And yet, people travel from all over the world to get art made from that city. Anyway, we were an hour early for the museum, Sasha was totally sure that we were going to get robbed, but we made him get out and walk around for a while. We also decided to ask people for directions in English just because it was SUCH an out-of-the-way little town and we wanted to see what people would do, but Artem ruined it by jumping in in Russian, making us look like TOTAL jerks since he was obviously Russian lololol.
Anyway, the museum wasn't all that great, and they told us that we couldn't see the actual artists without calling first (which my director already had done), but luckily she is always willing to go to bat for us, so between me, Artem, Sasha, and Galina Petrova (via cell phone) we managed to bully our way into a tour of the
'factory'. It was really just a bunch of people working in various rooms of a big, dingy old house, but the art was amazing. We didn't see the most famous artists, because they wont show anyone their secrets. But, we did get to see the feathers and wolf teeth that are used in the polishing and dusting processes, and watch the artists paint with magnifying glasses and even ask some of the nicer ones questions. It was really the coolest thing ever, and I am SOOOOOO happy that I have such amazing students who are willing to show me parts of Russia I could never see on my own :D Sasha even saved us about $30 by accidentally telling our guide that we had already paid when we hadn't. They were so rude to us that no one really minded....
This next week we are doing progress reports and getting ready to cook a Thanksgiving dinner....I'm excited for my birthday and trying to come up with a good plan for the winter break....I've been playing ping pong with my students and we are hoping to make dinner together soon....all good things.
Love you all!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Northern City!
St. Petersburg was reeeeaaaally cool! The night train wasn't super fun on the way there, because I just slept the entire way, but everything about the city is cool. It is really, really pretty. It is very flat with a lot of open spaces, the architecture is very European and matches way more than anything in Moscow, and there is a lot of water around. (In fact, every night the drawbridges over the Neva go up, so you can't cross to the other side of the city from 1am to 6am or so! Apparently a big part of partying in that city is deciding between going home around midnight or staying out all night. Cool, right? Luckily we were on the happenin' side) :D
I got to see the Ermitage and the Peter-Paul fortress, along with souvenir markets, coffee shops, and the Winter Palace lit up on the river at night. The day we went to the Ermitage was fantastic, too, we happened to pick a national holiday so it was free, but we also got there right as it opened so we didn't have to wait for very long. I even got to see some masterpieces by my old Spanish favorites :D My favorite pieces was a sculpture, though, which Emily had really wanted to see. It was definitely worth the hunt :D
Our hostel was also really nice, and since there were eight of us, we had two rooms entirely to ourselves. We even got free yogurt, tea, and oranges in the morning. It was right on Nevskiy Prospect, the most famous street in St. Petersburg, and right across from this gigantic bookstore + coffeeshop. The weather was rainy and blustery and it even snowed a little once. It was just really nice to be up north with the days already getting short and Christmas stuff in the markets. Probably more of Christmas in the city feel than I'll get for the rest of the year, so I really reveled in it. I definitely felt more like a tourist than I have so far in Russia, but it was nice to take a break from cultural immersion, too. (And the people in St. Petersburg are much nicer than the people in Moscow or Vladimir...)
A final note on St. Petersburg. There are tons of little stalls on the street where people sell cheap wind up toys and so on, and a really popular one was Vinni Poo, a Russian knock off of Winnie the Pooh. Theirs looks very different and is more clever and sassier than our Winnie. Anyway, a lot of people spend all day sitting at tiny tables, letting Vinni go and grabbing him within three seconds before he lurches off the end of the table. Now, thinking back to being in Winnipeg, I remember learning where Winnie the Pooh actually started. The author and his son visited a baby bear (or maybe the statue?) which had been orphaned and became the darling of the city Winnipeg (hench, Winnie). What a bizarre chain of events it took to get from that baby bear to the countless people spending all day catching those plastic toys in the cultural capitol of Russia....
I also got some new red leather gloves today which I feel my mom especially would really appreciate <3 LOVE YOU ALL!
I got to see the Ermitage and the Peter-Paul fortress, along with souvenir markets, coffee shops, and the Winter Palace lit up on the river at night. The day we went to the Ermitage was fantastic, too, we happened to pick a national holiday so it was free, but we also got there right as it opened so we didn't have to wait for very long. I even got to see some masterpieces by my old Spanish favorites :D My favorite pieces was a sculpture, though, which Emily had really wanted to see. It was definitely worth the hunt :D
Our hostel was also really nice, and since there were eight of us, we had two rooms entirely to ourselves. We even got free yogurt, tea, and oranges in the morning. It was right on Nevskiy Prospect, the most famous street in St. Petersburg, and right across from this gigantic bookstore + coffeeshop. The weather was rainy and blustery and it even snowed a little once. It was just really nice to be up north with the days already getting short and Christmas stuff in the markets. Probably more of Christmas in the city feel than I'll get for the rest of the year, so I really reveled in it. I definitely felt more like a tourist than I have so far in Russia, but it was nice to take a break from cultural immersion, too. (And the people in St. Petersburg are much nicer than the people in Moscow or Vladimir...)
A final note on St. Petersburg. There are tons of little stalls on the street where people sell cheap wind up toys and so on, and a really popular one was Vinni Poo, a Russian knock off of Winnie the Pooh. Theirs looks very different and is more clever and sassier than our Winnie. Anyway, a lot of people spend all day sitting at tiny tables, letting Vinni go and grabbing him within three seconds before he lurches off the end of the table. Now, thinking back to being in Winnipeg, I remember learning where Winnie the Pooh actually started. The author and his son visited a baby bear (or maybe the statue?) which had been orphaned and became the darling of the city Winnipeg (hench, Winnie). What a bizarre chain of events it took to get from that baby bear to the countless people spending all day catching those plastic toys in the cultural capitol of Russia....
I also got some new red leather gloves today which I feel my mom especially would really appreciate <3 LOVE YOU ALL!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Halloween and Midterm break!
Happy Halloween, all!
We had our big Halloween party on Saturday and it was great. Everyone came in costume and was super excited to play limbo, wrap mummies and (of course) eat mad amounts of candy. Sasha, Boris and Artem were there, of course, and Artem took all the pictures that I posted on facebook. :) Plus I finally got an invitation to hang out from a girl! yes!!! In general, it was weird that there weren't more decorations on the street, but the first major holiday is over without too much homesickness!
Speaking of major holiday prep (and the exhaustion that comes with it), I'm actually pretty sure that our Thanksgiving celebration is going to fall smack on my birthday Saturday :( This is bad because it is our job to make the food for ALL the American home staff and all of our host families...so...cooking dinner for about 30 people all day on my birthday...hmmmm.....But at least I didn't have to give oral exams like Alli did. (And speaking of cooking, I'm FINALLY cooking for myself this month! Should be cheaper, healthier and easier!)
We also finished the seminar for Russian English teachers today. It was a huge group, about 30 people both days, and in general...I don't know. Awkward? Yes. Especially trying to get them to participate in discussions. It also seemed sort of hap hazard since everyone was trying to do Russian lessons, prep for classes, and pack for St. Petersburg as well as lead seminar activities. Also, mentioning the gay marriage movement in elections while talking about weddings...turns out to not be such a hit in front of a Russian audience. It is so weird to me how homophobic even my friends are...even mentioning the topic is weird here. Yay community service, though...
Next post will be all about St. Petersburg I'm sure! We'll be getting on the night train tonight :D Love you all!
We had our big Halloween party on Saturday and it was great. Everyone came in costume and was super excited to play limbo, wrap mummies and (of course) eat mad amounts of candy. Sasha, Boris and Artem were there, of course, and Artem took all the pictures that I posted on facebook. :) Plus I finally got an invitation to hang out from a girl! yes!!! In general, it was weird that there weren't more decorations on the street, but the first major holiday is over without too much homesickness!
Speaking of major holiday prep (and the exhaustion that comes with it), I'm actually pretty sure that our Thanksgiving celebration is going to fall smack on my birthday Saturday :( This is bad because it is our job to make the food for ALL the American home staff and all of our host families...so...cooking dinner for about 30 people all day on my birthday...hmmmm.....But at least I didn't have to give oral exams like Alli did. (And speaking of cooking, I'm FINALLY cooking for myself this month! Should be cheaper, healthier and easier!)
We also finished the seminar for Russian English teachers today. It was a huge group, about 30 people both days, and in general...I don't know. Awkward? Yes. Especially trying to get them to participate in discussions. It also seemed sort of hap hazard since everyone was trying to do Russian lessons, prep for classes, and pack for St. Petersburg as well as lead seminar activities. Also, mentioning the gay marriage movement in elections while talking about weddings...turns out to not be such a hit in front of a Russian audience. It is so weird to me how homophobic even my friends are...even mentioning the topic is weird here. Yay community service, though...
Next post will be all about St. Petersburg I'm sure! We'll be getting on the night train tonight :D Love you all!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Midterm Break...
Well, we are in the middle of exams and next week I will be heading to St. Petersburg with everyone! I'm super excited. This week has been pretty terrible, due to the fact that my students keep cheating. I was almost reduced to tears in one class. It was my adult class, and all my friends are in that class, so it should have been the easiest oral exam to run. They just couldn't or wouldn't get it, though. I'd try to give someone a chance to find their own mistake and someone else would tell them, either in Russian or English. The whole situation was tense and awful for everyone involved, including the people who weren't cheating (they all had their heads in their hands looking ashamed on behalf of their classmates). It is just so blatant and disrespectful... Plus grading my friends sucked. Blah.
BUT! On the bright side, my friend Sasha (who is one of my all around favorite people here) kicked butt on the oral exam because he worked so fricking hard on it. He even came in on his birthday to do extra practice with me and we ended up having this awesome conversation about war/international policy based on the question "Who is the President of the United States?" I actually used some of my vocabulary from this summer; it's funny how something that was so awful and stressful back then is actually really awesome and enriching here. Anyway, I've decided that Sasha is actually an American who was born in Russia because his ideas and personality are really, really unusual especially for Russian men.
In general Artyom, Boris and Sasha are super awesome. We do all this crazy fun stuff, like last week they took me to an arcade and we bowled and drove in bumper cars and ended up racing around a little playground in the middle of the night. And ice skating is coming up on Sunday.... I feel like I'm finally getting into the Russian part of Russia, and I'm SOSOSOSOSOSO happy that we're friends. I'm still hoping to make friends with some Russian girls, but weirdly the cultural differences seem to be more of a problem there, at least so far.
Anyway, coming up in the next few weeks: I have to run a workshop for Russian English teachers. "What?" you might ask. "Don't they have way more experience than you do?" Well, let me tell you, I asked the same thing. But it sounds like more of an English practice session for them combined with cultural discussions (I will be giving the American weddings powerpoint again) and some new ideas for games to play in the classroom. At least we are going straight to Peter after that if things go badly. Nothing like getting out of town for a couple of days...
This next week we are also having a Halloween party, complete with...limbo and musical chairs? Apparently they demand those games at every party so you can imagine me limbo-ing to the monster mash next Saturday...probably dressed in Candy Land gear. Hmmmm....
Still haven't been homesick, despite having been weirdly out of touch with almost everyone for a while. This whole year has an unusual feel to it. It's all very formative I'm sure. Anyway, I'm thinking a lot about what I want to do next year, and more and more I'm thinking that a second year in Russia might be in order....or maybe Spain? I'll see how things feel in a couple of months. LOVE YOU ALL!!!
BUT! On the bright side, my friend Sasha (who is one of my all around favorite people here) kicked butt on the oral exam because he worked so fricking hard on it. He even came in on his birthday to do extra practice with me and we ended up having this awesome conversation about war/international policy based on the question "Who is the President of the United States?" I actually used some of my vocabulary from this summer; it's funny how something that was so awful and stressful back then is actually really awesome and enriching here. Anyway, I've decided that Sasha is actually an American who was born in Russia because his ideas and personality are really, really unusual especially for Russian men.
In general Artyom, Boris and Sasha are super awesome. We do all this crazy fun stuff, like last week they took me to an arcade and we bowled and drove in bumper cars and ended up racing around a little playground in the middle of the night. And ice skating is coming up on Sunday.... I feel like I'm finally getting into the Russian part of Russia, and I'm SOSOSOSOSOSO happy that we're friends. I'm still hoping to make friends with some Russian girls, but weirdly the cultural differences seem to be more of a problem there, at least so far.
Anyway, coming up in the next few weeks: I have to run a workshop for Russian English teachers. "What?" you might ask. "Don't they have way more experience than you do?" Well, let me tell you, I asked the same thing. But it sounds like more of an English practice session for them combined with cultural discussions (I will be giving the American weddings powerpoint again) and some new ideas for games to play in the classroom. At least we are going straight to Peter after that if things go badly. Nothing like getting out of town for a couple of days...
This next week we are also having a Halloween party, complete with...limbo and musical chairs? Apparently they demand those games at every party so you can imagine me limbo-ing to the monster mash next Saturday...probably dressed in Candy Land gear. Hmmmm....
Still haven't been homesick, despite having been weirdly out of touch with almost everyone for a while. This whole year has an unusual feel to it. It's all very formative I'm sure. Anyway, I'm thinking a lot about what I want to do next year, and more and more I'm thinking that a second year in Russia might be in order....or maybe Spain? I'll see how things feel in a couple of months. LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Moscow
I just got back from Moscow, which has serious potential to be my favorite city in the world. I reserve a special spot for Madrid, and New York really captured my heart in June. But there is something about Moscow, some unique Russian character, something about the Red Square and the river and the lights at night. Not to mention the Bolshoi Theater, which was everything I hoped and dreamed. It actually makes me a little sad to be back in Vladimir...
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ending golden autumn....
So about a week ago, Vladimir was bright yellow trees, sunshine and golden light. Hard not to be happy and relaxed in weather like that...The weather is getting colder and wetter now, and I can definitely feel more of the stress of living in a foreign country. I feel like I'm getting a lot more of the real Russian experience, though. I finally got tired of my students not inviting me anywhere and just asked a few of my favorites if they wanted to come to a bar with me and Alli. They all jumped at the chance, so I will probably ask another group of my favorites soon. Anyway, that was Friday night, and last night Alex's host invited us over to his palace...I mean, house. It is huge, overlooking a valley, and has an outdoor fireplace/bar in a nice backyard...right in the middle of Vladimir. We trailed in with our meager offerings of chocolate and wine to find a fantastic spread of grilled vegetables, breads, cheeses and by the end of night, blue label whiskey. Price unknown but rumor has it that that brand is somewhere between 200 and $400. I have his host mom for a student, but she was at a wedding this weekend so I didn't actually see her. I did, however, get to meet his Russian host sister. Six years old, bright red pigtails, totally fun to hang out with. I brought her a pencil that said "Princess" on it, and before I even got it out she told me that she is really into princesses. Perfect. She made me necklaces out of clay, sang for me, checked my Russian reading ability and generally reminded me of all little girls :) She clearly doesn't take us seriously as adults at all, though, given our lack of Russian. When Emily was cutting the cake, Natalia was right there praising her for not making a mess, and later in the night she brought me over to a nook in the wall and said "This is a (something)." Thinking it was some incomprehensible new word, I asked her to repeat it and she explained again "This is a leaf in a bottle." It was pretty cold outside, but we were all huddled around a fire, drinking whiskey and making toasts Russian style. You have to stand up, give a short speech and then everyone takes a shot. I think there were nine or ten of these, so you better believe I started taking half shots...then sips....then pouring my drink into Adam's cup, which turned out to be not such a great idea for him, but hey. It's hard to complain while getting drunk on expensive whiskey at a Russian house big enough to have a ping pong table room. Anyway, I stood up and said how nice it was to see our host with his son and daughter, and how playing with her made me think of my own sisters, and how it really made me realize that there aren't such big differences between families around the world, so, to Family. That went over pretty well :D It was also just really interesting to hear this man's take on growing up in the Soviet Union, how he used to hate Americans as a little boy, how he used to believe that there was no comradery at all between Americans because that was printed in the newspapers all the time. Apparently, his grandfather fought with Americans in the second world war, drank a truck full of whiskey with them, and told him that Americans "are good guys". He didn't believe it as a child, but is so glad that his life has brought him to a point where he is hosting 7 American teachers at his house with his family there beside him. It made me remember why I'm in Russia....
And today we are getting ready to go to a free play with some of Adam's students. It will be in the park and it supposed to be about traditional Russian fairy tales, which could be hard to understand, but it's hard to beat free. After that there is a disco skate at a local indoor skating rink...Have I mentioned that I'm working a lot less? Horseback riding was BEAUTIFUL and amazing the other weekend, next weekend I am going to Moscow, Adam and I are hoping to make it to a Sunday matinee at the Bolshoy Theater and life is generally good. Love love love!
And today we are getting ready to go to a free play with some of Adam's students. It will be in the park and it supposed to be about traditional Russian fairy tales, which could be hard to understand, but it's hard to beat free. After that there is a disco skate at a local indoor skating rink...Have I mentioned that I'm working a lot less? Horseback riding was BEAUTIFUL and amazing the other weekend, next weekend I am going to Moscow, Adam and I are hoping to make it to a Sunday matinee at the Bolshoy Theater and life is generally good. Love love love!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Cheat, cheat, cheat
Russian students cheat. Outrageously. Insultingly. Blatantly. Adults and children alike, knowing full well that they are taking a test, will talk out loud. Some of them try to be sneaky, but simply calling them out will not stop them always. Nor will sitting next to the cheaters, looking straight at them, explaining in Russian that you can understand EVERY word that they are saying. Short of taking away their quizzes, nothing can be done. At one point I was actually waiting on the last quiz, hand outstretched, and the young woman turned to the guy next to her and asked him "how do you say....". It was so audacious that even he started laughing. The weird thing is, some classes don't cheat at all. It's a lot more disconcerting and insulting than I would have guessed...
Moving on, I now know for sure that I am not a shallow person. I have hands down proved that, thanks to Kamila. Let me set the scene. She had invited me to meet her classmates a couple of times already, and they were apparently really excited to meet me since they all study English. After a long, hellish day in which even my good classes were out of control, I was feeling sweaty, gross, and exhausted. The night before I woke up super homesick and sad and couldn't go back to sleep, so I was really dragging. Of COURSE that is the night that Kamila invites me out. I said yes, since I didn't really want to grade anymore anyway. Well, she picks me up with two friends, little bit awkward in the car, but whatever, finally we pull up to this restaurant. I take one look at it and realize that I am going to be the worst dressed person in the place. By far. BY FAR. I mean, there is Russian and American fashion differences and then there is just BIG BUCKS. Everyone in there was dripping with diamonds, I literally would have felt more comfortable in the waiter's clothing than in my own. We sat on the veranda overlooking this misty valley sparkling with lights, but it was hard for me to enjoy because I was so busy thinking about how damn expensive everything was. Some perspective? I didn't have enough money for a glass of wine and a salad. So there I was, hoping against hope that the Russian tradition of paying for guests was going to kick in, when we suddenly merged parties with some high rollin' business folks. Dripping with diamonds and makeup. And I was getting shown off like some sort of accessory, I was understanding almost no Russian, and eveyone was telling jokes for my appreciation (the punch line would be something like, ENGLISH LANGUAGE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA). So, kinda awkward.
Anyway, the key moment of the night came at the end (after someone did cough up for the crazy amounts of food they ordered for me as well as the entire rabbit that some of the men at the table had been gnawing on for a while.) The big, high class, big bucks business man that everyone had been teasing but really kissing up to all night long pulled up a chair next to me. (Earlier: What does that guy do, Sasha? Sasha: he is the BIG OWNER OF blah blah blah. Do you know? A huge law firm). I mean, this guy's suit cost more than some small villages in Russia turn over in a year, I'm sure. And, apparently the sweaty, matted hair, glasses, and college t-shirt did ti for him, because he slurred some incomprehensible "English" at me, and then tells Kamila et al that we have already agreed that his driver will drop me off later. "Ok!" chirps Kamila, while I made wounded baby animal eyes at her. She catches sight of them and back up. A millimeter. "Do you want to? I think it might be sort of fun. We can go together." "TIME TO GO!!!!" I bellowed in Russian with a forced smile. I mean, come ON!! Every one at the table except me and Kamila was employed by this guy. I didn't want to put Sasha in a weird spot since me brought me in his car, but NO. WAY.
Anyway, Mr. Big Bucks follows me into the backseat of the car, and we "give him a ride" up to his car, which is about 15 steps away, while I freak out because there are too many people in the back seat and this guy is one of them. He tried to pull me out with him at the end, clearly missing all the signals that I was sending his way (Me crawling up into Kamila's lap wasn't enough of a sign.)
So, I clearly got out of it, and I would have made a huge fuss if I'd had to. But, it was super disconcerting because I felt like no one was backing me up and working to get me out of the situation. I tried to explain to Kamila afterwards, and she was concerned but bemused. Just say no, was her take on it. Also, he is rich as hell. "And probably married!!!" I pointed out. Oh, yeah, he is, she confirmed. Weird. Weird weird weird. But if anyone was every worried that I was a shallow person, easily swayed by money, I feel that turning down a Russian millionaire at a time when I make like $2,000 a year is a good sign.
Moving on, I now know for sure that I am not a shallow person. I have hands down proved that, thanks to Kamila. Let me set the scene. She had invited me to meet her classmates a couple of times already, and they were apparently really excited to meet me since they all study English. After a long, hellish day in which even my good classes were out of control, I was feeling sweaty, gross, and exhausted. The night before I woke up super homesick and sad and couldn't go back to sleep, so I was really dragging. Of COURSE that is the night that Kamila invites me out. I said yes, since I didn't really want to grade anymore anyway. Well, she picks me up with two friends, little bit awkward in the car, but whatever, finally we pull up to this restaurant. I take one look at it and realize that I am going to be the worst dressed person in the place. By far. BY FAR. I mean, there is Russian and American fashion differences and then there is just BIG BUCKS. Everyone in there was dripping with diamonds, I literally would have felt more comfortable in the waiter's clothing than in my own. We sat on the veranda overlooking this misty valley sparkling with lights, but it was hard for me to enjoy because I was so busy thinking about how damn expensive everything was. Some perspective? I didn't have enough money for a glass of wine and a salad. So there I was, hoping against hope that the Russian tradition of paying for guests was going to kick in, when we suddenly merged parties with some high rollin' business folks. Dripping with diamonds and makeup. And I was getting shown off like some sort of accessory, I was understanding almost no Russian, and eveyone was telling jokes for my appreciation (the punch line would be something like, ENGLISH LANGUAGE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA). So, kinda awkward.
Anyway, the key moment of the night came at the end (after someone did cough up for the crazy amounts of food they ordered for me as well as the entire rabbit that some of the men at the table had been gnawing on for a while.) The big, high class, big bucks business man that everyone had been teasing but really kissing up to all night long pulled up a chair next to me. (Earlier: What does that guy do, Sasha? Sasha: he is the BIG OWNER OF blah blah blah. Do you know? A huge law firm). I mean, this guy's suit cost more than some small villages in Russia turn over in a year, I'm sure. And, apparently the sweaty, matted hair, glasses, and college t-shirt did ti for him, because he slurred some incomprehensible "English" at me, and then tells Kamila et al that we have already agreed that his driver will drop me off later. "Ok!" chirps Kamila, while I made wounded baby animal eyes at her. She catches sight of them and back up. A millimeter. "Do you want to? I think it might be sort of fun. We can go together." "TIME TO GO!!!!" I bellowed in Russian with a forced smile. I mean, come ON!! Every one at the table except me and Kamila was employed by this guy. I didn't want to put Sasha in a weird spot since me brought me in his car, but NO. WAY.
Anyway, Mr. Big Bucks follows me into the backseat of the car, and we "give him a ride" up to his car, which is about 15 steps away, while I freak out because there are too many people in the back seat and this guy is one of them. He tried to pull me out with him at the end, clearly missing all the signals that I was sending his way (Me crawling up into Kamila's lap wasn't enough of a sign.)
So, I clearly got out of it, and I would have made a huge fuss if I'd had to. But, it was super disconcerting because I felt like no one was backing me up and working to get me out of the situation. I tried to explain to Kamila afterwards, and she was concerned but bemused. Just say no, was her take on it. Also, he is rich as hell. "And probably married!!!" I pointed out. Oh, yeah, he is, she confirmed. Weird. Weird weird weird. But if anyone was every worried that I was a shallow person, easily swayed by money, I feel that turning down a Russian millionaire at a time when I make like $2,000 a year is a good sign.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First week done!
So I finished my first week, and it is
HARD
AWESOME
DISCOURAGING
TIME CONSUMING
OCCASIONALLY HUMILIATING
and other extremely emphatic adjectives. I really like the lower level which I teach. I had a rough first day with the young teenage class, but everything came together after that. (The class popular boy decided that he liked me and would stop misbehaving, so everyone else followed suit. Am I actually selling the English language with sex appeal?) Anyway, they all love my activities and they love me! I just finished reading their first journal entries to me and it was soooooo cute!
Unfortunately, my Tuesday-Friday classes all hate fun (and rainbows and kittens and so on, I'm sure). I don't like the building that i have to teach in, I don't like the class material so far, there are a few decent students but for the most part the class dynamic is just awful. I've had to take quizzes and phones away and get on people's cases for all kinds of stuff. However, after reading their first journal entries, I have some renewed hope that they don't all hate the class.
More later, I'm filling in next week's lesson plans somewhat frantically since I went shopping with Kamila this morning :D :D :D GIRLS' DAY OUT IN RUSSIA, YEA!!!
HARD
AWESOME
DISCOURAGING
TIME CONSUMING
OCCASIONALLY HUMILIATING
and other extremely emphatic adjectives. I really like the lower level which I teach. I had a rough first day with the young teenage class, but everything came together after that. (The class popular boy decided that he liked me and would stop misbehaving, so everyone else followed suit. Am I actually selling the English language with sex appeal?) Anyway, they all love my activities and they love me! I just finished reading their first journal entries to me and it was soooooo cute!
Unfortunately, my Tuesday-Friday classes all hate fun (and rainbows and kittens and so on, I'm sure). I don't like the building that i have to teach in, I don't like the class material so far, there are a few decent students but for the most part the class dynamic is just awful. I've had to take quizzes and phones away and get on people's cases for all kinds of stuff. However, after reading their first journal entries, I have some renewed hope that they don't all hate the class.
More later, I'm filling in next week's lesson plans somewhat frantically since I went shopping with Kamila this morning :D :D :D GIRLS' DAY OUT IN RUSSIA, YEA!!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
First day of classes, sexiness, cold weather
So yesterday we were all here all day, diligently working (or maybe playing frisbee in the backyard with some random Russian kids) because TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!!! I have to admit, I'm super nervous. I got up this morning and dressed in my best no-bullshit outfit, ready to show those Russian kids who's boss. "HOW DO I LOOK?" I demanded of Kamila.
"Oh, Rosie, you look really sexy!!!"
A confidence booster? Not exactly. But hey, if my teaching skills fall short, I can always fall back on my sex appeal. Selling the English language with sex, that'll be me this year...
It's actually been getting really cold here lately, which is showing me another (very prominent) side of Russian culture. They LOVE to worry about other people's body temp. For example, I got up yesterday and Kamila told me "I realized that you were really cold last night." This was news to me, and it took me a minute to realize that she was ASKING me if I had been warm enough. And God forbid someone leave a door open to get some air circulation. Even in stuffy hot restaurants, on buses, everywhere, the second a breeze drifts in, people start freaking out about the draft. IT WILL MAKE YOU ILL. IMMEDIATELY. I almost got busted trying to go out to a club in a skirt the other night, but luckily Kamila was distracted by getting ready for her sister Munisa and baby niece Din-Din(suuuuper fun and suuuuper cute respectively).
The club was also a bit of a culture shock. Let me set the scene. It was opening night, 1am, we were there waiting outside in a huge crowd, trying to talk our way in. We are surrounded by people dressed to kill, pointy shoes galore, the women looking HOT and scandalous. We get inside and.... no one really dances. They certainly don't grind. There is some shoulder twitching, the odd person actually dancing, but even though HUNDREDS of people were there, there was a good six inches (or more) of space around everyone. To be fair, though, the music is terrible. Anyway, my first club night was really fun despite that and I didn't get back until 6am, and as Alex said, it makes you feel like an AWESOME dancer to dance in Russia.
And, finally, we were invited over to Bethany's for a party set up by her host sister. It was really chill and fun, BUT after about 30 minutes, she got up, shushed us all, and started playing piano and singing. One song...followed by another...followed by a flute recital...a cd recording of her... Rudy jumped in and jammed on piano for a couple of minutes until she asked him to stop so she could start again. What a weird dynamic (plus, let's be for real, she wasn't stellar). And the thing is, a really similar thing happened at our first meeting-the-students party, so I guess the part performance dynamic is just really different in Russia.
Anyway, after our James Bond introductory skit for the students last week (met by...wait for it...blank stares), I'm feeling a little bit nervous about trying to get the students to go buck wild and play pictionary, etc. today, but we'll see what happens. LOVE YOU ALL!!
"Oh, Rosie, you look really sexy!!!"
A confidence booster? Not exactly. But hey, if my teaching skills fall short, I can always fall back on my sex appeal. Selling the English language with sex, that'll be me this year...
It's actually been getting really cold here lately, which is showing me another (very prominent) side of Russian culture. They LOVE to worry about other people's body temp. For example, I got up yesterday and Kamila told me "I realized that you were really cold last night." This was news to me, and it took me a minute to realize that she was ASKING me if I had been warm enough. And God forbid someone leave a door open to get some air circulation. Even in stuffy hot restaurants, on buses, everywhere, the second a breeze drifts in, people start freaking out about the draft. IT WILL MAKE YOU ILL. IMMEDIATELY. I almost got busted trying to go out to a club in a skirt the other night, but luckily Kamila was distracted by getting ready for her sister Munisa and baby niece Din-Din(suuuuper fun and suuuuper cute respectively).
The club was also a bit of a culture shock. Let me set the scene. It was opening night, 1am, we were there waiting outside in a huge crowd, trying to talk our way in. We are surrounded by people dressed to kill, pointy shoes galore, the women looking HOT and scandalous. We get inside and.... no one really dances. They certainly don't grind. There is some shoulder twitching, the odd person actually dancing, but even though HUNDREDS of people were there, there was a good six inches (or more) of space around everyone. To be fair, though, the music is terrible. Anyway, my first club night was really fun despite that and I didn't get back until 6am, and as Alex said, it makes you feel like an AWESOME dancer to dance in Russia.
And, finally, we were invited over to Bethany's for a party set up by her host sister. It was really chill and fun, BUT after about 30 minutes, she got up, shushed us all, and started playing piano and singing. One song...followed by another...followed by a flute recital...a cd recording of her... Rudy jumped in and jammed on piano for a couple of minutes until she asked him to stop so she could start again. What a weird dynamic (plus, let's be for real, she wasn't stellar). And the thing is, a really similar thing happened at our first meeting-the-students party, so I guess the part performance dynamic is just really different in Russia.
Anyway, after our James Bond introductory skit for the students last week (met by...wait for it...blank stares), I'm feeling a little bit nervous about trying to get the students to go buck wild and play pictionary, etc. today, but we'll see what happens. LOVE YOU ALL!!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Moscow!!!
I got to spend the day in Moscow with our group yesterday!!! It was FANTASTIC after an awful week of mock lessons. Mine was...not spectacular.
It is really hard planning for low levels because there are a VERY limited number of games, etc. that are easy enough for them, and it's hard to make it funny because no one knows any silly vocabulary at that level. Anyway, after my lesson I was pretty sure that I didn't want to be a teacher anymore :S But it turns out that I will be teaching two Z2 classes (lowest level of our 10 options) and 3 A3 classes (one level up). So I'm actually overloading, because a full time week is 4 classes, but at least I'll get about an extra $50 a month for that lol Oh, and every class meets twice a week for 90 minutes.
Anyway, Moscow was soooo cool, we took the "express" train in in the morning and spent the whole day there. I was really pumped to see Red Square, but it was CLOSED when we got there for concert set up or something. Anyway, it just made it even more epic when we went back later and found it OPEN!!!! It was basically raining ice by then and we have some pretty kick ass photos of us in front of St. Basil's Cathedral.
We also went to the World War 2 museum in Victory Park and basically just hung around the city watching all the wedding parties run inside because of the weather. The metro was fun and cool and confusing, and the escalators there were EPIC. So much better than the ones in New York even, just really steep and fast and disorienting. The handrails there also move a lot faster than the steps, which Alex pointed out gives everyone a good chance to make a move on the person in front of them, which made me laugh for about 20 minues (VERY uncool in the metro where everyone should just be scowling).
Ok, next two colleague introductions: Ann who is super funny and crazy badass and has a blister on her foot that has basically become gangrenous. She crawled under the sink, unscrewed the plumbing, and rescued my bracelet from Africa last week after I dropped it down the drain, so you know she's cool. And Adam, the guy who I talked to the most beforе I came here and had high hopes for. The good news is he is just as cool in person as he is online, and I'm planning on making a habit of bullying him into playing sax for us at lunchtime every day. His host family is also still out of control crazy (see the karaoke post).
Having a blast!
It is really hard planning for low levels because there are a VERY limited number of games, etc. that are easy enough for them, and it's hard to make it funny because no one knows any silly vocabulary at that level. Anyway, after my lesson I was pretty sure that I didn't want to be a teacher anymore :S But it turns out that I will be teaching two Z2 classes (lowest level of our 10 options) and 3 A3 classes (one level up). So I'm actually overloading, because a full time week is 4 classes, but at least I'll get about an extra $50 a month for that lol Oh, and every class meets twice a week for 90 minutes.
Anyway, Moscow was soooo cool, we took the "express" train in in the morning and spent the whole day there. I was really pumped to see Red Square, but it was CLOSED when we got there for concert set up or something. Anyway, it just made it even more epic when we went back later and found it OPEN!!!! It was basically raining ice by then and we have some pretty kick ass photos of us in front of St. Basil's Cathedral.
We also went to the World War 2 museum in Victory Park and basically just hung around the city watching all the wedding parties run inside because of the weather. The metro was fun and cool and confusing, and the escalators there were EPIC. So much better than the ones in New York even, just really steep and fast and disorienting. The handrails there also move a lot faster than the steps, which Alex pointed out gives everyone a good chance to make a move on the person in front of them, which made me laugh for about 20 minues (VERY uncool in the metro where everyone should just be scowling).
Ok, next two colleague introductions: Ann who is super funny and crazy badass and has a blister on her foot that has basically become gangrenous. She crawled under the sink, unscrewed the plumbing, and rescued my bracelet from Africa last week after I dropped it down the drain, so you know she's cool. And Adam, the guy who I talked to the most beforе I came here and had high hopes for. The good news is he is just as cool in person as he is online, and I'm planning on making a habit of bullying him into playing sax for us at lunchtime every day. His host family is also still out of control crazy (see the karaoke post).
Having a blast!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Interviews!
Things are going great here! We get to work around 9:30 every morning and have some sort of Russian class or excursion (for example, to the grocery store or post office). After that we have English grammar lessons and teacher training until about 2 or 3pm, and then a break. Sometimes our evenings are free, other times we have activities, such as meeting students or (!!!) conducting placement tests! We worked in pairs, which was really fun, and for the most part everything went really well. One of the girls that Adam and I were working with had 0 comprehension and 0 interest in English as far as we could tell, so that was pretty awkward. But other than that, everyone who we have met is REALLY EXCITED about the school, our classes, us, America, and so on. I'm still not sure what level I will be teaching, but probably the "Z2" level, which means one class up from absolute beginners. So, I might actually start using Russian...to explain English grammar.... :P It should be cool.
We also visited Suzdal today, which is about 45 minutes away. It is this really cute, really small Russian town with a lot of really beautiful old architecture and churches. I absolutely love our group. The Russians we work with here are the young, hilarious, fun, friendly, extremely fashionable Lena and Olya! They basically run the show at the AH (American House).
I'll introduce my group a couple at a time. Today it's Alex and Alli. Alex seemed pretty quiet at first, but he is HILARIOUS. He ran a mock class for intermediate level students and I thought I would die laughing. He also lives in a mansion in the middle of the city here, so we all tease him about being the rich kid. Alli is basically my double. She studied linguistics and Spanish, lived in Spain, switched hosts with me at the last minute, also spells poorly, and other random little coincidences. In general it is just really awesome to have someone else here who gets the frustrations of looking at grammar from a teacher's point of view instead of a linguist's.
That's it for now! So far I still haven't been homesick, and I feel like I can kick this year's butt! Three more weeks til classes start....
We also visited Suzdal today, which is about 45 minutes away. It is this really cute, really small Russian town with a lot of really beautiful old architecture and churches. I absolutely love our group. The Russians we work with here are the young, hilarious, fun, friendly, extremely fashionable Lena and Olya! They basically run the show at the AH (American House).
I'll introduce my group a couple at a time. Today it's Alex and Alli. Alex seemed pretty quiet at first, but he is HILARIOUS. He ran a mock class for intermediate level students and I thought I would die laughing. He also lives in a mansion in the middle of the city here, so we all tease him about being the rich kid. Alli is basically my double. She studied linguistics and Spanish, lived in Spain, switched hosts with me at the last minute, also spells poorly, and other random little coincidences. In general it is just really awesome to have someone else here who gets the frustrations of looking at grammar from a teacher's point of view instead of a linguist's.
That's it for now! So far I still haven't been homesick, and I feel like I can kick this year's butt! Three more weeks til classes start....
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I'm here!! The place I'm living in in really pretty, too, though the buildings always look really run down on the outside.
I'm living with a girl named Kamila. She is about three years older
than me and she is GREAT! "Vegetarain" in that she doesn't eat
chicken and fish, but totally fine with what I want to eat, just
concerned that she doesn't already know. She is short, long dark
curly hair, totally gorgeous, really fun and smiley. Her parents
immigrated from Uzbekistan and her parents and brother live in the
city. Her sister and niece live in Moscow. Yesterday she got about
15 phone calls in my first two hours there, everyone wanting to know
how things were going and when they could meet me. I'm excited to
meet her friends, but probably wont until Sunday because my friend Ben
is in Vladimir for the next two days only. I was out walking with
Kamila last night and just randomly found him on the street, so that
was really exciting, and fortunate, since I don't have a cell yet.
By the way, don't worry at all about the weather here. The air is
super clear and the heat is a lot less than it was; even in Moscow a
mask wasn't necessary at all.
I also love my the other teachers and the people at the American Home. (We went bowling today, and it surprisingly wasn't awful.) They take care of everything for us, which is really nice.
I'll end with a few random observations:
1. The toilet paper here is the quality of cheap paper towels (at best)
2. Russian bus drivers are not the most chatty people. I asked if the bus when to the golden gate this morning, and his face either twitched or he was saying yes. :P
3. I think I'm really going to like switching back and forth from Russian to English multiple times a day :)
I'm living with a girl named Kamila. She is about three years older
than me and she is GREAT! "Vegetarain" in that she doesn't eat
chicken and fish, but totally fine with what I want to eat, just
concerned that she doesn't already know. She is short, long dark
curly hair, totally gorgeous, really fun and smiley. Her parents
immigrated from Uzbekistan and her parents and brother live in the
city. Her sister and niece live in Moscow. Yesterday she got about
15 phone calls in my first two hours there, everyone wanting to know
how things were going and when they could meet me. I'm excited to
meet her friends, but probably wont until Sunday because my friend Ben
is in Vladimir for the next two days only. I was out walking with
Kamila last night and just randomly found him on the street, so that
was really exciting, and fortunate, since I don't have a cell yet.
By the way, don't worry at all about the weather here. The air is
super clear and the heat is a lot less than it was; even in Moscow a
mask wasn't necessary at all.
I also love my the other teachers and the people at the American Home. (We went bowling today, and it surprisingly wasn't awful.) They take care of everything for us, which is really nice.
I'll end with a few random observations:
1. The toilet paper here is the quality of cheap paper towels (at best)
2. Russian bus drivers are not the most chatty people. I asked if the bus when to the golden gate this morning, and his face either twitched or he was saying yes. :P
3. I think I'm really going to like switching back and forth from Russian to English multiple times a day :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
Just kidding...
So I'm actually going to be living with a 26-year-old vegetarian. Read on:
My name is Kamila. I’m 26. I grew up in Vladimir. It’s an ancient Russian town, not far from Moscow. There are many places of interest here.
I’ve got a big family: a mother, a father, a brother end a sister. My mother is an old-age pensioner. Now she keeps house. My father is an engineer. My brother is a manager. He has his own business. My sister is a lawyer. I also have a niece. She is the copy of her mother (my sister). My family gets on well. We are deeply attached. Unfortunately we live far from each other. But we’d like to spend weekend together as often as possible.
As for me I’ve got my first higher education as a journalist . Now I continue my education. I learn English at the University. It’s interesting enough. Beside I work on a trade firm. Actually during the weekday I’m quite busy. I’m an early riser. I go to a swimming-pool every the morning. Then I should be at work at 9 a.m. After work I usually have my English classes. So I come home late in the evening. Then I can enjoy my free time at home.
I live in a four-storied block of flats not far from the Centre of our city. There is a big book market on the ground floor and it’s very convenient to buy books sometimes. My flat is on the third floor. There are two rooms there. The flats three large windows face North. So I can enjoy a lovely view of Gorky Street. When it’s sunset the horizon’s line is as red as cherry and the sky’s colors like in the picture this is a wonderful landscape.
By the way I have a lot of friends. I like to spend my free time with them. We can go to the cinema, to our favorite café or just for a walk. Occasionally we organize BBQ.
My name is Kamila. I’m 26. I grew up in Vladimir. It’s an ancient Russian town, not far from Moscow. There are many places of interest here.
I’ve got a big family: a mother, a father, a brother end a sister. My mother is an old-age pensioner. Now she keeps house. My father is an engineer. My brother is a manager. He has his own business. My sister is a lawyer. I also have a niece. She is the copy of her mother (my sister). My family gets on well. We are deeply attached. Unfortunately we live far from each other. But we’d like to spend weekend together as often as possible.
As for me I’ve got my first higher education as a journalist . Now I continue my education. I learn English at the University. It’s interesting enough. Beside I work on a trade firm. Actually during the weekday I’m quite busy. I’m an early riser. I go to a swimming-pool every the morning. Then I should be at work at 9 a.m. After work I usually have my English classes. So I come home late in the evening. Then I can enjoy my free time at home.
I live in a four-storied block of flats not far from the Centre of our city. There is a big book market on the ground floor and it’s very convenient to buy books sometimes. My flat is on the third floor. There are two rooms there. The flats three large windows face North. So I can enjoy a lovely view of Gorky Street. When it’s sunset the horizon’s line is as red as cherry and the sky’s colors like in the picture this is a wonderful landscape.
By the way I have a lot of friends. I like to spend my free time with them. We can go to the cinema, to our favorite café or just for a walk. Occasionally we organize BBQ.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Letter from my 16-year-old host sister!!
Hi. My name is Tamara. I want to tell you about my and my family.
First of all some words about my family. She is a small: mother, sister, grandmother and me. Only girlsJ
My mother is called by Natasha. She is a worker. She work in Administration of Vladimir city. She is a nice, kind and clever woman. My sister is worker, too. Her name Irina. She now works abroad. She is funny. (Tamara is now visiting her in Thailand) And my granny. Oh… She is a great woman. She lived in the years of war, for what I always will respected she and love. It very difficultly – to protect the country. She worker a doctor – treated soldiers. Now she is a pensionary. And me. I’m a smallest people in our family. I’m 16 years old, I’m a student of aviamechannical college; I’m professional dancer and I finished dancing school. As for me I like to dance, to travel, to listen to music, to sing in the soul, to read in bus or underground, to drive on snowboard. And I do not love: rag in the subway, to get up early, meals, boring companies, low IQ. That’s all.
Apparently, she was a student at the school where I will be teaching and her mom is about 50 years old, very sociable and talkative, but "without much English skills". HOORAY!!
First of all some words about my family. She is a small: mother, sister, grandmother and me. Only girlsJ
My mother is called by Natasha. She is a worker. She work in Administration of Vladimir city. She is a nice, kind and clever woman. My sister is worker, too. Her name Irina. She now works abroad. She is funny. (Tamara is now visiting her in Thailand) And my granny. Oh… She is a great woman. She lived in the years of war, for what I always will respected she and love. It very difficultly – to protect the country. She worker a doctor – treated soldiers. Now she is a pensionary. And me. I’m a smallest people in our family. I’m 16 years old, I’m a student of aviamechannical college; I’m professional dancer and I finished dancing school. As for me I like to dance, to travel, to listen to music, to sing in the soul, to read in bus or underground, to drive on snowboard. And I do not love: rag in the subway, to get up early, meals, boring companies, low IQ. That’s all.
Apparently, she was a student at the school where I will be teaching and her mom is about 50 years old, very sociable and talkative, but "without much English skills". HOORAY!!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Last days in America for a while...
So, I am less than two weeks away from leaving for Russia. I got my visa yesterday, despite mad complications with the work invitation, and I am ready (more than ready) to head out!! After 9 weeks at Middlebury, Russia should be a breeze.
On the host family front, I still haven't been able to get anyone on the phone, but I'll be living with Natalia Vladomirovna and, allegedly, her daughter. Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about them.
I'm REALLY excited to get started teaching, and I already have a topic for my cultural presentation: Stories of the Northwoods. I'm going to talk about Paul Bunyan, dream catchers, and Jesse James. (Props for the talk and the general idea came from my grandma, lots of love and thanks, Chi!!!)
On the host family front, I still haven't been able to get anyone on the phone, but I'll be living with Natalia Vladomirovna and, allegedly, her daughter. Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about them.
I'm REALLY excited to get started teaching, and I already have a topic for my cultural presentation: Stories of the Northwoods. I'm going to talk about Paul Bunyan, dream catchers, and Jesse James. (Props for the talk and the general idea came from my grandma, lots of love and thanks, Chi!!!)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A pang of regret for Ayamonte...
So I finally went ahead and looked up the town in Spain that I passed up for Russia... Ayamonte, right between Spain and Portugal. Not gonna lie, it looks fantastic and I would have been working with young adults, my first choice. *sigh*...another year...
Friday, May 14, 2010
Prepping...
So I suddenly realized that I am two weeks away from going to NY with my family, and after that it will only be a few short days before I head to Middlebury for the first part of this adventure year.
I am scrambling to get rid of my extra clothes (heartbreaking) and get insurance/visa things in order. Hard to do when all I want to do is spend every free minute with my best friends...
On the bright side, I just took the grammar placement test for Middlebury, and I did better than I thought I would, so that is heartening. And, as I'm constantly relearning, change brings a lot of fantastic new people into your life even when you really miss the old setup. In conclusion,
I LOVE YOU, CARLETON!!!
I am scrambling to get rid of my extra clothes (heartbreaking) and get insurance/visa things in order. Hard to do when all I want to do is spend every free minute with my best friends...
On the bright side, I just took the grammar placement test for Middlebury, and I did better than I thought I would, so that is heartening. And, as I'm constantly relearning, change brings a lot of fantastic new people into your life even when you really miss the old setup. In conclusion,
I LOVE YOU, CARLETON!!!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Details of the position
Hey all,
I just accepted a position in the American Home in Vladimir, Russia, for the 2010-2011 school year! I'm very excited. Vladimir is not far from Moscow and is one of the ancient cities of Russia's Golden Ring. The population is about 350,000 and the weather is colder than MN in the summer (60s) and warmer in the winter (teens).
You should check out the youtube video for more specifics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ifZ7nYW5m0
Basically, I will be living with a host family and working with 8 other Americans, teaching English and American culture. My students will be from 14-adult, mostly mid-twenties, and I wont be working with beginners. I will teach up to 4 classes, each meeting twice a week for 1.5 hours. If you have any good suggestions for host family gifts or classroom props, please let me know!
I'll be leaving immediately after my Russian immersion program at Middlebury this summer, around August 13th, and returning either at the end of April or the end of June.
Right now I'm working on getting a visa, getting rid of all my stuff, and figuring out how to explain to my host mother that I don't eat meat. I'm also trying to see everyone soon, because starting the 1st of June I will be embarking on my year Russian!
Rosalind/Alyona
I just accepted a position in the American Home in Vladimir, Russia, for the 2010-2011 school year! I'm very excited. Vladimir is not far from Moscow and is one of the ancient cities of Russia's Golden Ring. The population is about 350,000 and the weather is colder than MN in the summer (60s) and warmer in the winter (teens).
You should check out the youtube video for more specifics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ifZ7nYW5m0
Basically, I will be living with a host family and working with 8 other Americans, teaching English and American culture. My students will be from 14-adult, mostly mid-twenties, and I wont be working with beginners. I will teach up to 4 classes, each meeting twice a week for 1.5 hours. If you have any good suggestions for host family gifts or classroom props, please let me know!
I'll be leaving immediately after my Russian immersion program at Middlebury this summer, around August 13th, and returning either at the end of April or the end of June.
Right now I'm working on getting a visa, getting rid of all my stuff, and figuring out how to explain to my host mother that I don't eat meat. I'm also trying to see everyone soon, because starting the 1st of June I will be embarking on my year Russian!
Rosalind/Alyona
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