Sorry I haven't posted in quite awhile-- the past couple of weeks have been super hectic, what with the holidays and Ian visiting. I've also got two new classes, which effectively doubles my hours, and my commute to one of the classes is insane. The good news is I am officially now on holiday, and Ian and I will be off to the airport in an hour. I'm really looking forward to going home, seeing family & friends, having a proper Christmas, and eating some freaking tacos. Also not teaching! I'll hopefully have some free time to just sit around and relax, and I'll try to spend some of that time writing/posting pictures.
Happy New Year!
28 December 2009
03 December 2009
Address
Oh and also-- send love & letters to:
Starovagankovsky Pereulok, d. 15 kv. 3
Moscow, 119019
Russia
Starovagankovsky Pereulok, d. 15 kv. 3
Moscow, 119019
Russia
December showed up anyway
Not a whole lot to report on. I've been here over 6 weeks now-- isn't that crazy? Things are starting to become routine, but unfortunately I haven't been able to do a lot of sightseeing yet. I imagine I will do more of that once Ian comes to visit (in only 2 weeks, hurrah!).
Last weekend was kind of crazy. I spent a lot of time with my friends, including all Friday night when we were dancing at a club until the metro opened again in the morning (it's closed from 1am to 6 am)!! I figure if I'm not doing the tourist thing, at least I am getting the authentic Moscow experience. The club we usually go to has decent music (mostly British post-punk and pop from the last couple decades, but there is some variety, and there's usually a couple hours where the music's live) and has a large amount of expats there. We almost always run into other teachers that we know that we didn't show up with!
This weekend I'm looking forward to having things be much more low-key. Saturday we're having our late Thanksgiving here. I am really excited to be able to show everyone a real American Thanksgiving. We're going to have quite a mix: three Americans, two Brits, a South African, a Russian, and we're seeing about a partridge in a pear tree. I hope there are not any huge culinary disasters. We are rather limited on cooking utensils and pans, and there is no thermometer on our gas stove. We're doing a shopping run to the big grocery store (Ashan) for some last minute ingredients, as well as to IKEA for meat thermometers, pie plates, etc.
The weather here is not that cold, but it's pretty miserable. The sun is setting at 4 about now. But that isn't even the main thing-- the most depressing thing is that even when it's light out, you don't see the sun. The sky is just white. No blue, no discernible clouds, just white. One of my students said that living in Moscow is like living in a glass of milk, and I am inclined to agree. I'm hoping to maybe get a plant light while I'm at IKEA, because my cilantro plant is not doing so well, and it could perhaps double as a happy-people-light.
Tomorrow is my formal observation for my adult class-- wish me luck!!
Last weekend was kind of crazy. I spent a lot of time with my friends, including all Friday night when we were dancing at a club until the metro opened again in the morning (it's closed from 1am to 6 am)!! I figure if I'm not doing the tourist thing, at least I am getting the authentic Moscow experience. The club we usually go to has decent music (mostly British post-punk and pop from the last couple decades, but there is some variety, and there's usually a couple hours where the music's live) and has a large amount of expats there. We almost always run into other teachers that we know that we didn't show up with!
This weekend I'm looking forward to having things be much more low-key. Saturday we're having our late Thanksgiving here. I am really excited to be able to show everyone a real American Thanksgiving. We're going to have quite a mix: three Americans, two Brits, a South African, a Russian, and we're seeing about a partridge in a pear tree. I hope there are not any huge culinary disasters. We are rather limited on cooking utensils and pans, and there is no thermometer on our gas stove. We're doing a shopping run to the big grocery store (Ashan) for some last minute ingredients, as well as to IKEA for meat thermometers, pie plates, etc.
The weather here is not that cold, but it's pretty miserable. The sun is setting at 4 about now. But that isn't even the main thing-- the most depressing thing is that even when it's light out, you don't see the sun. The sky is just white. No blue, no discernible clouds, just white. One of my students said that living in Moscow is like living in a glass of milk, and I am inclined to agree. I'm hoping to maybe get a plant light while I'm at IKEA, because my cilantro plant is not doing so well, and it could perhaps double as a happy-people-light.
Tomorrow is my formal observation for my adult class-- wish me luck!!
25 November 2009
Great day!
Today was a really great day. Firstly, I found out that my new roommate is moving to a flat closer to her school, which means either I get the place to myself or my old roommates will crash here again for awhile (and I miss my old roomies). Secondly, I had my formal observation today and it went great! I haven't had my formal debriefing yet (that will be Friday), but my mentor said after the class that it went really well. She'd observed the class once before (with another teacher), and she said they were much more under control this time. However, I did cheat a bit-- I knew from talking to my old roommate what things she in particular liked and I tried to include them. I also know that she really didn't like any Russian at all to be used in the classroom, so I made a big show of having the kids repeat the English word for a lot of the Russian they used.
I did have a spot of bad news-- I found out that I'll have to have an observation for an adult class as well (Which is annoying, but makes sense. At least my adult group seems to like me.) , and I found out that my 2-to-1 class want another teacher. No word on why. Which is really what irritates me about it-- I mean, they are paying an arm and a leg for semi-private classes, they deserve to have a teacher they really hit it off with. But there's no way I can learn from it, or find out what they wanted, if no one gives me any reasons.
But back to the good-- I went to the expensive grocery store near here and found cornmeal and a decent sized turkey! The turkey was pretty expensive though-- 700 rubles for a 3 kg bird (which is about $24 for 6.6 lbs of turkey in real people units), but whatever, it's Thanksgiving. I just need to find a pie pan and sweet potatoes and I think we'll have everything we need for the meal!
I did have a spot of bad news-- I found out that I'll have to have an observation for an adult class as well (Which is annoying, but makes sense. At least my adult group seems to like me.) , and I found out that my 2-to-1 class want another teacher. No word on why. Which is really what irritates me about it-- I mean, they are paying an arm and a leg for semi-private classes, they deserve to have a teacher they really hit it off with. But there's no way I can learn from it, or find out what they wanted, if no one gives me any reasons.
But back to the good-- I went to the expensive grocery store near here and found cornmeal and a decent sized turkey! The turkey was pretty expensive though-- 700 rubles for a 3 kg bird (which is about $24 for 6.6 lbs of turkey in real people units), but whatever, it's Thanksgiving. I just need to find a pie pan and sweet potatoes and I think we'll have everything we need for the meal!
22 November 2009
Had a fairly good week, even though the latter part of it was almost completely without internet. (The people I was stealing from wised up, but I managed to get an internet card so I can access the city-wide Beeline wifi. Unfortunately, it's super slow. Still trying to get my own real internet!) A friend of mine had a birthday on Thursday, so we went out and had a rather late night, which involved getting sushi at 3 am. All-night sushi places are a brilliant invention. There were about 7 of us-- I am meeting more and more teachers, but I seem to be mostly hanging out with a kind of core group consisting of my orientation friends plus a couple others occasionally. They're really great people and we have fun. I guess what I'm saying is that I feel like I have actual friends here.
Wednesday my new roommate came. She's nice, and we get along okay, but I don't think we have too much in common. Plus, I miss my former roommates. But I will be seeing them for Thanksgiving (and my orientation friends will be coming too-- I'm really excited! Hopefully we can find all the things we need).
Friday there was a bit of an adventure because our door broke. By broke I mean it was impossible to open, and I was on the outside and needed things that were on the inside. So I had to teach a class without my lesson plan. The accommodations manager sent the repairmen by, but of course they didn't look at the door at all until I came home from class. I think they assumed all they needed to do was show the stupid American how to open a door. But of course they couldn't open it either, and so they went ahead and tried to pry it open with a screwdriver. That didn't work, so they got a power drill. But of course there was no outlet in the hallway, so they attached wires to the prongs on the plug and attached the other ends into the fuse box thingy. Oh Russians, you're so crazy.
Finally took some pictures of my apartment & uploaded my fall leaves pictures, but I'm having some problems uploading them to blogger. In the meantime, you can see my pictures at my flickr.
Wednesday my new roommate came. She's nice, and we get along okay, but I don't think we have too much in common. Plus, I miss my former roommates. But I will be seeing them for Thanksgiving (and my orientation friends will be coming too-- I'm really excited! Hopefully we can find all the things we need).
Friday there was a bit of an adventure because our door broke. By broke I mean it was impossible to open, and I was on the outside and needed things that were on the inside. So I had to teach a class without my lesson plan. The accommodations manager sent the repairmen by, but of course they didn't look at the door at all until I came home from class. I think they assumed all they needed to do was show the stupid American how to open a door. But of course they couldn't open it either, and so they went ahead and tried to pry it open with a screwdriver. That didn't work, so they got a power drill. But of course there was no outlet in the hallway, so they attached wires to the prongs on the plug and attached the other ends into the fuse box thingy. Oh Russians, you're so crazy.
Finally took some pictures of my apartment & uploaded my fall leaves pictures, but I'm having some problems uploading them to blogger. In the meantime, you can see my pictures at my flickr.
14 November 2009
An open letter to Moscow
Dear Moscow,
It's been going really great for us the past month or so. I think we've been getting along very well and I'm enjoying getting to know you. I haven't really even had much culture shock. So I kind of thought that by now I knew what I was getting into, and there wouldn't be any more surprises.
That is, until I woke up this morning with no hot water. I mean, I needed a shower so I was a little peeved. But hey, you're Russia. I did expect a little more from you, being Moscow, but I wasn't overly surprised. I was, however, surprised and appalled when the water came back on and it was brown and rather smelly. I expect such things from Vladimir, Moscow, but not from you. You're the capitol city! First world! I liked knowing that in a pinch, I could drink water right out of the faucet and not get giardia. But now there is no way in hell I am drinking anything that comes out of that faucet without filtering and boiling the crap out of it first. You have betrayed my trust. And I warn you, you pull anything else like this and we are through.
...Moscow? Where are you going? Oh, come on baby, you know I didn't mean it. You just make me so angry sometimes, and you know how I say things when I'm angry. I'll never leave you.
...At least not until my contract's up.
love, Erica
It's been going really great for us the past month or so. I think we've been getting along very well and I'm enjoying getting to know you. I haven't really even had much culture shock. So I kind of thought that by now I knew what I was getting into, and there wouldn't be any more surprises.
That is, until I woke up this morning with no hot water. I mean, I needed a shower so I was a little peeved. But hey, you're Russia. I did expect a little more from you, being Moscow, but I wasn't overly surprised. I was, however, surprised and appalled when the water came back on and it was brown and rather smelly. I expect such things from Vladimir, Moscow, but not from you. You're the capitol city! First world! I liked knowing that in a pinch, I could drink water right out of the faucet and not get giardia. But now there is no way in hell I am drinking anything that comes out of that faucet without filtering and boiling the crap out of it first. You have betrayed my trust. And I warn you, you pull anything else like this and we are through.
...Moscow? Where are you going? Oh, come on baby, you know I didn't mean it. You just make me so angry sometimes, and you know how I say things when I'm angry. I'll never leave you.
...At least not until my contract's up.
love, Erica
08 November 2009
Swine flu and other fun times
So, there is a huge (and I mean huge) flu outbreak in Moscow right now (probably swine flu, but of course the news articles I've seen are all either totally scare mongering or else saying it's "Acute Respiratory Infection" and not even a proper flu, so who really knows). Dozens of kids were sick at camp. They actually ran out of some medicines. They shone their crazy "disinfecting" light all over the camp building. They've shut down the Moscow school systems and some universities. The city of Kiev is quarantining people. When you go on the metro there's people in face masks everywhere. It's really crazy.
So basically, what I'm saying is, the reason I haven't posted in awhile is because I am also sick. (Of course I am, because I have a crappy immune system and crappier luck.) I was really, really sick last week at camp-- I had a fever of 101.5 F at one point and couldn't sleep due to my sore throat and hot flashes/chills. I think it may have been swine flu? I haven't worked since last Thursday (that night was my bad fever), though I'm thinking I may go back tomorrow. Monday the company doctor came to look at me. He said that I probably had the flu before, but by that point I was over the flu and had bronchitis instead (which I often get after a bad flu or cold, so that makes total sense). It was a little weird to have a house visit from a doctor, because he wasn't wearing a lab coat, just this kitschy Caribbean tourist T-shirt, and just examined me in my kitchen so it felt a bit sketchy. He prescribed a couple medicines to "make [my] phlegm more liquid" and also this Vietnamese Balm stuff that is basically like Tiger Balm and Vick's Vap-o-rub had an AMAZING baby. I add it to hot water and breathe it in. And it comes in this cute little tin! Everybody is getting this stuff for a stocking stuffer this year because I am a huge fan. Yesterday I started feeling better but my head is all stopped up and I have a constant mild nosebleed that won't heal because I keep blowing my nose. Today I was woozy and nauseous in the morning (well, I say "morning" but I didn't wake up until 5 and nobody is allowed to give me shit for it because I am really sick, dammit!) but I feel a lot better now.
Although I've spent a lot of the last week either asleep or just sitting and staring off into space while feeling miserable, I did feel well enough to do a little shopping yesterday. I lost my hat at camp (and it was a really nice hat, too, so I'm kinda pissed) and left my gloves on a bus so I needed to buy new ones pretty quickly. I was able to find a hat I like alright even though it's not as nice as my original one. If the camp director doesn't find it this week I might buy the same one again, if I can find it. I mean I live in Moscow, I think it's okay to have two hats. I also went to a farmer's market, or rynok, which was awesome. They had fresh eggs, and real pumpkins (generally here you get butternut squash, which is called the same word), and a guy selling spices even had cumin!! It was so expensive though-- 300 rubles, or $10, for a little more than half the amount you generally get in the supermarket. I'm definitely bringing some back after New Year's break because this will not last me long at all. I also got a bunch of apples and the lady selling them let me try the different kinds to see which I liked best! The ones I got taste like Honeycrisp, but they're really red, so it's probably a hybrid. I also visited the ritzy supermarket near here and got pesto and marmalade (anything made with oranges in a Russian brand is very weak/watered down, so imports are the way to go on that front) and real lettuce! They also had a lot of pre-made salads, as well as aspic. (So if you want to try it, come visit me and I'll get you some! :p) Anyway, I made some onion jam (which is delicious, and you can get the recipe here -- it sounds weird, but try it, really) and had awesome apple/lettuce/cheese/onion jam sandwiches. This weekend's culinary adventure will, of course, be tacos.
Anyway, back to camp. Even though I was really sick, I really enjoyed it. I want to work there for the spring session if possible, and definitely over the summer. The counselors were really awesome-- they're generally college kids, mostly from Vladimir (where I studied last time), who need a bit of cash and do not have the biological imperative for sleep. Most of them don't know English (or at least not much), so it was a really good way to practice my Russian in a very low-key, low-pressure environment. (I always get a bit nervous when using Russian at the grocery store or something because I feel like I'm inconveniencing people with my crappy Russian skills.) I was really proud of myself that I was able to hold an actual conversation with the music teacher, and actually talk about topics I was interested in, like movies and music. The only problem I really ran into was when I was trying to explain the concept of "hyperliterate lyrics" but apparently when I described it, it sounded like a bad thing. I was kind of standing up for American music, so clearly for next time I need to practice the guitar and learn some good hyperliterate music to show that my country's music is more than Britney Spears and that ilk. (In related news, I plan on buying a super cheap, crappy guitar to use for the next year and then sell to another teacher who may want a crappy guitar while they're in Russia.) Anyway, it was really great meeting and hanging out with Russians, and a couple of them offered to do a language practice exchange type thing with me if I come back in the spring/summer. Oh, and speaking of language practice, one of the other teachers has a Moldovan roommate who apparently is a shopaholic and therefore always needs money, so I may have found a way to get Romanian lessons!!
There's much more about camp (as well as crazy Russian medical practices) but I feel this is a bit long already, so... more later, perhaps?
So basically, what I'm saying is, the reason I haven't posted in awhile is because I am also sick. (Of course I am, because I have a crappy immune system and crappier luck.) I was really, really sick last week at camp-- I had a fever of 101.5 F at one point and couldn't sleep due to my sore throat and hot flashes/chills. I think it may have been swine flu? I haven't worked since last Thursday (that night was my bad fever), though I'm thinking I may go back tomorrow. Monday the company doctor came to look at me. He said that I probably had the flu before, but by that point I was over the flu and had bronchitis instead (which I often get after a bad flu or cold, so that makes total sense). It was a little weird to have a house visit from a doctor, because he wasn't wearing a lab coat, just this kitschy Caribbean tourist T-shirt, and just examined me in my kitchen so it felt a bit sketchy. He prescribed a couple medicines to "make [my] phlegm more liquid" and also this Vietnamese Balm stuff that is basically like Tiger Balm and Vick's Vap-o-rub had an AMAZING baby. I add it to hot water and breathe it in. And it comes in this cute little tin! Everybody is getting this stuff for a stocking stuffer this year because I am a huge fan. Yesterday I started feeling better but my head is all stopped up and I have a constant mild nosebleed that won't heal because I keep blowing my nose. Today I was woozy and nauseous in the morning (well, I say "morning" but I didn't wake up until 5 and nobody is allowed to give me shit for it because I am really sick, dammit!) but I feel a lot better now.
Although I've spent a lot of the last week either asleep or just sitting and staring off into space while feeling miserable, I did feel well enough to do a little shopping yesterday. I lost my hat at camp (and it was a really nice hat, too, so I'm kinda pissed) and left my gloves on a bus so I needed to buy new ones pretty quickly. I was able to find a hat I like alright even though it's not as nice as my original one. If the camp director doesn't find it this week I might buy the same one again, if I can find it. I mean I live in Moscow, I think it's okay to have two hats. I also went to a farmer's market, or rynok, which was awesome. They had fresh eggs, and real pumpkins (generally here you get butternut squash, which is called the same word), and a guy selling spices even had cumin!! It was so expensive though-- 300 rubles, or $10, for a little more than half the amount you generally get in the supermarket. I'm definitely bringing some back after New Year's break because this will not last me long at all. I also got a bunch of apples and the lady selling them let me try the different kinds to see which I liked best! The ones I got taste like Honeycrisp, but they're really red, so it's probably a hybrid. I also visited the ritzy supermarket near here and got pesto and marmalade (anything made with oranges in a Russian brand is very weak/watered down, so imports are the way to go on that front) and real lettuce! They also had a lot of pre-made salads, as well as aspic. (So if you want to try it, come visit me and I'll get you some! :p) Anyway, I made some onion jam (which is delicious, and you can get the recipe here -- it sounds weird, but try it, really) and had awesome apple/lettuce/cheese/onion jam sandwiches. This weekend's culinary adventure will, of course, be tacos.
Anyway, back to camp. Even though I was really sick, I really enjoyed it. I want to work there for the spring session if possible, and definitely over the summer. The counselors were really awesome-- they're generally college kids, mostly from Vladimir (where I studied last time), who need a bit of cash and do not have the biological imperative for sleep. Most of them don't know English (or at least not much), so it was a really good way to practice my Russian in a very low-key, low-pressure environment. (I always get a bit nervous when using Russian at the grocery store or something because I feel like I'm inconveniencing people with my crappy Russian skills.) I was really proud of myself that I was able to hold an actual conversation with the music teacher, and actually talk about topics I was interested in, like movies and music. The only problem I really ran into was when I was trying to explain the concept of "hyperliterate lyrics" but apparently when I described it, it sounded like a bad thing. I was kind of standing up for American music, so clearly for next time I need to practice the guitar and learn some good hyperliterate music to show that my country's music is more than Britney Spears and that ilk. (In related news, I plan on buying a super cheap, crappy guitar to use for the next year and then sell to another teacher who may want a crappy guitar while they're in Russia.) Anyway, it was really great meeting and hanging out with Russians, and a couple of them offered to do a language practice exchange type thing with me if I come back in the spring/summer. Oh, and speaking of language practice, one of the other teachers has a Moldovan roommate who apparently is a shopaholic and therefore always needs money, so I may have found a way to get Romanian lessons!!
There's much more about camp (as well as crazy Russian medical practices) but I feel this is a bit long already, so... more later, perhaps?
02 November 2009
Camp!
Thanks everyone for your words of support last week. My feelings about teaching have been really up and down the past week or so (especially with the bad cold I had) and you guys made me feel better. :) (Of course, then I went online to our company's teachers' forum and everyone was bitching about a million different things... I just wanted to ask "Does anybody actually LIKE working here?")
Anyway. We arrived at camp yesterday afternoon. The place is amazing! It's in an old Soviet sanatorium where the party members got to go rest. Our rooms are small, but really nice. We each get our own bathrooms. The place is huge and it's really easy to get lost in. Apparently in the summer it's completely filled with kids, but now we only have ~150. The counselors are amazing; I don't know how they do it. They're with the kids all the time except during their lessons (only 1 and a half hours a day). Most of them don't know any English, so it's a really good opportunity to practice my Russian. Only one of the other teachers knows much Russian at all, and his is fairly limited, so I'm kind of the group's unofficial translator.
I was told the food was not that great, and for lunch that's certainly true. But breakfast and dinner are amazing! Breakfast was fried eggs, and cold & hot cereal, and lots of juices, and dried fruits, and omlets, and syrniki (little tasty cheese things), and smoked salmon, and crepes... it was so good. The main courses for dinner are pretty boring (basically pasta and bland sauce plus some sort of meat thing) but they have a full spread of Russian salads that were really great. I would get so fat if I stayed here a long time-- we also have afternoon tea and nightly milk & cookies. (There is also chocolate butter to put on your cookies-- I am not even kidding).
I had hoped to take a lot of pictures of the place, but the batteries in my camera are dead and I don't even know if Russia has AA batteries. The other American here doesn't have any, and I don't know if they use them in Britain. I'll see what I can find.
My kids are pretty great so far-- way more well behaved than I was afraid they would be. Even my youngest group was quiet! I haven't had my teens yet, so we'll see how that goes. My intermediate group know quite a lot, and my youngest group don't know much at all, so I can't use the same materials as much as I would have liked. The one thing that I'm worried about is that I was told that I'll have my informal and formal observations this week. Which isn't really fair, as most people have been teaching ~6 weeks before they have the formal observation. Also I won't have had the kids as long, and they'll be wound up since it's camp, and there's no book to follow. Also I won't be able to take my lesson plans to the workshop and get help with them, or have the resources normally available. Normally I'd think that they'd cut me some slack because of these things, but since they didn't pass my roommate (who now has to either go home or go teach in a small town) I'm thinking they really want to get rid of some teachers and it would be so easy to fail me this week. I'm trying to kiss a bit of ass and make myself super useful so that the camp director will go easy on me, but she's the type where it's really hard to tell whether she likes me or not. Wish me luck!
Anyway. We arrived at camp yesterday afternoon. The place is amazing! It's in an old Soviet sanatorium where the party members got to go rest. Our rooms are small, but really nice. We each get our own bathrooms. The place is huge and it's really easy to get lost in. Apparently in the summer it's completely filled with kids, but now we only have ~150. The counselors are amazing; I don't know how they do it. They're with the kids all the time except during their lessons (only 1 and a half hours a day). Most of them don't know any English, so it's a really good opportunity to practice my Russian. Only one of the other teachers knows much Russian at all, and his is fairly limited, so I'm kind of the group's unofficial translator.
I was told the food was not that great, and for lunch that's certainly true. But breakfast and dinner are amazing! Breakfast was fried eggs, and cold & hot cereal, and lots of juices, and dried fruits, and omlets, and syrniki (little tasty cheese things), and smoked salmon, and crepes... it was so good. The main courses for dinner are pretty boring (basically pasta and bland sauce plus some sort of meat thing) but they have a full spread of Russian salads that were really great. I would get so fat if I stayed here a long time-- we also have afternoon tea and nightly milk & cookies. (There is also chocolate butter to put on your cookies-- I am not even kidding).
I had hoped to take a lot of pictures of the place, but the batteries in my camera are dead and I don't even know if Russia has AA batteries. The other American here doesn't have any, and I don't know if they use them in Britain. I'll see what I can find.
My kids are pretty great so far-- way more well behaved than I was afraid they would be. Even my youngest group was quiet! I haven't had my teens yet, so we'll see how that goes. My intermediate group know quite a lot, and my youngest group don't know much at all, so I can't use the same materials as much as I would have liked. The one thing that I'm worried about is that I was told that I'll have my informal and formal observations this week. Which isn't really fair, as most people have been teaching ~6 weeks before they have the formal observation. Also I won't have had the kids as long, and they'll be wound up since it's camp, and there's no book to follow. Also I won't be able to take my lesson plans to the workshop and get help with them, or have the resources normally available. Normally I'd think that they'd cut me some slack because of these things, but since they didn't pass my roommate (who now has to either go home or go teach in a small town) I'm thinking they really want to get rid of some teachers and it would be so easy to fail me this week. I'm trying to kiss a bit of ass and make myself super useful so that the camp director will go easy on me, but she's the type where it's really hard to tell whether she likes me or not. Wish me luck!
27 October 2009
Not the greatest day
I had a nightmare last night wherein I had the class from hell and it took 40 minutes just to get them to tell me their names. I think that's the first of many teaching-related nightmares. I got up, felt like crap, and was supposed to go to a session on giving placement exams. I felt so ill that I almost threw up on the metro. I got there 5 mins late and couldn't find it. Then I had a really rough class where a ten year old kept drawing pictures of pot and vodka with slogans like "Be an alcoholic!" and I had to take them away from her. Kids kept passing notes and throwing balls of paper at each other. I got passed a note that said "Why you don't like vodka? It would make you happy." The kids were upset that I didn't let them play the game I promised if they all finished their assignment, even though half of them refused to do it. They drew me on the whiteboard with angry eyebrows. Then I had to walk to the metro station at 9 in the pouring rain, and of course I didn't have my umbrella. Also, I hadn't had time to eat any proper food all day until just now (it's midnight) and the hallways in the school smelled like delicious food. It was torture. The smell in the toilet, however, was literally gag-inducing. In short, I am tired, sick, cold, and wet. I wish I could go home and eat lots of tacos and sleep.
I think I may call in sick tomorrow.
I think I may call in sick tomorrow.
25 October 2009
First full week of teaching!
Sorry I've been bad about posting, but it's been extremely stressful and my internet connection is pretty crap. They took away the classes I was going to teach, so I have no regularly scheduled classes now. I've had to teach cover classes (i.e. be a substitute teacher) all last week, usually with very short notice-- sometimes as little as 4 hours. I'll be doing the same this week, but luckily I already know what classes I'm teaching. It was really stressful, but doable. No nervous breakdowns yet, hurrah! I had good groups my first day, which I'm really glad for. After that though, I've been having a bunch of really little kids-- 7 to 9 year olds. Have I ever mentioned that I hate kids that little? I do much better with middle school aged or older. Y'know, ones that have an attention span longer than 5 minutes, and I don't have to spend all my time stopping them from hiding around the room, or stopping Sasha from kicking Vova all the time. Or stopping the one kid who was cutting his own freaking hair. Wtf. No wonder there's such a high burnout rate with teachers. Tomorrow I have to teach two classes of little kids, and a group of "juniors," or middle-school-ish aged kids. I usually like the latter, but this particular group is really big and ranges from like 9 or so to 13 or so. It's pretty impossible to find something they are all willing to do. Right now I'm not scheduled for classes on Friday, which I hope remains the case because this last week I was so worn out by Thursday night that I could not have taught any more. It's especially tiring because they're all evening/night classes and they're on the other side of the city, so I never got home before 11.
This weekend was good. I just relaxed Friday, and then Saturday I went with my roommates to find this yarn store that was part of the Moscow Woolen Yarn Factory. It was huge. And awesome. I bought lots of cheap yarn-- it was about 2$ a skein. I am working on making an afghan because my thin blanket will not be enough as it gets colder. (I also really need a hat. And possibly galoshes if it stays this rainy, which my students told me it would.) Then I went to a concert with my orientation buddies and we all crashed at one of their places. His flat has a much better location than mine and is soooo much nicer. Not. Fair. The bathroom and toilet was even in the same room, which is practically unheard of in Russia. Not to mention the couches on which to crash. I wish I had couches!! I just have this smelly old chair. ::pout:: But, I did get to try Branston Pickle, and let me tell you, it really is all that Yahtzee Croshaw makes it out to be. At least on a cheese sandwich; by itself it was kind of meh. Apparently you can get it in America, but I've been warned against cheap imitation Pickle Spreads-- you really need to get the real thing.
Well, it's getting late and I am le tired. I think I'm going to start writing some during my metro commute, so hopefully there will be more posts in the future. And as soon as there's a sunny day I'll take some pictures of the neighborhood. I'll try to take some of my crappy little apartment, too-- including one of the toilet, just for you, Holly.
This weekend was good. I just relaxed Friday, and then Saturday I went with my roommates to find this yarn store that was part of the Moscow Woolen Yarn Factory. It was huge. And awesome. I bought lots of cheap yarn-- it was about 2$ a skein. I am working on making an afghan because my thin blanket will not be enough as it gets colder. (I also really need a hat. And possibly galoshes if it stays this rainy, which my students told me it would.) Then I went to a concert with my orientation buddies and we all crashed at one of their places. His flat has a much better location than mine and is soooo much nicer. Not. Fair. The bathroom and toilet was even in the same room, which is practically unheard of in Russia. Not to mention the couches on which to crash. I wish I had couches!! I just have this smelly old chair. ::pout:: But, I did get to try Branston Pickle, and let me tell you, it really is all that Yahtzee Croshaw makes it out to be. At least on a cheese sandwich; by itself it was kind of meh. Apparently you can get it in America, but I've been warned against cheap imitation Pickle Spreads-- you really need to get the real thing.
Well, it's getting late and I am le tired. I think I'm going to start writing some during my metro commute, so hopefully there will be more posts in the future. And as soon as there's a sunny day I'll take some pictures of the neighborhood. I'll try to take some of my crappy little apartment, too-- including one of the toilet, just for you, Holly.
13 October 2009
Orientation
Well, I've finished my two orientation days, and things are going pretty well here. I've made some friends (there were 6 other teachers going through orientation with me), and although I'm nervous about teaching, I feel pretty positive about everything. (I'm sure that will change come Sunday night.) My roommates are great-- they're both American and were Russian and linguistics majors. They both speak some Russian and like to practice around the house. I am worried a bit that my Russian won't improve much, so that's good. Our TV doesn't work, and that's how I picked up a lot of Russian last time-- I think I might buy some Russian DVDs. Also I can't start Russian classes yet because I don't have all my hours and I might end up with a conflicting class-- which I really hope doesn't happen because I really want to take a class. If I can't take an advanced class, I might take a slightly lower level than I'm at just for practice. Or, see if I can get a tutor.
Anyway, I'm not sure how much I learned at orientation because we had a lot of people talking at us and it was a bit much to take in. But all of us have mentors who have taught awhile, and I'm going to meet with mine in a couple hours. I did make some friends at orientation, as I mentioned. I kind of think of them as "the Brits" even though one is an Afrikaner and no more British than I am. I had a couple beers with them after orientation last night and we talked a lot about all of our different accents (one of the actual Brits is English and the other Welsh so we were all pretty different in that respect). And we talked about British and American TV and they all agreed that the ending to American Life on Mars was ridiculous and lame. We also decided that our Moscow flats, with their ridiculous peeling wallpaper everywhere, were right out of the original Life on Mars.
Saturday we have our monthly seminar and then a party for the new teachers! I am excited to meet more people. I have to go to an extra seminar to prepare for a week long camp session outside of Moscow that I'm going to teach at. I volunteered for it and I'm really excited about it. It will be my rustic Russian adventure! It will be really great to see more nature, though there are a surprising number of parks around here. I'm not really a fall person, but the changing leaves on the birch trees just about takes my breath away.
I start teaching Monday. I have one group of kids, one of teens, and one of adults. I'm only teaching 11 real hours (I have no idea how many academic hours that is), thank God. They'll give me more classes as other teachers go home or they get more students. I'm pretty nervous, especially as they don't have a copy of all of the books for me to look at. But I'll talk to my mentor about it and I'm sure there will be at least a shared copy that I can Xerox some stuff out of or something.
Anyway, I'm not sure how much I learned at orientation because we had a lot of people talking at us and it was a bit much to take in. But all of us have mentors who have taught awhile, and I'm going to meet with mine in a couple hours. I did make some friends at orientation, as I mentioned. I kind of think of them as "the Brits" even though one is an Afrikaner and no more British than I am. I had a couple beers with them after orientation last night and we talked a lot about all of our different accents (one of the actual Brits is English and the other Welsh so we were all pretty different in that respect). And we talked about British and American TV and they all agreed that the ending to American Life on Mars was ridiculous and lame. We also decided that our Moscow flats, with their ridiculous peeling wallpaper everywhere, were right out of the original Life on Mars.
Saturday we have our monthly seminar and then a party for the new teachers! I am excited to meet more people. I have to go to an extra seminar to prepare for a week long camp session outside of Moscow that I'm going to teach at. I volunteered for it and I'm really excited about it. It will be my rustic Russian adventure! It will be really great to see more nature, though there are a surprising number of parks around here. I'm not really a fall person, but the changing leaves on the birch trees just about takes my breath away.
I start teaching Monday. I have one group of kids, one of teens, and one of adults. I'm only teaching 11 real hours (I have no idea how many academic hours that is), thank God. They'll give me more classes as other teachers go home or they get more students. I'm pretty nervous, especially as they don't have a copy of all of the books for me to look at. But I'll talk to my mentor about it and I'm sure there will be at least a shared copy that I can Xerox some stuff out of or something.
04 September 2009
Getting ready to go
Well, I'm starting to get ready to go, including setting up this blog. This is not how it will end up looking; I'm going to make a new header as soon as I get a working copy of photoshop. It really hasn't sunk in that I'm going to be in Russia in less than a month. Right now I'm working on getting my visa, and let me tell you, getting a work visa to Russia is a pain in the ass. You need to fill out an application, have an official letter of invitation, get an HIV test (with a negative result, obviously), photos, etc. etc. And some questions that they ask you on the application are kind of ridiculous. Like, list everywhere you've ever worked. List all professional, civil, or charity organizations you are involved in. Oh, and also, are you a drug addict? Does anyone actually answer yes to that question?
Anyhow, I'll be working in Moscow, but I'm not sure where exactly in the city I'll be living or working. The company pays my rent and utilities, which is pretty sweet. I will have a roommate who is also an employee. I'm a little worried because Moscow's supposed to be such an expensive city, but with rent out of the way I think it will be totally doable. I'll be working 30 hours a week, and teaching for I think 24 of those? I'll be teaching mostly older teenagers, college-aged kids, and young professionals, but they also have some classes for very young kids and various businesses hire teachers to come to their companies, so really I could be teaching all ages. They'll pay 50% of the cost for Russian lessons, too, which is cool. It really is a sweet gig. Most of my coworkers will be British, and I'll be teaching British English, so that will be interesting. Oh, and I get 25 paid vacation days, so everyone is going to come visit me and travel around Russia with me, right? Right?
Anyhow, I'll be working in Moscow, but I'm not sure where exactly in the city I'll be living or working. The company pays my rent and utilities, which is pretty sweet. I will have a roommate who is also an employee. I'm a little worried because Moscow's supposed to be such an expensive city, but with rent out of the way I think it will be totally doable. I'll be working 30 hours a week, and teaching for I think 24 of those? I'll be teaching mostly older teenagers, college-aged kids, and young professionals, but they also have some classes for very young kids and various businesses hire teachers to come to their companies, so really I could be teaching all ages. They'll pay 50% of the cost for Russian lessons, too, which is cool. It really is a sweet gig. Most of my coworkers will be British, and I'll be teaching British English, so that will be interesting. Oh, and I get 25 paid vacation days, so everyone is going to come visit me and travel around Russia with me, right? Right?
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