Halfway

I cant believe it is already mid October! The halfway point has arrived! It took its sweet time getting here though, that’s for sure. Unfortunately today is the last day of our vacation. Or should I say “staycation”. We were given a week off from teaching. We discussed leaving the country, maybe visiting Latvia. But we have been so busy these past 6 weeks that we haven’t had time to explore Moscow, our home for 4 months. So instead of leaving, we took the opportunity to relax and see the sites of our city. 

The highlight of my week was going to this HUGE market, twice! This place was amazing. First of all, the location was beautiful. I guess this place was used during the Olympics as a hotel for all their many foreign guests. Now it is a huge market full of souvenirs, clothing, and other goods.  I may have got a few things :) I also got mistaken for a Russian vendor. An Asian man was looking at this hideous painting, turned to me and asked “skulka?”  I looked at him funny, and he asked again “skulka?” I then responded, “I am not a Russian, this isn’t my stand.” I don’t think he understood the words, but he got the idea and said “oh sowwwie!” and walked away. Well at least we know I blend in!

One of the days we spent walking all around this part of town. First we went to a women’s convent, (where nuns live), and we just looked at it from the outside because we were too scared to go in. Then we went to the huge sports arena area. The soccer field was there, along with 30 blocks of other sports related facilities. A huge area dedicated to sports. It was pretty cool. I’m hoping one of these days we will be able to go watch a futbol game!!  Next we went into the middle of the city to the old Arbat street. It was really cool! It’s a brick road lined with shops and restaurants, street vendors, and traveled by many. And there was a Wendy’s!! We ate there :)

It is really beginning to get freezing cold here. I really sucked at packing. I didin’t bring any boots or a warm enough coat! I told myself I would just get those things while I was here. So I have had my eye out for a coat and some boots. 6 weeks later, and I finally found what I needed! Now im cozy.

Back to work tomorrow. But I am actually excited. We only have 2 weeks until our cruise! Then after the cruise we only have 2 weeks of teaching until our next vacation! And then after that vacation we only have 3 more weeks until I come home.

Don’t get me wrong, I love it here. But being away from home for this long makes me think of all the things I want to do when I get back. I submitted my application to University of Washington Tacoma. So hopefully that works out. I do miss my mom and dad. Distance sure does make the heart grow fonder. 

OH! I cant believe I forgot to mention the CIRCUS!! Last weekend we went to the Moscow circus! It was the happiest time of my life! I had never been to the circus before, which might explain my excitement. It was great, so great.

                                                       

                                                   

                                                   

                                                   

                                                     

                                                             

In russia, the radio listens to you

07:30               wake up

08:00               leave the apartment

09:45               arrive at school

10:00               eat breakfast (GROOLE & cheesebread & noodles)

10:30               teaching in the Kindergarten

12:45               lunch (soup & meat & a starchy substance)

13:15               plan future lessons & wait

16:00               teach in the elementary

17:30               dinner (lunch, minus the soup)

18:00               leave school

20:00               arrive at our apartment

This is what our schedule looks like on most days. I’ll be honest. It is quite exhausting. We are working an average of 56 hours a week. But, its good for me right? You can imagine with a schedule like this it has been hard to update my blog.

We have been teaching in the elementary school level for 2 weeks. The kids we teach are between the age of 7 & 10 and have a small background in English. We use a totally different method of teaching than we have been using in the kindergarten. We are actually teaching school subjects like math, science, and language arts to them IN English.  The kids are great! I like teaching them because they understand me. They seem to get bored fast, but we are quick on our toes and so something stupid to catch their attention. I’m pretty sure they all think I’m crazy. I am OK with that. I am excited to watch them learn and grow in the English language.

Last Wednesday was our first day at the University. We will be teaching there once a week. It is a very fun commute! We get on the metro that heads towards the city. And let me tell you- if you have ever been in a crowded place, think again, and come to Moscow metro stations near the city. At 8:00am EVERYONE and their moms are using the metro. It was insane!! I was literally picked up and moved aside twice by some handsy fools. Apparently I am too slow and in the way. You have to squeeze yourself onto the metro. And a couple of times we lost part of our group because they couldn’t squeeze on before the doors closed. It was a fun experience to have and I will be having it every week now.

My group is teaching a small class at the university and we were able to meet them on Wednesday.  It is a group of 4 girls, all our age. On our first day they served us tea and cake as we talked about our families and where we were from. The girls are so nice! I am excited to get to know them better and be able to help them better their English. All of them are already fluent, but they need to work on their spontaneous speech, which is what us Americanskies are for. We told them how in america people smile and nod or maybe even wave to strangers on the street. Compared to Russians, Americans are very nice socialites. They told us that if we did that in Russia, people would probably just assume we are drunk! We shared a few laughs and sipped our tea. It was a good day. They are sweet girls, and I am hoping that in the end we will be friends.

I am physically and mentally exhausted. This past month has been full of surprises twists & turns and ups & downs. There are moments when I ask myself why I signed up for this, and then there are times when I am thankful for this amazing experience.

I am still waiting for the day where everything runs smoothly and I am able to rest easy.  I came into this expecting some hiccups, but the hiccups wont stop. It has been a challenge but I know that by the end of it I will have grown in so many different ways. Just trying to stay positive and enjoy my time with the students- that is all I can do.

The leaves are changing and falling like snowflakes.

Its getting colder.

I need a coat.

Haiku?