For the first time in my ENTIRE life, I am the first one awake on Christmas morning. I have expected at least my father to meander into the living room since 7am, but still I only hear snoring. I can imagine this is due to the CHAOS of the last 40 or so hours!
Here is how it all went down:
December 23rd, 6:30am – my nice taxi driver took me to the Shodnenskaya metro. After lugging my heavy suitcase into the trunk, he asked, “Russian Vodka?” and we laughed together.
12:30pm –boarded my flight from Moscow to D.C. GOT A WINDOW seat. Stayed awake the entire time, and often caught myself smiling of pure joy, at the thought of being home, at the fun of travel, of the beautiful sun out my window…
3:00pm, D.C. time – arrival into the U.S.!! sailed my way through customs, quickly picked up a peppermint mocha from starbucks, and became quickly amazed at how FANCY and English-speaking this country is...talked to beautiful voices on my AMERICAN cell phone and became overly hyper/slap happy due to lack of sleep and sugary coffee.
7:30pm – departed across the country. Pulled down my eye-cover dealy, plugged my ears with music, and dozed off for the next 5 hours, completely missing all snack/beverage services!
10:30pm (STILL DECEMBER 23RD) –LANDED into PDX, made my way quickly off that plane, down and around, and INTO THE ARMS of: Aimee, Mother, Jeremy, Father, Micaella, and Kylie. Yes, my family managed to make a gigantic scene in the middle of that peaceful airport by screaming my name and holding up a huge sign that said in both English and Russian (go, sis!): “Welcome Home, Hezer!” we chatted and laughed and loved each other as we awaited my suitcase, then I had to part from Kylie and Micaella, who had both left half-drunk beers and pizza at a pub where they were hanging with friends. My family fought our way through the streets of Portland, looking for any food available. We found IHOP, and I consumed way too many chocolate chip pancakes plus hashbrowns and whatever else my family gave me…
1:30am – we made our way south, through lots of fog and weary eyes.
6:30am – HOME SWEET HOME.
Whew. That was one LONGGGG day! I then proceeded to sleep for 10 hours, then wake up in time to eat delicious food with my family and head out to the annual Christmas Pageant, where my pastor’s daughter starred as Joseph!!! I was so proud of her…if the men don’t step up, you’ve gotta take over! ;)
Last night, my family suggested I take something to help me sleep. I said confidently, “I don’t suffer from jet-lag!” uh-huh. Hello, 3:30am, when I lay in my bed with my eyes open, wondering what to do. Well, I’ve been awake for five hours now, hanging out with my cats and dogs, and I seriously CAN’T WAIT for someone to come play with me and drink coffee and eat something great…
MERRY CHRISTMAS, world!!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Dreams of home…
In EIGHT DAYS I will hop on a plane and get out of this freezing country, only to find my way to another freezing place. :) ha, it’s funny how that works out. However, the difference is that I will be leaving beautiful people who hardly know me and finding my way back into my intimate community of lovers. It’s a little overwhelming, because there are sooo many people back on the West Coast whom I love so much, yet the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to be with my family, who are sacrificing a real Christmas just so they can eat “saltines and mac-n-cheese with Heather”—my sister’s words…
HOWEVER. My body and soul needs to be in Seattle, for at least 48 hours or so...The plan is to work out a brilliant scheme to see as many people as possible, and still spend tons of time with my family. Hmmmmmm. It shall be great, no matter what!
Things I’m dreaming of eating (always on my thoughts…):
*note: see, I’m mostly a vegetarian, but in Russia it’s hard to be—plus, right now chicken sounds REALLY good. SO, below list is part vegetarian, part not.
HOWEVER. My body and soul needs to be in Seattle, for at least 48 hours or so...The plan is to work out a brilliant scheme to see as many people as possible, and still spend tons of time with my family. Hmmmmmm. It shall be great, no matter what!
Things I’m dreaming of eating (always on my thoughts…):
*note: see, I’m mostly a vegetarian, but in Russia it’s hard to be—plus, right now chicken sounds REALLY good. SO, below list is part vegetarian, part not.
- NERVOUS NELLIE’S: toast with butter, cheese, and raspberry jam and an americano
- Top pot donuts: double trouble, lemon bismark, glazed old-fashioned, maple bar, and apple fritter (hopefully all at once…)
- Americanos and Vanilla Lattes—from ANYWHERE, anytime!
- Jai thai: PHAD THAI, chicken or tufu—2 stars! (or maybe 1, because my taste buds have surely adapted to the bland food here…)
- Elliot bay: chicken Caesar sub
- Copper Barrel--vanilla bean chillers
- Thai kitchen: Crab delight
- Trophy Cupcakes—triple chocolate
- Chipotle—veggie fajita burrito with black beans and guac.
- La burrito—chicken chimichanga and all the chips and salsa in the world!
- COFFEE, all the time
- All manners of baked goods, in great quantities—cookies, cakes, brownies, pizzooki, muffins, etc.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Apples and Onions
I’m going to take a small break from my personal Office: Season 6 marathon to update you all on the last week.
Highlights:
- Celebrating Thanksgiving at work, showing the Russians how it is done (actually, I think they are far better than we are at sitting around with close friends and family and eating and drinking as much as you physically can!)
- Finding Hummus in the local седмой континент and consuming it for almost every meal for the last week
- Receiving two darling packages from Miss Aimee Sibet and Miss Marion Kessler—you better believe I rushed to apply Burt’s Bees to my lips and place brand-new bobby pins all over my hair (I have also scarfed down all signs of chocolate…)
- Receiving a “Happy Birthday” balloon from my star student with zebras and monkeys on it. She said, “I know your birthday isn’t until December 22nd, but I thought of you and had to get it!” ahhh.
- And…having a big Thanksgiving bash with all of our closest American/Russian friends here. I believe there were 17 of us, and my flatmates and I got dressed up to host. Instead of turkey we had chicken, instead of sweet potatoes we had pelmeni, and instead of wine we had vodka. GOOD TIMES.
- Feeling constantly emotionally unstable for some reason or another, and realizing that most of my stability lies in my bestest friends and family who are VERY far away from me right now. booooo.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Victory in Teaching Day!
At the very end of my teen class, one of my students abruptly left the classroom, only to come right back. All the others were acting funny, and one of them was talking to me super fast—obviously trying to distract me from something. Then, they stood in a little semi-circle, told me they had something for me, and made me close my eyes and hold out my hands. (At first I thought they were going to put a hamster in my hand, as one of the students had her hamster with her today, oddly enough!) BUT, instead of a hamster, it was an adorable little bear knick-knack, and a GREAT card, on which they wrote me the most precious message in the whole world.
(In case you can't read it, it says, "From the moment you become our teacher, our lives changed for the better...we love you very much and want to be wish us forever."
Now, I am not one to cry over sentimental times, so no tears came, but it was pretty close. My heart was bursting, and I gave each of my darling girls a big hug. Now, the bad part was: I had just finished report cards for them to take home to their parents! So, I followed that brilliant display of affection with grades for their parents to see…OOPS!
Take THAT, discouragements of last week! :)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Anecdote from Afar
Today I haven’t enough energy for a big post, but I would like to share with you, my readers about my most treasured memory as of late:
Yesterday in class, I told my teenagers I miss them when they don’t come to class (this is ½ true, and ½ my evil plan to motivate them to come to class all the time…). Then one of my favies said, “I miss you too! Tonight at dinner I told my mother that I wanted to go to English class!” ahhhh. What a little cutie! (So, my students actually WANT to come to my classes...yessssss)
This little nicety came at a PERFECT time, because the previous day was a rough one! I have been getting really easily discouraged lately, about all sorts of things (but especially teaching!) So, it’s sooo nice to hear these little words of encouragement from my adorable little teens!
Well, that’s my cute Russian student story for tonight…
Goodnight, my darling internet friends!
Yesterday in class, I told my teenagers I miss them when they don’t come to class (this is ½ true, and ½ my evil plan to motivate them to come to class all the time…). Then one of my favies said, “I miss you too! Tonight at dinner I told my mother that I wanted to go to English class!” ahhhh. What a little cutie! (So, my students actually WANT to come to my classes...yessssss)
This little nicety came at a PERFECT time, because the previous day was a rough one! I have been getting really easily discouraged lately, about all sorts of things (but especially teaching!) So, it’s sooo nice to hear these little words of encouragement from my adorable little teens!
Well, that’s my cute Russian student story for tonight…
Goodnight, my darling internet friends!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
It's Starbucks/Snow Time in the City!
Last Wednesday, my lovely flatmates and I headed to Starry Arbot, where they have TWO Starbucks, plus loads of cool shops and restaurants. We had a beautiful evening wandering around and looking at souvenirs. To cap it off, we headed inside this little beauty of a shop: 
Okay, yes, I call myself a Seattle-ite. BUT, I am not into the Starbucks in the U.S. I would choose almost any coffeeshop over going to Starbucks. HOWEVER, being at Starbucks was exactly the comforting environment that I needed. I may have actually said at one point, "this is my favorite place in Moscow..." EEEK. So much for experiencing the culture...BUT. Check out our awesome paper cups with our names in Russian...SO worth the $6 or $7 I paid for my vanilla latte...
Here you see Carolyn, me, and Jenny enjoying our lattes...what good times and delicious drinks!
On the bus ride home, Carolyn and I felt so tired plus brave that we hopped right up on the side of the Metro train. We did get some funny looks from Muscovites, but at least it made for a cute picture...
On Friday, it snowed buckets on us. Carolyn and I thought it was so beautiful, so we went out for an evening walk. Here you see our little street lined with snow!
Well, that's it for today, my friends! Enjoy.
Okay, yes, I call myself a Seattle-ite. BUT, I am not into the Starbucks in the U.S. I would choose almost any coffeeshop over going to Starbucks. HOWEVER, being at Starbucks was exactly the comforting environment that I needed. I may have actually said at one point, "this is my favorite place in Moscow..." EEEK. So much for experiencing the culture...BUT. Check out our awesome paper cups with our names in Russian...SO worth the $6 or $7 I paid for my vanilla latte...
Here you see Carolyn, me, and Jenny enjoying our lattes...what good times and delicious drinks!On the bus ride home, Carolyn and I felt so tired plus brave that we hopped right up on the side of the Metro train. We did get some funny looks from Muscovites, but at least it made for a cute picture...On Friday, it snowed buckets on us. Carolyn and I thought it was so beautiful, so we went out for an evening walk. Here you see our little street lined with snow!
Well, that's it for today, my friends! Enjoy. Wednesday, November 4, 2009
National Unity Day / Victory Day????
Well, Well. Two posts in one day. I make myself proud...
It's currently about noon, and I'm typing away at my little Ikea desk in my room in my flat. Here in Russia, it's a national holiday! What holiday? Well, it turns out that everyone I ask about it is confused, which is understandable. I just did a little websearch for November 4th, and apparently today is a mix between a celebration of the October Revolution and a celebration of all of the peoples of Russia uniting to preserve their country, without even needing a czar to help them. This holiday is new, as of 2005, and it is so confusing that they had to make a movie to show all of Russia what is being celebrated. *Phew*
Whatever. I get the day off, and that's all that really matters!
My flatmates and I are currently cleaning our rooms and studying Russian, to celebrate productivity on this national holiday! Later we are heading into the city to waltz around and meet up with some friends for sushi.
Things that have happened since I last posted:
It's currently about noon, and I'm typing away at my little Ikea desk in my room in my flat. Here in Russia, it's a national holiday! What holiday? Well, it turns out that everyone I ask about it is confused, which is understandable. I just did a little websearch for November 4th, and apparently today is a mix between a celebration of the October Revolution and a celebration of all of the peoples of Russia uniting to preserve their country, without even needing a czar to help them. This holiday is new, as of 2005, and it is so confusing that they had to make a movie to show all of Russia what is being celebrated. *Phew*
Whatever. I get the day off, and that's all that really matters!
My flatmates and I are currently cleaning our rooms and studying Russian, to celebrate productivity on this national holiday! Later we are heading into the city to waltz around and meet up with some friends for sushi.
Things that have happened since I last posted:
- Halloween. We had a big party for our students, and I dressed as a politically-incorrect (in the U.S.) GYPSY -- a.k.a. цыганка (thank you Marion for the idea!). Here you see me with a few of my lovely teenage students! We also had a big teachers-extended-friends party in Mitishi, which was INTERESTING to say the least...
- Sarah's birthday.
Now, this was a big adventure in the center of Moscow. It included DELECTABLE 
Georgian food
, AND the world's biggest ice cream sundae (a.k.a. the KITCHEN SINK). This little baby had TWELVE scoops of ice cream, and every delicious topping you could ask for! Chad and I thought it would make the PERFECT birthday treat, and I think it did the job well...
We acquired the fantastic dream-boat of a sundae at the VERY American Starlite Diner. We're going back this weekend for Sunday brunch (bring it on, pancakes and eggs!)
*Thank you Sarah for these lovely pictures. I apologize for not knowing how to make them look pretty on my post.
That's all the excitement for now, folks. Enjoy, and happy Unity Day!
Why I don’t blog regularly:
- Grey’s Anatomy (I just finished season 5—and nearly died of a panic attack doing so)
- Skype (mostly Micaella Verro and Daniel Kessler, who are available to me at the times I need them)
- Tea and cookies in the kitchen with Carolyn and Jenny
- Phone calls and G-chats with Sarah and Chad
- I’d rather read other people’s blogs instead (Micaella, Beth, Sarah, Tim, Liz, Brandon)
- It’s like when you don’t talk to a person in weeks or months, then feel like you have too much to catch up on and it will be so much work to do it, that you procrastinate, therefore building up more things to catch up on…
Therefore, I now feel fully justified in being a slacker.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Is this real life?
It’s so weird to be here for six weeks, and to know this is my life for much longer. It’s good, but hard to imagine. I feel constantly disconnected from everything—I skype with people, and see their faces, but I feel like I’m stuck in space or lost in some time-vortex. I feel like it’s not real. BUT IT IS. Russia may feel like a dream, but it’s real life and it’s happening to me, and people at home are having real life too. This year will go by before I know it, and all of a sudden 10 months of this huge experience happened to me, and I missed out on 10 months of life lived with the people I love the most. I don’t know how I feel about this, but I know suddenly it’s true and I need to face it.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thoughts on a Rainy Thursday...
Hey all,
The weeks are flying by, and suddenly I've been in Russia for more than six weeks!!! That is the total amount of time I was here last time!
I have been trying to make the most of everything lately, because I realize before I know it it will be December and I will look back on my first THREE MONTHS of living here. I sometimes feel all this pressure that it has to be good, I have to be spending my time wisely, taking every opportunity, etc.
Meanwhile, this means I haven't opened a single book I brought with me, I haven't responded to more than 1 out of 3 emails I receive, I haven't...done so many things I thought I would have time for. I find myself scatter-brained most of the time, and constantly forgetting about something.
Oh well. I'm having fun in the meantime, and teaching is progressively getting better!
I am finishing up my third week of classes, and more and more lately I have been walking away with a smile on my face. I can't help but fall in love wth many of my students--especially the teenagers. They are sooo cute and charming! My favorite 14-year old boy walked with me to the bus stop today...ah. It made my day. And my favorite teenage girl had a birthday yesterday, so she brought be a giant chocolate bar--which is traditional in Russia, but I LOVED it anyways! I love the feeling that my students and I are starting to get to know each other, and with that my confidence in teaching and discipline are growing. I do still screw things up a lot of the time, but my good teaching moments are growing daily... :)
Oh! And my flatmate Jenny and I just started taking Russian lessons from a teacher at our center. We will have lessons for an hour, three days per week. This is MUCH-needed, because as our job is to speak English, there is not much chance to learn Russian as I would have liked!
Things I miss from the U.S. right now:
The weeks are flying by, and suddenly I've been in Russia for more than six weeks!!! That is the total amount of time I was here last time!
I have been trying to make the most of everything lately, because I realize before I know it it will be December and I will look back on my first THREE MONTHS of living here. I sometimes feel all this pressure that it has to be good, I have to be spending my time wisely, taking every opportunity, etc.
Meanwhile, this means I haven't opened a single book I brought with me, I haven't responded to more than 1 out of 3 emails I receive, I haven't...done so many things I thought I would have time for. I find myself scatter-brained most of the time, and constantly forgetting about something.
Oh well. I'm having fun in the meantime, and teaching is progressively getting better!
I am finishing up my third week of classes, and more and more lately I have been walking away with a smile on my face. I can't help but fall in love wth many of my students--especially the teenagers. They are sooo cute and charming! My favorite 14-year old boy walked with me to the bus stop today...ah. It made my day. And my favorite teenage girl had a birthday yesterday, so she brought be a giant chocolate bar--which is traditional in Russia, but I LOVED it anyways! I love the feeling that my students and I are starting to get to know each other, and with that my confidence in teaching and discipline are growing. I do still screw things up a lot of the time, but my good teaching moments are growing daily... :)
Oh! And my flatmate Jenny and I just started taking Russian lessons from a teacher at our center. We will have lessons for an hour, three days per week. This is MUCH-needed, because as our job is to speak English, there is not much chance to learn Russian as I would have liked!
Things I miss from the U.S. right now:
- bobby pins! (I have 2 left that I'm guarding with my life...)
- DONUTS --Top Pot, Krispy Kreme, Safeway, I'd take it all!
- tall double-shot americano from ANY Seattle coffeeshop
- ROSS --I am quickly becoming tired of my clothing, but things are so expensive here, and shopping is a big task to overtake!
- my red rubber rainboots. :(
- my roommates
- my family
- my lovers
Things I love about Russia right now:
- adorable children/teenagers/adults--let's face it, they are all pretty great
- tea and cookies
- efficient and reliable public transportation
- cheap beer
- having flatmates/friends to hang out with whenever I want!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Let the Teaching Begin...
Yes, I realize I haven't been updating you all on what is going on in my Russian life. BUT, I constantly THINK of updating my blog--does that count??
SOO, my friends! I have had my last week of training and my first week of real teaching...Wowza. Life gets overwhelming at times.
Our last week of training ended with a big celebration of sorts at the restaurant right next door to our school: Vokzal. We met all sorts of people at this exciting event, and the night was INTERESTING at the very least. Over the weekend, I spent lots of time with Sarah. We spent an hour trying to find a Georgian resaurant that didn't exist, and ended up eating at a general Caucasion restaurant--Shesh Besh. We had lovely soup, bread, chicken skewers and roasted veggies! We had our last sleepover at Sarah's flat, and on Sunday she moved away--at least TWO HOURS Southeast of me. BOOO.
On Sunday I met up with a friend and I finally saw many of the Moscow sights I've been wanting to see for a month: Pushkin Square, the Red Square, and St. Basil's Cathedral, plus Old Arbat. Now I don't feel like such a failure for being here so long and not seeing anything!!
So: Monday marked my first day of teaching my own classes. Holy moly, this is going to be rough! I have 7 classes total: 4 individuals, and 3 groups. The individuals are easier to plan and less stressful, but it's also way less exciting so the time tends to drag by. I have one 6 year-old, two teens, and an adult for indie lessons. My groups are: six 11 year-olds, eight 15 year-olds, and three 17 year-olds who are studying for an exam.
This all comes out to 28 hours per week, but each lesson plan has been taking me at least two hours to plan!! :( I'm sure I will get faster at planning, and things will continue to go more smoothly??
Pros:
Okay, enough for now.
SOO, my friends! I have had my last week of training and my first week of real teaching...Wowza. Life gets overwhelming at times.
Our last week of training ended with a big celebration of sorts at the restaurant right next door to our school: Vokzal. We met all sorts of people at this exciting event, and the night was INTERESTING at the very least. Over the weekend, I spent lots of time with Sarah. We spent an hour trying to find a Georgian resaurant that didn't exist, and ended up eating at a general Caucasion restaurant--Shesh Besh. We had lovely soup, bread, chicken skewers and roasted veggies! We had our last sleepover at Sarah's flat, and on Sunday she moved away--at least TWO HOURS Southeast of me. BOOO.
On Sunday I met up with a friend and I finally saw many of the Moscow sights I've been wanting to see for a month: Pushkin Square, the Red Square, and St. Basil's Cathedral, plus Old Arbat. Now I don't feel like such a failure for being here so long and not seeing anything!!
So: Monday marked my first day of teaching my own classes. Holy moly, this is going to be rough! I have 7 classes total: 4 individuals, and 3 groups. The individuals are easier to plan and less stressful, but it's also way less exciting so the time tends to drag by. I have one 6 year-old, two teens, and an adult for indie lessons. My groups are: six 11 year-olds, eight 15 year-olds, and three 17 year-olds who are studying for an exam.
This all comes out to 28 hours per week, but each lesson plan has been taking me at least two hours to plan!! :( I'm sure I will get faster at planning, and things will continue to go more smoothly??
Pros:
- We live only 8 minutes by foot away from our school!
- My first class every day is 3:30pm!! So I have long, luxurious mornings (which mostly include lesson-planning...)
- I only have one class on Friday afternoon, so I have an almost-three day weekend!
Cons:
- Sarah lives far away.
- Three of my Seattle roommates plus three of my friend-o's are roadtripping down to California for our good friend Katie Brundie's WEDDING! And I'm missing it. :(
Okay, enough for now.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
September 28th
This weekend was fabulous. Why? Because WE GOT INTERNET IN OUR FLAT!!! So from now on I will have the means to connect with the world on an everyday basis!
This weekend was fabulous. Why? Because WE GOT INTERNET IN OUR FLAT!!! So from now on I will have the means to connect with the world on an everyday basis!
Highlights of the weekend:
· Our friend Jeff stayed with us from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. Since he is basically laughter personified, this was a lot of fun.
· When the internet came, our building manager Zhenya came and hung out with us for hours. We drank a lot of tea, ate a variety of snacks, and chatted with him in Russian. Thank the Lord Jeff was here, because he was able to keep the conversation flowing. It was pretty fun, and he even gave us a recipe for borscht as well as a map of fun things to do in Mitino.
· I got to Skype chat with: mom and dad, Kess and Nate, Micaella, and Maisha!!!! Each of these conversations was wonderful in its own way.
· On Sunday I spent the later part of the day and night with my bestie-here Sarah. This was good for the soul, although we did have to spend a lot of time working on a paper that was due the next day.
Non-Highlight:
· Sarah has to move away on Saturday. BOOO. It will now take us about three hours to get to each other! I know we will still see each other, but it has been so nice for her to be close (an hour away), and to have sleepovers at least once a week. :(
September 25th
Two weeks have flown by! I only have one more week of training, thank the Lord. I am getting so tired of it!! Tonight was the first time in 2 weeks I have gotten home before 11pm! After training though, we won’t need to commute 3 hours per day anymore. Yesssssssssssssssss.
I have taught 5 lessons so far, each of them with some goods and bads, a lot of nerves and laughs. It is so interesting to teach English, especially through the Communicative approach with no Russian. I really like all the students I’ve had, they are usually super motivated to learn and they are respectful, quick to participate, and quick to learn. They have all been adults. I do hate lesson planning, but I’m sure I will get better and quicker. After next week I will be given my own classes, which is exciting but I know it will be a ton of work!
Last night I went to my friend from class Sarah’s flat. We made a frozen pizza for dinner! It was sooo good, we added peppers, onions, cheese, and spinach to it and it felt like a delicacy. We also made an apple pie, which we ate for breakfast this morning. Mmm. It was SO good!
Today was the first day I felt REALLY cold here. It started out with a gentle rain, like in Seattle. I was loving that, because it felt like a beautiful Seattle fall. BUT, then after training it was all of a sudden biting wet cold! Guess it’s time to start dressing warmer…
This weekend we are supposed to get internet. If that goes well, I will feel much better about my life, or at least more in tune with my other world.
I like my room, so much. I will post pictures when I have internet…
Two weeks have flown by! I only have one more week of training, thank the Lord. I am getting so tired of it!! Tonight was the first time in 2 weeks I have gotten home before 11pm! After training though, we won’t need to commute 3 hours per day anymore. Yesssssssssssssssss.
I have taught 5 lessons so far, each of them with some goods and bads, a lot of nerves and laughs. It is so interesting to teach English, especially through the Communicative approach with no Russian. I really like all the students I’ve had, they are usually super motivated to learn and they are respectful, quick to participate, and quick to learn. They have all been adults. I do hate lesson planning, but I’m sure I will get better and quicker. After next week I will be given my own classes, which is exciting but I know it will be a ton of work!
Last night I went to my friend from class Sarah’s flat. We made a frozen pizza for dinner! It was sooo good, we added peppers, onions, cheese, and spinach to it and it felt like a delicacy. We also made an apple pie, which we ate for breakfast this morning. Mmm. It was SO good!
Today was the first day I felt REALLY cold here. It started out with a gentle rain, like in Seattle. I was loving that, because it felt like a beautiful Seattle fall. BUT, then after training it was all of a sudden biting wet cold! Guess it’s time to start dressing warmer…
This weekend we are supposed to get internet. If that goes well, I will feel much better about my life, or at least more in tune with my other world.
I like my room, so much. I will post pictures when I have internet…
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Peace and Pictures
September 12, 2009
Today I slept until the glorious time of 11:30. My roommates shortly arrived home to tell me the story of their nightclub dancing and saga of boys. Since then, they have been asleep and I have been putting pictures up in my room! I am already happier as I look around my room to see pictures of all the people I love and who will be thinking of me while I am gone. What a beautiful day it will be to return to them. Once Carolyn wakes up, we are going to find our way to the gigantic park which we see on the way to the Metro. It’s a peaceful day here in Moscow, and I feel content in my little room, thinking, decorating, and listening to Micaella’s playlist. Life is good.
Today I slept until the glorious time of 11:30. My roommates shortly arrived home to tell me the story of their nightclub dancing and saga of boys. Since then, they have been asleep and I have been putting pictures up in my room! I am already happier as I look around my room to see pictures of all the people I love and who will be thinking of me while I am gone. What a beautiful day it will be to return to them. Once Carolyn wakes up, we are going to find our way to the gigantic park which we see on the way to the Metro. It’s a peaceful day here in Moscow, and I feel content in my little room, thinking, decorating, and listening to Micaella’s playlist. Life is good.
September 11, 2009
I am about to go to sleep on my fifth night in Russia. Wow, so much has happened this week. Where do I start?
Monday:
My flight arrived in the gigantor Moscow on Monday afternoon. However, once I arrived, I find that they left one of my bags in Chicago! Booo. I file a claim and wait a long time, meanwhile thinking, “What if the man who is supposed to meet me here just leaves?” BUT, Thank the Good Lord the man was still there. He was not friendly, a Russian-speaking man who works for Language Link somehow. So, we drive and drive and he tells me to sleep so I pretend to, but I was actually just in awe that I was arriving into my very own new city. SO WEIRD. This driver got so lost, but we finally make it to my flat! A nice woman was waiting outside to show me in, she works for Language Link too. Let me just mention that Russian flats are generally very ugly. The outside of the building looks horrid, and there is a whole row of them that look exactly the same, I got lost at least three times in the first few days merely because every flat looks the same…
ANYWAYS. My lovely roommate Carolyn was waiting inside my flat, she had been sick that day so unable to go to the first day of training. We chat and she shows me the place. Later I shower and go to the 24 chasa (hour) market down the street to get basics: bread, cheese, milk, cereal, yogurt and tea.
My other roommate Jenny came home later with two guys from our program: Jeff and Chris. They are quite nice right away, and I am not overwhelmed at all. If feels very natural to be here and do this.
I finally went to sleep on my first night in Russia!
So Tuesday through Friday I have been in training. We will train for the next 3 weeks to prepare for teaching. Our commute is an hour fifteen to an hour and a half—we walk 10 minutes to a nearby bus stop, ride for 30-50 minutes, and take the Metro (Subway) for 30 minutes.
In training we have been going over tons of grammar and teaching methods. It can be fun, but the material is mostly dry. We have 4 teachers who take turn instructing us, and some are nicer than others…We trained from 11am-6:30-ish every day this week. We have done practice lesson plans and implemented them in front of our class. For the next 3 weeks we will be teaching real classes of English to Russian students—2 to 3 lessons per week. My first is on Tuesday. AHH.
The people: My roommates are Jenny and Carolyn. They are very sweet and welcomed me right away as family. We commute together, debrief the day, and make dinner together in the evenings, sharing some of our food with each other. We are all very social, so 3 out of the 4 nights this week we have had people over to our flat, even though it is VERY far away from anything else. There are 5 women and 5 men in the training, and they are all great. We are a very odd bunch, but we are suffering and learning and experiencing a lot together already. We stick together in class and support one another, joke all the time, and generally make plans together every day. Some of them will move out of Moscow after training, which nobody is happy about.
Since we are immersed in studying English this month, I think it will be pretty hard to learn Russian. My mind and body are fried, I have no time or energy for anything besides the commute, going to class, and doing social things my roommates plan in the evenings. We have met a couple Russian guys through friends, and I’m hoping being around them will help our Russian skills. We also met a few Brits last night, and I believe 13 people total were sleeping in our little flat, as we had them over for dinner and drinks and the bus and Metro stopped running. There were 3 in each bed plus people sleeping all over the floor. Ha. It’s already a very different and funny life. But it’s good.
It’s Friday night and I’m alone in my flat—soon I will go to bed and sleep as long as I want. Tonight my roommates met the Russian guys and a couple others from our program to go to a club. BUT, since I have been up late every night this week and only flew in 4 days ago, I stayed in and organized my life, cleaned, and am getting caught up on updating people!
Tomorrow my goals are to find internet and finally have some real communication—we are hoping to get it in our flat next week, but it is unsure at this point. At school we have a few computers for email only, nothing else. I haven’t talked to anybody yet, tomorrow I will also buy a phone card for my family!
In conclusion, I am doing well and am happy here. I am very afraid to start teaching, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
Until I find more time to type away…
Ponderings on the plane
September 6, 2009
Well, here I am in the SEATAC airport….It’s 8:32a.m. and it’s been quite a week. I just popped two Dramamine, hoping that when I sit down onto my luxurious window seat of my plane I can just stick my little iPod headphones in, tune in to the peaceful playlist and conk out.
On Sunday I arrived in Seattle, Washington around 4:20 a.m. Sleep an hour. Wake up, shower, pack, drive to airport. Bags too heavy, add a carry-on duffle. Family prays for me and mom cries a little. We do well. I fly away to Chicago. Talk to many of my lovers on the phone in Chicago, change my voice message to say I will be gone for 10 months. SO WEIRD. Now I’m on a plane from Chicago, Illinois to Moscow, Russia. I chose tomato juice and look down the aisle to find that 5 out of the 6 of my (Russian) neighbors on the plane chose tomato juice too. I guess I already fit in with the Russians! This flight will be another 9 hours long, then I arrive to pick up my luggage, go through passport control, find someone from Language Link who will pick me up, arrive to my flat in the middle of Monday in Moscow, and avoid jet lag so I can begin training the next morning.
(Just now a little toddler boy saying “Da, Da” came wandering over to me in order to put his little grimy hands all over my laptop. I keep repeating “Nyet” to him in sterner tones, until he understood. If he comes back, I will surely tell him “Nilsya” (You shouldn’t do that). )
I am so ready to be done with luggage, packing, goodbyes, and transitions. The time has come to end it all and get this show on the road. I should be bawling, I should feel sheer terror. But instead, I feel a little sleepy and find myself looking forward to a good year ahead of me.
Moscow, here I come!
Well, here I am in the SEATAC airport….It’s 8:32a.m. and it’s been quite a week. I just popped two Dramamine, hoping that when I sit down onto my luxurious window seat of my plane I can just stick my little iPod headphones in, tune in to the peaceful playlist and conk out.
On Sunday I arrived in Seattle, Washington around 4:20 a.m. Sleep an hour. Wake up, shower, pack, drive to airport. Bags too heavy, add a carry-on duffle. Family prays for me and mom cries a little. We do well. I fly away to Chicago. Talk to many of my lovers on the phone in Chicago, change my voice message to say I will be gone for 10 months. SO WEIRD. Now I’m on a plane from Chicago, Illinois to Moscow, Russia. I chose tomato juice and look down the aisle to find that 5 out of the 6 of my (Russian) neighbors on the plane chose tomato juice too. I guess I already fit in with the Russians! This flight will be another 9 hours long, then I arrive to pick up my luggage, go through passport control, find someone from Language Link who will pick me up, arrive to my flat in the middle of Monday in Moscow, and avoid jet lag so I can begin training the next morning.
(Just now a little toddler boy saying “Da, Da” came wandering over to me in order to put his little grimy hands all over my laptop. I keep repeating “Nyet” to him in sterner tones, until he understood. If he comes back, I will surely tell him “Nilsya” (You shouldn’t do that). )
I am so ready to be done with luggage, packing, goodbyes, and transitions. The time has come to end it all and get this show on the road. I should be bawling, I should feel sheer terror. But instead, I feel a little sleepy and find myself looking forward to a good year ahead of me.
Moscow, here I come!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Goodbye is not The End.
Sometimes I feel like this whole thing is a much bigger deal to EVERYONE ELSE than it is to me. I mean, I'm excited and nervous and all. But everyone else is acting like I'm going to die and this goodbye is REALLY GOODBYE. Like, it's the last time we are going to see each other.
Maybe it's like when someone dies it is easier for them than for everyone else. To them, they may be in peace and bliss finally. But their family and friends don't know how to make it without them. Their lives are changed because of it.
Slightly too dramatic, but I'm just trying to understand the clinging.
Goals for today:
Maybe it's like when someone dies it is easier for them than for everyone else. To them, they may be in peace and bliss finally. But their family and friends don't know how to make it without them. Their lives are changed because of it.
Slightly too dramatic, but I'm just trying to understand the clinging.
Goals for today:
- Admire my two PACKED SUITCASES
- Read my new summer novel: Memoirs of a Geisha
- Leave the house
Sunday, August 30, 2009
T - Minus EIGHT days!
And here marks my very first blog post. As I type this, I am listening to Rosie Thomas and sitting alone in the living room of my house in Rogue River. I woke up early to pack, but instead decided to create this blog. Equally productive, yes?
I guess I will start my very own blog with an explanation as to why a blog is necessary in my new life. September 2009 is about to arrive, which will mark an exciting/terrifying/
disrupting change for me: a move from my faithful home base on the West Coast of the U.S. all the way over to Moskva (Moscow) i.e. RUSSIA! I will be there approximately TEN months, getting trained to teach English then teaching all by my self like a grown person.
I think it's besides the point to say I am VERY nervous and apprehensive about what I am about to do. BUT, I am fed up with goodbyes, planning, and packing, and most-of-all LASTS. So it will be a relief just to get on that plane next Sunday.
All that's left to do is say goodbye to people in the Rogue Valley, goodbyes in the Portland area, goodbyes in Seattle, drive to my lovely Sarah Fisher's wedding on Saturday the 5th, goodbyes there, drive back, sleep a few hours, and FLY OUT of the fabulous SeaTac Airport at around 9am on Sunday, September 6th.
Goals for today:
I guess I will start my very own blog with an explanation as to why a blog is necessary in my new life. September 2009 is about to arrive, which will mark an exciting/terrifying/
disrupting change for me: a move from my faithful home base on the West Coast of the U.S. all the way over to Moskva (Moscow) i.e. RUSSIA! I will be there approximately TEN months, getting trained to teach English then teaching all by my self like a grown person.
I think it's besides the point to say I am VERY nervous and apprehensive about what I am about to do. BUT, I am fed up with goodbyes, planning, and packing, and most-of-all LASTS. So it will be a relief just to get on that plane next Sunday.
All that's left to do is say goodbye to people in the Rogue Valley, goodbyes in the Portland area, goodbyes in Seattle, drive to my lovely Sarah Fisher's wedding on Saturday the 5th, goodbyes there, drive back, sleep a few hours, and FLY OUT of the fabulous SeaTac Airport at around 9am on Sunday, September 6th.
Goals for today:
- Figure out a way to fit all my stuff into my two large suitcases
- Talk to roommates and lovers on the phone
- Be nice to my family
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