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.

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:

• 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!

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:

• 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. :(

Tonight, after my flatmates are done teaching, we are going to head to the center of the city to hang out with some friends--we might end up dancing! Tomorrow, I'm off to my very first hockey game (sorry, I don't have any idea if it's professional or not!), and hanging out at our intern friend Shane's place. On Sunday, my flatmates and I are apparently shopping for cheap winter clothes! PLUS, I get to see Sarah on Saturday AND maybe Sunday!

Okay, enough for now.