Tuesday morning at about 3 a.m, Marat had to pick me up at the airport. I felt as sorry for him as I did for myself. He took me to the apartment and showed me around. Then we agreed he should pick me up at 9 a.m to go to school. My sleep schedule was so screwed up, I knew I couldn't sleep longer.
Marat picked me up again and we walked to school. It's a complicated passage through a bunch of hig rises, and I won't be able to bike the same way I walk because of fences and high curbstones. I'll have to do a lot of exploring this weekend.
The school building is also like a maze. It's very child-friendly and nicely decorated. Both the English-speaking and Russian-speaking colleagues are very pleasant. Tuesday was basically meeting people, getting assignments and taking with the director. I will be teaching the 3-4 year olds ONLY in English. I will have an assistant. I'm going to pick Sobia', Linda's and Anne Marie's brain for ideas.
I ate my meals at the school. There's porridge or cream of wheat for breakfast, a soup and. Something else for lunch and some sort of casserole or Russian dish for dinner. Cabbage and potatoes are served in many forms. And I enjoy the dark bread. At the apartment Marat had brought me a lots of sweets and fruit, so I've been munching there, too.
I got tired about 4:30 and went home. Of course I got lost. I wandered around for an extra 20 minutes until I found my way. I went to bed early and slept well.
Wednesday I got up at 8 and got ready for school. Then, oh, how embarrassing, I couldn't figure out how get out of the building! These outside doors are really heavy security doors. I kept trying to swipe my fob and even tried another door. Finally I just waited until I hear someone come in from outside and ran for it. At school I asked and found out I only had to hit a certain button! And getting out of the school building is almost as bad. I can never find the right exit.
On top of that, I had laryngitis. My cold has not completely cleared up and all I could do all day was squeak. I read with some older kids, and, because I was whispering. They always whispered the answers back.
The photographer came and took my picture with the kids and also a staff photo. I spent time looking up ideas on Pinterest and talking with my colleague Emma, who teaches the older kids English. She's been really great about giving me all sorts of assistance. The day was otherwise filled with conferences and we got out late.
I found my way home by yet another path and sat down with my dictionary to figure out how to use the washing machine. Wonder of wonders, I got it. I had to hang stuff all over the bathroom because I don't have a drying rack yet. But I've got clean clothes! I tried to hang some of the things on the shower curtain rod and that came crashing down. So I had to rehang that. But I didn't break or damage anything, so I will live through that one too.
Cleanliness is rally big here. You don't wear outdoor shoes inside a building unless you put plastic booties over them. I carry a second pair of shoes to school with me and change them at the front door.
I got early and went to the store to buy the basics. I found everything all right, and because I was carrying Wegmanns shopping bags, several people practiced their English with me. I was also able to talk to the concierge in Russian about my mailbox. I'm making progress!
So now I'm at school but want to get some personal messaging done before I get to planning. In general , what I've noticed so far is, although the school systems differ among the US, German and Russian systems, the kids are facing the same problems. More about that later when I observe more.
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