Do you want to know what the great thing is? When you step into a crosswalk, EVERY car stops! No joke. The pedestrian really has the right of way. The side streets have to be shared with the cars and there are often terrible potholes, but traffic really stops for pedestrians. I've only seen a few bike riders so far. They ride without helmets and stay on the sidewalks. Speaking of bikes, I now own a little folding bike from Stark. I found a really great little bike/camping store. A young guy waited on me. And we muddled along, half English, half Russian, but we understood each other. The older store manager kept listening in. Both were very surprised to see an American woman in a Kazan bike store. Of course, they had a lot of questions about where i came from and where I worked? It was a really pleasant experience.
I bought a radio on Saturday. Not only did they turn it on in the store to make sure it worked, the cashier checked with me to make sure they had turned it on for me. And for this transaction they spoke no English, so I really had to muddle through with Russian. I haven't been paid yet, but I did get reimbursed for my travel expenses, so I've been able to get to the store and do some more things now.
The excitement today is that I got wifi hooked up in my apartment. All for $6 a month. I'm so glad, because I just wasn't finding time a school to blog and send all the messages I wanted, so I
Now I can do it at my leisure in the evenings.
I haven't gone out in the evenings at all. I was sick the whole first week I was here, plus it gets dark about 7 already. Saturday was the first day I ventured out. I still don't have a map of Kazan so I didn't venture too far. I managed to find the shopping center with the store to buy the radio and looked around for a few other things. Hen I managed to get lost walking home. i went into a post office figuring they had to know my street. A customer and the clerk put their heads together and finally figured out where I was trying to go. With a few words of engl, they could point me in the right direction.
I have to describe the apartment. I will take picture of it during the day and attach later because I still screw up with the iPad. But in any case, the light switches are all placed over my head. No joke. It's also that way in many rooms in school. The reasoning is (according to a colleague) is that it prevents kids from playing with light switches. I have a nice convention stove but no oven and a nice refrigerator. I have a small wash machine in the bathroom which I have managed to figure out and have used twice. I still need to get a drying rack or a wash line somewhere.as of now, I drape everything off the towel hanger and the edge of the bathtub.
I'm finding my stride at school. I'm figuring out Russian commands on the computer. I lasted through a two-hour conference and I can find my way around the building now. I thought I was supposed to be teaching English to 3-4 year-olds. It turns out there will be a bunch of 2year-olds in there to. That will certainly change how I do things. They paint d my room last week and left everything standing n the middle of the room. Since we're having a parent conference with the families tomorrow, I had wanted to show them the room, but not in that condition! My teaching assistant Aliya and another lady helped me move furniture, we got the cleaning ladies in in there and then started setting up things the way i imagined they should be. Aliya and Guzel started collecting supply's and toys. Things are starting to shape up.
I'm hitting my stride in school now. I'm feeling comfortable in school and with the colleagues. I'm enjoying the Russian foods. (Lots of cabbage, beets, and potatoes.) there's always porridge from different grains for breakfast and we often drink jello which is not solidified. Tea is always a choice. Sweets and desserts are never served at school. The choices are really healthy.
I'll let you know how the parent conference goes tomorrow. Depending on how it is presented, the parents will decide whether they want their kids in an only English-speaking class or not.
So now that I have wifi in the apartment, it makes things so much easier.
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