Wednesday, October 31, 2018
The pumpkin party
Today was our pumpkin party at school. We were told a month ago to pick a date during this week to do a presentation and I was damned if I was going to do another pageant where the kids have to all dress up like snowflakes or ducks or asparagus or something weird. I said we would do a pumpkin party. We are not allowed to celebrate Halloween at school so I thought I would do the pumpkins without making Jack-o-lanterns out of then. We did it in the classroom where the kids feel comfortable. The parents came almost all on time. We put on our little pumpkin hats and sang our “hello” song for our guests. Then I just gave a short explanation about Halloween in the US and afterwards the kids sang the pumpkin song they learned and love so much. They’ve been singing it all day for the entire month. After we took our bows, I cut one pumpkin open and a mom cut the other one. I was really happy to get the parents engaged. When we got the tops of the pumpkins off, we let the kids put their hands in the pumpkins and feel the goop. Everyone got to take home a plastic bag full of pumpkin seeds. Then it got really exciting. The music teacher brought in her juicer and and each kid got to stuff an apple into the juicer. We then had homemade apple juice and donuts which my TA ordered from a store near her home. Everything went really well. I told the parents that the party was officially over but anyone who wanted to stay and play with the kids could. And actually, several parents did. They read to their kids in English and put puzzles together with them. One parent was excited because she said it was like a real party with food. Another parent said she liked it much better than the pageants that our usually put on in the auditorium. And, of course, the administration sent in the photographer and the cameraman to record everything and put it on the school’s Facebook page. I really wish they’d pay more attention to substance rather than cosmetics. They’ve got to start spending some of that photography money on teachers’ pay to get some high quality staff in here. Their concept is good. They just haven’t figured out all the practicalities of it yet.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
a message for Ja
Ja, I keep sending you emails and they keep getting sent back as undeliverable. I’ve received several of yours. NeeNee
The rotten day
The evening before the rotten day happened, I attended the local Rotary Club meeting. A presenter showed the proposed new bike routes for Kazan. It’s an ambitious plan, but doesn’t encorproate cooperation with public transportation or education for drivers on how to share the roads with bikes. Still a lot to do. But it’s a good start. And the guy who rode around the world was there again. He wants me to go with him to Nizhnekramsk, another city in Tatarstan about 3 hours away on Nov. 17. He has to give a presentation to the municipality and there will be school officials there. He wants me to present the PowerPoint about what we did with bikes at our school. The guy also wants me to give him English lessons, but he doesn’t want to pay he going rate. So go find someone else with my skill set, you cheapskate. It ain’t gonna be me.
Friday was the ultimate rotten day in school. First of all, at the beginning of the week, one of the kids threw up all over my TA after I had gone home. The parents kept her home the next day, but sent her back in Wednesday. When it was time to wake everyone up from the naps, she would not wake up. The kid was obviously still sick so I told the assistant to let her sleep. The nurse checked her and said, yes, the kid was sick. So the parents kept her home Thursday but brought her in Friday. They told my assistant in Russian that if we sent their kid home sick again, they would go straight to the administration. My TA told them to go right ahead. Geez, we should infect a dozen other kids so that you parents don’t have to miss a day of work?! Lovely.
Then, we had a pumpkin party with parents planned for the 31st. I was instructed that I had to have it in that week. So I even changed my vacation schedule and we invited parents. Then the director, whose son is in my class, wants me to change the party to the 30 th because they are leaving for vacation on the 31 st. I said sure, but you can be the one to inform all the other parents. It ain’t gonna be me. The date is staying the same.
THEN, there’s a thing here that some parents don’t let their kids get vaccinated. But if another kid in the class does get a vaccination, the unvaccinated kid has to stay away from the class for two months (or the parents must sign a waiver absolving the school of all responsibility) so that the unvaccinated kid doesn’t catch the disease from the kid with the live vaccination. I don’t think so! But that’s the way they do it here. In any case, my favorite little guy had to be put in another classroom. He has been a holy terror there and mom wants him back with us. So I have been instructed that, when I mom and the kid show up on Monday morning, I’m supposed to be the one to tell the mom that I can’t let him in until she goes to the nurse and signs the waiver. I just love it when they pass the buck.
Only one more week, and then I’m in Scotland. Oh, yeeeeess! I need a break.
Tonight the gang is all headed down to the Hilton for a big Spanish party. That should be something different.
This morning I went out and bought three pumpkins for our pumpkin party and brought them home on the bike. I had to push the whole way. Then I went out shopping. I just cooked a squash and it tasted wonderful. Tomorrow I’m going to make Mac and cheese. I need some comfort food after yesterday.
Friday was the ultimate rotten day in school. First of all, at the beginning of the week, one of the kids threw up all over my TA after I had gone home. The parents kept her home the next day, but sent her back in Wednesday. When it was time to wake everyone up from the naps, she would not wake up. The kid was obviously still sick so I told the assistant to let her sleep. The nurse checked her and said, yes, the kid was sick. So the parents kept her home Thursday but brought her in Friday. They told my assistant in Russian that if we sent their kid home sick again, they would go straight to the administration. My TA told them to go right ahead. Geez, we should infect a dozen other kids so that you parents don’t have to miss a day of work?! Lovely.
Then, we had a pumpkin party with parents planned for the 31st. I was instructed that I had to have it in that week. So I even changed my vacation schedule and we invited parents. Then the director, whose son is in my class, wants me to change the party to the 30 th because they are leaving for vacation on the 31 st. I said sure, but you can be the one to inform all the other parents. It ain’t gonna be me. The date is staying the same.
THEN, there’s a thing here that some parents don’t let their kids get vaccinated. But if another kid in the class does get a vaccination, the unvaccinated kid has to stay away from the class for two months (or the parents must sign a waiver absolving the school of all responsibility) so that the unvaccinated kid doesn’t catch the disease from the kid with the live vaccination. I don’t think so! But that’s the way they do it here. In any case, my favorite little guy had to be put in another classroom. He has been a holy terror there and mom wants him back with us. So I have been instructed that, when I mom and the kid show up on Monday morning, I’m supposed to be the one to tell the mom that I can’t let him in until she goes to the nurse and signs the waiver. I just love it when they pass the buck.
Only one more week, and then I’m in Scotland. Oh, yeeeeess! I need a break.
Tonight the gang is all headed down to the Hilton for a big Spanish party. That should be something different.
This morning I went out and bought three pumpkins for our pumpkin party and brought them home on the bike. I had to push the whole way. Then I went out shopping. I just cooked a squash and it tasted wonderful. Tomorrow I’m going to make Mac and cheese. I need some comfort food after yesterday.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
The bike presentation
How cool is this?! The head of the Rotary in Kazan just rode his bike around the world. It was a ride for charity and I don’t know how much money he collected! But Tuesday we got him to come to our school and give the kids a presentation. He was spectacular and the kids loved it. He didn’t do a long, academic speech. He told the kids a few things then put up his tent and let the kids crawl in it. They got to sit on his bike. He showed them his lights and his reflective vests. It was just really interactive and interesting for the kids. There were also parents in attendance and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Ildus, the bike rider, brought some members of his bike club along with him and they had a short meeting after his presentation. I had to give them a PowerPoint presentation about our bike club. They really liked it and would like to use it as a template for all the schools in Kazan. The question is only, how many schools will be open to this idea. But these guys are really working hard to change the transportation mindset in the region, so maybe we are off to a good start.
They are also starting to collect old bikes and repair them to give away to kids in need. I told them about R Community Bikes and now they want me to give a presentation about RCB at their November meeting. Bicycling as a way of life is growing worldwide!
And tonight I’m also attending a Rotary Club meeting. The city is presenting its new bike infrastructure concept and Ildus invited me to attend the presentation. Wow, look at the way things can move along if everyone is willing. Cross your fingers that we make some real progress here.
Ildus, the bike rider, brought some members of his bike club along with him and they had a short meeting after his presentation. I had to give them a PowerPoint presentation about our bike club. They really liked it and would like to use it as a template for all the schools in Kazan. The question is only, how many schools will be open to this idea. But these guys are really working hard to change the transportation mindset in the region, so maybe we are off to a good start.
They are also starting to collect old bikes and repair them to give away to kids in need. I told them about R Community Bikes and now they want me to give a presentation about RCB at their November meeting. Bicycling as a way of life is growing worldwide!
And tonight I’m also attending a Rotary Club meeting. The city is presenting its new bike infrastructure concept and Ildus invited me to attend the presentation. Wow, look at the way things can move along if everyone is willing. Cross your fingers that we make some real progress here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Moving right along....
First the news. I bought a humidifier and have it running now. I’m hoping it will help with the dry Air in the apartment and the sore throats I sometimes wake up with. Paul and Jake both got one and they said they help them a lot. They even sleep better.
Next news flash. Russian men do not shake hands with women unless the women aggressively stick their hands out to make it known that they want their hands shook. I was at a meeting where two guys walked in, I stood up and started to put my hand out and they walked right past me to the men. They ignored the other women in the room too. I checked with my boss about it and he said Russian men aren’t taught to shake hands with women and I guess the women are taught not to expect it.
And last but not least, you might remember that I explained about mall doors last year. When you go to the mall entrance there’s a set of five or six doors, then you walk into the “decompression chamber” area before the next set of doors. I was always surprised that in the first set of doors, the door on only one end would be unlocked and then on the inside set of doors only the door on the opposite end would be unlocked. It turns out it’s what they do to keep the cold Kazan wind from blowing straight into the mall in winter. OK, that makes sense to me now!
So now on to my activities. Sunday morning I had a long breakfast with Anna at Beanheart’s cafe. It was so filling, I didn’t eat anything again until evening. Afterwards, I met Sonia for some shopping at IKEA. She was looking for some chairs and there was really nothing I needed, but I picked up another casserole dish and a birthday present for a colleague. Boy, that place has to be the most visited store in Kazan.
Then, Monday night the boss had tickets for me for the first international Tatar music contest. There were some absolutely gorgeous costumes and the music is very interesting. I definitely hear and Arabic influence in the music, both in the tonality and the way the people perform the music. The vibratos and the riffs sound very Arabic to me. The concert started late as usual and at 9:20 it wasn’t anywhere near over, so I just got up and went home. It was interesting, but enough was enough.
Next news flash. Russian men do not shake hands with women unless the women aggressively stick their hands out to make it known that they want their hands shook. I was at a meeting where two guys walked in, I stood up and started to put my hand out and they walked right past me to the men. They ignored the other women in the room too. I checked with my boss about it and he said Russian men aren’t taught to shake hands with women and I guess the women are taught not to expect it.
And last but not least, you might remember that I explained about mall doors last year. When you go to the mall entrance there’s a set of five or six doors, then you walk into the “decompression chamber” area before the next set of doors. I was always surprised that in the first set of doors, the door on only one end would be unlocked and then on the inside set of doors only the door on the opposite end would be unlocked. It turns out it’s what they do to keep the cold Kazan wind from blowing straight into the mall in winter. OK, that makes sense to me now!
So now on to my activities. Sunday morning I had a long breakfast with Anna at Beanheart’s cafe. It was so filling, I didn’t eat anything again until evening. Afterwards, I met Sonia for some shopping at IKEA. She was looking for some chairs and there was really nothing I needed, but I picked up another casserole dish and a birthday present for a colleague. Boy, that place has to be the most visited store in Kazan.
Then, Monday night the boss had tickets for me for the first international Tatar music contest. There were some absolutely gorgeous costumes and the music is very interesting. I definitely hear and Arabic influence in the music, both in the tonality and the way the people perform the music. The vibratos and the riffs sound very Arabic to me. The concert started late as usual and at 9:20 it wasn’t anywhere near over, so I just got up and went home. It was interesting, but enough was enough.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
The next busy weekend
Wow, where did the week go? How did I get to the next weekend so quickly. Classes were good this week. One little boy told me he wouldn’t let a classmate look through his binoculars because she wiped her face with her dress. Boy, do we have problems! But Wednesday the class had a visit from a UNESCO official. It seems that we applied to be a UNESCO school. Basically, it means we can apply for grants and participate in different programs. So I guess they come and observe classes occasionally. We were doing a lesson on shapes which went well, so I guess we’re OK until the next visit.
Tuesday I gave a presentation to the Junior Rotary about teaching English in Kazan. It was a small group just basically interested in how foreigners manage in the city. We ended up having a nice, intimate discussion.
Then, I made another pizza this week and had Sonia over for dinner. We hadn’t been able to really sit down for awhile and gab, so it was good to catch up on all the information we each had. Tomorrow we’re going to head out and do some shopping. And, the pizza was good, by the way. Love that new oven!!!
Thursday night, against my better judgement, I did go back to the couch surfing meeting. This time it was in a really neat coffee bar where you didn’t have to crawl over 10 people every time you wanted to get up and go to the bathroom. And no long introductions! I met a couple of new people that I will stay in touch with, so it was worth it to go back.
Oho! And here’s a piece of news. The school has decided to finally pay us a portion of our salaries as direct deposit. To that end, they opened accounts for all employees (Me included, without my knowledge!) at the crappy bank they opened my first account in last year before I had to switch banks. I told them to go screw themselves. I’ve got a bank I can deal with in English now and where the employees are friendly and helpful. If they think I’m going to deal with that other bank again, they are out of their minds. Just keep paying me in cash. I don’t care. But just keep paying me.
Last night I went to one of my student’s homes for dinner. I’d been there before. The mom cooked a wonderful meal and we had lots of fun talking. Funny, but the first thing the kid showed me when we got into the apartment was the broken toilet seat. The parents almost died of embarrassment.
Tonight I’m headed out to another family dinner. The mom also happens to be a colleague and they speak English to the kids at home, so the kid is really good. I’m getting some great rice pilaf tonight and I’m hungry already just thinking about it.
Tomorrow I’m going to breakfast with Anna and then out to do some shopping with Sonia. I got some shopping and studying in today, and want to do the same tomorrow. Plus, I have to get my lesson plans done. Next week will be our “pumpkin party” (or substitute for Halloween) so I want to come up with some good projects. Ok, I have to get ready, so will write more later.
Tuesday I gave a presentation to the Junior Rotary about teaching English in Kazan. It was a small group just basically interested in how foreigners manage in the city. We ended up having a nice, intimate discussion.
Then, I made another pizza this week and had Sonia over for dinner. We hadn’t been able to really sit down for awhile and gab, so it was good to catch up on all the information we each had. Tomorrow we’re going to head out and do some shopping. And, the pizza was good, by the way. Love that new oven!!!
Thursday night, against my better judgement, I did go back to the couch surfing meeting. This time it was in a really neat coffee bar where you didn’t have to crawl over 10 people every time you wanted to get up and go to the bathroom. And no long introductions! I met a couple of new people that I will stay in touch with, so it was worth it to go back.
Oho! And here’s a piece of news. The school has decided to finally pay us a portion of our salaries as direct deposit. To that end, they opened accounts for all employees (Me included, without my knowledge!) at the crappy bank they opened my first account in last year before I had to switch banks. I told them to go screw themselves. I’ve got a bank I can deal with in English now and where the employees are friendly and helpful. If they think I’m going to deal with that other bank again, they are out of their minds. Just keep paying me in cash. I don’t care. But just keep paying me.
Last night I went to one of my student’s homes for dinner. I’d been there before. The mom cooked a wonderful meal and we had lots of fun talking. Funny, but the first thing the kid showed me when we got into the apartment was the broken toilet seat. The parents almost died of embarrassment.
Tonight I’m headed out to another family dinner. The mom also happens to be a colleague and they speak English to the kids at home, so the kid is really good. I’m getting some great rice pilaf tonight and I’m hungry already just thinking about it.
Tomorrow I’m going to breakfast with Anna and then out to do some shopping with Sonia. I got some shopping and studying in today, and want to do the same tomorrow. Plus, I have to get my lesson plans done. Next week will be our “pumpkin party” (or substitute for Halloween) so I want to come up with some good projects. Ok, I have to get ready, so will write more later.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
The busy weekend
Friday night I went downtown to a drawing class with Madina. There was the teacher, the model , Madina and me. And it happened to be in the time cafe where Sonia was meeting with her Spanish compatriots. We were totally surprised to run into each other. (Remember the time cafes? You pay according to how long you stay, not according to what you drink.) The lesson itself was so-so. The teacher explained things nicely, but my drawings still looked crappy. Drawing just isn’t my cup of tea. Saturday morning I got the apartment cleaned, then the international bunch went downtown to the hockey match. It turned out be be pretty exciting. We won 5-1 and the dad of my student scored the second goal. Hooray. The game was over at 7:15 and I had planned on doing a part of that night ride through Kazan. But I just sort of pooped out after the game and decided against it. Paul was hungry and dying for some Georgian food so we headed down the street to the branch of the Georgian restaurant that is near the stadium. Lordy, we stuffed ourselves. I had tomato soup with shrimp, lamb shashlik and grilled mushrooms . It was a good thing we had to walk a way to the metro station because I was becoming totally lethargic. On the walk to the metro, we passed a Mexican restaurant that we hadn’t know was there. Now we have a new destination to head for.
After a good night’s sleep, I got up and listened to Wait, Wait... and watched Real Time with Bill Maher, did a wash and headed out to met Anna for lunch. We headed for the French restaurant up on Gorky Street. She had salmon covered with slices of zucchini and I had the stuffed cabbage leaves covered with whipped cream. I didn’t expect then to be like that. I’ve had them before in other restaurants and they had been covered in a tomato sauce. I actually prefer them with the tomato sauce.
Lesson plans are done. The kids wanted to know if they could wash and hang up clothes again. So tomorrow I will take my socks in. We always playing a game of counting socks when we get them ready to go outside or go to bed. So I figure they can count and match my socks tomorrow before we “wash” them. And hanging up a sock at a time will be easier for them than trying to clothespin a t-shirt.
Sonia’s going to over in a little while to help me prepare a presentation for Tuesday. Madina asked me to speak to the Young Rotary group about teaching English in Kazan so I’m going to put a couple of slides together of the classroom and just talk about Rochester a little bit. I’m not going to make a big deal of this. It was a last minute request.
After a good night’s sleep, I got up and listened to Wait, Wait... and watched Real Time with Bill Maher, did a wash and headed out to met Anna for lunch. We headed for the French restaurant up on Gorky Street. She had salmon covered with slices of zucchini and I had the stuffed cabbage leaves covered with whipped cream. I didn’t expect then to be like that. I’ve had them before in other restaurants and they had been covered in a tomato sauce. I actually prefer them with the tomato sauce.
Lesson plans are done. The kids wanted to know if they could wash and hang up clothes again. So tomorrow I will take my socks in. We always playing a game of counting socks when we get them ready to go outside or go to bed. So I figure they can count and match my socks tomorrow before we “wash” them. And hanging up a sock at a time will be easier for them than trying to clothespin a t-shirt.
Sonia’s going to over in a little while to help me prepare a presentation for Tuesday. Madina asked me to speak to the Young Rotary group about teaching English in Kazan so I’m going to put a couple of slides together of the classroom and just talk about Rochester a little bit. I’m not going to make a big deal of this. It was a last minute request.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
The weird cafeteria
OK, so Sonia and I meet Emma at the metro and go to a nearby cafeteria for tea and some Tatar specialties. We are sitting in a big room with maybe twelve tables, two TVs are blaring and only one other table in the place is occupied. Emma’s showing us some pictures of her family on her phone and Sonia and I are making appreciative comments at conversational level when an employee comes over and asks us to keep our voices down. It’s not like we were cheering on the LA Lakers. And the funny thing was, the people at the other table were using sign language, so I wonder who the employee thought we were disturbing.
Ihab’s here!
What a great surprise. Inability, the Egyptian guy we met when we traveled to Nozhny Novgorod in March, is in town on business and Sonia, Fouad and I were able to meet up with him for dinner last night. He works for John Deere and is stationed in Nizhy but has to do lots of traveling for his job. He’s not really enjoying it that much because his family is back in Alexandria, he speaks little Russian, and have very few personal contacts at work. So he’s grateful when he can hang out with us a little bit. We’re going to see him again tonight after Sonia and I meet up with Emma, our sales lady friend from the public market. And here’s where I’m called upon to use as much Russian as possible because Emma speaks NO English. But we always manage to get by.
We’re talking about household appliances this week and today we”washed” a bunch of my t-shirts in the wash machine we made out of a cardboard box. I took in my drying rack and it was interesting to see them Struggling with the clothes pins while holding the shirts up to the line. It was a great motor skills practice. Next week I think I’ll transition over to the theme of shapes. We did it last year, but repetition and review are so necessary.Plus, I have to introduce the shapes to the new kids.
We ended up with onLy 8 kids today because of illness and vacations. Oh, how pleasant.
We’re talking about household appliances this week and today we”washed” a bunch of my t-shirts in the wash machine we made out of a cardboard box. I took in my drying rack and it was interesting to see them Struggling with the clothes pins while holding the shirts up to the line. It was a great motor skills practice. Next week I think I’ll transition over to the theme of shapes. We did it last year, but repetition and review are so necessary.Plus, I have to introduce the shapes to the new kids.
We ended up with onLy 8 kids today because of illness and vacations. Oh, how pleasant.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Jake got a puppy and I had a bike conference
Jake, all of 25, has been talking about getting a dog since shortly after he arrived in Kazan a couple of weeks ago. So Saturday, He finally went out and did it. He’s named it Teya and it is a mongrel. It’s really a cute little thing and he’s dedicating every free minute to it. He got some flack about it from the head of the department, but why should the department head care? He’s got a cat! If Jake’s willing to take care of her, leave him alone about it. He really thought it through very carefully and was able to picture all possible scenarios. I think it will be difficult, but he wants to make it work and he will.
Meanwhile, I took the afternoon off yesterday to attend the bike conference downtown. There were presentations In Russian ,Chinese (with English sub-titles), German and English so I understood a large portion of what was going on. I learned a couple of new things and also ran into some cycling friends from Kazan. These are the movers and shakers who are getting a lot of changes made concerning the infrastructure in the city. It was supposed to go from 2-5, but by 5:30 it was still only half over because everybody dragged out his/her speech. So I just got up and left. I had had to go all the way to the back of the building to chain up my bike and when I turned the corner, the wind was blowing so hard, it almost knocked me off my feet. Riding back to the subway station was actually a little scary. I was always glad when I was past the intersections because the buildings kept the wind off me. I’ve never experienced wind this bad in Kazan.
But I made it home all right and this morning I did a bike lesson with the first graders again. It was sunny and the leaves were beautiful. So we decided to take them on a bike excursion in the woods since their behavior has improved so much. They had a good time and it was nice for them to be able to ride somewhere besides around the school.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing my private English lesson with the little girl whose dad lives in the States. Thursday, Sonia and I are going to meet up with the lady who used to sell the cottage cheese at the public market place. She got a new job and hasn’t been there for months. But we were able to get In Touch with her and we’ll meet for a cup of coffee. She was such a nice lady. I’m glad we’ll get to see her again.
Meanwhile, I took the afternoon off yesterday to attend the bike conference downtown. There were presentations In Russian ,Chinese (with English sub-titles), German and English so I understood a large portion of what was going on. I learned a couple of new things and also ran into some cycling friends from Kazan. These are the movers and shakers who are getting a lot of changes made concerning the infrastructure in the city. It was supposed to go from 2-5, but by 5:30 it was still only half over because everybody dragged out his/her speech. So I just got up and left. I had had to go all the way to the back of the building to chain up my bike and when I turned the corner, the wind was blowing so hard, it almost knocked me off my feet. Riding back to the subway station was actually a little scary. I was always glad when I was past the intersections because the buildings kept the wind off me. I’ve never experienced wind this bad in Kazan.
But I made it home all right and this morning I did a bike lesson with the first graders again. It was sunny and the leaves were beautiful. So we decided to take them on a bike excursion in the woods since their behavior has improved so much. They had a good time and it was nice for them to be able to ride somewhere besides around the school.
Tomorrow I’ll be doing my private English lesson with the little girl whose dad lives in the States. Thursday, Sonia and I are going to meet up with the lady who used to sell the cottage cheese at the public market place. She got a new job and hasn’t been there for months. But we were able to get In Touch with her and we’ll meet for a cup of coffee. She was such a nice lady. I’m glad we’ll get to see her again.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Bicycle news
I forgot. Not only will I be attending the bicycle conference on Monday, they are going to have a big rally for the guy who rode around the world Sunday at midnight. I’m seriously thinking about going. And then next Saturday, there will be the last night ride of the year. Kazan is really getting organized in terms of “bikes as transportation”. You go, guys!
Sonia’s birthday
Thursday Sonia and I went to the couch surfing gathering. They had 20 or so people around one big table and you really couldn’t converse with anyone, it was just too noisy. Then Mahmoud, the leader of the whole thing, decides everyone should introduce him/herself. Mahmoud decides that the person on my right should start and then it goes around to the person to her right. It gets to be 10 pm and they’re still only halfway around the table. Screw this. I’m not waiting for another 45 minutes to say, “Hi, my name is Karen. I’m from America and I teach English in Kazan.” I had school the next day!
So, I am sort or bummed out on the couch surfing group now.
Friday after school I went downtown to meet a mom who wants me to give her 4-year-old daughter
English lessons. The kid was born in the States but lives back in Kazan now and mom is afraid she will lose all her English . I said I would give it a try, but gave no guarantees. The kid seems to be a little wild. If I have to spend my time making her mind, it’s not worth it.
Today is Sonia’s birthday. I went and picked up her present last night before I met the mom and the little girl. This morning I made pizza dough and I will take a homemade pizza over to the party tonight. I went out shopping for a few things this morning. I rode the bike down to the big Ashan grocery store about a half hour away. I just wanted a nice, long ride. I got everything and was headed back home when I heard someone call me. It was Sonia, who had also been out shopping. So I pushed the bike the rest of the way home with her and waited for her while she got a few more things. Now it’s just study time until the party. And tomorrow is going to be another stay at home, lazy day.
So, I am sort or bummed out on the couch surfing group now.
Friday after school I went downtown to meet a mom who wants me to give her 4-year-old daughter
English lessons. The kid was born in the States but lives back in Kazan now and mom is afraid she will lose all her English . I said I would give it a try, but gave no guarantees. The kid seems to be a little wild. If I have to spend my time making her mind, it’s not worth it.
Today is Sonia’s birthday. I went and picked up her present last night before I met the mom and the little girl. This morning I made pizza dough and I will take a homemade pizza over to the party tonight. I went out shopping for a few things this morning. I rode the bike down to the big Ashan grocery store about a half hour away. I just wanted a nice, long ride. I got everything and was headed back home when I heard someone call me. It was Sonia, who had also been out shopping. So I pushed the bike the rest of the way home with her and waited for her while she got a few more things. Now it’s just study time until the party. And tomorrow is going to be another stay at home, lazy day.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
City club
Sonia and I got the whole gang to go to City Club last night, which was held this month on a Wednesday. Jake, Paul , Jennifer, Sonia and I all took the 30 bus to the opera house (I used my new transportation card.) and walked about 5 minutes from there. It was a really small little bar and we were all jammed in. I met lots of new people and had fun catching up with the people I had met before.
Jake is a dyed-in-the-wool Liverpool fan and I had told him I would watch the game with him last night, so we cut out at about 9:30 with Paul to go to Jake’s favorite sports bar. Paul went straight home and we walked over to the Home Bar. There were two people in the bar when we got there and 4 TVs turned to the Barcelona-Tottenham game. Jake asked the barkeeper if we could turn on the Liverpool game. The barkeeper refused because the other two customers had requested the Barcelona game. So we’re telling the guy, “But you have 4 TVs in this tiny little bar. You mean you can’t change the channel on just one of them? Those two guys can have the other 3 TVs, for all we care.” “Nope. The TVs are all coordinated to one system and what you watch on one, you have to watch on all.” Hmmmmm. Ok. So the Barcelona game wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what Jake wanted to see. He’s checking out new bars close to the apartment building. He’s got to see Liverpool. It’s an addiction for him. We finally got home at about 12:30.
Jake, Paul and Jen all seem to be doing a good job and fitting in very well. In fact, Jake will start giving English lessons to the Russian staff this week. And Russian lessons are going to be offered to the English speakers twice a week. I’m going to pass on those because I’m at a slightly higher level than the newbies so I really don’t have to sit and relearn the alphabet.
Tonight is couch surfing club, the club where there’s as much Russian spoken as English. I think it will be Sonia, Jake ,Jenn and me who are going. Paul opted out.
We’re talking about professions now with the kids. Today lesson was about entomologists so we got to look at a bunch of neat bugs. In fact, I didn’t even get to finish the lesson, so we’ll continue it tomorrow. We’ll read about and make The Very Hungry Caterpillar and use a magnifying glass. I’m still trying to come up with a theme for next week. I still have the weekend to think about it.
Oh, and did I mention already that they are installing a new hot water meter in my apartment? The first Sunday morning I stayed home and the electrician and the landlady were here for 5 minutes when the decided they needed new parts and left. The next Sunday they came again, decided they n ended more new parts, stayed for 5 minutes and left. Today I came home from school while the children were sleeping. The landlady and the electrician came and worked for 45 minutes and then told me to be in the apartment tomorrow at 1, because he still had to work on it more. Really? I’m glad the kids take long enough naps and I have two assistants so I can sneak out for an hour. This is getting ridiculous.
Jake is a dyed-in-the-wool Liverpool fan and I had told him I would watch the game with him last night, so we cut out at about 9:30 with Paul to go to Jake’s favorite sports bar. Paul went straight home and we walked over to the Home Bar. There were two people in the bar when we got there and 4 TVs turned to the Barcelona-Tottenham game. Jake asked the barkeeper if we could turn on the Liverpool game. The barkeeper refused because the other two customers had requested the Barcelona game. So we’re telling the guy, “But you have 4 TVs in this tiny little bar. You mean you can’t change the channel on just one of them? Those two guys can have the other 3 TVs, for all we care.” “Nope. The TVs are all coordinated to one system and what you watch on one, you have to watch on all.” Hmmmmm. Ok. So the Barcelona game wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what Jake wanted to see. He’s checking out new bars close to the apartment building. He’s got to see Liverpool. It’s an addiction for him. We finally got home at about 12:30.
Jake, Paul and Jen all seem to be doing a good job and fitting in very well. In fact, Jake will start giving English lessons to the Russian staff this week. And Russian lessons are going to be offered to the English speakers twice a week. I’m going to pass on those because I’m at a slightly higher level than the newbies so I really don’t have to sit and relearn the alphabet.
Tonight is couch surfing club, the club where there’s as much Russian spoken as English. I think it will be Sonia, Jake ,Jenn and me who are going. Paul opted out.
We’re talking about professions now with the kids. Today lesson was about entomologists so we got to look at a bunch of neat bugs. In fact, I didn’t even get to finish the lesson, so we’ll continue it tomorrow. We’ll read about and make The Very Hungry Caterpillar and use a magnifying glass. I’m still trying to come up with a theme for next week. I still have the weekend to think about it.
Oh, and did I mention already that they are installing a new hot water meter in my apartment? The first Sunday morning I stayed home and the electrician and the landlady were here for 5 minutes when the decided they needed new parts and left. The next Sunday they came again, decided they n ended more new parts, stayed for 5 minutes and left. Today I came home from school while the children were sleeping. The landlady and the electrician came and worked for 45 minutes and then told me to be in the apartment tomorrow at 1, because he still had to work on it more. Really? I’m glad the kids take long enough naps and I have two assistants so I can sneak out for an hour. This is getting ridiculous.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The trip to the mosque
Hooray! I finally got my visit to the mosque in. The dad picked me up after school and drove me there. First he gave me a tour. They are doing a lot of renovations and building out the basement for classrooms and a rec area. It’s simply and beautifully decorated. Very attractive. And the people were super friendly and hospitable. I was offered tea and everyone spoke to me and thanked me for visiting their mosque. Then I got to sit in on the dad’s Arabic lesson. He had prepared a sheet for me with English translations so I was at least able to follow along. Afterwards he drove me back home and he took the time to answer all my questions I had about Islam. It was a really pleasant experience. Ya gotta love the tolerance in Kazan.
And I’ve got bicycle news! The president of the Kazan Rotary is just completing an around the world bike trip and they’re building an entire conference around the event. I’ve been invited to attend the seminars next Monday afternoon. There will be international speakers so I’m assuming they will have English translations. If not, I will just muddle through with my Russian. It’s going to be mainly about how bikes can improve cities and personal lifestyles, and how we can get cities to improve their bike/ped infrastructure and how people can enjoy healthier lifestyles. I’m even taking the afternoon off to attend.
And I’ve got bicycle news! The president of the Kazan Rotary is just completing an around the world bike trip and they’re building an entire conference around the event. I’ve been invited to attend the seminars next Monday afternoon. There will be international speakers so I’m assuming they will have English translations. If not, I will just muddle through with my Russian. It’s going to be mainly about how bikes can improve cities and personal lifestyles, and how we can get cities to improve their bike/ped infrastructure and how people can enjoy healthier lifestyles. I’m even taking the afternoon off to attend.
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