Yesterday Jake, Paul, Adam and Jake’s friend Jamie did our goodbye dinner at a great steakhouse I’d never been to. It was great. But since I’m trying to cut back on meat, I went for the Camembert and pear salad. Delicious it was a fun conversation because, as always, it centered on school and all the crazy things that go on there. Paul and I left together and I was home a little after 10. I put my last wash in and waited for it to get done. Then I had to spread it out on all the free spaces in my bathroom because I sold my drying rack. No problem.
This morning I got up and headed for my last day in the classroom. It wasn’t anything too different. We talked about it being my last day, but I didn’t want to make too big a deal about it with the kids. I just wanted them to understand. We had an assembly today and the lady told them the story of Mogli with a laser light show. It wasn’t bad. Then , because it was raining hard, we spent the next hour running around in the gym. That they loved!
After lunch, we put the kids down for their naps and who came in but the liaison with my passport and new visa. So my return to Kazan for two months in October and November as a consultant is a sure thing.
And to my surprise, they threw a little goodbye reception for me. There were only two small speeches, thank god. I would have shot myself in the head if they had drawn that out. But they gave me the neatest book of pictures that people had taken of me over the last two years. Russians LOVE taking pictures with their phones. The book is very, very nice and it’s so interesting to see how much the kids have grown in those two years.
At 4 o’clock I just gave everyone a hug and that was it. No tears, no protests. The kids just accepted it because we’d been talking about it for so long now.
I went home, cleaned the apartment a little, finished packing my suitcases and waited for Ravil to come by and pick me up. He’s been a super friend for the time I’ve been here and he’s really the last person I wanted to see before I left. I gave him the keys to my apartment and he will take the few things that are left that he would like to have.
We got a taxi and headed for the airport and when we got there, would you believe it, I run into the parents of one of my students! They were on their way to Portugal. We were way early, so we sat and talked until check in opened up. I was a little worried because both bags were several ounces overweight, even though I was so careful about packing and getting rid of things. When I come back in October, it’s going to be with a half empty suitcase. Damn, I hate dragging so much weight around.
So now I’m through customs and immigration and just waiting for my flight to start boarding. I’ll be dead tired when I get there, but I’ll be glad to get there.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
9 pounds to go
So, I pushed my full suitcase all the way to work today so that I could weigh it on the scales at the nurse’s office. I’ve got room for nine more pounds, which is a good thing because I think I’m going to be right at the limit. It turned out to be a fun exercise for the kids because we weighed them all too. Unfortunately, I’ve gained a few pounds. Yikes. And tomorrow we take a field trip to the theater. It will be the first time we will have had them in the school van. We practiced our partner walking again today so they know what’s expected of them.
Monday evening was my last coffee hour with Dmitry. But he’s someone I’ll definitely keep in touch with and see when I get back October (providing my visa really gets extended on time). Then, Tuesday evening Paul and I went out to a great place we like just down the road. It turns out we had a lot to discuss about school. They had offered him a contract extension with certain conditions and he accepted. Now they’re trying to change the conditions and he’s saying no way. If they don’t come back with a decent offer by the end of the week, he will hand in his resignation. That means the entire English-speaking staff, except for Jake and the head of the department, who is more administrator than teacher, will be the only holdovers as teachers. They have to find 13 new English-speaking faculty members. Good luck with that. This school should learn how to retain good staff.
Tonight was the last table tennis playing in Kazan for me until October. I definitely have to find a club when I get back to the States. I’ve really enjoyed playing. There were 5 of us tonight. When Marat left, Paul and I played doubles against Narzullo and Ramil. We even managed to win a game!
Friday Adam leaves for Bulgaria, where he will teach English in summer camp before going on to the Ukraine for the school year. In any case, a bunch of us will go out tomorrow as a going away party for all those going. Time is drawing near.
And the boss is in the States at the moment with his kids. Both boys are attending a summer camp. In English! The little one was in my class and he is really holding his own with the language.
Monday evening was my last coffee hour with Dmitry. But he’s someone I’ll definitely keep in touch with and see when I get back October (providing my visa really gets extended on time). Then, Tuesday evening Paul and I went out to a great place we like just down the road. It turns out we had a lot to discuss about school. They had offered him a contract extension with certain conditions and he accepted. Now they’re trying to change the conditions and he’s saying no way. If they don’t come back with a decent offer by the end of the week, he will hand in his resignation. That means the entire English-speaking staff, except for Jake and the head of the department, who is more administrator than teacher, will be the only holdovers as teachers. They have to find 13 new English-speaking faculty members. Good luck with that. This school should learn how to retain good staff.
Tonight was the last table tennis playing in Kazan for me until October. I definitely have to find a club when I get back to the States. I’ve really enjoyed playing. There were 5 of us tonight. When Marat left, Paul and I played doubles against Narzullo and Ramil. We even managed to win a game!
Friday Adam leaves for Bulgaria, where he will teach English in summer camp before going on to the Ukraine for the school year. In any case, a bunch of us will go out tomorrow as a going away party for all those going. Time is drawing near.
And the boss is in the States at the moment with his kids. Both boys are attending a summer camp. In English! The little one was in my class and he is really holding his own with the language.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
The last weekend
This is it. No more Saturday and Sunday activities in Kazan for awhile! I got rid of just about everything I wanted to sell at my flea market sale. In the late afternoon on Saturday Claudia, Sven, Anna and I went out for Chinese. We had a great table in front of the picture window overlooking the city (and a parking lot!) and the food was great. Afterwards we all headed over to Gorky Park for the couch surfing meeting, which was a picnic on the lawn. There wasn’t too much conversation this time. Everyone was playing card games. When the mosquitoes came out, we left. I was able to get the number of the Algerian guy I talked to last time so that we can stay in touch.
Today it was lazy day. I did a lot of research on the internet and read. Then Anna came over at about 1 and she took the rest of the stuff I wanted to get rid of. Then I went back with her to her place with my bike. She’s going to keep it in her storeroom for me while I’m gone. We got to her place and I immediately folded it In All the right places and we stuck it in the carrying case that came with it. It will be safe and sound there until I come back in October.
And it was so insufferably hot today. I’ve been sweating out as much water as I’ve been drinking. After taking a short break at her place to cool down, we walked downtown to a restaurant I had heard about but hadn’t had a chance to eat at yet. We decided that would be a good place to say our last goodbyes.
We walk into the place and, wouldn’t you know it, there’s one of my students and her family. So, of course I chatted with them for a few minutes. Then we had a nice, leisurely meal of Caesar salads and fruit. It was refreshing in the heat. We walked back the subway station and parted ways. When I got off the subway train at my end, I started walking back to my building and I could see dark smoke billowing up. There was a tremendous fire on a side street not far from my building. It looked nasty. Tomorrow I’m going to check it out. It seems to have been in the kindergarten just up the road from me. I hope there isn’t too much damage.
And, of course, as I’m then walking down the street where my Building is, I run Into another student with his grandpa. I should only be seeing these kids in the classroom!
Today it was lazy day. I did a lot of research on the internet and read. Then Anna came over at about 1 and she took the rest of the stuff I wanted to get rid of. Then I went back with her to her place with my bike. She’s going to keep it in her storeroom for me while I’m gone. We got to her place and I immediately folded it In All the right places and we stuck it in the carrying case that came with it. It will be safe and sound there until I come back in October.
And it was so insufferably hot today. I’ve been sweating out as much water as I’ve been drinking. After taking a short break at her place to cool down, we walked downtown to a restaurant I had heard about but hadn’t had a chance to eat at yet. We decided that would be a good place to say our last goodbyes.
We walk into the place and, wouldn’t you know it, there’s one of my students and her family. So, of course I chatted with them for a few minutes. Then we had a nice, leisurely meal of Caesar salads and fruit. It was refreshing in the heat. We walked back the subway station and parted ways. When I got off the subway train at my end, I started walking back to my building and I could see dark smoke billowing up. There was a tremendous fire on a side street not far from my building. It looked nasty. Tomorrow I’m going to check it out. It seems to have been in the kindergarten just up the road from me. I hope there isn’t too much damage.
And, of course, as I’m then walking down the street where my Building is, I run Into another student with his grandpa. I should only be seeing these kids in the classroom!
Friday, June 21, 2019
News of the week
this was my second to last week teaching. Class size has been small because a lot of kids are already on vacation. We finished up talking about orchestra instruments and now we are talking about birds. We did the old plastic egg and nor dryer experiment to understand how birds’ wings work and how they fly. We’ve been having fun. And no tears yet.
Monday night was great. The guy who rode his bike around the world did a book presentation and I went to it. I took my book along and had him sign it. And, of course, not only he talked about the trip but there were the obligatory, overly-long speeches of praise for him by others. It started at 5 and I had to meet Dmitry at 6:30. So I cut out at 6:15, just before the coffee and cookies part. Rats.
I was going to meet Dmitry at the park about 10 minutes down the street. On the way down, I passed a pizza place and grabbed a slice before I found Dmitry waiting at the monument for me. We had a cup of coffee at a cafe in the park and then just took a walk because the weather was beautiful.
Tuesday was just sort of clean up the place day. Some people are coming over tomorrow morning to see if there’s anything of mine they can use, so I started getting the stuff I want to get rid of in some sort of order.
Wednesday was table tennis again. I hadn’t been for three weeks and it was good to get a little exercise other than on the bike. It felt really good and I can’t wait to find a place to play in Rochester.
Thursday was the hit so far. A bunch of us went out to the dive with the excellent food that Sonia and I discovered right at the beginning of our stay in Kazan. I had a piece of grilled fish (No idea what kind. All the menus says is “fish”.) which was excellent, along with a Greek salad and a bunch of French fries, all washed down with tea. We sat and laughed and talked for three solid hours. I had eaten so much, I could barely ride my bike home. It was good for all of us to get together for one last time.
Today is another take it easy anD clean up a little night before the guys come over tomorrow for my flea market tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night I’ll probably go to the couch surfing meeting in the park and on Sunday, I’ll take my bike over to Anna's to store it, then we’ll go out for lunch.
Why am I storing my bike, you might ask. OK, here’s the deal. The school asked me to extend my teaching contract and I said absolutely not. Then they offered me a contract for an administrative position and I said definitely not. Then they came up with the idea that I should do consulting for them. That means they would fly me over for a couple of months each year, give me an apartment and a salary and I would do teacher trainings, observations with feedback and continue working on the bike program. I’m up to a trip back to Kazan every year. There’s so much I like about
this place. And, I wouldn’t be a classroom of my own 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
The one hitch? Of course they putzed around about getting my visa, so now it looks as if it will be ready next Friday at 3 p.m. I’m supposed to leave the country 11 hours later. I made it very clear that if my visa wasn’t stamped in my passport, and my passport wasn’t in my hand at 4 p.m., I’d have someone’s cojones in a vice and I WOULD NOT return to Kazan. There is no way I’m taking the trip back to the visa center in NYC. I told them to start working on my visa at the beginning of May. They started at the beginning of June. What is wrong with these people? They why they lose a lot of good staff. And, if I come back, when I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough and it’s over.
Let’s see how this plays out.
Monday night was great. The guy who rode his bike around the world did a book presentation and I went to it. I took my book along and had him sign it. And, of course, not only he talked about the trip but there were the obligatory, overly-long speeches of praise for him by others. It started at 5 and I had to meet Dmitry at 6:30. So I cut out at 6:15, just before the coffee and cookies part. Rats.
I was going to meet Dmitry at the park about 10 minutes down the street. On the way down, I passed a pizza place and grabbed a slice before I found Dmitry waiting at the monument for me. We had a cup of coffee at a cafe in the park and then just took a walk because the weather was beautiful.
Tuesday was just sort of clean up the place day. Some people are coming over tomorrow morning to see if there’s anything of mine they can use, so I started getting the stuff I want to get rid of in some sort of order.
Wednesday was table tennis again. I hadn’t been for three weeks and it was good to get a little exercise other than on the bike. It felt really good and I can’t wait to find a place to play in Rochester.
Thursday was the hit so far. A bunch of us went out to the dive with the excellent food that Sonia and I discovered right at the beginning of our stay in Kazan. I had a piece of grilled fish (No idea what kind. All the menus says is “fish”.) which was excellent, along with a Greek salad and a bunch of French fries, all washed down with tea. We sat and laughed and talked for three solid hours. I had eaten so much, I could barely ride my bike home. It was good for all of us to get together for one last time.
Today is another take it easy anD clean up a little night before the guys come over tomorrow for my flea market tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night I’ll probably go to the couch surfing meeting in the park and on Sunday, I’ll take my bike over to Anna's to store it, then we’ll go out for lunch.
Why am I storing my bike, you might ask. OK, here’s the deal. The school asked me to extend my teaching contract and I said absolutely not. Then they offered me a contract for an administrative position and I said definitely not. Then they came up with the idea that I should do consulting for them. That means they would fly me over for a couple of months each year, give me an apartment and a salary and I would do teacher trainings, observations with feedback and continue working on the bike program. I’m up to a trip back to Kazan every year. There’s so much I like about
this place. And, I wouldn’t be a classroom of my own 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
The one hitch? Of course they putzed around about getting my visa, so now it looks as if it will be ready next Friday at 3 p.m. I’m supposed to leave the country 11 hours later. I made it very clear that if my visa wasn’t stamped in my passport, and my passport wasn’t in my hand at 4 p.m., I’d have someone’s cojones in a vice and I WOULD NOT return to Kazan. There is no way I’m taking the trip back to the visa center in NYC. I told them to start working on my visa at the beginning of May. They started at the beginning of June. What is wrong with these people? They why they lose a lot of good staff. And, if I come back, when I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough and it’s over.
Let’s see how this plays out.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
The lazy weekend
So, yesterday was the big picnic that Claudia, Sonia and Marina got together. We had it right here in our forest In one of the shelters. Everybody invited everybody and we ended up being about 30 people. I made cheese and fruit appetizers and took some grapes along. The weather was a little cool, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The whole afternoon was very pleasant. I got to talk with a lot of people that I was probably seeing for the last time. Claudia brought her guitar and we got some songs going, but most of them were from groups that I was unfamiliar with. Claudia knows a lot of Russian hit songs. Nobody knew Peter, Paul and Mary.
Then, just before Paul left the party, he suggested that a bunch of us go back to that bar/dive where we’d been a couple of times and had such good barbecued lamb. Paul lives right across from the place now in his new apartment and he laughs that he sees drunks throwing up outside there almost every night now! We’re going on Thursday and this will be a hoot.
Today has been a cleaning and packing day. I’m trying to get everything organized so that I only need to check one bag. But I’m guessing that’s not going to work. Ok, I can deal with paying for an extra bag because all my other fees have been paid for.
My bicycle I’m going to store at Anna’s place. I may or may not have already mentioned that the school offered me a consulting contract. I told them I would do it if my visa was extended before I left Kazan. Of course they puzted around and only submitted the paperwork at the beginning of June. If the visa’s not stamped in my passport by June 28, I will not be back . If they have it ready, I will come back in October and November to do teacher trading seminars and observations. We’ See what happens.
The good thing is that a German cycling buddy is moving back to Kazan and will probably be taking over the school’s bicycle program. Then I know it will be in good hands and it will be carried on.
Tomorrow, the Kazan guy I know who rode around the world last year is giving a book talk down at the Central Library. Of course I’m going to go down. In fact, I’m Going to take my copy of the book and have him sign it. Afterwards, I’ll head on over to the cafe and meet Dmitry.
My time is winding down.
Then, just before Paul left the party, he suggested that a bunch of us go back to that bar/dive where we’d been a couple of times and had such good barbecued lamb. Paul lives right across from the place now in his new apartment and he laughs that he sees drunks throwing up outside there almost every night now! We’re going on Thursday and this will be a hoot.
Today has been a cleaning and packing day. I’m trying to get everything organized so that I only need to check one bag. But I’m guessing that’s not going to work. Ok, I can deal with paying for an extra bag because all my other fees have been paid for.
My bicycle I’m going to store at Anna’s place. I may or may not have already mentioned that the school offered me a consulting contract. I told them I would do it if my visa was extended before I left Kazan. Of course they puzted around and only submitted the paperwork at the beginning of June. If the visa’s not stamped in my passport by June 28, I will not be back . If they have it ready, I will come back in October and November to do teacher trading seminars and observations. We’ See what happens.
The good thing is that a German cycling buddy is moving back to Kazan and will probably be taking over the school’s bicycle program. Then I know it will be in good hands and it will be carried on.
Tomorrow, the Kazan guy I know who rode around the world last year is giving a book talk down at the Central Library. Of course I’m going to go down. In fact, I’m Going to take my copy of the book and have him sign it. Afterwards, I’ll head on over to the cafe and meet Dmitry.
My time is winding down.
Friday, June 14, 2019
Couch surfing last night
There was a couch surfing meeting last night which I’m glad I went to. There weren’t many people there, but the ones who were, were really remarkable. I ended up in a discussion with a small group, included one Uzbeki, two Algerians, two Russians and myself. We went two and a half hours, non-stop. The remarkable thing was that this group of young men in their twenties was one of the most aware and politically knowledgeable group of young people I had every meet. There was no comparison to the bunch of drunken airheads we ran into on the beach on Wednesday. These guys really understood politics and sociology, and the mixture of such diverse cultural experiences entering into the conversation was really refreshing. Sometimes, just when you think there’s no hope for the future, you have an experience like this one.
Today it’s, cold and nasty. I’ve been doing orchestra instruments with the kids this week. We made little “harmonicas” out of tongue depressors and paper today, so we’ve maintained a high level of noise.
Tomorrow we’re going to have a picnic in the woods with just about everyone we know. I’m glad we’re renting a shelter because I bet it’s going to pour.
Today it’s, cold and nasty. I’ve been doing orchestra instruments with the kids this week. We made little “harmonicas” out of tongue depressors and paper today, so we’ve maintained a high level of noise.
Tomorrow we’re going to have a picnic in the woods with just about everyone we know. I’m glad we’re renting a shelter because I bet it’s going to pour.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
The holiday bike trip
Today was a holiday celebrating the end of the Soviet Union. The weather was beautiful and 5 of us planned a bike trip to the lakes just to the northwest of the city. According to Dmitry, the great thing was that there were sidewalks and then bike paths the entire way there. Sounded like a plan!
I didn’t really want to ride my bike with no gears on unfamiliar bike paths, so Ravil, Albert and I met at 10 at our favorite bike shop and we rented bikes with gears. The shop owner remembered me from last year because I think I was the only one who ever checked the tires before I took a bike and made him put air in it. Plus, I’m probably the only American who has ever rented from him.
It didn’t take us 10 minutes to get three good bikes and we were on the way. I had already bought cheese and rolls for the picnic but Albert and Ravil had to stop at the store to pick up some fruit and munchies. And we ALL remember to go the the bathroom at the shopping center before we really started out.
We got on our way then and everyone was at the meeting point right on time. Besides us three, Claudia and Dmitry came along. After maybe 2 miles of sidewalk riding, we did actually arrive at a bike path. Keep in mind, Kazan is not as bicycle friendly as much of Europe, but the bike path until we got to Lake District was certainly adequate.
At the Lake District itself, they are working on improving the infrastructure of the recreational area. So first we hit a travel covered with sand, then 100 feet of boardwalk, followed by sand, flowed by boardwalk all the way down one side of the first lake. We cross over a sandbar to ride down the side of the other lake. Almost at the end of that lake, we look across and see a beach where we want to have our picnic. We think maybe we should just go back and across the sandbar to the other side but Dmitry wants to show us a path through the woods which will get us there. It takes a little longer but it’s scenic. Ok, we’re game.
Accept that Dmitry couldn’t find it and had to stop and ask people two times. Once we got one the path, it was up and downhill on sand 3 inches deep! Ravil took a header going done one incline. When he fell, his leg got caught between the handlebar and the frame. If the angle had Been 5 degrees sharper, it would have snapped his leg. I pushed most of the rest of the way.
We finally found a pleasant spot on a beach at the old gravel pit lake. The only problem here was we had to push the bikes down a steep incline of nothing but sand for 100 feet. (It was a real bitch getting them back up!) We found a little shade, Claudia spread out her Lufthansa blanket and we dug in to all the food everyone had brought along. Then the others went swimming but since my bathing suit is already back in the States, the most I could do is get my feet wet.
The picnic was fun and everything tasted so good, even though the sand blew onto everything. The Camembert cheese liked as if it had freckles! It was so nice and relaxing until a group of students who had just finished there exams decided that this was the beach they were going to celebrate on. We had a great time observing them and commenting on there behavior for a couple of hours. And, as we were such a multigenerational group (Ravil is 27.), it was really interesting to here the varying viewpoints and opinions.
We finally left there about 3:00 p.m. because it was starting to cloud over. Dmitry said he knew shortcuts through the woods. Right! After struggling through lots of sand again, some guy finally pointed us in the right direction. When Dmitry suggested still another shortcut, we all said no and finally got back to where the trail back to town starts.
When we got back to town, everybody headed in his own direction, and we took the bikes back to the bike shop just as it was starting to sprinkle. I caught the subway then and was home at 6. I even had sand in my ears. I jumped immediately into the shower and it was one of the most refreshing I’ve ever had.
I didn’t really want to ride my bike with no gears on unfamiliar bike paths, so Ravil, Albert and I met at 10 at our favorite bike shop and we rented bikes with gears. The shop owner remembered me from last year because I think I was the only one who ever checked the tires before I took a bike and made him put air in it. Plus, I’m probably the only American who has ever rented from him.
It didn’t take us 10 minutes to get three good bikes and we were on the way. I had already bought cheese and rolls for the picnic but Albert and Ravil had to stop at the store to pick up some fruit and munchies. And we ALL remember to go the the bathroom at the shopping center before we really started out.
We got on our way then and everyone was at the meeting point right on time. Besides us three, Claudia and Dmitry came along. After maybe 2 miles of sidewalk riding, we did actually arrive at a bike path. Keep in mind, Kazan is not as bicycle friendly as much of Europe, but the bike path until we got to Lake District was certainly adequate.
At the Lake District itself, they are working on improving the infrastructure of the recreational area. So first we hit a travel covered with sand, then 100 feet of boardwalk, followed by sand, flowed by boardwalk all the way down one side of the first lake. We cross over a sandbar to ride down the side of the other lake. Almost at the end of that lake, we look across and see a beach where we want to have our picnic. We think maybe we should just go back and across the sandbar to the other side but Dmitry wants to show us a path through the woods which will get us there. It takes a little longer but it’s scenic. Ok, we’re game.
Accept that Dmitry couldn’t find it and had to stop and ask people two times. Once we got one the path, it was up and downhill on sand 3 inches deep! Ravil took a header going done one incline. When he fell, his leg got caught between the handlebar and the frame. If the angle had Been 5 degrees sharper, it would have snapped his leg. I pushed most of the rest of the way.
We finally found a pleasant spot on a beach at the old gravel pit lake. The only problem here was we had to push the bikes down a steep incline of nothing but sand for 100 feet. (It was a real bitch getting them back up!) We found a little shade, Claudia spread out her Lufthansa blanket and we dug in to all the food everyone had brought along. Then the others went swimming but since my bathing suit is already back in the States, the most I could do is get my feet wet.
The picnic was fun and everything tasted so good, even though the sand blew onto everything. The Camembert cheese liked as if it had freckles! It was so nice and relaxing until a group of students who had just finished there exams decided that this was the beach they were going to celebrate on. We had a great time observing them and commenting on there behavior for a couple of hours. And, as we were such a multigenerational group (Ravil is 27.), it was really interesting to here the varying viewpoints and opinions.
We finally left there about 3:00 p.m. because it was starting to cloud over. Dmitry said he knew shortcuts through the woods. Right! After struggling through lots of sand again, some guy finally pointed us in the right direction. When Dmitry suggested still another shortcut, we all said no and finally got back to where the trail back to town starts.
When we got back to town, everybody headed in his own direction, and we took the bikes back to the bike shop just as it was starting to sprinkle. I caught the subway then and was home at 6. I even had sand in my ears. I jumped immediately into the shower and it was one of the most refreshing I’ve ever had.
Monday, June 10, 2019
The Russian eye chart
I went to the doctor’s today, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Saturday started with a nice breakfast with Ravil. We yakked again for a long time, then we decided to walk down to the lake, since I was going to meet Sonia for lunch and we still had some time. The weather was beautiful, the day was perfect, and we decided to take a rent a paddle boat and paddle around the lake. It was good for the bicycle muscles and afforded us some nice views of some of the architecture around the lake. Everybody was required to wear a life jacket, which was very wise. This lake is supposed to be very deep.
We walked back into town where I met Sonia and Ravil was going to meet a childhood friend. Sonia and I went for some lasagna at Basilico’s and then went out to an amusement park near the river which was sponsoring a colorfest. Fouad met us there.
It turned out to be an event where about 300 people could buy bags of colored powder and throw the contents at each other. Of course there was an MC on the stage who got people to come up and dance or do other things. They had a trick bicycle rider who jumped his bike over people. But the main thing people were interested in was buying (Yes, buying!) these bags of color and throwing them at each other. There were some pretty messy people running around. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I watch from a distance for a bit, then I went home. The day was long enough without having to take a two- hour shower before I went to bed.
Sunday Anna had suggested one of the fast-boat rides out to Sviazhsk monastery. I know, I was just there on Tuesday, but that was with the slow boat. Besides Anna is a big museum-goer, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to spend time in that new archaeological museum. And it turn Ed out to be a wonderful museum. All the exhibits were labeled in English! That’s unusual for museums in Kazan. The displays were very well done and the museum is somewhat built into the side of a hill. It was a modern, refreshing building where nothing was falling apart!
We got back into town and went over to Black Lake, where the were holding a Swiss festival. We listened to an Alphorn conference and then went for a pizza at Agafredo’s . And that’s how a pleasant day ended.
So, now to the eye chart. I’ve had a cold since Wednesday. Some of the kids have been sick, so I probably got it from them. It started with a sore throat, then my nose started running an eventually it went to my chest. But I had been sucking on throat lozenges and wad feeling slightly improved, but my eyes were itchy. I figured it was caused by pollen in the air.
When I came in this morning, one of my moms, who is a doctor, looked at me and told me I had conjunctivitis. Oh joy. She made a call to her clinic and got me an appointment for 1 p.m., which is when the kids are napping.
My great TA Rimma went with me to help translate. We got there, signed in, paid up front, and the doctor took us in immediately. Since it has to do with my eyes, he makes me read an eye chart. With and without my glasses. When I got to something I could read, I said so. ThenRimma pipes up to the doctor in Russian, “Maybe she can’t read it because it’s in Russian.” I answered slightly insulted, “Are you nuts? Of course I can read Russian letters!” My god, I’ve been here two years . I should have learned something by this time.
In any case, he prescribed nose drops and eye drops. As soon as we got back to school I started taking them. This will go on for a week. Then I hope it’s the last illness in Kazan.
We walked back into town where I met Sonia and Ravil was going to meet a childhood friend. Sonia and I went for some lasagna at Basilico’s and then went out to an amusement park near the river which was sponsoring a colorfest. Fouad met us there.
It turned out to be an event where about 300 people could buy bags of colored powder and throw the contents at each other. Of course there was an MC on the stage who got people to come up and dance or do other things. They had a trick bicycle rider who jumped his bike over people. But the main thing people were interested in was buying (Yes, buying!) these bags of color and throwing them at each other. There were some pretty messy people running around. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I watch from a distance for a bit, then I went home. The day was long enough without having to take a two- hour shower before I went to bed.
Sunday Anna had suggested one of the fast-boat rides out to Sviazhsk monastery. I know, I was just there on Tuesday, but that was with the slow boat. Besides Anna is a big museum-goer, so I figured it would be a great opportunity to spend time in that new archaeological museum. And it turn Ed out to be a wonderful museum. All the exhibits were labeled in English! That’s unusual for museums in Kazan. The displays were very well done and the museum is somewhat built into the side of a hill. It was a modern, refreshing building where nothing was falling apart!
We got back into town and went over to Black Lake, where the were holding a Swiss festival. We listened to an Alphorn conference and then went for a pizza at Agafredo’s . And that’s how a pleasant day ended.
So, now to the eye chart. I’ve had a cold since Wednesday. Some of the kids have been sick, so I probably got it from them. It started with a sore throat, then my nose started running an eventually it went to my chest. But I had been sucking on throat lozenges and wad feeling slightly improved, but my eyes were itchy. I figured it was caused by pollen in the air.
When I came in this morning, one of my moms, who is a doctor, looked at me and told me I had conjunctivitis. Oh joy. She made a call to her clinic and got me an appointment for 1 p.m., which is when the kids are napping.
My great TA Rimma went with me to help translate. We got there, signed in, paid up front, and the doctor took us in immediately. Since it has to do with my eyes, he makes me read an eye chart. With and without my glasses. When I got to something I could read, I said so. ThenRimma pipes up to the doctor in Russian, “Maybe she can’t read it because it’s in Russian.” I answered slightly insulted, “Are you nuts? Of course I can read Russian letters!” My god, I’ve been here two years . I should have learned something by this time.
In any case, he prescribed nose drops and eye drops. As soon as we got back to school I started taking them. This will go on for a week. Then I hope it’s the last illness in Kazan.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The news of the day.
I told the people here that I would not teach another year. Then they tried to convince me to come back in an office position. No, that ain’t gonna happen. But they really wanted me back so they offered me a consulting job. I should come back for a couple of months each year and give teacher trainings and seminars, and do classroom observations. I should come back for two months in the fall at the beginning of school and then again for two months in spring, to evaluate progress. And I’ve accepted the offer.
I will be home most of the year but still connected to the people here that a like. And there’s always the opportunity to stop off in Germany on the way home. I’ll come back for October and November. When I get tired of the whole deal, I’ll just chuck it. But I would like to see how some of these kids
develop.
But right now, I’m just anxious to get back home at the end of July. I’ll be spending July in Germany. But the first thing I do when I get back to the States and get settled is take a long bike ride.
I will be home most of the year but still connected to the people here that a like. And there’s always the opportunity to stop off in Germany on the way home. I’ll come back for October and November. When I get tired of the whole deal, I’ll just chuck it. But I would like to see how some of these kids
develop.
But right now, I’m just anxious to get back home at the end of July. I’ll be spending July in Germany. But the first thing I do when I get back to the States and get settled is take a long bike ride.
Events of the week
Let’s go back to Sunday. I was invited to Claudia’s for dinner because her parents were coming from Germany for a visit. They were going to bring two kilos of asparagus with them and we were going to have a great sparkle dinner. The parents arrived late Saturday night....the suitcases didn’t. The asparagus was in one of the suitcases. We ended up having a homemade thistle soup which was delicious. We broke up early because Claudia had to run back out to the airport and get the suitcases which were supposed to be on a late plane. She drove out...and got one of the two suitcases. Aeroflot had no idea were the other one was. So her dad had his meds and things, her mom had to go clothes shopping because she still had nothing.
Monday Dmitry and I had coffee as usual and walked through the park. Tuesday was a holiday. I took a boat ride with Claudia and her parents up the Volga to Sviazhsk monastery. I had been there in winter and fall before, but never in summer and never by boat. They have built a. Ew archaeological museum on the island which is absolutely wonderful . It was very informative and info was even given in English. This is something I would visit again. It was so interesting.
But the best part was the boat ride back. The tables on the boat were already filling up when we got on. There was a table with only one lady at it and we asked if we could join her. It turns out she was a tour guide who had just given a tour on the island. She started talking to us and gave us a 2.5 hour lecture on the history of Sviazhsk and Kazan. This lady was amazing. I learned so much about Kazan’s history on that trip.
We got back at 5:30 and I headed straight over to Paul’s because we wanted to do a movie night. We ended up watching “Snowden”. That was an interesting and disturbing film.
Today we had our end of year picnic with the parents and kids. Everyone had a good time. We tried to get the kids to sing a couple of songs but they were so excited that they were bouncing off the walls. Kazym’s mom did a science experiment for us at the end and the kids loved that. When it was over, we 4 adults from the class just had to chill out with a cup of tea. We were all exhausted.
Now I’m home and started to get sick again. We had two kids sick to day with fevers and more than one has a runny. One. Now I’m fighting off a cold.
Monday Dmitry and I had coffee as usual and walked through the park. Tuesday was a holiday. I took a boat ride with Claudia and her parents up the Volga to Sviazhsk monastery. I had been there in winter and fall before, but never in summer and never by boat. They have built a. Ew archaeological museum on the island which is absolutely wonderful . It was very informative and info was even given in English. This is something I would visit again. It was so interesting.
But the best part was the boat ride back. The tables on the boat were already filling up when we got on. There was a table with only one lady at it and we asked if we could join her. It turns out she was a tour guide who had just given a tour on the island. She started talking to us and gave us a 2.5 hour lecture on the history of Sviazhsk and Kazan. This lady was amazing. I learned so much about Kazan’s history on that trip.
We got back at 5:30 and I headed straight over to Paul’s because we wanted to do a movie night. We ended up watching “Snowden”. That was an interesting and disturbing film.
Today we had our end of year picnic with the parents and kids. Everyone had a good time. We tried to get the kids to sing a couple of songs but they were so excited that they were bouncing off the walls. Kazym’s mom did a science experiment for us at the end and the kids loved that. When it was over, we 4 adults from the class just had to chill out with a cup of tea. We were all exhausted.
Now I’m home and started to get sick again. We had two kids sick to day with fevers and more than one has a runny. One. Now I’m fighting off a cold.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Another storm
Friday night Sonia and I went out with some other friends to see the new Aladdin movie, which is well worth it, by the way. Will Smith does a great genie. In any case, when we left the theater the others wanted to get something to eat but I headed straight home because the school had graduation on Saturday morning. I went to bed and woke up at about 1:30 to one of the worst thunderstorms I’d ever experienced. I got up to close my window and the rain was just coming down in sheets.
Saturday morning at graduation, Sonia showed me a video of the rainstorm. The others had been driving home from downtown at that time and the streets were absolutely flooded. Her videos are really frightening. We both were wondering if it caused any flooding in the subway stations as well, because it just did not stop.
But let’s go back to Monday. We talked about America all week in school so the kids will get the point that I won’t be returning and they can see what my life is like in Rochester. They are having trouble grasping the concept because all of them go on vacation and all of them have been in airplanes so hasn’t really sunk in yet. After supper I went downtown for my cup of coffee with Dmitry. We walked through the park and on the way, that’s when I got that beautiful picture of the sunset.
Tuesday was a bike ride through town. Claudia let me know about it. She saw it on one of the websites about things to do in Kazan. It was a great ride with about 50 people on some streets where I previously had not been. The weather was gorgeous and I ran into Aigul from couch surfing, who was also riding along. The only negative was a teenager who thought he was Bobby Badass and had to try to weave through the other bikes and between pedestrians at unsafe speeds. He rode in front of a car and fishtailed. I thought he was a goner. He’s the kind of jerk who gives cyclists a bad name. We did about 13 miles and then Claudia and I split off. She headed for home and I caught the subway back home.
Wednesday night was table tennis and I was soundly beaten by the other three. My only consolation is that I can see my improvement and really want to find a group to play with when I get back.
Thursday evening was stay home an get things done evening. Then we did the movie on Friday and Saturday morning was graduation morning.
They got lucky because the bad storms stopped in the early morning and it was pure sunshine for the ceremony. The event was the usual pomp and circumstance with the usual Russian pageantry thrown in. The kids had to practice songs and dance routines for two months and the drill sergeant of a dance teacher was yelling commands from the sidelines. For my tastes, it’s all a little overblown, but this is the style of Russian celebrations. Sonia, Matthew and I stuck around until about 1:30 talking with people and eating the great pilaf the guy always cooks over a wood fire for these events. I went home and putzed around then rode quickly to the subway station to add more money to my transportation. I met Jennifer and Jake on the way. Jennifer had been shopping and Jake had been at the dog park with Teya.
When I got back home, I changed and headed to the bus stop because I was meeting Anna for dinner. We went to a really posh place called Marusovka. I’d been there before and loved it and had wanted to go back. I figured this was the perfect opportunity because I had to be downtown at the sports bar for the Champions League game at 9:30 so I wanted to enjoy an nice, leisurely meal beforehand. We both had a seafood salad which was exquisite. The food was just so tasty and enjoyable. We sat there for more than two hours.
Then we walked back to the main square in town and I headed over to the sports bar where Jake, Sonia and a bunch of others had reserved a table. Jake is a rabid Liverpool fan who never lets a game go by. He was three sheets to the wind by the time I got there. It was an intimate little bar which was packed with soccer fans. The atmosphere was great for watching a game with lots of singing and slogan shouting. But the game itself was nothing spectacular. Liverpool won, to Jake’s relief, but it was a very poorly played game. Oh well.
I took a cab home because it was so late, left my jacket in the car and Ravil had to call the cabbie for me and have her bring my jacket back. Oh well again. And I didn’t even have anything to drink!
Today the sun is shining again after some rainy threats last night. I’ll be headed out for shopping in a few minutes and this evening I’ll be headed over to Claudia’s. Here parents are here for a visit and some of us will be going over to meet them.
This coming Wednesday the parents have planned an end of year picnic. We’ll sing things like “She’ Be Coming Around the Mountain” and “I bought Me a Cat”. The kids have been so funny. They love it when we do science experiments. The other day one boy’s little sister, who always brings him to class with mom, was picking up chewing gum off the ground and putting it in her mouth. when her mom asked her what she was doing she replied, “It’s and Experiment.”
Saturday morning at graduation, Sonia showed me a video of the rainstorm. The others had been driving home from downtown at that time and the streets were absolutely flooded. Her videos are really frightening. We both were wondering if it caused any flooding in the subway stations as well, because it just did not stop.
But let’s go back to Monday. We talked about America all week in school so the kids will get the point that I won’t be returning and they can see what my life is like in Rochester. They are having trouble grasping the concept because all of them go on vacation and all of them have been in airplanes so hasn’t really sunk in yet. After supper I went downtown for my cup of coffee with Dmitry. We walked through the park and on the way, that’s when I got that beautiful picture of the sunset.
Tuesday was a bike ride through town. Claudia let me know about it. She saw it on one of the websites about things to do in Kazan. It was a great ride with about 50 people on some streets where I previously had not been. The weather was gorgeous and I ran into Aigul from couch surfing, who was also riding along. The only negative was a teenager who thought he was Bobby Badass and had to try to weave through the other bikes and between pedestrians at unsafe speeds. He rode in front of a car and fishtailed. I thought he was a goner. He’s the kind of jerk who gives cyclists a bad name. We did about 13 miles and then Claudia and I split off. She headed for home and I caught the subway back home.
Wednesday night was table tennis and I was soundly beaten by the other three. My only consolation is that I can see my improvement and really want to find a group to play with when I get back.
Thursday evening was stay home an get things done evening. Then we did the movie on Friday and Saturday morning was graduation morning.
They got lucky because the bad storms stopped in the early morning and it was pure sunshine for the ceremony. The event was the usual pomp and circumstance with the usual Russian pageantry thrown in. The kids had to practice songs and dance routines for two months and the drill sergeant of a dance teacher was yelling commands from the sidelines. For my tastes, it’s all a little overblown, but this is the style of Russian celebrations. Sonia, Matthew and I stuck around until about 1:30 talking with people and eating the great pilaf the guy always cooks over a wood fire for these events. I went home and putzed around then rode quickly to the subway station to add more money to my transportation. I met Jennifer and Jake on the way. Jennifer had been shopping and Jake had been at the dog park with Teya.
When I got back home, I changed and headed to the bus stop because I was meeting Anna for dinner. We went to a really posh place called Marusovka. I’d been there before and loved it and had wanted to go back. I figured this was the perfect opportunity because I had to be downtown at the sports bar for the Champions League game at 9:30 so I wanted to enjoy an nice, leisurely meal beforehand. We both had a seafood salad which was exquisite. The food was just so tasty and enjoyable. We sat there for more than two hours.
Then we walked back to the main square in town and I headed over to the sports bar where Jake, Sonia and a bunch of others had reserved a table. Jake is a rabid Liverpool fan who never lets a game go by. He was three sheets to the wind by the time I got there. It was an intimate little bar which was packed with soccer fans. The atmosphere was great for watching a game with lots of singing and slogan shouting. But the game itself was nothing spectacular. Liverpool won, to Jake’s relief, but it was a very poorly played game. Oh well.
I took a cab home because it was so late, left my jacket in the car and Ravil had to call the cabbie for me and have her bring my jacket back. Oh well again. And I didn’t even have anything to drink!
Today the sun is shining again after some rainy threats last night. I’ll be headed out for shopping in a few minutes and this evening I’ll be headed over to Claudia’s. Here parents are here for a visit and some of us will be going over to meet them.
This coming Wednesday the parents have planned an end of year picnic. We’ll sing things like “She’ Be Coming Around the Mountain” and “I bought Me a Cat”. The kids have been so funny. They love it when we do science experiments. The other day one boy’s little sister, who always brings him to class with mom, was picking up chewing gum off the ground and putting it in her mouth. when her mom asked her what she was doing she replied, “It’s and Experiment.”
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
The rat
Damn! Today I saw a rat walk down the sidewalk in the middle of the city. Boy, those things are ugly suckers. And this one was right across from a pizzeria. Oh joy.
But let’s back up. The guy from Kazan who rode his bike around the world last year wrote a book about it. I ordered it and the lady from the bike club told me she’d meet with me Saturday afternoon to give it to me. So first I spent Saturday morning cleaning, then I took off for downtown. I meet Aigul at the coffee shop and after she gave me the book, she asked me to to say a few words about it in Russian so she could post the video of my book review on the website. I told her I needed a chance to look at the book first! I told her I’d look at it over the weekend and have someone at school record it.
The book is actually very good. I understand a lot of it and the pictures are beautiful. I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know here. So I wrote a little blurb in English and had our foreign liaison guy at school translate it into Russian. Then I practiced it for a few minutes, he recorded me and I sent it off to Aigul. What was really neat was that the guy crossed the US along the Southern Tier route, which was the way I rode. So I recognized a lot of things that he wrote about.
Sunday we had an enjoyable breakfast with the gang at Beanheart’s downtown. We had some really interesting conversation. Claudia and Ravil assured Sonia and me that it’s not just our school that has a messed up bureaucracy. They too had tells of horror to tell about totally arbitrary decisions, unreasonable waiting times and rude clerks. Ravil even had to spend a couple of hours in a jail cell when a policeman stopped him and he wasn’t carrying his passport with him.
After breakfast we split up. Sonia and Claudia headed for the flea market and Ravil and I met Anna and we walked all the way down to the Kremlin. Ravil left is there and headed home, while Anna and I co tinted along the promenade by the river. The weather was sunny and pleasant and we walked until we found an empty recliner bench and just really relaxed for an hour. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the clouds started rolling In. So we headed back into town and stopped at our Favorite Italian restaurant for a salad before we headed home.
Today I started talking to the kids about the US. At the end of the week I will let them know that I will not be their teacher next year. I figured this would be a good way to edge into the news, by talking about where I live. Then one of the boys celebrated his birthday today. Mom sent an entertainer into the classroom so we had a lot of excitement in the afternoon.
After work I went downtown for coffee with Dmitry. We’re planning a bike trip for the holiday on June 12.
But let’s back up. The guy from Kazan who rode his bike around the world last year wrote a book about it. I ordered it and the lady from the bike club told me she’d meet with me Saturday afternoon to give it to me. So first I spent Saturday morning cleaning, then I took off for downtown. I meet Aigul at the coffee shop and after she gave me the book, she asked me to to say a few words about it in Russian so she could post the video of my book review on the website. I told her I needed a chance to look at the book first! I told her I’d look at it over the weekend and have someone at school record it.
The book is actually very good. I understand a lot of it and the pictures are beautiful. I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know here. So I wrote a little blurb in English and had our foreign liaison guy at school translate it into Russian. Then I practiced it for a few minutes, he recorded me and I sent it off to Aigul. What was really neat was that the guy crossed the US along the Southern Tier route, which was the way I rode. So I recognized a lot of things that he wrote about.
Sunday we had an enjoyable breakfast with the gang at Beanheart’s downtown. We had some really interesting conversation. Claudia and Ravil assured Sonia and me that it’s not just our school that has a messed up bureaucracy. They too had tells of horror to tell about totally arbitrary decisions, unreasonable waiting times and rude clerks. Ravil even had to spend a couple of hours in a jail cell when a policeman stopped him and he wasn’t carrying his passport with him.
After breakfast we split up. Sonia and Claudia headed for the flea market and Ravil and I met Anna and we walked all the way down to the Kremlin. Ravil left is there and headed home, while Anna and I co tinted along the promenade by the river. The weather was sunny and pleasant and we walked until we found an empty recliner bench and just really relaxed for an hour. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the clouds started rolling In. So we headed back into town and stopped at our Favorite Italian restaurant for a salad before we headed home.
Today I started talking to the kids about the US. At the end of the week I will let them know that I will not be their teacher next year. I figured this would be a good way to edge into the news, by talking about where I live. Then one of the boys celebrated his birthday today. Mom sent an entertainer into the classroom so we had a lot of excitement in the afternoon.
After work I went downtown for coffee with Dmitry. We’re planning a bike trip for the holiday on June 12.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Called on account of rain
Granted, it doesn’t rain that often in Kazan, but this one really blows my mind. We had a thunderstorm on Thursday and rain throughout the day. And Sonia’s Russian lesson got cancelled because of the rain! This is a city that has snow 5 months out of the year, but they can’t handle a little rain. That is really shocking to me!
But let’s start with last Sunday. Anna and I went out for breakfast and then ended up spending three hours at an art gallery. There was a whole hall just full of pictures painted by Shishkin. He happened to be born in that little town of Yelebuga that I visited lasted Friday and we visited his home there. It was a really pleasant afternoon.
On Monday several parents and kids from the class went to the professional soccer game together. The dad of one of my kids plays on the team and got us tickets in the really exclusive section. We got served snacks and tea! This was really classy. I was disappointed that some parents ordered tickets but then never showed up. The kid’s mom went out of her way to get them for us and then they just don’t bother to show. Pretty rude, as far as I’m concerned.
Tuesday was German night! Claudia had some guests from Germany so she invited a couple of us German speakers from Kazan over. We had a nice dinner, we sang some songs with guitar accompaniment and got into some great discussions. I got on the wrong bus going home and had to jump off a couple of stops later and catch one going in the other direction. I was afraid I wasn’t going to get to the metro in time before it stopped running. But I made it.
Wednesday was table tennis with Ravil and Paul. Paul taught me a new serve and I’m getting better and better. I really have to find a table tennis club to practice at when I get back.
Thursday was the rainy day so Sonia’s Russian lesson was cancelled. So instead, I went with her downtown to complete the paperwork she needs done to get her Mongolian visa. She and her friend are taking the Transsiberian Railroad this summer. This sounds as if it’s going to be a real adventure.
It was raining lightly when we went downtown. We got things down at the visa bureau and left. Then she realized she hadn’t asked them to make a copy of her passport. The passport had to be sent with the paperwork to Moscow. But you don’t dare walk around in Russia as a foreigner without your
passport. So we turned around and went back to get the passport copied. This time, when we left the bureau it was really pouring. Sonia had to go on to a meeting with friends and I wanted to get back home. So I caught a quick bus to the metro station. But then I decided to run up to the English book store and pick something up because I had just finished my last unpacked book. I didn’t find anything that interested me, so I walked downstairs to the metro and headed home. And I was nice and wet. Sonia said that she was drenched when she got home.
Tonight is cleaning night, tomorrow I meet with a lady who’s going to deliver a book that I ordered to me. It’s written by the guy here in Kazan who rode his bike around the world. I know it’s in Russian so it should motivate me to keep learning so that I can eventually get through it.
Sunday the group is going to get together for breakfast and then will see what the day brings.
On the school side of things, it was the last day today for the little boy whose dad plays soccer. Then next week I’m going to talk about the US and break it too the kids that I won’t be their teacher after this year. There are also some birthday parties coming up and we will be throwing a going away party for all the kids who are leaving. So this next month will go by quickly.
It’s time to go.
But let’s start with last Sunday. Anna and I went out for breakfast and then ended up spending three hours at an art gallery. There was a whole hall just full of pictures painted by Shishkin. He happened to be born in that little town of Yelebuga that I visited lasted Friday and we visited his home there. It was a really pleasant afternoon.
On Monday several parents and kids from the class went to the professional soccer game together. The dad of one of my kids plays on the team and got us tickets in the really exclusive section. We got served snacks and tea! This was really classy. I was disappointed that some parents ordered tickets but then never showed up. The kid’s mom went out of her way to get them for us and then they just don’t bother to show. Pretty rude, as far as I’m concerned.
Tuesday was German night! Claudia had some guests from Germany so she invited a couple of us German speakers from Kazan over. We had a nice dinner, we sang some songs with guitar accompaniment and got into some great discussions. I got on the wrong bus going home and had to jump off a couple of stops later and catch one going in the other direction. I was afraid I wasn’t going to get to the metro in time before it stopped running. But I made it.
Wednesday was table tennis with Ravil and Paul. Paul taught me a new serve and I’m getting better and better. I really have to find a table tennis club to practice at when I get back.
Thursday was the rainy day so Sonia’s Russian lesson was cancelled. So instead, I went with her downtown to complete the paperwork she needs done to get her Mongolian visa. She and her friend are taking the Transsiberian Railroad this summer. This sounds as if it’s going to be a real adventure.
It was raining lightly when we went downtown. We got things down at the visa bureau and left. Then she realized she hadn’t asked them to make a copy of her passport. The passport had to be sent with the paperwork to Moscow. But you don’t dare walk around in Russia as a foreigner without your
passport. So we turned around and went back to get the passport copied. This time, when we left the bureau it was really pouring. Sonia had to go on to a meeting with friends and I wanted to get back home. So I caught a quick bus to the metro station. But then I decided to run up to the English book store and pick something up because I had just finished my last unpacked book. I didn’t find anything that interested me, so I walked downstairs to the metro and headed home. And I was nice and wet. Sonia said that she was drenched when she got home.
Tonight is cleaning night, tomorrow I meet with a lady who’s going to deliver a book that I ordered to me. It’s written by the guy here in Kazan who rode his bike around the world. I know it’s in Russian so it should motivate me to keep learning so that I can eventually get through it.
Sunday the group is going to get together for breakfast and then will see what the day brings.
On the school side of things, it was the last day today for the little boy whose dad plays soccer. Then next week I’m going to talk about the US and break it too the kids that I won’t be their teacher after this year. There are also some birthday parties coming up and we will be throwing a going away party for all the kids who are leaving. So this next month will go by quickly.
It’s time to go.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Today’s bike festival
I’ve never seen a school that throws events together at the last minute like this one. So, a month ago the bos lady decided that this would be the Saturday we would do our spring bike festival. Great. Whoops, it’s also the same day as the robotics competition. Nope, it’s ok. Robotics is I. The afternoon and we will do it in the morning. We will go back to the treetop adventure park where the kids had so much fun. And in addition, I will create a scavenger hunt with questions in English on the way to the park to make it more interesting. Whoops. Nobody called and reserved a cabin at the treetop adventure park . Now there are none available. Ok. We will grill on the playground at school. Good solution.
Ok, now that we are not going to climb through the treetop adventure, we will start the morning with laser tag, then the bike ride/scavenger hunt, then the grill party. I texted the designated “organizer” the night before and asked if he need help putting up the signs. He had pushed that responsibility off on the new lady because he had to grill the hot dogs. Ok. Tell her to SMS me if she needs help. No message comes. I think she’s got it under control.
I’m not going to show up at 9 for laser tag. I’ll go right before the bike ride. Whoops. I get an SMS from the new lady asking me where I am. Oh Lordy. This means the signs aren’t up and it’s 9:45. I’m on my way. As I arrive, the “organizer” asks me what guests are coming. I told him I had given him the names of the people he should officially invite two weeks ago. Oh, he answers, I thought you were going to invite them. So, no honored guests.
In any case, New lady and I walk the course through the woods and put up signs at 10 different stations. It’s now 10:30, we’re almost back at school, and boss lady is texting to know where we are. In the two years that I’ve been here, this school has NEVER had an event start on time. Why today?
Ok. Back in the courtyard there are only about 20 kids and 10 parents. It turns out, the school has so many WhatsApp threads it posted the bike fest information on none of the ones that most parents and teachers would see. (Russian use their phones too damn much. They live and die for the social media sites.) I told the boss later we should get rid of all the WhatsApp threads except one in Russian and one in English which is available to all. Do we really need a WhatsApp for left-handed, blue-eyed Tatar speakers?
Ok. Be that as it may, I started off with a few words, then gave the kids a bike lesson on the bike path on our courtyard because the police had donated some traffic lights to us and we practiced with them before we took off into the woods.
Once we got into the woods, we stopped at each station, the kids read the signs out loud and we answered the questions. We had varying riding abilities so we always had to wait awhile until
everyone caught up. At the last sign I collected all the answers, we took the signs off the trees, and headed back to the picnic.
There were hot dogs, fruits, tomatoes, actually a nice spread. I grab a hot dog and go inside with new lady and all the quiz answers. We go through them all and I ask her where the prizes are. She doesn’t know. She has to call “organizer”. Organizer tells her I was supposed to organize them. Let’s be clear about something. I create these events for them and give them ideas they never even heard of. My Russian isn’t adequate enough to interact on a business level with people. So I ain’t doing the leg work for these projects that THEY request. Get your act together and find someone who can organize. And boss lady, follow up to make sure they do it!
But new lady saved the day but finding enough Bala City School pens and notebooks for everyone. We presented the prizes and called it a day. We were lucky with the weather, the kids who were there had fun and used their English, but it’s so frustrating and exhausting to get them to organize something that doesn’t involve dancing and ball gowns! And impressing rich parents.
Ok, now that we are not going to climb through the treetop adventure, we will start the morning with laser tag, then the bike ride/scavenger hunt, then the grill party. I texted the designated “organizer” the night before and asked if he need help putting up the signs. He had pushed that responsibility off on the new lady because he had to grill the hot dogs. Ok. Tell her to SMS me if she needs help. No message comes. I think she’s got it under control.
I’m not going to show up at 9 for laser tag. I’ll go right before the bike ride. Whoops. I get an SMS from the new lady asking me where I am. Oh Lordy. This means the signs aren’t up and it’s 9:45. I’m on my way. As I arrive, the “organizer” asks me what guests are coming. I told him I had given him the names of the people he should officially invite two weeks ago. Oh, he answers, I thought you were going to invite them. So, no honored guests.
In any case, New lady and I walk the course through the woods and put up signs at 10 different stations. It’s now 10:30, we’re almost back at school, and boss lady is texting to know where we are. In the two years that I’ve been here, this school has NEVER had an event start on time. Why today?
Ok. Back in the courtyard there are only about 20 kids and 10 parents. It turns out, the school has so many WhatsApp threads it posted the bike fest information on none of the ones that most parents and teachers would see. (Russian use their phones too damn much. They live and die for the social media sites.) I told the boss later we should get rid of all the WhatsApp threads except one in Russian and one in English which is available to all. Do we really need a WhatsApp for left-handed, blue-eyed Tatar speakers?
Ok. Be that as it may, I started off with a few words, then gave the kids a bike lesson on the bike path on our courtyard because the police had donated some traffic lights to us and we practiced with them before we took off into the woods.
Once we got into the woods, we stopped at each station, the kids read the signs out loud and we answered the questions. We had varying riding abilities so we always had to wait awhile until
everyone caught up. At the last sign I collected all the answers, we took the signs off the trees, and headed back to the picnic.
There were hot dogs, fruits, tomatoes, actually a nice spread. I grab a hot dog and go inside with new lady and all the quiz answers. We go through them all and I ask her where the prizes are. She doesn’t know. She has to call “organizer”. Organizer tells her I was supposed to organize them. Let’s be clear about something. I create these events for them and give them ideas they never even heard of. My Russian isn’t adequate enough to interact on a business level with people. So I ain’t doing the leg work for these projects that THEY request. Get your act together and find someone who can organize. And boss lady, follow up to make sure they do it!
But new lady saved the day but finding enough Bala City School pens and notebooks for everyone. We presented the prizes and called it a day. We were lucky with the weather, the kids who were there had fun and used their English, but it’s so frustrating and exhausting to get them to organize something that doesn’t involve dancing and ball gowns! And impressing rich parents.
This week in entertainment
It was another busy week and very fulfilling. Monday was coffee with Dmitry. Tuesday after school, I went with Sonia to the visa center. She is traveling across Russia on the Transsiberian Railroad this summer and needs a visa to get through Mongolia. Holy crow! They’re making her jump through hoops. She had to so all her reserved tickets and hotel rooms. Then she had to pay a bucketload of money. Now they’re telling her she has to go to the Mongolian Embassy in Moscow to pick it up. They won’t mail it. But here’s the catch 22. They have to send the passport in with her application papers. But she can to travel on trains or planes in Russia without showing a passport. So how’s she supposed to get to Moscow to pick up her passport with the visa, without having a passport to travel with? This is truly a sticky wicket!
Wednesday was table tennis. This time it was Paul, Ravil and me. Same old, same old. They kill me every time, but it’s good practice and good exercise.
Thursday was couch surfing. I met a couple new people, one of whom is very interested in anime. I stayed for about two hours because Friday the bosses had organized a trip to Yelebuga.
Yelebuga is a small city with a population of about 74,000 in the east of Tatarstan. I would label it a company town, like the old coal mining regions had in the States years ago. The companies owned the houses, the stores and the mines. In the case of Yelebuga, it’s a group of high tech companies (some of them foreign) and they have created a campus with a school, a kindergarten and lots of very modern homes for school staff and employees of the companies who send their kids to the school. The campus also has a camping area, bike and walking paths, grill huts and a traditional Russian bathhouse.
The school is a multilingual school which concentrates on science, technology, engineering and math. Much of the subject matter is taught in English. Our delegation (8 of us) was sent to see what ideas we might be able to transfer from Yelebuga school to ours. We spent the entire morning touring the school and then had a nice lunch there. Because it is Ramadan now, some of our staff members couldn’t eat so they had a walk around the campus. Then we took a quick bus ride around campus before we rode into town and picked up a tour guide who gave us a tour of the city and the home of the great Russian landscape painter Ivan Shiskin. For a small city, it has a big history. And it was so beautifully green. Every time I’ve driven in this direction before, it’s been in cold weather when the snow has been up to my eyebrows. It was really refreshing to see it in green!
Our overall impression was that the school doesn’t do enough to educate a well-rounded child because it concentrates so much on the sciences and tech. But it’s undedstandable that they do so because this is a “company town” which is educating for the express purpose of leading this kids into these companies. When I asked a question about the liberal arts portion, or lack thereof, they said they teach emotional education and social skills. Ok. I guess my point would be, if you teach a kid about art, music, languages and different cultures along with science and tech, you probably would need emotional education.
The older classes spoke English well. The kindergarten kids answered in Russian when while the teachers spoke in English. Not one of them asked the kids to try to say it in English. It certainly is an interesting concept and serves the purpose for which it is intended. I’m just not sure if it’s the right education for every child. Even in the States we wait at least until the end of elementary school before a kids decides whether he wants to go to a School of the Arts, or a STEM school or just a regular high school. I’d love to see this school again in five years and look at the success rate. They at least had a 10-year plan and didn’t seem to do things as piecemeal as our school.
Wednesday was table tennis. This time it was Paul, Ravil and me. Same old, same old. They kill me every time, but it’s good practice and good exercise.
Thursday was couch surfing. I met a couple new people, one of whom is very interested in anime. I stayed for about two hours because Friday the bosses had organized a trip to Yelebuga.
Yelebuga is a small city with a population of about 74,000 in the east of Tatarstan. I would label it a company town, like the old coal mining regions had in the States years ago. The companies owned the houses, the stores and the mines. In the case of Yelebuga, it’s a group of high tech companies (some of them foreign) and they have created a campus with a school, a kindergarten and lots of very modern homes for school staff and employees of the companies who send their kids to the school. The campus also has a camping area, bike and walking paths, grill huts and a traditional Russian bathhouse.
The school is a multilingual school which concentrates on science, technology, engineering and math. Much of the subject matter is taught in English. Our delegation (8 of us) was sent to see what ideas we might be able to transfer from Yelebuga school to ours. We spent the entire morning touring the school and then had a nice lunch there. Because it is Ramadan now, some of our staff members couldn’t eat so they had a walk around the campus. Then we took a quick bus ride around campus before we rode into town and picked up a tour guide who gave us a tour of the city and the home of the great Russian landscape painter Ivan Shiskin. For a small city, it has a big history. And it was so beautifully green. Every time I’ve driven in this direction before, it’s been in cold weather when the snow has been up to my eyebrows. It was really refreshing to see it in green!
Our overall impression was that the school doesn’t do enough to educate a well-rounded child because it concentrates so much on the sciences and tech. But it’s undedstandable that they do so because this is a “company town” which is educating for the express purpose of leading this kids into these companies. When I asked a question about the liberal arts portion, or lack thereof, they said they teach emotional education and social skills. Ok. I guess my point would be, if you teach a kid about art, music, languages and different cultures along with science and tech, you probably would need emotional education.
The older classes spoke English well. The kindergarten kids answered in Russian when while the teachers spoke in English. Not one of them asked the kids to try to say it in English. It certainly is an interesting concept and serves the purpose for which it is intended. I’m just not sure if it’s the right education for every child. Even in the States we wait at least until the end of elementary school before a kids decides whether he wants to go to a School of the Arts, or a STEM school or just a regular high school. I’d love to see this school again in five years and look at the success rate. They at least had a 10-year plan and didn’t seem to do things as piecemeal as our school.
What a week
It was interesting in school this week. We started talking about what you can buy in different stores. We learned vocabulary like groceries, furniture and sports equipment. Then we “bought” things and they all had to come up to me at the toy cash register and decide whether it was “cash or charge” and “Do you need a bag for that?” This all led to the subject of what happens if you lose your credit card. We decided we had to notify the bank and tell them our names. Which led us to the fact that many kids did not know their last names because the way the Russian naming system. So we learned all our last names and learned that, if you are a girl, your last name will always end with an “a”. The kids all went home and fold their parents who were all surprised that the kids were asking them what their last names were.
I think I’ll talk about the US and Rochester next week and ease them into the idea that I will not be back as their teacher next year.
I think I’ll talk about the US and Rochester next week and ease them into the idea that I will not be back as their teacher next year.
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