It sure was difficult to find time this week to sit in front of my computer and punch out a few lines about what I've been up to. My week actually started out pretty easily. On Monday, I didn't have any classes scheduled. However, I was asked to come in to help Irina conduct some required English language oral examinations for students applying to graduate school in our university. It was a pretty neat, albeit unusual experience for me. They were all my age, but I was in there among the teachers in a more authoritative role. No doubt, some students were caught off guard by my presence and probably a little intimidated. I took this into consideration when listening and speaking to them. I didn't really have any responsibilities other than asking a few questions, helping with pronunciation, and giving my thoughts to Irina, who did all of the work with grades. In fact, it actually kind of turned into a game of "good cop, bad cop." I gave support when Irina criticized (this was by my design). Some students thought it was really cool that I was there at all. At the end of his exam, one student even asked me for my Facebook information.
Tuesday was probably my least eventful day. I only had one class, but I did begin to help Irina with some work on an English language text for law students that she's been working on for some time now. I've basically just been given some research tasks to find certain materials that would be good for the book.
Wednesday was when things started to get busy. I still only had one class and I did a little work on my tasks for Irina. However, Wednesday night was the opening night for a three-day "First-year Debut." This "debut" is essentially a three-day-long talent show for students to compete across institutes. That is, within Tyumen State, there are five primary institutes: Math & Science, Physical Education, Humanitarian Sciences, Law and Economics, and Psychology with something else. As a teacher within their institute, I was obviously a supporter for Law and Economics. On the first night, only two institutes performed. In general, I was impressed by the cohesion within each institute. They didn't just have random performances, but rather, they were all connected and related to one another. Also, each performance generally fell into one of four categories: dancing, singing, fashion, and theater. I already knew that fashion is more popular among Russian girls than it is among Americans based on what I see on the street and in stores, but display at the debut pretty much erased any remaining doubt. I was very impressed with the handiwork of the students and their athletic ability in the dances. In general, it was a very energetic, excited, and loud atmosphere. I went that night with Niklas and Katya who were there to support ИМЕНИТ (the math and science institute). However, my bitter rivalry with them didn't get fired up until Friday.
Thursday was a much longer day. I had four classes with the first one starting at 8:00am. I can tell you right now that my body and mind are not yet equipped to function at that time of the day. There is almost nothing I hate more than getting up in the morning when it's still dark outside. As far as I'm concerned, it's not morning until I can see at least a hint of the sun. I met with my most advanced students for most of the day and let one of my groups out early so anybody who was going to day two of the debut would make it in time (including myself). This time, I was accompanied by Irina, who was going to watch our ИПЭУ (law and econ.) students perform. Call it fate if you will, but at the very least I thought it was a neat coincidence that our institute's theme this year was the Wild West (the only American theme in the program). And I don't mean to degrade the other institutes, but on Thursday night, our performance was hands-down the best. It wasn't until Friday though that I found out our institute put considerably more money into their costumes and set. Nevertheless, I thought our group's creativity and execution was very sound. Afterwards, I met up with Niklas, Nikolai, Dima, and Igor back in the dorm to play cards. Specifically, we played durak. Since I had no idea how to play, I got a quick lesson in Russian on how to play. Let's just say that I haven't quite mastered all of the basics yet.
Friday was yet another long day that began in the early dark hours of the day. I only had two groups but I spent a large portion of my time between classes trying to figure out how to mail my ballot for the upcoming presidential election. I had Olya, one my colleagues in the office, help me figure out how to mail it. We were about to mail it through the university mail system until Pavel informed us that if we were to do that, it would never get to Iowa in time for the election. We then opted to use something like DHL to send it out. I don't get to do that until Monday, so I've still got my fingers crossed hoping that my vote will get counted.
That Friday night was the final night of the first-year debut. Once again, I went with Niklas and Katya. Other than the occasional shouting match of ИМЕНИТ vs. ИПЭУ, we had a great time. They showed some of the best performance from all institutes from the first two days. They handed out a pile of awards, but of course, we all waited patiently to hear result for the overall victor and recipient of the coveted green dragon stuffed-animal prize. As it turns out, my institute came out victorious! I couldn't help but feel a little proud. After the show, Niklas and Katya came back to my place to hang out and have some tea. We spent the first half talking in Russian and eventually switched over to English. It was a fun opportunity for me share some of my favorite music and to just talk about whatever.
Saturday was a very relaxing and very fun day. First off, I got to sleep-in. Already my day was off to a good start. I then just lounged around for a while playing a computer game and eating food. At about 3:00pm, I met up with Katya and we went to this year's second American Corner meeting. The turnout was as big this time but I met a few new people and we had good time watching a comedy skit and discussing it. Of course, we had tea and mountain of cookies to go along with it. I was even tested by a couple Russian guys on my knowledge of American states. I was supposed to list all of them from memory without looking at a map or writing anything down. I got almost all of them. (Lousy Oklahoma, New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and... another one that I still can't remember) It's actually pretty difficult if you're not allowed to write anything down. After American Corner, I had a little cross-cultural dinner with Katya. She made some pretty delicious chicken soup and I made an always-delicious peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I've decided to dedicate a part of my time in Russia to introducing as many people as I can to the wonderful American creation, the PB&J sandwich. (Also, after the last two posts, it might seem like I'm obsessed with PB&J. This is only partly true.) Anyway, we followed up dinner with more tea and great conversation. We even got to talk with Katya's French roommate, Matilda, a little bit.
Now it's Sunday and, while relaxing, I'm trying to get prepared for the week (and get caught up on blogging).
Tuesday was probably my least eventful day. I only had one class, but I did begin to help Irina with some work on an English language text for law students that she's been working on for some time now. I've basically just been given some research tasks to find certain materials that would be good for the book.
Wednesday was when things started to get busy. I still only had one class and I did a little work on my tasks for Irina. However, Wednesday night was the opening night for a three-day "First-year Debut." This "debut" is essentially a three-day-long talent show for students to compete across institutes. That is, within Tyumen State, there are five primary institutes: Math & Science, Physical Education, Humanitarian Sciences, Law and Economics, and Psychology with something else. As a teacher within their institute, I was obviously a supporter for Law and Economics. On the first night, only two institutes performed. In general, I was impressed by the cohesion within each institute. They didn't just have random performances, but rather, they were all connected and related to one another. Also, each performance generally fell into one of four categories: dancing, singing, fashion, and theater. I already knew that fashion is more popular among Russian girls than it is among Americans based on what I see on the street and in stores, but display at the debut pretty much erased any remaining doubt. I was very impressed with the handiwork of the students and their athletic ability in the dances. In general, it was a very energetic, excited, and loud atmosphere. I went that night with Niklas and Katya who were there to support ИМЕНИТ (the math and science institute). However, my bitter rivalry with them didn't get fired up until Friday.
Thursday was a much longer day. I had four classes with the first one starting at 8:00am. I can tell you right now that my body and mind are not yet equipped to function at that time of the day. There is almost nothing I hate more than getting up in the morning when it's still dark outside. As far as I'm concerned, it's not morning until I can see at least a hint of the sun. I met with my most advanced students for most of the day and let one of my groups out early so anybody who was going to day two of the debut would make it in time (including myself). This time, I was accompanied by Irina, who was going to watch our ИПЭУ (law and econ.) students perform. Call it fate if you will, but at the very least I thought it was a neat coincidence that our institute's theme this year was the Wild West (the only American theme in the program). And I don't mean to degrade the other institutes, but on Thursday night, our performance was hands-down the best. It wasn't until Friday though that I found out our institute put considerably more money into their costumes and set. Nevertheless, I thought our group's creativity and execution was very sound. Afterwards, I met up with Niklas, Nikolai, Dima, and Igor back in the dorm to play cards. Specifically, we played durak. Since I had no idea how to play, I got a quick lesson in Russian on how to play. Let's just say that I haven't quite mastered all of the basics yet.
Friday was yet another long day that began in the early dark hours of the day. I only had two groups but I spent a large portion of my time between classes trying to figure out how to mail my ballot for the upcoming presidential election. I had Olya, one my colleagues in the office, help me figure out how to mail it. We were about to mail it through the university mail system until Pavel informed us that if we were to do that, it would never get to Iowa in time for the election. We then opted to use something like DHL to send it out. I don't get to do that until Monday, so I've still got my fingers crossed hoping that my vote will get counted.
That Friday night was the final night of the first-year debut. Once again, I went with Niklas and Katya. Other than the occasional shouting match of ИМЕНИТ vs. ИПЭУ, we had a great time. They showed some of the best performance from all institutes from the first two days. They handed out a pile of awards, but of course, we all waited patiently to hear result for the overall victor and recipient of the coveted green dragon stuffed-animal prize. As it turns out, my institute came out victorious! I couldn't help but feel a little proud. After the show, Niklas and Katya came back to my place to hang out and have some tea. We spent the first half talking in Russian and eventually switched over to English. It was a fun opportunity for me share some of my favorite music and to just talk about whatever.
Saturday was a very relaxing and very fun day. First off, I got to sleep-in. Already my day was off to a good start. I then just lounged around for a while playing a computer game and eating food. At about 3:00pm, I met up with Katya and we went to this year's second American Corner meeting. The turnout was as big this time but I met a few new people and we had good time watching a comedy skit and discussing it. Of course, we had tea and mountain of cookies to go along with it. I was even tested by a couple Russian guys on my knowledge of American states. I was supposed to list all of them from memory without looking at a map or writing anything down. I got almost all of them. (Lousy Oklahoma, New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and... another one that I still can't remember) It's actually pretty difficult if you're not allowed to write anything down. After American Corner, I had a little cross-cultural dinner with Katya. She made some pretty delicious chicken soup and I made an always-delicious peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I've decided to dedicate a part of my time in Russia to introducing as many people as I can to the wonderful American creation, the PB&J sandwich. (Also, after the last two posts, it might seem like I'm obsessed with PB&J. This is only partly true.) Anyway, we followed up dinner with more tea and great conversation. We even got to talk with Katya's French roommate, Matilda, a little bit.
Now it's Sunday and, while relaxing, I'm trying to get prepared for the week (and get caught up on blogging).
No comments:
Post a Comment