Teaching at last, and discussions with Russians

(Originally written on 10.23.09)

I hadn't realized that it has been so long since I had last posted, but I have good reasons for it—I've actually been keeping busy with real work lately, as I've finally been given real teaching duties! I have my very own classes for third- and fourth-year students on American Culture, and I've been given (nominally, at least) complete freedom to design them howsoever I choose. I've decided to do a chronological survey of American Culture and History through literary readings. Our first lesson jumped ahead a little in time, because I wanted to start with something that really lay the foundations for American culture: The Declaration of Independence. It's a hard text to read, and a little dry if you're not particularly interested in the subject, but I think it went well. I was pretty impressed with the students' comprehension skills (their discussion skills were lacking a bit, but I think their English is very much like my Russian—they understand just about everything they hear, but it's difficult for them to respond and to answer questions). We got through the entire text in only two sessions per group. I brought in pictures, maps, games, and souvenirs to try to make things more interesting, but honestly, I think the students were a little baffled by my methods. Russian university classes are very formal—when I tried to teach them how to play hangman at the beginning of the second class to review vocabulary words, they were a little perplexed—not only at the rules, I think, but also as to why we were playing a game instead of doing dictation. They did get into it eventually though, but I think I'll have to do a little thinking to find activities that are fun and make sense to a Russian class.

Our next lesson is going to be on «The Crucible,» and I have to say, I'm kind of looking forward to it. We're going to focus on witches during the first lesson, since Halloween is coming up. We'll read some poetry, listen to a short story about a witch I found on Voice of America (a fabulous site for English teachers, by the way), and talk about witches in fairy tales and in modern life. In the next lessons, we'll talk about the connection to the witch hunts of the 1950s, and then we'll act out some scenes from the play. I've spent most of this week preparing, so I'm hoping that it will go over well.

In other news, we celebrated «Den' Goroda,» or «City Day,» on Saturday, as it was the 144th anniversary of the founding of the town. I have never seen Slavyansk n/K that active before—there were people out on the streets, music playing, food venders everywhere—the air was permeated with the smell of sashlik and cotton candy, a very odd combination. There was even a carnival on the pier, complete with games and rides, and even a pony (though I think the pony is there every weekend, actually)! There was also an awards ceremony/talent show which highlighted the youth of the region. My personal favorites were the rythmic aerobics dance team and the singing group that sang about the stength and freedoms of Russia (in an ironic twist, I had to leave right after this song because, alas, my companions—the lovely girls from the dorm—were not free to stay out—the 10pm curfew for everyone under 18 was coming up!). We picked up some pizzas on our way back and spent the rest of the evening watching a movie in their room.

I've been using Russian a lot more, at last. I've also decided that the people I was most afraid to talk to in the beginnign—dorm workers and univeristy workers who speak no English and might not be totally familiar with my position—have become my favorite people to talk to. The same dorm babushka who checked in on me to make sure I was eating well a few weeks ago and who scolded the girls in the dorm for acting like children «in front of a grown person» (i.e., me), came by again to help me with my disfunctional toilet (again), and we actually ended up having quite a lengthy conversation about the town. She told me all of the sites I needed to see in Slavyansk, most of which I had not known about before. She said that she was disappointed in the students for not taking me there, and that I should make them show me around more. She also said that she scolds them a lot for not behaving themselves well in front of an adult, a teacher, but, sighing, said that they don't listen. I thought this was funny—I know that, officially, I'm a teacher here, and therefore technically an adult, but I don't mind it if the students treat me as one of their own in the evenings when we're hanging out—in fact, I like it. It's nice to have friends who are comfortable around me, despite the fact that I'm a foreigner, an dwho treat me just as they treat each other. I have no complaints!

I've also been making friends with some of the men and women who work both at the main campus of the institute and at Kubris, where the InYaz (Foreign Languages) faculty is. The security guard at Kubris has taken a real interest in my pronunciation. He sometimes makes me repeat words over and over until I get them exactly right (apparently, I haven't been properly pronouncing the soft sign in «нормально»). As we were doing this one day, one of the women who cleans the building, whom I had never actually officially met before, came over and started telling us how she thought that my Russian had really improved since I arrived—I didn't even know she had been listening, but that made it even nicer to hear (albeit a little strange). The cafeteria workers at the main campus have also taken an interest in me. They make sure I know what's on the menu every day and they teach me the names of food products I don't know. They also told me that, since I'm a teacher, I don't need to stand in line with the students, which was pretty cool. Again though, I had no idea they knew who I was—Ibut if I've learned anything here, it's that news travels vast. This is a small town, and they don't often get foreigners (as my troubles at the passport control office have taught me), so it's a big deal when one comes. I've been here almost two months already, and the novelty still hasn't worn off. It means that I get a lot of practice speaking with people though, which is really what I came here to do.