How Are Things?

It's been a little while since my last post. Sorry 'bout that.

The kid that I got suspended is still having issues. His lovely mum approached my teammate a couple of weeks ago out in public and told her how much she despises the "insert name of school here" teachers. She ended up yelling at *Shelly and *Shelly ran away and hid behind a pillar until the mom left. Crazy, huh?

Then yesterday, I noticed the student wasn't at school. Turns out he's been psychologically evaluated and will not be returning to the school. It's so weird how things can turn out, isn't it?

Although, I saw him here today, so I think his parents must be sending him here until they figure out what to do with him. Fantastic.

Stephen and I went to the opera house last Friday night to see the ballet, Swan Lake. It was pretty good, actually! Surprisingly, I liked the music more than the dancing. I was surprised at how much of the music sounded familiar. Tchaikovsky. Did I butchar that spelling?

After the ballet, we went to a German restaurant with our friends, *Joe and *Valerie. We had big plates of french fries and a huge platter of sausages. I was so exhausted from the busy week that I was falling asleep at the table by the end of the meal. We had a good time.

Then, on Saturday night, we went out with Shelly and her husband, *Mark and another teacher couple to an early dinner and had a delicious meal. We stopped at the neighborhood bar to send off one of the teachers who has quit and is headed to Hong Kong this week. We then made our way to Shelly's with a cake in hand that our driver had given us. His son had turned 1 on Saturday, so he gave US a cake! Weird tradition, but I like it. The cake was pretty good and we had a fun time getting to know our new friends.

We went to church on Sunday, for the second time, and met a lot of new people. The pastor's wife invited us over for lunch this coming Sunday and there will be several other people there for us to meet.

I am spent. It turns out that I have a much heavier timetable than most of the teachers here (yet I am getting paid the same) and they are talking about making us teach our class more by replacing one of the Russian classes with more English. Yipee-skippy.

We still don't have resources and curriculum. Teaching is....well, you know.

I have a large stack of grading to tackle.

Dos Vadanya.

*names have been changed to protect the innocent

Wow, what a day....

You know when it feels like a Friday, but it's not? And then you really start wishing that it was? That's me, today.

It's only Thursday at lunch time and I just need it all to be over.

This morning, I took my class to use the restrooms at break. So, I am standing in the hallway, waiting for them to line up. A teaching assistant was also in the hallway, thank goodness. So, a Year 9 student (13 years old) who is a head taller than me, came out of the bathroom, looked at the TA and said something like, "Wow, wow, wow," and looked her up and down. Then came towards me and bent down and whispered in my ear something in Russian.

I was so shocked.

I have never taught in a school with older students, so I have never experienced anything like this before. I immediately asked the TA what he said to me and she said she didn't hear it, but she told me what he said to her. I took my kids back to class (luckily, they had language classes, so I was free for a period) and I went straight to the Headmaster and told him what had happened. Long story short, I hunted the boy down in Biology class and had him brought down to the Headmaster. Myself, the TA, Headmaster, and the boy had a meeting. The boy kept changing his story and lied and said that we had made a mistake.

He has been suspended through the weekend.

His mother showed up to take him home and I guess was a total beast. Apparently, she is just as tall as her son and is quite scary. She doesn't know who I am...yet.

One last funny part is he decided to come and have lunch in the dining hall before he left. Headmaster would have none of that and I stood there and watched him pull him out by his arm, yelling.

All very interesting. And it's only lunch time.

Oi....

Little video...

Here is a video that one of my colleagues here at school put together of the first couple of weeks of school. He does a great job with these videos. He had made one of a bunch of the teachers who went on a helicopter ride. Maybe I can get that one on here, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZP2FeGS8_Q

I'm sorry, but youtube.com looks different to me over here and I can't figure out how to embed the stupid thing. Actually, there's no option for me to save the video, so I can't upload it on blogger.

The guy standing in front of the school shield is our Headmaster, Andrew. Nice fella.

Here is the helicopter trip video, too. Hopefully you can view these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7Zw82y0fI

I Am Trying Really Hard...

It's true. I am.

To those of you who have emailed me and left comments, offering encouragement and prayers, I am so grateful. I know it is easier to have the attitude that I need to get over the things that bother me here and just suck it up. I know it's easier because I will admit that I've had that mindset about people before. However, I think that until you actually experience culture shock from living someplace so foreign from what you are used to, it is very difficult to understand what it entails.

There are many people I know who are much more well traveled than I am, but maybe have never lived outside the U.S. Again, I am realizing there is such a huge difference between visiting a place and living there. Even if you visit for a few months, you still have a relatively short end in sight. I have been struggling because there have been so many frustrations and things piled on top of me in a relatively short amount of time and all I can think of is, "I have at least three more years of this to endure."

The part I am learning, though, is that these things will eventually all stop bothering me. Already, some of the things we found out when we first got here, don't even phase me anymore. I know that even if my groceries are on the conveyor belt, I will still most likely get pushed out of the way by someone who thinks they need to remind me that I'm not Kazakh. I am anticipating that by the time our time is finished in the big K, I may not agree with the way a lot of things are done here, but I will accept it as a reality.

We have good friends living in China and have told me they know exactly how I'm feeling. As my friend put it, "We didn't understand 90% of what was happening. But don't worry we've been here a year and now we don't understand only about 85% of what's happening. I guess we just kind of accepted it and realized there is no way a couple of foreigners are going to change one of the worlds oldest and largest civilizations."

One thing that I think will continue to be difficult for me to accept is that there are just so many opportunities for things to change here -- for the better -- not my opinion, just a clear fact. But some of those things will never change, just because the people accept what anyone tells them as true and don't strive for something better. It's frustrating because they can attempt for better; no one will stop them, other than telling them that they can't and they accept that as truth. Does that make sense? Probably not, so I'll stop babbling.

Stephen is working so hard lately! He just wrote me an email, telling me that he'll be home around 8 tonight, but will probably be working until around 3 in the morning. I'm just glad he can work from home, so I can at least look at him! I am going to make stewed lentils and tomatoes for dinner, I think. New recipe, we'll see if it's good.

Things are getting better, little by little at the school. I really can see an improvement each day with the students. They understand me more and more, which is nice. It's nice to know that, as a teacher, your students might have an inkling of what you're saying.

Stephen's boss, Marc, brought us FITTED SHEETS, people! We ordered flannel sheets from Land's End - I highly recommend them - and had them sent to his place and he brought them with him for his visit here this week. I am seriously sleeping so well. It's the little things...

Anyway, need to catch the bus back home in a few minutes. Thank you for enduring me. We all have our bad days and good days. I want this blog to be a place where I can share the good and bad without feeling weak because I'm sharing the bad. That's alright, right? I mean, it's my blog. Haha.

Told You!

So, I am finally able to post on here again.

No, we did not get internet at our house yet.

We finally got internet at the school and I finally have had time to sit down at the computer and do some surfing before the bus is scheduled to take teachers home again.

If you are looking for a place of uplifting right now, you might as well skip reading my blog today. I am tired. I am discouraged. I am frustrated.

The Big K is a land of big promises that are not filled. I promise you that every promise that has been made to Stephen and I, regarding accommodations, amenities (t.v. and internet hookup), getting paid....basically anything that a new job promises they will provide for you...has not actually happened.

This does not mean that we are living in a cardboard box in a field with all the stray dogs that love it here. We are, in fact, in our apartment and thankfully, have not had any major problems with it, as other teachers have had. Some teachers have had flooding in their basements, mold is covering walls, dishwashers have flooded kitchens, due to improper installment, lamps have caught fire, due to faulty electrical wiring. I am extremely grateful that none of this has happened to us. What I am struggling with is having any sort of normalcy and routine.

The school I am working for (I won't name it on here - if you're curious, email me) opened on Monday, the first, with a ceremony. The mayor actually attended and said a few words. (He had said he was coming to visit last week and never showed up.) There were children and parents EVERYWHERE, not moving, not doing anything we asked them to do -- You mean "Please move to the atrium for the ceremony" doesn't actually mean, "Please stand in my classroom doorway and block the way for anyone to move"? By the way, the big K doesn't believe in any form of a line or waiting turns. It's a free-for-all. I hate it. I need order, people!

Okay, first day of school was yesterday. It went alright. I had 19 students -- 7 boys, 12 girls. 4 of them speak English. About 5 of them understand English at a basic level, and the rest - TEN - do not speak or understand English at all. This is fine, I tell myself. I have taught non-English speaking students before. They learn it quickly and all is good. Today, I feel outnumbered.

One of the students told my teaching assistant, Kathrine (who is kindly translating for me in Russian) that he doesn't want to listen to me. She should just tell him what to do. She told him that will not be happening and for the rest of the day, he glared at me. After school, I met with his father and informed him of this and his father's attitude was that his son is bored and should skip a grade. Our registrar said absolutely not. Second day of school, people.

I have a headache because I am extremely dehydrated. I forgot my water bottle at home this morning and since the school doesn't have any drinking fountains - STUPID - and only serve this nasty "juice" at lunch, I am darn thirsty.

Are we doing alright? Yes, of course. I am so blessed to have my husband. He is so supportive and loving and has been listening to my gripes every night with so much patience. He feels my pain, too, and knows that things are different here. It all just makes me want to leave here. I am missing home. The familiarity of how the U.S. does things is what I crave. It is what I know and love. It makes sense to me. For the most part, when you are told that something will happen, you can bet that it will.

Obviously, I am coveting some prayers, if you think of it. I am just sad and discouraged right now, which I have been experiencing off and on since we got here. I know the feeling will pass in a day or two and I will be back to myself. I was supposed to get paid last week and haven't because the school's accountant is a pain in the butt. I know that's not the right attitude, but it's true. Hopefully, she will believe be this time when I tell her that the US doesn't use IBAN numbers. I don't have an IBAN number. I will never have an IBAN number. I am not a liar.

I am hoping I can post more often. Hopefully with a more upbeat message. It is very difficult right now, though, as I am bound to the school's schedule with transport. My internet exposure is very limited. Love you, my precious little readers!