Live from KZ... It's Weekend Update!

(note: I posted a bunch of blogs, so you may need to scroll all the way to the bottom and go to 'Older Posts' to see actually see 'New Stuff!' Please post comments - anonymous posts will be deleted fools.)

Yo Yo Yo! G. Love World Tour here!

So I’ve done a lot since I last posted (…ate something called plof, moved apartments, and actually taught a full week of English!) It is tough to post these, since the computer I am currently working on is ALL in Russian, just crossing my fingers and hoping the button I push means “POST”. There have been a lot of ups and downs (more downs than ups), but I’m taking it one day at a time. Watch out for the bullets, here they come:

-The nice lady, Alfea, (I called her my babushka) that I lived with was very kind to me. She didn’t speak any English and I speak very little Ruski, so it was fun, frustrating, and worth it. I only saw her late in the evenings (after taxi rides and working late) when I got back around 9 – 10 PM. We managed to talk about food, her late night dinners were all very edible. My favorite was a type of peirogi stuffed with cheese and I liked her battered eggplant and tomatoes. Like the good boy I am, I did the dishes, although my head hit her low cabinets frequently. I also gave her a Bath & Body Works set (Prices Corner in the house!), some flowers, and some cookies. Although, I did figure out she was diabetic – she took Sucrets with her tea (tea is the beverage of choice here). I let her know when I was getting up, catching my taxi, returning, etc. by showing her / flipping through the different times on my alarm clock. Lots of talking with my hands and body language. One night, I ‘gobble-gobbled’ my explanation that I had a turkey sandwich at school and was not hungry. So the pros of living with a sweet lady (I also found out she was 67 years old and probably Tartar) were high. But the cons of sleeping in a bed while a 67 year old had to sleep on her sofa, never really being able to unpack my 2 suitcases of pressed clothes (thanks mom!), 3 hours of taxi rides, added expense, and living in a rough part of the city were greater. I convinced the school to get me closer housing, see below. I will miss Alfea and explained to her that I plan to come back for dinner (God only knows if she understood)…

-The school where I teach is interesting. Some staff have been warm to me, some have been short and cold to me, and some just AVOID conversation all together. The company is very woman-oriented and I am one of the few male teachers. There are apparently 3 Australian teachers (who I see rarely) and the rest (about 5) are non-native and from Almat. And as I mentioned before, they procrastinate, a lot! For example, I desperately want to activate my wireless, and I get run around (thus no skype, no blog updates, etc.) Also, I want to use my own laptop for school projects, email, etc. There is one shared teachers desktop and it has a Russian language pack – so that is frustrating. You learn to pick and choose your favors, this week it was getting a time table for teaching and apartment switch. Next week it will be talking about my contract, getting paid, and other things.

-Now for the actual work. Right now I teach from about 10:30/11:30 AM until 8:30 PM each day. I do have a few gaps on Tuesdays and Thursdays (during which I prep for the next classes) and it is common for students to cancel. This past week, I had 5 individual classes (1 on 1 teaching for about 1.5 hrs / 3 times a week) and 2 group classes (4-8 students, also for about 1.5 hrs.) So I’m usually at the school for about 10 hours/day. The biggest issue is that of all these students, they are ALL on different levels (elementary, hi-elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate) and they ALL use different books. So lots of confusion and completely different prep from one class to the next. And not much help from the school or other teachers. A common answer is ‘you’re the teacher, right?” This week coming up, they plan to add more students to my time table and, yup, they are different level types and will use different books (which by the way are shared among the different teachers). Snap shot of some of my students 1)Nurdulat – probably 12 years old, very clever, told me he liked to collect coins, gave him a Euro from my Amsterdam layover, he gave me a Ruble from his collection 2)Guahar – very friendly mother of two, has money, we love to talk about food 3)Elena – absolutely afraid of me, 40ish housewife, husband wants her to learn English 4)Malika – smart but stubborn teenage girl, more concerned with her cellphone than the present continuous verb tense. My two group classes are Elementary Level and my fast talking creates a lot of blank stares. I have a feeling I am learning just as much as the students!

PREACH!

-Speaking of blank stares, I am still adapting to the language and culture. I am trying my best to blend in. It is so difficult to just keep my head down and not make any eye contact or say ‘sup to anyone. It’s just the way it is. I know I still stick out as a blatant Yankee with blue eyes and New Balance kicks, but I am trying. Knock on wood, I haven’t had any issues or run-ins and I will continue to represent New Castle County. Food has been okay – save an occasional fruit/veg. vendor prices are much higher here. I haven’t gotten on a regular eating schedule, but my usually weak stomach has held up and I feel in great health. There is a large store on my block (Ramstore) where I bought some things to start up my apartment (dish soap, cups, cleaning supplies) as well as some basic food (they actually carry ShopRite products, but at premium. I made dinner for Amanda last night – chicken noodle soup/saltines, Ortega taco shells filled with a mixture of pintos/onions, good tomatos, and cheese.

-This weekend, I moved into my new spot. It is closer to school, Amanda, and other center city attractions. The apartment is actually a penthouse with lots of space. The master bedroom and bath is off limits to me. I sleep in the office, which is quite big. I arranged two sectional sofas together to make my bed and have a night table and six very small drawers. Awesome space and views, but NOT well furnished – bare minimum utensils, bedding, etc.. All I want is a bed and a place to hang those well-ironed clothes I spoke of, and there is none of that. The location and cost (free) is well worth it though. I will post pics soon enough. Lots of windows, washing machine (uggh, all in Russian), very nice oven/range, big kitchen for KZ, 2 stories (my shower is on the 2nd floor – next to the sauna), rooftop deck, clean spot. From what I figured out, it is the General Manager of my school’s property and they haven’t been able to rent it out. It is pretty empty for so much space, lots of furniture still shrink wrapped, and I am the only one living here right now. If they find a paying tenant, he/she will probably take the master bedroom space. I miss Alfea’s cooking and hospitality, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that the dangerous/costly commute was not worth it.

-Progress this week
a)I can count okay in Russian – I began taking 2 hours of free Russian from a mean old lady at my school. But its gratis and better than nothing
b)My migration/passport is being processed at the Ministry
c)I visited the US Embassy and plan to return to notarize my passport
d)I found a park nearby my school that has b-ball hoops (and actual rims), just not sure if I will ever have time to run game
e)I’ve read 50 pages of a good book called, Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart
f)I did 3 loads of laundry in my tiny washer, I have a rack where I dry my stuff, and unfortunately no iron right now, so most of it comes out in wrinkled crumples
g)Went to Green Market – basically a very large Farmers Market with lots of levels/booths. I didn’t buy anything, but deemed it a success by leaving with a new experience and my wallet in check.
h)Breaking NEWS! Was just handed a cell phone from the school!

I miss everyone tremendously. October is probably my favorite month – hot cider, Simpson Halloween special, my birthday, leaves, and crisp days/nights.
Hearing about some of my favorite things – Phillies, the Office, Clarks Summit, etc. really make me long for home! Please continue to email or post! My learning curve continues to be great. Amanda is super busy with school (she has definitely found a niche as a great English teacher and tutor) and unfortunately she has had a bad stomach, so when I’m not at work, there’s time to think and appreciate family and friends.

So I promise to update the blog a little more frequently (including photos) soon.

Holler Back Than!!!