4 Months

Time is flying by. I can't believe I have been here for 4 months now. Things are going well. I have negotiated with the school to lighten my teaching load to allow me to study more. So, I am very grateful for that. Starting in June, I will increase my Russian courses from 4 hours a week to 12 hours a week. It's going to be great because I really need lots of studying. It will also be difficult, but I am motivated to take this course, so I think I will be Ok. My Russkie is getting better. I am understand much more now than when I first arrived. I still have communication break downs, but they are not as often. Many times I understand about 75% of what a person is saying, so this helps me to have a basic understanding of what is going on, which is much better than 2 months ago. However, I am not fluent by any means. I’m close to intermediate level. I have also successfully given 3 people directions over the past two weeks. They actually stopped and listened to my directions in Russian without walking away bewildered.

(The picture above is from the base of the hill in Old Tallinn. On top of the hill is the castle wall and all the buildings.)

Also, I forgot to mention a "Lesson Learned" item in the previous blog, so let me quickly discuss it. It is important to know that when the snow begins to melt in Moscow, a person should not walk directly below the roof-line of a building. I saw a poor, unsuspecting guy get destroyed by a mound of melting snow that fell from the roof of the building he was walking next to. It was like Niagara Falls on this guy. (Of course I was laughing since it wasn't me.) Now this rule can apply to any city that experiences large amounts of snow during the winter season. I have only seen this in Moscow since this is the first city I have lived in that experiences so much snow.

Ok, so now I will move on to what I have experienced since the last blog entry. Last weekend me and two other teachers at the school took a vacation. There was me, Dave, another American, and Giorgio, the crazy Italian. Our plan was to visit Tallinn, Estonia for 2 days and St. Petersburg for 2 days. Quickly, let me give you our travel plans. We were to travel by train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then to take a bus from St. Petersburg to Tallinn the same day. After 2 days in Tallinn, we would return to St. Petersburg via bus and spend 2 days there.

(This picture was taken on one of the roads in Old Tallinn. From the narrow cobblestone road you can see one of the towers along the castle wall.)

Ok, now let me tell you about our journey. So the Friday when we were leaving on our journey, we received an bad omen. Riots broke out in Tallinn that day. The Estonian Government removed a statue of a Red Army soldier from the center of the city. Well, this went over like a lead balloon from Russians living in Tallinn and the country of Russia. So some young Russian boys created a riot in the center of Tallinn. They broke some windows, burned some car, and I think one guy was stabbed. Needless to say, we were concerned about traveling to Tallinn after hearing about this. We're gambling men, so we decided to go ahead anyway and travel to Tallinn. We got on the train to go to St. Petersburg at about 9:00 Friday evening. The train ride was good. We arrived in St. Petersburg at 7:00 on Saturday morning. Next, we found the bus station to catch our bus to Tallinn. We all got on the bus and fell asleep immediately. We woke up when the bus stopped for the border control stop at the Russia/Estonia border. We went through customs and everything was cool. So we all fall asleep again. About 45 minutes later me and Giorgio wake up because we feel the bus stop. The bus has stopped at a gas station is some small town in Estonia. We saw the bus driver get off the bus along with other passengers on the bus. So we thought this is a great time to get off, stretch out, and walk around. I grabbed my coat, and me and Giorgio went into the store while Dave was still sleeping like a rock on the bus. I went to the bathroom for a maximum of 2 minutes. I walked out of the gas station door and onto the bus parked outside. As I looked at the people on the bus I noticed that none of them were familiar. I didn't remember any of these people. Then I looked at the color of the bus, and I realized I got on the wrong bus. I walked off the bus and looked to the back of the bus. There I saw Giorgio waving his arms. I will never forget his face as he looked to me and yelled, "that's not our bus...ours is gone!!" Then he immediately took two quick drags off the cigarette that he just bought. I looked at the empty spot behind this wrong bus and realized...."our damn driver just left me and Giorgio in some small city in Estonia!!!" All of our bags were on the bus. I guess the driver just stopped to buy some cigarettes. Me and Giorgio went through a state of denial for 15 minutes. We walked around the gas station thinking that the bus just pulled around to one of the sides. Nope...there was no bus. Next we thought Dave, who was still sleeping on the bus, would wake up and notice that we are no longer sitting next to him and make the driver stop the bus. So, we waited by the road looking for our bus to return. As we saw buses drive by our hopes would rise only to be shot down be reality...the bus is not returning. Dave is going to sleep the entire way to Tallinn. After 30 minutes of waiting by the road, me and Giorgio decided on move to Plan B. By the grace of God, I grabbed my coat before I got off the bus. In my coat I had my visa, wallet, and cell phone. My cell phone didn't work in Estonia, so I couldn't call Dave and wake him up. Giorgio wasn't as fortunate. He only had the cigarettes and banana he just bought at the gas station. He had no visa or any kind of documents, no wallet, and no cell phone. We were lucky that the gas station we were at was also a small bus station. I bought 2 tickets for me and Giorgio to Tallinn. We caught the next bus and arrived into Tallinn about 1 hour behind our original bus. Dave had no idea what had happened to us. He told us that the bus arrived in Tallinn, and he woke up to discover that he was now all alone. Dave got all of our bags off the bus, so everything was cool. Also the riots were only on the previous Friday night, so everything was calm.

Let me tell you about the city of Tallinn. It is a city that has two major sections of downtown. There is a old Tallinn and a new Tallinn. Each section is separated by a major street. There is a castle and many very old, small buildings in old Tallinn. It reminds me of a fair tale city that I would read about in a book. The castle has big walls that enclose about 2/3 of old Tallinn. You can look over the castle walls onto the old city. You see many tiny buildings very close to each other. You can't see all the roads because some are so narrow. It is great to walk around the old city. There are no cars. It is very peaceful. You can walk and sightsee without any hassles. When you are tired, you can stop at any of the many cafes and relax. Another cool thing is that there are small archways that open up to courtyards with more restaurants and shops. New Tallinn is like any western city with large office buildings and cafes. The city of Tallinn is also very clean. English is widely spoken, so there was no communication break downs. We stayed in Tallinn for 2 days, and then we returned to St. Petersburg. You know what that means...another bus ride.

(This is a picture of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. I couldn't the whole building in the picture because it is huge.)

We returned to St. Petersburg on the bus, and this time everything was fine. I didn't get off the bus...hhaaa. St. Petersburg is a really cool city too. It has a completely different feel than Moscow. Moscow has the feel of a big, busy, industry city while St. Petersburg has the feel of a smaller European city. St. Petersburg has many canals running through the city. It is cool to walk down the smaller canals. If you walk down the smaller ones about 5 blocks you can get away from the major tourist area and relax at a local neighbor cafe or bar. You can get more of a local feel of the city. Of course, you can take boat rides along the canals too. St. Petersburg also has the Hermitage. This is a huge art museum that would take a person 1 week to see everything inside. So, after 2 days in St. Petersburg, we returned to Moscow. Our journey was finally over. Our vacation got off to a rocky start, but it turned out to be a good journey.

Now for the lessons learned since the last blog entry:

- Do NOT get off the bus unless you ask the bus driver that it is a stop for everyone. (It might be a stop just for the driver to buy a pack of cigarettes.)

- If you travel by bus with 2 or more people, then only 1 person get off the bus at a time because if the bus driver just leaves without checking to see if all the people have returned, there is someone on the bus to try to get the driver to turn around. At the very least, there is someone to hold your bags until you meet up again.

- When the snow starts to melt don't walk directly below the roof-line of a building.

Two Months

So I have completed 2 months in Moscow. Well, it has been a little over 2 months. I can now say that I have survived my first Russian winter. Although I did miss November and December, my students tell me that January and February are the coldest months.

The following are ways to know that you are in Moscow, Russia during the winter:
When you walk outside your face begins to burn within 3 seconds.
Everything within your nose freezes...I mean everything.
When you buy bottled water from the grocery store by the time you walk home it is frozen solid.
When you open the freezer you actually warm up.

My Russkie is slowing getting better. I think it would be much better if I were a student in some language training program. I should have just sucked it up and paid for the language training programming rather than trying to save money by teaching at a foreign language school. In hindsight the teaching job was a bad idea. On average I work about 66 hours a week, and I get paid approximately $22.00 a day. I am always planning a lesson, walking to a lesson, or teaching a lesson. I'm taking a Russian class twice a week. I also study my Russian every night, but I usually fall asleep. (Note to self: Never teach at a foreign language school.)

I had my successful communication with a person asking me for help the other day. That was really cool. I told a lady how to get to a specific intersection. Almost everyday someone asks me for help while walking on the sidewalks (99% of the time it is a failure). The problem is that they speak so fast that I don't hear the street/building they are looking for. So, I ask them to please repeat and slow down. It is extremely funny to see their reaction. They hear my accent, blind a couple times, shake their head, and immediate walk to ask the next person they see for help. I laugh every time. I know what they are thinking. They are thinking "what the..." I would do the say thing in America. If I asked someone for directions, and their response was "can you repeat and speak slower please" I would find someone else too.

(This is a picture of Smolenskaya street near Old Arbat street.)

I took my first excursion 2 weeks ago. I took a train to St. Petersburg. It was really cool. I took the 8 hour, over-night train. When I returned to Moscow I took the express train. It took about 5 hours. The trains were nice. St. Petersburg is a pretty city. It has a more of a Western European feel to it. There are canals with cafes and boats. I visited the Hermitage and Nevsky Prospect. I am planning another excursion to Tallinn, Estonia in May.

Ok, I have mentioned the ill-tempered old ladies in the metros here in Moscow in a previous entry. Well, I need to talk about them again. Every morning I am in the metros at 7:15 a.m. The metro system in Moscow is really overcrowded. Millions of people rush through the metro tunnels everyday. Other than the millions of people, there is another bottle neck - ill-tempered old ladies. I do not understand why on Earth they are traveling in the metros at 7:15 in the morning. Are they compelled to travel on the metro early in the morning? They are like the cars driving in the far left lane on the freeways in America going 60 MPH. They never get over to right and let the faster traffic pass by.

6 Weeks Completed

Now I have lived in Moscow for 6 weeks. The time is going by fast. I'm in my routine. I know where all the companies are located. I know what metro stations to go to. Also, the security guards at the companies know me too, so that is cool. They just let me walk in, and don't ask me tons of questions. They just say to themselves, "There's that crazy American teacher."

Even though I am in a routine now, I am still confused everyday, all day. My Russian is slowly improving. Honestly, I wish it would improve faster. I'm taking a Russian class twice a week. I also study my Russian on my own almost every night. It would be wonderful to know what people are talking about as I walk by them. Sometimes it can be frustrating not understanding simple conversation taking place around you. Many times when the people talk it is like a fast mumble of words that blend together. I listen really hard to understand. Shoot, most of the time I just try to listen for the verb so I know what action may or may not happen. I believe these feelings are the usual pains one must go through when trying to learn a second language. I'm working through it.

This is a picture of the building that I live in. My flat is the balcony with the green plastic wrapped around it. It is on the 4th floor in the middle column on balconies on the left side of the picture. I've never gone out on the balcony because it looks very unstable.

Well, it is official. I have slipped on ice and fallen down in the streets of Moscow. It was a tricky patch of ice. When I walk I am always scanning the sidewalks and streets for shiny patches. Watch out because the shiny patches are ice. However, I did not see this patch on the sidewalk because it was covered by some snow. So, I was walking to the metro station close to my flat early in the morning. It was around 7:00 in the morning. I was going to my first lesson of the day. I took a step and dropped like a lead balloon. Don't worry; I sprung back up like a puma. I immediately looked around to see if anyone saw me hit the ground. (Never mind that I could be hurt. We're talking about public humiliation here.) I was lucky because there were just two ladies walking about 30 yards behind me. I could see that they were giggling. It could have been much worse though. This sidewalk is the main sidewalk that leads to the metro station. During the afternoon and evening, this sidewalk is packed with people. I wasn't hurt, but after about 15 seconds of walking I started laughing at myself. I can only imagine how funny I looked when I hit the ground.

Some of the great food/candy I have tried since moving here:

The Big Datskee Hot Dog - Yes, that's right. They make a mean hot dog here in Moscow. They sell these all over the city in these little kiosks on the side of the street. I tell you what there is nothing like a Big Datskee Hot Dog after a night at a bar or after a cold day of walking around the streets. I'm not sure what "Datskee" means, but I think it might mean..."Hmmm good." They have the usual toppings like ketchup, mustard, and pickles. What makes them so good is the chopped up, fried onions they sprinkle on the hot dog as they remove it from the oven. It has the equivalent impact of the two pickles on the Chic-fil-a sandwich. They provide that extra push over for the edge..."when you need to go one louder...to eleven."

Chicken Shnitzel - I have eaten this dish at a couple restaurants, but there is one cafe in particular that makes it extra special. This dish is grilled chicken wrapped up with a fried egg. The Coffee Den adds cheese with the eggs to make it so delicious. Now, I am sure this dish is also made in America, but I just haven't had it before until here.

Kondeterskaya Fabrika Chocolate Bar - Wow...how do I describe this amazing chocolate bar. There are no almonds or anything like that. (There are many different kinds that do have almonds and other nuts.) It is a milk chocolate bar, but there isn't too much chocolate. I personally like chocolate to not be too heavy and rich. It is about 40% chocolate. What makes it so great is that somehow when they bake the chocolate they put tiny air bubbles all in the chocolate. What is so great about this is that when you bite into the bar it just gently breaks apart into your mouth. The chocolate isn't too strong and overwhelming, so it is just a little piece of heaven. I can't help myself. I eat one bar every two or three days. I need to eat these damn things. Ohh...what have I done? I need to go to the refrigerator and grab a bar right now and eat it.

First Month

I have completed my first month in Moscow! It doesn't seem like a month. It seems much shorter. I completed training, and now I am teaching during the weeks. I travel to companies all over Moscow to teach English to employees of the specific companies. I am getting to see many parts of the city. I am also learning my way around many places that I would otherwise never see.

(This picture is of a Russian Orthodox Church just down the street from my flat. It nice to hear the bells chime when you walk by.)

Let me describe some of my classes. Some companies have a group of students, and other companies have only one student. All of the students are cool. They want to learn English for their jobs and for traveling. I teach many different levels. Some classes are upper intermediate, and other classes are beginner intermediate. All my time during the days is spent either preparing for a lesson, traveling to the company, or teaching the lesson. Some companies are located fairly close to my flat while other companies are on the complete opposite side of the city. Usually it takes me an hour to get to a company for a lesson. Although there is one company that takes me one and a half hours. After a certain metro stop, I have to take a trolley bus to this client. That adds more time to the trip. Ohh...quick note...trolley bus drivers hate it when you do not have exact change. Hhaa...one day I didn't have twenty five rubles exactly. I think I gave him 30 rubles or something close to that. It was no big deal...five rubles change. Oh no...he didn't like that! So, I have learned my lesson. I also make sure I have twenty five rubles for the trolley bus.

I'm making good contacts by teaching at many different companies around Moscow. The companies vary from a oil/gas to railroad shipping to up-scale real estate development. It is interest to ask the students about business in general in Russia. In many ways it is the same as America, but in other ways it is different. It seems so far that they like to really know there customers or clients. Almost to the point of being friends before business partners. They get to know each other over many lunches and dinners before deciding to do business.


Now, we should talk about the weather in Moscow. Of course, it is very cold and windy. It has snowed about 3 - 4 inches over the past two days. It seems that whenever I walk outside, I am always walking against the wind. Your face and hands begin to burn after about 15 minutes. Then they get so cold that you don't even feel them anymore. The coldest it has been so far is negative 20 degrees Celsius. (That is about negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit.)

(This is a picture of a street that I walk down to get to the metro station Shabolovskaya. It is about 15 minute walk from the flat to the metro station.)

The next couple of pictures are from the flat that I am staying in. One picture is of my bedroom. Another pictures are of the kitchen and bathroom.






















The next two pictures are from the school. One is the main entrance into the central school location. The other is a picture of a classroom.



















Funny things witnessed over the past two weeks:

I saw a guy slip on some ice and fall while walking on the sidewalk along a busy street. It was so funny because I saw the big patch of ice he slipped on just as he stepped onto it. I said to myself..."oh man...that doesn't look good. He should slow down." Within 500 milliseconds after saying that to myself, this guy dropped like a bag of rocks. He fell so fast. He didn't even have time to catch himself or break the fall a little with his arms. He drove his shoulder right into the concrete. I know I shouldn't have laughed, but this guy thought he was too cool, so he wanted to walk fast. He slowly got up and walked to the side of the next building to gather his thoughts and put his pride back together. (I am bound to slip on some ice sooner or later too.)

Another funny thing that happened was that I was pushed in the back buy a tiny 4 foot 9 inch old lady on the escalator in the metro. Apparently, I was not walking up the escalator fast enough for this lady, so she pushed me in the back. I was shocked when I turned around to see this tiny old lady standing there. She looked innocent enough, but watch out! It is all fun and games until you get pushed in the back by a tiny 4 foot 9 inch old lady in the metro in Moscow.

First two weeks

First let me describe arrival into Moscow. My flight arrived in Moscow at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night on January 14, 2007. Everything was great. My flight was on time, and all my checked bags made it to my destination. That was a nice surprise after hearing the horror stories about Heathrow airport, and checked bags disappearing or being rifled through.

The weather was really warm for the time of the year. There was no snow in Moscow for the first week. The temperature stayed around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. It was really nice. It all came to an abrupt end on the beginning of the second week. It snowed for about 3 days straight. Now, there is snow everywhere.

I started training the next day. I was so tired and jet-lagged. The time difference was 9 hours. Looking back I would have arrived in Moscow about 2 days before training. Training was good. There were 9 people in my training class. Peter is from California. Catherine is from Wisconsin. Georgio is from Italy. Esme is from England. Jenn is from Pennsylvania. Laura is from Massachusetts. Lee is from Maryland. Logan is from California. Allyson is from Massachusetts. They are really nice and friendly. Many of them speak really good Russian. (Much better than my Russian)

I have just completed the first two weeks in Moscow, Russia. Today was my last day of the intensive two week intern training program at the school where I will teach at. (This is a program available for people who have no classroom teaching experience.) It's exciting to finish training, but now I am getting nervous about actually beginning to teach. I will be traveling to companies around Moscow and teaching employees at the specific companies.

Things I've learned:
Cars don't slow down for pedestrians crossing the road.
When riding a metro train, stare straight ahead with a blank look on your face.
The mullet seems to be a cool hair style for Russian boys. (That's right...the Tennessee mud-flap is making a come back.)

I also had my first experience with the Russian police at the end of my first week. I was walking home from my training class at about 9:30 at night. I was walking by a van parked next to the street when a guy said, "Hey...stop." (In Russian of course) I looked over, and it was a police man. I thought...maybe he is talking to someone behind me, so I kept walking. Then he walked towards me, so I knew he was definitely talking to me. He asked from my passport. I thought I was in deep crap because my passport was at the central office of the school getting registered. I had a photocopy of my passport and visa which were accurate and valid, but I didn't think it was going to go over well with this guy. I showed him my copies of my documents, and he let me continue walking with no problem. He was an honest police man in Moscow. There are countless stories of foreigner getting stopped by the police in Moscow, and having to pay them money in order to avoid getting taken to jail even their passport and visa are valid. I have to give credit where it is due. This man let me go without any hassle, so that was cool.

Let me describe my apartment. It is a one bedroom apartment, but the living room has been converted into a bedroom. I have a roommate. He is nice and quiet. He has been teaching here in Moscow for about a year now. He is also an American. He kept to himself, so I really don't know much about him. I go to training in the mornings, and he goes to him classes while I am gone. So we really don't see each other. The bedroom is small, but I was expecting that. The kitchen is funny. It's like it is in a time capsule from 1950. There are very little appliances, and the appliances that are there are really old. Everything works, so that all I care about. The bathroom has recently been renovated, so it is actually really nice. It looks great, and everything works well. There is hot water, so that's cool. Oh...the toilet is in a separate little room next to the bathroom. That was interesting to see for the first time. There is a washer machine, but it is terrible. It never finishes a cycle. You can put clothes in there, but you don't know if the wash cycle will finish or if the spin cycle will ever begin. It is French washing/drying combination machine. It is a piece of crap! Kenmore or Frigidaire or someone like this should build a manufacturing plant here in Russia. They would make a fortune. Ohhh..I just thought of another thing in the apartment. All the light switches are located high up on the wall. I am still trying to get use to reaching up for the light switch.

Ok, this is all I can think of for now. I will post another entry next week. My digital camera broke, so I will also post pictures up once I buy a new camera.