So this month has been going by so fast! I feel like I’ve really settled into a rhythm here, which feels really good. School has been pretty uneventful. We’re really in the final stretch of the year by now. I only have three more full weeks of school, because May is so full of holidays. The last day of school is May 25, but with all of the holidays, we’re so close to being done. All of you still in school – you may not believe when people say that the teachers are as excited, if not more, for breaks, but it’s so true. I like my school and my kids and all, but I am very excited for summer break to start.
Last weekend was Orthodox Christian Easter. Susan, another volunteer here, is Orthodox, so she goes to church a lot. Saturday night, Anthony and I went to church with her. The service was supposed to start at 11 PM. It ended up starting around 11:30, and ending at 3:30 AM. The service itself was very different from any Christian service I’d been to before. There were two people standing behind a divider who chanted pretty much the whole time, plus a priest who also chanted. The congregation was pretty uninvolved, except for constantly crossing themselves. Early in the service, we all lit candles and walked outside around the church, then came back in. There are no seats in the church, so we all had to stand in a small, hot room full of incense the whole time. About half-way through, I started feeling really lightheaded, so I went outside to get some fresh air and to sit down. I then ended up making all sorts of friends. It was weird to be surrounded by so many Russians, since we don’t have that many here and they’re usually far outnumbered by the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Since I don’t speak much Russian, it was interesting to try to talk to these guys. In the couple hours I spent outside, I had three guys tell me they love me. Two of them were standing with me at the same time and have set up a duel (like Puskin, the famous Russian writer), complete with pistols and all. Near the end of the service, two guys came up to me, one was in his mid-twenties, and one in his teens. The older one (Mischa) spoke some English, and the younger one (his brother) spoke Kyrgyz. So we had an interesting conversation, where Mischa would say stuff in English, and if he didn’t know something in English, he would say it in Russian to his brother, who would then say it in Kyrgyz to me. We did pretty well with this operation. Early on, they were asking me what I did here, and where I work. When I told them what school I teach at, Mischa looked at me and said “I teach there too!”. Turns out, he’s the “informatika” (computer, kind of) teacher. He was also taught by my counterpart and her former volunteer. He’s a really nice guy, and it’s nice to meet someone closer to my age. I may meet with him about once a week to help him with his English.
Otherwise, some of the most exciting things in my life recently have been food-related (isn’t that always true)? Two weeks ago, I found a flyer in my door handle advertising (in Russian) a new pizza delivery place. I’ve now ordered from them twice, and am very impressed. The first time, we got this: (yeah, I was so excited I had to take a picture).
We ordered “ground beef” pizza, and we got ground beef, olives, and pickles (actually a surprisingly pleasant addition to pizza. I’m a fan of it now!). The flyer advertized that it would be at my apartment in “29 minutes and 59 seconds”. It showed up around 32 minutes after we called, but I’m still very impressed.
I also found ice cream cake this week. We got one on Sunday for Susan for Easter (she had given up meat and dairy for Lent) and two pizzas (for 7 of us, not just the three). It was amazing. It felt like a real American birthday party.
I like that I’m finding the comforts that make life just that much more pleasant, plus becoming happier with whatever I can get here. It’s nice to have a life that seems to make more sense here now that I have such a rhythm I’m living through.
As for this summer, I have finally settled on a trip to take (the third try at a plan). In mid August, I’m heading to India to go to Mumbai and to lie on a beach with a bunch of hippie tourists in Goa. I’m very excited to be going back, and to see the ocean again.
Also, since I talk so much about how much I love my 5th form kids, here are some pictures of my 5 “A” class that I took last week.
Last weekend was Orthodox Christian Easter. Susan, another volunteer here, is Orthodox, so she goes to church a lot. Saturday night, Anthony and I went to church with her. The service was supposed to start at 11 PM. It ended up starting around 11:30, and ending at 3:30 AM. The service itself was very different from any Christian service I’d been to before. There were two people standing behind a divider who chanted pretty much the whole time, plus a priest who also chanted. The congregation was pretty uninvolved, except for constantly crossing themselves. Early in the service, we all lit candles and walked outside around the church, then came back in. There are no seats in the church, so we all had to stand in a small, hot room full of incense the whole time. About half-way through, I started feeling really lightheaded, so I went outside to get some fresh air and to sit down. I then ended up making all sorts of friends. It was weird to be surrounded by so many Russians, since we don’t have that many here and they’re usually far outnumbered by the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Since I don’t speak much Russian, it was interesting to try to talk to these guys. In the couple hours I spent outside, I had three guys tell me they love me. Two of them were standing with me at the same time and have set up a duel (like Puskin, the famous Russian writer), complete with pistols and all. Near the end of the service, two guys came up to me, one was in his mid-twenties, and one in his teens. The older one (Mischa) spoke some English, and the younger one (his brother) spoke Kyrgyz. So we had an interesting conversation, where Mischa would say stuff in English, and if he didn’t know something in English, he would say it in Russian to his brother, who would then say it in Kyrgyz to me. We did pretty well with this operation. Early on, they were asking me what I did here, and where I work. When I told them what school I teach at, Mischa looked at me and said “I teach there too!”. Turns out, he’s the “informatika” (computer, kind of) teacher. He was also taught by my counterpart and her former volunteer. He’s a really nice guy, and it’s nice to meet someone closer to my age. I may meet with him about once a week to help him with his English.
Otherwise, some of the most exciting things in my life recently have been food-related (isn’t that always true)? Two weeks ago, I found a flyer in my door handle advertising (in Russian) a new pizza delivery place. I’ve now ordered from them twice, and am very impressed. The first time, we got this: (yeah, I was so excited I had to take a picture).
We ordered “ground beef” pizza, and we got ground beef, olives, and pickles (actually a surprisingly pleasant addition to pizza. I’m a fan of it now!). The flyer advertized that it would be at my apartment in “29 minutes and 59 seconds”. It showed up around 32 minutes after we called, but I’m still very impressed.
I also found ice cream cake this week. We got one on Sunday for Susan for Easter (she had given up meat and dairy for Lent) and two pizzas (for 7 of us, not just the three). It was amazing. It felt like a real American birthday party.
I like that I’m finding the comforts that make life just that much more pleasant, plus becoming happier with whatever I can get here. It’s nice to have a life that seems to make more sense here now that I have such a rhythm I’m living through.
As for this summer, I have finally settled on a trip to take (the third try at a plan). In mid August, I’m heading to India to go to Mumbai and to lie on a beach with a bunch of hippie tourists in Goa. I’m very excited to be going back, and to see the ocean again.
Also, since I talk so much about how much I love my 5th form kids, here are some pictures of my 5 “A” class that I took last week.
These are four of my best students
Who knew Kyrgyzstan would make me like boys? These little boys are amazing. The one on the right is a good student too.
These girls are cuties too
Some of the ... quieter students.
After I took these pictures, the kids started talking (in Russian) about why I was taking pictures of them. One of them guessed that maybe I was leaving, and another said "no! She's staying for three more years with us!". I don't want to break his heart with the truth, but they'll be surprised to see me this week
No comments:
Post a Comment