School Number 11

Mrs Every and Anna A infront of School Number 11

Wow, what a day!  Today was our first day to get into schools, and boy did I learn a lot!  Some things do not change between schools from different cultures...

- The teachers from both Russia and America need help from their students to run the technology.
- There are students who can be naughty in both Russia and America.
- Students are expected to learn, participate in class, and be respectful in both countries.

This morning we started off with a second grade class in music!  Right up my ally!  Imagine my surprise when one of the first things they did was to study the instruments of the orchestra.  Can you believe it?  I just finished this unit in January before I left!

Then they got out instruments to play, and the first instrument that the teacher passed out was lozhki.  Through a grant our school has a set of these, and all of our students have played them!  This is my first attempt at a video upload - hopefully it works!

Next we observed a 5th grade class in English.  You would not believe their skills, I was very impressed.  So far from what I can tell the English classes at the younger grades includes a lot of vocabulary that students would need for traveling on vacation, choosing a destination, etc.  They also have a lot of texts that include popular media.

Harry Potter reading passage

Batman, Harry Potter,  Lord of the Rings

Then we got to observe a fabulous art teacher in 2nd grade.  Would you believe they're studying butterflies just like our second graders do?

The finished product.  We loved the backgrounds too, which were completed in a previous class.

After some other English classes, we ate lunch.  The teachers were impressed to hear that our younger students are independent enough to go through the lunch line by themselves.  The cafeteria sets full meals on the tables for their students!

Wait until you hear what the students get to do for PE - I didn't get a picture today, but you're going to be impressed!!!




A couple more interesting facts for teachers:

There are 10-15 minutes between classes here, and the hallways are basically like recess.  Imagine North Woods with no carpet, nothing on the walls, and then students freely running, tumbling, and basically doing anything they want.  Quite a difference from No Talking When Walking!

Each teacher is a "class mom" for a group of students.  In speaking with Irina, this teacher is responsible for all attendance and learning concerns.  It seems like she gets at least 5 calls a night from parents letting her know that their child will be sick the next day, or that he/she needs to sit in the front of the class, etc.  In speaking with Anna A, it seems that this teacher also decides the uniform for the group - one class all had grey sweater vests, another had every student had all girls in white shirts with blue jumpers.  There are no jeans allowed, all must be dress clothes.  The 10th grade girls here today said they own one pair of jeans!

Today I went out for a walk to explore the city.  I felt like I was leaving at about 11am, but it was actually around 5PM.  Sorry that the pictures are dark, I kind of forgot where the sun would be at that time :-)

Home Sweet Home!  This is my apartment building!

A church one block away.  It is currently under construction.

From what I am guessing is the front?

Whoops...Sorry about that!

Sometimes when you travel, things that would be automatic at home take a lot of thought and energy.    This becomes even more true when you are clutzy like me!

For example, this morning my host is at work and so I was on my own for breakfast.  She told me I am welcome to anything to eat in the fridge or cupboards.  I've successfully had breakfast on my own for multiple decades, so I was not worried.  No problem!  When I got into the fridge this morning, I quickly realized that I had no idea what any of the food wasnbecause the labels are in Russian.  Their bpackaging is all in waxed cardboard like Our juice boxes would be, so I could not tell what is milk and what is mayonaese!  I gave up and ate a granola bar I'd brought me.  Next time I will ask for more information instead of making assumptions!

Last night I was trying to charge my computer.  No problem!  I've plugged in things for my whole life.  In many countries they do not have the same plugs or power voltage that we do.  I plugged my converter in, and then the computer to the converter.  I kept smelling an odd smell...I thought it was just being in a new place.  No...there was smoke coming out of the converter.  Whoops!  I am glad that I admitted it to Irina...she had smelled it to and was apologizing for burning our dinner!  I guess I will find Plan B for charging my computer.  At least I have my iPad!

Not long after, we opened the window because of the smell.  Here in Dubna I find the apartments very hot.  The apartments do not have their own thermostat, and are heated centrally.  I thought I could handle opening a window.  Apparently not, I broke the handle.  I thought I was being gentle, but turned it the wrong way.

In all of this I'm learning it is OK to make mistakes, and I am learning from them minute by minute.  It is good for me to not take simple tasks for granted, and to stop making assumptions of how things should be done.

My body has not adjusted to the new time zone yet, but other than that I am doing well.  At night I sleep about two hours at a time, and then am awake for another two.  This morning when I woke up I thought it was about 8:30.  It was actually 1PM!  I am glad that we had scheduled today for us to rest, clearly I needed it!  My body still wants to sleep on WI time.  Hopefully it will adjust soon!

Settling In...

Today has been a good day for settling in and catching up from the long flight yesterday.  It seems strange to me that my students are just starting their school day and I am finishing my day here!

I walked around Dubna today and got a good feel for how to get around the city.  It seems like all of the buildings that I need will be on one major road, so it will be simple for me to find them.  They do not shovel their sidewalks here, so that makes for difficult walking!  Not many people own a car, and so the majority of travel is by foot or bus.

Everyone lives in large apartment buildings.  The smallest I have seen are five stories high.  Although the city is small, the population is very high because so many people live in one building.  The apartments are very small, but cozy.  I am staying with another English teacher, so that makes it convenient to communicate!

Here is what our apartment looks like:

This is the front entryway.  In Russia they always take their shoes off at the front door.  On the bottom shelf by the door is a stack of slippers for guests to use.

To the left of the front door is the "toilet room."  It literally only has the toilet and a small sink.  Although some homes have the toilet and shower combined, having two separate rooms seems to be common. 
 

This is the bathroom.  It has a sink, bathtub, and the laundry (that is a washer and dryer)

We have the kitchen.  Some apartments have the washing machine in the kitchen where we would have a dishwasher.

Another view of the kitchen.  In the back is the entry to the terrace.

Here is the room that I will stay.  Normally it would be her living room.  The bed is a couch that folds down.  It seems like these are very common, like we would use a day bed.  The best thing about this couch is that before it folds down there is a secret compartment under where you would sit that holds all of the bedding!

There is also one more room that is Irina's bedroom and office.  Right now she is teaching private English lessons and so I don't want to disrupt them.  Did you know that most teachers here work a second job? Anna Z works in the evenings translating letters from Russian to English for a company here in town.   I'm very thankful to only have one job!

That's my update for today.  I am not sure what tomorrow will hold, but on Wednesday it sounds like I will be able to visit our first school with Anna A.  

I'm Home!!!

After a very, very long time in airports and on planes I have settled in to my new home in Dubna, Russia.  I woke up in WI yesterday at 4:30 am.  It is now 9PM in Russia, and time for me to get some sleep!!!

I am staying with an English teacher named Irina, who is very nice and made a lovely dinner for us to come home to.  Tomorrow after sleeping in, I will get to have lunch with Anna Z (our exchange teacher who was in La Crosse this fall) and she will show us around the town.  Most everyone walks everywhere here.  She said, "It will only take us about 25 minutes to go and pick up the other American teacher for lunch."  I think I will be getting a lot of exercise while I'm here!

It's time for me to get some sleep!!

I'm on my way...well, kind of on my way!!  Our flight out of La Crosse was delayed a few hours, so all other connections were missed.  We're now flying overnight into Paris, and then on to Moscow.  Too bad my one hour in Paris won't let me visit another Sister City!

In 17 hours....

When you get up Saturday morning, I'll be on the plane!  When you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, I'll be on the plane.  When you go to bed Saturday night, I'll still be on the plane.  When you wake up Sunday morning I'll finally be off the plane, but probably have not made it to Dubna yet :-)

I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to make my first post in Russia.  Mrs Every (Logan Middle School teacher) and I will be arriving in Moscow around 1 AM La Crosse time, which should be around 11AM there in Russia.  I am hoping to post from Russia either Sunday night or sometime Monday!!

Dasvidaniya!!