Hi again.
A lot of stuff happened over the weekend, so I'll try to summarize it quickly here.
Saturday we were taken Horse-back riding. We got on the horses, and people led the horses around in circle around the arena. While this was fun, I wanted a little bit more excitment. Once I showed some competency in my riding ability, I got to lead/steer my own horse. I wanted to go faster, but I was told that the horse is no good at running. What she MEANT was, she didn't think I could do it.
So I asked a few more times, to no avail. Luckily, my supervisor had to leave, and I got a new one. She showed me how to make the horse go faster, and it was MUCH more exciting.
We have been to many museums as well, and have seen many different Russian artifacts.
Yesterday we went up to the Ural mountains with a large number (25 or so) of our students, and the dean, to a new-looking ski resort. We took the lift to the top, and did a little bit of hiking to get a gorgeous view from the mountain top. Then, we went on an ATV ride (we were not allowed to drive the ATV ourselves, but our drivers were pretty awesome so it was a really good time). There was still SOME snow on the mountain, but not a lot.
After the ATV ride, we went to the Banya, which was very similar to the one I went to in Moldova, and we were informed that it was not a real Russian banya, nor as good as one. This one consited of a suna, then a small pool that you jump into, and a relaxation room.
After the banya we had Shashleek, which is a meal cooked over a wood barbeque. During the dinner many different toasts were made. I tried to do a Russian style toast about the friendship of Russia and Canada, and used the beaver and the bear as the symbols for the countries. At the end of my story, I thought the message was implied, but I learned later that I was supposed to spell out the moral of the story, which I hadn't really thought through.
After eating, we went to play more Russian pool. We have improved a bit, but we are still terrible. The pockets are so small there is NO room for error.
After all of this, this students still wanted to hang out with us, so we drove some cars to the lake behind our hostel and lit a fire and played some music through the car stereos. It was halarious, because one of our student's husband is a police officer, yet it was his car blaring the music/serving the alcoholic drinks. Drinking on the streets is legal here, and the excessive number of broken bottles lays testemant to that.
The weather fluctuates here so much.. in one day it would not be uncommon to experience 3 or 4 rain/sunny spells.
Today after class we might be going out for dinner with two Russian students (not taking our classes), but who have been to the USA on exchange. I believe they are taking us for an authentic Russian meal, and they will want to practice their English on us.
My Russian is getting better, but there are some key phrases that I have yet to master.
Everyone here is so friendly, and the school has been so good to us. There is never a dull moment.
Hope all is well back home!
-Chris
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Friday
Hi again.
It is Friday here, last day of classes for the week.
Yesterday we went bowling with Svetlana and two of her friends. I won both rounds :)
The day before we played Russian Billiards... the table was gigantic, and the wholes were MUCH MUCH smaller than American tables, making the game last a very, very long time (I am not sure if I already posted about the pool tables).
The weather has gotten much cooler, with temperatures today around 2 - 10 degrees Celcius... there is a lot of fluctuation within a day. There has been lots of rain the last two days, which is nice in a sense because once the rain stops, the visiblity increases dramatically. I think that the rain is clearing the pollution from the sky.
Depending on the weather, this weekend I believe we are:
going horseback riding
going to a night-club
going to a banya (a steam room)
going for a BBQ
It should be action-packed, and I am quite excited!
See you in a week!
-Chris
It is Friday here, last day of classes for the week.
Yesterday we went bowling with Svetlana and two of her friends. I won both rounds :)
The day before we played Russian Billiards... the table was gigantic, and the wholes were MUCH MUCH smaller than American tables, making the game last a very, very long time (I am not sure if I already posted about the pool tables).
The weather has gotten much cooler, with temperatures today around 2 - 10 degrees Celcius... there is a lot of fluctuation within a day. There has been lots of rain the last two days, which is nice in a sense because once the rain stops, the visiblity increases dramatically. I think that the rain is clearing the pollution from the sky.
Depending on the weather, this weekend I believe we are:
going horseback riding
going to a night-club
going to a banya (a steam room)
going for a BBQ
It should be action-packed, and I am quite excited!
See you in a week!
-Chris
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Update 2
Hello again.
We are now settled in, and my sleeping pattern is a bit better.
Our class has been great...although it is very small. 9 students in our section, 8 females.
I don't know if I will be able to get any pictures online until I get home, because there seems to be a common misconception that USB keys are prone to computer viruses.
We went to 'Fox Mountain' yesterday with some of our students. It is a large hill that in the past was used for watching for fires in the city. If someone saw a fire, they would send signals to firefighters below indicating where the fire was. Now the hill is used as a hangout spot.
We also went downtown and walked around, and went to the local amusement park. I didn't go on any of the rides, but some of the team did go on the ferris wheel.
The weather here is very beautiful, around 20 - 25 degrees celcius. The pollution on the other hand, is terrible. There is a haze over the city the entire day, drastically reducing visibility.
This morning Marcin and I were given a tour of the schools museum, which is near the top of the buidling. We saw lots of interesting historical items of the school, and I took a few pictures of the things. Interestingly, in one of the showcases is a "Leader" certificat from 2003. That was cool to see.
Today we are going to an art museum I believe, and tomorrow night we are going bowling with Svetlana (our site host), and her friends. It is 5 pin bowling, which I cannot remember ever having done.
I have to jet now, hope all is well back home!
-Chris
We are now settled in, and my sleeping pattern is a bit better.
Our class has been great...although it is very small. 9 students in our section, 8 females.
I don't know if I will be able to get any pictures online until I get home, because there seems to be a common misconception that USB keys are prone to computer viruses.
We went to 'Fox Mountain' yesterday with some of our students. It is a large hill that in the past was used for watching for fires in the city. If someone saw a fire, they would send signals to firefighters below indicating where the fire was. Now the hill is used as a hangout spot.
We also went downtown and walked around, and went to the local amusement park. I didn't go on any of the rides, but some of the team did go on the ferris wheel.
The weather here is very beautiful, around 20 - 25 degrees celcius. The pollution on the other hand, is terrible. There is a haze over the city the entire day, drastically reducing visibility.
This morning Marcin and I were given a tour of the schools museum, which is near the top of the buidling. We saw lots of interesting historical items of the school, and I took a few pictures of the things. Interestingly, in one of the showcases is a "Leader" certificat from 2003. That was cool to see.
Today we are going to an art museum I believe, and tomorrow night we are going bowling with Svetlana (our site host), and her friends. It is 5 pin bowling, which I cannot remember ever having done.
I have to jet now, hope all is well back home!
-Chris
Monday, May 12, 2008
Landed
Hello everybody!
This is the first time we have gained access to the Internet...sorry it took so long.
We have arrived in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
While sleep-deprived, the team is in great spirits and we are teaching our first class today at 2:30pm NT time (10 hours ahead of EST).
The flights were relatively uneventful. I met up with Samir (another teacher who is teaching in Siberia) at the Moscow aiport, and we muddled our way to the other termial which was about 6km away from the terminal which we landed in.
We had to struggle with the city bus, figuring out how to get on. This was no easy task with large luggage, but we managed.
At the other terminal, Samir and I parted ways, and off I flew to Ekaterinburg. The flight was delayed about an hour.
When I landed, Nadine (another teacher at NT) and Svetlana (our site host) were waiting for me. Then, Nadine and I got into a (very fast) car that drove us about 2 hours away to NT from Ekat.
We arrived at our place around 12:00am, and at this point I was extremely tired.
I got to bed around 1:30 or so after showering and eating a bit, then up at around 7:00am when the other two team members arrived (Marcin and Nishma).
We spent most of Sunday lounging around, took a stroll through the city looking for a groccery store. We thought we found one, but it turned out to be a hardware store.
I have taken a few pictures, but do not have them with me at the school (where I am accessing the internet right now).
I hope to have pictures uploaded within the next couple of days.
Our residence is beautiful.
We have to flats, one for the guys (Marcin and myself), and one for the girls (Nishma and Nadine).
Our flat has a small bedroom with two beds, a washroom, a kitchen, a dining/living room combination, and a balcony. It looks very new (besides the bathroom), and was likely renovated very recently.
We also have a TV, and entertained ourselves by watching Russian television and trying to guess what was going on.
We didn't go to sleep until around 2:30am last night, and I woke up at 6:00am due to the bright sun. The sun sets at around 11 or 11:30pm, and rises extremely early. I am trying to wear a mask, but it always falls off at night. As such, I am still extremely tired, but my body is (hopefully) adjusting to the lack of sleep.
The food has been good so far. We eat at the cafeteria that is at the school (which is 2 minutes away from our flat). The only problem is, they serve us the big meal at lunch (3 courses), and then a small dinner. Typically this would be fine, but since we teach right after lunch eating tons of food isn't a great idea.
I think that is all for now...
Hope all is well at home!
-Chris
This is the first time we have gained access to the Internet...sorry it took so long.
We have arrived in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
While sleep-deprived, the team is in great spirits and we are teaching our first class today at 2:30pm NT time (10 hours ahead of EST).
The flights were relatively uneventful. I met up with Samir (another teacher who is teaching in Siberia) at the Moscow aiport, and we muddled our way to the other termial which was about 6km away from the terminal which we landed in.
We had to struggle with the city bus, figuring out how to get on. This was no easy task with large luggage, but we managed.
At the other terminal, Samir and I parted ways, and off I flew to Ekaterinburg. The flight was delayed about an hour.
When I landed, Nadine (another teacher at NT) and Svetlana (our site host) were waiting for me. Then, Nadine and I got into a (very fast) car that drove us about 2 hours away to NT from Ekat.
We arrived at our place around 12:00am, and at this point I was extremely tired.
I got to bed around 1:30 or so after showering and eating a bit, then up at around 7:00am when the other two team members arrived (Marcin and Nishma).
We spent most of Sunday lounging around, took a stroll through the city looking for a groccery store. We thought we found one, but it turned out to be a hardware store.
I have taken a few pictures, but do not have them with me at the school (where I am accessing the internet right now).
I hope to have pictures uploaded within the next couple of days.
Our residence is beautiful.
We have to flats, one for the guys (Marcin and myself), and one for the girls (Nishma and Nadine).
Our flat has a small bedroom with two beds, a washroom, a kitchen, a dining/living room combination, and a balcony. It looks very new (besides the bathroom), and was likely renovated very recently.
We also have a TV, and entertained ourselves by watching Russian television and trying to guess what was going on.
We didn't go to sleep until around 2:30am last night, and I woke up at 6:00am due to the bright sun. The sun sets at around 11 or 11:30pm, and rises extremely early. I am trying to wear a mask, but it always falls off at night. As such, I am still extremely tired, but my body is (hopefully) adjusting to the lack of sleep.
The food has been good so far. We eat at the cafeteria that is at the school (which is 2 minutes away from our flat). The only problem is, they serve us the big meal at lunch (3 courses), and then a small dinner. Typically this would be fine, but since we teach right after lunch eating tons of food isn't a great idea.
I think that is all for now...
Hope all is well at home!
-Chris
Thursday, May 8, 2008
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