I've had a couple of big days and a real shortage of sleep, so I'm taking a night off, staying home, and watching Skyfall (I still haven't see it!) tonight. I had a very busy week at work, and I have been honing my Russian billiards game, which is a hobby that necessarily happens when I should really be sleeping. Russian billiards is a very tough game: You can hit any ball with any ball (not like in American pool), but the table is bigger, and the pockets are exactly the size of the balls, so you have to be extremely accurate with your shots.
But I'll talk about billiards some other time. I have something far more exciting now. This morning, one of the other teachers and I went with my Russian friend to a school in my neighborhood and gave a presentation about growing up in America. My friend graduated from this school a few years ago, and one of his teachers invited us there. We met at 9am, and we went to Vladimir's School #36. The school building itself was nothing special--a little beat up and dingy--but it is considered the best school in terms of educational quality in the city. We met my friend's former teacher and had some coffee, and then we went into the classroom. This was just a regular class--history, I think--and I don't think anyone in the class spoke much English at all. So we did the presentation all in Russian.
I prepared some pictures that illustrated a regular day for an American teenager--school, sports, clubs, friends, and jobs. My friend also put together some pictures of our home states and universities; the Russian students now know a lot more about Ohio and Mississippi than they ever would have imagined. We showed a little video of cool time-lapse photography of natural places and cities in America, and then we took questions. The students asked some really interesting--and sometimes tough--questions, including "How do guys meet girls in America?" "What literature is popular in America?" "What do you think of America's penchant for sticking its nose into other countries' business?" and "What possessed you to come to Russia?" This whole thing went on for almost two hours, and, although my friend translated a few phrases where he could, we did the whole thing in Russian. I was kind of nervous about speaking in front of a class of Russian teenagers in Russian, but actually it went fine. Of course they chuckled a little when I mispronounced the occasional word, but I had them laughing more at my jokes than at me, and that's always the goal.
After the presentation, we went back to the teacher's office and had more coffee and chocolates (normal fare at any Russian office meeting), and we talked more with the teacher and a few of her students. She said that she will put together some pictures of the presentation and send it to my friend within a week or two, so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soonish.
But I'll talk about billiards some other time. I have something far more exciting now. This morning, one of the other teachers and I went with my Russian friend to a school in my neighborhood and gave a presentation about growing up in America. My friend graduated from this school a few years ago, and one of his teachers invited us there. We met at 9am, and we went to Vladimir's School #36. The school building itself was nothing special--a little beat up and dingy--but it is considered the best school in terms of educational quality in the city. We met my friend's former teacher and had some coffee, and then we went into the classroom. This was just a regular class--history, I think--and I don't think anyone in the class spoke much English at all. So we did the presentation all in Russian.
I prepared some pictures that illustrated a regular day for an American teenager--school, sports, clubs, friends, and jobs. My friend also put together some pictures of our home states and universities; the Russian students now know a lot more about Ohio and Mississippi than they ever would have imagined. We showed a little video of cool time-lapse photography of natural places and cities in America, and then we took questions. The students asked some really interesting--and sometimes tough--questions, including "How do guys meet girls in America?" "What literature is popular in America?" "What do you think of America's penchant for sticking its nose into other countries' business?" and "What possessed you to come to Russia?" This whole thing went on for almost two hours, and, although my friend translated a few phrases where he could, we did the whole thing in Russian. I was kind of nervous about speaking in front of a class of Russian teenagers in Russian, but actually it went fine. Of course they chuckled a little when I mispronounced the occasional word, but I had them laughing more at my jokes than at me, and that's always the goal.
After the presentation, we went back to the teacher's office and had more coffee and chocolates (normal fare at any Russian office meeting), and we talked more with the teacher and a few of her students. She said that she will put together some pictures of the presentation and send it to my friend within a week or two, so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soonish.
What did you think of Skyfall? I LOVED it! made me want to go to Scotland a little bit.
ReplyDeleteAlso what is your email address!? I am not on FB anymore so i feel like i'm out of contact with much of the world!