Christmas is Coming!

Howdy! I am so excited for Christmas! In only two and a half weeks I will be home in America....everything seems possible all of a sudden. I had a really good weekend too. I worked on Saturday and after work I went to a sushi bar with a colleague. I am obsessed with sushi lately. I literally crave it all week, but I only eat it once every two weeks because it is too expensive.....but on that day watch out cuz I work those chop sticks and go to town! On Sunday I hung out with my Russian friends. They drove me to Mega Mall. Mega Mall consists of many shops and Ikea. We explored Ikea and I bought a few more trinkets to pimp my pad and jazz up my joint...hehehe. I really love hanging out with these girls. Everything is so easy with them because they know what they are doing and how to do things the easiest way. After Ikea we went shopping in the mall and had a blast. They are so funny and ask me really strange questions like, "Where do you buy your cosmetics?". I don't really know what to say to them. They, like most Russians, have a skewed perception of America as well. They asked me why American history books give credit to America for WWII, when clearly Russia won the war. I just explained that a lot of credit is given to America because we ended the war with the Atomic bombs. They come back with the counter argument that Russia lost 23 million people and America only lost 400,000. This is true and I feel awkward arguing about this sort of thing nor do I necessarily agree with the fact that America is given the most credit, but I don't know what to say when Russians assume that every American should be held accountable for the whole country. So I just explained that history books are biased and that in every country the history books try to make their own country look good. Conversations like this really made me realize how America is bashed in the Russian school system. I have been asked personally, "Why do you hate Mexicans?" and "Why do your school cafeterias serve soda and chips for lunch?" These questions kill me because, first of all, Russians assume that I am personally responsible for all these issues and, secondly, because it is so hypocritical of them. Russians are the most racist people that I have met yet. Their school cafeterias are exactly the same as ours and their history books write a skewed perception of history as well. They even still try to take credit for the moon landing, claiming that the first creature on the moon was a Russian dog. Everything is a contest between America and Russia and I can't win. So I pretty much just let it all go and try to give them a different perspective, where neither Russia nor America wins, rather the countries are just different. Life in Russia is just funny sometimes and I just get to see the effects of the cold war first hand!



After hanging out with my Ruskayas (Russian ladies), I went ice skating. It was a really fun and a good experience. I can't wait to go again. I am going to buy some skates here and when they freeze the basketball courts I will be able to skate for free outside. On Monday we got so much snow and I am getting excited for outside winter activities. I asked my students what they like to do in the winter and they all said they loved to make snow angels, skiing, skating, and throwing snow balls at their teachers! All this talk was getting me so happy for the Winter season. My students asked to hang out with me this weekend so that we could have a snow ball fight......and that is why I love them.



I have had a crazy week at work with my students. Last Tuesday, one of my old students came into the teacher's room and handed me a letter. The letter was so cute and said how the class was upset that I had left them. I had to give away my class of 12 year old More!3 kids because of Yura, my individual VIP student. So basically the class wanted to know why I had abandoned them and why I wouldn't come back. I was so touched but there was nothing that I could do about the schedule changes. My roommate is now teaching this class and I think that she is doing a pretty good job with them. I think that they were just attached to me and connected with my personality more. My boss made me feel bad about this letter though and she said that I cared too much if my students liked me. I was sort of mad about this because I want everyone to have fun because we spend so much time together but I don't try to make them like me.....they just happen to and I don't see why I should feel guilty about this. The situation got worse on Thursday. My roommate came into the teacher's room quite upset and I asked her what was wrong. She told my boss and myself that the More!3 class was out of control and kept asking for my return throughout the class period. She felt really undermined and I don't blame her, but I was also flattered that they wanted me back.....I am only human. So I felt terrible and didn't know what to do because my roommate was upset and my boss was mad at me and my kids felt abandoned. And then I found out that the other class that I had to give away were complaining about their new teacher too and wanted me back. This class is adults though, so their complaints are taken seriously. So I will probably be getting them back and teach them again because I finished teaching Yura this week. This is exciting news for me because this adult class was my favorite class because they are so eager to learn and their enthusiasm is contagious.



All in all, everything is grand and I am counting down the days until I can see my family and friends for the Christmas season!