School: Week One

My first whole week of school in Russia has been quite the experience, and I have found this system of education very interesting. It is quite different from the system in America, and was difficult to figure out at first, but now I enjoy the format.

The school I attend is actually a private school, so it's not a typical Russian high school, though the basic structure is the same as the public schools. Because it is private, it's very small. As it was explained to me: wealthier kids study here, and the school is actually connected with the university in Vladivostok. I study here because the director of the school is also the Rotary Club President, so all three of the Rotary Exchange Students study here.

I am in the 11th form (which is the equivalent of the senior year in America). There are three classes within the form, A, B and V. I am in the B class, and there are about 15 students in the class. The building itself has two levels, with the 11th form on the top and the 10th and 9th forms on the bottom. There is no cafeteria, just a little room where you can buy tea and breakfast items. The building is small, on the top floor is it just a small common area with four classrooms opening off of it. It doesn't have the feel or look of a school at all.

One of the reasons the building is so small is that each teacher doesn't have their own classroom. Instead of students rotating rooms for each period, the teachers do. They bring everything they need with them, which isn't really a lot because the textbooks are very small. It's convenient as a student because there's no hassle of getting all your stuff together and trying to make it to the next class on I time. No chance of getting lost either!

The schedule is the most confusing part for me. All the teachers are from the University, which makes their time limited and expensive, so the schedule is built around when they are available to teach a class. One day school might start at 8:30, and the next day at 11:45. The schedule is different for every class too, so A class is on a different timetable than the B or V classes. Each class period is 90 minutes long and there are two to four every day. They study a wide variety of subjects: English, Russian, Algebra, Physics, Geography, History, Economics and others. There are just one or two classes a week of each subject. It is hard for me to figure out which classes are on which days because that changes too. There is a timetable but it is very elusive and I can never seem to find it. I just ask my classmates what time school starts the next day and play it by ear.

The students themselves are very nice, and are just ordinary teens. They speak slowly for me and make a huge effort to include me, which means a lot to me. Of course, they do have quite a bit of money, so they dress very well. The boys wear suits, and nicer clothes. The girls dress like supermodels with high heels, designer clothes and lots of make up. Every one carries a purse, never a backpack. Even the boys have purses, huge, leather purses with the shiny plaque with the designer name on it on the front. Since the textbooks are small, and we write in small copy books, everything fits in these purses. Then there's me: showing up in jeans and tennis shoes with my supercool backpack, fitting right in with the crowd :)

My schedule for last week:

Monday: school started at 8:30, with classes in literature and PE. Literature was easy enough at this point, in any class where I understand absolutely nothing, I simply study Russian. I wasn't aware we were having PE that day, and I didn't have the right shoes or clothes, so I had to sit that one out. It was still fun to watch the PE teachers snap orders to the kids to walk, run, march, do push-ups... It was like a giant game of Simon-Says.

Tuesday: Algebra, English and Physics. As many of you know, I have a very strong aversion to Algebra, so it's ironic that it's one of the only classes I can actually do anything in. The class runs very much like the ones in America. The teacher collects homework, does some problems on the board, then has students come and do problems individually on the board. Homework is ten to twenty problems. The only major difference: no calculators. English class was not what I was expecting at all. I went in confident that I knew it all, and I left feeling very humbled. The entire class was intensive English grammar study; they should have called the class "grammatical surgery." I had introduced myself to the teacher beforehand, so she knew I was an American. I don't think I should have done that, because she kept asking me questions, and I simply couldn't answer them. At one point, as I was trying to figure out what was going on, the teacher asked, "Emma, can you tell us the peculiarity of a stative verb?" All I could think was, "what on earth is a stative verb!?!" After I mumbled something about not being good at grammar, she moved on. It was a huge blow actually: I don't know Russian, and come to find out, I don't really know English either. Physics was mind numbing. I didn't understand a word, but it was a very amusing class actually. The entire room buzzed with conversation while the teacher just lectured on and on about physics and stared at the upper left corner of the room, occasionally reaching up to scratch something on the chalk board, which everyone ignored. It was funny to see students and teacher so oblivious of each other.

Wednesday: English again, and Geography.

Thursday: more Algebra, English and Literature.

Friday: English and Economics.

Saturday: Yes, there is school on Saturday here, and this is a private school quirk. My host sister, who goes to a public school, doesn't have school on Saturday. Luckily on this day though, the 11th form went to the Russian Island for the day for a culture fair and concert put on by the folks from World School (see previous blog post).

The Russian Culture Presentation

If there's anything I've learned about being an exchange student in my meager two weeks here it's that I know absolute nothing, about anything. I don't know Russian, I don't know when school starts every day and I definitely have no clue about my schedule during the week. So, when anything comes up that I didn't know about I just go with it.

That's why when I was told on Tuesday that the next day I would be going somewhere with some other students I just nodded. On Wednesday I was pulled from class and got into a taxi with the two other exchange students at the school. We drove through the city and over both of the iconic white bridges to the Russian Island.

The Russian Island is just outside the city. The only thing that is there is the Far Eastern Federal University: a brand new campus that sprawls for miles on the waterfront. White, sparkling clean and state of the art, it is an impressive place. I found out what we were doing there as everything happened.

It turned out that there was a group of about 100 students from around the world on a three week visit to Vladivostok, and our school was putting on a Russian Culture Presentation for them. I though 'Cool! Maybe an hour long PowerPoint, some show and tell items and a few food samples, I'll be home for dinner.' Boy was I wrong.

A Russian Culture Presentation meant we turned the lobby into a museum. There were displays of Russian dolls, plates, instruments and traditional costumes. Arches made of balloons swayed overhead, white, blue and red bows were plentiful and TVs played sideshows of Russian landscapes and festivals. Six stations were set up: costumes, music, food and three craft tables. At the costume station everyone put on traditional Russian costume and danced to the melodies drifting from the music station. The women wore long colorful dresses with full sleeves. The men wore the embroidered shirts with a belt.

At the music station two folk musicians demonstrated traditional instruments. The balalaika is the iconic triangular guitar/mandolin, painted with beautiful red, yellow and green flowers. One man played an instrument that was a close relative to the accordion, but had three rows of circular buttons to push instead of a keyboard. The audience joined in on the percussion with beautifully painted wooden spoons that they clacked together.

The food booth was easily my favorite. Tea, of course, always tea. Next was Блини, the traditional crepe-like Russian pancake, filled with delicious honey or apple butter. Candy overflowed from bowls, and special chocolates that are made only in Vladivostok were offered again and again. Traditional circular crackers were strung on ropes to form beautiful, edible garlands.

At the three craft stations they made dolls, flower garlands and painted whistles. The dolls were very traditional, made from folded fabric and string. They had no faces, and it was bad luck if one was drawn on them. The flower garlands were very tricky and I epically failed, but it was fine because I was busy talking to a wonderful woman from India who happened to be a Rotarian and had been to The States many times. At the next table we painted little whistles. They were clay and shaped like chickens, and were very unique because to play them they are filled with water which makes the note sound like a bird tweeting. I know they are filled with water because when I picked one up at the music table I spilled water all over the floor.

After two hours or so of milling around at the booths I thought it was about to be over, but I should have known better by now. Suddenly music was blasted from loudspeakers and a traditional Russian dance party commenced. Over a hundred people moved to an open area, grabbed partners and started dancing. It was a crazy, beautiful thing as people from all over the globe skipped around the hall and laughed together.

Then the Russian games.

Two ladies in traditional Russian costumes lead the games and dances. Everyone was squeezed into a massive circle and we played three or four games. The first was the Russian Kissing game. In this game there is a men's cap that is passed to the left in the circle and a women's shawl that is passed to the right. When the music stops the girl with the shawl and the boy with the hat must go into the middle. They stand back to back and on the count of three they must turn their heads to the right or the left. If they  turn their heads the same way they must kiss three times. (On the cheek). Only one couple had to do it. As for me, the shawl never even got to my side of the circle, so I was safe.

Another game involved one boy in the middle of the circle with a hat that was supposed to resemble an eagle (but it looked more like a rooster to me). As he stands in the middle everyone else must walk around slowly to the music. When the music stops everyone must rush and find a partner (a girl and a boy) and the boy in the middle must grab a girl before they are all taken.

After all the dancing, eating and festivities had stopped everyone was handed balloons which they promptly let go of, thus leaving a colorful mass of them on the ceiling of the university lobby. The evening was amazing, and I felt like I had made a lot of friends that night, plus it was fun to see my normally stern teachers dancing and singing. That night cemented the fact that in Russia, nothing is ever as you expect it to be, and that's the best part.

The Saturday Beach Resort

This weekend was the inbound orientation for every exchange student going to district 2225, or all of Eastern Russia. There are 10 of us. Only seven made it to the orientation, two more Brazilians had delayed Visas and another American is coming later this week. It was a small, quite group: one student from Mexico, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, France and Brazil. I, of course, was the student from the USA. Their laid back attitude and general silence was due mostly to exhaustion from travel, and the shock of entering into another culture, but they were a fun, easygoing, friendly bunch, and it was such a great weekend.

The orientation was in a small town/resort. It was on a small ocean cove about an hour outside of Vladivostok. It is the strangest place I think I've ever been to. There were two hotels, right next to each other. The one street (dirt track) was lined on one side with small buildings, which looked like plywood nailed together to form small shacks. Some were shops, others were completely empty, and others, well we had no idea what they were. One sorry looking place that could have been a barbecue/picnic shelter was blasting zippy Russian music, but the place was empty and dark. There were hardly any people, maybe one or two on the beach. There looked like some remains of restaurants. One faded bill board had a take out Chinese menu with a phone number, but no restaurant in sight. The paint was peeling, buildings falling down, weeds and trash chocked the small flower beds. The beach was covered in seaweed, and on the hill sides, stark concrete buildings with gaping open windows. They were empty. It was like a ghost town, but obviously a beach "resort". It had an eerie feeling about, walking through an empty town while accordion music drifted from one of the buildings.

The hotels and the town were straight out of the 1950's. Whitewashed brick walls, balconies with stunning views of the sea, and a long board walk out over the sea with white, Art Deco style railings. The canteen had salmon colored walls, rounded doorways and old tables. An overgrown playground sat empty in the yard. No TV, no internet. I could almost see people on the beach in the quaint, striped bathing suits of the fifties, and ladies in frilly white, with parasols, strolling on the boardwalk.

However Saturday was another story. We woke up and the beach was full, the sun was bright and everything seemed alive. The hotel had filled up overnight while busses pulled in from the city and beach goers piled out. Barbecuers, picnicers, swimmers, tanners, sandcastle builders and all manner of rubber rafts filled the beach and the waves. On Saturday, it was a beach resort.

The first seven days here in Russia have gone by so fast, but yet seemed like an eternity. Some days are busy and some days are slow, but each one is full surprises and interesting experiences. On my excursions into the city I find it is similar in many ways to America, but it's the subtle things, the little details that make every trip outside so interesting.

For example, we had to go to the post office one day. The inside was pretty normal, a few postal employees handing out packages, tables to fill out your forms, some stands with birthday cards for sale - and then I noticed the toaster. Yes, they were selling toasters in the post office, and coffee makers and clocks and a few more oddball items that seemed vastly out of place. In any case, it brought a smile to my face.

The thermometers here are a little different too. A normal American thermometer has zero degrees somewhere near the bottom, but not so here. Zero is in the middle and it goes fifty degrees up and fifty degrees below. (Celsius of course) I cant wait for winter...

Starbucks has yet to reach these fair shores, as well as Root Beer. However the city is overrun by Cinnabon and Pepsi. I find it very interesting the amount of American influence here. People will have US flags on their shirts, or USA bags. When I went to a 5D theatre with my host sister they had two "American Adventures," American television programs are almost more common on TV than Russian ones. I even saw a Simpson-themed restaurant. English is very prominent as well. Ads in english are common, english songs play on the radio, or are blasted in the mall. People wear shirts with english on them, but the grammar is often incorrect and makes no sense to me. Yet for all the english, there are very few english speakers that I've met so far. Even those who do speak a little shake their heads when I ask them if they would like to speak it.

Shopping here is a really cool experience. As far as food goes, fish and meat are bought in special markets, there are different vendors and you walk around and pick the best looking piece of meat or fish. Produce is the same way; outdoor markets are all over the place in our neighborhood. Fruit, vegetables, nuts, honey just right on the side of the road. Milk and bread are bought in the supermarkets. Of course you can buy produce and meat in supermarkets, but the selection is very limited. Candy can be bought in supermarkets, or in special candy stores.

Shopping malls are small, but are a blast to walk through. The majority of the shops are clothes, very beautiful clothes. I was particularly enthralled by a shop selling the most magnificent fur coats. They were straight out of a fairy tale, some with leather and fur, others just pure white, fluffy and floor length. They were stunning. Shoes, bags, hats... You can get anything in malls.

 I am lucky to be living on a very busy street that is lined the whole length with little shops and markets. Right across the street from out apartment is a market selling everything you could possibly want, and cheap cheap cheap. One old woman spins yarn and knits at her stall: socks, sweaters and scarves. Another man makes shoes for people. Its fascinating to watch him cut out the soles and punch the leather onto them. Plastic buckets at one booth, tape and wallets at another. The variety is incredible.

All over the city, especially at bus stops there are these small booths. One person sits inside, the wares are displayed in the glass walls and are so crammed you can't see inside. You simply find what you want, and buy it through the tiny window in the front. They sell everything in them: hot food, drinks, cigarettes, cheap toys, post cards, tape, candy, pens...

Downtown the shopping is more expensive: boutiques and higher end stores, little cafes and restaurants line the streets. Want to have a coffee underground? Not a problem here. To cross the streets in the town center you have to go underground to tunnels that cross under the streets. They are filled with more shops and cafes and souvenir shops. The volume of products sold here is staggering, it's a wonder every shop can stay in business with the amount of competition from other stores.

The other thing about the city that absolutely fascinates me is the contrast between the people and their surroundings. A lot of the city, especially outside the downtown, is a little rundown, the sidewalks are cracked, sometimes just rubble, there is graffiti everywhere, and it has a very grim feel to it all. Yet the people drive new cars, walk out of shopping malls laden with bags and dress like supermodels. Its striking to see beautiful women in high heels and the latest fashion pick their way through muddy, broken sidewalks and go home to rundown concrete apartment buildings. The look like they belong in New York or Paris. Its what I love about the city, it seems to clash in many ways. The old and the new, the west and the east, tradition and modern culture.

And of course, the food... My host family complains every meal that I eat too little, like a little girl. I feel like I'm going through a stomach expansion program. Luckily the food is very tasty.

Cheese is a staple, they put it on everything. Everything. I've been introduced to cheese on pancakes, cheese on fish and cheese on cookies. One breakfast was just cheese. They have many flavors of cheese, like cucumber flavored cheese, and mushroom flavored cheese and some cheese that tastes sweet. There is this cheese that is very soft, but sort of grainy, like a cross between ricotta and cottage cheese, they put honey in it and eat it like pudding. Or they will take sweet corn puffs and dip them in a soft cheese. A lot of cheese, but it's all so so good.

One breakfast I was treated to Russian pancakes, which are basically crepes. You can eat them with virtually anything but we had them with cheese and salmon eggs. My host mother filled the left overs with more cheese and crab for dinner.

Yes, they do have vegetables in Russia. They have a lot of salads, like cucumber salad, tomatoes salad, carrot salad... and by salad I mean chopped up vegetables and oil. They use a lot of oil in their cooking, but very few seasonings. Just salt and pepper usually. The food here is very healthy, and very filling. Somethings are better than others, but so far its all been excellent.

Besides the food being a little different so are the times that we eat. Breakfast is usually between eleven and noon, lunch can be around five or six and dinner at nine or ten at night. It threw me for a loop the first couple of days, after eating lunch (which at that time I assumed to be dinner) I started winding down for the next few hours, and I wandered into the kitchen at ten to say goodnight, to find my host mother cooking and everyone trickling in for more food.

Breakfast is usually eggs, or sandwiches and tea. Lunch is salad, sandwiches, maybe soup and tea. Dinner is usually a grain or potatoes (always boiled) with some meat, salad, cheese and tea. Dessert is usually fruit, but they have a lot of sweets in the house. Lots of chocolate, cookies, corn snacks, yogurt (which you drink), tea and honey. (I've adopted my host sister's method for eating honey: with a spoon).

My first week has been a blast. It's had it's ups and downs, but I've learned so much already, and have become much more comfortable with my baby-talk Russian. I am excited for what the year has in store for me and can't wait to learn more of the language and fit in to the culture here. It's an amazing place and I'm so blessed to be here.

Welcome To Russia

And So It Begins!

Vladivostok is a beautiful city from the air. I was lucky enough to be sitting on the side of the plane with the view of the city as we flew over. The airport is about forty minutes from the city, so I only saw it for a short while, but it was strangely gorgeous. I was amazed at how quickly the landscape transitioned from an urban center to endless forests, stretching as far as I could see. It was clear day and all I could see was a blanket of green, solid forest with no clear cuts, no farms, no people.

After landing I met my host mother and host sister. it was a warm day, and as I hadn't slept for over forty hours, since I woke up on the day I left, I took a snooze on the way home.

Meet My Family

Irina is my host mother and is an engineer, she works a lot but is the sweetest woman you will ever meet. I'm thankful that she speaks with me, even though she doesn't know english, and all I ever seem to say is "я не понимаю." (I don't understand).

Anatoly is my host father, and I'm not quite sure yet what he does, as he is on vacation right now. He also does not speak english, but is learning, so whenever I ask him how to say something in Russian, he always asks how to say it in English, it's a win-win.

Yuri and Olyessa are my host brother, and sister-in-law. I don't know where they work yet, in fact I don't know them very well at all, they are the only ones I hadn't contacted before I arrived

Alina is 17, and is the older sister. She speaks very good english but is leaving soon for a Rotary exchange to Germany. She is already done with high school and this will be her second exchange.

Anna is 15, and is the younger sister. She is studying english in school, her vocabulary is limited but she can speak it very clearly and well. She has started school already so I don't see her as much as I would like, she is a lovely girl.

Phil is the dog.

Welcome Home

Our apartment is on the ninth floor of the apartment building, and as I was lugging in one of my bags I was relived to discover an elevator. Irina, Alina and I, along with my bags managed to fit into the 4*4 ft elevator. Upon entering the apartment there is a small mudroom where we removed our shoes, and I was given "house shoes". Mine are pink. To the right is the kitchen and dinning room. My room is next to it, which also seems to be the den. I sleep on a pull out couch. The entertainment center and piano are in the room, and I love it, I'm so thrilled!

Anna and Alina share a room, my host parents have a room and my host brother and his wife have a room. There is a small room for the toilet and another for the shower and washer. However there is no hot water in the apartment, so bucket baths it is! the apartment is clean and beautiful, but very small, and I like it that way. Including myself, seven of us live here.

While the inside is modern, the outside is not. The building is square, grey and looks run down. Outside my window I see other buildings like it, all remnants of the Soviet era. Between the apartment buildings are the garages, set up like storage units. Each one fits a single car. The outsides are covered in graffiti, and everything are the same colors: grey or a greyish-brown. It matches the color of the sky. The sidewalks, where there are sidewalks, look like someone has taken pieces of broken concrete and pieced them together like a patio, sometimes they are just dirt. However they are much better downtown, where everything is much more modern and metropolitan. It seems very grim, with mostly overcast skies, but I wouldn't trade it for any of the quaint towns in Central Europe, or all the beautiful homes in South America. I think it's perfect and I feel undeservingly blessed to live here.

The Neighbor hood

today, Anatoly and I went out to the post office. We walked down our street and onto the main road. On one side were apartments and shops, we had to dart across intersections quickly and walk around the occasional truck that was parked on the sidewalk. On the other side of the street was a Chinese market, stall after colorful stall of cheap Chinese goods. We returned from the post office, since they did not have the forms Anatoly was looking for. I waited outside the apartment building while he went to get the car keys. A garbage truck drove up to collect the garage and recycling. There are no dumpsters, just a pile of it all right outside the door. When Anatoly retuned with the keys we went to the garage. Our garage was on the ground level, and it was dark under the tunnel-like structure, as there were no lights.

The Russians drive on the same side of the road as we do, however the steering wheel is on the opposite side. It made for a strange experience. The roads seemed to be in chaos, with cars weaving in and out of lanes, people crossing where ever and when ever they wanted and horns honking all the while. There is no such thing as signaling here, you just change lanes whenever you want and if you get in someone's way, they'll just honk. We drove by the Chinese stalls which gradually progressed into strip malls and outdoor markets. All along the road there were stalls selling everything from fresh fruit to knitted socks. You could find just about anything along there. I was particularly excited when the familiar blue and white sign of Cinnabon caught my eye, mere blocks from our apartment.

The second post office failed to have Anatoly's forms, so we went back home where I've been unpacking. I apologize for the long post, but introductions always seem to be longer than anybody wants to read, so thank you for getting even this far!

If you read nothing else just know this: I am safe and sound in Vladivostok, in a beautiful home with wonderful people, and happy to know that I am so loved and supported by all the people back home.