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).