WED 2/19

I had a good day today! First of all, I was pretty productive at the office today. I have built a little routine---I wake up about 6am, do a lot of emailing, read some news, try to develop some talking points for class if I am teaching, cook a nice breakfast(usually eggs, ham, potatoes, and toast with OJ---otherwise Muesli and tea), listen to an NPR or BBC podcast)walk to work(about .75 mile) and arrive at the office around 10am. I generally leave around 3pm unless I am teaching later in the PM. I have internet access at work but honestly, what is nice is that you can't really open a lot of windows and waste time there. You can read email, blog sometimes, work on word documents; but I don't really waste time surfing because I can't do much of it.
Thus you do actual thinking, reading, studying(Russian!), planning, writing. So I got some Russian vocab in. Dr. Dr. Bobarykina does a class at noon on Wednesdays in Russian language and I must say that she is quite a dedicated and imaginative teacher. She is one of those extraordinary academics who is both a talented/efficient administrator and a dynamic teacher. We play games, we practice grammar(today was accusative and prepositional), we try small conversation. For me it really brings things together. I am also preparing for my next round of teaching which will be entrepreneurship and Business Planning with a group of "Presidential" program scholars---Russians in the academic, business, and administrative communities---in the month of March. Maria and Valentina in the office are going to assist me in this endeavor by helping translate during the actual class. Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I create more work for everyone, but they cheerfully crank out everything required and more.
The real reason I had such a good day was the following series of events----first, the guard guys at the front door now regularly say good morning to me(as well as goodbye). Most recognize me, and acknowledge me. Not only that, but the lady in the window at the front, really smiled at me in the morning and went out of her way to say goodbye in the afternoon. And, this morning while walking to work, I had a little slip in which I caught myself before hitting the ground by extending my huge, muscled arm and catching myself----when this happened, two little old ladies actually exclaimed and moved to help me up. Also for about the last week, several fellas have come up to me on the street and asked for a cigarette---which I don't have, but I think I may be looking a bit Russian after a month? And a guy in the grocery store in the Juice section asked me if I could see where the Apple juice was! There is also a checkout lady in the store who now says hello to me even if I am not in her line.  Yesterday she helped me figure out what change I needed to help her avoid using up all her change. On top of all of this, as I was buzzing myself into my building with my grocery haul, a young man of about 12 was coming out, and he held the door for me, I thanked him, and he said, "you're welcome".
So, a good day. All for now. I have to practice my guitar.....I am performing for a student party on Saturday(with many others). The esteemed professor Sanjay Mishra of NVCC-Loudoun graciously spent over an hour with me on Skype last night breaking down a Russian folk song that I was having trouble with.....

Teaching Update

I wanted to give a brief update on my actual teaching here. My strategy is one that is continually evolving---I have a very diverse classroom with varying comprehension of English and have had to do quite a bit of adjusting. The Slovakians are quite outgoing, a little chatty, and seem to have little difficulty in adjusting to an American speech pattern. They are all women and one man---the somewhat overwhelmed at times Matej.  The Russians are a mixed group of women with varying personalities, outgoing to very shy, from two different campuses. They are beginning to get comfortable with me I think.
My Chinese students are delightful but challenging for me. Linguistically the Chinese speech pattern is difficult for me. I've always prided myself on the ability to use student's real names, not some American equivalent, but some names are so similar, and my pronounciation is apparently so bad--I have now resorted to using English nicknames for some. These students seem actually relieved I am doing so. In terms of general communication, conversations are also somewhat difficult. My speech confounds them at times and my ears just do not pick up their inflections well. A few of them are very inclined to say "yes" all the time which can be disconcerting if the answer is really "no". We've had a couple of brief group presentations on culture of specific countries---and I have been a bit frustrated in my lack of ability to get the students to dig deeper on cultural cues....for example, if Bolivian mountain women wear bowler hats, why is that relevant? What opportunities could be developed by one knowing this? I should state rather clearly that I feel this is my shortcoming---I need to be more clear and more creative in my instruction. We've also had a lively debate on whether "free trade' is good or bad. I think that went well. They're also following stock markets which I think is beginning to intrigue them.
What is rewarding for me is that some are beginning to come up to me after class and declare some entrepreneurial interest---beautiful!
I think they now have some text access and it is my intention to give them a written final exam covering basic concepts as well as geography.
Just a note here---in Russia, exams are oral---a series of questions from the teacher on an individual basis. I will not do this, but the prospect intrigues me.

I see these vehicles all over Saratov; sometimes by official types, ambulances, police. I like their tough appearance.

 

Maybe it is because I'm a business guy, but I love signs in other countries.

 

My Concert Invitation and American Flag for Hockey from Kcyusha.

 

10 Rouble commemorative coin--a gift from Dmitri.

 

Sad news.

My friend and colleague, NVCC-Loudoun Horticulture Professor Bruce Nash, died yesterday. A brilliant and inspiring teacher, he was one of kindest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing---just a wonderful fellow. My heart goes out to his family and friends. I feel crushed, almost unbearably sad and will miss you terribly sir.