It feels like the time to write another blog post, although I'm not sure what to write about. School is about the same, although I've had a few more students added to my schedule...things are a little hectic at work due to the fact that in November, our mixed school will be split into 2: one for adults and one for kids/teens. This also means that everyone needs to vacate our office and move to 2 different locations instead. Why the change? Well, the owner of the building we rent our office space from wants us out so that he can renovate and then charge more money. This will be great for him, but it means that EF Mayakovskaya has to frantically search for a new office location and break it to our students that they will be moved. There are many employees and students alike who are very unhappy about it, but I only feel mildly inconvenienced (I did arrive only a weekish ago, after all).
What's new in Russia? Winter. Ok, well winter isn't new in Russia, but it's sudden onset is new to me right now. After arriving to a beautiful 70F Moscow last Saturday, the temperatures suddenly dropped to a high of 51F this Sunday and aren't going back up again until, oh, April. And people are ready for it - you can see it in their faces. Winter is here, the look says. Winter is here and it is about to unleash its frigid wrath upon us, so let's start wearing 5 layers instead of 2 or 3. What does this mean? Rain and heavy jackets and scarves and tights and boots. It means that I don't need to worry about looking for gloves or scarves or sweaters, because these things all magically appeared on the sidewalks and at the metro stations where old women are still also selling fruits and vegetables. That's right, the open-air market is alive and well in Russia, and it's responsible for the best tasting fruit I've ever eaten. I'm not quite sure how this is a sustainable or profitable business since the grocery stores are so much cheaper, but there are grandmas (babushki, bAH-boosh-kee, for future reference) selling things on nearly every corner and definitely at every metro station. Maybe it works out because their fruit is fresher, or maybe Russians have a basic mistrust for grocery store produce (which I don't necessarily disagree with). Either way, they're not going anywhere.
While the babushki may not be going anywhere, my ideas sure seem to be; I've had a lot of lesson plan writers' block over the past couple of days, and now it's seeping into my blogging! You'll have to content yourselves with this for now, and I'll update you again soon. Until then, dosvidanya (see, you're learning Russian)!
What's new in Russia? Winter. Ok, well winter isn't new in Russia, but it's sudden onset is new to me right now. After arriving to a beautiful 70F Moscow last Saturday, the temperatures suddenly dropped to a high of 51F this Sunday and aren't going back up again until, oh, April. And people are ready for it - you can see it in their faces. Winter is here, the look says. Winter is here and it is about to unleash its frigid wrath upon us, so let's start wearing 5 layers instead of 2 or 3. What does this mean? Rain and heavy jackets and scarves and tights and boots. It means that I don't need to worry about looking for gloves or scarves or sweaters, because these things all magically appeared on the sidewalks and at the metro stations where old women are still also selling fruits and vegetables. That's right, the open-air market is alive and well in Russia, and it's responsible for the best tasting fruit I've ever eaten. I'm not quite sure how this is a sustainable or profitable business since the grocery stores are so much cheaper, but there are grandmas (babushki, bAH-boosh-kee, for future reference) selling things on nearly every corner and definitely at every metro station. Maybe it works out because their fruit is fresher, or maybe Russians have a basic mistrust for grocery store produce (which I don't necessarily disagree with). Either way, they're not going anywhere.
While the babushki may not be going anywhere, my ideas sure seem to be; I've had a lot of lesson plan writers' block over the past couple of days, and now it's seeping into my blogging! You'll have to content yourselves with this for now, and I'll update you again soon. Until then, dosvidanya (see, you're learning Russian)!
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