Altai days 7, 8, and 9

So I have fallen behind in keeping this blog. It’s hard to keep motivated to post regularly when my posts aren’t actually reaching anyone. Today is Saturday, and my last update was on Sunday. This past week, Chloe, Christian, and I were in camp for three days while Cheryl, Cristina, and Cameron went camping and then we switched. On Monday, we went horseback riding around the area. The ride itself was fairly slow, but the nature was incredible and our guide was quite a character. He liked me for some strange reason, and kept trying to tell me jokes in Russian. He also wanted me and Chloe to have a popularity contest where we walk around the camp asking for money. Whoever gets the most wins, then we pool the money and go out drinking.

Beach day posing with Jim's company towel

Returning from our ride

Heading out on the rafting trip

            On Tuesday, the whole camp had a beach day. We held morning lessons, then went to a man-made lake and sat around there for five hours. It wasn’t particularly thrilling, but it was fun playing in the water with the kids. Then, on Wednesday we went rafting. I think there was maybe one Class III rapid, the rest was pretty tame. It was pleasant but nothing compared to rafting on the New.  It was weird being in camp with only half the kids and half the leaders. Cheryl is the teacher I’m closest to, and Chloe’s constant complaining can get old. Also, all the young leaders went camping and we were left with Nadia, Natalia, and Vladimir. They are perfectly pleasant, but not as fun. I really missed Igor’s jokes and having someone to hang around with after the kids went to bed. Also, we have the younger group. They’re all very sweet, but need a lot more managing. This session has some kids who are very obviously spoiled at home and most of the team leaders aren’t much for discipline. It’s hard keeping them in order for classes, but it’s awesome when we’re just goofing around during free time. 

How I spend my free time in the Altai

Team Leader Igor walked into my room, threw a syringe (unopened, thankfully) on the bed, and told me not to do drugs. I bought a watermelon and a bunch of oranges, injected them with vodka, and we all had a very fun evening. Also, a problem with my translating ability left one team leader thinking that it is an American tradition for all college students to celebrate their graduation by sharing a vodka watermelon with their closest friends. I still haven't bothered to correct her.

Altai Day 3-6

It was rainy yesterday and the day before, so we weren’t able to do a lot. However, yesterday afternoon we went to a ropes course, which was actually pretty impressive. Obviously, the safety standards aren’t comparable to the ones we have to follow in the US, but it looked reasonably safe. One thing I really like was that in America, the goal is for everyone to be challenged but ultimately complete the course, which means that some obstacles are not as hard as they could be. However, here they don’t care if people can’t make it through the obstacles, so there were some challenging ones. I had a blast, of course. The following day, we went on a hike to a grotto in the morning. The grotto itself wasn’t particularly impressive, but the hike was very nice. Later, we went on another hike to a mountain top that offers spectacular views of the surrounding areas. Although both hikes were probably only two or three miles each, they were super steep. Also, probably because trail-building in Russia occurs from locals using the paths, instead of a planned effort, none of the trails have switchbacks and instead just go straight up the mountain. It was exciting because I didn’t expect to be physically challenged here, but the leaders are serious about making sure the kids go on intense day hikes to prepare for our camping trip later.

Valeria at the Adventure Park

Dima and the other kids building a boat

At the top of the first hike

At the top of the second hike (same day!) with team leader Sasha

Same hike posing with fellow teacher Chloe

Apart from the excursions, daily life at camp is going well. Lessons are a struggle because the kids do not want to be in classes. There cabins are right across from the schoolroom, so sometimes they will ask to go to the bathroom and then just disappear. I’m not strict about attendance; I just try to tailor my lessons to the few kids who want to learn and only discipline the others if they are being disruptive. Outside of lessons, however, the camp is a lot of fun. I get to socialize with the kids a lot more, and I think they enjoy getting to know someone from another country. I haven’t gotten to know the older ones as well, but I’m tight with everyone under fourteen. The kids have also gotten slightly more enthusiastic about evening performances. A couple of the older kids got really into it, which means that the rest of their group pays attention when they perform. In general, this season is very different from last one. Although lessons are more frustrating, I enjoy every other aspect of this camp. Even the food is better here. It’s the same basic stuff, but the cook is great, so she is able to make things more edible. I’ve been here almost a week, and I haven’t had to open my cornflakes yet!

Altai Day 2

I made a new friend today, but it remains to be seen if this is a positive event. Dima, the son of the camp director, is eight years old and very mischievous. I accidentally agreed to one game of table tennis, and now we’re friends for life. Whenever he gets bored, he looks for me all over the camp, comes running up, and asks, “Maybe let’s play?” So far today we’ve played table tennis, volleyball, and badminton. He ambushed me right after my lesson asking to play and, when I tried to get out of it by saying that I had homework, he offered to do my Russian homework for me. Later, after I had left our volleyball game to go do laundry, Dima showed up while I was hanging up my clothes and instantly started wringing stuff out and hanging it up. It was all I could do to get my underwear up before he got started on that too. When we went on a field trip, he called dibs on being my partner in the line and held my hand on the way to the monastery. Incidentally, the trip was incredible- we saw a tiny monastery on an island that could only be accessed by a tiny bridge fifty feet above the water. Later we went to see a hydroelectric plant that had incredible views of the surrounding area and a spring we could drink from. I managed to shake Dima for the later part of the trip, but he claimed a spot on the bus next to me and spent the entire time chattering away. It’s good for my Russian to try and keep up with him, but he is absolutely exhausting. 

Beginning in Altai

We spent our last night in Novosibirsk in the barracks of a military academy, waking up at 4 in the morning to pile into a bus and head to the Altai. After eight hours on the bus, plus lunch and rest stops, we finally arrived. The area is absolutely incredible. Sitting on the porch of my cabin, I can see the river flowing about 50 feet away, with a mountain right behind it. The premises are rather primitive- the privy is just a hole in the ground, our cabin has no insulation and is freezing and night, and no one seems completely sure whether or not the water is safe to drink. Fortunately, I have iodine tablets, so I’m not taking any chances.

The schedule here is also different than it was in the previous session. The students and teachers are split into three groups. In the morning, two groups go on expeditions and one has lessons. In the afternoon, they switch. Today, for example, I had Russian lessons in the morning, went on an excursion to a hydroelectric station and an old monastery after lunch, and then taught English after dinner. We no longer have creativity workshops, which makes this schedule manageable. I’m really excited for all of the upcoming excursions. There will be hikes to cultural sites and scenic views, horseback riding, rafting, and, at the end of the program, a three day camping trip.

The kids this session are very different from the previous one. They were more outgoing from the very beginning and are mostly older. In a sense, this is good, because it means that the group is more energetic and dynamic, and as a whole they have a higher level of English. However, there are a lot of teenage boys who are here more for the excursions and the socialization than for lessons, which makes it hard to keep order in class. Also, a lot of them are more concerned with looking cool than with participating fully, so different camp traditions like cheers, dances, and evening performances will be hard to instill in this group. However, I am cautiously optimistic. If we can just get a couple of the older guys to realize that it’s more fun to actually participate and be a little goofy, then the rest will follow. 

average day

Link to a powerpoint I made showing a typical day at camp

Our camp is on the grounds of an old Soviet army training site. This is an abandoned tank.

This is the whole group on our day off in Novosibirsk. We went to a cultural history museum and then did some shopping. 

End of Session One

We arrived in Novosibirsk at noon today, walked around the zoo (again), walked around the mall (again), and then said goodbye to all our campers at the train station. It was pretty sad having to leave kids I've gotten to know, especially because there is no chance I'll see any of them again. However, the sadness of the day was broken up by one particularly funny- and very Russian- interaction with one kid's parent. While we were at the shopping mall having lunch, this big hefty guy with a trash bag comes up to me and says, in Russian, "Hello. I am Georgei's father."
Now, as I've mentioned before, Georgei is one of my favorite kids. He can be a handful in class, but once you get him talking about something that interests him, he's incredibly focused. He's only twelve, but is in the highest English class, and is an incredible dancer. So naturally, I responded to Georgei's dad by telling him how much I liked his son and what a great kid he was. Georgei Sr. brushed this all off and, leaning in and looking at me intently, asked, "Wine or cognac?" I was a little taken aback and, considering my Russian isn't excellent, assumed I had misheard. Georgei Sr. mimed opening a bottle and drinking it, and then showed my what was in his trashbag- about a dozen unlabeled bottles of alcohol. "No, thank you," I responded, "It is not permitted for me to be drunk" (again, there's only so much that I am able to say). Georgei's dad then tells me that if I get drunk, I will just go to sleep, and so it is ok. He also tells me that he made the alcohol himself, as his father did before him. I give in and decided on cognac. While he's pouring me a shot, he conveniently pretends that he can't understand my Russian when I tell him it's enough, and continues until I have maybe 4 shots worth of cognac. "It is 60% alcohol," he tells me. "Stronger than from a store. And for the wine, I step on all the grapes myself. Now drink." And so I do, while he watches to see how I enjoy it. After I assure him that it was delicious (and it actually was, as far as cognac goes), he leaves and I share the rest with my table. Within five minutes, he's back again, asking me to try the wine this time. He tells me again that "If drunk, then sleep. Sleep is not bad. Sleep is good." While I appreciate his attempt to tone down his vocabulary for me, I refuse this time, explaining to him that "I love to sleep, but today I am busy." He was disappointed, but accepted my refusal and went off to press alcohol on Stephen, who accepted much more readily.
I thought it was hilarious that: a) a parent would encourage his son's teacher to drink; b) he would do it in the middle of a shopping mall with a bunch of kids watching; c) one drink wasn't enough, he would have preferred if I got drunk; d) of all the teachers he picked me to offer alcohol to- I assume it's because Georgei and I are buds- and e) this is actually not weird at all for Russia.

pictures

jk, it's apparently impossible to post pictures and videos in the internet cafe. I will update again on Sunday, hopefully with more success

The Past Ten Days

7/17

Some impressions of Russia/Russians

The hairstyles: many women have hair down to their butts. Many middle aged women have short hair dyed bright red. Guys are rocking mullets and rattails, and sometimes a combination of the two. A lot of little boys have normal haircuts that just look a little shaggy in the back, so it’s like the mullet just crept up on them.

Fewer people than I would have expected speak English and, of the people who do speak English, they are not as fluent as I would have expected. It’s not like France, where you can get by even if you don’t know the language. In small towns, you wouldn’t be able to find a single person who could speak English well enough to have a conversation.

They place an incredible amount of importance on physical beauty and fashion. Little girls at the camp would be in skin-tight pants, skimpy dresses, belly shirts, and some would even wear crazy high heels. They all have their hair perfectly arranged. However, the biggest difference is in how they carry themselves. Middle school aged girls in America are incredibly awkward and self-conscious, which you can tell by watching how they interact with others and how they present themselves. However, in Russia, even young girls act like they know they’re beautiful. Not in a particularly conceited or self-absorbed way, but more as if they take it for granted. Guys are pretty much separate from this preoccupation with beauty.

Russian men tend to be chivalrous to the point of sexism. They absolutely refuse to let women carry anything heavy. It seems like it’s less about wanting to help the women, and more about not wanting to look weak in front of their buddies. They’ll just say “Oh, I must do this because I am a man”, as if that’s a valid reason.

7/18

The food here is the worst food I’ve ever had. The camp, naturally, does not offer the finest example of Russian cuisine, but they actually do a pretty good job with what they have. The main problem is that the type of food offered is not something I would ever want to eat. Their meats are often unidentifiable , they eat fish whole, and most things are drenched in some sort of nasty sauce or gravy. In fact, if you ask what kind of meat or fish you’re eating, people will look at you like you’re an idiot and simply say “It is meat.” Also, the fish is not prepared normally. It has all its bones and the skin is attached. The kids just pick it up and gnaw the fish off the skin. Dill is on everything, and so strong that it drowns out all other tastes. Cucumbers and tomatoes are their equivalent of apples and oranges. The drinks at the camp are either comports, tea, or sour milk, and all sweetened so much that they are inedible. Even though I haven’t been here long, I’m already so sick of dill that, no matter how hungry I am, when I walk into the cafeteria and smell the food, I lose my appetite entirely and end up picking at my meal. Fortunately, there is bread at every meal, and it has become the staple of my diet. I also eat whatever the grain is, either potatoes or rice, and I’ll nibble at some of the vegetables. Fortunately, there is a little general store about a 20minute walk from the camp, so I got some cornflakes and chocolate to help me survive these next few of weeks.

7/20

So I’ve been teaching here for almost a week. I really, really, really like all of the kids. They are more polite than American kids and, for the most part, are pretty eager to learn. If they aren’t interested, they at least aren’t disruptive (although there are some notable exceptions). On the first day, the kids took a test, wrote an essay, and were interviewed. We then sorted them into seven groups according to language ability. Every day, we teach three 35 minute English lessons and then one extra language study lesson. They have the option to take Italian, Spanish, French, German, Swedish, or supplemental English classes. Every day has a theme for the lessons-something like government, elections, business, or law for the older kids and family, jobs, weather, or schools. I really love groups 1 and 2, the younger kids with very little English. Fortunately, I have enough Russian to explain the day’s activities to them and there is always a kid who understands what I am trying to convey and will explain to the others. We usually play a game to introduce new vocab, play a game to practice the concept, and then play a game at the end as a reward for doing so well in the previous games. With the older kids, it a lot harder to get them to speak and some of them would rather be on their phones than pay attention, but I try to have a lot of activities. For example, tomorrow the theme is law, so we will be having a mock trial. In addition to regular lessons, we teach Creativity Workshops. We have the kids for an hour a day every week and work towards a final performance in front of the whole camp. This past week I decided to base the workshops around the American South. I taught the kids the dance to Cotton Eye Joe and they all wore denim and cowboy hats.

Every other evening everyone in the camp goes to the campfire. It begins by having a discussion about a certain topic, like friendship or patriotism. Then, everyone sings songs. The kids sing some, councilors sing, and we sing some English songs. Russian songs are really pretty and the kids all enjoy singing. The first night, I sang them an old song from Wilderness Adventure. It’s supposedly an old Aboriginal rain dance (a fact that I may have made up to get the kids interested). It starts off with me singing one line really softly and then the kids repeat it. The whole song goes “Ooh kalayla/A me-a tikki tamba/A mazza mazza mazza/Ooh alooo-ay, ooh ay, aloo-ah” As it repeats, it gets louder and louder, but the last line always stays quiet. The kids absolutely loved it, and I was surprised to find that the older of the Russian councilors recognized the song as a traditional campfire song and Stephen said he sang it way back in his Boy Scout days. After that song, when I would walk through the camp, kids would yell “mazza mazza mazza” at me, and they beg me to come to every campfire so we can sing it.

7/22/12

I am exhausted today, but in a good way. I went down to the beach to play with the kids, and as soon as I got there they swarmed around me and dragged me into the water. I spent an hour chasing them, being chased, fighting them off, and throwing them into the water. It’s funny how little the language difference matters; playing with kids is the same in any country. Also, today we actually had decent food. For dinner we had the worst shepherd’s pie I’ve ever had, but it was the best food I’ve had here. Russian lessons are also going well. For the most part, we just practice our conversational skills and today we talked about immigration problems in Britain and the US. It’s nice because I’m getting an education about life in the UK as well as in Russia.

I’m also tired because we spent last night drinking on the beach with the Russian counselors. One of the teachers has a major crush on a Russian guy who doesn’t speak much English, so I was in the awkward/hilarious situation of sitting by them and translating her flirting into his language. I’d say my Russian was a success there, because they managed to get to a point in their romance where speech was no longer necessary, or even really possible. I’m reaching a point where I am really, really sick of talking about guys. We are in Russia, having an incredible experience, and all some of these girls want to do is talk about some guy who had the audacity to break up with them two years ago. It’s quite boring.

7/22

The kids had a talent show last night, which was very impressive. They came to this camp mainly to learn English, but they are all quite talented singers and dancers. We have performances of some sort every night and, while most American boys would hate all the singing and dancing, these kids get really into it. Tonight, we had some little girls do acrobatics, kids sang a traditional Russian song, a 13 year old boy, Gleb, sang “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” in this unbelievably pretty voice, hitting higher notes than a lot of women could reach. My favorite performance was by Georgi, who did a traditional Georgian military dance. Georgi is in the highest English class and is a very bright kid. His dad is from Georgia and Georgi is very proud of his heritage. He can play the traditional military drums, has a big coin collection, including money from before the revolution, has a full replica of a military outfit, and is an amazing dancer. He is so curious about everything and always eager to learn. I’m just glad I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him, because before I didn’t know anything about Georgia.

7/24/12

One of the most interesting things about teaching these kids is that I get to hear firsthand what the youth think about the Russian government and how they perceive the United States. The defining element of their political consciousness is an incredible sense of apathy and hopelessness. They don’t think that there is anything they can do to affect their political futures, even in a minor way. They do have definite ideas about what they would like to happen, but no hope that that will actually take place. None of the kids like Putin, and some of them really despise him. Others, however, simply believe that he is the best of many bad choices for political leadership. I asked them what exactly they want from government and it seems that Russians do value a strong government over a government with more transparency, freedom, or democracy. They would like those other values, of course, but I think because it’s such a big country, a government that can keep order is critical. They also are aware that people in other countries aren’t exactly crazy about Russia and want a government strong enough to protect Russia’s interests internationally and protect domestic security. Obviously, I can only talk about political issues like this with the older groups, and even then there are a number of kids who have no interest in politics, but there are kids with very strong opinions and I love chatting with them.

Even with younger kids, you can get an interesting peek into their cultural consciousness through some of the games we play together. For example, playing a word game, one girl gave the clue “These are bad in Russia” and everyone instantly guessed “roads.” In the same game, a boy gave the clue “domesticated animal” and was answered with “bear,” which I thought was funny. When you ask them to describe Russia, the same answers always come up: beautiful nature, national parks, bears, vodka, balalaikas, babushkas, Putin, and fuzzy winter hats. I think it’s because Russia is so big and so diverse that even native Russians have to resort to stereotypes when asked to generalize about their country.

Tonight we are going to present our second round of Creativity Projects, an event I am looking forward to with anticipation as well as apprehension, because my group hasn’t had as much time to practice as I would like. For this project, I brought a bunch of duct tape with funky patterns from the home and I taught the kids to make duct tape wallets. They really enjoyed it and were very creative with adding different decorations. Then, we came up with a company name, product name, slogan and price for the wallets. For the presentation, we will do an advertisement for our product. The kids decided on Space Age Scotch as a company name and KosmoКашёлки (CosmoWallets) for the product name. Our slogan is “Wallets of the Future/кашёлки будущего”

Update

Sorry for not updating since I first got arrived. There is no internet at the camp, but I have still been making fairly regular entries, I just haven't been able to upload them. Today is our day off and we are in Novosibirsk to see a museum/use the internet/eat real food. As a result, I am about to post a bunch of text and pictures. I will be in the city again on Sunday, so you can expect an update then.

The Novosibirsk Opera House

This is our tiny room in the hotel. It's across from a club that blasts loud music.  My roommate, Cheryl, is in the corner. She's the oldest of the group (late 20s) and I really like her so far. 

This is a typical Russian bathroom. As you can see, there is no seat. Instead, you have to squat on the blocks. Also, you can't flush toilet paper, so you have to throw it in the bin.

This is a beach along the Ob River

Here are some of the people I will be working with. From right to left, there's Olya, who will be teaching us English; Elizabeth, who just arrived today, has traveled all around the world, and is a little bit wild; Maddie, a student at USC who is carrying on an affair with one of the guards at camp and is a lot of fun; Cheryl, who speaks no Russian but is always very positive; Christina, an Irish/English girl who is determined to have a summer fling, despite the lack of guys around here; and Chloe, who speaks the best Russian and is the one most willing to call Stephen out when he's being annoying. Three other new teachers just arrived. There's Cameron, whose from the US but studies in the UK, and two British girls whose names I forget. 

These are dried shrimp flakes, apparently a common snack to go along with beer. I fully intend to try some before I leave.

Today has been incredibly exhausting. Stephen came for me early, so I had a chance to work on lesson plans but didn't get a nap in. Then, he introduced me to the four girls who were volunteer teachers last session and who will stay on for the next session. They all seem very nice, although not everything they had to say about the camp was positive. Apparently, the schedule changes constantly and nothing runs very efficiently. On the bright side, they said the kids were fantastic. I'm really looking forward to getting some classroom experience. I will be teaching three half hour English classes a day, each with about ten kids. There will be the beginner group, with ages 8 to 10, the intermediate, from 11 to 13, and the advanced group, from 14 to 17. Additionally, I will be teaching one hour long Creativity Workshop each day. The theme of my first week's workshop will be Culture of the American South. Among other things, I'll teach them the dance to "Cotton Eye Joe" and the "Dixieland" song.

Anyway, after chatting with the girls, we all went to the zoo. It was ok, but really crowded and hot and we were very rushed. We then rode around in a hot bus for a while and stood for an hour outside of the train station, as the campers of the past session all left. Everyone, including the guys, was sobbing and hugging constantly, while I stood awkwardly to the side and watched. We then walked back to the hotel, where all of the volunteer teachers will be spending the night. Now, we're about to head out for pizza- the other girls are already sick of Russian food- and then they're going out clubbing. I'm making an effort to be social, but I really don't think I have it in me to stay out until 4am dancing in a club with no AC with people I just met. Right now, the thing I'm most looking forward to is a good night's sleep. 

Arrival

I just arrived in Novosibirsk! Dad dropped me off at the airport around 3 on Thursday, I flew to JFK and sat around there forever and finally, left for Turkey at midnight. After a flight of over 9 hours, I arrived in Istanbul. The airport had no AC and, since women in black burkas tend to sweat a lot, the whole place reeked of B.O. After a three hour wait, I got on the plane to Russia. In Novosibirsk, I made it through customs, wandered around the airport, found Stephen, the assistant director of the camp, and went to a hotel. Total travel time: 27 hours (yuck!)

Now, I have a few hours to kill in the hotel, until the volunteer teachers will meet to explore the city. I spend the night here, and then we all head to the camp tomorrow morning. I'm excited to meet the kids, but not so excited about having my first taste of real Russian food!