By "it" I mean snow.
(photo taken from my 1st grade corridor window)
I knew it was coming. I knew it like I knew my mom would scold me back when I still lived in the Wagner nest 3 months ago and would shove clean clothes under my bed instead of hanging them up in my closest. (If anyone is teaching Language Arts, I allow you to use that last statement as an example of a run-on sentence. )
It was only a matter of time.
So here is the snow from today. It is all downhill from here. This is only the beginning!
I think snow like this would call for school cancellations in PA. In Moscow...I feel like everyone acted as if nothing was different. I still saw some ladies clomping through the slushy/icy/snowy sidewalks in their stiletto boots.
It is a good thing that I do not mind the snow...and I in fact, find the snow enjoyable. Taking the 1st graders to recess suddenly became my favorite part of the day. The kids go out in this. They are all just these bundled/snow suited up little things. I think they will go outside for recess until the snow is bigger than them.
I do not have favorite students, but if I did, these two would be my favorite 1st graders. They always try very hard...and are very bright.
....and they love the snow:
...after this video they made me play "tag"...where even when I caught both of them several times...I was always "it".
So, I forget when it gets dark in PA this time of year...but here right now it is dark by 5:30 (and not light out in the morning until about 9:30...it will get even worse). So my commute to and from work are both in the dark. The only time I am outside and have a chance at a glimpse of sunlight during the week...is during recess. And as you can tell, the sun is bashful in Russia, so even at recess my chances are slim.
"Farewell sunshine, it was nice knowing you."
-me
(images around the outside of my flat)
I am sure there will be a white Christmas here...and Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter...
Anyway. I like trying to learn some of the Russian language. To help myself, I went a little crazy at the book store and purchased about 50 (not 50, I'm joking) Russian children's picture books. I'm going to translate them..which will force me to learn a slew of new Russian vocabulary, some grammar, and syntax rules.
Though this activity is quite time consuming, I really enjoy it. Russian uses the cyrillic alphabet, which is very different than the English alphabet. I learned much of the cyrillic alphabet before coming to Moscow. When I read Russian, I literally sound like a five year old sounding out the words phoneme by phoneme. These letters and their sounds are brand new to me...just like English letters are new to (English speaking) children who are learning to read. I feel like I am learning to read all over again! By doing this, I am giving myself a better understanding of how frustrating learning to read can be for children.
So I can read almost anything in Russian...but 93% of the time I have no idea what in the world I am saying. That is what the Russian dictionary/google translate/Native Russian speaking colleagues are for!
I'm starting simple. This is one of those "learn to read"/"my first independent read" type books for children.
I think this will be the next book I try to translate:
I can't wait. I am dying to know what a book with an onion head is about.
-Gina
Oh, and yes I celebrated Thanksgiving here. I had a lovely dinner celebration with other American and non-American teachers/friends.
I contributed a cocktail to the dinner. I named it "Spiced Cranberry Sparkle Sauce".
It's my new holiday specialty.
I knew it was coming. I knew it like I knew my mom would scold me back when I still lived in the Wagner nest 3 months ago and would shove clean clothes under my bed instead of hanging them up in my closest. (If anyone is teaching Language Arts, I allow you to use that last statement as an example of a run-on sentence. )
It was only a matter of time.
So here is the snow from today. It is all downhill from here. This is only the beginning!
I think snow like this would call for school cancellations in PA. In Moscow...I feel like everyone acted as if nothing was different. I still saw some ladies clomping through the slushy/icy/snowy sidewalks in their stiletto boots.
It is a good thing that I do not mind the snow...and I in fact, find the snow enjoyable. Taking the 1st graders to recess suddenly became my favorite part of the day. The kids go out in this. They are all just these bundled/snow suited up little things. I think they will go outside for recess until the snow is bigger than them.
....and they love the snow:
So, I forget when it gets dark in PA this time of year...but here right now it is dark by 5:30 (and not light out in the morning until about 9:30...it will get even worse). So my commute to and from work are both in the dark. The only time I am outside and have a chance at a glimpse of sunlight during the week...is during recess. And as you can tell, the sun is bashful in Russia, so even at recess my chances are slim.
"Farewell sunshine, it was nice knowing you."
-me
Anyway. I like trying to learn some of the Russian language. To help myself, I went a little crazy at the book store and purchased about 50 (not 50, I'm joking) Russian children's picture books. I'm going to translate them..which will force me to learn a slew of new Russian vocabulary, some grammar, and syntax rules.
So I can read almost anything in Russian...but 93% of the time I have no idea what in the world I am saying. That is what the Russian dictionary/google translate/Native Russian speaking colleagues are for!
I think this will be the next book I try to translate:
-Gina
Oh, and yes I celebrated Thanksgiving here. I had a lovely dinner celebration with other American and non-American teachers/friends.
I contributed a cocktail to the dinner. I named it "Spiced Cranberry Sparkle Sauce".
It's my new holiday specialty.
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