so its almost through the month of january and like always i barley get the chance to blog about things. sorry you can sue me later :p
so i finished out my stay in karsakov during the holidays, it was a really great town full of nice people. the club president took us to the ohotckoe sea, the coldest on sakhalin, where we stayed in a cottage and i finally got to try long waited for "sauna and snow" there you mix hot and cold temperatures by jumping in snow and then a hot sauna. after this, the brazilian girl and i went to yuzhno to ice skate and spent time with the french girl, the brazilian girl fell 8 times, the french girl, once, and me... none... my feet are canoes. while in the square in yuzhno, there were events for kids to play with and ice sculptures. while the kids were playing, a song played that made me really doubt this nation's english ability. the song was constantly saying "murder!" and the image of frolocking kids running about smiling didnt really suit it. so on the 9th, the french girl had her birthday party, we alll went to a karaoke bar. i really liked this day, as she invited some class mates who got to see me in a new light as we werent in school. i started off the singing with "Roxane" by the Police for the birthday girl... roxane. we had recordings of it, but all the camera men were laughing so hard they all turned out bad. after that, i sang some lubeh songs, my favorite russian band. i sang kombat.. with my friend makcim.. after my trying to pull off american ganster with my class mates while singing a disney song.. (didnt turn out well but was surprisingly funny) i had to leave before i got any birthday cake. it was ironic, the french girl cut 8 pieces for 9 people and said "oops" i said "fine, i understand, you dont want me around" and 5 minutes later (coincidentily) i left :/
so when school started the next day, it was like always boring, except a new schedule made our brains think weirdly, the French girl has come and made the interact club which i wanted to do, i have mixed feelings about it, but am happy it has been done because i am now unable to do it.
as for my english student, she has grately improved, and for a day i had another student, a groen man who needed a job which required english and he wanted to practice, however, he didn't get the job... bummer.. wonder why..???
and now in my neighboorhood we have an ice skating ring... its where i use to play soccer... but now someone (many people) turned it into ice. so now when i want, i can ice skate and play hockey. so the final countdown on my sports life... basketball! i was so siked to finally play baskletball here. i was nervous for every game we had. and because we played ball, we got out of school every day early, i never compalined. our first game however we lost 41-38.. i accidedntly threw the ball into the wrong hoop... but it didnt matter because it was a 3 point loss :p. we on the next three games 42-26, 51-36, 66-28. the last game which was today actually. was the determiner round, if we won we got to go on and play more, if we lost, we ended the season. and as we played the unbeaten defending champs.. a 35-30 loss waited for us... just like that my basketball career in russia was over.. :/
as for language, i am getting really good at it. i am able to talk more with friends, and if you count conversations with pals in school who act crazy with me.. then im fluent i guess :p just would like some bigger vpcabulary and people to stop the english and help more.. but ive found ways to self teach myself when nobody is around to talk to, since ive heard the language enough to know how words sound and have better resources to know meanings of verbs and such. also having to do with the other language... english. when i walked into the library one day, my friend anna said "hello Aaron, what about your next presentation?" "ummm... what?" "we want you back to do another presentation for our english club, either about valentines day or presidents day" "umm... ill do presidents day" and like that i have another presentation to do for english club. and one about the USA for geography class... in Russian! i cant decide which one to work on first or which one to be more afraid of..
and a brief thing i will say about food here..
tounge.... i actually ate tounge... i could sense it tasting me back when i tasted it... i cant believe i ate it.. "aaron you want tounge?" "umm... sure?" munch.... "mom was right... this is messing with your mind"
THANKS MOM!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New years!
so as the title says, its the new years in Russia and all around the world. and my new years resolution, is to become pretty good in this language and see if people can tell if im foreign or not... either that, or finally learn how to trill my R's in Russian.. but i can vibrate my tounge up against my teeth.. which nobody can do here apparently.. "th" sound wroks english!
so as for whats been happening in Russia, i recently went to see a ochestra by a russian symphony.. while there, my host sister told me the people in front of me spoke english. i take a minute to hear them, and soon realize its not english.. so i waited and soon found out that they did actually speak english (what a coincidence) it was a dutch (NOT GERMAN!) family who work here and works to help sakhalin 2. it was kinda weird, as they havent seen their glorious windmills in the country side like I have. sakhalin 2 brings so many foreigners in from different nations.. its kinda neat. also, along the christmas time, i became guests at some rotarians friends house. so i actually got to live in the city for a while. and it surely was great to be able to wake up, call friends up and say "lets stroll" new great feeling. its also where i say my first hockey game in Russia. i didnt stay for it all, but i think we won. the entire time i was with my friend who was the son of the rotarians friends. he was totally awesome. so for the last day of school, our school had a comedy club. which i thought i would be in, as people from the 9th grade asked me to take a couple photos pretending to be Obama... but it was never used. but the show was fun, i understood much of it. out class came in 2nd out of 3. losing to the 10th grade.. i really wish i brought my camera to the event. after the comedy club. our class had a tradition of buying gifts for the rest of the class. roxane got eevryone cups, and i bought them all small shoeshiner... hahaha.. the lady at the cash register said i must of really loved them. which is a better thought then what i thought "hes gonna get high off of shoeshiner". after that, a dance was held. but i had to leave then in order to go hme. as for now, a neighboorin rotary club, Karsakov, has taken me in or the holidays. i am really grateful to be down here. i get to see one of my brazilians i barley get to see :) lilian! and im staying in a family thats seems to perfect. moither a grammer teacher, father defense attorney, son was a student to amrica, and last yar they hosted a japanese girl whom i know. how cool is that. so as for new years, it was really different, it is the most important holiday in russia, as for me, its just time square and a ball drop. this year is the year of the rabbit/bunny/hare.. whichever. and i got to see a man in a bunny and santa clause and his assistant shegurishka. only here santa is called ded moroz (grandfather frost). when the clock struck midnight, the russian anthem played. and i became a christmas tree somehow.. the conversation was "who wants to be a tree?" "ohh him, hes american!" and soon i found myself with the brazlian flag around my waist, holding a shampaigne bottle amd salt and pepper shakers in my hands with an orange in my mouth... i think i won that one.
so as for som new news.. its time for some info on the stuff ive been eating in Russia
ive eaten liver 3 times... only twice ever knowing about it. at home, my family loves to eat korean meals and salad called "chimcha" or comething.. i feel so bad for you manuela perez.. youll gain a lot of respect.. and lose a lot of weight. when i was a guest in yuzhno around christmas, we went to a japanese restaurant, a sushi bar."whats this?" "its rice and octopus" "umm... surprisingly tas......" ">.<" GAHHH what was that! only to look at the next one and see that my old friend wasabe had come back for a visit.. so im 0-2 against wasabi sauce>.>.. the next meal was a japanese stir fry, well i dip my spoon into it and come up with some soup, cabbage, a mushroom, meat and rice. well i decided, ok ill just suckaround the mushroom. so i go and take a bite and when i look down at my spoon afterwords.. guess whats thew only food i see missing.... the mushroom >.> which surprisngly tasted good actually..
so something new id like to put up is called "alpha dog of the week"
one timewhen i went into russian post. i needed to show my passport to get my package. so i always kept a copy on me so if i was ever pulled over my the cops.. i could be identified. well when i show this to her, she tells me, "wheres your real passport" "just look at the picture and then at my face" "you arrived into russian from the US without documents!?" "thats like going to north korea.. who would be that stupid?" so i had to wait a day before i could get my package from them.. but for not taking 2 seconds to look at mypassport copy, and them my face, and then assucing me of illegally hoping into russian borders from the US. you, russian post, are my alpha dog of the week!
you know what they say, weather never sleeps.. that means its always watching us! weather report!
so yuzhno finally decided to want to get cold. the temperature is -8 celcius. and there seem to be snow falling every 3 secnds. probably because of the mountains close by. but after break we will start skiing in school! as for karsakov now.. should of been a snow storm as they say, but theres only been mild snow. the temp is only -4.. some siberian winter..
as for language, coming along better. since the english presentations have stopped and people are finally understanding that when i ask "whats this called"... i want to know.. "whats this called" ironic.
my english score average has went from a 4.. to a 3.. is it british.. or just me forgetting how to spell?
karsakov host family got me a sack of candy for new years... i thnk i might barf soon.. just wish they told me i would be coming down here not the day of me coming down here.
i can actually say i know a caadian now.. only when speaking with fellow americans.. i must duck after saying so.. taught by jeff davis!
first game is in less than 3 weeks.. compared to how ive seen russian sports be played.. the scores will be kept by kids, thered be no reffs, and no audiance.. but i just wanna play now.
here in Russia, december 25th was nothing.. but for me and the french girl. it was good. we exchanged presents.. her present to me.. was a bunny... my present to her was... also a bunny.. despite all these set backs ive been encountering.. i still consider myself to be onfire here in Russia.. probably because i think im getting sick again... dont judge me. happy new years america! you might not be the best but you are pretty dang close!
so as for whats been happening in Russia, i recently went to see a ochestra by a russian symphony.. while there, my host sister told me the people in front of me spoke english. i take a minute to hear them, and soon realize its not english.. so i waited and soon found out that they did actually speak english (what a coincidence) it was a dutch (NOT GERMAN!) family who work here and works to help sakhalin 2. it was kinda weird, as they havent seen their glorious windmills in the country side like I have. sakhalin 2 brings so many foreigners in from different nations.. its kinda neat. also, along the christmas time, i became guests at some rotarians friends house. so i actually got to live in the city for a while. and it surely was great to be able to wake up, call friends up and say "lets stroll" new great feeling. its also where i say my first hockey game in Russia. i didnt stay for it all, but i think we won. the entire time i was with my friend who was the son of the rotarians friends. he was totally awesome. so for the last day of school, our school had a comedy club. which i thought i would be in, as people from the 9th grade asked me to take a couple photos pretending to be Obama... but it was never used. but the show was fun, i understood much of it. out class came in 2nd out of 3. losing to the 10th grade.. i really wish i brought my camera to the event. after the comedy club. our class had a tradition of buying gifts for the rest of the class. roxane got eevryone cups, and i bought them all small shoeshiner... hahaha.. the lady at the cash register said i must of really loved them. which is a better thought then what i thought "hes gonna get high off of shoeshiner". after that, a dance was held. but i had to leave then in order to go hme. as for now, a neighboorin rotary club, Karsakov, has taken me in or the holidays. i am really grateful to be down here. i get to see one of my brazilians i barley get to see :) lilian! and im staying in a family thats seems to perfect. moither a grammer teacher, father defense attorney, son was a student to amrica, and last yar they hosted a japanese girl whom i know. how cool is that. so as for new years, it was really different, it is the most important holiday in russia, as for me, its just time square and a ball drop. this year is the year of the rabbit/bunny/hare.. whichever. and i got to see a man in a bunny and santa clause and his assistant shegurishka. only here santa is called ded moroz (grandfather frost). when the clock struck midnight, the russian anthem played. and i became a christmas tree somehow.. the conversation was "who wants to be a tree?" "ohh him, hes american!" and soon i found myself with the brazlian flag around my waist, holding a shampaigne bottle amd salt and pepper shakers in my hands with an orange in my mouth... i think i won that one.
so as for som new news.. its time for some info on the stuff ive been eating in Russia
ive eaten liver 3 times... only twice ever knowing about it. at home, my family loves to eat korean meals and salad called "chimcha" or comething.. i feel so bad for you manuela perez.. youll gain a lot of respect.. and lose a lot of weight. when i was a guest in yuzhno around christmas, we went to a japanese restaurant, a sushi bar."whats this?" "its rice and octopus" "umm... surprisingly tas......" ">.<" GAHHH what was that! only to look at the next one and see that my old friend wasabe had come back for a visit.. so im 0-2 against wasabi sauce>.>.. the next meal was a japanese stir fry, well i dip my spoon into it and come up with some soup, cabbage, a mushroom, meat and rice. well i decided, ok ill just suckaround the mushroom. so i go and take a bite and when i look down at my spoon afterwords.. guess whats thew only food i see missing.... the mushroom >.> which surprisngly tasted good actually..
so something new id like to put up is called "alpha dog of the week"
one timewhen i went into russian post. i needed to show my passport to get my package. so i always kept a copy on me so if i was ever pulled over my the cops.. i could be identified. well when i show this to her, she tells me, "wheres your real passport" "just look at the picture and then at my face" "you arrived into russian from the US without documents!?" "thats like going to north korea.. who would be that stupid?" so i had to wait a day before i could get my package from them.. but for not taking 2 seconds to look at mypassport copy, and them my face, and then assucing me of illegally hoping into russian borders from the US. you, russian post, are my alpha dog of the week!
you know what they say, weather never sleeps.. that means its always watching us! weather report!
so yuzhno finally decided to want to get cold. the temperature is -8 celcius. and there seem to be snow falling every 3 secnds. probably because of the mountains close by. but after break we will start skiing in school! as for karsakov now.. should of been a snow storm as they say, but theres only been mild snow. the temp is only -4.. some siberian winter..
as for language, coming along better. since the english presentations have stopped and people are finally understanding that when i ask "whats this called"... i want to know.. "whats this called" ironic.
my english score average has went from a 4.. to a 3.. is it british.. or just me forgetting how to spell?
karsakov host family got me a sack of candy for new years... i thnk i might barf soon.. just wish they told me i would be coming down here not the day of me coming down here.
i can actually say i know a caadian now.. only when speaking with fellow americans.. i must duck after saying so.. taught by jeff davis!
first game is in less than 3 weeks.. compared to how ive seen russian sports be played.. the scores will be kept by kids, thered be no reffs, and no audiance.. but i just wanna play now.
here in Russia, december 25th was nothing.. but for me and the french girl. it was good. we exchanged presents.. her present to me.. was a bunny... my present to her was... also a bunny.. despite all these set backs ive been encountering.. i still consider myself to be onfire here in Russia.. probably because i think im getting sick again... dont judge me. happy new years america! you might not be the best but you are pretty dang close!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
If this isnt christmas then sue me!
so its almost christmas time here in Yuzhno, Russia.. and also time to recap events of my life so far in Russia. since thanksgiving, in our house was guests from Blagobeshensk, Russia. who came to stay for 2.5 weeks. who brought my ice skates!
now time for one of my segments!!
SPORT REPORT!:
while the guests from Blagoveshensk were here, we did start to play soccer in the neighboorhood with our neighboors. so now occasionally in the snow and ice, with sub-zero temperatures. we play soccer, i only fell once, but i scored when i did. and unlike last time, im allowed to use my SHOES THAT FIT MY FEET!!! and guess how much better I play? a ton!
in school: we started to play guess what!? rugbe! almost like football. and ever though we played on our knees on a short field.. with a basketball... my record was still pretty impressive. 1 interception, 2.5 touchdowns. powerbacking title! one man goal line stand (all me) and prasie afterowrds. all in all. it was a fun game. as we won all the matches in class.
in semi school settings: i walked into basketball practice on wednesday.. the captain went up to me and said.. "Aaron, this is your assignment..... for when we play our games" which meant
IM ON THE TEAM!!!!!
my assignment for the games (this is ironic).. D-D-D... DEFENSE! swat the ball when its thrown, rebound with your long arms (im the tallest man on the team). and when you shoot the ball.. dont miss.
it just sucks now. because the sport hall is under construction. so we cant practice. and our first game is january 17th.. less then a month away.
so thats it for sports.
as for the weather Russia is a bit different. the temp is warmer then in the US. yet its much colder, but a lot of snow. which i like! as for holidays. we dont really have christmas, everything here is new years.. random street corners have huge christmas trees (yolka) with a ton of lights. something i dont see in the US. because they have a much different attitude to money here than in the states. speaking of new years, at the school was a french new years party. of which of course.. i didnt understand a word.. my props to caroline and Roxane.. so christmas time in the US means a lot more then in Russia.. so although i had little to talk about.. i still wish everyone a merry Christmas! ded moroz and santa claus wish it also..
p.s
GO PATS!
now time for one of my segments!!
SPORT REPORT!:
while the guests from Blagoveshensk were here, we did start to play soccer in the neighboorhood with our neighboors. so now occasionally in the snow and ice, with sub-zero temperatures. we play soccer, i only fell once, but i scored when i did. and unlike last time, im allowed to use my SHOES THAT FIT MY FEET!!! and guess how much better I play? a ton!
in school: we started to play guess what!? rugbe! almost like football. and ever though we played on our knees on a short field.. with a basketball... my record was still pretty impressive. 1 interception, 2.5 touchdowns. powerbacking title! one man goal line stand (all me) and prasie afterowrds. all in all. it was a fun game. as we won all the matches in class.
in semi school settings: i walked into basketball practice on wednesday.. the captain went up to me and said.. "Aaron, this is your assignment..... for when we play our games" which meant
IM ON THE TEAM!!!!!
my assignment for the games (this is ironic).. D-D-D... DEFENSE! swat the ball when its thrown, rebound with your long arms (im the tallest man on the team). and when you shoot the ball.. dont miss.
it just sucks now. because the sport hall is under construction. so we cant practice. and our first game is january 17th.. less then a month away.
so thats it for sports.
as for the weather Russia is a bit different. the temp is warmer then in the US. yet its much colder, but a lot of snow. which i like! as for holidays. we dont really have christmas, everything here is new years.. random street corners have huge christmas trees (yolka) with a ton of lights. something i dont see in the US. because they have a much different attitude to money here than in the states. speaking of new years, at the school was a french new years party. of which of course.. i didnt understand a word.. my props to caroline and Roxane.. so christmas time in the US means a lot more then in Russia.. so although i had little to talk about.. i still wish everyone a merry Christmas! ded moroz and santa claus wish it also..
p.s
GO PATS!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving Post
so for the first time in 16 years, Im not in the US on one of my favorite holidays... thanksgiving.. none the less.. heres what happened in the last few weeks.
my host mother lena took me out to go see a Checkhov play at the checkhov center. it was interesting as the group came all the way from moscow to perform. the play was called "чайка" about a bird or something. after the play i gave flowers to my favorite actors.. a comedian who made everyone laugh.
the next day, our school was visited by 2 college scouters. one from Oregon state university and one from london. they were trying to convince Russian kids to come to their schools. of course only 4 people in the audiance understood them "roxane from France, 2 kids who visited america for a year, and me" they were shocked to see me however. "so how many of you want to study in america" "I do!!!" "well just to study right?" "no to live" "really?" "well im from america actually" "wow, then come down here and help me out". it was really neat. as the london man did have an accent :D. after the presentations roxane and I stopped to talk to them. "so where are you from?" "the other OSU" "ahh, yea you probably find more results for that OSU when you google OSU" "yea, well my brother just got accepted to OSU (congrate Ryan)" "oh really, i wish him luck". meeting these 2 english speakers instantly made out day worth while and enjoyable. as it was cool so meet another foreign national 6,000 miles away from home. also in school, in my english class. the teacher said she had a new desktop background for her computer. so i decided to look at it, and wat do i see? "Altair about to assassinate a person". "you know Assassin's Creed!!!?" "no, it was one of my students who made a presentation about it" and for part of the class, we watched assassin creed trailers. i was happy :)
now this next part will be scary, but mom, your worst fears have been realized, I am an english teacher now. and to make it worse, a one on one tutor. i walked into the library one day and the receptionist asked me if i was interested in teaching. and as Exchange students always say yes, I said "yes". it is my job afterall. so now twice a week I tutor a russian girl in english language at the library. i am excited because it also gives me some insight into Russian, as people who arent familar with a language tend to try to make it sound like their own for comfort.
so in other news. Lena and Sasha had their 10th anniversary this last week. and they both liked the presents i got them and had a giant party at a hotelю before the party we all did go bowling, where I lost twice on botched calls. only to get 2nd place. it was fun though. and everyone enjoyed themselves.
speaking of parties, Karsakov rotary club had their 10 year anniversary of foundation. for it, the 3 exchange students on the island (lilian roxane and I) all recited peoms or speeches. my speech was long but it was recorded. so when i feel like emberrassing myself, I will post it on facebook. along with the speech. we all did a song "we are the world" by Michael Jackson. roxane CAN SING.. Lilian who doesnt know english.. CAN SING.. me, however CANT SING. just watch the video on facebook. you will see! well the party was good and big. and everyone was happy.
also in other news, i have been looking into restarting the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Interact and Rotaract club. a long process that I hope goes somewhere in the near future. (not to try to match Greg Miller of course)
so, anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE FOOTBALL. so I couldnt help but celebrate when the New England Patriots beat the Steelers and Colts. but probably the thing i miss most is football. ive gone into relapse. im noticing im starting to play all my sports football style.
during basketball in gym class. one of my team mates throws the ball to me. only he throws it high over my head. well i catch the ball (one handed over my head) (everyone says "woah"), I come down with it, secure the ball, trot to the goal and plop the ball in the endzone- i mean basket. for my 10th point of the game. so I guess you could say, I am improving greatly and football helps everything.
also, my host mother just walked in and said that she wants me to say that she is proud of me. and that I miss my mother and love her. thanks for the presents mommy :) they look good in my stomach.
happy thanksgiving everyone :) now watch the Patriots beat the lions. GO PATS!
my host mother lena took me out to go see a Checkhov play at the checkhov center. it was interesting as the group came all the way from moscow to perform. the play was called "чайка" about a bird or something. after the play i gave flowers to my favorite actors.. a comedian who made everyone laugh.
the next day, our school was visited by 2 college scouters. one from Oregon state university and one from london. they were trying to convince Russian kids to come to their schools. of course only 4 people in the audiance understood them "roxane from France, 2 kids who visited america for a year, and me" they were shocked to see me however. "so how many of you want to study in america" "I do!!!" "well just to study right?" "no to live" "really?" "well im from america actually" "wow, then come down here and help me out". it was really neat. as the london man did have an accent :D. after the presentations roxane and I stopped to talk to them. "so where are you from?" "the other OSU" "ahh, yea you probably find more results for that OSU when you google OSU" "yea, well my brother just got accepted to OSU (congrate Ryan)" "oh really, i wish him luck". meeting these 2 english speakers instantly made out day worth while and enjoyable. as it was cool so meet another foreign national 6,000 miles away from home. also in school, in my english class. the teacher said she had a new desktop background for her computer. so i decided to look at it, and wat do i see? "Altair about to assassinate a person". "you know Assassin's Creed!!!?" "no, it was one of my students who made a presentation about it" and for part of the class, we watched assassin creed trailers. i was happy :)
now this next part will be scary, but mom, your worst fears have been realized, I am an english teacher now. and to make it worse, a one on one tutor. i walked into the library one day and the receptionist asked me if i was interested in teaching. and as Exchange students always say yes, I said "yes". it is my job afterall. so now twice a week I tutor a russian girl in english language at the library. i am excited because it also gives me some insight into Russian, as people who arent familar with a language tend to try to make it sound like their own for comfort.
so in other news. Lena and Sasha had their 10th anniversary this last week. and they both liked the presents i got them and had a giant party at a hotelю before the party we all did go bowling, where I lost twice on botched calls. only to get 2nd place. it was fun though. and everyone enjoyed themselves.
speaking of parties, Karsakov rotary club had their 10 year anniversary of foundation. for it, the 3 exchange students on the island (lilian roxane and I) all recited peoms or speeches. my speech was long but it was recorded. so when i feel like emberrassing myself, I will post it on facebook. along with the speech. we all did a song "we are the world" by Michael Jackson. roxane CAN SING.. Lilian who doesnt know english.. CAN SING.. me, however CANT SING. just watch the video on facebook. you will see! well the party was good and big. and everyone was happy.
also in other news, i have been looking into restarting the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Interact and Rotaract club. a long process that I hope goes somewhere in the near future. (not to try to match Greg Miller of course)
so, anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE FOOTBALL. so I couldnt help but celebrate when the New England Patriots beat the Steelers and Colts. but probably the thing i miss most is football. ive gone into relapse. im noticing im starting to play all my sports football style.
during basketball in gym class. one of my team mates throws the ball to me. only he throws it high over my head. well i catch the ball (one handed over my head) (everyone says "woah"), I come down with it, secure the ball, trot to the goal and plop the ball in the endzone- i mean basket. for my 10th point of the game. so I guess you could say, I am improving greatly and football helps everything.
also, my host mother just walked in and said that she wants me to say that she is proud of me. and that I miss my mother and love her. thanks for the presents mommy :) they look good in my stomach.
happy thanksgiving everyone :) now watch the Patriots beat the lions. GO PATS!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
I pull a semi Greg Miller in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia
so as the title says, i too have my own little story involving Russian Public transport.
this wednesday is my host parents 10th anniversary, so i went to the local (huge) shopping conter in the city called "citi moll" or "city mall" translated. to buy them an anniversary gift. I was really happy that I knew enough Russian to be able to manage slaes on my own. and while I was in the mall it did start to rain. well the city moll offers free public transportation to and from themselves. so everything was fine going there, I got on the bus to Yuzhno (alone) then waited and got on the bus to City mall (alone again). i figured i would take the 1:30 bus back to my house after i get back to the station in Yuzhno. however on the way back from City Mall. because the snow had picked up so much, they canceled the free transport. "ahh great.. host parents are at work so now what?" then i did over hear some people say that a bus stop existed across the road, so I then go over there to see it and soon realize that It's true. only I dont know the bus routes. I had done all my bus route managening out of the station in Yuzhno. nothing about city mall. luckily for me the Bus has signs of where it will go. yet unluckily for me i dont know half of them. so it starts to rain and snow (dont know how that was possible) and im getting kinda cold as you can imagine. and more busses come up that dont lead to where I need (mainly because i dont know where they go). however I did see that one bus was going to the Checkhov Center (anton Checkhov is a famous writer who visited Sakhalin) a theatre establishment in Yuzhno that ive passed most days when I go to listen to russian folk songs at the local music school ethnoc. I thought "ok, ive missed the 1:30, so ill just make the 2:40. naturally, I took the bus. yet at the time, I didnt know it to be the Checkhov center. I just knew that the building i was thinking about had a picture of Anton Checkhov on it. so im still nervous. it didnt help when most of the bus route went a way i have never seen before. yet out of no where I see (to my reflief) I saw the hugу face of Anton Checkhov on the building and the driver stopped. I got out and walked the rest of the way to the station. which wasnt really far from the Checkhov center. when I arrived at the station, my bus pulled up that takes me to my house everyday. I couldnt help but smile and be happy that i knew I could survive in Russia when I didnt know the language. it would of been the first day when people didnt know I was foreign, but when I got off the bus at my house a man got off also who talked to me so quickly that I had to ask him to speak slower and then he says "ahh youre foreign, where are you from?" but I was still happy about the day. and soon Ill know if my host parents liked the gifts or not. I got Sasha (host dad) a flashlight/torch/tripod flashlight. and Lena a bag that depicts the dangers of alcohol abuse. and both of them cards. so besides the Gift part of my story. Greg Miller, I tip my hat to you ;)
this wednesday is my host parents 10th anniversary, so i went to the local (huge) shopping conter in the city called "citi moll" or "city mall" translated. to buy them an anniversary gift. I was really happy that I knew enough Russian to be able to manage slaes on my own. and while I was in the mall it did start to rain. well the city moll offers free public transportation to and from themselves. so everything was fine going there, I got on the bus to Yuzhno (alone) then waited and got on the bus to City mall (alone again). i figured i would take the 1:30 bus back to my house after i get back to the station in Yuzhno. however on the way back from City Mall. because the snow had picked up so much, they canceled the free transport. "ahh great.. host parents are at work so now what?" then i did over hear some people say that a bus stop existed across the road, so I then go over there to see it and soon realize that It's true. only I dont know the bus routes. I had done all my bus route managening out of the station in Yuzhno. nothing about city mall. luckily for me the Bus has signs of where it will go. yet unluckily for me i dont know half of them. so it starts to rain and snow (dont know how that was possible) and im getting kinda cold as you can imagine. and more busses come up that dont lead to where I need (mainly because i dont know where they go). however I did see that one bus was going to the Checkhov Center (anton Checkhov is a famous writer who visited Sakhalin) a theatre establishment in Yuzhno that ive passed most days when I go to listen to russian folk songs at the local music school ethnoc. I thought "ok, ive missed the 1:30, so ill just make the 2:40. naturally, I took the bus. yet at the time, I didnt know it to be the Checkhov center. I just knew that the building i was thinking about had a picture of Anton Checkhov on it. so im still nervous. it didnt help when most of the bus route went a way i have never seen before. yet out of no where I see (to my reflief) I saw the hugу face of Anton Checkhov on the building and the driver stopped. I got out and walked the rest of the way to the station. which wasnt really far from the Checkhov center. when I arrived at the station, my bus pulled up that takes me to my house everyday. I couldnt help but smile and be happy that i knew I could survive in Russia when I didnt know the language. it would of been the first day when people didnt know I was foreign, but when I got off the bus at my house a man got off also who talked to me so quickly that I had to ask him to speak slower and then he says "ahh youre foreign, where are you from?" but I was still happy about the day. and soon Ill know if my host parents liked the gifts or not. I got Sasha (host dad) a flashlight/torch/tripod flashlight. and Lena a bag that depicts the dangers of alcohol abuse. and both of them cards. so besides the Gift part of my story. Greg Miller, I tip my hat to you ;)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Снег, Anniversaries, and Patriotism
well it's almost been 2 months since I left my home in the US and started my Russian journey. since the last time I have a lot to talk about. my school "Gimnazia number 1 of A.C Pyshkin" celebrated 20 years of the school. I could only help but laugh, as my school in the US is at least 50. but it was nice to skip out on some classes to watch the celebration. and the dances that the school had for students (which I didnt go to :p). it also started to snow in Russia, in late october, and last night. theres something about the Russian snow that makes you feel all excited and happy to be here in Russia. along with the school anniversary, the Rotary Club of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk is also celebrating its 13 year of service with a celebration (also with karcakob rotary club.. so LILIAN! :) )
When I came to Russia, my job was to improve relations between the 2 countries. well seeing as everyone here loves america, I feel my job is already done, yet I still find myself doing presentations for groups of people in school. 3 times I did a michael Jackson presentation for english class, where I sang half his songs and danced beat it and thriller in front of and audiance, after my dignity flew out the window. I was asked to do a series presentation about the USA for a serious english class. which is tomorrow. so my and the French Exchange student Roxane will both have to go to school during the holidays to talk about France and the US.
despite the english language presentations. my Russian is improving, its just hard to get people to sit and talk to me because it seems that a foreigner in Russia means nothing to my classmates. they compliment my language when I speak but nobody seems to mind the fact an american and a french girl are sitting right next to them, which is really great, but hard to be embraced. out of all the teachers, only 2 embrace Roxane and me. the mother/english teacher, and the Physics teacher (no idea why). but my grammer is improving and I know enough now that my host family lets me be alone in the city, actually ive been left alone in the city before since week 2. but the coolest thing happening right now is that im starting to forget english, although I know my writing is a grammer nightmare, I dont know how to correct it and I had to ask Roxane how to write the letter Q in english. so the first step is happening.. forgetting english D: although language is tough, the hardest thing I see for myself is not the language, but is explaining myself to people. nobody here in Russia seems to have that independent personality we see in the US. they seem to be all slides of the same tray. nothing really original with anybody I see. (thanks Communists). yet I still love the people here, they are a lot niсук than american people. with the exception of little kids, Russian kids are a lot nicer, theres no talking back to teachers or anything. yet american kids are much more well rounded and witty than Russian. just by seeing this change I can see how lucky I was to be born in the US. traveling abroad is the best way to see how lucky you are, or unlucky. and I think I can truely say now that I love the US. tears almost come everytime I hear my National Anthem or patriotic songs.
now a little about whats happening, every 4 days my host family has me cook the meals. and of course Im totally new to this so Ive always needed help on it. well now last time, where they requested american food. and I found cow meat.. and anybody who knows me knows exactly what I was thinking at the time. "hamburgers" soon I realized, to make hamburgers required different meat, and I instead made extremely toughmini steaks. i cant help but feel they only ate them because there was nothing else. but Russian here tend to eat a lot of stuff with Mayonase. and garlic, I asked them why the garlic and they said "to keep the vampires away". and I have to admit, ever since they had garlic in meals I have not seen one solitary vampire in Russia. and if we take the garlic away, we might make vampires again.. and on a totally different statement. my host father Casha, has joined the list of people who have out ate me. soon him and Mr. Hawk will duke-it-out. one day when we hat meat, he told me to try this Russian sauce. so i dip a bit of my meat in it and try it, next thing I know I'm crying and my mouth turns red and im needing water like crazy.. then i ask "WHAT WAS THAT?" "wasabe sauce" D: then my host dad takes his whole piece of meat, dips it in the sauce, puts it all in his mouth and eats it starting at me.. >.> its not often im beated.. but I will remember this..
America is the capitalo of mass media in the world, and after coming here I believe it. because people take seeing old american movies on TV here really greatly. and they have a lot of them. while here ive watched some old movies on TV and DVD. like "Back to the Future", "Iron Man" and the "Spider Man" series. good movies people here think are awesomer then they are. speaking of entertainment, Nothing gets inbetween me and football. i can find college games on ESPN AMERICA.. right here in Russia. and hopefully, in February, the superbowl.
as for school life, it is interesting, the only classes I can fully participate in are English and Sport. yet the interesting stuff is in English. we got our first english test results back. even though the teacher took the american variants.. i got (ready for this mom) an A!!!!!! minus. i point from a B. so i did beat my mom. yet on the second test, I got 1 point from an A. so i got a B+. i really am forgetting english, and this is proof. (took me 4 tries to spell that word right).
Russia does seem to fufill to winston Churchill's description. as Russia is a contradiction. the nation has 1/4 of the worlds fresh water and is the energy superpower of the world, yet gas here costs more than in the US 4 years ago and everyone is worried about saving power and taking 5 minute showers.
the only rule I wish i broke was the laptop rule, as internet can go down here with no word of return...... so great. by following the rule im limited :p. but it is holiday here. until monday. so I will have time to learn more Russian. and play with my pets.. half of which the dog ate.= and we gave away. i only have 1 dog and 2 cats now. the kitten thinks its a ninja also.
it also appears that if youre sick here. you stay out the week at school. so you dont get anybody sick at school. which I like because who wants to go to school anyway. the Russian system is not as great as the people here think. the American system in much better. in america "im gifted in science" "ok advanced science classes, follow your gift" in Russia "im gifted in Science" "ok, stay with these people, doing the same thing, no special classes to improve your gift".
internationally. the president Medvedev is in the Kuril islands now negotiating with Japan over issues. the japanese want some of the Kuril islands that Russia controls. mainly because fish trabel inbetween these islands a lot and you know the Japs and fish. but Medvedev holds strong and tells them no all the time. speaking of Japan, my Rotary club has asked me to write a paper about how I found myself in Russia which they will put on their website, once I get the link ill post it for you all to read. in Russia you dont drink the water out of the faucet, becasuse its not filtered and cleaned. although that doesnt stop me from drinking out of the faucet all the time... because my family has a filter :p. along with Russian disadvantages, Toliet Paper doesnt seem to exist anywhere outside my house >.>...
i also received my first package, my host family told me that everything sent they have here in Russia, but i still ate all the contents within a day. they also play a game called Russian lottery. with real money, its like Bingo only if you win depending on what row you filled. and if you fill the last one then you win the money in the pot. and people get sad when they lose rubles and when i see the amount i laugh and think to myself "id lose more money if I threw a dollar out the window".
When I came to Russia, my job was to improve relations between the 2 countries. well seeing as everyone here loves america, I feel my job is already done, yet I still find myself doing presentations for groups of people in school. 3 times I did a michael Jackson presentation for english class, where I sang half his songs and danced beat it and thriller in front of and audiance, after my dignity flew out the window. I was asked to do a series presentation about the USA for a serious english class. which is tomorrow. so my and the French Exchange student Roxane will both have to go to school during the holidays to talk about France and the US.
despite the english language presentations. my Russian is improving, its just hard to get people to sit and talk to me because it seems that a foreigner in Russia means nothing to my classmates. they compliment my language when I speak but nobody seems to mind the fact an american and a french girl are sitting right next to them, which is really great, but hard to be embraced. out of all the teachers, only 2 embrace Roxane and me. the mother/english teacher, and the Physics teacher (no idea why). but my grammer is improving and I know enough now that my host family lets me be alone in the city, actually ive been left alone in the city before since week 2. but the coolest thing happening right now is that im starting to forget english, although I know my writing is a grammer nightmare, I dont know how to correct it and I had to ask Roxane how to write the letter Q in english. so the first step is happening.. forgetting english D: although language is tough, the hardest thing I see for myself is not the language, but is explaining myself to people. nobody here in Russia seems to have that independent personality we see in the US. they seem to be all slides of the same tray. nothing really original with anybody I see. (thanks Communists). yet I still love the people here, they are a lot niсук than american people. with the exception of little kids, Russian kids are a lot nicer, theres no talking back to teachers or anything. yet american kids are much more well rounded and witty than Russian. just by seeing this change I can see how lucky I was to be born in the US. traveling abroad is the best way to see how lucky you are, or unlucky. and I think I can truely say now that I love the US. tears almost come everytime I hear my National Anthem or patriotic songs.
now a little about whats happening, every 4 days my host family has me cook the meals. and of course Im totally new to this so Ive always needed help on it. well now last time, where they requested american food. and I found cow meat.. and anybody who knows me knows exactly what I was thinking at the time. "hamburgers" soon I realized, to make hamburgers required different meat, and I instead made extremely toughmini steaks. i cant help but feel they only ate them because there was nothing else. but Russian here tend to eat a lot of stuff with Mayonase. and garlic, I asked them why the garlic and they said "to keep the vampires away". and I have to admit, ever since they had garlic in meals I have not seen one solitary vampire in Russia. and if we take the garlic away, we might make vampires again.. and on a totally different statement. my host father Casha, has joined the list of people who have out ate me. soon him and Mr. Hawk will duke-it-out. one day when we hat meat, he told me to try this Russian sauce. so i dip a bit of my meat in it and try it, next thing I know I'm crying and my mouth turns red and im needing water like crazy.. then i ask "WHAT WAS THAT?" "wasabe sauce" D: then my host dad takes his whole piece of meat, dips it in the sauce, puts it all in his mouth and eats it starting at me.. >.> its not often im beated.. but I will remember this..
America is the capitalo of mass media in the world, and after coming here I believe it. because people take seeing old american movies on TV here really greatly. and they have a lot of them. while here ive watched some old movies on TV and DVD. like "Back to the Future", "Iron Man" and the "Spider Man" series. good movies people here think are awesomer then they are. speaking of entertainment, Nothing gets inbetween me and football. i can find college games on ESPN AMERICA.. right here in Russia. and hopefully, in February, the superbowl.
as for school life, it is interesting, the only classes I can fully participate in are English and Sport. yet the interesting stuff is in English. we got our first english test results back. even though the teacher took the american variants.. i got (ready for this mom) an A!!!!!! minus. i point from a B. so i did beat my mom. yet on the second test, I got 1 point from an A. so i got a B+. i really am forgetting english, and this is proof. (took me 4 tries to spell that word right).
Russia does seem to fufill to winston Churchill's description. as Russia is a contradiction. the nation has 1/4 of the worlds fresh water and is the energy superpower of the world, yet gas here costs more than in the US 4 years ago and everyone is worried about saving power and taking 5 minute showers.
the only rule I wish i broke was the laptop rule, as internet can go down here with no word of return...... so great. by following the rule im limited :p. but it is holiday here. until monday. so I will have time to learn more Russian. and play with my pets.. half of which the dog ate.= and we gave away. i only have 1 dog and 2 cats now. the kitten thinks its a ninja also.
it also appears that if youre sick here. you stay out the week at school. so you dont get anybody sick at school. which I like because who wants to go to school anyway. the Russian system is not as great as the people here think. the American system in much better. in america "im gifted in science" "ok advanced science classes, follow your gift" in Russia "im gifted in Science" "ok, stay with these people, doing the same thing, no special classes to improve your gift".
internationally. the president Medvedev is in the Kuril islands now negotiating with Japan over issues. the japanese want some of the Kuril islands that Russia controls. mainly because fish trabel inbetween these islands a lot and you know the Japs and fish. but Medvedev holds strong and tells them no all the time. speaking of Japan, my Rotary club has asked me to write a paper about how I found myself in Russia which they will put on their website, once I get the link ill post it for you all to read. in Russia you dont drink the water out of the faucet, becasuse its not filtered and cleaned. although that doesnt stop me from drinking out of the faucet all the time... because my family has a filter :p. along with Russian disadvantages, Toliet Paper doesnt seem to exist anywhere outside my house >.>...
i also received my first package, my host family told me that everything sent they have here in Russia, but i still ate all the contents within a day. they also play a game called Russian lottery. with real money, its like Bingo only if you win depending on what row you filled. and if you fill the last one then you win the money in the pot. and people get sad when they lose rubles and when i see the amount i laugh and think to myself "id lose more money if I threw a dollar out the window".
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Things get cool
so its been a few weeks since I last talked about my Russian life. so here I go hoping I can remember everything. I passed my first month in Russia last week, and i felt so proud of myself that Ive made it past the toughest month of my life. i have been enrolled at the local library, and recently they have asked me to give a presentation in english for their english club. apparently people in Russia getting experience with native speakers is rare. the presentation went well, and I even met some really interesting people. becuase I couldnt think of a topic, I used my Rotary Presentation I did in the US and switched some parts out with more American stuff.
"So I wanted to go abroad to give people like you, the ability to meet and conversate with a native english speaker. It is really hard to find americans in the middle of the Russian Siberia" then out of nowhere I hear "there's a few of us :)" "omg.... talk to me after this! (watch what I say) It turns out that he was an American working on Sakhalin 2. the oil and gas project that is endorsed and run by english speaking countries like Shell and Exxon Mobil. after the presentation, questions were opened up, and deep cultural conversation between Russia, the US, and Great Britain opened up. Russian: "so what is difference between Russia and the US minds" me: "well I think that because of our seperate histories, Americans have a more independent mentality then the Russians" other american: "yes, that can be easily seen in our history differences, the Russian I work with arent as upgoing as their American collegues, theyre more conservative with standing up than the Americans" English Teacher: "that may be, but we as Russians have a better understanding of a state, Americans are unreliable. Russians can work together better then Americans". it went on for a while, and after words I was asked to write a short article about it. I will soon have that, and pictures :). so something else thats been bothering me about Russia I want to get out there, is that all the thoughts of no American gum and products are false. Russia has opened up greatly since the fall of communism, I walk through a store and I see power drinks like "Monster". american gum "5" "Dirol Senses", american food "Pringles" and of course, Hot dogs and hamburgers (:
another thing about Russia that surprised me was the television, I was told to expect the Russian Siberia to be a place where finding american programing would be hard. yet I turn on the TV and I end up watching Russian Dubbed Alladin and Dark Wing Duck (when theres trouble you call DW). also more surprising about Russia is its balance between public transportation and private sectors. my city is struck in the middle of Russian-Japanese car competition. Japanese and Russian car companies both try to run the island, eventhough the Russians drive on the right and its hard to drive a car on the wrong side like you do in a japanese car (point one Russia). but the Russian public transportation industry is really effective and good. even though 1 of every 2 people has a car. the public transportation has not takes much hits here. it is really surprising. something more interesting ive heard about Russia is how people think of the new democracy. my host father told me a story in the Banya about how they think of the new democrary "better then the Soviets. but we refer to the democrary as что будет завтра. (what will happen tomorrow) then he tells me the story about when he wanted to buy a Japanese car that would of costed him $1,000. yet at the customs the government added on $8,000 in taxes. he then gets really upset. but because hes a good worker, he got bonuses at his work after a few years he had enough to buy his car. then at the customs, they told him "ahh forget about it". bow was he mad and glad i bet.
my Host dad is probably the coolest man in all of Russia, he lets me help out on construction projects in the house, and on Tuesdays we somethimes go to play volleyball with his work friends. the kids love him and he plays Guitar. along with the host dad being the ticket to fun, the host mom is the ticket to survival.. oh how thats true.
at the last club meeting, my club said they were looking into buying a device that filters out alcohol in the blood or something. the first ever device of its kind on sakhalin. and are looking for grants to help reach the goal. and after my story of Greg Miller. they want me to ask my club in the US if they would want to help. but as always, Ill see what I can do.
Russian language is betting better :) I can understand basic speach. every day I tell meself. "I can do this, 3 months for basics, no english, dont think its bad to talk slow". and its working greatly :)
"So I wanted to go abroad to give people like you, the ability to meet and conversate with a native english speaker. It is really hard to find americans in the middle of the Russian Siberia" then out of nowhere I hear "there's a few of us :)" "omg.... talk to me after this! (watch what I say) It turns out that he was an American working on Sakhalin 2. the oil and gas project that is endorsed and run by english speaking countries like Shell and Exxon Mobil. after the presentation, questions were opened up, and deep cultural conversation between Russia, the US, and Great Britain opened up. Russian: "so what is difference between Russia and the US minds" me: "well I think that because of our seperate histories, Americans have a more independent mentality then the Russians" other american: "yes, that can be easily seen in our history differences, the Russian I work with arent as upgoing as their American collegues, theyre more conservative with standing up than the Americans" English Teacher: "that may be, but we as Russians have a better understanding of a state, Americans are unreliable. Russians can work together better then Americans". it went on for a while, and after words I was asked to write a short article about it. I will soon have that, and pictures :). so something else thats been bothering me about Russia I want to get out there, is that all the thoughts of no American gum and products are false. Russia has opened up greatly since the fall of communism, I walk through a store and I see power drinks like "Monster". american gum "5" "Dirol Senses", american food "Pringles" and of course, Hot dogs and hamburgers (:
another thing about Russia that surprised me was the television, I was told to expect the Russian Siberia to be a place where finding american programing would be hard. yet I turn on the TV and I end up watching Russian Dubbed Alladin and Dark Wing Duck (when theres trouble you call DW). also more surprising about Russia is its balance between public transportation and private sectors. my city is struck in the middle of Russian-Japanese car competition. Japanese and Russian car companies both try to run the island, eventhough the Russians drive on the right and its hard to drive a car on the wrong side like you do in a japanese car (point one Russia). but the Russian public transportation industry is really effective and good. even though 1 of every 2 people has a car. the public transportation has not takes much hits here. it is really surprising. something more interesting ive heard about Russia is how people think of the new democracy. my host father told me a story in the Banya about how they think of the new democrary "better then the Soviets. but we refer to the democrary as что будет завтра. (what will happen tomorrow) then he tells me the story about when he wanted to buy a Japanese car that would of costed him $1,000. yet at the customs the government added on $8,000 in taxes. he then gets really upset. but because hes a good worker, he got bonuses at his work after a few years he had enough to buy his car. then at the customs, they told him "ahh forget about it". bow was he mad and glad i bet.
my Host dad is probably the coolest man in all of Russia, he lets me help out on construction projects in the house, and on Tuesdays we somethimes go to play volleyball with his work friends. the kids love him and he plays Guitar. along with the host dad being the ticket to fun, the host mom is the ticket to survival.. oh how thats true.
at the last club meeting, my club said they were looking into buying a device that filters out alcohol in the blood or something. the first ever device of its kind on sakhalin. and are looking for grants to help reach the goal. and after my story of Greg Miller. they want me to ask my club in the US if they would want to help. but as always, Ill see what I can do.
Russian language is betting better :) I can understand basic speach. every day I tell meself. "I can do this, 3 months for basics, no english, dont think its bad to talk slow". and its working greatly :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
