Saturday, October 31, 2009

You know you've been in Central Asia too long when... - Week of 19 - 23 October 2009

The cookies that I bought had the ingredients listed in about 8 different languages, so I set about to figure out the different countries. Before it switched languages, it had 2 letters, representing the country of the language's origin. RU stands for Russia. KZ for Kazakhstan. But I was stumped on UK, UA and UZ. UZ is Uzbekistan. UK is Ukraine. Then what about UA?


On the other side it listed the mailing address for the company in each country. Ah, here I could get a clue as to those three U countries. After UK it said "Legal address" and then gave an address in Moscow. Not Mocba, the Russian word for Moscow, but "Moscow." In English. Oh... UK stands for "United Kingdom." Duh.


You know you've been in Central Asia too long when you think "Ukraine" when you see "UK".


The Bus - Week of 19 - 23 October 2009

So, Astana does not have a subway system. I usually shy away from buses--they can be so confusing, demanding exact change and requiring that you know ahead of time where your stop is. Buses in Astana are not like that. With Christie's guidance, I have come to love the buses in Astana. Sure, they can be dirty and crowded. But they are easy to use, and cheap. A ride costs 60 Tenge--less than 50 cents--and elementary-school-aged children and younger are free.


The buses I have been on have stopped at every stop, so no worries about not ringing for my stop ahead of time. There is an attendant on the bus who walks around and collects the money; he or she always has change. I have yet to need help, but I have a feeling I could ask the attendant if I needed help finding a stop (if, for example, I was going somewhere I haven't been before.)

I've copied Christie, and I have written down the bus numbers for important destinations. Buses 4 and 14 go to the school. Bus 14 in the other direction goes to Sulpack, a grocery store, Eurasia, the shopping complex where we bought the hamster, and Artyom, a large shopping complex/bazaar that I haven't been to, but where I would change buses to go to the huge Central Bazaar.


Bus 2 will take me to church; Bus 3 will take me to Ramstore, a supermarket that is nice but more expensive than the closer ones. It's close enough to walk to, also.


Bus 35 will take me to Mega Center, a somewhat expensive shopping complex (I haven't been there.)


Sophia likes riding the bus--anything is better than walking for her. We've started taking the bus to school in the mornings. It's easier than forcing her to walk. It comes at about 8:15 and 8:25, so if we leave early enough, we get to school by 8:30, which is nice. Technically teachers are supposed to be there by 8:30; however, I've run in at 9:00 (start of the first lesson) before and so have other teachers. I think 8:45 is the time they realistically expect us there by. So the 8:25 bus gets us there by 8:45


Usually Bus 4 and Bus 14 arrive one behind the other; usually Bus 4 is crowded and Bus 14 is not. So we usually get on Bus 14. Both go the same route to the school from our stop--down our street, left on another big street, past the US Embassy and then stopping at the pyramid, one of the many new architectural structures. Most of the people get off the bus at the pyramid, so there must be some businesses around. Then it does a U-turn and passes a tall monument/pillar with an eagle on top (eagles are the symbol of Kazakhstan) and then turns right onto the street that leads to the school. It does another U-turn right before the school, and we get off just a short walk from the school.


U-turns are very popular around here.


It's a nice ride, it's cheap, and it keeps Sophia happy.

The Rug - Week of 19 - 23 October 2009

In America (and other countries, I'm pretty certain), it is quite common to call the students to the rug or carpet, to do Calendar Math, Show and Tell, read a story, or whatever. Valerie and I begged every day for a rug and we finally got one--not a cheap Walmart-variety rug, but a really nice, large, heavy, soft rug. There isn't room in the classroom to keep it out, so I have to take it out and put it back every time I use it.


Not wearing your shoes on a rug, and wearing your shoes everywhere else, is a BIG DEAL here. I am starting to understand--outside is so filthy dirty, what with the construction, this being a new city (dirt and sand everywhere!), this being a city (pollution) and with people spitting everywhere! No one cares where they spit. So your shoes end up filthy, so of course you don't want to walk on a rug on them, especially if you might end up sitting on that rug.


So... The kids are wild on the rug, thinking this is wrestling time. I finally made a sign that goes over the 4 rug rules with picture cues--I drew a picture of the rug and wrote "RUG." Then I wrote the rules: "1) Sit quietly." After "Sit" I have a stick figure sitting criss-cross. After "quietly" I have a face with mouth closed. Then, "2) Hands in lap." After "Hands" I have a picture of a hand. After "lap" I have another sitting stick figure, with an arrow pointing to the lap. The next two rules are "3) Sit in a circle. 4) Not in the middle." This is so the students sit in the a circle, around the edge of the rug, so I can see everyone. I wish now that I had added a "Don't move" or "Stay put" rule because they keep moving!


The funniest thing about the rug is how these kids follow no rules. They are completely wild--and they do understand my rug rules, and can show me what they're supposed to do. Yet they won't obey the rules. However, the no-shoes-on-carpet rule is something I've never had to mention, and they obey it religiously. It's like breathing to them--it comes naturally, and isn't to be questioned. My students will take off their shoes so they can wrestle, fight, and scream on the rug. It's amazing how ingrained this rule is. It also shows that they are capable of following the rules.


They love sitting on the rug, and as wild as they are, I try to do it every day. I remind myself how my students last year were awful at sitting on the rug. Yet I persisted, and we had a routine--exactly when we met on the rug, exactly what we did--and finally the majority of the students got around to behaving on the rug.


Central Bazaar at Shanhay - The weekend, 17 - 18 October 2009

On Sunday we made plans to go with Valerie's fiance to a super-cheap market he had heard about. Her fiance is from Uzbekistan and speaks Russian and some Kazakh, so a perfect guide. Valerie was sick, but he still wanted to go, so Christie, Sophia & I met him at the bus stop. He had asked around and learned that bus 38 would take us. Bus 38 was incredibly crowded, and we had to stand, cramped. Sophia so badly wanted to sit down that she sat on the filthy ground, although there was barely room. The bus attendant saw her and asked a man to give up his seat for her. Yay! I sat down, too, with her on my lap, making more room for people.


The bus ride was long--about 45 minutes--and at every stop, it seemed like people were getting on instead of off. Finally we arrived, at Central Bazaar at Shanhay, or some such name. As we walked to the bazaar, Sophia got her first glimpse of beggars and I remarked how I don't see them in our neighborhood. One of the beggars was missing a leg, Sophia noticed that.


The market was open-air, full of rows and rows of booths. There were a lot of people, but it wasn't crowded. I didn't have to cling to Sophia; however, I did have to keep reminding her to stay near an adult!


The market was absolutely humongous. After several hours, we had yet to see the end of it, but we were exhausted! And Sophia had had enough.


Valerie's fiance, Bert (not his real name) was a real blessing to have along, as he knew more of what I was looking for (a winter coat... how do I know what I need?) And he could bargain in Russian. He told us not to say anything until he had asked for the price, because they raised the prices as soon as they heard us speak English. With Sophia around, it was hard not to say anything!


We looked for a winter coat for Sophia; Christie said coats filled with down were the warmest. We needed boots, but by the time we got to the aisles full of shoes, we were really too worn out to look much. I found an "autumn" coat, not for winter, yet thicker than any winter coat I've ever had! I got it for 6000 T, which equates to about $40, great deal! Most coats were selling for around 10,000 Tenge, about $67, still a great deal. Most of the coats we looked at for Sophia were in the 10 to 12 thousand Tenge range.


I bought gloves made from wool for 700 Tenge (less than $5) and 2 warm hats for Sophia and me for 1000 Tenge each (less than $7 each). I bought Sophia two pairs of tights--one from cotton, one wool--for 490 Tenge total (less than $4). And I even got a sandwich for just 80 Tenge--about 53 cents. Perhaps the only expensive things there were the toys, Sophia wanted a large toy pony or a talking parrot, but the parrot was 1500 Tenge ($10) and the pony was 2 or 3 thousand Tenge, so I talked her down to small toy pony (a bit smaller than a My Little Pony) for 490 Tenge. She was quite content with that toy, the pony pulls a carriage and when you pull the string, off it goes! (It's on wheels.) Just your generic Dollar-Store variety toy, but she was happy.


Bert was wonderful, since he carried Sophia on his back when she was tired. However, he did mention at the end that he had learned that he was not ready to have kids of his own!


We still had enough time to make it back to catch the bus to the 6pm English-language Mass; however we waited for almost an hour for the bus! Finally I texted Christie that we would not be able to make Mass. When we finally found Bus 38, it was so jam-packed we couldn't get on! So we took another bus and then switched to Bus 14 later on. A much smoother ride.


Can't wait to return!

Comparing apartments - The Weekend, 17 - 18 October 2009

My washing machine still wasn't working Saturday, so I went to the Philippino teachers' apartment to do my laundry. The girls live on the 12th floor in my building, and they are all very nice.


After having seen Valerie's, Christie's, and the Philippinos apartments, I must say that mine is the least nice. However, mine is not bad. Also, Valerie's has an open living room--an American-style apartment, wherein the living room, dining room, and kitchen all open into each other, no walls. It looks really nice and room, but there wouldn't be a room for Sophia. (Sophia sleeps in the room that would otherwise be a living room, around here it's common for living rooms to be separate, enclosed rooms.)


Valerie and Christie both have American-style bathrooms--with the toilet in the same room as the shower/bath. Valerie has a shower, no bath, like me, however hers looks cleaner.


The Philippinos' apartment layout is similar to mine--they're exactly above me, just 9 floors higher. So their bathroom and toilet are separate, however they have a nice bathtub. And mirrored ceiling! So you can watch yourself take a bath! Why in the world?!?


Their two bedrooms are nice. (One, like in our apartment, would be the living room otherwise.) The walls in one are sparkly, in the other there is pretty pink flowered wallpaper. Not showy, though, the walls are subtle yet sweet. The ceilings I can't quite describe--most of the ceiling is high, nearer the walls it's lower and with lots of lights/lightbulbs in the ceiling, creating a lot of light. Hard to describe, it really looks nice.


However, there are 3 people living there--four soon. One woman is still stuck in the Philippines; apparently they transliterated her name wrong or something.


And they only have one elevator key to share between them. So if they don't come home together, then they'll have to walk 12 flights of steps.


They are having trouble adjusting to the climate, and to being foreigners. I hadn't thought about it much, but Sophia and I are minorities, but barely. We look Russian, and the Russians make up a substantial minority here. So we don't look like foreigners. The Phillipinos look different. They say they get lots of stares. One of the guys is really tall, and he gets stopped a lot, and people ask where he's from. Luckily, he has a sense of humor--he tells them he's from Nigeria. And they believe him!


So, I'm happy with what I have, and very happy to have several friendly coworkers living 8 floors above me.

Sophia's Friend - Friday, 16 October 2009

My first week teaching I taught grade 2A math about 4 times, until the Philippino teachers arrived. I soon saw in one student, "Irene", a potential friend for Sophia. She's Turkish, and her English is perhaps the best of all the students'. Her Russian is good, too, but she's still in the beginner's Russian class with Sophia, and her English is better than her Russian.


Her father is a diplomat, and I met him one day. He was very friendly and the first thing he said was, "How is her English?" So, I bet he wants his daughter to learn English and would be very happy for her to have an English-speaking friend! Irene, like Sophia, spends a lot of time with the English-language teachers, talking. I bet that she, like Sophia, needs someone to talk to!


One day I asked Irene if she knew who Sophia was, in her Russian class, and she said no. So I made a point of pointing the two out to each other. They didn't seem to care.


But then on Thursday Irene asked if I could go to the playground with her on the weekend. I wasn' t sure if she was just asking me, as a teacher, or me as Sophia's mother. On Friday she came up to me with Sophia and asked if Sophia could come to her house after school and watch an English-language DVD with her. Both girls were jumping up and down, excited.


Of course I didn't want anything to get in the way of them getting together!


When I talked to her father, it was obvious that he hadn't known that she had invited a friend over for that day--he knew she wanted Sophia over, but not right away--but all she had to do was say "pleasepleasepleaseplease" and I could tell she had him wrapped around her finger. I felt comfortable letting Sophia go with him and glad that I finally knew my address so that she could go.


Sophia stayed for several hours before I received the call. The man who called put Sophia on the phone. I asked her where she was. She said, in a voice that sounded really tiny, "I don't know." I tried to get out of her--was she at the girl's house? Was she already at my apartment? Finally, I talked to the man, who said he would bring her by in half an hour.


I walked home from Valerie's house, then I received a call asking to describe my building. Uh... There are no significant markings on my building, and we are not located above a shop as most apartments are. I said I'd be in front.


I waited outside, watching the cars drive by, until I saw a car driving really slowly in the far right lane. It slowed to a stop, and I smiled as I looked into the car. I only saw two young Kazakh men in front. Then the back door opened and Sophia came out. The men said that they tutored Irene in Russian every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Irene's father had said Sophia was welcome to join her on those days. Yay!


Sophia was happy to have had a play date, although they had only watched a move (in English, about fairies) and eaten (she hadn't eaten). I tried to get details about their apartment without being too nosy--kids talk. I didn't get much, just that she lives in an apartment. Later I learned that she has a "playground" in her bedroom.


So, an English speaking friend for Sophia and a break for me... Sounds like a good start.

Roller Coaster: Hamster, Hectic Day, Unexpected X-Rays, an English-speaking Friend - Friday, 16 October 2009

Hallelujah! Life is really a roller coaster. Yesterday I prayed to St. Anthony to help us find our hamster, and at 11:30 pm, as I was heading to bed, the hamster scurried out from behind the cabinets by the front door. I grabbed it and put it back into its cage, where it greedily started eating its food. I found some ribbon and securely tied the cage. Sophia may have a hurt hand but she does have a hamster.

In the morning, we were late for school, and I had 5th grade math first, I ran in just after the bell. During class, my cell phone rang several times. Near the end of the break between 1st and 2nd periods, the Russian vice principal asked to see Valerie and me, and she held us for many minutes, asking us questions that are answered on our resumes. I explained through a translator that I had class! So I was late to 2nd period--5th grade math again. Those 5th graders must think I'm crazy! They seem to like me, though, and are amazingly well behaved.

The v.p. was asking us questions because there was to be a parent meeting that night, I think, and she wanted to talk about us. But it was ridiculous because the first question was, what is your profession? Well, Valerie and I were a bit flabbergasted at that--we teach at your school! But I think the translation may have been wrong; she really was asking what our degrees were in.

Then she asked for where we went to college, and seemed stunned when I said Tulane University. She had never heard of it, she said. Was it a town? I explained that it was in New Orleans. Even with two translators, she could not understand, but finally wrote down the Cyrillic translations of Tulane and New Orleans. It's OK that she's never heard of Tulane or New Orleans, but she seemed rather displeased that I could not give her an answer that she understood.

Friday is my difficult day--6 classes--and I was planning on teaching math during 8th period (Etud or "Study Period") so we could catch up. Right before 7th period started, as I was frantically getting things together (I was behind all day) the vice principal Mr. M came in and said the bus was waiting to take me to the hospital. What?!? My first thought was that we were taking Sophia, either due to her rash or her hurt hand. Mr. M seemed genuinely surprised that I did not know this, but said I had to hurry out to go to the hospital. Christie had mentioned something about foreigners needing a medical check-up, and I had read that we'd have to have one. However, I was stunned--I had a stack of papers on my desk I wanted to check and not take home with me, and my kids are behind in English and math. My Kazakh teacher seemed stunned when I told her I had to go, and I guessed that meant she would be in charge of the kids. I tried my best to gather what I needed--I figured I'd have time to grade--and left with a heavy bookbag and tote.

On the way out I ran into Sophia. I had no idea if I'd be back before her teachers left, so I went into her classroom to tell Christie to keep an eye on her for me; however then I learned that Christie was also going to the hospital. All the foreign teachers were going. No one to leave Sophia with (Sophia's not comfortable with the non-English-speaking teachers). I had no idea what time we'd be back, and I didn't want to just leave her. Finally I had decided to take her when we ran into her new friend, who had invited her to her house after school. I didn't want to ruin Sophia's first chance at a play date! Yet I was terrified of just leaving her wandering the school. Finally I left her with the other girl, and met the other teachers and got on the bus.

So we got to the hospital, where Christie told us how they would X-ray our chests, naked, with no gowns. What a joy. Rumors were that we would have an AIDS test too. The Philippino teachers took out their medical forms that they'd had to have before coming to Kazakhstan. That didn't get them out of whatever it was we now had to do.

In the end, we just had to be naked from the waist up, not a big deal really. We returned to school in plenty of time for Valerie to teach her 4:10 class. She was not happy that all she missed was her break! At 5:00 we had a meeting for the English-language teachers, and as I was heading up to the meeting, leaving Sophia with her friend (who was still waiting for her dad to pick her up), her friend's dad called saying he was there. So I ran out to meet him and make sure it was OK for Sophia to go home with her and that she would have a ride back to my apartment. I was grateful that earlier I had written down my address, so I handed it to the girl's dad, who handed it to his driver, who nodded his head, he knew the place.


The meeting last forever and I was glad that Sophia was not hanging out at the school, bored. Then I was able to walk home with Valerie and talk with a grown-up, no interruptions! And I went over to her place and sat for a while before the driver called, saying that in half an hour he would have Sophia home.

So, from

(1) no heat, broken washing machine, no light in the bathroom, no food for Sophia, no friends for Sophia, rash on Sophia

to (2) no heat, broken washing machine, no light in the bathroom, yes! food for Sophia, yes! a Russian-speaking friend for Sophia, still a rash

to (3) yes! heat, no water, broken washing machine, no light in the bathroom, yes! food for Sophia, yes! a Russian-speaking friend for Sophia, still a rash plus icky medicine

to (4) yes! heat, yes! water, broken washing machine, no light in the bathroom, yes! food for Sophia, yes! a Russian-speaking friend for Sophia, still a rash plus icky medicine, no hamster, hurt fingers

to (5) yes! heat, yes! water, broken washing machine, no light in the bathroom, yes! food for Sophia, yes! a Russian-speaking friend for Sophia, a slightly better rash plus icky medicine, yes! hamster, fingers getting better, and yes! finally! an English-speaking friend for Sophia.


Whew. What a week!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Summary of a Horrible Week - Thursday, 18 October 2009

Summary of the Week:
Monday: Kids were horrible. Still no working laundry machine, heat, or light in bathroom. Still a draft through windows. Met the new Philippino teachers.

Tuesday: Behavior chart & kids are better. Ran home at 5:00 for desk; waited until 7 pm for heater guy who never showed up. Had to choose between medicine and food; chose food.

Wednesday: NO WATER: I noticed during the night that the water wasn't working and the toilet wasn't flushing. I woke up to discover that the water still was not working. I called the principal (waking him up, I believe!) who said that he didn't have water either, we would just have to wash our hands at the school. Ha! I needed to shower, wash my face, put in my contacts, make my coffee, cook Sophia's sausages, brush my teeth & Sophia's teeth... I needed water! I waited until almost 7 to call Christie, who let us come over. She was not feeling well so she called in sick. But she was very nice and I took a shower and got coffee, etc. I realized that I was going to be late and decided I might as well be late--so we stopped at the pharmacist before going to school. The pharmacist only had one of the medicines. Then I realized that I forgot my soda and Sophia's lunch (just two slices of cheese) at Christie's, so we stopped at the small store next to the pharmacist, where I realized that I didn't have enough money for the bus ride to school and soda for us both. I chose soda over bus ride. We walked to school, late, in the freezing cold. I was not in a good mood. I don't think that anyone noticed that I was late (at least not anyone who cared or would tell on me).

Wednesday morning: fiasco with the nurse's assistant trying to get Sophia to take her medicine.

Wednesday afternoon: We left around 5:15, to be home in time for the heater guy, and ran into a parent on the way out, who offered us a ride home. Yay! She has a huge, American-like car (SUV). She was very friendly and told me how her husband works for the Kazakh Ministry of Defense and she used to work at the American Embassy. Her husband has commented on how American schools are strange--they have the kids sit on the floor and let the kids talk! I did my best to explain that while, yes, the sitting on the carpet is something we do and I think is good for learning, the talking is not American! These kids are talking too much!

Wednesday evening: We got home and the guy fixed the heat--hurrah! The principal called and said that he was told that we wouldn't have water tonight but we might have it tomorrow morning. Well, I'm smart enough to not put my trust in that word 'might' so I called Christie and asked if we could spend the night with her. She was feeling mostly better, and we went over around 8:30. Sophia thoroughly enjoyed spending the night at her teacher's house.

Thursday morning: We were running late for school; Christie decided to walk while Sophia and I took the bus. We met Valerie at the bus stop, who had been waiting for 10 minutes, but we made perfect timing as our bus arrived shortly after we got there. We arrived at school just as Christie did, which goes to show that walking can be slightly faster than the bus (if you don't get to the bus stop at the same time as the bus) but that with Sophia (who walks slow) the bus is probably just as fast if not a tad faster than walking.

Thursday day: I wan't as stressed as the previous days, and we walked home with Christie at 5:30. Sophia saw the same Kazakh girl on the playground whom she played with on Sunday, and they played for a while. Then we returned home. Our heat was working and so was our water! Yay!

Thursday evening: Then Sophia checked on the hamster. Our hamster escaped last night! Sophia was devastated. I searched, but couldn't find any trace. I even used my camera to take pictures (with a flash) of the tiny areas behind the cabinets, kitchen stove, etc.

Then we went to pick up our stuff from Christie's. On the way out, Sophia was grumpy and hid in the hallway from me. I was carrying a ton of stuff and as I left Christie reminded me to slam her door hard to close it right. I did so and suddenly I heard a loud scream. Sophia had had her hand in the doorway! (She had been hiding behind the door.) Quickly I opened the door, dropped all my stuff and brought her inside to Christie's kitchen, where I gave her bags of frozen food.

She cried and cried for quite some time, her fingers are purple and swell. Then we had to return to a home with not hamster. It was after 9 by the time we got home. Sophia's upset because it's her right hand she hurt and she loves to draw and write.

Well, so now we have heat and water but no hamster and a rather hurt hand. Oh, and a rash that I think is getting better but also has spread to her neck and part of her face.

Sophia's Rash - Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Sophia's Rash

So, Sophia developed a rash shortly after we arrived. I didn't think much of it, it seemed similar to a rash I get when I go running in cold weather. But slowly it has been spreading all over her stomach, onto her sides and back, and it itches her terribly. I didn't have lotion, and I was putting my face moisturizer on her for a while, but finally I bought lotion. And finally, today, I decided to take her to see the school nurse. I'd been waiting it out, and it looked like it was getting better, but it still looks pretty bad.

So, I took my assistant as a translator, and we went to the nurse. The nurse prescribed us medicine and told us to go see a dermatologist at the hospital. I talked to Valerie, who had had a rash during her first week here, and had seen the nurse. She had been prescribed medicine and told to go to the dermatologist at the hospital. She did, and all the dermatologist did was say to take the medicine and see if it got better, which it did.

So I decided to take the wait-and-see approach. We were out of food at our apartment, and I knew I had to leave on time (5:30) so we could get to the supermarket and not get home too late on a school night. Now we also had to go to the pharmacy, which luckily I knew where it is located (right by the supermarket) and have miraculously remembered the Russian word for pharmacy.

However, around 5:00 the principal came and told me that my desk would be delivered at 5:30, so we had to hurry on home. Plus, the guy who would fix the heater would be there around 6:00. So we hurried home and found the desk guys waiting in a truck. They didn't ask for Tenge, and they quickly set up the desk. The Russian word for desk and table is the same--stol (long o sound). And the desk isn't much different from a table--no drawers. I've noticed that none of the teachers' desks have drawers; they all have mini cabinets next to the desks.

So the table guys were gone well before 6:00, but the heater guy never showed up. So at 7:00 we finally set out. I had to decide: pharmacy or supermarket? Medicine or food? Because it was late and I was in no mood to go to both. Sophia was hungry, so I chose food.

The next day, we managed to go to the pharmacy on our way to school, but they only had one of the two medicines. When we arrived at the school, we ran into the nurse, who speaks no English, so I couldn't explain why we hadn't gone to the hospital or taken the medicine. She was able to let us know that she had the other medicine in her room, so we first unpacked and then went to her room.

The nurse wasn't in her room, but her assistant was, who got the medicine--some strange-looking black tablets. She tried to get Sophia to swallow one. What a joke. Sophia sputtered and cries and finally managed to accidentally swallow a piece of one. Then she tried to get Sophia to swallow one of the the little white pills that I got at the pharmacy. This would be humorous, if Sophia weren't so upset, and if she didn't spit out the water and pill on the assistant. (Sophia says she didn't spit--spitting implies intent--but simply coughed. Well, it spewed quite a distant, and the assistant got quite wet.)

She then gave up, and as we were leaving we ran into the nurse, and I couldn't explain why Sophia hadn't taken the pills, so back we went into the nurse's room, where the assistant explained. Then the nurse went to her cabinet and took out liquid medicine! Hooray! Sophia happily drank this. Then the nurse explained that we can stir the black tablets in water and she can drink. So that's better.

Then went back to my classroom, and I had my Kazakh teacher write down what I now need from the pharmacist--a liquid version of whatever the white pills are.

So was it worth going to the nurse? Time will tell.

Better Behavior - Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Better Behavior

So I introduced my behavior system today. The Kazakh teachers were behind it and helped to explain it in Russian. Although, it is quite simple to explain. "Good student--1 star. 7 stars--1 sticker." The students were MUCH better behaved. We met on the rug again, and I reviewed again the rug rules. (Again, very simple rules. I have drawn simple stick figures to illustrate the rules--"Sit quietly. Hands in lap. Sit in a circle, not in the middle." That is, I want them sitting around the edge of the rug, in a circle, so I can see everyone.)

I had two periods of English in a row, and we did not do everything that I had planned, but this was not due to poor behavior, which is the usual reason for not finishing. I was extremely happy with the improvement in behavior. Matthew and Alexis did not earn stars, but they weren't atrociously awful either.

These children can improve. I've seen 5th grade--they are perfect. So there is hope for the first graders, and my sanity!

Riding the Bus - Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Riding the Bus

When we met up with Christie this morning, she suggested that we take the bus, so that I would learn how to use it in case we ever needed to. Sophia was thrilled. We had to walk a bit (about a block) to the bus stop, and we waited quite a while. We can take either bus #4 or #14. We watched quite a few buses stop and load before finally our bus arrived. We got on and someone offered Sophia a seat. I motioned to the money-collector that I was paying for Christie and Sophia, and I handed him 500 Tenge. I got 400 back in change, so that's not bad. 100 Tenge is about 67 cents. I'm pretty sure Sophia is free (we didn't pay for her on the trip to and from church either.)

We rode for a little while, past the pyramid, one of the new architectural structures built to make Astana look like a city of the future. A lot of people got off by the pyramid, and I had a seat too. Then we turned around and arrived at the school, just tiny walk away.

The buses here are not as bad as buses in most other cities I've been in. I mean, they're easy to use. There's a money-collector, who walks around the bus and collects money and gives you a ticket for your money. He/she has change, so you don't have to worry about having exact change. The buses I've been on have been crowded, and have stopped at every stop, so we haven't had to worry about missing our stops. But, most importantly, all the Kazakh people I have met are really friendly, and so it is possible to ask questions and find someone who is able to translate for you.

Behavior Problems, Again; Fifth Grade; New Teachers - Monday, 12 October 2009

Behavior Problems--Again; Fifth Grade; New Teachers

Whatever magic had happened on Friday did not happen on Monday. By the end of the day I was exhausted, worn, and ready to give up. Oh well. Just teach whatever your annual plan says you will teach, and forget about the rest.

It wasn't until after school had started that we got our schedules for the week. Luckily, I didn't have anything during the first period. I had one hour of 5th grade math. The schedule is so messed up--5 lessons of math in a week, but in the 1st grade only 4 days of math (2 hours of math in one day.) For the 5th grade, they only have 3 days of math. Can you imagine having to sit through 2 hours of math class in a row in 5th grade? I told the vice principal, who makes the schedule, that the children need English and math every day--not spotted throughout the week. He looked surprised and said I should have told him so beforehand. How was I to know that he didn't know that? He was a teacher last year, and he's been teaching 5th grade math for the past month.

The fifth graders are perfectly behaved, and very smart too. Maybe they aren't too familiar with the words "numerator" and "denominator" but their English was very good, their math skills seemed very good--from the little I saw, and realizing that I know little about 5th graders. But they were so WELL-BEHAVED, I didn't know what to do. I was reminded of the beginning of my 3rd year teaching, when my students were so well-behaved, that I suddenly realized that I had to teach. I am not used to teaching. I am used to discipline and classroom management, and the vain attempt to teach. It is so odd to have to teach. I didn't have enough prepared for the class. They did their work, quietly, and when they had finished, they sat quietly. WOW. I want to teach 5th grade and only 5th grade!!!!

Somehow I ended up with just 21 lessons in a week, and Valerie had 29. She has to teach 3A English every day twice. There is just one 3rd grade class, 3A is the bottom half of the class. Because the Philippino teachers had yet to arrive, she had 2 whole hours with the entire 3rd grade class, and no book, no lesson plan, etc. Then she was supposed to teach them from 4:00 to 5:00--Supplementary English to catch up. She was able to get out of it by complaining that she was also supposed to fill out the all-important teacher Journal and had no time.

Christie was asked to teach 2nd grade math during the day, and then at the end of the day to teach them 1st grade math, since they missed so much last year. She thought that was ridiculous--she's starting at Kindergarten math and working her way up. How can you teach 2nd grade math to children who haven't learned 1st grade math?

Around 4:30, Valerie told me that she had been told that we had a teacher's meeting at 5:00 on the 3rd floor. Christie and I raced up there at 5:10 to find out that it had not started and not everyone was there. We stayed, bored, while the other teachers talked in Russian, until about 5:20, when Valerie and Christie left. We heard that the Russian vice principal would be giving the meeting, and so what would be the point of our being there, since we don't speak Russian? I was going to follow, but I ended up in a conversation with the other teachers. A Kazakh Russian-language teacher asked me questions about where I was from and how old I am. (Does that make sense? Kazakh Russian-language teacher? She is a Kazakh, and she teaches the Russian language here.) She said I have good spirit, which may or may not have been well translated, however I took it as a compliment.

We all left a little after 5:30, as no administrator had shown up. I think it was good for me to stay and talk, to get on the good side of the local teachers. I think they're all impressed with my teensy bit of Russian, and my desire to learn more.

Then the Kazakh teacher, Grace, in my room helped me fill out the Journal, and then I finished making a behavior chart. Nothing exciting--on a piece of poster board I wrote all the students' names. They can each get one star (drawn in pencil) for each lesson during the day. After 7 stars (there are 7 lessons, not counting "Etud"--Study period--and extracurricular activities) they can get a sticker. Maybe after a certain number of stickers, they will get something more.

The Kazakh teacher and the assistant talked to Sophia some. Sophia read a book to the assistant, and then Grace asked Sophia to help her with her English. By the time we were ready to leave, Sophia's teachers had left and locked the classroom door--with Sophia's coat still inside. I went to the secretary, who looked for the custodians, who had already left. She suggested going to the vice principal's room on the 2nd floor.

He was there, along with the new teachers, and the principal. I figured maybe I was getting brownie points--subtly showing the principal how dedicated I was, working so late. The vice principal had a set of keys, and soon I had Sophia's coat. I met the new teachers, and was able to tell the one who would be teaching Grade 2B where the class was in math. (They had only had a week of math, we had done numbers to 100.)

The principal then told me that he would be giving the new teachers a ride home soon, and if Sophia and I could wait a few minutes, we could get a ride too. That sounded nice, so we went to wait downstairs.

Several students milled around the lobby area. One student, Tammy from 2B, was crying. A student had told Sophia it was because she wanted her mother--it was after 6:00!! I found my assistant to talk to her, figuring at this point, Tammy needed someone who spoke her language.

I met the mother of a boy in Sophia's class, and we had a short conversation in Russian. She speaks Russian, Kazakh, Turkish, and Mongolian--wow! After a short while, however, the conversation turned to things I could not understand in Russian; luckily at that point two people who speak Russian and English showed up and translated. The mother wanted to know if the activity and extracurricular classes were in English, and the answer is no. She said why not? They need more English! I agreed, and said she needed to talk to the principal, because I agree!

Then the principal came and said he was in a hurry, so we all piled into his car--Sophia on my lap. The new teachers are on the 12th floor of my building, and they are very nice. I feel sorry for them--they have to teach tomorrow! They left the Philippines on Friday, they flew to the UAE and then onto Almaty. They spent the night in Almaty and then took a 12 hour train ride to Astana. Oh my goodness!!! I'm glad I arrived on a Thursday at midnight. I was unable to teach on Friday and then had the weekend to rest.

Jump Rope - Sunday, 11 October 2009

Jump Rope
On the playground in front of Christie's apartment, there is a thick rope that the children use to climb up. The rope became untied at the top and was lying on the ground. It is a long, thick rope, and so I picked it up to use as a jump rope--one side was tied to the bottom of the play equipment, and so only I was needed to swing the rope. Sophia, alas, has little experience jumping rope and was pitiful at it. But at least she had some concept of the game. The other children could not figure out what we were trying to do. One girl put one foot on one side of the rope and her other foot on the other side and giggled as the rope swung between her legs. No one could figure it out. I guess they don't jump rope here?

Hooray! - Sunday, 11 October 2009

Hooray!

Hooray! We went to church today! Only 20 minutes from our apartment to the church (via a bus). We sat near the front, in the front few rows were mostly children, who spent Mass mostly bored and whispering. When we went to communion--bread dipped in wine--an old Russian lady handed Sophia some candy. Mass lasted longer than an hour, but then some priest talked forever after Mass, and then the children came forward to be blessed (not Sophia) and then the people recited some prayer, so in the end it lasted forever. But then Christie talked to some nuns who informed her that at 6 pm there is an English mass! Hooray!

Hooray! Sophia made a friend today! Christie's apartment building has a really nice, new playground, and we played there after church. I had to play for quite some time before Sophia and the Kazakh girl played by themselves without me. The girl was shy and spoke no English, Sophia and I played and I made very exaggerated movements and had the girl giggling quite a bit. The playground soon had plenty of kids playing, and I was the only grown-up in sight. Sophia and the girl played for about an hour together without me. A Kazakh boy talked to me a bit--when he heard us speaking English, he started saying to himself, "Hello. My name is!" So finally I talked to him and let him use his little bit of English in actual conversation. I let Sophia play until I could tell she was wearing out and then the girl said "do svedanya" and "pohka" over and over as we left. Hooray!

Hooray! Sophia ate today! I was beside myself with joy as she gobbled up the "hot dogs" she had made me buy at the store today. She insisted that I buy them, and I was completely willing to buy anything she said she might eat, but I was worried she wouldn't like them. They are called sausage here, but they look and smell like sausage, and Sophia ate them. Hooray! We also found frozen pizza--none that was plain cheese, however they also sold pizza crust with sauce on it, nothing else. We had mozzarella cheese at home, so I bought the crust and made her a cheese pizza. She ate the entire thing after finishing 2 hot dogs. Now I know what I can feed her for the rest of the year so she won't starve. Hooray!

Ne Rabotaet - Saturday, 11 October 2009

Ne Rabotaet
'Ne rabotaet' is Russian for "It doesn't work" and that was the catch-phrase of today. My bathroom light? Ne rabotaet. My vacumm cleaner? Ne rabotaet. (At least not very well!! Thankfully it does work a little.) My washing machine? Ne rabotaet. My phone when I try to call Christie when I'm outside her building carrying a box full of dirty clothes? Ne rabotaet. (At least calling her number didn't work. I had to call Valerie, who called Christie to let her know I was there.)

The Internet at school? Ne rabotaet. The printer in my classroom? Ne rabotaet. The two USB drives so I could save my work on an SD card and then print from another computer? Ne rabotaet. (OK, that was Friday... but Friday sometimes seems to run into Saturday.)

In the end, I did get my clothes washed at Christie's house, and hung them to dry at my house. The principal came by in the morning with requested items--a rack to hang clothes on, a microwave, and a heater for Sophia's room. Sophia's room is the warmest, however she complains frequently of being too cold and has a rash that I think comes from being too cold. The heating is centralized, meaning at some point it will be turned on for the whole building, but not yet. In the afternoons, our apartment is OK, due to spending the whole day letting the sun in through the windows. But the mornings are cold.

Sophia's bed and dresser were delivered. This was interesting, as the men who delivered it were more like boys, skinny Asian boys who spoke no English and demanded 800 Tenge (about $6). They called the principal who then called me and told me to pay the money, that he would pay me back.

The boys took off their shoes before stepping on the carpet in Sophia's room. One boy seemed embarrassed about the holes in his socks. It seemed silly that they concerned themselves with not dirtying my house with their shoes, as they left the floor covered in sawdust, and I had to vacuum as soon as they left.

They had a backpack of tools, and in less than an hour they assembled the bed and dresser, while Sophia watched, fascinated. I was wondering how they would get a bed up the stair--they didn't. They got pieces of a bed up the stairs.

Sophia's room looks nicer now, and now we have more boxes for her to play with.

However, when we visited Christie's house (to do the laundry), I saw how nice an apartment could look. I am quite satisfied with our apartment, and think it is quite large enough, however Christie's is much larger. Her apartment looks modern and American, if that makes sense. Ours looks like places I've visited in Europe, the kitchen, although decent, bares some resemblance to hostel kitchens--everything works, but nothing's nice and nothing matches. (No silverware sets!) Christie's apartment is a home, modern, clean, and in working order. Her kitchen is large and modern, her kitchen table is a nice dining room table with fancy chairs. Her bathroom and toilet room are one, and she has a nice, large tub. She has a huge, new-looking, L-shaped couch in her living room; also she has a desk and a flat-screen TV. The wardrobe in her bedroom is huge and does not have easily-breakable sliding doors.

I could be jealous. But I don't need fancy, nice things. I do want a desk. And working things. But I did not fly to Kazakhstan to live in an apartment nicer than the one I left.

But if Christie does not stay next year and I do, I want her apartment.

Parents - Friday, 9 October 2009

Parents
I've been slowly meeting parents, as they come in between 4 and 5:30 pm, and often I am not in the room at that time. Today I talked to Jason's mother again, a very nice young woman who told me the name of a shop to buy Sophia's clothes, and gave me her number in case I needed help finding it. Timothy's mother was in the room for quite a while before he returned from whatever after-school activity he had. She watched me put up my numbers 1 - 20 and offered to help. I was very pleased to have someone help me. Her English isn't that great, and so we didn't talk much, but she explained to me that she teaches anatomy at a medical school.

I met a (the?) Turkish diplomat, his daughter is in 2nd grade, where I've been teaching math this week. In Christie's class, there is also a student whose father is a diplomat; he lived in Canada for a while and thus speaks English well.

The parents seem very friendly. Some speak almost no English, and thus prefer to talk to the Kazakh teacher. Valerie was complaining with one of her parents about how little English there is here. The children have more hours of Kazakh a week than of English! And far more homework!

Discipline - Friday, 9 October 2009

Discipline
Today I saw Valerie between 2 periods (they call them "lessons" here, but I've come to understand that they are similar to periods in American high schools and middle schools). She said that she had tried a fun activity for science--to take the children outside and have them close to their eyes and explore the world without the use of the sense of sight. However, the children were so unruly in the hallway that she marched them back inside and had them write instead. She said the Russian teacher had given her the thumbs-up, or some other sign that she approved. She also said she was going to talk to the principal about the discipline issue here (or lack thereof!)

So I decided that I, too, needed to take control of my class. During the 10 minutes between periods, the children run wild in the hallway, screaming, running, kicking, what have you. Then they run into the classroom behaving the same. Not today.

As they came running into my classroom, I ordered them out. OUT! Every one of them. Many did not understand and tried to push and shove past the children who were waiting outside by the doorway. The Kazakh teacher came to see what was the matter. I explained to her that everyone was going to stand out and that we were going to practice coming in quietly. She understood and helped me greatly, by translating all that I said into Russian. Rule Number 1, I explained, was "Come in quietly." This means no talking and hands to yourself.

I created quite a scene, loudly insisting that all the children stay in the hallway. The custodian stood by the whole time, watching wide-eyed. The Russian teacher watched, too, and I'm sure some others came by to see what was the matter.

I finally let the children inside. One child scream, and I ordered them all out again. The Kazakh teacher helped me translate why we were going back out.

It took about 3 or 4 tries, and it wasn't perfect on the last try, but behavior was better for the rest of the period. Whenever a child acted up--shouted usually--I ordered the child out of the room, and then brought the child back in. I had to ignore Alex and Matthew, and try to explain to the others to ignore them to, as I knew that the only way I would be able to get Alex or Matthew out was through physical force, and that is a battle I only want to start when absolutely necessary. Alex and Matthew weren't awful, and so I let them be.

Math was the last class, and I stayed in the room during the whole 10 minute break, monitoring the classroom activity. Several students remained during the break, working quietly, and for a while I thought I wouldn't have to repeat the morning's ordeal. But then the break ended, and kids came in screaming, and so, with the Kazakh teacher's help and the Russian teacher looking on, I ordered the kids out again. David screamed when I let them in, and the Russian teacher lectured him soundly. Finally, they all made it in.

This time, students who misbehaved were made to stand in the doorway for longer than a few seconds. Alex worked hard and fast and was very proud of himself. Timothy, who usually works hard in math and whose biggest problem is that he doesn't want to remain quiet while raising his hand, was disruptive. On the whole, however, it was the best class I have yet taught. For the end of the day on Friday, that's amazing whichever school you're at.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

ESOL versus Regular Classroom Teacher - Thursday, 8 October 2009

ESOL versus Regular Classroom Teacher
Right now, I feel that if I just walked out--left--I would be justified. If the school is not following the contract, then why must I? I am teaching ESOL (English as a Second Language), not Key Stage 1 or 2, as specified by my contract (basically, Key Stage 1 is like Early Childhood & 2 is Elementary). Yes, I am teaching math and science, but to kids who don't understand me, and I'm not teaching at their level.

What makes this experience interesting is that the American teacher is an ESOL teacher. She has taught in Korea and the UAE. So while I compare this experience to my experience as a regular classroom teacher in South Carolina, she compares it to her ESOL experiences. While I'm pissed that I don't have my own class, that we're on a period schedule like high school, that I'm not really teaching subjects, just basic English; she's pissed by other things. She says the salary here is not as good as many ESOL jobs. She's pissed at the hours we have to work, how many lessons we have per week. We now have close to 30 hours of lessons a week--pretty similar to how many hours an American teacher is in her classroom, in charge of her students. But she's used to just 18 hours a week.

We had a meeting with the vice principal today, where we learned about our Long Range Plans and Teacher's Folders. Nowhere near as much work as Long Range Plans in South Carolina, however far more work than she's used to, and a pain in the rear considering we came a month late and still don't have textbooks for math and science. Also, we have to turn in our lesson plans weekly, something I luckily didn't have to do too often in SC, but something I know that schools often make teachers do. But Valerie just can't imagine being forced to do something like that.

So, it seems like ESOL teachers have it easy. Lots of money, little work. Why do real teachers get screwed so badly?

On another note, from what I've heard, the Kazakh teachers make far less than us. My teachers (Kazakh teacher and aide) are really nice and friendly, they don't seem to resent me, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Kazkah teachers did. They have a lot of work to do--paperwork type stuff--and they've been working since August. And the anglophone teachers come in with much fanfare, and we get paid more, and we have so much stuff that gets in the way. (Hey, there is very little room to store things in the classroom!!)

I asked my Kazakh teacher today if she had a behavior plan, a way of dealing with behavior. She had never heard of such a thing before but was very willing to try something! But with 7 different lessons in a day, and so many different teachers coming in and out, it will be hard for me to think of something that will really work. But I'll try!

Misbehavior - Thursday, 7 October 2009

Misbehavior
Today I had had enough. Alex was in the front of the room, in the corner behind the teacher's desk, behind the TV on the small cabinet that the TV is on. Something there seemed to be greatly amusing him, which obviously is not a good thing for me.

Another boy was with him, but he quickly returned to his seat when I came over. I had to drag Alex away. If you've worked in a school such as Laurens Elementary, you understand what I mean when I say that it can be extremely difficult to move a small child who does not want to be moved. He may be small and weigh very little, but he can be very very tough and strong. Imagine prying a hamster away from a cage when he has his little claws tightly wrapped around the bars, now imagine a much larger hamster with kicking and flailing legs. Now you have a bit of the idea.

He wrapped his legs around the TV and computer cords and they came unplugged as I pulled him away, determined not to lose. I dragged him all the way into the hallway, where he stuck his tongue out at me and made various faces at me before pretending to kick me. (If he wasn't pretending, then he's a horrible kicker!)

He later ran back into the room, but I dragged him back out again. One of the Kazakh teachers saw him and told me not to worry. Later, the Russian teacher talked to him. I don't know what they think of me, but I am not putting up with that in my class. I still have faith that he will learn. That he can be taught.

Why do rich Kazakh kids act the same as poor Laurens kids?Spoiled!!

Speaking the Language - Thursday, 7 October 2009

Speaking the Language
I've had several occasions where someone tries to speak to me in Russian, and even when I explain that I cannot understand, they try and try to talk to me. I do not know if what they are trying to tell me is important, or if I should just walk off. It can get frustrating. I talked to Valerie about this, and she does not have this problem. I learned the reason why: She really speaks no Russian. She answers in English, "I don't speak Russian," and she is left alone. I answer in Russian, "Ya ne ponimayu po-russki" and I am not left alone.

Today I learned the benefits of not speaking any Russian. The other day, in the supermarket, someone who works there tried to explain something to me in Russian and I did not understand. She finally gave up, after Sophia dropped the bottle of Sprite she was carrying and it splashed all over the lady. (Oops!)

Today a man who worked there tried to tell me something. I did not speak any Russian, and soon learned through mimes that we could not take our bookbags into the store, and there were lockers available to put our bags in.

So my little bit of Russian can actually be a handicap.

Kazakh Children - Thursday, 7 October 2009

Kazakh Children
I see them everywhere! And solo (or in small groups with no adults!) The other day we saw a child no older than Sophia riding a bike across the street with his younger sister on it. Perhaps there was a grown-up with him, I do not know.

Today we saw a boy much younger than Sophia peddling his bike with two loaves of bread in a bag attached to the front. Perhaps there was a grown-up with him? Perhaps he had peddled so fast that we could not tell who was with him? Because he sure looked alone.

Sophia was pondering aloud why adults let children be alone, when we saw two little girls crossing the street as cars came fast at them from either side. Both cars stopped and let the girls pass. Perhaps, we decided, that Kazakh parents know that the cars will stop for their children. However, I still will not trust Sophia alone! I'm a protective American parent!

Bread - Thursday, 8 October 2009

Bread


Although some prices here are steep (bookbag!), other prices are nice and small. A medium-sized loaf of freshly baked bread is just 50 Tenge--that's about 34 cents! Of course it doesn't last long--it goes stale quickly, but usually I eat it well before it goes stale. But I eat so much of it, we go through it much faster than we do American loaves.

Sophia, however, is weird in her pickiness. She usually prefers bland things, in bread this is also true, however, she prefers bland wheat bread and will not eat white bread. So she will not eat the bread here.

Bread - Thursday, 8 October 2009

Bread


Although some prices here are steep (bookbag!), other prices are nice and small. A medium-sized loaf of freshly baked bread is just 50 Tenge--that's about 34 cents! Of course it doesn't last long--it goes stale quickly, but usually I eat it well before it goes stale. But I eat so much of it, we go through it much faster than we do American loaves.

Sophia, however, is weird in her pickiness. She usually prefers bland things, in bread this is also true, however, she prefers bland wheat bread and will not eat white bread. So she will not eat the bread here.

Hamster - Halfway through the week - Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Hamster


Speaking of parents, one of Christie's students recently got a hamster. Christie told the parent how Sophia had been begging for a hamster, and so the parent volunteered to drive us after school to the hamster store. So we all piled into her car--a really cute one, kind of styled like a Matrix but smaller. There were 4 adults and 2 children--Sophia, Christie, the student Lynn, Lynn's mother, Lynn's grandmother, and me. Our bookbags and coats stuffed the tiny trunk. Lynn sat on Christie's lap.

Lynn's mother was very nice and spoke English well and was thrilled that Sophia would be in her daughter's class (for English conversation!) Sophia and Lynn took to each other immediately; however Lynn was a bit afraid of the moth Sophia had..

They drove us to the store--a large shopping complex not too far from our apartments, and led us to the tiny pet store that was more like a kiosk in the huge grocery store. The mother did all the talking; Sophia picked out the hamster; and I paid. We got a white female hamster, a small pink-wired cage with a wheel and water bottle; hamster food; and litter/bedding for the bottom of the cage. When Lynn's mother asked what we call the stuff that goes on the bottom of the cage, both Christie and I drew a blank.

Driving home, I asked for the Russian word for hamster and then the Kazakh word. Lynn's mother and grandmother struggled with remembering the Kazakh word, and Lynn's mother explained to me that she hadn't really learned Kazakh, that a lot of people hadn't learned Kazakh, and Lynn did not know Kazakh either. So Lynn is really learning two new languages--Kazakh and English. That's a lot for a 2nd grader!

Lynn's mother dropped us off at our apartment, and Sophia was excited to finally get inside and be allowed to take the hamster out of the cage. It really is a cute little thing, very inquisitive, and it should make a good addition to our household.

My Day - Halfway through the week - Wednesday, 7 October 2009

My Day
I had a free period before I taught 2nd grade math again. I had the students make namecards--folded pieces of paper with their English names on them--to put on their desks so I could see their names. I had them write the date in their notebooks. We reviewed the numbers to 20 and then we counted by 10s to 100, and we wrote the number words (ten, twenty) and drew pictures. Their math notebooks are made of grid paper, so I had them count 10 squares, draw a rectangle around them, and then count down--so for 10, they had 1 row of 10. For 20, they had 2 rows of 20, etc. Some students figured out this pattern really quickly and raced through--accurately yet neatly. Some students painstakingly counted out each square. What was nice about this activity was that it wasn't the better English-speakers who got the pattern. This was math, and with or without English they were able to discover what to do.

I had to move one student for talking too much, the same one as yesterday. We did not do all the work that I had planned, which is far better than doing too little.

I had another planning period and then 2 lessons of English. I am not too thrilled with this "period" system. It is too much like high school, and too much time is wasted between periods. Yes, it is nice to have that break to gather your thoughts and your materials, prepare your lessons. But so much learning time is wasted!

My English lessons did not take the whole of each period, which surprised me, as usually I do not finish what I have planned in 1st grade. If the schedule were not divided into "lessons" or periods, then I could move on to another lesson. But no, I have to find something to do or let them run wild, which I think is what other teachers do.

I taught the the letters A, B, and C, and their sounds, and sang a song I learned off a DVD that Sophia had once. The children liked the song. Alex managed to hurt Allison, my sweetest and best-behaved student, so I moved. (Alex was already sitting somewhere different; apparently one of the other teachers had moved him.) However, he also was the first to finish and get a sticker. He seemed to like that.

Then, for the 2nd lesson, I started to read "There's a bird on your head!" The children LOVED this book. It is very simple, repetitive, and with simple yet expressive pictures. Perfect for someone like Sophia who is learning to read, perfect for children with limited English skills. However, they could not all see the pictures at once and pretty soon it got wild. So I put down the book. I passed out a handwriting worksheet on the letters A and B. I gave a sticker to Allison and to Colin, the two students who were absolutely perfectly behaved. I explained to the others why only Allison and Colin got stickers.

Andrea, who had done her work during the first English lesson and had seemed quick pleased that she had done what she was supposed to do, absolutely refused to do the handwriting sheet. Since everyone's English is so poor, I could not really explain to them how to form the letters. What is funny though, is how quickly they filled up the page. I've used this sheet in my 2nd grade class in Laurens, and it is torture getting most students to write the letters just three times.

Most of the students are frustrated trying to understand, and I do think that a lot of the discipline problems come from their being frustrated. (Although they act out for the other teachers as well.)

After lunch I had another free period and then math. The children had been in school too long by then and were just not in the mood to pay attention. I did keep their attention for half the period, however. We counted the numbers, using my hand-made signs that the Russian vice principal had not liked. The students loved this. The we stood up and clapped whatever number I called out. ("One!" We clapped on time. "Three!" We clapped three times.) Then we jumped whatever number I called out. I had been worried that the class would then get completely out of control--m class back in SC definitely would have--however it was amazing how quiet they were during these activities--save the calling out numbers and the sounds of hands clapping or feet jumping, there was silence. Good.

At the end of the day I talked to and met more parents. Nick's mother speaks almost no English, I spoke a bit of Russian to her, trying to be friendly. Jack's mother wanted to know how he was doing and what he did, I did my best to tell her--luckily I had written down who had finished their math, and could tell her how much Jack had done. Alex's father asked about his work and behavior. I first told him how Alex had been the first to finish his English and had done so well. Then I told him how Alex had done no math. His father made me explain the math work to him so he could make Alex do it for homework. Definitely an improvement over some parents from last year.

Adjusting to School - Halfway through the week - Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Adjusting to School
Two things annoy me most about this school. I can handle quite a bit, whether I like it or not. But two things might make it impossible for me to stay another year, or for a long time. 1) Sophia's education. 2) The lack of creativity I am able to use. Perhaps this can change. I can sense that the vice principal who is in charge of curriculum has a long-term vision that is more in line with how I want to teach. But still... The classroom environment seems so stifled, teacher-created materials are frowned upon. Sure, I don't want to be in a school where the teachers must create everything. But I like to create somethings! The students are more engaged by things made by me especially for them, than something bought in a store. And student-created things are the best. I was talking to Christie as we walked to school today, and she said they had the same problem last year--the Russian-speaking vice principal did not like anything they put up on the walls. Christie & I have similar views on how to teach. The school is not there yet. I can handle a chaotic, new school that is trying to be international and IB. But a chaotic, new school that pretends that it is international and IB, while being national and stifling--not inquiry-based and internationally-minded as the IB program is--that is something different!

But in the end, we shall see. Christie said she thought Sophia would do fine in her 2nd grade class, and the principal said he had been concerned about Sophia earlier, since her English is so much better. Plus, he had originally thought she should be in 2nd grade, as her birthday is 2002. So tomorrow she starts in Christie's class. We'll see if that helps.

In music class the other day, Sophia said that the music teacher was thrilled to have an English-speaking student, and had Sophia sing songs in English. In drawing class today, Valerie tried to introduce Sophia to the teacher, who speaks no English and did not even acknowledge Sophia's presence. For drawing, he copied, on the board, pictures of animals out of a book, for the students to copy into their notebooks. Not very creative. Not very international-minded..

Our Apartment - Halfway through the week - Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Our apartment
The toilet room stinks. It smells like a much-used and rarely-cleaned public bathroom. Ew. Luckily the shower is located in another room, along with the sink & mirror I use daily. I'll clean the toilet when I finally buy cleaning gloves--I bought cleaning supplies, but no gloves. My extremely dry skin cracks and bleeds in cold, dry weather, and right now I don't feel like putting my hands anywhere near cleaning solution. I haven't bought lotion yet either, which would really relieve my skin. Hey, I haven't gotten around to buying laundry detergent yet! There was something in my cupboard when I arrived that I thought was detergent, so I didn't buy any. Upon closer look, I'm not sure what it is--it's crystallized, whatever it is. My ancient Russian-English dictionary does not translate it so well. It translates the words for "quality" and "price" but not any words that tell me what it is. One word transliterates into mayonnaise. Now, I know that's not mayonnaise!

My wardrobe has three huge, heavy sliding door, one with a full-length mirror on it. It looks really nice, however the door with the mirror became unhinged yesterday, and it took all my strength to put it back on. However, I must not have done a good job because it came off again, and rather than dealing with the hassle of putting it back on, or worrying about it falling and the mirror shattering, I laid the door on its side by my wall. Just moving that thing without dropping it was a lot of work. I told my principal today, who will tell my landlady.

I learned that the heat in apartment buildings is centralized--it all comes on at the same time and you can't control it. So our apartment is warm during the day when the sun warms it, and at night it gets very cold. Sophia is freezing. She also is sneezing and coughing a lot, and I doubt being cold while at home helps. The landlady had mentioned something about the windows having drafts and needing to be fixed; I also mentioned this to the principal. He seems really nice and concerned, and I trust him to do his best on all the things I come to him with. (Whether that meas the landlady will have the things fixed soon, is something else.)

Valerie, the American teacher, still hasn't received the mattress for her bed. She and her fiance are sleeping on a pull-out sofa, which is not big enough to fit them both and highly uncomfortable. Neither her fiance (who is from Uzbekistan and speaks Russian) nor the principal was able to get ahold of the guy who was supposed to deliver the mattress. The principal suspected that they guy had taken the school's money and ran, as the school had already paid him. Valerie told me today that her fiance had managed to get in contact with the delivery guy, who had apologized and said that he had had a family emergency and had spent their money! He really did take the money and run!

The Details of My Day - Day 2, Tuesday, 6 October 2009

The Details of My Day
I had 2 hours of science first. With no science book or curriculum and little time to plan, I had decided to spend the first hour making snakes (drawing spirals on green paper and cutting them out), which Valerie had done the week before. The students loved this; however I had not planned on them not having scissors (since I had just bought scissors for Sophia, as Valerie had told me that she needed them for class, so I simply assumed the students all had some). Most of the students were patient and good at sharing.

One sweet little girl, Andrea (need I say it? not her real name) drew a very good snake, but was unhappy. I drew one for her. Still unhappy. I gave her an extra sheet of paper. She threw it on the floor. When the assistant came in, she learned from Andrea that she was unhappy because she did not draw a snake, so the assistant helped her make one. I explained to her that I had attempted to help her, I was not simply ignoring her.

Alex was a big problem this time. He spent more time screaming and making paper airplanes than even pretending to work. At one point he ran out of the classroom. I tried to chase him down, then realized that this would make it worse. When I resumed teaching, he poked his head out from behind the classroom's open door.

Towards the end of the period, I gave out stickers to students who had finished their snakes and had cleaned up their trash. Alex pretty much threw a tantrum. It was time to go to the canteen and get breakfast, but he refused to budge. All he would do was scream "STICKER!" The assistant begged me to give him a sticker, so he would go eat. I could not believe her lack of understanding about discipine and refused. Although I did feel a bit sorry for her. But, really, if he didn't get breakfast because he chose to throw a fit about the sticker, then maybe he would learn a lesson.

After breakfast and later in the day the assistant tried to help him finish his snake. He never did. He never got a sticker.

He reminds me exactly of a certain student I had last year, even his face looks the same (despite the difference in nationality).

Another student, Ryan, cut himself with scissors. I was alone with the students and had no clue what to do. Luckily, the teacher's room is across from my room, so I chanced leaving the room--with Alex in it--to go to the teacher's lounge. My teachers were not there, but other Kazakh teachers were there, and they took him to the nurse. She put something on it, like a goo or something. He kept playing with it and it bled some more, so I finally gave him a band-aid from my purse. Band-aids are very American, and when he saw it, he shouted with joy, "Sticker!"

For the second hour of science I read a book called "Nests." I wrote on the board, "Animals have homes." I made the students copy the sentence into their Russian notebooks. Then they drew pictures of the animals in the story. Other than Alex, who continued to throw a tantrum, and Andrea, who continued to pout. I moved Matthew away from Andrea. He drew pictures of men and other things, not the animals, and he and Andrew were bothering each other.

Alex at one point ran from the classroom and open the door just enough to continually spit into the classroom. When students pointed this out to me, I said as clearly I as could, "He wants me to look at him. So I do not look at him. If he is good, I will look at him." I think they got the point, and smiled and ignored him too.

During this hour I managed to give stickers to two boys, David and Ryan, who had not previously earned stickers. However, I made a point of taking away their stickers when they got out of their seats to punch someone. And I returned the stickers when they returned to their tasks.

After the lesson, the Saudi Arabian boy's nanny asked the assistant what was up with Alex. The answer? "He wanted a sticker." Both the nanny and I knew that that was NOT the answer.

After a "free" period (planning and organizing, yet not in the classroom because the students are in there, with another teacher) I went to teach math to 2B. The assistant and Kazakh teacher spoke little English, yet were very friendly and seemed to have a firmer grip on discipline. The 2nd graders were much better behaved than the 1st graders, although they too got noisy. I had to move one boy to another seat, at which point he promptly got to task and behaved.

We did the numbers to 20, and the students moved more swiftly than my 1st graders had. I luckily had quickly made copies of a worksheet, as work for early finishers. I had to write down in the teacher's book what the homework was, so I put down to finish the worksheet. They had asked me for the homework at the beginning of the period--I didn't even know if homework is given at this school! So of course I did not know. The students stay at the school until 5:00, in after school activities or just bored in the classroom with the assistant. It's a long day, I was thinking perhaps they don't need homework after such a long day.

When I heard the Kazakh music in the hall, I assumed that this meant that the lesson was over, but the kids stayed in their desks. We had finished our lesson--was I supposed to teach more? I could work on higher numbers or review the lower numbers. Luckily the assistant came in shortly and she confirmed that the lesson was over. Just that these students don't run like madmen into the hall when the music sounds.

I then had another free period, and then went to lunch with Valeria. Yes, lunch is provided every day, I believe it is free, and we do not eat with the students (the assistants do that). Yes, most of the Kazakhs eat every bite. I cannot do that, but I do appreciate a free, healthy meal. That can be my dinner, and I don't have to worry about cooking for me.

After lunch I had more free time, which was mostly spent with the assistant principal. We have to do a long-range plan of some sort for our subjects (English, Math, and Science). It does not look too hard. I voiced my concerns about Sophia in the 1st grade. I asked how old the children are in 2nd grade. After teaching them, I could see that they were not ahead of Sophia in English or math, but more advanced than the 1st grade, and perhaps that would be a better fit for Sophia. She is almost 7 now already. The vice principal admitted over and over that he really was not in a position to know. He does not know about the younger grades, although he has worn himself thin helping to teach the upper grades this past month. I said that I would talk to Christie, see what she thinks, as she taught 1st grade last year and teachers 2nd this year, and would know best about what they learn in the classes. He said I should also talk to the principal, of course. He did ask, though, if Sophia was reading, implying that the 2nd graders are reading. I answered that she was reading better than the 2nd graders were!

After school Sophia proudly showed me the Russian book her Russian teacher had given her. She had asked Sophia to read a page. I stared dumbfounded at the page filled with Russian words, in Russian letters. Really? I'm teaching my kids "Hello" and the Russian teacher is trying to get Sophia to read?

After my meeting with the assistant principal, I had one more class--math--to teach. We did a worksheet just like the one the 2nd graders did, however this took the whole class period. There is no clock in the room, and my cell phone is off a bit on the time, and so I had no idea the period was nearly over when the Kazakh music sounded that class was over.

Alex was well-behaved and did his work (I think that someone had a talk with him) and was very pleased when I gave him a smiley face. Andrea and a few others had a hard time.

Then I had more planning time, which quickly went by. That afternoon I used the computer when the room was empty, and Andrea snuck up on me and tickled me. Since she had spent most of the day not working and ignoring me, I was pleased to have her interact with me. She stayed in the room quite a while, sneaking up on me and tickling me and giggling.

I was in the room when parents came in, and so I got to talk to a few. Alex's father was completely unlike the parents of the boy that he reminds me of. He was very friendly and responsive when I explained that Alex had trouble doing his work. (I did not go into detail about the spitting, yelling, etc.)

Another parent asked about her son, who had been absent yesterday I explained that in one day, I could not tell much, but I did tell her what we had done and said I was definitely willing to talk with her ever day about what we did (as she asked.)

After school Sophia was very talkative I let her play on the playground a bit. I asked her if it was hard being in a classroom where the other students don't speak English. But they do speak English, she protested, a little. And she explained how she was had helped the Chinese girl learn English. And the Chinese girl had shared her chocolate with Sophia. And she giggled a lot as she talked about how she saw so many boys in their underwear (apparently, the girls and boys do not change separately for PE. Today was her PE day. She wore jeans and a t-shirt. Most the kids were in sweats or something similar.) She had a teacher take her to the bathroom to change, because in South Carolina, boys and girls don't see each other naked.

Impressions & Concerns -- 2nd Day, Tuesday, 6 October 2009

Impressions & Concerns
Really, the school here is not worse than my previous experience. I get frustrated at times, but I have to remind myself that it's only my 2nd day. My biggest concern is Sophia. Her class is currently learning the letter G and the sound it makes. She is not only bored to tears but is not learning on par with 1st graders in America. First grade is such an important year!

We talked with the other assistant principal today. Basically, it appears that there is a place where our school would like to be, and the place that it is at, and those two places are very far apart. The school would like to be an IB (International Baccalaureate) school. It would like to be an international school. It would like to be an English language school, teaching using the British National Curriculum and the inquiry-based learning processes of the IB Primary Years Program. It is NOT there. It cannot be there--it does not have the native English speaking teachers it needs. It does not have students who speak English fluently. It does not have staff who speak English.

BUT I am frustrated on two levels: One is, of course, Sophia, and her progress, as I had been told that this was an English language school. Two is, I was hired as a Key Stage 1 teacher (basically, first grade). I was not hired as an ESOL teacher. I came prepared to teach English following the British curriculum, using the best of what I learned from my previous school, and using an inquiry-based learning approach. The students have less than 8 hours a week of English, and do not get any English outside of the time I spend with them (which also includes 5 hours in math and 5 hours in science). I do not have a carpet, I cannot do any of the literacy things that research in the States has proven to enhance literacy. I cannot surround the children with language. I am supposed to use this boring, basic ESOL textbook. Today I made and hung up signs showing the numbers 1 - 20, spelling them, and showing how many in stars. The students LOVED these signs and read them over and over. The Russian vice principal was very displeased with how they looked. The secretary, who I think the vice principal pulled in to translate her dislike to me, was confused as to why I would put them up. There does not seem to be a sense of literacy here, of surrounding children with language--immersing them in language. Despite us being a language-immersion program, supposedly. Even in America, where children are native English speakers, we are supposed to immerse them in language. There is also not a child-centered focus here, despite the school wanting to become IB, which is a child-centered philosophy. Things must look nice.

I did learn, later, that they are expecting Turkish guests. So maybe she just wanted the room to look extra nice for the guests. Maybe--most likely--language is a barrier, as I could not explain my theories on literacy, I could only explain the purpose of the signs (read the numbers).

In the end, guess what? It is like I am in an American public school. There are people in charge who have a vision of where they want to go, and I believe in that vision. And there are people in charge who have a rigid sense of what is right and what is wrong, and I must do my best to look like I'm following them, or at least not piss them off too much. We learned that the Kazakh government requires every teacher to keep a detailed record book of EVERY SINGLE lesson her children learn; and all teachers--the activity teachers, language teachers, etc--must fill out for every lesson too. They must mark who is absent for each lesson, and assess at least 3 children per lesson (starting in January, at least in 1st grade) to mark in the book. They must write in the SAME pen for the entire book, and if they make a mistake, they MUST get a blank book and write it all over again. The Kazakh teacher in my room was on her 3rd copy today.

Wow.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Adjusting to Astana - Monday, 5 October 2009

Adjusting to Astana
After school the principal drove Valerie, Sophia and I to a school supply store to buy us teacher supplies (and for me to buy Sophia school supplies). We had a nice drive past the Bayterek monument, which is the tall "white latticed tower crowned by a large golden orb." (Thank you, Lonely Planet, for helping me describe it!) This is, perhaps, to Astana what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, although not as tall as the Eiffel Tower--although quite a tall structure, and great for views of the city. You can see Bayterek form our apartment, although it is far away.

The buildings in the new downtown (south of the river, where we went) are amazing. We parked not far from the Bayterek and two tall gold buildings. Valerie, who recently worked in the UAE, commented that someone had told her that Astana is a lot like Dubai. Her reaction, however, was that Astana is better than Dubai--same amazing architecture, slightly more trees (still very few!) Still a work in progress, and everywhere you go you see cranes, and buildings are being built.

Our walk to school takes us out of our tall apartment building, next to one that is being built, and about half a mile down a dirt road. On our left are large two-story houses, many still being built, on our right are some houses, some shacks, and mostly flat dirt. We pass by scruffy looking dogs and large crows, all to the delight of Sophia, who attempts to mimic them.

At the school supply store, I was disappointed with the prices. I bought Sophia a bookbag that was 30% off--for $25!!! It was a cheap plastic Barbie one, similar to what you might buy at Wal-Mart. I didn't buy her an $8 pencil case, she can do without. I learned that they do not understand me when I ask for paper with holes it in; I must buy a hole-puncher with my binders. When I started to ask for lined paper, Valerie told me to not even bother, we can right fine on un-lined paper.

So much for Astana being cheap. Valerie recently bought pants, they were $40 each, she was not happy with the prices. In America, if you know where to shop and you look for the deals, you can find pants for cheaper than that. We were told that one of the benefits of moving to Astana on a Western salary was that it is cheap!

After the store, we walked home from school and Valerie showed me the store where I could get a SIM card for my phone. Then Sophia and I went to the grocery store. At this point we were absolutely exhausted. The bookbags and pencil bags there were cheaper (although they only had Winnie the Pooh and Twilight bookbags left, neither of which Sophia would want), but the stuffed animals weren't cheap and Sophia accepted my no.

She passed out watching Cartoon Network in Russian not long after we returned home. She had woken up around 1 am that morning and hadn't fully fallen asleep, so she was exhausted. Maybe finally she'll be over jet lag!

First Day of Class - Monday, 5 October 2009

First Day of Class

Did I say I relish a challenge? Well, there is a difference between giving someone a challenge and setting someone up for failure. I don't get this system of education. Is it British? Is it international? Is it Kazakh? Is it old-fashioned? Or is it just simply wrong?

Sophia and I walked with Christy to school; it was a pleasant, crisp morning. Shortly after we arrived the children ran out of the rooms to go into the main hallway for the National Anthem. I watched Sophia pretend to sing along.

Then we returned to the rooms, where I learned that I would not teach until 12:35 today. They showed me the English book, practice book, and teacher's edition. I had no other supplies, nothing else telling me what to do or how to do it.

The Russian vice principal came in, spoke Russian to the other teachers, and then I was informed that the schedule had been changed--I would teach English first! I had no idea what to do, and the children were as loud as possible. They did respond very well to "Good morning, class!" but I could not spend all day doing that. I went around and tried to learn names. It was too hard, and I think some of the children were frustrated that I could not pronounce their names. And the rest of the class became very disruptive.

I was saved by the vice principal returning to say that I would not be teaching English first after all, that instead I would have planning time. The children would have Kazakh language lessons, and the foreign children were pulled out for Russian language lessons.

I went into the teacher's lounge with the supplies I had to study them and try to figure it out. The textbook is very poor. The children do a lot of drawing and coloring, the teacher tells a lot of stories. The book is very thin and it does not look like it should take a long time to go through, at least not in an English immersion class where the children are supposed to be learning on par with British and American kids in grade 1.

The American teacher told me what she was doing--introducing 3 letters of the alphabet a day and pictures with their sounds, and I used the computer to make "flash cards" with the pictures for the sounds. The printer in my room wasn't working, so I used the one in the neighboring room.

My class had PE today; the boys changed in the room while the girls changed somewhere else. There was a lot of running around and screaming by boys in just underwear. Two boys did not go to PE. I got to talk to the woman who was staying with one boy. He is from Saudi Arabia, and knows no Russian and very little English, and thus is uncomfortable in this school. She is his nanny and will stay with him until he lets her leave (which will be never, now that he is used to having her here.) She is from the Philippines, and she has a husband, an 11-year old daughter, and 2 stepchildren in the Philippines, whom she has not seen in the 5 months that she has been working as a nanny. She hopes to become an accountant one day, and plans on finishing school after she's been a nanny for a few years.

After PE it was my turn to teach. One of the Kazakh teachers showed me a trick she uses to get their attention--"1, 2, 3, 4!" For 1 she holds up one hand, for 2 she holds up the other, for 3 she lays one arm flat on the desk, for 4 she lays the other arm on top of the first. Ready to listen.

It works to a degree. I noticed quickly that I had quite a few students who were eager to learn, and several who did not care one tiny bit. My lesson was somewhat interesting, and I was as enthusiastic and expressive as I could be, telling the story of Toby the Toad who wants to go to school but he is so slow. (The teacher's guide had come with masks to help tell the story.) However, the class got extremely loud many times, and I simply stopped. "1, 2, 3, 4!" I said and then I went around the room, carefully and dramatically explaining that I would not teach until I heard nothing. Many children played with items on their desks, I took away these items. (After a few warnings, wherein I made it clear that I would take items if they were being played with.) One student, Alex (obviously not his real name!) became extremely angry and I am pretty sure he was saying mean things about me in Russian. I don't understand Russian that well, but I understand tone of voice, and he definitely was angry at me! I made a point of telling him he could keep his pen if he was quiet. He was quiet for about 3 seconds and then let out a loud scream. I took his pen. He yelled at me again. Who knows? I would not be surprised if he was cursing.

Finally it was lunchtime. Music plays in the hallway at the end of a lesson, and the children know this means to jump out of their seat and run noisily to the hall. There is no transition. There is no work to do when you get to a classroom before lessons have begun.

At lunchtime we met with the principal who told us our new schedules for the week. Christy would have 32 hours of lessons again (the same as she had last week. However, I learned, she is being paid overtime for this, something that would be unheard of in South Carolina.) I will teach math this week, and starting tomorrow, I will teach 2nd grade math. When I looked surprised at this, the principal asked, "You can teach 2nd grade math?" to which I of course answered yes. Yes, I can teach 2nd grade math, but you give me less than one day to prepare, and I don't even know who their teacher is or what the have already learned, or what they are currently doing. Later, I found out that they haven't had math yet, and introducing them to the English numbers 1 - 20 will be enough.

After lunch, I was going to introduce the letters A, B, and C, but instead I decided to read a story first. This was a great idea. The second great idea was to pass out paper (they do not have an English notebook) and have them draw as I read. I read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" by Eric Carle, and yes, this book can take a full hour to get through. The children were QUIET and for the most part WELL-BEHAVED. I had them draw each animal as we got to them. I drew the animals on the board as well. After each animal, I repeated multiple times what the animal was, what its color was (in the book), and what sound it makes. And I counted, over and over, how many animals we had drawn so far. Then, I would read what the next animal was before showing its picture, to see if anyone knew what that animal was. A few students knew "dog" and "cat" and happily said "arf-arf" or "meow" when I asked what noise the animal makes (before showing a picture.) One student, Matthew (again, obviously not his real name), who liked to be out of his seat, hit people, and talk to me in Russian, drew a tiger on the board. I covered his tiger and asked him to help me draw the animals. He was much better behaved while occupied.

In fact, they all are much better behaved while occupied. They had so much fun drawing the animals, and later that afternoon I hung the pictures. When they returned to the classroom (after who knows what activity) they were thrilled to see their drawings.

Then, I had math--which I had not prepared for. There is no math book either. So we did the numbers 1 to 10. Again, this took almost an hour, and again, the children were better behaved because they were occupied. Again, I repeated myself over and over and over. For each number, we wrote the numeral, spelled the number, and colored in that number of squares (their math notebooks are grid paper.)
Matthew was not well behaved during this time, and did not do his work. Towards the end of the period, I started drawing smiley faces on the papers of students who had finished. Suddenly, this boy knew what to do, and he worked furiously to get a smiley face too. When he finished, and I gave him a smiley face, he gave me an extremely tight and happy hug.

So... The children need to be OCCUPIED, but there also needs to be some system of management. I do not have them all of the day, I do not have my own space in the classroom. I do not have them for lunch or recess, but perhaps I can take away a bit of recess anyways (if I can figure out when recess is.)

So, to be in a classroom that you do not own, where there is no discipline, perhaps is worse than being in a classroom which is yours, where you can from Day 1 set the tone and set the routines (we're talking about similarly behaved students here). Perhaps... we'll see.

Being in a school where you're expected to be able to waltz into a room and teach a lesson without even knowing that you will be teaching, without a book, without a curriculum, that's... um... interesting.

Sophia apparently had a great day and talked excitedly about Russian class and music class and the science activity they did (predicting what would sink or float). During the walk home she clung to her teacher. So at least she is having a good time, even if she is not learning anything (other than Russian.) Really, the students so far this school year have learned close to nothing, and there is no order in the school. And the parents are paying for this.

Hopefully, now that the American teachers are here, there can be some sort of order. The schedules that keep changing will stop changing, we will all know our schedules and come to own our classes some more. The children will be more immersed in English and learn it more quickly. We will find a way to stop the kids who love to hit from hitting.