An advantage to teaching a foreign language while living in a foreign country is that I can experience first-hand what my students must feel like. Are they wide-eyed and bewildered by the language that surrounds them? Well, I certainly have had my fair share of times when people were speaking to me in Russian or Kazakh and I didn't understand.
What's hard is when students reach a certain level (called "Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills") where they can interact in a social setting, have basic conversations, yet they still don't quite understand.
It's harder still when they're beyond that, they can interact in a classroom setting, they can follow directions, they can read and write responses to what they've read, and yet... Their English isn't fully there. But it's hard to realize that, and it's hard to have experiences to help you understand.
Years ago I studied French. I went to Paris and took classes in French, I dated a French guy who didn't speak English, I got a Bachelor's degree in French. I was never perfectly fluent, but I was close. Then I spent over ten years not using it. I can still read nearly fluently in French, but I have to work hard to keep up the rest (which I don't really do, being in Kazakhstan...)
I recently learned that the Catholic Church here has Mass in French sometimes, and I made friends with a French woman who text-messages me when she learns when the Mass will be. So I have dragged Sophia several times to Mass in French. (Poor child!)
Catholic Mass is a great place to practice a new language, because most of the Mass is a repetition week after week--the same prayers, just in different languages. And of the parts that change weekly, most are set in stone, on a rotating 3-year schedule, and I have a missal--a master book with all the different parts for every Sunday of every year, in English. So I can follow along in any language. And I have downloaded and printed the Mass in French, and have a copy of the Mass in Russian.
The homily is the hardest part. It's usually about 10 minutes long, and this part is unique to each Mass and to each priest. The priests write their own homilies, often connecting the readings to their congregations. You cannot download these from the internet or buy these in a book.
I remember that when I lived in Paris, it took most of the year for me to be able to understand the homilies (despite the fact that I had been studying French for quite some time at this point!)
This evening, as I was listening to the homily, it made me think of my students... If I really concentrate, I can understand 90%, meaning I can get the gist as well as some details. But if my attention strays for just a moment, it takes tremendous effort to get back on track and figure out what the priest is saying. In the end, I understand, but I'm mentally exhausted, and I didn't get everything.
About half of my students are probably in English where I am in French. They can do it, they can listen and pay attention, but they don't get everything, and it takes a lot of effort for them to get what they do. And they're only 8 years old!
Sometimes I need an experience like this to help me reflect and realize just what school must be like for my students. I think of how nice it would be if the priest would speak more slowly and use visuals. (I do use visuals, but how often do I forget myself and speak too fast?) And I am so proud of my students for how well they do, despite their obstacles!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Case of the Flickering Lights
On my first night in my current apartment (I moved in at the end of June), I noticed that the hallway lights never fully go off. When you turn them off, they flicker.
Being a light sleeper who prefers absolute darkness, this annoyed me; however, I do wear an eye mask to sleep, so I mostly ignored it.
My hunch was that the lights were like this on purpose, so it's never dark in the hallways, so you can find your way to the bathroom at night.
Recently, I was talking to a co-worker's husband, who has lots of experience in all things technical and mechanical. Their apartment had the same flickering lights issue. He bought some gadget to measure electrical output, and saw that the light switch was putting out quite a bit of electricity, even when off. Not only is this a waste of electricity (and more money on your bill), but it means that the light is NEVER off, so if you go to change it, you can get quite a shock!
He said the problem had to do with the light switch, it wasn't turning off properly, and he was able to fix the ones in his home. He's currently working on fixing my car (long story!) and after that, he has on his agenda to fix the light switches of everyone who has this problem (I'm not the only one).
How interesting! And how frustrating! But hopefully soon the problem will be fixed!
Halloween in Astana
Halloween isn't exactly a holiday that is celebrated here, although in the Mega mall, there was a sign advertising Halloween from 6 to 8 pm on the 31st.
Our school has a Fall Festival every year in October, and for most of the students, this is Halloween. They get very excited in the weeks leading up to it, they arrive in costume (sometimes elaborately so), and they play games and get candy. This year and last, the middle and high school put on an appropriately spooky haunted house. (That is, it was quite spooky and well-done, but not really scary, which is appropriate considering the small children who went through it.)
The American Embassy had some Halloween event, but as far as I know, people outside the embassy weren't invited. Highvill, an apartment complex catering to foreigners, also hosted a Halloween event.
This year another embassy hosted a Halloween party that I was invited to. I invited two friends, found a babysitter for Sophia, and then focused on figuring out costumes. I've never actually been to a Halloween party before!
My friend A. came over a few hours early to do my make-up. Over the summer, I'd found a dress at a vintage store that looked very much like a prairie girl dress, and I'd worn this to the Fall Festival. To be more spooky, A. made me look like a zombie (zombie prairie girl!). She painted a spider's web on her face, dressed in black, and called herself a black widow. Y. wore a fancy Bollywood-style outfit that I had bought for Sophia. (Yes, Sophia's the same size as some grown-ups.)
We hailed a cab from the street, and wondered what the driver must have thought of us! (Especially me!)
The party was what you would expect from a Halloween party--a large, spooky house with cobwebs, skeletons, a coffin, and even a severed talking head on the table! Everyone was dressed up, and you could tell that lots of people had to scramble for ideas, since there really isn't a Halloween costume shop in Astana. Costumes do go on sale around New Year's, since people dress up then, but they aren't very spooky. There was lots of elaborate scary make-up, giving A. ideas for next year.
Overall, it was great fun, and I enjoyed showing my friends what Halloween is like. We're already thinking about next year!
Our school has a Fall Festival every year in October, and for most of the students, this is Halloween. They get very excited in the weeks leading up to it, they arrive in costume (sometimes elaborately so), and they play games and get candy. This year and last, the middle and high school put on an appropriately spooky haunted house. (That is, it was quite spooky and well-done, but not really scary, which is appropriate considering the small children who went through it.)
The American Embassy had some Halloween event, but as far as I know, people outside the embassy weren't invited. Highvill, an apartment complex catering to foreigners, also hosted a Halloween event.
This year another embassy hosted a Halloween party that I was invited to. I invited two friends, found a babysitter for Sophia, and then focused on figuring out costumes. I've never actually been to a Halloween party before!
My friend A. came over a few hours early to do my make-up. Over the summer, I'd found a dress at a vintage store that looked very much like a prairie girl dress, and I'd worn this to the Fall Festival. To be more spooky, A. made me look like a zombie (zombie prairie girl!). She painted a spider's web on her face, dressed in black, and called herself a black widow. Y. wore a fancy Bollywood-style outfit that I had bought for Sophia. (Yes, Sophia's the same size as some grown-ups.)
We hailed a cab from the street, and wondered what the driver must have thought of us! (Especially me!)
The party was what you would expect from a Halloween party--a large, spooky house with cobwebs, skeletons, a coffin, and even a severed talking head on the table! Everyone was dressed up, and you could tell that lots of people had to scramble for ideas, since there really isn't a Halloween costume shop in Astana. Costumes do go on sale around New Year's, since people dress up then, but they aren't very spooky. There was lots of elaborate scary make-up, giving A. ideas for next year.
Overall, it was great fun, and I enjoyed showing my friends what Halloween is like. We're already thinking about next year!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Meeting Conductors and Musicians
Concert/ballet/opera season has started, and this year, my friend R. and I have vowed to attend more events! The National Music Academy opened with a 2-part Mozart concert. We attended Friday night without the children and Sunday evening with the children. R. even brought her 3-year old niece, who was surprising well-behaved for a 3-year old. (She did sleep through some of it.)
When we arrived on Sunday, we discovered that the power was out. It was still light outside (5:00) and so they brought the musicians downstairs, to the entrance hall. People went to other rooms to find chairs, even a couch was brought out. We took a seat in the very front. Some older Kazakh ladies were quite disturbed that I was sitting on cold the floor, but I was pleased to be up front.
The conductor and solo violinist are famous in Kazakhstan, and both seemed to have a good attitude about the power outage. They played, and as they played, the sun set, the room darkened, and workers brought out tea candles. After the first part, though, they had people bringing cell phones and the musicians were straining to see their sheets. "We'll play until we can no longer sing!" the solo violinist said.
Then, as if on cue, the power came on, and everyone cheered and retreated to the organ hall. There they finished their concert, and we cheered loudly for an encore. I'm learning how much I love the sound of Mozart, played live.
Last year, when we took the girls to the ballet Coppelia, after the ballet, we went on-stage and then backstage, and we ended up meeting and talking to the head ballerina, and the girls had their photo taken with her. So I suggested we try the same!
We didn't go back stage, but we did see the conductor, who was happy to have his photo taken with the girls. After him, there was just one musician left, a violinist, who asked us to take his photo with some other people. Then he obliged to have his photo taken with the girls. They were so happy. (Except for the 3-year old, who for some reason was frightened.)
A week later, we took the girls to the opera "Othello." Beforehand, I'd printed out a summary of the plot (it's convoluted!) and did my best to explain it to the girls. We also watched some of it on youtube, which helped prepare them for the opera.
We went with a large group of people (including one of the Mozart violinists), and everyone, except the kids and the violinist, enjoyed it. The kids got bored and restless (they enjoyed some, but two hours is a long time for children!) and the violinist said that the orchestra and singing weren't really good.
After the show, I said, let's go on-stage again! Why not? We took the girls' photo on stage and then met the orchestra's conductor, who spoke English and was happy to have his photo taken.
I like being able to take the children on-stage or backstage, to meet the people involved in the production that they just saw. I think it helps make the experience more real for them. They always have such big smiles on their faces when they get to meet someone important.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
In Search of Peanut Butter - Updated!
A How-To Guide for Finding Peanut Butter in Astana, Kazakshtan
**Update on 30 August, 2013: Metro seems to no longer have it. However, Fine Foods does.
**Update on 25 May, 2013: There have been numerous peanut butter sightings at Metro. The brand is HyTop and it tastes slightly better than the Shop Rite brand you usually find in Astana. It still has partially hydrogenated oils (most American peanut butters have this, which is incredibly unhealthy.)
Metro is located outside of Astana, on the road that leads to Karaganda. At some point this road is called Abylai Khana. Bus 32 and a few others come out to Metro. Depending on your current location, it may take 1 to 3 hours to get to Metro via bus. You also need a Metro card in order to get in; however, this is easy to get.
So I recommend starting at Metro first, it is your best bet at this time. And you can use a credit card there. If you can't find it at Metro, or really don't want to go there, following is a list of where to search for peanut butter.
…
Before you start, make sure you have enough cash to buy as much peanut butter as you'll need for the next 6 months, since there will be a good chance that you won't see it again for that long. Peanut butter runs about 1000 Tenge ($7) a jar. I think that most stores that sell peanut butter do accept credit cards, but I'm not sure of this.
1) Go to the bottom floor of Khan Shatyr, into the Green supermarket. I've never found peanut butter in Green, but I have found American items, so there's always a chance!
2) Wander every aisle and look everywhere. It could be on the lowest aisle, it could be hidden behind other food, it could be near the yogurt. The best chances are amongst the jelly, honey, and Nutella, usually near the cereal and the coffee.
3) Cross the street and go to the Alma supermarket in the Asia Park shopping center. Peanut butter has previously been found in other Alma stores.
4) Repeat step 2 in Alma.
5) Find the Bekker supermarket. If you exit Asia Park and are facing the mosque, turn left and cross the street. You want to go under the bridge. There are restaurants here and a small supermarket will be on your right, called Bekker. It is here where I recently found peanut butter, at over 1000 Tenge a jar.
**Update: This store no longer exists. **
6) Repeat step 2 in Bekker.
7) Head towards the Mega shopping mall. You can walk there or take bus 35. Or you can walk back to Khan Shatyr and take bus 43 or 46. Go to the Ramstore supermarket in Mega.
8) Repeat step 2 in Ramstore.
9) Walk towards the circus, cross Kabanbai Batyr Street, to the building with the big Turkish Airlines sign on top of it. There is another Alma supermarket here.
10) Repeat step 2 in this Alma.
11) Go to the bus stop on Kabanbai Batyr Street. Take bus 30 or 42, getting off at the corner of Abai and Valikhonov Streets. The Zhanur shopping center is here; inside is Smoll. Several years ago I could find peanut butter here on a regular basis.
12) Repeat step 2 in Smoll.
13) Walk down Valikhonov Street towards the Artyom shopping center/bazaar. You'll pass by another Green supermarket on your right. I've never found peanut butter here, but it's worth a try.
14) Repeat step 2 in Green.
15) Continue towards Artyom. Across the street from Artyom is a shopping center with another Ramstore.
16) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
17) Walk or take a bus down Seifulin Street to Respublika Street. Get off at the corners of Seifulin and Respublika and turn right. Another Alma supermarket will be on your left.
18) Repeat step 2 in this Alma.
19) Get on a bus to go down Respublika, towards the Rainbow Bridge. Get off before the Rainbow bridge and walk towards the tall yellow building. There's another Ramstore here.
20) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
21) Find a bus stop on Respublika or Tashenov Streets so you can take bus 2 towards Manas Street. Get off on Manas Street across from the Ajar shopping center (which will be on your left). There's another Ramstore here.
22) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
23) Walk towards the Eurasia shopping center (a few blocks). To the right of Eurasia is a supermarket called 5-Minute or Bakhus. I have never seen peanut butter here, but a friend claims she did once, several years ago.
24) Repeat step 2 in this store.
At this point, you've exhausted all the best options. You can now go slowly through the city, repeating step 1 in every grocery store you come across. If you find any peanut butter, please let me know!
Of course, if you do find peanut butter, buy all that you can afford.
If you have a car, this entire process will be slightly less time-consuming. Beware of rush hour traffic.
And when you do find peanut butter, most likely it will be the generic Shop-Rite version (from Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA) and high in hydrogenated oil. If you're extremely lucky, you'll find the Calve peanut butter from the Netherlands (and please do share with me if you're that lucky!)
Good hunting!
**Update on 30 August, 2013: Metro seems to no longer have it. However, Fine Foods does.
**Update on 25 May, 2013: There have been numerous peanut butter sightings at Metro. The brand is HyTop and it tastes slightly better than the Shop Rite brand you usually find in Astana. It still has partially hydrogenated oils (most American peanut butters have this, which is incredibly unhealthy.)
Metro is located outside of Astana, on the road that leads to Karaganda. At some point this road is called Abylai Khana. Bus 32 and a few others come out to Metro. Depending on your current location, it may take 1 to 3 hours to get to Metro via bus. You also need a Metro card in order to get in; however, this is easy to get.
So I recommend starting at Metro first, it is your best bet at this time. And you can use a credit card there. If you can't find it at Metro, or really don't want to go there, following is a list of where to search for peanut butter.
…
Before you start, make sure you have enough cash to buy as much peanut butter as you'll need for the next 6 months, since there will be a good chance that you won't see it again for that long. Peanut butter runs about 1000 Tenge ($7) a jar. I think that most stores that sell peanut butter do accept credit cards, but I'm not sure of this.
1) Go to the bottom floor of Khan Shatyr, into the Green supermarket. I've never found peanut butter in Green, but I have found American items, so there's always a chance!
2) Wander every aisle and look everywhere. It could be on the lowest aisle, it could be hidden behind other food, it could be near the yogurt. The best chances are amongst the jelly, honey, and Nutella, usually near the cereal and the coffee.
3) Cross the street and go to the Alma supermarket in the Asia Park shopping center. Peanut butter has previously been found in other Alma stores.
4) Repeat step 2 in Alma.
5) Find the Bekker supermarket. If you exit Asia Park and are facing the mosque, turn left and cross the street. You want to go under the bridge. There are restaurants here and a small supermarket will be on your right, called Bekker. It is here where I recently found peanut butter, at over 1000 Tenge a jar.
**Update: This store no longer exists. **
6) Repeat step 2 in Bekker.
7) Head towards the Mega shopping mall. You can walk there or take bus 35. Or you can walk back to Khan Shatyr and take bus 43 or 46. Go to the Ramstore supermarket in Mega.
8) Repeat step 2 in Ramstore.
9) Walk towards the circus, cross Kabanbai Batyr Street, to the building with the big Turkish Airlines sign on top of it. There is another Alma supermarket here.
10) Repeat step 2 in this Alma.
11) Go to the bus stop on Kabanbai Batyr Street. Take bus 30 or 42, getting off at the corner of Abai and Valikhonov Streets. The Zhanur shopping center is here; inside is Smoll. Several years ago I could find peanut butter here on a regular basis.
12) Repeat step 2 in Smoll.
13) Walk down Valikhonov Street towards the Artyom shopping center/bazaar. You'll pass by another Green supermarket on your right. I've never found peanut butter here, but it's worth a try.
14) Repeat step 2 in Green.
15) Continue towards Artyom. Across the street from Artyom is a shopping center with another Ramstore.
16) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
17) Walk or take a bus down Seifulin Street to Respublika Street. Get off at the corners of Seifulin and Respublika and turn right. Another Alma supermarket will be on your left.
18) Repeat step 2 in this Alma.
19) Get on a bus to go down Respublika, towards the Rainbow Bridge. Get off before the Rainbow bridge and walk towards the tall yellow building. There's another Ramstore here.
20) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
21) Find a bus stop on Respublika or Tashenov Streets so you can take bus 2 towards Manas Street. Get off on Manas Street across from the Ajar shopping center (which will be on your left). There's another Ramstore here.
22) Repeat step 2 in this Ramstore.
23) Walk towards the Eurasia shopping center (a few blocks). To the right of Eurasia is a supermarket called 5-Minute or Bakhus. I have never seen peanut butter here, but a friend claims she did once, several years ago.
24) Repeat step 2 in this store.
At this point, you've exhausted all the best options. You can now go slowly through the city, repeating step 1 in every grocery store you come across. If you find any peanut butter, please let me know!
Of course, if you do find peanut butter, buy all that you can afford.
If you have a car, this entire process will be slightly less time-consuming. Beware of rush hour traffic.
And when you do find peanut butter, most likely it will be the generic Shop-Rite version (from Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA) and high in hydrogenated oil. If you're extremely lucky, you'll find the Calve peanut butter from the Netherlands (and please do share with me if you're that lucky!)
Good hunting!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Bike Shops / Sports Stores
This is somewhat of an update on my previous post about a bike shop in Astana.
About a week ago, we went to the bike shop that's on the other side of the river. At one point I'll finally remember its name, it's something like Limpopo. I was with my Kazakh friend, and we asked a worker to help fix my handlebars, which were loose (and easy to fix with the correct tools). I had my friend ask if they could do check-ups or maintenance on bikes, he said no, they only do that on bikes that they sold. (Bikes there are expensive.) He said he thought that the other bike shop--far away from us--did that.
She also asked if they sold mirrors for bikes. He said no, and he said it was because they are a sports store, and sell things for athletes, and athletes are concerned about weight, and mirrors add weight.
Then we went inside the store and saw that they sold, amongst other things, huge luggage bags, bells, and baby seats and baby trailers. I couldn't help thinking, Does Lance Armstrong bring along his baby during his races?
A sports store called Sportsmaster opened last spring in the Mega shopping mall. Sportsmaster is also located across the street from the Artyom shopping center/bazaar. The one in Mega is where I bought Sophia's bike, and they have a limited selection of biking gear. My friend bought her helmet light here. There is one worker who speaks English rather well, he always seems to hear me and come running, happy to help.
Just an update on sports stores. It's definitely nice to have one near our home!
A Long Bike Ride
First, a comment on cultural differences.
If a car or bike is heading towards me, I don't think about right-of-way, I just get out of the way. In my hometown, cars don't even think to look for pedestrians, even if they are crossing on a green light in a crosswalk. (I know that there are parts of the US where this is different!)
Here, if pedestrians here think they have the right of way, they'll ignore you, car or bike. We'll be biking down a narrow sidewalk and Sophia will ring her bell, and sometimes they'll look at us, but rarely they'll move. Even if there's obviously nowhere for us to go. I get so frustrated, but I have to tell myself, it's a cultural difference. They just assume they have right-of-way, and we better work around them. Which is a nice thought. And I will work around them, when I can, but I'd appreciate it if they would move out of my way when I can't!
So, biking here can be frustrating, but it can be so wonderful! The weather right now is mild, the leaves are just starting to change, and yesterday we went on a 6-hour bike ride--my friend, her daughter, my daughter, and me. We first biked to Mega (the mall by our house) and waited while my friend went inside to the sports store and had someone help her with her headlight. She'd just bought a headlight for her bike and it wasn't working.
Then, we biked through the big central park and over the pedestrian bridge, maneuvering through pedestrians. Luckily, as the weather cools, there are less and less of them.
We stopped and watched people on some of the rides--there are amusement park rides in the park, fascinating and scaring Sophia at the same time.
We stopped again at the park on the other side of the river (the one with play equipment designed like gym equipment--so much fun!) We let the girls play while we checked out a newly opened Irish pub. A glass of Guiness (not sure how much) is well over $10. Overall, the prices were very expensive, so although the place looked very nice and was playing Irish music, I'm not sure if we'll come. Maybe once, just for drinks.
We biked again to the Zhanur shopping center, on Valikhonov Street, in hopes that the supermarket there would have peanut butter, as they used to 3 years ago. They didn't, but we did find caramel, which was nice.
We biked down Abai Street, checking out two restaurants as we went--an Italian restaurant, which we weren't in the mood for, and another Irish pub. This one had a more moderately-priced menu, however the place was empty except for a bartender and two guys who just stared at me when I entered and said nothing, but kept on staring, as I asked the bartender for a menu.
They were smoking, too, so we decided this wasn't the place for us, so we biked to the American Bar and Grill (formerly TGI Friday's) and ate there. We had the flambe, so the girls could be excited when it was set on fire.
By the time we were done, it was getting dark. My friend had her helmet headlight one, which blinded us when she looked at us. We biked home, over the bridge called the Rainbow Bridge due to its multicolored lights.
The weather here (currently) and the flat land is perfect for biking! Astana just needs some bike lanes and a biking culture...
If a car or bike is heading towards me, I don't think about right-of-way, I just get out of the way. In my hometown, cars don't even think to look for pedestrians, even if they are crossing on a green light in a crosswalk. (I know that there are parts of the US where this is different!)
Here, if pedestrians here think they have the right of way, they'll ignore you, car or bike. We'll be biking down a narrow sidewalk and Sophia will ring her bell, and sometimes they'll look at us, but rarely they'll move. Even if there's obviously nowhere for us to go. I get so frustrated, but I have to tell myself, it's a cultural difference. They just assume they have right-of-way, and we better work around them. Which is a nice thought. And I will work around them, when I can, but I'd appreciate it if they would move out of my way when I can't!
So, biking here can be frustrating, but it can be so wonderful! The weather right now is mild, the leaves are just starting to change, and yesterday we went on a 6-hour bike ride--my friend, her daughter, my daughter, and me. We first biked to Mega (the mall by our house) and waited while my friend went inside to the sports store and had someone help her with her headlight. She'd just bought a headlight for her bike and it wasn't working.
Then, we biked through the big central park and over the pedestrian bridge, maneuvering through pedestrians. Luckily, as the weather cools, there are less and less of them.
We stopped and watched people on some of the rides--there are amusement park rides in the park, fascinating and scaring Sophia at the same time.
We stopped again at the park on the other side of the river (the one with play equipment designed like gym equipment--so much fun!) We let the girls play while we checked out a newly opened Irish pub. A glass of Guiness (not sure how much) is well over $10. Overall, the prices were very expensive, so although the place looked very nice and was playing Irish music, I'm not sure if we'll come. Maybe once, just for drinks.
We biked again to the Zhanur shopping center, on Valikhonov Street, in hopes that the supermarket there would have peanut butter, as they used to 3 years ago. They didn't, but we did find caramel, which was nice.
We biked down Abai Street, checking out two restaurants as we went--an Italian restaurant, which we weren't in the mood for, and another Irish pub. This one had a more moderately-priced menu, however the place was empty except for a bartender and two guys who just stared at me when I entered and said nothing, but kept on staring, as I asked the bartender for a menu.
They were smoking, too, so we decided this wasn't the place for us, so we biked to the American Bar and Grill (formerly TGI Friday's) and ate there. We had the flambe, so the girls could be excited when it was set on fire.
By the time we were done, it was getting dark. My friend had her helmet headlight one, which blinded us when she looked at us. We biked home, over the bridge called the Rainbow Bridge due to its multicolored lights.
The weather here (currently) and the flat land is perfect for biking! Astana just needs some bike lanes and a biking culture...
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