This is the first FRWD letter I wrote way back in Nov. 2008. Man was I green back then.
I arrived last Saturday with minimal hassle. The Istanbul airport and St. Petersburg airport both had English translations for everything. Thank God for British colonialism! There were no goats walking around in the Istanbul airport in case any of you were wondering, but there were plenty of Starbucks. Thank God for globalization!
I guess they knew I was coming cause there were fireworks over the city the night I arrived in St. Pete on my $100+ cab ride. I live on the 4th floor of a pretty nice apartment complex and I have a good view of the main street outside. I have my own room (very well heated I might add) and I live with 2 Russian girls. (Yes!) I didn't know that human beings existed in Siberia but I guess I was wrong cause one of my roommates is a bona fide Siberian. She's a brand manager for a Russian tech company and is applying to go for her masters in London. The other one is an English teacher as well and likes to cook deliciously aromatic food at 3 in the morning, which is fine with me cause I've accepted the fact that I'll have jet-lag for the entire duration of my stay here. They both speak near perfect English, with a few verbal faux pas here and there which I never fail to chuckle at. We have a good relationship here and me and the Siberian have been patronizing the nearest Japanese and Indian restaurants like a couple of jet-setters. There is a McD's, Pizza Hut, Subway, KFC, and Baskin Robbins near my place. As you'd expect those establishments are always PACKED. And for the question you've all been wondering...there is no TV.
As for my English classes, they are random. One of them is 2 ladies who work at an insurance company. I teach them at the main office. Another is 6 employees of a vitamin manufacturing company, I go to the company to teach them business english. Another is 6 employees of a large bank. I go to the the bank also to teach them and I have a bank pass which I pass over lazer monitors to be let in. Needless to say that place is getting robbed within the month. These places are located around the city so I get to see the different parts of the city when going there. I use the metro to go everywhere. And the last one, this is my favorite....I teach at a RUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Yes, I am teaching English to Russian 10 year olds. They've already had a couple years of English so they know an okay amount, but of course, my class is made up of most of the MISBEHAVED children. I have Russian kids running around all over the place. For break (which I guess this is a standard practice from what I've seen) the students in all the classes basically have a recess in the hallway and run around and wrestle and cause all kinds of havoc right in the school hallway and all the teachers just stand around and talk with each other, which is just fine with me. To shut them up I just pop in the latest Aladdin or Wallace and Gromit installment. There are about 6 other native English speakers working at this school - 2 Americans and the rest English or Scottish.
Snow is beginning to fall, the rivers and canals are starting to freeze over and its getting COLD, but I think the most alarming development of my stay in Russia is that I've taken up a healthy tea habit.
Alright that's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving (whenever that is). Until next week
I arrived last Saturday with minimal hassle. The Istanbul airport and St. Petersburg airport both had English translations for everything. Thank God for British colonialism! There were no goats walking around in the Istanbul airport in case any of you were wondering, but there were plenty of Starbucks. Thank God for globalization!
I guess they knew I was coming cause there were fireworks over the city the night I arrived in St. Pete on my $100+ cab ride. I live on the 4th floor of a pretty nice apartment complex and I have a good view of the main street outside. I have my own room (very well heated I might add) and I live with 2 Russian girls. (Yes!) I didn't know that human beings existed in Siberia but I guess I was wrong cause one of my roommates is a bona fide Siberian. She's a brand manager for a Russian tech company and is applying to go for her masters in London. The other one is an English teacher as well and likes to cook deliciously aromatic food at 3 in the morning, which is fine with me cause I've accepted the fact that I'll have jet-lag for the entire duration of my stay here. They both speak near perfect English, with a few verbal faux pas here and there which I never fail to chuckle at. We have a good relationship here and me and the Siberian have been patronizing the nearest Japanese and Indian restaurants like a couple of jet-setters. There is a McD's, Pizza Hut, Subway, KFC, and Baskin Robbins near my place. As you'd expect those establishments are always PACKED. And for the question you've all been wondering...there is no TV.
As for my English classes, they are random. One of them is 2 ladies who work at an insurance company. I teach them at the main office. Another is 6 employees of a vitamin manufacturing company, I go to the company to teach them business english. Another is 6 employees of a large bank. I go to the the bank also to teach them and I have a bank pass which I pass over lazer monitors to be let in. Needless to say that place is getting robbed within the month. These places are located around the city so I get to see the different parts of the city when going there. I use the metro to go everywhere. And the last one, this is my favorite....I teach at a RUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Yes, I am teaching English to Russian 10 year olds. They've already had a couple years of English so they know an okay amount, but of course, my class is made up of most of the MISBEHAVED children. I have Russian kids running around all over the place. For break (which I guess this is a standard practice from what I've seen) the students in all the classes basically have a recess in the hallway and run around and wrestle and cause all kinds of havoc right in the school hallway and all the teachers just stand around and talk with each other, which is just fine with me. To shut them up I just pop in the latest Aladdin or Wallace and Gromit installment. There are about 6 other native English speakers working at this school - 2 Americans and the rest English or Scottish.
Snow is beginning to fall, the rivers and canals are starting to freeze over and its getting COLD, but I think the most alarming development of my stay in Russia is that I've taken up a healthy tea habit.
Alright that's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving (whenever that is). Until next week
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