When my host contact dropped me off at my dorm on Friday afternoon, all he told me was just to come in on Monday. This vagueness did not do much to settle my detail-oriented, American mind, but learning to be okay with the unknown is just a part of adjusting to Russian culture. I had no idea whether I would be expected to teach on that first day, so I prepared a few get to know you games as well as spruced up a PowerPoint I had made about my life in America.
My host contact, and older man in his last year of teaching, picked me up from my dorm, and just like he had on our drive from the airport to Elabuga, he barely said a word. I was initially disconcerted by his silence, confused as to how to relate to him. I am still not quite sure how to relate to him, but this morning I was put much more at ease when I met many of the women who teach in the English department. One of the teachers, a small, unassuming woman also in her last year of teaching, helped me to set up a library account, took me to register my passport, and acquainted me with the curriculum.
And as it turns out, I will not be assisting teachers, but actually teaching my own classes! I will be teaching a conversation class twice a week, a current events/newspaper class once a week, and I will also be teaching a creative writing class. It is strange to think that only four months after graduating college, I will now be teaching college classes. It was definitely both exciting and nerve-wracking to see “H. Johnson” on the schedule hanging on the fourth floor of the institute. I will be teaching my first class on Wednesday, but until then, I am trying to get to know the city better.
After getting my schedule worked out, a student from the institute named Anya showed me around Elabuga. I saw “The Devil’s Tower,” which, according to her, it is over 1,000 years old and has lots of folklore surrounding it (which I will need to look up!).
Anya, her friend Dasha, and Dasha’s boyfriend Radion also took me to buy a winter coat and an umbrella. Radion was a considerably good driver by Russian standards- he only swerved around a corner once 🙂
Let’s just say there wasn’t as much choice as I would have liked in coats…so I am definitely going to look very Russian! The coat is a long tan puffer with a contrasting darker tan hood and belt, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything exactly like it in America. The coat also came with a hat that was both bedazzled and had pom-poms, but this, dear reader, is where I draw the line.
All in all, I am doing much better than I was over the weekend. Slowly but surely, I am getting to know the city, beginning to understand the transportation system, and best of all, starting to meet Russians!
Hope Unyielding 