School is in Session

In front of the fountain in the awesome park!






























Some of us in front of a garden



































My honey (not him, the sack!)

























Honey
























At the honey market





















My room

Our living room

The kitchen

Russian nesting dolls

This is a cryllic "P." It stands for Puschin (I butchered that spelling probably!) Cafe

Leah, Julia (my favorite Brit), and me at Victory Park (not the park I talk about in the blog)

Leah and Rick under an arch on the median

A Russian Orthodox Church

The gals on the day we met all of the faculty... with our cool new scarves!

Well, September 1st has come and gone. We had our first day of school Tuesday. The first day of school is done quite differently here than in the U.S., though. Instead of starting in on the rules and even possibly assignments, on the first day of class in Russia education is celebrated. Every school, including universities, start on September 1st each year. On this day, parents buy flowers for their students to bring to the teachers, who are anxiously awaiting for the students to arrive.

Then, to be specific,at the kindergarten where I work a small play was put on, and then a giraffe (the school's mascot) came out with a cake for all to eat. The kids then got to play for a while inside and outside, had lunch, and then left.Then, the last few days have been a time of adjustment for my students at the kindergarten, and the next week will sort of be the same.

Now, I'll have to admit that having 3 year olds who only speak Russian is definitely out of my comfort zone. It has been kind of hard for me to go from teaching a 4th grade class of American students, where I knew what was expected of me and was on top of the game (or I'd like to think I was getting there!), to a class of 3 year olds that I can hardly communicate with as well as colleagues that mostly speak Russian. The three students that have been there this week (I will have 7 total) look at me with extremly hesitant eyes sometimes, and my colleagues are sooo sweet, but we never know what eachother is saying. Oy vey! I know it will get better, but I'd appreciate the prayers.

After saying all of this, however, I am still glad that I am here. Because of its challenges, this year is hopefully going to be a time of lots of growth and learning.

Outside of school, the weather has been really nice here. We went to the park Sunday as well as the annual honey market. At the honey market one can try all kinds of honey from rows and rows of stands. I bought a clear, sweet honey that comes from a white flower. The man was really nice that I bought it from! It was especially neat to watch him dip out the honey out of his big bin and to see all the bees kind of flying around the honey market. It was a little gross when you were sharing the honey with them though! :)

Well, much more could be said, but I think I'll conclude since it's getting kind of long. Miss you guys.