It's been a great first week back from vacation! Man, I missed those kids. I didn't realize it until I walked into Basic Reading and they all yelled "Mr. Flesh!!!!" And showered me with hugs. Love those kids.
I started off the week with a bit of chaos. We got home from our trip on Sunday. And of course I didn't go to bed til the wee hours of the night. Normally I go to class at 10:00 on Monday mornings. At 7:30 I hear a little knock on my door. Syd was sick so I needed to go teach for her at her school. No problem. I will just hurry to the metro. I knew I needed to meet Ty there at 8:15 or she would go on with out me. I knew what metro stop to get off at but I didn't know when to get off of the shuttle so I wanted to make sure to go with Ty. So this is how it went:
7:30- Get out of bed
8:05- Run out the door
8:09- Not at metro yet!!
8:17- Arrive to the metro station. Frantically looking for Ty. Not there. Crap! I thought well I am only a few minutes late. If I hurry maybe I can catch up.
8:19- Put in token and get to escalators. It normally takes three minutes standing to get down the escalators. But there is an isle for people who want to run down them instead of stand. Til this point I had never dared to run down the escalators. But I was in dire need. Challenge. Accepted. So in my puffy coat, scarf hat, and heavy rain boots, I start bookin it down the escalator. Because of my scarf that is also a hat (pretty nifty) I have no peripherals. Which means I can barely see the steps. I was pretty much guessing whether I was going to land on the correct step or not. And my boots....oh my big, heavy rain boots. They restrict my ankles so that I can't bend them. Well, if you didn't know, running down stairs involves bending your ankles. Not today!! The best I could do was just kind of flop down the stairs. Arms and legs flailing, scarf hat coming undone, bad flip flopping everywhere, missing some of the steps. I am really good at blending in.
8:20- Arrive to train. Still no Ty. No matter. She must have been on the train that just left. I will catch up with her at the transfer station. By the time I got onto the metro, I was sweating all over the place, my legs were like jelly from the Olympic trot I just performed, and I felt like I was going to pass out any moment. Two coats, one being my puffy marshmallow coat that should never been seen by the public because of it's hideousness, were a bad idea. But never fear! I had a quest ahead of me!
8:45- Transfer station. No Ty. I hauled some serious butt to the next metro car to see if she was there. Still no Ty. No worries. She will probably be on the shuttle when I get there.
9:00- Arrive to the metro station. Find shuttle. When I go with Syd and Ty to their school it seems like we just get on the first shuttle we see. So what do I do, I see a shuttle, I board. No Ty. Crap. Now I must figure out when to get off. I felt confident I could find it. That was BEFORE the shuttle started driving in the opposite direction than it normally does. That's when I lost all hope. I figured if I couldn't find it, Ty could handle the kids on her own.
9:25- I decided to just get off at this point because everyone else was getting off. And fate would have it that there before my eyes...was the school!!!! A miracle from the Gods. And I was on time! Praise the heavens!!
I could now relax. I walked into the school saw all the cute kids that I have missed so much. No Ty....
9:30- Start class. No Ty
9:45- No Ty. I proceeding teaching the rest of the day alone. It wasn't a big deal because these kids are angels. My lesson was one of those where everything seems to go wrong. "Look kids, it's a parrot! Here, it's on your shoulder. Say Hi parr----what no, don't punch the parrot. Matvea! Don't throw the parrot. He doesn't like thaaat! Okay no parrot." At one point Misha and Dasha came up behind me and started smelling me and laughing. "Why are you laughing?! I swear I showered!!" *Cue hysteric sobbing* (just kidding, we all know I don't cry because I have no soul). The day went on like this, things going wrong left and right. "Look kids, I have a hook for a hand! Who wants to try it on? Here you go Misha. Look Misha doesn't have a ha----Misha, no, stop. Don't claw at Dasha's neck." Man I love my job :) I taught til 11 and then went on a walk with the kids, ate alone, then went home! Turns out Ty couldn't make it either (obviously). A interesting morning indeed.
That night I got to see one of my favorite students, Ivan!!! He greeted me with a tickle fight. Tickling...the worst kind of torture. Why does it make you laugh?? There's nothing humorous about it! It's pure evil, I say, puuuuure eviiiiiiillll! But I really missed Ivan. What a jolly child.
Then There's Tyoma......oh how I love Tyoma. He is the cutest little kid. He gets away with murder. Literally. One day I walked in and he totally slit this kids throat. There's blood everywhere. But all I could say was "Ohhh Tyoma, you murdered someone? You are so stinkin cute!!" (Ya I hope you know that didn't really happen). When I saw Tyoma for the first time since before the break, he looked up at the door, saw me, gasped and started reaching for me. I picked him up in a huge embrace. Sooo cute. We were together again! That kid is a little stinker. He knows I am wrapped around his finger and that he can get away with anything. He was looking in my purse (instead of listening to Teacher Jessica. I am really good at distracting the kids) when I realize he is grabbing handfuls of rubles and shoving them into his pockets. That little thief! And he would not give them back to me. No matter what I did. He was under the impression that my money was his to keep. I was being robbed by a 3 year old. I had to bribe him with my Kopeks (basically worthless. They are worth less than a penny I think) "See Tyoma, look. Look at all of theeeeseee. These are cool. Look how many there are. I will give you these if you give me my money back." This kid knows what he is doing. I got most of it back, other than my Kopeks. It's a great life when you have to negotiate money with a toddler.
I was so excited to see my cute little Sieva. Instead of showering me with hugs like I had hoped, he showered me with spit while making farting noises in my face. Thank you Sieva, thhhank you.
Friday we went to this adorable model of miniature St. Petersburg. Everything was so small! Finn had a hay day. I was posing him in front of all the buildings and taking his picture. Let me tell you, Finn gets a lot of attention. He is very good at making friends. Everyone who passed stopped in their tracks and just watched me at work, looking confused and amused. One guy came up and asked me, in Russian, who it was. "Ummm....Finn...from Adventure Time." He just walked away. I don't think I gave him the answer he wanted haha. One lady took a picture of Finn while I was taking his picture. He had a little paparazzi moment. Then she had her son pose next to him and took their picture together. Geez Finn. Why are you so charming? Why can't I make friends as easy as you? However, he did get scolded in Russian for touching the statue. Except the security guard had it wrong. He was looking at ME like I was the one touching it. Had I known better I would have thought the reprimand was directed at me. But Finn was clearly the one touching the statue. Finn the Rebel. Tisk tisk. T'was a fun day indeed.
I started off the week with a bit of chaos. We got home from our trip on Sunday. And of course I didn't go to bed til the wee hours of the night. Normally I go to class at 10:00 on Monday mornings. At 7:30 I hear a little knock on my door. Syd was sick so I needed to go teach for her at her school. No problem. I will just hurry to the metro. I knew I needed to meet Ty there at 8:15 or she would go on with out me. I knew what metro stop to get off at but I didn't know when to get off of the shuttle so I wanted to make sure to go with Ty. So this is how it went:
7:30- Get out of bed
8:05- Run out the door
8:09- Not at metro yet!!
8:17- Arrive to the metro station. Frantically looking for Ty. Not there. Crap! I thought well I am only a few minutes late. If I hurry maybe I can catch up.
8:19- Put in token and get to escalators. It normally takes three minutes standing to get down the escalators. But there is an isle for people who want to run down them instead of stand. Til this point I had never dared to run down the escalators. But I was in dire need. Challenge. Accepted. So in my puffy coat, scarf hat, and heavy rain boots, I start bookin it down the escalator. Because of my scarf that is also a hat (pretty nifty) I have no peripherals. Which means I can barely see the steps. I was pretty much guessing whether I was going to land on the correct step or not. And my boots....oh my big, heavy rain boots. They restrict my ankles so that I can't bend them. Well, if you didn't know, running down stairs involves bending your ankles. Not today!! The best I could do was just kind of flop down the stairs. Arms and legs flailing, scarf hat coming undone, bad flip flopping everywhere, missing some of the steps. I am really good at blending in.
8:20- Arrive to train. Still no Ty. No matter. She must have been on the train that just left. I will catch up with her at the transfer station. By the time I got onto the metro, I was sweating all over the place, my legs were like jelly from the Olympic trot I just performed, and I felt like I was going to pass out any moment. Two coats, one being my puffy marshmallow coat that should never been seen by the public because of it's hideousness, were a bad idea. But never fear! I had a quest ahead of me!
8:45- Transfer station. No Ty. I hauled some serious butt to the next metro car to see if she was there. Still no Ty. No worries. She will probably be on the shuttle when I get there.
9:00- Arrive to the metro station. Find shuttle. When I go with Syd and Ty to their school it seems like we just get on the first shuttle we see. So what do I do, I see a shuttle, I board. No Ty. Crap. Now I must figure out when to get off. I felt confident I could find it. That was BEFORE the shuttle started driving in the opposite direction than it normally does. That's when I lost all hope. I figured if I couldn't find it, Ty could handle the kids on her own.
9:25- I decided to just get off at this point because everyone else was getting off. And fate would have it that there before my eyes...was the school!!!! A miracle from the Gods. And I was on time! Praise the heavens!!
I could now relax. I walked into the school saw all the cute kids that I have missed so much. No Ty....
9:30- Start class. No Ty
9:45- No Ty. I proceeding teaching the rest of the day alone. It wasn't a big deal because these kids are angels. My lesson was one of those where everything seems to go wrong. "Look kids, it's a parrot! Here, it's on your shoulder. Say Hi parr----what no, don't punch the parrot. Matvea! Don't throw the parrot. He doesn't like thaaat! Okay no parrot." At one point Misha and Dasha came up behind me and started smelling me and laughing. "Why are you laughing?! I swear I showered!!" *Cue hysteric sobbing* (just kidding, we all know I don't cry because I have no soul). The day went on like this, things going wrong left and right. "Look kids, I have a hook for a hand! Who wants to try it on? Here you go Misha. Look Misha doesn't have a ha----Misha, no, stop. Don't claw at Dasha's neck." Man I love my job :) I taught til 11 and then went on a walk with the kids, ate alone, then went home! Turns out Ty couldn't make it either (obviously). A interesting morning indeed.
That night I got to see one of my favorite students, Ivan!!! He greeted me with a tickle fight. Tickling...the worst kind of torture. Why does it make you laugh?? There's nothing humorous about it! It's pure evil, I say, puuuuure eviiiiiiillll! But I really missed Ivan. What a jolly child.
Then There's Tyoma......oh how I love Tyoma. He is the cutest little kid. He gets away with murder. Literally. One day I walked in and he totally slit this kids throat. There's blood everywhere. But all I could say was "Ohhh Tyoma, you murdered someone? You are so stinkin cute!!" (Ya I hope you know that didn't really happen). When I saw Tyoma for the first time since before the break, he looked up at the door, saw me, gasped and started reaching for me. I picked him up in a huge embrace. Sooo cute. We were together again! That kid is a little stinker. He knows I am wrapped around his finger and that he can get away with anything. He was looking in my purse (instead of listening to Teacher Jessica. I am really good at distracting the kids) when I realize he is grabbing handfuls of rubles and shoving them into his pockets. That little thief! And he would not give them back to me. No matter what I did. He was under the impression that my money was his to keep. I was being robbed by a 3 year old. I had to bribe him with my Kopeks (basically worthless. They are worth less than a penny I think) "See Tyoma, look. Look at all of theeeeseee. These are cool. Look how many there are. I will give you these if you give me my money back." This kid knows what he is doing. I got most of it back, other than my Kopeks. It's a great life when you have to negotiate money with a toddler.I was so excited to see my cute little Sieva. Instead of showering me with hugs like I had hoped, he showered me with spit while making farting noises in my face. Thank you Sieva, thhhank you.
Friday we went to this adorable model of miniature St. Petersburg. Everything was so small! Finn had a hay day. I was posing him in front of all the buildings and taking his picture. Let me tell you, Finn gets a lot of attention. He is very good at making friends. Everyone who passed stopped in their tracks and just watched me at work, looking confused and amused. One guy came up and asked me, in Russian, who it was. "Ummm....Finn...from Adventure Time." He just walked away. I don't think I gave him the answer he wanted haha. One lady took a picture of Finn while I was taking his picture. He had a little paparazzi moment. Then she had her son pose next to him and took their picture together. Geez Finn. Why are you so charming? Why can't I make friends as easy as you? However, he did get scolded in Russian for touching the statue. Except the security guard had it wrong. He was looking at ME like I was the one touching it. Had I known better I would have thought the reprimand was directed at me. But Finn was clearly the one touching the statue. Finn the Rebel. Tisk tisk. T'was a fun day indeed.
On Saturday we walked the streets of St. Petersburg with Sveta (who I also greatly missed), took in the air, the sites, the people, the conversations. A superb way to spend a Saturday. I leave in a beautiful city with wonderful people. It's a good life and I wouldn't have it any different. Peace and Love :)
Sorry bout that...
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