Uniqueness of a Culture

The topic I have been wanting to write about is about the Russian babushka, or ба́бушка. The word meaning "grandmother". I believe that they are the support for all of Russia, young and old ( well younger than them.) I just admire their kindness whether it was from one exhibiting kindness towards me or to another on the street. They sweep up sidewalks that aren't theirs and feed stray dogs. They care for any and all. While I have two experiences with a babuska, one who lent me her umbrella and walked me to my destination and another that argued with my husband about whether we lived on on the 7th or 9th floor ( a wonderful story that should be shared by him)- both have been priceless moments that show the character of this country. I have just been meaning to share a little about what makes this country so unique. They care so much for their elderly, it just makes you want to go hug your grandma! ( So get up and call her already!) 

While this whole post was not all dedicated to the sweet grandmas of Russia I just wanted to shed some light on the experiences of the week. This city has so much to explore and so many little quirks. The hubs and I decided that Thursdays would be our "adventure" days since neither of us teach. So that is exactly what we did. We hopped on a bus and walked for about three hours in one direction. We just wanted to take in the beauty of this city and just find something new. 

But since we are a couple of foodies we really only found little food places that we can share. Russia has the most amazing food! Whether its on the street or in a nice restaurant- it is all good. Some may not agree but I believe that a food shows the back story of a countries culture. We have tried alot of Russian food and Jordanian food as well. My favorite has been a "Sharma", a Jordanian meal. While it was off the street it was delicious, even more so with a bottle of coke to "wash out the worms" as the hubs so eloquently puts it. But if it looks good eat it! 

So that is all for now. I try to refrain from long posts that have you stop reading at the 7th paragraph. More later on experiences in the classroom!



Fbody

The World At Large

Rainy day at Akatov-Alexeyevsky Monastery

 We are in Voronezh, Russia. 

The city is lovely and those that we met are even more so. We have been here a week and I feel like we have done so much already-too much to remember that is.
If you notice the map at the beginning of this post you see our city just below Moscow. We took an 8 hour bus ride from there and my group of 7 met their host families and it was "bon voyage" until the next day. I had only slept 4 hours in a 30 hour period so I was relieved to have a day to rest.
That same day the hubs did his best to keep me awake and we went out for lunch with our coordinators. They have been so wonderful so far and have done so much to ensure our semester starts off on the right foot.
So with a week under our belts our group is getting used to the idea of teaching English and are working so hard to prepare lesson plans and enforce the rules so their classes run smoothly.
When English class is an after school activity it is hard for many of the teenage students to really care. This might be the hardest thing about teaching for many of the teachers to get used to. All I can do as their mentor is to encourage them to plan interesting lessons with a lot of speaking-centered activities that catch their interest.  I know that the more they get to know their students they will recognize their needs and also their interests and this will help in planning as well.

Although teaching English has been the highlight of the first week we were already able to see some incredible pieces of culture and history. Above there are some pictures of our outing to a cathedral and a monastery ( this one being a the turqoise colored one).
They were so beautiful and so full of history; so much to take in all at once. A cultural tid-bit, when women go to visit a religious place they are required to wear a scarf over their heads in respect.

Voronezh has so much to offer through it's architecture and it's people. More soon, off to write my lesson plan! I start teaching 4th grade on Tuesday!

Poka!