I'm a teacher!

Throughout my experience in Russia so far, there is one thing I have learned over and over again. Expect the unexpected! Every day has been a new adventure, and nothing has happened how I anticipated. From the language barrier, the icy cold, how busy I am, and how out-of-control my students are, it is so different than I could have imagined.

I knew there would be a language barrier, but it's not really something you think about when you're going to be in a foreign country. For some reason, I just thought that I'd be able to communicate with people. But, it doesn't happen. I end up playing a LOT of charades and end up looking like an idiot. I guess I thought people would be able to understand me, because my egotistical self feels like every body in the world should know English. Well, they don't. And sometimes, I feel like if I speak louder and slower, they'll understand me. Trust me, it doesn't work. :) This is a learning experience for sure!

I hate the cold. Hate, hate, HATE it! I found myself questioning why the heck I signed up to move to Russia, of all places in the world. If I had my way, I would live in Utah until November and then move to Florida or California for the winter. I hate wearing coats, but I love wearing jackets and especially cardigans. I myself thought I was crazy for moving to Russia in the middle of the winter, but it just felt like the best decision for me to go. So I came, and I thought that the cold would be... cold, but not a big deal. Holy cow. I was wrong. It is a frozen wonderland here. When I go outside, I wear my fleece-lined nylons, leggings, thermals, and then pants, and within minutes am STILL cold!! I knew I'd be cold, but I never anticipated this. I love being here, but I am so excited for the snow to melt. And to think, my head teacher, Sarah, told me that it's even coldER in St. Petersburg. Oh, the horror...

I only teach from 4:00 - 5:30 Monday - Thursday and 9:30 - 11:30 on Fridays. Before I left, I thought, "Holy crap! I'm going to have so much free time, whatever will I do with all my time?" So I bought lonnnng books (the unabridged Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Great Expectations) so I could have something to do with all my down time. I have not had a moment to really breathe since getting here. Every weekend we're in the city all day long, church is a 7 hour excursion on Sunday, we have a University class we teach Monday morning that takes up most of our day, culture classes, language class, group meetings, and teaching. All this adds up to hardly any time leftover in the day, and the extra time I do have I spend with my roommates, watching silly shows or talking about the good looking Russian boys. :)

As for my students... they are all wonderful individually. But collectively? That's an entirely different story. My children literally punch each other, scream, run around in circles, climb on top of the piano and jump off it, rip up my art projects into shreds, kick me, bully the little ones, and don't pay attention to a word I say. Of course, they don't understand a word I say. But it's hard to get a lesson in when there is not even a little bit of discipline. So yes, this has been a struggle. Definitely much different than I imagined.

Does it sound like I'm complaining? I'm totally not meaning to. I just want you readers to know that things don't always happen how you'd like or how you imagine. But, in the end, it's actually better! Yes, a lot of things have gone wrong, but I am so incredibly happy here. I am having an amazing experience, and I don't think I could be doing anything better with my life right now. It is a challenge, but I can conquer it and I know that I can do amazing things. I have promised myself that I will smile always, no matter what is going on there is always something I can smile about. I am so happy to be here, and I know these next few months will be some of the greatest, most memorable times of my life.

Yup... I'm here!

Guess what ya'll? I'M HERE!!! I didn't ever think this day would actually come, but here it is! Currently I am sitting in my dorm in the World of Knowledge school in Moscow, Russia. Except, we're not exactly in Moscow, we're in a suburb of the city. Literally, we live in an apartment in the woods surrounded by such a cute-looking gated community. But more about that later, let me tell you all about what led me to my arrival at my apartment/dorm.

Flying has never been my thing. I've flown very few times, but every time that I have, I experienced terrible anxiety and was unable to sleep a wink. I must have been really excited, because this flight I was absolutely fine! The flights were long, 1 hr, 3.5 hrs, and the long 9 hr flight, but somehow I made through it without any anxiety at all, and only being able to sleep for maybe 2 hrs total between all the flying. But, I did it! Yay! :)

There are six of us girls in my teaching group, and only Kris did I know beforehand. But I feel like all of us girls were just made to be each other's best friends, and we all get along so well! I don't know what I expected to happen as soon as we got off the plane, but everything was so much different than I could have expected. The Russian language looks and sounds like NOTHING I've ever heard before, and words that seem so simple are so hard to pick up. The only word I really got down is "spasiba" which means "thank you". And even that has taken me two days to get used to.

After going through the LONG customs line, being confused about the language barrier and where to go, we finally found our way to Gulia. Gulia is our native coordinator here, she's worked with ILP for a few years now and directs us and helps us out with whatever it is that we need. Gulia then introduced us to a teacher at our school, Kasusha. Kasusha and our bus driver took us to the bus, which really wasn't like any bus I'm used to. The bus is like a big 70's van with like 10 seats and was this nasty yellow color. Before getting in the bus though, we had to get ready to face the cold Russian air. And boy oh boy... it was FREEZING!!! It was so chilly, unlike anything I really had experienced. It literally took my breath away. It's definitely going to take a lot of getting used to! But we loaded our bus up and got on our way.

The drive to our school was an adventure. We were driving through the outskirts of Moscow on this crazy highway basically in the middle of the forest. It was sunny outside, but snow was everywhere and the trees were long, tall, and super skinny. I felt like I was Little Red Riding Hood or something, going through the woods to meet my grandmother. Our bus driver was very nice, but was a crazy driver. Even worse than any Utah driver I've ever encountered. On our drive to the school, Kasusha got hungry so she had us all stop at a small restaurant on the side of the highway. When I say on the side of the highway, I mean it literally. We parked on the side of the highway where the restaurant was just there, hanging out. I then experienced my first meal in Russia, which was actually from Uzbekistan. Kasusha bought us all lunch, a huge long burrito/wrap thing stuffed full of chicken (maybe), tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber, bean sprouts, some sauce, and a lot of other things I was unfamiliar with. It was really yummy though!

We've been made fun of everywhere we go, because we are so obviously American. I don't get what it is... possibly Mindy's American Eagle sweatshirt? :)

After a long drive, we finally arrived at our school. Whenever I imagined our school before, I imagined something almost primitive, something similar to a prison. It might be that way in other schools in Russia, I'm not sure. But our school, it is NICE. It is so modern and was built less than five years ago. It's a huge school and many kids of different ages come here. It's pretty great though, already it's feeling like home to me. The school is separated into different buildings for the different age groups. We live inside the junior high/high school where we have everything available to us, including our own awesome chef named Lena. There are three of us to a room, and it is very very little, but I don't mind. Our bathroom is also small, and our shower is... interesting. It is basically a box in the corner of the bathroom, with a small drain in the center, and there is no shower curtain. So to shower, you basically need to be hugging the corner of the room so as to not make a lake in the bathroom.

We have awesome security guards at our school, and every time we need to get into another area of the school we need to ask them for the key. Trying to ask them for something is always crazy, they don't speak any English at all and we don't speak any Russian, so we end up playing a lot of charades to figure things out. The men here... are great though :) Seriously, um, who told me that Russian men are unattractive? Because whoever said that, spoke a very great lie. These men are so freakin ATTRACTIVE!!!! Seriously. They are the very definition of manly. Our head teacher, Sarah, asked one of the Russian teachers, Sveta, what time our school locks the doors. Sveta's reply was: "We don't need locks, we have man power." So don't worry, I'm totally safe with the power of these men. Oh yeah. :)

Yesterday we toured a bit of Moscow and got a feel for the Metro and places we'll be going to. I visited Red Square, the Kremlin, and St. Basil's Cathedral. But seriously, I was so jet-lagged and insanely tired, the whole day felt postively surreal to me. I'm glad I live in the city so I can see these sites whenever the heck I want to, because it honestly didn't feel real to me and I don't think I was able to fully appreciate it. I will be visiting again sometime, hopefully soon!

Oh, have I mentioned how cold it is? Cold would be an understatement. I am FREEZING. I bundled myself up very much, many layers upon my body, but I'm still chilled to the bone. It's much worse than I imagined, and I'm already very excited for when it starts to warm up come May!

I found out my teaching schedule! I will be teaching the new kindergarten, so my kids will be anywhere between ages four and six. And I will be teaching Monday-Friday 4-6 PM. I don't start teaching til Wednesday, which gives me a few days to get prepared with my lesson plan and get procedures and discipline all figured out. The kindergarten is only a 13 minute walk from my dorm, so I don't even have to spend any money to get to school, which will be really nice! The bus is 60 rubles, which is about $1.50 in America. It's cheap, but it can add up pretty fast.

Along with teaching the kindergarteners, I found out that I'll be teaching at a new school three or four days a week to try and test out the ILP method with them. Also, I had no idea about this, but I will be going to a University in Moscow once a week to be teaching English to University students my age! Crazy, eh?! I'm pretty excited about it though, I hope to make friends with some of the University students and figure out all the cool stuff in Moscow that only the locals know about.

The food here has been AMAZING. Seriously... it is insanely delicious. My favorite so far has been the yogurt and the pastries we've had for breakfast. I am in love with this food, and I already know that I will miss it. Oh.. and I LOOOOOVE the cheese!! All the dairy products are delightful, but the cheese is probably the best thing I've ever tasted. I love this food!

I have had such a great experience so far! It's only been a couple of days, but it's been quite the adventure already. I am so excited to see what this next semester brings me! I'm so happy to be here and feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to come. Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouragement, love you all! :)

Here in Russia, they rub this dog statue's nose for good luck. Wish me luck! I might need it :)

Less than 24 hours..

In less than 24 hours... just over 12 hours... I will be leaving my home in Utah to move to Moscow! Is this really happening?! I am soooo excited, I feel like a kid right before Christmas! My flight leaves in precisely 16 hours from right now. I can't wait for this journey to start! I plan to keep a daily journal as well as keep this here blog updated weekly. This post is just to let you all share in my excitement!!! WOOOOO!!! :) Your prayers will be much appreciated as I begin this journey. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers sent in my behalf. I feel very grateful for the wonderful people I have in my life, and your support means the world to me. Thank you for sharing in this adventure with me, love you all! :)

This picture is here to illustrate how excited I am, and how much I am FREAKING OUT!!!! :)

Now it FEELS official!

I know it's been official that I'll be leaving for a while now, but not until today did it actually feel like this was going to happen. What's so special about today? Well, I got my flight plans! :) That means that it's finalized, and there's no way I'm turning back now! I leave on January 26th at 5:30 AM. I know, it's early, but that's a lot longer than I was anticipating! More time means more opportunities to learn about Russian culture before I leave and to save money to spend while I'm there. What a great feeling this is! :)

Now, all I need to get ready to leave the country is to buy WARM winter clothes. January is the coldest month of the year, and from what I've heard, it is horrendous. If you or anyone you know is trying to get rid of nice sweaters or scarves or something, please let me know and I will definitely put it to good use. :)

I've heard so many exciting things about what to expect. I can't believe I'm actually going to be living foreign in just over a month! And, not only will I be living foreign, but I'll be serving children. This really is so perfect for me! I can hardly contain my excitement! :) As more updates come, I will let all of you know. Thank you friends and family for your donations and support! I couldn't do this without all of you! And, donations are still welcome :)

Mailing address :)

Friends. I just looked up my address, and I don't know what to think of it.

143422 Russia, Moscovskaya oblast
Krasnogorsky rayon
s.Petrovo-Dalneye
ulitsa Alexandrovskaya, dom 4
Mir Znaniy


Seriously guys? It makes no sense to me. I can't even try to pronounce half of those words. If you want to contact me, this is the way to do it :) Or you can email me while I'm gone, I'd love to hear from anyone! November is halfway over, which means only 2 MONTHS til I'll be living in Russia. I'm getting more and more excited each and every day! :)

It's official! :)

I've turned in all the documents, signed all the paperwork, paid the deposit. I waited for my assignment to come in, and I finally got it today! I'm officially moving....to MOSCOW!!! I am so excited! What a marvelous adventure this will be! :) I will be teaching at the World of Knowledge School. Sounds pretty fantastic, right? I sure thought so!

I almost have all the money I need! I'm about $230 off, so if you would like to donate please do so! I need to pay it all by the 19th of this month. You can donate through the button on the right, or if you'd prefer to send a check I can give you my address. Thank you friends and family for your support! I am so excited to embark on this amazing adventure, it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And it's really happening to me! I can't wait :)

Now, here's a slideshow presentation some former members made of teaching English in Russia!

I really can't wait until January comes! :)

I'm moving!

I've wanted to move to a foreign country for as long as I can remember. I never thought I'd actually have an opportunity to do so, unless if I served a mission in the future. I'm not sure what I will be doing in the future, but I have been given the chance to really do something with my life and make a difference in others lives.

I first heard about ILP through my cousin, Adriane, when I was in high school. At a Christmas party, she told me that she'd be moving to Mexico after graduation and would be teaching English to children. I thought this would be such a cool experience, I was so excited for her and never thought an opportunity like this could happen to me.

ILP remained in my thoughts for the next few years, but it always seemed like nothing would be able to work out for me to go. I didn't want to put a hold on my education, and I figured I'd probably be married by the time I would be done with school anyways. But life is kind of funny, things don't always turn out how you planned. I had originally hoped to be almost done with my education by this point in my life; instead, I still have probably another 3 years before I can get my bachelor's degree. Because of the way things have turned out, I have a free semester. There is nothing more for me to do at Snow, and I can't transfer smoothly to USU until next year. I was super bummed about having nothing to do from January until August, except to work and move back home with my parents.

I felt stressed about what I would do, I was looking for an adventure! I considered moving somewhere different in the US so I could see a different culture, I considered staying at home and working my previous job as a head teacher at a daycare, and I considered moving to Logan early to get a good job and still be in the college environment. The idea of moving foreign to teach English to children was in my mind, but I never thought I could afford something like that.

About a month ago, ILP visited Snow College and had a meeting about their program and what they do. It just felt like the absolute perfect situation for me, and my roommate Kris Walters decided she was going to do it. She was going to move foreign, so I figured why not? I'll do it too! I've always wanted to move outside of the US, and what better way to do it than to serve and work with children? I'm majoring in Elementary Education, so this is the absolute perfect opportunity for me.

I made my decision: I will be moving to Russia in January! It's a little bit scary, but extremely exciting. I'm doing it, I really am! :) I got a letter of acceptance into the program, and am now working to finalize what city I will be living in. Can you believe it? I almost can't, it's incredible!

I am so excited for this amazing experience I'm about to have. I really believe that it will change my life! It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm going to do it. The only thing in my way now is the money...

You see, I still don't have quite enough money to make it. Kris and I are planning on doing fundraising to make it work, but we still might not make it. No, I'm not asking anyone for donations. I am simply saying that if you would like to donate, feel free to do so! I don't expect anyone to, but any money that any friends could send my way would be greatly appreciated. I've included an easier way for you to donate online, there's a PayPal link on the right if you feel so inclined. Any way you could help would be an absolute blessing to me! :) And just so you know, it is a non-profit organization, so any donations are tax-deductible.

I still don't know all the details about where I'll be living, what my schedule will be like, or even when I'll be leaving. As soon as I have the details, I will post about it and keep you updated. I plan on posting as often as I can while in Russia, I'll be taking lots of pictures and hope to post at least weekly. Thank you friends and family for your support, I can't wait to go! :)