A post coming soon!

I have a post in the works about Kazan, but the Internet has been so slow lately which isn't conducive to posting pictures. Plus, I am crazy busy. I have so much to do, but I don't have any time to make a to-do list. This is my first week of full-time teaching, and I am absolutely exhausted. So, please pray for me. I want to go to sleep so badly...

Hopefully, I'll post about Kazan soon. Maybe the Internet will stop acting up in a couple of days...

English Cafe, etc.

I want to post about my time at Red Square on Saturday, but I'll save that for another post. I'll tell you about English Cafe on Saturday night first.

It was so much fun! It was Open Mic night, so a lot of the Russians and a few Americans shared some of their stories, songs, poems, talents, etc. Some of them were hysterical, and some were just beautiful. Everyone who performed was genuinely talented! I also got to meet and talk to a first-timer to English Cafe. Her name is Kate (short for Yekaterina; she prefers Kate because she is a fan of the singer Kate Perry), and she is in high school. She's 14. I tried to make her feel welcome because I know how hard it is when everyone else around you is ten years older and you feel out of place because of the age difference. It's an unpleasant feeling. So, we chatted about stuff, and she wanted to know if I would be at Cafe next time. She seemed to indicate that she wouldn't come if I weren't there, and I was really happy that I talked with her because if no one had, she might not have come back. So, I hope to get to know her better.

To the left is Luke. He is a 5th grade teacher next door to me. To the right is Phil, my cooperating teacher, before he dyed his hair black. They were doing a rhyming game for their talent. :)
(Picture courtesy of Christiana)

Here Luke is dressed as Abraham Lincoln while reciting the Gettysburg Address for all everyone. An American experience for the Russians. He also gave a history lesson on the speech. How teacherish of him! :)
(again, pic courtesy of Christiana)

These guys were pretty cool. Their band was called Hook & Snow White. You can watch them play below...
(Pic courtesy of Christiana...)

Hook & Snow White here are singing "Breakfast at Tiffany's." They also sang "Kiss Me" (by Sixpence), and it was so funny because the girl would always sing"Kyeess Me." She didn't have an accent anywhere else in the song except then. In this video, you can hear a little bit of their accent because they pronounce "Tiffany's" as "Teefany's."

Here Anna taught everyone how to salsa dance. I am horrible at dancing, so I passed on this round even though I wanted to dance. I have great ambition, but little talent. Sigh. Anyway, it was really funny to see everyone dancing. They loved it! That was supposed to be the "talent" part...so that everyone could claim they shared something at Open Mic night. "Yes, I danced for my talent!"

And here we are all joining with Hook & Snow White, singing "I'm a Believer." They were so into it. The guitarist (sorry, you can't really see him in the video) is the first C&MA missionary ever to be sent out from Chile. So, that's pretty cool. He's been in Moscow doing missions longer than most people.

After English Cafe ended at 9ish, some of us went to a coffeehouse.

On the far-left back is Liza (pronounced Leeza), then me, then Andrea. (Can't really see Elvira on my side.) On the other side at the back is Marina, then Pasha, then Dima, and there is Nick/Nickolai on the front. Sasha was taking the picture.

Pasha and Dima GRILLED me and Andrea about everything...

What are the top universities in America?
How do colleges work in America?
If you get a degree, do people come and make you work at a specific place? (Don't know where that one came from!)
What do you think of your new president?
You think Obama is better than Bush, no?
What do you think about the Georgia/Russia conflict?
What do you think about the Ukraine/Russia conflict?
Do they teach world history in America?
The school you teach at here -- is it religious?
How is this constitutional? Is it not wrong to teach religion?
Do you go to church to pray?

So, I was pretty much mentally exhausted after that. I just wanted to ask, "Why do you even want to know my opinion? I am not anybody special. My opinions are meaningless and based on bits and pieces of things I hear or read." So, I wouldn't say going to the coffeehouse with them was a "fun" thing for me because I felt very pressured to say the right thing, and I don't know what I'm supposed to say and not say when discussing politics and religion with Russians. So, that was kind of stressful for me.

Last time at the skating rink, you know how that one guy asked me what I thought of their president? I said, "I have no opinion." (His question turned out to be some kind of joke going around Moscow.) Well, anyway, Carrie suggested that when I am asked what I think of Russia's president, I should reply "I have no opinion of Yelstin." Haha. I love that. How's that for an ignorant American?

Andrea wanted me to adapt it for when Pasha asked me what I thought of America's new president. She begged me to say, "I have no opinion of Reagan." Haha...I didn't.

I have been asked more than once about my political views, and I've decided that this will be my response. People expect too much from the president. No matter what political party a president is, he or she will not be able to fulfill all of the promises made. He cannot make everyone happy. He cannot bring about change like we expect. He cannot fix all of our nation's problems. And I don't think it's a political party issue; it's just the fact that he's human.

And Pasha and Dima seemed satisfied with that response.

Tomorrow night I go to Kazan with some co-workers. We're taking an overnight train. I am really excited! Kazan is interesting in that most of the people there are Muslim. It's also the capital city of the Republic of Tartarstan. I'll come back to Moscow on Monday morning. School resumes on Tuesday.

As always, I'll keep you all posted!

Much Love,
Meredith

I have so much to tell you, but I am almost speechless about one experience. I went to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and there are no adequate words to describe it -- just movements of the mouth that don't even begin to explain the holiness...the beauty...the sacredness. There was a choir singing inside, and their voices filled the whole church. I imagine that what I heard is what heaven will sound like.

I understand why you have to wear a head covering in that church. There is no other posture you could take when surrounded by such glory, sacredness, and beauty...

6th Grade Sledding Party!

Hello! Today we had the 6th grade sledding/movie party. We went to a hill by the Profsayuznaya metro, and we sledded down a fairly steep hill for about an hour and a half. I have discovered that my camera battery freezes and dies within ten minutes when I am outside. I think I am going to start using my hand warmers to keep my camera warm so that the battery won't die down so quickly.

Anyway, the sledding/movie party was so much fun! My first trip down the hill sent me tumbling, and I made a few painful turns until I landed hard on the ground. I am going to have some bruises. After that I got the hang of it and managed to play without getting TOO hurt. We were all absolutely FREEZING though after awhile. Every time I took a picture, my kids would say, "I....can't...smile." It was so cold (around 14 F); it really did physically hurt to smile, but we did it anyway. :)

Here Phil took a shot of me about to go down the hill. This is not my normal smile. This is my "I'm in pain, but I'll give it a try" smile.

I'm really glad I went. I was able to bond with my 6th graders, and a few of my students took this opportunity to chase and throw snowballs at me. My girls are less violent and wanted me to just ride down the hill with them.

Walking to the hill...The boys couldn't wait. They were making snowballs and throwing them as we walked.

In the following video, you can see us trudging through some snow. David is showing me a piece of ice he found underneath the heavy snow. David loves talking about all sorts of interesting things. He loves to learn. I think he will be a good teacher someday because kids always ask him questions, and he always explains things so thoroughly. I have more about David written below...

Here below is Robert going down the hill. In his words, "AWEEEESOME!" (I love this video.)

And here below Mark and Hanna take a fall:

Some pictures are below...

The hill. It's much steeper than it looks here...

Emma & me.

Ho-Jin. I wish you could see his mullet here!

Sledding down...

Some of the boys.

Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet girls. L to R: Haesl, Glory, & Hanna

A close-up of Glory & Haesl (pronounced just like Hazel). They are precious. Glory isn't actually in my any of my classes except for study hall. She's an ESL student, but really she's an ETL (English as a Third Language) student in my opinion. She's fluent in Korean (naturally) and Russian. She reads Russian books in study hall all the time. Her English isn't as good as the other students, but eventually it will be. I am so jealous of her -- being fluent in three languages. Haesl also speaks Korean and English, but I think she's pretty good in Russian too. I have Haesl's older sister, Dasl (Dah-suhl), in 7th grade.

Adorable boys. L to R: Kang Wook, David, & Ho-Jin. They are so smart. David's English isn't as good as it could be, but it makes him all the more hilarious. He'll act stuff out to me and say, "How you say...how you say...ummmm....?" all the time. He often raises his hand, and then when I call on him, he thinks for about 30 seconds about how he should say what he wants to say. You can tell he's translating in his mind first. Ho-Jin is really good at vocabulary, and Kang Wook knows the location of every country in the world. I feel like they are so much smarter than I will ever be!

This is David, the one in the video. (I have three Davids in the 6th grade.) David is small, cute, and innocent in class, but outside of class he is a fighting warrior! He tackles you, jumps on you, chases you, and mercilessly throws snowballs at you. David tried to teach me how to make the perfect snowball, but he informed me that I don't have the right kind of mittens for them. I will have to remedy this soon if I am ever to get revenge. Haha.

David's parents are C&MA missionaries, so David's mom was really excited when she found out I was from TFC. She is a Nyack alum though.

Jesse & Mark. Mark was trying to do bunny ears, but his hand didn't quite reach that far...

Mark's parents are long-time missionaries and started a growing international church here in Moscow years and years ago. I have his older brother Drew in the 7th grade. They are from North Carolina and were really excited when they found out I was from Georgia. They said, "We're neighbors! Southern pride, yeaaaah!" haha

Eating hot dogs, drinking hot chocolate, watching Princess Bride.
During the movie, the character Westley says, "Death cannot stop true love..."
Mark rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, it can."
...love it, love it, love it!!!

Dogs, Babushkas, Cars, and Kazan.

Privyet! There is not much to update right now. I just have a few stories...

On the way home from school today, I saw an old babushka kneeling down; she had a bunched-up cloth to cushion her knees from the icy ground. She was crying, moaning, and repeating something in Russian. I asked Betsy what she was saying. "She's asking for money." It really upset me. Everyone's seen the homeless asking for money before, but to see an old woman begging for money -- it's very disturbing.

In the metro there were two stray dogs by the kiosks. Their fur was so matted and dirty. As I walked along, there was a mother and her toddler in front of me. Both dogs started to attack the little girl, and the mother quickly grabbed her up to get her away from these dogs. The kiosk workers yelled something at the dogs, but the dogs had already stopped as soon as the girl had been picked up by the mother. It was really strange, and I was so scared for the little girl.

I saw the old babushka today on the way home. She wasn't crying today. Actually, she was making the sign of the cross, praying, and moving back and forth on her knees. I saw someone toss a few rubles into her bag. I also saw the wild dogs in the same place they were yesterday, and they were sleeping.

Cathy and I talked about the dogs here in Moscow, and I told her my story. She said, "Oh, they were hungry." The dogs are known to attack small children because they are hungry. Cathy said at metro Teplystan, which is one metro stop below ours, a young boy was walking in a small field, and a pack of wild dogs attacked and killed him. She also said that David, her husband, on his way to work used to face vicious dogs that would bark and snap at him. And David is no small child! He's a big tall guy. So, when Cathy takes Cody, her big sweet English black lab who wouldn't hurt a fly, for a walk, she takes pepper spray -- not to protect herself from people, but to protect herself and Cody from any dogs that might attack. Cody has been attacked before on their walks through the forest near our metro. I'm surprised that people take care of the stray dogs as much as they do. I mean, Russians in general LOVE dogs, but these ones can be vicious if they're hungry. They keep feeding them though.

On a different note -- the cars don't stop for people here. I feel like Buddy the Elf. "Watch out for the yellow ones! They don't stop." Haha. I mean, that might be an overstatement. Sometimes the cars slow down for pedestrians, but most of the time they don't. I guess that is true for a lot of big cities. I am trying to become braver and quicker when crossing the street. You can't wait for cars to slow down to let you pass. You just have to go...and go fast!

Yesterday I thought a man was going to get hit by a big SUV. Fortunately, he crossed the road just in the nick of time. Christiana was with me, and she said, "People don't value human life much here. People get hit by cars a lot. I have seen people get hit before, and some situations I have seen were even worse."

Okay. I don't want to end on a depressing note! Monday night was girls' night, and we made baked potatoes. We went to a fruit/vegetable kiosk by the metro. There are tons of fruit kiosks all over the place. Anyway, I took a couple of pictures as I waited inside while Christiana picked up the potatoes and toppings. Sometimes people sell their fruits and vegetables out on the street in the snow though. I should have taken a picture today of this man and woman bandying words back and forth about which snow-covered orange he was going to buy.

Among other things, I am going to Kazan with some teachers for my winter break (February 13-16). I am really excited! We're taking an overnight train. Round-trip tickets were only 2,040 rubles which is about $57. Not bad at all!

Oh, and the exchange rate is now 36 rubles to an American dollar. From what the teachers tell me, that's the highest it's been in years! So, I came at a great time. :)

Ice Skating!!!

I had the BEST time yesterday! I am so happy.

Andrea met me at metro Tret'yakovskaya which is nine stops north of Konkovo. In my Moleskine book, I wrote down each metro station in Russian and in English. Then, I marked them off one by one as I passed them. The woman that was sitting next to me looked over at my book each time I checked a metro station off. She must have thought I was insane.

I was so scared I would miss my stop and get turned around. (If you know me at all, you know that I am T E R R I B L E with directions.) At Tret'yakovskaya there are three metro lines that meet there: orange, green, and yellow. So, it was all very confusing.

So, I prayed a lot. In my little book, I found a quote I wrote down a long time ago.

"Prayer arises, if at all, from incompetence. Otherwise there is no need for it."
- Therese of Liseux

This quote was very meaningful to me as I rode the metro. I am so incompetent here. I am such a child. I am so dependent on other people. These feelings are uncomfortable, but they are teaching me faith, utter dependence, and prayer.

Riding the escalator at Dinamo.

So, I waited for Andrea at the Tret'yakovskaya platform, and then we got on the green metro line and headed up to metro Dinamo where we met all of her Russian friends. There were probably fifteen of them, and they all kissed Andrea on the cheek saying "Privyet, hello, hi." Some of them I had met or seen at English Cafe - Liza, Nickolai, Sasha, Tatyana, but I met many new people as well. Here is the ice skating rink:

To my left is Andrea, and to my right is Nick/Nickolai. Sitting down on the left is Sergey, and on the right is Anton. Liza is wearing the sky blue coat; she is so petite compared to everyone else. On her right is Tatyana, and on her left is Invia.

I am not sure how Invia spells her name, but that is how you pronounce it. I thought about telling her that her name sounded like "envy," but I thought that might be a bit rude. Invia is very beautiful, friendly, and smart. She speaks some English, and she was asking me where I was from in the U.S. and what I was doing in Russia, etc. Invia and I were holding onto both sides of Andrea while ice skating because she is not very good at maintaining balance.

Here Andrea is holding on to Sergey for dear life. :)

Everyone would meet up on certain parts of the ice skating rink and have a photo shoot. For awhile, the guys, Sergey, Anton, and someone else but I can't remember his name, were jumping in the air with their ice skates on, and the girls kept trying to get a shot of them all in the air. It was pretty funny because they kept falling on their butts each time. Here was the only successful shot:

Sergey and Anton are the "ringleaders" of the group -- both incredibly outgoing, fun, and energetic. They definitely seem like big party people. Sergey is short, and he dresses like a gangsta -- complete with giant gold earring. So, imagine a Russian gangsta rapper, and you get Sergey. He was very vulgar, but a nice guy. Now...and this is when I was terribly shocked. Andrea informed me that Sergey -- this crass Eminem lookalike -- is a lawyer. Yes, a lawyer. "He puts on a business suit for work, and he dresses like a gansta the rest of the time," Andrea said. I could NOT believe it.

I talked to Anton more than I did to Sergey. Anton just started speaking Russian to me all of the sudden, and I gave him a blank look because I thought he was talking to Andrea next to me. "Oh, you're American? I didn't realize." Anton speaks really good English, so I talked to him for awhile. He made me get in front of him into a line on the ice. "Merradeeth, Merradeeth, get here. Get here." Then everyone hung onto each other and did the little "snake line" thing out on the ice skating rink. Kinda goofy, but still fun. Sergey was leading, and since he's crazy, our line quickly broke up and sent us all flying everywhere. It was SO funny....

Eventually, I couldn't feel my face anymore. My ears felt like they were frostbitten. I seriously started to get concerned about my physical well-being. I started imagining having to get the tips of my ears amputated because of frostbite. Sometimes my imagination gets the best of me. Thankfully, at this time, everyone decided to go inside for a hot tea and smoke break, and my ears thawed out just fine.

Hot tea. Russians LOVE hot tea. I fit right in. At school I am kind of teased for drinking hot tea so much, so it is refreshing knowing that the national default drink of Russia is hot tea.

Andrew, Anton, and another guy (maybe something like Sevya?)

You can see the bowl for your tea bags and cigarettes.

At this time Nick starting talking to me. It was hilarious because he wanted to talk to me about something going on in the U.S. -- something about a grandfather and a granddaughter, and the girl is missing? I don't really know. Nick says the grandfather is being accused of murder or something of that nature. So, Nick asked if I heard about it, and I had no clue what he was talking about. "It happened in October. I was watching Larry King on CNN, and they were talking about it on there," he said. It struck me funny that he was watching Larry King in the first place -- Nick...he who has never been to America at all. I told him that my college didn't have television, so I never watch the news at home. He asked me what channels qualify as cable. "CBS? NBC? ABC? CNN?" He was also very interested in public television. It was really funny. I was surprised he knew so much about American television, but then again -- his English is very, very, very good, and watching American television is probably the best way to improve his skills. I wonder where he watches it though...

Then, he moved on to Avril Lavigne. "Have you heard Avril Lavigne's song 'Girlfriends'?" At first I thought he was just asking me if I had heard of her before, so I said yes. But I haven't heard this song "Girlfriends." He said, "I wanted to ask you what a line in the song means. It says, 'So when's it gonna sink in?' What does she mean by 'sink in'?" So, I tried to explain to him that asking "When's it gonna sink in?" is like saying "When will he ever really understand and realize?"

"Ohhhhh, I see, I see. That makes perfect sense," he said.

Later this other guy started asking me questions. I'll never be able to remember his name. Nick said that his name was very, very rare. He said he was the only one in Russia with that name. I wish I could remember it. It sound like Sevya or Severia or something like that. Anyway, his English was horrible, and his accent horrendous. I could hardly understand a word he was saying. When he found out I had been in Russia for just a week, he said, "And how do you like our president?"

I didn't know what to say. I turned to Andrea, "What am I supposed to say?" She just shrugged her shoulders.

I said, "I have no opinion," but I don't think he understood me. His English was very limited.

Later on the ice skating rink, Nick said that he was asking me that because it was a joke. He said that there is a joke in Russia right now -- something about first asking what you think about the president, and then something about Medevev. I didn't really understand it.

After that we took more pictures. Personally, I think that might be why they went ice skating -- just for pictures. But you know, that's okay.

Some of the girls.

Posing for the picture.

Andrea and her friend. I can't remember her name, but she wanted me to take a picture of her and Andrea.

Andrea left me at Tetr'yakovskaya, and I rode the metro back to Konkovo. There are many dogs that hang out at the metro stations probably because they are warm, and they probably find food easily enough. Russians LOVE dogs. In my opinion, they'll hold the door open for a stray dog before they will for a person. Here is one sleeping. No, I didn't touch him, Mom. ;) I wanted to though.


I walked from Konkovo to the apartment, and I was absolutely FREEZING. My nose felt like it was made of ice, and my legs were numb. It was the kind of numbness though that makes it painful when something brushes against your skin. When I got home, I looked at the thermometer and saw it was zero degrees. I can't believe I walked for so long in zero degrees. I need to get a bus pass for days like this!

The day was worth walking home in freezing pain though. When I left, my new Russian acquaintances all kissed me on the cheek as if I were one of their friends. So, all in all, a very good day, and hopefully I will become better friends with them in the future.

Snow, School, and S'Korea.

It snowed about three or four inches on Wednesday night, and it snowed a lot today too! It made everything fresh, white, and clean in the morning. I was so happy. Muscovites love snow because it makes the city prettier. If it doesn't snow for a long time, the snow that there is turns dark grey or black from the dirty roads. So, people always want fresh snow to cover up the gross snow.

This isn't Cathy's car, but the snow certainly piles up on her van like it did to this car. When Cathy drives to Hinkson, our morning ritual is different than when I walk and take the metro to school. We walk to the van which is about a five minute walk. Then we spend about ten minutes scraping all the snow and ice off the van. Then Cathy gets a shovel, and she digs a pathway so the wheels can easily turn out of the parking space. A parking space costs 2,500 rubles a month at least in our neck of the woods. That is about $75, but you do at least get a guard (and his seemingly rabid and scary guard dog) on watch for you at all times.

The fresh snow has made everything beautiful, so I took advantage of a few spare moments after school and took some pictures.

I like to call this a "snow relocator."

This snow has been relocated to the base of the trees.


Our school is surrounded by various apartment buildings...and of course lovely trees.

The kids definitely love the fresh snow, but guess who constructed this snowwoman? The Russian guards at Hinkson! Isn't her dress just lovely? I love the blue belt. ;) I wish I had gotten a picture of the back of her. She even has her own hairstyle. One of the guards at Hinkson saw me taking a picture; he started laughing, and then said something to me in Russian. I smiled and waved to him. I hope he was saying hello, but I doubt it. Most people don't laugh at you when they say hello. I have a feeling he was saying he created the snowwoman. I would have complimented his artistry if I had understood him at the time.

An icy path in the playground. The kids like to slide down this.

Lone snowwoman stares off into the distance...

My Sorel boots are seriously the best investment I made while preparing for Russia. It was totally worth the price, and let me tell you -- they were pricey. Never are my feet even a BIT cold or damp or wet.

The playground.

The designated snowball zone!

Kevin shaking all the snow off.

The sixth grade challenged the seventh and eighth grade to a fight. It went on forever, and I got several shots of them ramming and tackling each other. They're hilarious. Mr. Clark who was on playground duty said, "I wish I weren't on duty. Otherwise I'd be right in there."

School surroundings...

Hinkson.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

I feel like I'm really getting to know people here at the school now, and I am really excited that there are many different kinds of people at HCA -- young, old, fluent, terribly unfluent, native Russian speakers, native English speakers, etc. Most of the custodial staff is Russian, but we have several Russian teachers who speak English very well. I am so glad they're here. I love to hear them speak to one another in Russian in the teacher's lounge. Occasionally I pick up on a word or two.

One woman, I can't remember her name, is so friendly, but she doesn't speak a lick of English. She is a custodian, and every time she sees me she says, "Privyet!" which means hello. Normally I just smile, but the other day I ventured to return the privyet, and she then said, "Kak vashi dila?" Thankfully, I got that far in my Russian studies and knew she was asking me how I was. I said, "Horosho!" which means good or well. Her face immediately broke into a big smile, and then she put her hand on my shoulder and started spouting all sorts of things in Russian to me. I smiled, but I had no clue what she was saying. I imagine she was rejoicing at the fact that I knew at least a little Russian.

Regardless, I felt like I had a conversation with her...in Russian. I was thinking too...My learning Russian parallels with my nephew's learning to talk. On the phone he can say, "Hi. Wub you. Bye." That's a real conversation. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's the same with the Russian woman...except I am playing the role of toddler. ;)

Speaking of children, I feel like I am really getting to know my students as well. Artyom (Ar-tyohm), one of my seventh grade boys and my only real Russian student (even though he hardly has an accent), has already played a trick on me. Is that initiation? He said, "Miss Beck, you have to play this maze game online. Mr. Brande, show it to her." I knew that there had to be a catch. The game was boring and poorly constructed, so I knew there was some other reason he wanted me to play. I knew...I just knew...it was one of those things where a scary picture pops up and scares you. I was right, and I jumped. I'm sure he told all of his friends, "I made Miss Beck jump today!" But Artyom wasn't malicious in his joke. In fact, he's been very kind and respectful towards me. He's also a movie/TV snob, and he asks me my opinion on movies and TV shows a lot. He asks me "Have you heard, seen, watched?" questions all the time. So, I can't be a complete geek...right??? He asked me, "What is your favorite superhero, Miss Beck?" Wanting to win his favor, I picked a random superhero (as if I cared). "Uh, Batman...Oh, wait, he doesn't have any super powers, does he? Um, Spiderman."

I have started teaching sixth grade. We're reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I haven't read it. That was the one book I didn't read in my Young Adult Literature course, but I don't think they know I haven't read it. I think I hide it pretty well.

The chaplain at school asked me if I preferred a certain class yet or not, and honestly, I love them all equally. They are each unique in really wonderful ways, and I appreciate so many different things about them.

Sixth grade is good because the kids are still sweet and innocent -- especially the boys (at least as compared to the older ones). They are still babies. Here are a few of them:

These are a few of my Korean sixth graders.

In seventh grade, the boys are trying to be cool and grown up, so they are less timid and smiley.

All of my Korean girls in all grades are very quiet and shy. When they laugh, they cover their smiles. Oh, and they have AMAZING fashion taste too. I feel completely uncool when they are around. They are so naturally hip and stylish. And actually, that's true of the boys too. They are all really snappy dressers. I think it's a Korean pop culture thing.

I know you're not supposed to have favorites as a teacher, but I do have a few favorites already. It's not that I show favoritism towards them; it's just that they melt my heart. (See little boy with peace sign in the picture. He's absolutely precious.)

One of my sixth graders has a quiet voice, a lisp, and an emo haircut. He's absolutely adorable. In the halls, he sees me and says, "Hi, Miss Beck!" in his tiny little voice. So cute. But on the playground? He's vicious! He screams and attacks people with snowballs. It's like he has a completely different personality when he goes outside to play.

Another one of my sixth graders wanted my Gmail account on the first day. She's sweet. Phil said, "Don't be surprised if she comes and gives you her lunch one day. She's incredibly generous." She also came to me after class and wanted me to clarify something in the novel. She loves reading and learning.

One of my Korean boys has a mullet. He is absolutely adorable, and he's really good at vocabulary words. I adore him because he has a mullet and is Korean. The combination just kills me... :) He's in the picture too, next to the peace-sign boy, but you can't see his mullet. Sorry, I'll have to get a better shot to show you.

It's an interesting thing -- teaching Koreans. Eighth grade is reading To Kill a Mockingbird, seventh grade is reading Treasure Island, and sixth grade is reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Two of those novels deal with African-Americans, and we don't have any African-Americans in our school. Africans, yes - maybe one or two, but they have no idea what the southern African-American culture was like or is like now.

So, these Koreans are reading these books about a culture they've never seen or experienced. To hear southern slang or African-American language in a novel is easy for us southerners to understand, but for them... they get so confused.

"What is 'ain't?"
"What is 'ole'?"
"'No'm?'What is this? Why do they talk like this?"

One of my boys said, "Why they talk like this? They have bad grammar!" Of course, he has bad grammar too. So funny...

One of the African-American characters in the novel sees someone she knows and addresses him as "Brother Avery!" Ho-Jin said, "Whaaaat? She has brother? I am so confused!" I tried to explain that he wasn't really her brother. She just called him that because it's an expression of familiarity and affection.

All these little things we have to talk about. Otherwise they get confused very quickly.

All in all, I have a great group of kids I am teaching. Next week I am teaching a few lessons in the seventh grade. Then the third week I will teach a few lessons in eighth grade. The fourth week I will be teaching all grades all day long for six weeks.

Tomorrow I am going ice skating with Andrea and her Russian friends. I can't wait!!!!!!!

Do Svidanya!