So, it's been a long time since I've updated this thing. We'll start with a brief recap of the end of 2008: went home for Thanksgiving, few back, lost a fifth of my research three days before one of my final projects was due, finished my final projects, and started the PhD application process. This was followed by a trip back to my parent's house for Christmas and New Years.
On to 2009, First, I spent a lot of time goofing off at my parent's house but I also finished my applications. Then I returned to New York. The first weekend back I finally got my lazy butt over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I even rode on the top of the ferry to have a better view although it was cold. I much preferred Ellis Island, I really which that I could explore more of the abandoned buildings though. Classes aren't too bad, in fact my current politics of Russia course is much easier than the ones I took in undergrad. Unfortunately, I have now been rejected from 4 out of the 8 PhD programs that I have applied to, which is fairly depressing. This weekend is looking to be work on my MA Project and grocery shopping. I can't sleep either, which explains why I am writing this post at 5am rather than a normal hour.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, September 25, 2008
So, I’ve been in New York City for about a month now. It’s been a big change for a girl who’s been living in the middle of nowhere, but not so much of a change as I expected. My trip to Russia means that NYC doesn’t seem as big as it could, after all it is smaller than Moscow and St. Petersburg. So far the classes seem pretty easy, I had expected graduate school to be more difficult, but I actually have less reading to do now than I did in undergrad. However, it is also rather boring. My most interesting class is Politics of the Middle East, a lot of the readings are a review of what I have already learned, but the teacher keeps class interesting. In International law the teacher gives us four readings each night, but they all say the same thing in different ways, so I only read one. Comparative politics is the worst, I’m actually writing this during class because I see no point in paying attention anymore. If you do the readings the class is a waste of time because she just explains the readings in detail, not to mention that it is all qualitative vs. quantitative and things that I have covered more than once as both a politics and sociology undergraduate student. I wonder why I even show up many times.
I have also met a lot of people living in graduate student housing. There are less than 200 people in the building, so you can meet many of them. I am acquaintances with some, but I wouldn’t call any friends yet. They like to go out, but I like to stay in. My roommate is from Morocco and is very different than I am. She is about 5’4’’, skinny, concerned with her appearance, and a smoker. One of the more interesting things is that she says she needs to smoke more so that she’ll eat less.
I once again work in IT services as someone who teaches others how to use software. I also have to do a lot of organizational work. First I had to get rid of a lot of software and paper work, then I started work on the budget, and now I am cleaning out the closets as well. I am discovering skills at organization that I never before realized I had. Today the boss even took me to the vendor fair where I got a lot of free stuff including a bobble head doll (I left that at work), 2 umbrellas, and a bunch of reusable bags.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Leaving Russia
Day 44:
We went to Yusupov Palace. It belonged to relatives of the Romanov's, including the man who is considered the ringleader of those who killed Rasputin. We also saw the apartments in which Rasputin stayed for a time and where he died.
Day 45:
The Russian Museum--Again. Can you say torture? That is mostly because it was another guided tour and we had to spend a lot of time with the icons, many of which were painted in the Novgorodian school. While we were there 3 team leaders were told that we would have to create a model of our own Museum of Russian Democracy. We were given further instructions on the bus--it had to have 3 rooms and include the past, present, and future of Russian democracy and we picked teams. Then we went to Peterhoff, which I was happy to go to again. It was very pretty and I enjoyed the walks here. Our design was a rather cynical one, which I will detal in another post, another day. It was funny though because we spent about 15 minutes on it and the other teams each spent hours on theirs.
Day 46:
The next day we met in the morning to present our ideas, so that we could not alter them after seeing the real museum. However, when we went to the museum it was closed. The director was there, but we were told that it is always closed on weekends even though out tour company knew nothing about this. We went back and they handed out the prizes--ours took second because I apparently missed the part of the directions where they said it was a state-run museum. The teachers really enjoyed it, but thought that it didn't quite fit the assignment. We were also supposed to go to the Ostap Bender Museum, but it was a personal museum in someone's apartment and he had changed it, so we didn't go.
Day 47 and 48: Last Full Day in Russia and Travel Day
We got to sleep in. Then we went to "Putin's Palace," also known as Strelnia, the one that was redone for the G8 Summit. It was nice, but not nearly as impressive as some of the other palaces we had been to and the security was ridiculous. In the evening we discused our papers one more time. That night we hung out until late because we had to be up at 4 am, the longest nap any of us grabbed was about 2 hours. We got to the airport around 5am because the first group was leaving at 7, but the Magnificent 7 (the teachers gave us that name because we did both trips) had to wait until noon to catch our flight. It was a long wait at the airport. Then we flew to Helsinki and had another 2 hour wait. After that we flew to New York. I got seperated from my travel buddy at check-in, so I waited at the terminal. While I was there I wandered around andended up buying the new Drake sisters book, which I still have yet to read. Eventually, both Sam and Beth found me. Her plane was supposed to leave out of the same terminal as ours half an hour earlier. However, that didn't happen. While we were waiting Sam made friends with a little girl and the girls kept track of the flights. Beth's said that it was at the gate but it also said 9:20 rather than 8:05 and ours said it was on time. We found out that our terminal was really backed up, so Beth's flight was delayed. Ours ended up boaring about half an hour late. When we left the terminal we found a temporary ramp constructed and were lead onto the tarmac to a bus, which ferried us out to our plane. Then we had to wait a while to taxi and the pilot told us that he didn't know what was oing on he had been ready to leave on time. We ended up getting back about an hour late, but it the day had already lated 36 hours so we were a little cranky. I was met at the airport by my parents and grandparents, which was nice. We went and got me a milkshake and them breakfast, by the time I got home it was after 3 am but I woke my brother up and gave him his presents before I went to bed.
Now:
Over a week later and I am once again adjusted to the time change. I have made several trip sto the library and am devouring books written in English that I can read jus for fun. In about two more weeks I move to New York. I am excited, nervous, and sad all at the same time. I don't know tht I'm ready to start the next chapter of my life and move on to graduate school, but here I go...
We went to Yusupov Palace. It belonged to relatives of the Romanov's, including the man who is considered the ringleader of those who killed Rasputin. We also saw the apartments in which Rasputin stayed for a time and where he died.
Day 45:
The Russian Museum--Again. Can you say torture? That is mostly because it was another guided tour and we had to spend a lot of time with the icons, many of which were painted in the Novgorodian school. While we were there 3 team leaders were told that we would have to create a model of our own Museum of Russian Democracy. We were given further instructions on the bus--it had to have 3 rooms and include the past, present, and future of Russian democracy and we picked teams. Then we went to Peterhoff, which I was happy to go to again. It was very pretty and I enjoyed the walks here. Our design was a rather cynical one, which I will detal in another post, another day. It was funny though because we spent about 15 minutes on it and the other teams each spent hours on theirs.
Day 46:
The next day we met in the morning to present our ideas, so that we could not alter them after seeing the real museum. However, when we went to the museum it was closed. The director was there, but we were told that it is always closed on weekends even though out tour company knew nothing about this. We went back and they handed out the prizes--ours took second because I apparently missed the part of the directions where they said it was a state-run museum. The teachers really enjoyed it, but thought that it didn't quite fit the assignment. We were also supposed to go to the Ostap Bender Museum, but it was a personal museum in someone's apartment and he had changed it, so we didn't go.
Day 47 and 48: Last Full Day in Russia and Travel Day
We got to sleep in. Then we went to "Putin's Palace," also known as Strelnia, the one that was redone for the G8 Summit. It was nice, but not nearly as impressive as some of the other palaces we had been to and the security was ridiculous. In the evening we discused our papers one more time. That night we hung out until late because we had to be up at 4 am, the longest nap any of us grabbed was about 2 hours. We got to the airport around 5am because the first group was leaving at 7, but the Magnificent 7 (the teachers gave us that name because we did both trips) had to wait until noon to catch our flight. It was a long wait at the airport. Then we flew to Helsinki and had another 2 hour wait. After that we flew to New York. I got seperated from my travel buddy at check-in, so I waited at the terminal. While I was there I wandered around andended up buying the new Drake sisters book, which I still have yet to read. Eventually, both Sam and Beth found me. Her plane was supposed to leave out of the same terminal as ours half an hour earlier. However, that didn't happen. While we were waiting Sam made friends with a little girl and the girls kept track of the flights. Beth's said that it was at the gate but it also said 9:20 rather than 8:05 and ours said it was on time. We found out that our terminal was really backed up, so Beth's flight was delayed. Ours ended up boaring about half an hour late. When we left the terminal we found a temporary ramp constructed and were lead onto the tarmac to a bus, which ferried us out to our plane. Then we had to wait a while to taxi and the pilot told us that he didn't know what was oing on he had been ready to leave on time. We ended up getting back about an hour late, but it the day had already lated 36 hours so we were a little cranky. I was met at the airport by my parents and grandparents, which was nice. We went and got me a milkshake and them breakfast, by the time I got home it was after 3 am but I woke my brother up and gave him his presents before I went to bed.
Now:
Over a week later and I am once again adjusted to the time change. I have made several trip sto the library and am devouring books written in English that I can read jus for fun. In about two more weeks I move to New York. I am excited, nervous, and sad all at the same time. I don't know tht I'm ready to start the next chapter of my life and move on to graduate school, but here I go...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Day 41:
We visited European University, which might have been more interesting had they not used the first half of it to try and recruit us to study there. Then we talked some about the current state of democracy in Russia, which was much more interesting. We had to choose between that and Catherine's Palace because of incompetant scheduling so no one was happy. That was pretty much it for the day.
Day 42:
First we visited a communal apartment. It was very similar to the apartment that I stayed in in Novgorod, with the exception that the woman only had one room, but all of the rooms, the kitchen and the bathroom looked the same as the ones in Novgorod. In the afternoon we had a scavanger hunt. We were to find the strangest thing possible not on Nevsky. I found this creepy looking golden toad in an Asian shop and I thought that it was the best, but Highlander 5 won. That night I had a talk with Jack about not saying everything he knows in the group meetings because it makes them painfully long and everyone is bored. I feel bad for the poor kid because he's just socially akward.
Day 42:
Today was an interesting day, but for part of it we split up into smaller groups, so I can only tell my part of the tale. First, we went to the Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace. It is a wonderful museum, full of beautiful art and antinquities collected by the former nobles of Russia and by the State. The architecture is also amazing. We spent several hours there wandering by ourselves or in small groups. I spent most of my time looking at Egyptioan, Greek, and Roman artifact but I also visited the Malachite room, and exhibit on the Middle East, the Russian culture exhibit, and some of the Western European painters. After that, some of us met for an afternoon walk. We went to the Summer Gardens where we once again saw the statue of the Twelve Chairs. Then we returned to the hotel where we talked and set about buying supplies for the boat ride. We had dinner and then walked down to the canal as a group.
While walking to the boat ride we passed St. Issac's Catherderal, which is an imposing church that was once a museum of anti-religion. We got a little confused trying to figure out where our boat was and when we finally found it the dock was flooded. We had to get on by holding onto the column and stepping on a plank, which was interesting, but not that difficult. On the boat we had a little party, we sat around talking and having a little snack while we took in the riverfront architecture of the town. The best part was when Adam decided to have some fun. He waited until the boat was under a bridge then jumped up and grabbed one of the supports. As one might expect, he could not hold on forever, so he was forced to let go. When he did, he misjudged the speed of the boat and landed several feet back from where he started on his rear. It was rather funny and he was quite embarassed, but I think the thing that stung the most was his pride. Then we walked back to the hotel for the night. The students continued to sit around and talk long after our professors went t bed.
One thing that I didn't put in the school blog was that I was hit by a motorcycle on the way back to the hotel. We were walking on the sidewalk and the motorcylce decided to drive on it so that he could park on it. In the process he hit my hand, causing me to drop the wine bottle that I was carrying and it to shatter. It was pretty funny because I was not seriously hurt.
Day 43
It was supposed t be our free day but we had to go on a horrible Crime and Punishment walking tour where we broke ito half of the lacations on the tour. I also watched some RUssian TV and I need to sign off because I have almost no time left.
We visited European University, which might have been more interesting had they not used the first half of it to try and recruit us to study there. Then we talked some about the current state of democracy in Russia, which was much more interesting. We had to choose between that and Catherine's Palace because of incompetant scheduling so no one was happy. That was pretty much it for the day.
Day 42:
First we visited a communal apartment. It was very similar to the apartment that I stayed in in Novgorod, with the exception that the woman only had one room, but all of the rooms, the kitchen and the bathroom looked the same as the ones in Novgorod. In the afternoon we had a scavanger hunt. We were to find the strangest thing possible not on Nevsky. I found this creepy looking golden toad in an Asian shop and I thought that it was the best, but Highlander 5 won. That night I had a talk with Jack about not saying everything he knows in the group meetings because it makes them painfully long and everyone is bored. I feel bad for the poor kid because he's just socially akward.
Day 42:
Today was an interesting day, but for part of it we split up into smaller groups, so I can only tell my part of the tale. First, we went to the Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace. It is a wonderful museum, full of beautiful art and antinquities collected by the former nobles of Russia and by the State. The architecture is also amazing. We spent several hours there wandering by ourselves or in small groups. I spent most of my time looking at Egyptioan, Greek, and Roman artifact but I also visited the Malachite room, and exhibit on the Middle East, the Russian culture exhibit, and some of the Western European painters. After that, some of us met for an afternoon walk. We went to the Summer Gardens where we once again saw the statue of the Twelve Chairs. Then we returned to the hotel where we talked and set about buying supplies for the boat ride. We had dinner and then walked down to the canal as a group.
While walking to the boat ride we passed St. Issac's Catherderal, which is an imposing church that was once a museum of anti-religion. We got a little confused trying to figure out where our boat was and when we finally found it the dock was flooded. We had to get on by holding onto the column and stepping on a plank, which was interesting, but not that difficult. On the boat we had a little party, we sat around talking and having a little snack while we took in the riverfront architecture of the town. The best part was when Adam decided to have some fun. He waited until the boat was under a bridge then jumped up and grabbed one of the supports. As one might expect, he could not hold on forever, so he was forced to let go. When he did, he misjudged the speed of the boat and landed several feet back from where he started on his rear. It was rather funny and he was quite embarassed, but I think the thing that stung the most was his pride. Then we walked back to the hotel for the night. The students continued to sit around and talk long after our professors went t bed.
One thing that I didn't put in the school blog was that I was hit by a motorcycle on the way back to the hotel. We were walking on the sidewalk and the motorcylce decided to drive on it so that he could park on it. In the process he hit my hand, causing me to drop the wine bottle that I was carrying and it to shatter. It was pretty funny because I was not seriously hurt.
Day 43
It was supposed t be our free day but we had to go on a horrible Crime and Punishment walking tour where we broke ito half of the lacations on the tour. I also watched some RUssian TV and I need to sign off because I have almost no time left.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Day 35:
I can't really remember what we did on ths day and I don't have any notes, so we must have been on tours all day. I'm sure that I can write about it after I llok at the itenerary.
Day 36: Free Day
Valerie and I decided to take full advantage of the free day today rather than to do any of the organzed activities that teh adults had set up. Around 11 we met with the guys and went to the market where I bought the last of my souveniers. Then we had lunch at the mall, came back, did laundry, and napped. In the evening we hung out with some of the others.
Day 37:
We had an interesting meeting with the head of Journalism in Extreme Situations, an NGO which works to show the problems faced by journalists in Russia. The conclusion of this speech seemed to be that there is no true free speech in Russia and that the first Chechen War was the high point of freedom of speech for journalists/ the golden age of Russian Journalism. That afternoon we also met with the head of Glasnost Defense FUnd, whose father was actually a major character in a book I read for class last semester. He, too, seemed pessimistic about the state of free speech in Russia and gave us each a books with "the best of Russian journalism." Both of these men were interesting characters and the second even claimed to have the largest private collection of turtles, numbering over 2000, inanimate of course.
Day 38: Last Day in Moscow
So today we visited Mosfilm. This is a little like visiting Universal studios and getting a real behind the scences tour. We looked at all of the cars that they had used in movies. Then we walked on outdoor sets and looked at an indoor one under construction. After the tours we actually got to meet with the head of the studios, who is also a director although there was a miscommunication, so it was a rather short meeting. After that we had some free time in the afternoon. Beth and I went back to the market where she was good at playing the helpless female, so everyone treated me like a translator and thought that I could speak fluent Russian, which was definitely interesting. Later we packed and then the girls and Harrison hung out.
Day 39: The Train
We took the day train this time so we sat in a large compartment with a lot of other peole. It was not airconditioned, athough at lest some windows could be cracked this time. I read, slept, and talked to others in the group. We arrived in St. Petersburg in the evening and had a meeting before going to bed.
Day 40:
Today we listened to a really long speech on the Seige of Leningrad. Then we went to a couple of monuments, followed by a museum dedicated to a female poet. At least thist time the guide was not obsessed with the writer. Then we were to go to the Marinsky to see Swan Lake again, but several of us who had already seen it on the first trip (the guys and myself) did not want to see it again so the fiveof us and one of our teachers sold our tickets. Then we wandered around town for our "alternate excersion." We ate at a small place, walked some more, and then came here. I plan to go back to the hotel, read, hang out, and sleep. I don't need to sleep early because there was a hitch in the plans, so I don't need to be ready until after noon tomorrow, which is really exciting. I'm enjoying my time here, but I'm ready to be home.
I can't really remember what we did on ths day and I don't have any notes, so we must have been on tours all day. I'm sure that I can write about it after I llok at the itenerary.
Day 36: Free Day
Valerie and I decided to take full advantage of the free day today rather than to do any of the organzed activities that teh adults had set up. Around 11 we met with the guys and went to the market where I bought the last of my souveniers. Then we had lunch at the mall, came back, did laundry, and napped. In the evening we hung out with some of the others.
Day 37:
We had an interesting meeting with the head of Journalism in Extreme Situations, an NGO which works to show the problems faced by journalists in Russia. The conclusion of this speech seemed to be that there is no true free speech in Russia and that the first Chechen War was the high point of freedom of speech for journalists/ the golden age of Russian Journalism. That afternoon we also met with the head of Glasnost Defense FUnd, whose father was actually a major character in a book I read for class last semester. He, too, seemed pessimistic about the state of free speech in Russia and gave us each a books with "the best of Russian journalism." Both of these men were interesting characters and the second even claimed to have the largest private collection of turtles, numbering over 2000, inanimate of course.
Day 38: Last Day in Moscow
So today we visited Mosfilm. This is a little like visiting Universal studios and getting a real behind the scences tour. We looked at all of the cars that they had used in movies. Then we walked on outdoor sets and looked at an indoor one under construction. After the tours we actually got to meet with the head of the studios, who is also a director although there was a miscommunication, so it was a rather short meeting. After that we had some free time in the afternoon. Beth and I went back to the market where she was good at playing the helpless female, so everyone treated me like a translator and thought that I could speak fluent Russian, which was definitely interesting. Later we packed and then the girls and Harrison hung out.
Day 39: The Train
We took the day train this time so we sat in a large compartment with a lot of other peole. It was not airconditioned, athough at lest some windows could be cracked this time. I read, slept, and talked to others in the group. We arrived in St. Petersburg in the evening and had a meeting before going to bed.
Day 40:
Today we listened to a really long speech on the Seige of Leningrad. Then we went to a couple of monuments, followed by a museum dedicated to a female poet. At least thist time the guide was not obsessed with the writer. Then we were to go to the Marinsky to see Swan Lake again, but several of us who had already seen it on the first trip (the guys and myself) did not want to see it again so the fiveof us and one of our teachers sold our tickets. Then we wandered around town for our "alternate excersion." We ate at a small place, walked some more, and then came here. I plan to go back to the hotel, read, hang out, and sleep. I don't need to sleep early because there was a hitch in the plans, so I don't need to be ready until after noon tomorrow, which is really exciting. I'm enjoying my time here, but I'm ready to be home.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Leaving Novgorod
Well, I had really good entries written up about all of this, but I cannot plug in a jump drive, so I'm going to do a brief update and post the detailed one later.
Day 29:
So, today was my last full day in Novgorod. I wandered around the Kremlin in the morning and spent the afternoon shopping. I wanted to find gifts for my host family. I bought my host mom a little dove and tried to explain to here that in the States i stood for peace and happiness. I bought my host sister a kitty puzzle because she is obsessed with her cat and likes puzzles. I couldn't decide what to buy my host brother, so I got him some candy. I got some beautiful amber earings and a cute box from my host family. I also finished the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, which I had just bought.
Day 30
We took the overnight train to Moscow. Everyone else arrived in one piece as well. We took the others to visit Red Square and had some dinner.
Day 31: First Day, Trip Two
So today we visited with a guy from the international department of United Russia, who said ocratic tradition. Who said that Russia had no democratic tradition. We got a lot of other interesting quotes out of him as well. In the evening we met with an author, her speech was fairly boring and Beth fell asleep. It was kind of funny, but Dr. Sutcliff was very excited because he had written an article about the author. THis was followed by dinner and bed.
Day 32: Gaidar and Students
We met with Gaidar this morning, which was kind of exciting because he was so well known. At the same time there was a lot that he said he could not answer and he was very reluctant to criticize the regime. This tendency was even more pronounced when we met with Moscow State University Students in the afternoon. They said that they were okay with only having one candidate and were shocked that I was able to criticize the war in Iraq as well as being very surprised that we were all willing to publically state who we had or would vote for in teh Presidential elections. But they were a nice lot and some of them made arrangements to hang out with some of our students later.
Day 33:
W toured the Kremlin again today which was still interesting. At least this time no one got left behind at teh bell. But it started raining by the end, so we ran to the mall for lunch. Then we went to the gulag muesem. It lacked any personal stories and really had very few artifacts. Most of the exhibits were art or hokey re-creations that did nothing to give you the feel for the tragedy of the camps. After that we went to the Carnigie foundation and learned that they are under a lot of pressure from the Russian government, but by and large that meeting bored me too.
Day 34:
We visited the House on the Embankment today, which was cool because of its significance in both political and literary history. The museum there was much better done than the State Gulag Museum. Then we went to a writer's colony and visited Pasternack's house. The woman who worked there was absolutely obsessed with him and it was funny in a pathetic way.
Well I'm out of time so I'll catch you up on testerday adn today later.
Day 29:
So, today was my last full day in Novgorod. I wandered around the Kremlin in the morning and spent the afternoon shopping. I wanted to find gifts for my host family. I bought my host mom a little dove and tried to explain to here that in the States i stood for peace and happiness. I bought my host sister a kitty puzzle because she is obsessed with her cat and likes puzzles. I couldn't decide what to buy my host brother, so I got him some candy. I got some beautiful amber earings and a cute box from my host family. I also finished the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, which I had just bought.
Day 30
We took the overnight train to Moscow. Everyone else arrived in one piece as well. We took the others to visit Red Square and had some dinner.
Day 31: First Day, Trip Two
So today we visited with a guy from the international department of United Russia, who said ocratic tradition. Who said that Russia had no democratic tradition. We got a lot of other interesting quotes out of him as well. In the evening we met with an author, her speech was fairly boring and Beth fell asleep. It was kind of funny, but Dr. Sutcliff was very excited because he had written an article about the author. THis was followed by dinner and bed.
Day 32: Gaidar and Students
We met with Gaidar this morning, which was kind of exciting because he was so well known. At the same time there was a lot that he said he could not answer and he was very reluctant to criticize the regime. This tendency was even more pronounced when we met with Moscow State University Students in the afternoon. They said that they were okay with only having one candidate and were shocked that I was able to criticize the war in Iraq as well as being very surprised that we were all willing to publically state who we had or would vote for in teh Presidential elections. But they were a nice lot and some of them made arrangements to hang out with some of our students later.
Day 33:
W toured the Kremlin again today which was still interesting. At least this time no one got left behind at teh bell. But it started raining by the end, so we ran to the mall for lunch. Then we went to the gulag muesem. It lacked any personal stories and really had very few artifacts. Most of the exhibits were art or hokey re-creations that did nothing to give you the feel for the tragedy of the camps. After that we went to the Carnigie foundation and learned that they are under a lot of pressure from the Russian government, but by and large that meeting bored me too.
Day 34:
We visited the House on the Embankment today, which was cool because of its significance in both political and literary history. The museum there was much better done than the State Gulag Museum. Then we went to a writer's colony and visited Pasternack's house. The woman who worked there was absolutely obsessed with him and it was funny in a pathetic way.
Well I'm out of time so I'll catch you up on testerday adn today later.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Cast of Characters: School Edition
Now that classes are over, I should probably write about the others in my class...
1) Conversation Teacher
It really doesn't matter what her name is. She is very strict. She does not speak English very well, she is actually a French teacher. We learn al ot in her class, but most of it is rote memorization, so I don't always feel that I have a good handle on what's going on. She seems to hate Beth, but she also seems like a decent person.
2) Grammar Teacher
I don't remember her name either. She is very nice and speaks English very well. She is getting married at the end of August. We can always distract her by asking about Russian culture, but we still learn a lot. She also has a great sense of humor and wants to be a photographer.
3) Max
He's the only boy in the class and just finished his freshman year. He is also obsessed with learning all of the rules about Russian grammar. Unfortunately he takes this too far and gets the rest of us confused with his convolted logic. I guess that in explanation I should add that he is a Math major.
4) Megan
She has also kind of graduated from Miami, she just has to finish her student teaching in the fall, freshman history. She's nice and a lot of fun. She's very laid back, which makes her different from any of my Miami friends from before. She's also one of the few non-honors/scholars kids on the trip. She is the wild chil/rebel without a cause of the trip.
5) Anna
Also just finished her freshman year. She's a little emo/goth, but a lot of fun. She's willing to try a lot of new things and is really smart. She's kind of funky and reminds me of Megan from high school.
6) Beth
Poor Beth, she finishes everything last, so the conversation teacher is always carping at her. She's a nice girl, although slightly highstrung. She's a closet Harrison scholar. She's also very outgoing, but lacked some motivation in the program because she gave up within the first week, I think that Russian was probably the first thing that was ever hard for her.
1) Conversation Teacher
It really doesn't matter what her name is. She is very strict. She does not speak English very well, she is actually a French teacher. We learn al ot in her class, but most of it is rote memorization, so I don't always feel that I have a good handle on what's going on. She seems to hate Beth, but she also seems like a decent person.
2) Grammar Teacher
I don't remember her name either. She is very nice and speaks English very well. She is getting married at the end of August. We can always distract her by asking about Russian culture, but we still learn a lot. She also has a great sense of humor and wants to be a photographer.
3) Max
He's the only boy in the class and just finished his freshman year. He is also obsessed with learning all of the rules about Russian grammar. Unfortunately he takes this too far and gets the rest of us confused with his convolted logic. I guess that in explanation I should add that he is a Math major.
4) Megan
She has also kind of graduated from Miami, she just has to finish her student teaching in the fall, freshman history. She's nice and a lot of fun. She's very laid back, which makes her different from any of my Miami friends from before. She's also one of the few non-honors/scholars kids on the trip. She is the wild chil/rebel without a cause of the trip.
5) Anna
Also just finished her freshman year. She's a little emo/goth, but a lot of fun. She's willing to try a lot of new things and is really smart. She's kind of funky and reminds me of Megan from high school.
6) Beth
Poor Beth, she finishes everything last, so the conversation teacher is always carping at her. She's a nice girl, although slightly highstrung. She's a closet Harrison scholar. She's also very outgoing, but lacked some motivation in the program because she gave up within the first week, I think that Russian was probably the first thing that was ever hard for her.
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