The good life!

Russia

So even though I am not preachin the gospel to others, this experience has been so much like a mission. My roommates and other teachers are like my companions and my examples. I am reading and studying the scriptures so much every day and I am reading The Miracle Of Forgiveness. I also listen to a lot more church music here to. That's almost all I listen to. But I'm realizing it's because I want to. It's the kind of music I feel like listening to! It's amazing. So I have basically been caught up in religious things and focusing on those thing so much that I haven't really thought about other thing. Which is not a bad thing but I think I need to focus on other things along with the religious things so that I can fully experience that fact that I'm in Russia!!!! Although I will say this, I do believe I am here to grow as much as possible in this gospel so that I can be strong when I do go home!

But also I do need to write about life here in the mother land! About teaching everyday, about the kids that I now love with all my heart. About the guards that we have become friends with. About wondering around Moscow, a city of 10.5 million people (which by the way there are less people in the whole state of Idaho) and not knowing exactly where to go and how its slightly more difficult  because all the street signs and the metro signs are in Russian. Also about all the laughs we have been having.

So let's talk about the "reason" why I am here. The chillins'!!!! So we have a total of 24 kids in big kindergarten, which is what I teach (I also sometimes tach advanced reading and little k., more on them later) big k. Is pretty much the best!!! I love all of things kids so much! I have 9 kids in my home room. And yes I am going to talk about each one! Ok maybe not individually but yes. Sofa (Sonya) is my absolute favorite!!! She is so cute! Blond hair blue eyes, super super funny and just so fun! Whenever I have her talk it's like she puts all her effort into it and squints her eyes shut... You kind of have to be there! Yesterday after class she was like "teacher Hailey, play!" and I had a lot to do because we end at 5:45 and we have to be cleaned up and back at the school by six and it's a ten min. Walk. So I got out my iPad and let her play angry birds while I cleaned up. She loves it!! And I love her, I might have to bring her back to America with me!!! 

Then there is yana and yulya, they are kind of my trouble makers. But at the same time so cute! And then Valya, who by the way wears Dior and Armani everyday. No big deal, she is only 5. And don't judge me but I wanted to make sure they were real brand names so I may have checked the tags real discreet like, and yeah they are legit!!! She is crazy! And then Maria, she is just a doll. She talks so well and is just adorable! And then I have my two boys, Rodion and Dima. Rodion doesn't always come, and he is kinda of weird, but I love Dima! He is kind of a cry baby, but when he is happy he is super happy! And I like talking to his mom because she speaks English and she is just a great lady!! And then there is Stesha. And she is super cute and sweet she is just super quite. 

Those are my big k kids! Whom I love so much! I have been teaching gym for the past 4 weeks, so basically I play games with my kids all day. And it is awesome. But next week I switch to teaching shop and we will be making some pretty cool stuff!! :) 

So we spend a lot of time in the school right? Because all our meals are here, teaching is here, we live here, and to go any where we have at least a 20 min bus ride and then however long on the metro.  So basically we have made friends with the people around us. There is this guy that works at the school, he doesn't teach, and we are not sure what he does, but he is pretty cool! He might do like maintenance because he brought us our fridge. And the fridge came in a box right? A big one cuz its a small fridge, but it's a big small fridge. So any way! Funny story about this guy, I got in the box to scare Selina and he saw me get in it because his room is right next to ours. So right as I was about to pop my head out (which Selina saw by the way) he came out and scared the poopy out of me!!!  I may have fallen over... In the box... It was pretty funny!!! Not going to lie. Also, he found out that we were Mormon and now we don't see him as much and we think that might be why... 

And we are also friends with the guards!!! They are quite fun! We are good friends with Peter because he guards our part of the school, he also speaks the most English out of all of them. So he wants us to teach him english right?  So one night we decided to give him a lesson, do an SPE with him just like we do with the kids! So we did! And it was so funny! Because peter is older and we were teaching him just like we teach the 5 year olds! And then we ended up watching YouTube videos with him! Clearly laughter is the same in all languages. Mostly we just laugh with all the guards because we try to communicate with them and we fail miserably at it :). 

Also we love the cooks. Two reasons, one they cook food for us, and two they are simply just amazing!! We have had some great laughs with them to! And they love us so much! So so much! They laugh at us when we try to speak Russian, ok it's more laughing with us!  :) 

So this is a day in the life of being an ILP teacher:
Wake up at 7:30 ish 
Get ready for the day 
Go to breakfast at 9
Come back up to the rooms, brush our teeth
Head to the supply room and stay there for as long as we need, which is usually about an hour but sometimes we are there till lunch! 
When we are only there for an hour we come back and take a nap or read
Lunch is at 1
Then back to the room, brush our teeth 
At about 1:45 on the weeks that we teach basic advanced ready we head down to those rooms
Teach reading from 2-3:45
Head over to the kindergarten (a 10 min walk)
Opening for k. Is at 4 and then we have 3 twenty min rotations and then closing and store at 5:30
We come back to the school for dinner at six 
On Tuesday's we have training right after dinner
On Monday's we have fhe at 8 
On wednesday we have lessons for the next week due at 8
On Thursday's we go to the sports complex and go swimming 
And on Friday we usually watch a movie as a goup! 

Also, on Wednesday we have culture days where we learn about Russian culture and learn to make Russian food from 10-11:30 in the morning
On Thursday we have Russian language lessons from 10-11:30
And on Monday's  we will go to the university and talk with the students taking English classes.

I think that's about it for school! Well and this post is super long! So if more comes up I will def keep you updates!