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The last couple of days have been so busy! After my one to one lesson with Alex, I was told that his older sister wanted to come for a lesson too! She's 14 and a very bright girl. She arrived late Wednesday afternoon after my afternoon classes at school. I did tell her that I had not prepared any lessons for her as I did not know her level of English so we just chatted about all her interests and she asked me a bunch of questions which I asked her in return. She wants to be an artist and a sculptor. She wants to travel the world and mentioned that that was her reason for wanting to learn to speak English really well. She enjoys reading Oscar Wilde! I was totally blown away when she told me this. She's only 14! I've yet to find a 14 year old into classics.
Anna, my boss, arrived at the school earlier today to tell me how concerned she is about me. Winter is fast approaching and the temperatures are dropping really quickly. She gave me money and told Julia, our receptionist to take me into town to help me buy the correct clothing for winter. I missed afternoon classes to go shopping! I bought a jacket which I was told is for autumn and winter. Then off to the shoe store. I bought boots only to be told they're only good enough for autumn and when winter approaches, around December, I'll need to buy more boots specifically for winter! Really?! I've never had to buy seasonal shoes before. Of course, the usual applies, boots in winter and sandals in summer but to have boots designed specifically for autumn only or for winter only?! I needed to buy gloves as well, only to be told by Julia that the gloves I had in my hands ready to buy are only for autumn and I will need to buy others for winter. Wow! I don't think I knew what I let myself in for coming to Russia with the freezing cold, snowy winters! Oleg, our amazing driver drove Julia and I to the shops. Both Julia and I had our hands full of packages and all for me! We got back to the car, only to find Oleg with the seat down and fast asleep. I can't say I blame him, we had been a while.
Anna also told me that they've hired another English teacher from the UK and he'll be staying in the house too! Another person to communicate with in English! Awesome! We're not sure when he'll be arriving. Next week we should know more. Anna also wants me to teach at the other kindergarten as well as at the adult centre and the new teacher and I will be sharing the teaching between us so I won't be at this school every single day. This job is certainly full of surprises and is super challenging because of having to write my own lesson plans but I'm enjoying it. Oh, and Anna mentioned that they bought a colour printer especially for me so I can print flashcards and whatever else I need to teach the kids. When she asked what I had used in China and I mentioned that I had used an interactive whiteboard for all of the lessons, she said they'll definitely look into getting one of those too! Wow!
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