I am now at the home of my second family – am living with one of the teachers from the school and her 17 year old son (this is his computer I’m using). It is an apartment (one of a huge number in this area) and much different than where I was previously staying (a large house on the outskirts of the city). I was sad to leave my other home because of how much I enjoyed the company of that family, but I think it’s good to live in different parts of the city and in different ways – more experiences and the chance to meet new people. I met with some students last night for the first time, and now actually have a schedule for the rest of the time I’m here (3 times a week for an hour and a half or so). Still not sure about the adults in the evening… I’m meeting with a small group tonight, but it’s only an every Tuesday thing, so not sure about the rest of the week.

I watched 50 First Dates last night in Russian with English subtitles. An unusual experience, but I really liked the movie. At my old home, they had a home theatre system so watched I think 5 movies on a huge “screen” – basically an empty wall. Star Wars Episode 3 only in Russian (no subtitles) was very amusing (“до свидания Tarfur, до свидания Chewbacca”). Also watched Sideways there – strange to be watching a movie about California while in Russia… It made me a little homesick.

Have realized that when you take a plane to get somewhere your mind can’t really grasp the distance traveled, so it’s strange to think that I’m actually in Russia and so many thousands of miles away from home. Basically on the opposite/dark side of the globe.

Am also finding that the strain of trying to listen to a language that I don’t know very well is mentally exhausting. It’s also much more difficult to slow down my own speech in English than I thought it would be. I find that I have trouble thinking of the right words. Speech is so natural that at home you rarely have to think about how fast you’re talking or making sure that you’re using simple words. I can only imagine the relief I will feel when I’m back home and can speak normally again. But even with this difficulty, I am definitely enjoying my time here.

I hear the Giants are doing horribly which is kind of a bummer, but I’m also glad that I’m not missing much. And I can’t believe that Greg Maddux is now a Dodger… disgusting. I think they – the Giants – must just know that one of their biggest fans is missing. I’m sure they’ll have a fantastic September once I’m home and make up all the ground they’ve lost.

I think maybe in my next blog I will try to list some of the differences/generalities that I’ve noticed while here. I’ll have to think about it though first… Hope everyone is well!

Hello everyone. Just a quick post. I am at the office of my "dad" - he has generously allowed me to use the internet here on a couple of occasions. A bit faster than at home. Today I went with my "mom" Tatiana to the Kalishnikov museum - the guns that were/are (I think) produced here. Interesting, but the highlight was when Kalishnikov himself appeared and spoke - they were having a grand opening of a new exhibit. He's a very old man and a celebrity - most amusing to me was the certificate (on display in the musuem) showing his "lifetime membership" in the NRA. It's very bizarre - it seems that everywhere I go something unusual happens - Tatiana said that she enjoys going out with me because she keeps seeing things she's never seen before. I am leaving this family on Sunday evening and will go to live with one of the teacher's at the school who has a flat more near the center of the city. I'm not sure that I want to leave - I like where I'm living and enjoy the company of the family very much. As my "dad" Andrei said, "We are a strange family." I told him I was from one too and that was maybe why I liked them so much. But the new place will be closer to everything (I'm in the Tartar Bazaar right now - on the outskirts) and I guess I'm ready for a new experience in any case. Believe it or not, I haven't really started doing anything at the school yet - it's getting kind of frustrating. On Monday we (me and the 2 teachers Nadezhda and Tatiana - the Tatiana I *will* be living with, not the Tatiana that I *am* living with) will meet with some students to figure out the game plan from here on out and will hopefully have a class everyday next week. I will also start (I think) tutoring a small adult group (maybe just 1 man) in the evenings next week as well. I'm looking forward to meeting more people and hopefully getting out in the city more. Everything else has been going well - great food and, like I said, good relations with my family. I'm really starting to miss home though - 1/3 of the way through... and I'm really missing baseball. And no one here understands anything about it of course... I can't believe I missed a Jason Schmidt homerun!!

Anyway, I guess that's all for now. Hope everything is good back in California.

And Happy Early Birthday Heather!

Hello everyone, I am at my first family's house now after a surprising trip to a camp for a few days when I first got here. The plane and train rides all went fine and I even met a very nice couple on the train who are from Izhevsk but live in Barcelona. My day in Moscow was very full and somewhat confusing. Getting a key for my room at the hotel was a little more complicated than it would be in the U.S... There was one person for every possible job - the key person, the bill person, the check-in person, etc. Anyway, my tour was fun and I got some good pictures - I hope. I tipped the tour guide and driver way too much, but oh well. It was all I had... Upon arriving in Izhevsk I was told that I was going straight to a camp with about 19 kids and they very desperately needed a native English speaker. I spent 3 days at the camp and roomed with a couple of the girls - very nice. Everyone was a little hesitant to speak to me, but once they got talking they had all kinds of questions for me. A lot about how much things cost here - they were shocked when I said yogurt could cost as much as 1 dollar. After those 3 days at the camp I came back to the city and am now staying with a very nice family on the outskirts. They have 2 teenagers - and they all act like a completely normal family - if it weren't for the speaking Russian part, they are just like an American family. I am going to stay here until I think Thursday of next week when I will then go to stay with one of the teachers that I met at the camp and who works at the school where I will be volunteering. I am meeting with the main teacher I'll be working with on Monday. Til then I am basically just sightseeing. Today we went to a smaller town nearby called Votkinsk where my "father" grew up. We visited his parents in their apartment and I was treated with a lot of good Russian food. Lady fingers covered in sweet sour cream and bits of chocolate... mmm.
So anyway, so far things have been going well. Everyone I meet is curious why I wanted to come to Russia - what good could it possibly do me in my career?? I try to explain it has nothing to do with my job and find it harder to explain when the desire to come here was first instilled in me. I've also found that Russians are exceptionally aggressive drivers - which is maybe true for all of Europe...
Anyway, I have to sign off now - the cell phone that I am connecting to the internet with is very low on batteries... Hope everyone is well and will try to post more later.