Red-Nosed Reindeer???

I used to think that cold was just cold. That there were no varying degrees of cold – once the temperature became low enough all cold was equivalent. Ignorance can make you believe some crazy things. In the past 7 weeks I learned that negative 35 degrees Fahrenheit has a few differences with plus ten Fahrenheit. One penetrates your clothes no matter how many layers or what fabric you have on and one doesn’t. One makes your nose run like a faucet and follows by cruelly freezing that liquid to your upper lip and one doesn’t. One demands you wear a scarf while freezing the condensation from your breath in its fibers and the other allows scarves to be a fashionable and sometimes helpful accessory. One you can feel in Siberia and the other in West Michigan. Fortunately, I have a relatively short walk to school – it is waiting for the bus that makes the appendages really burn. Unfortunately, as I have told others, I have yet to spit and have it freeze before it hits the ground. I hear that happens at about 40 below. I’ll keep you posted.

The extreme temperatures have not forced us into complete hibernation. Since the Autumn term began, and my last blog post, I have been churning out lessons, preparing for four English clubs, traveling occasionally on weekends to see friends, and sneaking in as much Russian as possible. I am busy and I have had no time to properly realize it. The fact that I have finished 7 weeks at site already is unbelievable. My schedule is a bit strange. I am teaching 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th graders. I have classes all day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a light load on Tuesday and no classes Thursday. The free day Thursday and light load on Tuesday make the schedule seem undemanding but it is not like an American school where teachers give the same lessons six times in a row. On Friday and Wednesday I have to prepare for four separate lessons each day and give them all twice. The light loads in between are the only thing that make that possible.

What is happening in the classroom is much more interesting. In Kazakhstan students’ motivation varies greatly and there is no middle ground. The students are either studious and respectful or behave like characters in “The Little Rascals.” I have fun venting frustration by comparing students to Alfalfa and Spanky; however, it is the other, more motivated, group that deserves most of the focus. Only the older students really understand the service I can potentially provide but even the younger ones have a healthy sense of curiosity. There is a look in these students’ eyes that goes beyond simply questioning why this goofy American just appeared. It is a look of curiosity, yes, but it is also a look of sincere interest. When I sit in the miniature chair next to them, consequently cross a barrier most Kazakh teachers would not dare, and give them extra assistance with a difficult concept, I can watch that look transform into a gaze of appreciation. Simple transactions like that tell me there is potential in a large majority of these students. I love having the responsibly to educate and consider it a daunting task. Each lesson can either succeed and the students receive the progression they deserve or the lesson can fail and the students are hampered by a lack of knowledge. The evolution of their gazes tells me they long for the potential progression. My perfectionist tendencies when it comes to actually granting this to them may be the reason I have been so busy the past few weeks. Successful lessons bring a sense of satisfaction, making the preparation seem worth it. Failed lessons introduce guilt about the likely preceding laziness. I prefer the former and can handle it if that means some obsessive lesson planning.

Despite my full schedule I have found time to read at a pace I have never achieved before in my life. I try to keep a bookmark in at least one fiction and one non-fiction at the same time. Right now I am reading All the Kings Men and The Gulag Archipelago. Recently I have introduced a new genre: children’s books. I just finished Snow White and have moved on to Beauty and the Beast – in Russian. I don’t understand every word, so my dictionary comes in handy, but the Russian I have and the prior knowledge of the story allows me to get the gist. Not only am I satisfied by reading Russian, I am also enjoying cartoons complimenting the literature and the reminder of the coolest villain in Disney history: Gaston.

A few weeks ago I celebrated Thanksgiving with 23 other volunteers who all came to see me in my village. We stayed in the old Soviet cross country skiing training facility and were spoiled rotten by the volunteers who have been here for a year already. We had every Thanksgiving essential with the exception of all the missed family back at home.

Thanksgiving going so well has left me to dread the coming of Christmas which I know will be much more difficult. We are not given the day off and I will be working. In order to make the day actually feel like Christmas I will do my best to mix some Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls into the lesson plan. This past week my 8th graders were actually learning about the American holiday season. The Orthodox Catholics do celebrate Christmas, but it is a separate date and the traditions are a little bit different; so this material was new. I don’t think you can fully realize how completely absurd the tradition of Santa Claus is until you have to explain it to people ignorant of the idea. I explained to them, “Santa Claus in America is a fat man with an overgrown beard. His flying reindeer, one of which has a nose like a light bulb, help him to get from house to house. They land on the roof and he jumps down chimneys (I say this despite the fact that I just finished emphasizing his chubbiness). Then he fills hung socks with goodies and places presents under a tree that is now located inside the house. This happens for every child in America.” It feels weird to say all that together and actually expect any sort of comprehension. Remember that things like “flying,” “reindeer,” “nose,” and “light bulb” are all vocabulary words for them. They know what the mean but don’t have confidence in that understanding, especially when the words are so illogically grouped together. I had to actually draw Rudolph with wings to confirm their suspicions and I couldn’t do it with a straight face. My students were looking are me like I was crazy. And that was a good thing. Their looks of confusion meant they understood my English and realized how utterly ridiculous it was sounding. I absolutely love this holiday and this time of year but for completely separate reasons. Christmas really is much simpler. What I will miss is the yearly puzzle, adventures to Chicago to pick up Lydia and Scott, epic shopping trips to Meijer, mom’s eggs, mom’s cinnamon rolls, whatever else mom cooks, the frigid walk on the beach, singing “Silent Night” at church and embracing my pyro tendencies, playing the game I thought mom was crazy to buy but I always end up enjoying, gory cookie decorations, wearing pajamas until Christmas dinner, Dad’s campfires that keep us warm, eggnog, wine and the cheer. Especially the cheer. Without the cheer the things on this list are not all that special (except the cooking). With the cheer, with the knowledge of what makes this time of year so special and the ability it has to bring people together, all these things become extraordinary. Including all this in the Kazakh textbook would probably make the holiday sound just as unusual, but at least it is peculiar in my own way, and that’s the way I like it.


Merry Christmas everyone! I miss all of you!