Already feeling at home

My first week (or so) in Vladimir has been really pleasant.  The weather has been nice, in the 70s, with a little rain.  Everything is pretty much the way I left it: my apartment is just as cozy, the stores are all still open, and the people I work with at the Russian language center are still fantastic.  I still know my way around town, and got settled in right away.  I even made it to the grocery store on my first night, so I would have coffee and breakfast.  It's taken me a while to get over the jet lag, and I was woken up on the first day at 2 pm by a phone call from the director of the center.  Ooops!  It was rough until the weekend, and on Saturday night I could hardly sleep.  Part of it was coffee too late in the afternoon, and part of it was nerves: the students arrived on Sunday.  So I got an hour of sleep at home, and hour on the bus to the airport, and an hour on the way back.  I stayed up by going out to the movies (Super 8!), and finally got a good night's rest.

27 cell phones, ready to go!

Before the students came, I kept myself busy with preparations.  The first task was getting their phones all set up.  A few got misplaced during the evacuations last year, so I had to buy new ones.  And I decided to get everyone SIM cards (essentially, setting up their phone number).  Almost everyone has a pre-paid phone plan here, and I put about $20 on everyone's account.  I was completely shocked at how quickly I was able to get that done.  Then I set about setting up the phones: charging them, putting in my phone numbers, and switching them all back to Russian.  I also checked the balance, and found that not everyone had the right amount.  I went back to the store, with my long list of the balances, and we got that squared away.  Then I started setting up the new phones.  One had the wrong battery.
And the extra charger I bought wouldn't work.  So I stopped by again.  Problem solved.  But I left the charger there!  At this point, the nice young man at the store must have been thinking I'm trying to flirt... Eventually, it all got sorted out.

After the students arrived, we had a day of orientation.  Since the center has gotten some new technology, I decided to make a powerpoint presentation.  Ideally, I wanted to take pictures of situations to show the students some examples (picture of a granny with a carriage: ask her for directions; picture of some sketchy youths: don't ask them for directions, etc.), but didn't have time.  This job, resident director, isn't really hard, but there's always something that comes up and takes up a fair amount of time.  This year, I have an assistant, which is wonderful, because I can have her make some phone calls for me when I don't feel like speaking to a stranger over the phone in Russian.  And I'll have someone to help me carry snacks for my meetings.  She's the most help with our peer tutors, who are Russians interested in spending time with American students.  They only speak Russian with our kids, and are a sort of hit-or-miss part of the program.  I had a peer tutor two years ago in Moscow, and it was pretty neutral for me.  Yes, good conversation practice, but we didn't completely click; she was about 8 years younger than me.  The problem is always how to pair off the students.  Usually in Vladimir they have a group meeting, and let everyone decide for themselves.  This year, we did that, but not all the Russians came.  Plus, the Americans are still getting used to being in Russia, speaking Russian, and the time difference.  In the end, everyone has been paired off.  Some matches are better than others, but I think it will work out.

In the first week, I've already been to the clinic with a student.  He called me at 6:30 and said he had a high fever.  I went to pick him up, and we went off to my favorite clinic.  Yes, I took doctors to the students so often that I have a favorite.  Accordingly, the doctor there remembered me, as did the pharmacist.  On the way back to town, I started talking to the taxi driver.  He asked me the best way to go to the center, and I sort of explained, and then confessed I wasn't from Vladimir.  I think he still thought I was Russian, but then I told him I'm American.  It turns out his wife has spent some time in Salt Lake City, of all places.  He gave me his phone number, so now if I need a taxi, I have a good number to call.

Part of my orientation includes a scavenger hunt for the students around the city.  I developed it last year, and made a few changes.  The idea is to give the students a better idea of where the major landmarks are, and to help them learn how to run some errands.  I send them to a pharmacy, a grocery store, and a kiosk, so they know how to get medications, snacks and bottled water.  I also send them to the train station to look at the schedule to Moscow, and the bus station.  This way, they all know how to get to and from the station when they do independent travel, and they get to practice asking people for directions (and understanding those directions).  Plus, the winner gets a gift certificate to the movie theater.  Everyone's looking forward to the final Harry Potter.

I've also managed to find a yoga studio downtown.  I went to a hatha-yoga class, which was rather different from any class I've been to before.  The pace was slow, and the poses were in a different order. Not a single downward dog!  I've been reading some bulletin boards, and think I may have found a power yoga class.  I'm already feeling the lack of a dog-walk in the morning.  I either need to start running (which means getting up earlier) or walk to work (which also means getting up earlier).  So hopefully I'll be able to get onto a better sleep schedule.