Life Should Come in Nutshells

Random Thought Associaion List time!

1. It snowed last night, a dusting that is probably the closest thing to powdered sugar I've come across in Ukraine, and very pretty to wake up to.

2. It snowed again tonight as I was finishing my 8th lap around the track at the stadium in the gloomy darkness. Nearby, the low clouds were underlit by the orange flicker of leaf and brush fires. The air was biting and tasted like smoked sausages. But the dusting (which stuck around all day, didn't melt, so that means it is truly Freezing here now) made it possible to see where I was going, which was kind of cool. And this time, when it came, the snow was thick and luxurious, a true swirl of icy, wet flakiness that got into my eyelashes. As I walked home, it made a crunchy noise that made me think of sweaty fingers rubbing a balloon.

3. Two of my three classes were cancelled today. One was cancelled because the students had to prepare for the Miss Ukrainka beauty pageant which will be held tomorrow. One was cancelled because the students were on an "excursion" (to where and why remains a mystery). How am I supposed to get "results" if the one hour I teach students a week is taken away from me?! Not only that, but the third lesson was shortened for the previously mentioned excursion. But that didn't matter too much, because the students were being terrific beasts and didn't want to play my game and so I gave them a pop quiz to get even. Revenge.

4. The electrical situation remains a mystery that is not solving itself very quickly. But everyone is helping me; it's just keeping up the squeaking long enough and loud enough to get the grease that matters.

5. Dasha, Tanya, Nastia and I made posters for our Culture Exchange Project after school. We sang along to Potap and Nastia Komenskiy, colored in our words, and stayed so late the school was dark and our director shooed us out with a surprised, "Someone is still here? Go home!"

6. I had a normal dinner of hash - potatoes, onions, green peppers and salami with a fried egg - and only ate one potato pirazhok today. I'm concerned: the piroshki are very tasty, and very tempting, possibly habit-forming.

7. A stir was created at school today when a man came looking for me (which is how he was presented. Lena came into the classroom where I was sitting with Tatiana and said ominously, as if it was my fault, "Sarah! A man is here for you." I said, "What man?" and she just replied, "How should I know? A man!!!"). Luckily, my students were practicing for the contest tomorrow, so I had nothing to do! (Sarcasm.) Anyway, turns out the man is a local businessman who studied English but really needs a refresher for some reason. He wanted me to help him learn business English. I said sure, absolutely. I love teaching adults English. We're going to start on Monday in the English room. More justification for an English resource center. I'm working on Tatiana, and we're going to discuss the idea next Wednesday at the Teachers' English Club.

8. Made contact with a returned Peace Corps Volunteer today and we're doing the preliminary discussions for a summer camp, tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2009. The RPCV is the director of his University's International Education Department and wants to bring American students to Ukraine to conduct journalism and writing camps. His focus is on sustainable development. I will find out if the teachers and community members here are interested. The Teachers' English Club is looking more and more useful!

And that concludes the list. Time to practice Beatles songs on my darling pink guitar.