November 28, 2011

Woke up to find almost all the snow gone and a very chilly apartment. Made my way to the so called “conversation” class I have on Mondays where the students are basically acquiring new vocabulary through whatever topic I bring up, but there is no give and take as they don’t have sufficient words to express their ideas. The topic today was “Growing Up” and we discussed such issues as moving, misbehaving at school or home, suitable punishment, the concept of curfew and grounding and so on. The teacher for this group asked me to stay for a few minutes after the class was over so I could explain a passage in the abominable Russian textbook which the students were finding too difficult to comprehend. The text in questions was an almost poetic description of the city of London in the early morning as it’s enveloped by the fog and mist coming from the Thames River. The author, not mentioned in the book, imagines that the entire city is a gathering of ghosts and that even such substantial buildings as the St. Peter’s Cathedral could be pushed with his index finger. I pity the poor students who with their rather pedestrian knowledge of English are expected to translate such sublime language into Russian while being given no background knowledge or help with the vocabulary itself. The teacher himself didn’t know the reference to St. Paul’s. What can you expect from the students then?

Went to see Pariso about the medical appointment and found her covered in a very stylish black coat with fake fur at the collar and handcuffs. When I told her that the coat was quite fancy, she admitted she didn’t know what “fancy” meant. I was then told that my classes had been switched to the morning schedule and that I was expected to be at the institute beginning at 8:00am on Tuesday. I countered by saying that my agreement with the dean was for my classes to take place in the afternoon. Supposedly she had been notified of the change just on Saturday afternoon and she had been too busy with her cousin’s wedding to let me know.

We went to a nearby medical clinic where the doctor apparently told her he was in no position to issue a health certificate for a woman he had never seen and referred her to the director. She was busy on her cell phone and made us wait. She appeared to be Russian, with heavy-set features, bottle blond hair and the tons of make-up they seem to favor. I could tell she was telling Pariso that unless I underwent the whole series of exams, i.e., blood, urine, fecal matter, EKG, and so on no certificate could be issued. I told Pariso I was not about to undergo such exams as I had already being medically cleared in the States. I promised to bring a copy of that document and have her translate it.

When I got off the mini-van on my way to the embassy, a guy approached me and started speaking to me in Russian. My continual assertions that I spoke no Russian didn’t deter him and it finally dawned on me he was saying he “loved me” and wanted to have my phone number. When he poked my leg with the cell phone, I almost leapt at him. I was close enough to the embassy to point it out to him and indicated I’d report him to the police as soon as I got there. The guy took off immediately.

Went to cash a check and learned Vali was on vacation. The woman taking his place was very pleasant, but obviously inexperienced as she seemed to be reading every step as she took it. When I went downstairs, Elena handed me a package from Sandy containing my baking pan and spatula and the envelope Peter had asked me to pick up for him. Tahmina was on vacation this week and Sandy was out, so there was no one for me to consult regarding this unexpected change of schedule at the institute. Elena told that there was no one to cover for Tahmina in her absence and that any questions should be forwarded to Sandy.

I had my two envelopes ready to mail to the States and asked her where they should be dropped off. She was not aware we could mail correspondence even if we had U. S. stamps on it and asked me to leave the envelopes on her desk until she found out what to do with them.

Pariso called tonight to confirm that my first class tomorrow takes place at 8:55am and she didn’t know if I were going to be assigned to the same classroom where the only whiteboard resides. She was able to explain that the change in schedule took place because the fourth and fifth year students are out doing their practicum thus vacating additional classroom space for the first year students. Apparently, there was also consideration for the fact that it’s winter and it gets dark earlier, but I couldn’t understand how that ties into the schedule.

I’m very angry and disappointed that I was not consulted about it. When I email Sandy with this new twist on the ongoing saga at the PedInst, she felt I should take it in stride and just change my schedule. Of couse! It does not affect her, so why would she care?