More observations about Russia

Well, it's another year. My schedule is a little crazier, and likely to get crazier still. I'm not happy about it, but I think that if I wait it out I'll be able to have a much nicer position for the next contract. Only 5 months left! (That seems really long at the moment though). I'm doing better since the new year because I've made some solid, achievable goals and I'm working on achieving them every day.

Nothing particularly exciting has happened in the past month. The rats are still alive despite a visit from the exterminators. I learned that rats can climb walls, which explains how they've managed to get on my kitchen table. My rats also particularly enjoy collecting plastic and stuffing it into their hole. It's kind of interesting to see what they will do next, but there are plenty of drawbacks too so I would prefer to have them gone.

I learned recently that some Russians face a lot of difficulty with finding an employer who honors their contract terms. Apparently lawsuits are often rendered ineffective through bribes. Also, one of my coworkers had to stay in the hospital for a few days and he said it was awful. So as far as living in Russia goes... unless there's a miracle, I think I'd rather not stick around too long.

On the other hand there are some really admirable things that I've discovered about Russians as well. Although they don't go to the theater to see plays every week like my Russian language courses suggest, they are much more cultured in general than Americans. The students are required to memorize poetry from an early age and they seem to retain the memory of this poetry. When I do speaking tests for prospective students, I often ask the question “Do you like to read?” I've yet to hear anyone say no to this question, and what they enjoy reading varies considerably.

The roads are packed and inefficient, but the public transportation here is excellent. The trains are frequent and usually within two minutes of their target time. Buses are less punctual, but are rather ubiquitous. And people here like to walk. When I asked my teenage students what they did during the new year holidays, almost all of them said that they ate, slept, and walked with friends. Imagine a teenager in the US saying that they spent time “walking with friends.” You'd probably assume that they were Amish!

And that's all I have to say about Russia for today.