So much has happened these past few months, it is really hard to find a
place to begin. Well, first off I experienced my first Pascha/ Easter in Russia
at the Voronezh Cathedral, where I have been attending services since my
arrival. My friend Kira came to visit for the weekend and brought delicious
kulich and cheese pascha which conveniently saved me from attempting that
terrifying challenge myself. After the service, we were eager to share the
feast with the youth group I just
became a part of. We chatted with them for a few hours and then went home around
6 o’clock to nap before eating more kulich and then climbing to the top of the
bell tower. For me, this was very reminiscent of my childhood in Jordanville
where we would also ring the bells for hours at a time on Pascha.
During the next week Voronezh held a conference for Russian
teachers of English. It was especially interesting to see how professional
educational conferences were run here. The sessions were interesting and well-organized,
and all events were held on time (a feat for 500 Russians, let me tell you!).
This was mostly thanks to my supervisor who was in charge of the entire
conference and put the fear of God in any person who even thought about being
late, and consequently everything ran uncommonly smoothly. I was asked to give a presentation and
decided to share the wonders of TED talks/TED Radio Hour and their many
applications in the classroom. Since public speaking is very, very low on the
“things Meri enjoys doing” list, I spent the first part of my session reviewing
my notes over and over again while others presented (Ira couldn’t understand my
stage fright “this is in your language
after all!”). The sweet Russian woman next to me noticed I was leafing through
my notes and offered me a few words of encouragement and told me not to be
nervous. She then proceeded to ask me if I knew who “ Merdif Dabldi from
Ameerrika” was because she came especially
to see that presentation. I think I must have been a little different from
the exciting American she pictured in her mind, and her query definitely did
not help my nerves. In the introduction to my presentation, I explained in a
sentence or two where I was from and what I am doing in Voronezh. Apparently a
majority of those present missed those critical few lines because afterwards I
was congratulated by many for my “almost perfect English”. But, many at the
presentation had never heard of TED, so I left satisfied with the topic I had
chosen...and with my English.
After all the sessions had finished
for the day, each evening there was some sort of cultural celebration. The
program always included folk songs, dancing, children playing violins, delicious
food and champagne.
Some of the elementary English students even put on an
interpretation of Romeo & Juliet in English for all of us, which was
delightful and creative. I really enjoyed seeing all of my colleagues together
(from both departments) and was grateful for the opportunity to spend some time
with them outside of the classroom. Our last night was a full banquet spread
with lots of dancing and many warm toasts. Oh, and HUGE balloons. I have never seen balloons like this. I suppose these
balloons embody the joyful, festive spirit that Russians have when celebrating
any holiday.
I was also able to spend some time with the handful of Americans
who came from various places for the conference. We took them on a tour of
Voronezh, and I got to see the city as a newcomer all over again. They were all
wonderful people, and it was nice to reflect on the conference and Russia
itself with them. Below on the left are two of the American participants and on the right two of my Russian colleagues.
Some of my first year students whom I have just started
teaching volunteered at the event which was a great experience for them as
well. One of them, Ilya, nervously approached me and asked if he could ask me a
question. He pointed to my nametag and asked what “Doubleday” meant. I
explained it was my last name. He got a puzzled look on his face and whispered
something to the boy next to him. They both then explained that they thought my
last name was “death”. Now that I think about this it is actually a very
logical conclusion. I always introduce myself as Meri to avoid making them
pronounce “th”, but my colleagues always refer to me as Meredith.
Well, Ms. Death needs her sleep right now, but more blogging
to come very soon.
