From Russia With Love

I love the first day of school. No matter what country. It's just so exciting with all the new school supplies and all the kids in their new outfits and everyone is ready for a new year.
September 1st is the first day of school all over Russia and yes, it's a big deal in the states, but it's an even bigger deal here. The streets surrounding schools are blocked off by police and all of the kids bring their teachers these huge bouquets of flowers. The school plays music loudly, including the Russian national anthem, and they do big welcome programs. At the Kindergarten Building where I work, parents came and there was a big program and they stayed most of the day. My little five year olds came wearing Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli, and even Dolce & Gabbana underwear. They know some English but they are a little shy about using it. In the dining room it looks like a big tea party because they eat off of little white ceramic plates and use tea cups to drink out of with white tablecloths and flowers in the middle of the table. At lunch, they taught me how to say fork, spoon, bowl, and cup in Russian and I taught them the English. It's funny because I'm on the same level learning Russian as they are learning English.

It is very difficult being the only one who doesn't speak Russian in the classroom but the other teachers are very friendly and do what they can to communicate. I'm exhausted and learning all kinds of new things as well as staying really busy planning lessons. I'm already excited about the weekend just so I can sit down and soak it all in!