Part III: Back to School

Day 2 in Vladivostok was ever bit as awesome as day 1, mainly due to my friend Inna and her meticulous planning! She made sure that my every minute in Vladivostok was perfectly synchronized and fit in with any future plans, assuring that no stone was left unturned!!!

After some late morning sightseeing, we returned to the city since she had to be back for her afternoon English language class. She explained to me that she was the director of a college within FEFU (Far Eastern Federal University). When she explained to me about college, I instantly thought this meant she worked with students at the university level. I was a bit surprised when we arrived and all the students were teenagers. I knew kids go to university early in Russia, usually about 17, but these kids definitely looked younger than 17. After a few moments I asked her the age and grade of the students. She told me they were all high school level. In Russia, “college” refers to a high level of secondary education, whereas in the US we use the term liberally to mean any type of higher education!

Since my specialty is English as a Foreign Language Inna felt this would be a great opportunity for me to discuss with her students the US s vs. the Russian system. I had written up a few notes the night before and was a bit nervous to get in front of an entire class of 10^th graders, aka sophomores! After all it’d been nearly 3 years since I’d been in an actual classroom since my teaching has mainly been over Skype.

When we walked into the classroom students instantly stood up as if a judge or some honorable person had just entered the room! Having taught in American schools where kids can be rather indifferent to whether the teacher is in, out or entering the room, I was pleasantly surprised! Inna later told me this was the norm and that she made sure her kids ALWAYS showed respect by standing.  

After everyone sat down she introduced me and explained I would discuss with them America and how our education system compares to Russia’s. This instantly peaked the students’ interest. I introduced myself explaining I was from the city of Seattle in the state of Washington. I asked if anyone had heard of my city, but for the most part students were clueless. So to try to break the ice I threw out a few hometown company names to see if that may spark some reaction. The first company name I mentioned was Boeing, which was met by mostly crickets! I should’ve mentioned Microsoft but instead mentioned probably the most well known coffee brand in the world……………Starbucks. So, I casually said, “Who here knows of Starbucks”? The class instantly lit up in excitement!!! They were definitely very familiar with the brand name. Starbucks’ executives would’ve smiled knowing that no matter where you are in the world, everyone seems to know Starbucks!!

I then commented about how very impressed I was that they stood when their teacher entered the room and how in the US this doesn’t happen! A sweet girl raised her hand and quietly asked, “How then in American schools do students show the teacher they’re ready to learn?” I laughed and said generally they don’t care; they’re usually too busy chatting with their friends or playing on their mobile phones.

For most of the lesson I discussed the American education system and some of our high school traditions, such as, prom, homecoming, Tolo Dance, etc… But, the one part of the lesson that I can safely say the students enjoyed the most was when I explained how Americans perceive Russian babushkas (meaning grandma in Russian). Usually a “babushka” to an American is a word that means a type of old unattractive Russian woman who is hunched over with a colorful Russian scarf. They also never can pronounce the word right, emphasizing the “u” in babushka, whereas there is no real accent in the word.

After our discussion about American vs. Russian schools, students had a chance to ask questions or comment about anything I said. Despite my offer nobody took me up on it………..except one boy, the only boy in the entire class, which was a bit of a reflection of Russian society where women vastly outnumber men. He raised his hand and asked me, “What do people in the United States think about the beers”. I thought to myself “what the hell is this kid talking about, why is he talking about beers, he’s no older than 15!!??????”  Since I don’t drink beer or any alcohol for the most part, I had no idea how to approach this question. I knew that Russians liked alcohol, but why was a school kid asking me about beer???? Of course I’d heard such discussions back home in public schools, but I still was stumped trying to think of an answer!! Just as I was about to try and avoid an answer, students jumped in and said he meant, “BEARS”. His question was related to whether Americans think bears roam the streets of Russia! I said that generally Americans have really zero idea about Russia and the day-to-day happenings in this vast nation!

After class the students were still buzzing about my “babUshka” explanation, repeating it endlessly to their friends in the hall and giggling about it. It was such a unique experience to be able to step in for an hour and interact with Russian school kids!!! It’s an experience I will never forget and cherish for the rest of my life. I really have Inna to thank for trusting me to take her class for one lesson!!!  Thanks for reading and I’ll be back with more impressions about Vladivostok in my next entry!!

My class for the day and me!