Koober Grob

USA
email: koobergrob@hotmail.com

Read also A letter from back home and A letter from back home #2

My name is Koober Grob and I am from Chicago. I came to Izhevsk despite all the warnings I was given about Russia and its dangers. I was informed by many people that the Russian Mafia would abduct me or that I would be sold to the sex trade mafia. Some people said that I would starve. I had a feeling that people were exaggerating and namely because ninety percent of them had never been to Russia. So the mafia did not abduct me and the only danger I ran into was while crossing streets. Pedestrians do not have the right of way in Russia and it was very scary in the beginning as cars came careening down the streets. My friends and students were kind enough to protect me from the cars and even held my hand my frist week in Izhevsk. One will not starve here. Russian food is so delicious. I became addicted to their soups, salads, piroshkee and juice.

I cannot say that the food is the best part of Izhevsk but rather the people. Everyone was so friendly and took their time showing me around Izhevsk. My friends and students took me to the forest, the lake, the country, parks, nightclubs, a 150km bicycle trip, their banyas, their work, their families' and friends' houses for music parties, motorcycle lifts, and one friend even let me change his tire when we hit a pot hole too quickly.

Most importantly, I really enjoyed teaching. I appreciated and was impressed with the effort each student put forth to practice their colloquial English. It was challenging especially with the beginners because I came to Izhevsk not knowing any Russian. The language barrier was not too problematic. I created many sound effects and gesticulated constantly to communicate my points and teach new words. Sometimes it was difficult thinking of new themes to discuss with my students everyday for my forty-five minute classes. We always found something to talk about and we covered everything from domestic violence to manure. Most of the students need help pronouncing words containing "th" sounds, like in "clothes" and "clothing".

I have really learned a lot from Vofka or I mean Vladimir's pedagoge. Encouraging a laid-back and fun environment for learning and teaching, proved successful because all of the students and I had fun and wanted to be in class, and every class was filled with laughter. I really recommend coming to Izhevsk if you are interested in teaching English. If you are coming to Izhevsk just to TRAVEL and see some of Russia, then I would advise you to stay at home with your Atlas and pick another location to explore.