As my time in Karaganda draws to a close, this would be the most obvious time for self-reflection. But before we look back together at what has been a long and rewarding year, I thought it would be a good idea to show you what exactly an average day in the life of a Karaganda English teacher consists of. So, without further ado, давай посмотрим!
The view that I wake up to every day: the chez lounge and a half-eaten packet of semechki. Marvellous
My bed, looking less made than it should be
Oh kettle, giver of life. What thoust hast for thy?
View from the kitchen window
You can of course find all of the essentials in my fridge: vodka, a gallon jug of milk and a lot of condiments
Breakfast
Shower
Front door
My friendly corridor
The stairwell in my building (Russian people always want to know what stairwell is in English)
From darkness..
...to the light
The epic walk to work begins...
...and continues...
...and continues...
...and continues...
...and continues...
......
......
...are we nearly there yet?...
......
...and finishes!
The office is devoid of all life
But not the teachers room!
Someone left their work near the computer
Our best students. This board hasn't been updated for about two months
The wall of f(sh)ame. Guess which one was my contribution
Watch out! The boss sits here
Staff notice board
Pretending to be busy
First group of the day! 12/13 year olds doing a writing exercise
The book's version was fairly boring, so I gave it my own twist. They have to write their own social network pages on A3 pieces of paper, but I gave them pictures of strange looking people. Like this guy
This student chose a picture of a Kazakh policeman
Anuar and Dima, "hard" at work
How it should look
How Anuar's looks. Possibly the best quote from this is: "I live in (a) two-storey dustbin. I control all dustbins. In my country, I am lord of (the) dustbins." Sure you are
The children admiring their handywork
So, it's about 1 o'clock and I'm feeling peckish. What should I do? Begin the daily trek to the supermarket of course! Laden with orders from the girls in the office, I begin the epic adventure.
Walking past the Stanislavsky Theatre
The 43 bus; I have never used it
Walking down the street with a song in my heart
Sometimes I eat here at Rational at lunchtimes. But not today!
A small shopping centre that contains our supermarket, yuzhnii
Ok, so I admit it; these pictures were taken a few months back and I have just been really lazy at uploading them. Sorry
Opening hours
Shopping time!
One of the girls wanted tomatoes. Since when do I eat anything apart from meat?!
The food counter where I get shit from
An advert for the Russian Imperial Porcelain company
Lunch! Two pirozhki and two goluptsy
Arman, my individual student. Three times a week for an hour and twenty minute. This kid never gives up
My student Temirlan. I didn't have a lesson with him on this day, but I like to come in and talk with all of my students before their lessons start
My 4 o'clock Intermediate Young Adults group. It might look like they are sleeping but they are actually playing a game
The mafia choose their victim
My 6:40 Advanced Adults group. Aizhan and Aigerim are hard at work highlighting things
While Alexander and Nazar prefer the more manly method of underlining things
The lesson has finished! And what follows of course? Manly handshakes!
The walk home
Of course, I had shashlyk after work on this particular day, but unfortunately I didn't take any photographs as I had a few beers and forgot completely.
So there you have, a typical and normal day in my Karaganda life. Please stay tuned for more updates. Hopefully leaving Kazakhstan will prod me up the arse a bit and therefore make me post more adventures.
Until next time, друзья.
Of course, I had shashlyk after work on this particular day, but unfortunately I didn't take any photographs as I had a few beers and forgot completely.
So there you have, a typical and normal day in my Karaganda life. Please stay tuned for more updates. Hopefully leaving Kazakhstan will prod me up the arse a bit and therefore make me post more adventures.
Until next time, друзья.
