Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

(Please, if you would be so kind, read that title in a "Cowboy" accent. You know, Cowboy. As in, Jack "Cowboy" Kelly. You know... Jack "Cowboy" Kelly, as in, Francis Sullivan. Oh my gosh. You haven't seen Newsies, have you? Go watch Newsies, and then come back and read this blog. Seriously. Go. Get out of here.)


All done? Fantastic movie, isn't it? Which song do you have stuck in your head? For me, it's always the line: "We need a good assassination [hip thrust]! We need an earthquake or a war! How 'bout a crooked politician? Hey stupid dat ain't news no more!" .... What? Gosh, where's Jeffrey [my brother] when I need him for a good ol' fashioned Newsies sing-along? Cause yeah, that's probably the one and only thing that he and I can and will sing along together. Crazy, right? Jeffrey singing Newsies? It brings a smile to my face. Good times. Ok, anyway.... Moving on. 


Hey! My friends and I here in Kokshetau were in a local magazine/newspaper thing. How 'bout that!? 

I won't go into details... but... basically it just says that I'm the greatest and prettiest teacher that has ever graced the streets of Kokshetau/Krasny Yar. So, yeah. Welp, thanks for reading!




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What? Don't believe me? Unfortunately there are a couple people back home (and other volunteers that might read this?) that know better. So, Ok, fine... this is what it really says - according to my poor translation skills (For those of you that read the article in Russian and want to correct me - feel free. But, I mean, I remember what I said from the interview. And then I just re-wrote it in strange Russian sentence constructions and that's what we've got here!)

Americans in Kokshetau

In Kokshetau schools there are successful volunteers from the USA. In anticipation of the Day of Teachers, they tell about their first impressions of our city, their own work, and students.

Holly Morris, [close enough] teacher of the English Language in Krasny Yar school number 2.

“Before arriving to Kazkahstan from Salt Lake City (Utah), I visited many European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. But visited here to learn the culture. Arriving here, amazed by the fact that it’s very cold. I was not quite prepared for the weather. I brought with myself light clothes and boots. I was then rescued by the Grandmother with which I became acquainted. I picked up a warmer jacket, so I will not freeze in the Autumn.”

“The first three months, from August to October, I studied the Russian language, which was difficult. But problems remained with grammar, and to know all the possibilities. Then I learned to understand unusual expressions such as “её-моё” [literally: her-my. Used as kind of an eye rolling “oh come on” sort of a thing] and  “ёлки-палки” [literally: Trees-sticks. Kind of an equivalent to  “Holy Smoke”] In the English language there is also such slang. Now I can freely speak, for example, in shops, and explain what I need.” [hahahahaha…..yeah. I mean, I try. But I don’t think I ever said that I “speak freely”]

“Before working in Kokshetau, I gave lessons in a village where the majority of residents were of the Kazakh nationality. [I do not recall saying this. I said it was in the south, near Almaty, and so maybe they assumed…? But why would I make that distinction? I wouldn’t.] I remember my first lesson: I was given only 20 minutes, because I was doing the lesson with another teacher. When I communicated with the students in English, they watched me with amazement. They were in wonder to see a foreigner. I began to ask questions: “What is your name?” “How old are you?” and the answer – Deathly silence. In the next three months they became talkative, and the shyness disappeared. And yes, I also stopped worrying.”

“I remember the Day of Teachers. It was touching that students sang a song and gave me flowers. In the USA there is also a holiday for teachers, and students give teachers flowers and homemade pastries.” [Um, no, I said that the students give teachers gifts, but I did not say anything about homemade pastries. It’s a lovely thought though!]

“I’m glad with my work and life, there are hospitable people here and that’s why it feels like home. True, sometimes I miss that there is not enough fast food and pizza to order. Local residents mostly cook at home, and I also learned to cook […at home. From scratch. That’s what I meant there.].” 

And there you have it. For reals.

If you want to know what the other girls said in the article... ask them yourself. I'm done translating for today. Phew!

One interesting thing about the interview - at the end of it they finally asked which state/city I was from. When I said Salt Lake City, Utah, the main girl asking the questions said to the translator "Oh!? Ask her if she's a Mormon!" Say what?! How would a girl from Kokshetau, KZ know 1) what/who a Mormon is and 2) That there are a lot of them from Utah (a state most people haven't heard of. Although, many people recognize Salt Lake City because the Olympics were there - awesome!). Needless to say, the translator was super confused by this question, so I just answered for myself in Russian. The translator then asked what that meant and if he should ask me any other questions about it. I just told him that it was my religion and the girl said she didn't have any other questions, she just thought it was interesting. Random! 

"You get your picture in the papes, you're famous. You're famous. You get anything you want. That's what's so great about New York." ... er, Kazakhstan? Hmm...

(Yes, that was another Newsies reference.)

Ok, that's all.