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Friday March 14 2008


Hi everyone. My computer is broken so I haven't been able to write anything on my laptop. I"m left to battle it out with the other 14 teachers for the one computer Language Leech has seen fit to give us. We had to sacrifice our toilet paper privileges for internet access. That's only a joke because it hasn't occured to Language Leech to add that to it's efforts to economize.


Coming home on april 11th. I'm still not sure what's going to happen after that. I was hoping to get the Fulbright (I'll find out in June) but Putin has closed European University down for "fire code violations." The European Union gave European University a grant to monitor the recent election procedures here in Russia, but the Russian government said that it was a case of foreign meddling in Russian state affairs. In early February all classes were closed and the university became homeless. Professors are holding classes in their houses and on the street, but it's looking bad. Buildings that have offered to rent space to European University have also been threatened with "fire code violations." If the university doesn't get a place to operate soon, it's certificate to teach will expire and it won't be allowed to operate at all.


If the University loses the right to teach in Russia, I may be in trouble. The other universities that teach in English are more international-relations oriented, so that's useless and my Russian is about a year away from being good enough to do a Russian-language grad program with Russian students. If I get the Fulbright, i'm afraid i'll have to refuse it and all that work will have been for absolutely nothing at all. Thanks Putin! The the thank you card's in the mail. Enclosed, please find some frustration. I had some to spare and thought you might have some use for it.


Anyway, my Russian is getting better really quickly. I've got a decent hold on grammar and my vocabulary's getting bigger everyday. My teacher says that I'm between intermediate and upper intermediate now. I've been spending time with my students outside of class and speaking Russian with them the entire time (usually about 7 1/2 hours at a time--it sounds hard but time flies by), so I'm getting lots of practice, although I"m not sure what to do now since I have to leave in April.


Still looking for a stateside job when I come home. If anybody has any leads, let me know. Money's not looking so great these days and I wasn't able to save as much as I'd hoped. After my Russian lessons, I'm down to being paid $560 a month. Housing is free, but money goes fast here--groceries, magic allergy pills, light bulbs, mops, etc, cyanide pills in case I get sent to Samara...

If I don't get the Fulbright/European University is closed forever by order of Czar Vladimir, I'll also need a lead on an apartment (and job, obviously ) in Columbia. I can't take a year of SCUMter life, as enchanting as it is.


Less than a month and I'll be free of Language Link, although I'm sorry to leave my city (I'm still as in love with it as ever) and my Russians. They make things interesting and I feel like I'm learning something all the time. It's gonna be a killer readjusting to life (for lack of a better word) in SCUMter. God, why does my family have to live in Sumter? Why?

I'll try to add pictures at some point.
Steph

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