Student Night

On Friday night (Sept. 15), Makinzie invited her introductory English classes over to our apartment for coffee, cakes, conversation, and a chance to get to know us better. We didn't know how the students would receive the invitation, but as it turned out they were very excited to come and stopped along the way to buy all kinds of Russian (конфети) "konfetti" (candy) and other goodies to bring with them. Far from reserved, the students practically burst into our home, wanting to know everything about every room in the apartment and hardly restraining themselves from jumping on the big master bed (maybe beds aren't typically as fluffy in Russia?). Overall, we had a wonderful and rewarding time with the students, learning some helpful Russian slang and in exchange providing essential American vocabulary such as "roasting marshmallows" (they've never done this) and the verb phrase "to kick out" (they wanted to know how to ask 'at what time will you kick us out?'). Below we will provide a list of some of the more interesting conversation topics.

• Moscow does not stand as an accurate representation of "Russia" in the students' minds. Moscow is sad, and busy, and difficult, they say. The students assured us that in other places in Russia people actually smile and are more welcoming as well.
• Americans speaking English to one another sound "like dogs barking" to the average Russian student. Makinzie in turn explained that rapid Russian conversation sounds like "bla bleddy bla zwa bla".
• "Xav'la", a Russian dessert made with sesame seeds, looks somewhat like a pile of regurgitated hay but in truth is quite yummy.
• In Moscow, it's OK to purchase and light off fireworks at just about any time of day. We found this out when several loud booming sounds startled us from our conversation--the students quickly explained that wealthy families in Moscow sometimes put on their own fireworks displays to entertain themselves in the evenings.
• If you go camping in Russia, you must be wary of the ritual of "Queen's Night". The first ones to fall asleep are properly punished with toothpaste and any other available cosmetics applied to their face and hair. (Not sure where the "queen" part comes in--perhaps from the excessive makeup of Queen Elizabeth?).
• "Mocha"--a familiar word in any American Starbucks--must be carefully applied in the Russian language. In our apartment we have coasters with a coffee theme on them, and the students kept pointing out to one another the one labeled "mocha" and laughing. They were reading it as "Mahch-A". Let's just say that a cup full of "Mahch-A"--also brown--is not something you would want to be drinking in Russia.
• These students have hard lives and busy schedules. All were amazed at the size of our apartment (enormous for Moscow standards) and several explained that they live in one-bedroom apartments the size of our entryway here (often with families of 4, 5, or more). On many weekends the students travel outside of Moscow to see their families. It's not unusual for the weekend to be taken up with a twelve-hour train ride each way, which must leave them exhuasted on Mondays. Many of Makinzie's students postponed trips because they were excited to be able to practice their English in conversation.
  

Altogether, a very enjoyable night for us as well as the students. Before they left, the students were adamant about planning the next time we could all meet, and in their excitement I'm not really sure that they could tell how grateful we were to host them. They left the house laughing as loud as they were coming into it!

(Picture, from left: STANDING--Makinzie, Malika, Igor, Matt; SEATED--Aska, Natasha, Vladimir, Laura Hill, Lily, Dasha).