Busy Life in Moscow

Life has definitely gotten away from me this past month so I am going to back track a little and try to catch you up! I am becoming more and more involved but the second semester is also coming to an end and with all the Holidays at the end of the year, things get a little insane! 

Back on November 16, my kiddos led chapel for the whole elementary.They worked so hard and did such a wonderful job preparing and telling the Story of Jonah to a large group of people. The kids led the music with, "The BIBLE, Who Did, Making Melodies, and Who is the King" They also shared a Bible verse that they have memorized so far this year in our Bible class. I was a very proud teacher. The following day the high schoolers performed a wonderful show called, Belle Notte. This year Belle Notte was called, InternatioNoel and they performed Christmas songs from all over the world. It was beautiful! 

The following week was a bit crazy for it was Thanksgiving week. We had a short week at work and on the last day before our break, we celebrated Thanksgiving as a class. We dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians, went on a Turkey Hunt outside, Read the Thanksgiving story, played games, did some crafts, Carved pumpkins, and had a Thanksgiving feast while watching, "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving." The very next day I left Moscow with a group from the English Cafe and went out to a Dacha for a retreat. We had so much fun. It was so worth getting out of Moscow for a weekend to relax and enjoy fellowship with some great people. We played English games, sang oldies and Christmas songs, watched a Christmas Carol, and had group discussions with the theme of "Past, Present, and Future." 

The highlight for me from November was going to see, Little Mermaid, the play in Russian! No need to know how to speak the language when you have seen the movie 100 times! I still sang along to all of the songs in English as they sang them in Russian! It was so wonderfully performed and incredible to see it performed live!! I even got the soundtrack cd in Russian from the performance. I will learn the Little Mermaid theme song in Russian! (Some day HAHA) 

On to December, So far this month I have been extremely busy every single day before and after work and all weekend. Getting thngs perpared for the Elementary Christmas Program, trying to record grades, get into the Christmas spirit, planning all the days we have before we leave for Break and much more. I went to Izmilyva (Russian Flea Market) the first Sunday of the month and about froze to death walking around in the snow and ice! They have some awesome stuff and I am stoked about souveniers I can find there! I went to a friends house for Dinner and  that was very delightful  to not have to cook and be able to catch up and just have a girls night outside of school. I have been going to Bible study at a different families house every Wednesday, I meet new people there each week. It is so nice to be able to fellowship with people from Russia, America, and Africa! 

Today the children in the Elementary performed their Christmas Program! They did a wonderful job! The 5th graders performed with Bell Chimes, 4th grade performed with the Recorders, and K-3 sang a great bunch of songs with hand motions and beautiful voices. The finale for that age group before 4 and 5th grade joined back up to end with a bang was, I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas! The kids absolute favorite song and it was SOOOO cute!!! The night ended and I was out the door as soon as I was able to be. Now time to relax a little before the Christmas Dinner tomorrow for the Staff! Then back into reality come Monday morning again! Christmas break is so close but there is so much to do before it can come! Italy is almost here and I can hardly wait!!! :) 

November Makes its Appearance

     Fall Break was too short for us in here in Moscow. It was cold, wet, and gloomy but we tried to make the best of it while we could.After traveling all the way across town and waiting for another coworker in a metro for 45 minutes, I finally got to go exploring with my roommate at a Children's Hands on Museum. It is something new to Moscow and it was so much fun. It was two floors and we played with everything. I was able to walk through a "fun house," play with very large bubbles, sit on a chair of nails, scream into a sound box, and explore the many different kinds of machines they had. Natalie and I played in this museum for over an hour and then decided we should make our way back to our apartment.
Just a few short days after my experience at the museum, it was Halloween. Now people here in Moscow do not go Trick or Treating and all of that Jazz but who would want to when it is 18 degrees and the snow and wind are whipping around like crazy outside. Natalie and I walked home from work on Halloween evening freezing and getting pounded in the face by snow being whipped around because the crazy amounts of wind that were happening. Later that evening, Natalie and I were in the kitchen talking and I said, "Hey Nat, do you want to go trick or treating in this weather, I'll dress up like an Eskimo and we can ask people for hot chocolate when we knock at their doors." We cracked up for a good 5 minutes after this conversation. The conversations that go on inside our four walls of our apartment crack me up and keep things going bright here in Moscow while everything else outside is so cold and gloomy.
November 1st was an exciting day for me but as well as most of the staff and our Hinkson girls soccer team. It was the day of the "Hinkson Cup" which is when the staff and moms play a soccer game verses our girls team. I was a bit nervous because I am (as most of you know) a very clumsy person, and I was about to play soccer in the freezing weather, snow, and ice. What was I thinking?? We went out and played 2 halves of 15 minutes each so only a 30 min game. The first round I slid about 4 times but was quick to jump off the ice and snow and continue playing. We held the girls 0-0 the whole first round. Pretty good considering we were the "old people." LOL The second round we were all so cold and tired that the girls team scored 1 on us in the last 5 mins. They won 1-0, but we all did a good job playing considering the weather conditions.
So after a lot of praying and emotional long hard days of trying to work through some tough situations, my boss approached me with another job opportunity and I accepted. I now work one Saturday a month monitoring the hallways at our school during the SAT test that are given. I work from about 7:45-1pm. God is definitely working in my life and providing all of my needs at the perfect time. All my praise has to go to Him!
This past week has been a busy week for everyone here as we were preparing for our Fall Festival/Rummage Sale here at our School. We had a great turn out. We had so many fun games, costumes, face painting, decorating cookies, ping pong, video games, prizes, a jail set up that you could pay tickets to have someone chased down- picked up- and dragged to jail, dress up photo booth (which I was in charge of), lots of different items on sale, delicious food, and many other things. The kids and even the parent and staff enjoyed our time together. It started about 10am and lasted until 2pm. This was definitely a huge hit for all of the kids from our school and their families. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this incredible adventure.
I also had the opportunity to go to an English Cafe that some people I work with host at our school for Russians who want to better there English language by speaking to Native speakers and each other. Last night was "Open Mic Night" and I enjoyed listening to many people sing and share their talents! We also sang some karaoke songs together as a whole, which was a lot of fun! I am glad I went and I think I will continue to go each time they host an English Cafe. The people are great. What a way to make new friends!
Now as time gets closer to Thanksgiving, we are preparing for so many different things around the school as well as the holiday weekend plans. I am excited about what is going to take place for Thanksgiving this year but still having a hard time accepting that I will not be home for the Holidays. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is where God has placed me and He has a reason and a plan for me being here! 

The snowy madness has begun

Snow has arrived here in Moscow. Our first snow fall was October 26 during the Parent Teacher Conferences that were held at school. Needless to say, the snow didn't stick but I enjoyed watching it fall from the windows of my classroom. It was a blistering cold day. October 28 was the 'real' first snow day. I woke up to a beautiful white covered view from my windows of my apartment.
Not too many exciting things have happened since my last post, it actually has been a pretty hard month. I got a new student in Kindergarten, her name is Allison. Since Allison has arrived, the dynamics of my classroom have changed tremendously, and most not for the better. It has been a very crazy time in Kindergarten trying to get things back to 'normal.'
I did make it to the Russian Ballet and boy was that absolutely incredible. I have never any kind of ballet or dancing done so beautifully. The Russian Ballet consisted of, a Jewish wedding, Greek dance, Russian kick dance, Chinese dance, Japanese dance, a sailor dance, and many other things. Each dance was well performed and so fascinating! I cant even explain what I seen. I teared up watching the beauty of the dances being performed so perfect. I will definitely go see another one!
Twice this month I have had the privilege of going over to my bosses house on a Saturday to have dinner and play some games. This is always an exciting time because I dont have to cook! LOL My boss makes the best cornbread and she specially makes it for me every time I go over! :) I have had the opportunity to play some new games while over at her home as well as spending time with her family and making new friends! It is such a joy to have a wonderful family here that is so fun to be around and so uplifting.
I had the opportunity to go out around town yesterday with my bosses daughter and take photos of her for her senior year. We had such a blast together. I explored different things and starting with taking the brown, orange, red, green, and blue lines to get around town on the metro. We rode very steep escalators, walked thru metros, around a park, down Arbot street, and many other places. We also hiked up a huge hill, walked thru a watery mud hole, slipped on some ice, hopped over a small stream, walked by a river, and had so much fun doing it all. I also experienced a Russian Mcdonalds. Very different atmosphere, the inside of this mcdonalds was amazing and two stories. The 'drive thru' people were "walking thru" just absolutely different. Amazing to see how similar but different things like this are in another country!
I have started something new on Tuesdays after work with a small group of ladies that I work with. We now get together and do aerobics together! We had so much fun meeting for the first week but we all were so tired and sore for days following our workout. We will continue to do aerobics every Tuesday after work together, so please keep us in your prayers! Lol...
The first semester of school is done and grades are all finished. That was definitely a crazy week to get all of that finished on top of planning for our parent teacher conferences. But, I got it all done and on time! I do have a couple of funnies from the past couple of weeks from my lovely kindergartners. I asked all of my students, "What are some different kinds of people in the world?" I got some very expected answers like, boys, girls, black, brown, russians, americans... and then my youngest student yells out, "usual people- you know like the usual skin colored people." It was too cute! One more story and this has to do with my Russian student. At the end of each semester I will do an overall semester test to see what knowledge the child has gained, etc. On this test, I had to ask the child about, Top, Middle, and Bottom. I used a picture and asked the children to point to something on the top shelf, something on the bottom, and something in the middle. Well when I was testing my Russian, I asked, "Point to something on the bottom," but before I could finish my question, she pointed to the little girls "bottom" on the paper. I had to do everything I could to hold it together. Well she definitely knows what the body part "bottom" is and when I got around to finishing the question she could show me something on the bottom shelf as well! :) It was so funny and too cute. It made me very happy to see the progression that my russian speaking child has made so far in the first semester.
Our first semester as well as October has come to an end but the learning and making a difference in a child's life will continue. I look forward to all of the new adventures, stories, memories, and life lessons that the future here in Moscow will bring! 

The Sparks of Life

      September ended on a pretty good note. Fall has definitely settled in here in Moscow. Kindergarten has been moving forward and enjoying each day we have with each other. So many news things have come about in my class. Each and every day the children bring so much joy and laughter into the class and so much learning is happening among the students. I do have quite a few stories to share that definitely make me laugh every time I tell them.

The first story that many of you might be terrified to hear but to me it is truly a hilarious moment that I will never forget. Natalie and I were invited over to our bosses house, Karen. While we were over at Karens we  watched Robin Hood with the younger kids while Karen made a delicious dinner. We then ate Potato Soup and have Corn Bread, man it felt so nice to eat some southern corn bread! :) When we were finished we all sat around the table in the living room and played games. We laughed and had such a good time of fellowship with each other. Before we knew it it was late and we needed to get home. Natalie and I said goodnight and headed to the elevator. The elevators are very small here and its definitely an interesting experience. When we got to the elevator I climbed in and the doors immediately closed behind me with Natalie on the other side. I banged on the door and I could hear my roommate laughing on the other side. This was the moment I realized, "I am stuck in the elevator." One of the first things I was told when I got here in Moscow was not to be shocked if I get stuck in an elevator and that it happens to everyone at some point. So I started laughing hysterically. I am laughing so hard I am now hunched over holding my stomach because it hurts so bad and now I need to use the bathroom. The doors opened and my roommate is laughing so hard her face was red. We both finally made it to the bottom floor and out of the apartment complex, still cracking up laughing so hard we are both choking to the point of puking. I will never forget the day of being stuck in a very small Russian elevator by myself listening to my roommate cracking up on the other side. Oh what a night! 

A little dose of  what happens in my Kindergarten class every day. We got to chapel every Friday morning and I usually sit on the end of the row next to my class. Laurel wanted to sit by me one day so I allowed her to. Before chapel started all of the kids in the room were turned around and talking. I happened to look over right at the time that Laurel was starring at me and I couldn't figure out why, then all of a sudden she latched onto my arm and held on for dear life. I have no idea what is going on and then she leans over and whispers in my ear, "Miss Macomber I am so glad that you let me sit next to you in chapel because I love you." (As she leans in for a hug) Last week we were talking about Vowels in class. We have this vowels song that we sing every day before we move onto our next vowel and Evgeny, my very intelligent boy, stops singing and waits for me to acknowledge that he is not singing, and he shouts out, "Miss Macomber, I have no more oxygen in my mouth to sing this song, the vowels song is too much for my mouth." WOW! The things kids say, but wait it gets better. In science we have been talking about, Rocks, Sand, and Soil. On the first day we talked about Rocks and I asked my class who could tell me what a rock was, and my youngest, Sadie burst with excitement to tell me so I called on her. Her exact words were, "A rock is a hard thingy mabobber." I love he vocabulary that my class uses every single day, it's great. Also, yesterday morning when all of my kids came inside, I noticed Sadie's hair and I said to her, "Sadie your hair is a little wild this morning." Boy was that the wrong thing to say to a 4 year old because she had a come back. She starred at me and said very seriously, "Miss Macomber, my hair is still very sleepy and we need to give it time to wake up." Oh how I could not stop laughing after that comment was made. Oh boy, This is why I do what I do. The things that kids say definitely make teaching worth every second of my day for the rest of my life. 

Oh, this is so fun. As most of you know my roommate Diane from college, well she works at a christian school and the Kindergarten class at her school and my class are going to become Pen pals. I am so excited to see how the kids interact with each other through drawings, letters, videos, etc. My class is thrilled to be able to talk to people in the states. Some of them whom have never had this opportunity. What a wonderful experience for both classes! 

Here is another story from Natalie's third grade class that is very funny. You have to love teaching in an international school but using an american curriculum. What is a babushka? Well in America a babushka is a headscarf but in Russia it means grandmother. The third graders all know Babushka as a grandmother. Now picture yourself only knowing babushka as a grandmother and stay with me during this story. In third grade they are reading a story about a girl who went from Russia to America with nothing but her Babushka and her coat.In the story the girl swings her Babushka around and around as she dances with it. Then later in the story she takes her Babushka home and cuts it up and makes a quilt out of it. The kids at the end of the story were rolling they were laughing so hard. This is now the running joke in third grade! ;) 

 Well September is now over but October has definitely made its appearance here for me. My week of October has been an eventful one. It started out with us forgetting to pay our internet/phone bill so that got shut off and we weren't 100% sure how to pay it. Ha Ha. Then a very special necklace broke at work and I was devastated, BUT it may be able to get fixed. After this I went grocery shopping on the way home and decided I was going to make some dinner. I went to go plug in my microwave to use it and the outlet started sparking and smoking. I immediately unplugged it and it continued. I panicked mainly because I don't speak Russian  I'm home alone, I cant get a hold of my roommate, and my kitchen is sparking and smoking. I was able to get a hold of my boss and her husband had me go to the 7th floor and find someone to give my phone to them. I am very emotional at this point and this little old lady was able to help me. She came to my room and turned off all of the breakers and was able to give us a number for an electrician and stuff. My bosses husband came over as fast as he could. On his way he picked up dinner for me and he ran into my roommate. They both came to my rescue. We were able to figure out the problem and the next day another guy from work was able to come over and fix it for us. Praise God it wasn't something too serious and that I was able to find some one who could help me. Like I said, October has not been my month so far. Here is to hoping that it gets better for me! 

Other than all of the fun stories that have turned into such great stories of laughter, things have been coming together for me. I have had a lot of opportunities lately and a lot of decisions to make and I think I have come to some conclusions. I am very excited for all of the things that are happening in my life lately and I looking forward to many more so I can share them all with you! We also just celebrated the Korean Thanksgiving at my school. It was very different but totally amazing. What an experience to have had! Something fun that I am looking forward to, is this coming Thursday I have the opportunity to go to a Russian Ballet show and I am stoked! I can't wait to share that experience with you all! Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as we all try to get through this cold weather, the sicknesses that are going around Hinkson, and some other things that are going on with some staff and admin at my school. I would greatly appreciate everything! Thank you for being so awesome!!! I love you all! 

A dose of life...

          In the moment, where I step out completely on faith in something I've always dreamed about but never thought would come true, God provided. The moment where everything is working out and I am provided so many opportunities to do work of the Lord, God planned it to happen that way. The moment when I look back on everything I have overcome and realized that I am so very blessed in many ways, God was always there! The moment when reality hits and I am amazed and can't thank Him enough for everything he has done and is doing to this day, God always provided everything I've ever needed! The moment when I truly realize that not everyone has the opportunity or the nerves to go across the world and teach children the love of Jesus, God opened that door just for me.

 

There have been so many moments for me in the past week. A week ago, the staff at Hinkson went on a Staff Retreat and had 4 sessions all about, "Cultivating a healthy rhythm of life." Every session was filled with so much information and very good points about how to balance: life, work, home, relationships, and health. The whole weekend was filled with so much love, joy, and laughter together! We were able to form bonds with each other and really dive into things as a team! On this trip out of the city, we also worshipped together, played games or sports, swam, experienced Banya (Sauna), explored outside, and ate delicious Russian food, buffet style! :)

 

My children bless me each and every day! From the time they walk into the room until I dismiss them to go home! We had a PIE night (Partners in education) this past Tuesday, its kind of like the Open House in the schools back home. I had 2 parents come to my classroom and it was so nice to hear the feedback from the parents. It was very encouraging to hear the parents tell me how excited the children are each morning to get up and go see Miss Macomber. It was even more encouraging to hear the parents get excited about all the things that their child will be doing and learning this year in Kindergarten. I work with the most wonderful group of students and I honestly could not be more blessed to have such supportive and willing parents. I have one student who comes in every morning and has to hug me and tell me she loves me! I am so touched each day with the little things that these children have to give to me. Even on the hardest of days, I see these little faces and I am reminded of why I am here! There is nothing greater in my life right now than being a part of these students lives!

 

I do have a wonderful inspiring story for you all. You may not fully understand how moving and emotional the outcome of this story is but try to put yourself in my shoes. My one Russian child, whom started out with NO english what so ever, comes to class every morning so eager to learn. Usually when you talk to Polina and ask her a question she stares at your with this blank look and then repeats what you asked. The other day, My Boss Karen walked into my classroom and asked Polina, "how are you?" Now, we are all expecting her to say, "how are you" and instead, we seen the look on her face and you could tell she was processing what was just said to her and Polina spits out, (very slowly)  "I am fine!" WOW!!! The whole class smiled and clapped for Polina. She is really starting to understand and know how to use what little english she has comprehended.  

 

I also want to share with you that while I am here in Russia that I have such a great opportunity to explore and see the world in so many different ways. For Christmas break this year I will not be coming home for it is too much money but rather I get the chance to go to Italy and see The Bruce’s! How exciting?! I am thrilled beyond belief to have the opportunity to see them but also explore Italy, who would have thought that would ever happen! Not me!! Also, in the spring I have the opportunity to go to a Christian Education Conference in Germany for a whole week (during Spring break) and I really want to do that, the whole conference and hotel expenses will be paid for the only thing I would need to do is purchase my plane ticket, which isn’t bad from Moscow. There are a couple of reasons why I want to do this trip, 1-for the experience of a Christian education conference, 2-we get credentials for attending things like this, and 3-it is in the same town of which I applied for a teaching position last year and may actually attend at some point along my journey. (So I could actually go the Black Forest Academy and see it firsthand.) There are so many different kinds of retreats and trips that Hinkson goes on every year and I have the opportunity to go with as long as I can pull my end of the bargain. My goal is to experience as much as I possibly can while I am overseas because it is so much easier to do things when you are already overseas rather than trying to do it all from the states! How awesome that God has so opened so many windows in my life. I have definitely learned to trust Him more and to really leap out on faith completely to do most of these things of which I am doing. We all know that I certainly could not do these things on my own! That is for sure!!!

Something that I am really thinking about is getting my masters degree in Children’s Ministry but I am not 100% sure. If and when I do decide to start my masters it will most likely be online just because I don’t know where I will end up in the future and it would be easier for me and my schedule since I do work and have so many other obligations day to day!! Please keep this in your prayers, I would greatly appreciate it.

The weather around here is bizarre and I am not sure that I am totally ready for it either. I was able to wear short sleeves and shorts the first week I was here. After that it has been pants and a light sweater. Last week I had to pull out a heavier jacket, leggings under my pants, tennis shoes, and was still cold. We are definitely headed into some serious fall weather. Winter is going to be a totally different winter for me this year! I know I will be ready for some Italy weather when Christmas comes around. Just about every day I am reminded of Florida weather because just about every day it rains at some point. Russia is very gloomy (most of the time) its actually kind of depressing. But hey, if that’s all I have to face then I am ok with that! Not every where we go can be sunshine and rainbows as much as I wish it could!

Life in Moscow has been super busy, a little overwhelming, but so very wonderful! This is just a dose of what my life has been like lately. I hope you have enjoyed keeping up with all of the excitement that goes on on the other side of the world!!

 

Embracing Gods Faithfulness

     Fall has definitely made its appearance here in Moscow. The weather has gotten much more chilly, wet, and windy! The sun doesn't stay out very long and that is if it even decides to enlighten us with its sunshine. Quite a bit has happened since my last entry so I will try my best to wrap it all up as much as I can.
   My class is doing a wonderful job so far this year. We played games to get to know each other, we have had a lot of class discussions, we have done a lot of art projects, learning centers, and a lot of work! All of my students play very well together and they include everyone in. My one Russian speaking child is still very quiet but she is grasping the English language already. It brings a smile to my face when she says something new on her own, each day! One day I was sitting at my desk after school and little Polina ran into my room and stopped in her tracks, starred at me, and pointed to her shoes and said-"My shoes go in the box, yes?" I just smiled and said, "Yes Polina." What she was informing me about was, here in Russia we have 'inside shoes' and 'outside shoes'. She was still in her inside shoes and needed to put them away in her 'box' in order to go home. I was a very proud teacher. Since then she has picked up on her colors and letters A-D, along with a few other phrases. We are definitely getting there together! Each student brings something new into our class everyday and we learn from each other every time.
    We had our very first field trip to, Kolomenskoye Park this past Friday. The Kindergarten and first grade class went together. We had 5 parents between the two classes as well as both of the teachers. This park was HUGE, consisted of very old churches and buildings, a lot of history, an apple orchard, gardens, and much more! We walked around the park for a number of hours, checking out all of the cool things there was to see there. We also took the children to the apple orchard and picked apples! That was so much fun and my first time! :) After our field trip we made it back to the school in time for dismissal. After our school day on this particular Friday we held a 5K as well as a family picnic. So many had signed up for the 5K and then after that we had an all school picnic. All the families came and we enjoyed the fellowship with one another as well as all the yummy food each family brought. It was one the most amazing pot lucks I have ever had!
    Also a very exciting thing has happened for me. My roommate Natalie and I, moved into our new apartment. A place that we can officially call home! The whole story behind this is definitely a truly blessing from God. So if you get the chance sometime, ask me about it. We met with the landlord on Wednesday to get our keys and make the exchange. On Thursday, the wonderful Hutchinson's, and the Hange's helped up move all of our things in and get somewhat situated! I was so thankful to have them help us make this happen. Well we are in and have been unpacking and getting everything in our apartment to feel more like home. And on the mega plus side, I only have to walk 12 minutes to get to work!! Praise the Lord!
   God is truly working in my life each and every day that I am here in Moscow. I was beginning to have a hard time with being so far away from everyone back home, the time difference was really starting to settle in, and I was really starting to feel lonely. Now, not saying that I ever hated this place, or that I wont have any of these feelings over the next 9.5 months, but I am adjusting much better now that I have my own place. I am able to be free and feel so much more comfortable where I am. I still miss everyone back home tremendously and wish there wasn't 8 time zones between us, but I know God is in control and He has shown me that He will provide all of my needs. I am so thankful for this opportunity I have sitting at my feet and I am going to embrace it with everything I have!

"First Day Forecast"

So, you may be wondering, how my first day teaching in Moscow went? Well, it goes a little something like this.....
I woke up around 6:30 and I am so cold, I can't remove myself from under my covers but I knew I needed to get moving before I would be late. I rolled out of bed and grabbed my jacket before I even found my clothes to wear. I went and checked the temperature and much to my surprise, a whopping 46 degrees! No sun and mega winds!! WHAT?! I am not ready for this just yet.. "a couple more days, a couple more days!" I picked my jaw up off the ground and finished getting ready. Off to school I went. When I made it to school, I had a red nose and wind burnt cheeks! I got settled in and made sure my last minute things were done before the children started to show up. I was getting excited and a little nervous.
Finally, the moment I had been waiting for all this time. And there they were, my little anxious Kindergartners. I only had one child cry at the beginning when mom left but she clinged to me for a little and adjusted very quickly! PTL!!! I also received flowers from one of my Russian students today. This is actually a tradition here, on the first day of school, the Russian students bring their teacher flowers. How precious?! But of course, I was unprepared for this action and I had to scramble around to find something to put them in so they did not die the first day! Thank you Natalie for saving my flowers! When we made it to the classroom, we immediately jumped into the name game so we could all get acquainted farely quick. All of my students picked up my name, "Miss Macomber" very well, I was impressed! I had six of my seven show up. Two boys and four girls. (Polina, Sadie, HaRin, Laurel, Evgeny, and Andrei) (Umida was missing today)! Polina, Evgeny, and Umida are all of my Russian children. Evgeny speaks pretty decent English but Umida and Polina do not speak English at all. That definitely made for an interesting day today! ;) I had to do a lot of pointing, signing, and acting for Polina today, but we made it together!!  Andrei is my dual child, Russian and American, so he speaks very good in both languages! HaRin is my only Korean student and she went to a English speaking Pre-K so she knows English very well. Last but not least is Sadie and Laurel. These two little girls are my American children.
As many of you know me, you know how much of a planner and timely person I am. Well I do have to admit that my class was not only the last to make it to, "Beginning of the School Year Assembly" but we were also late!! I was so involved with getting to know my students, I completely lost track of time and was escorted to the cafe by another teacher, whom had to come and get me from my room. (Whoops)During Assembly, the Elementary Principal, Karen, gave the children a word to remember this school year and it was the word, "FIT". Each letter stands for something that she wants the students to be this year and she was asking the children what they thought each letter stood for. "F" is for friendly. When she got to the letter 'I' she asked, what do you think 'I' stands for and my little Laurel yells out, "IGLOO". It was too precious! I couldn't help but giggle in the corner. Well, "I" did not stand for Igloo, it stands for inquisitive and "T" stands for teachable!
Shortly after assembly was over, it was time for my students to split up from me and go to either Russian class (if they dont know Russian) or ESL (if they need help with English). During this time, it was my break time. I proceeded to move towards the stairs (which there are three stairwells in our school and all are three flights of stairs) Most of you are thinking, "oh no" and you would be right! Miss Macomber, in a dress might I add, tripped up the stairs and about went face first into the ground. A Russian staff member and tried to grab me but I jumped up and continued to laugh hysterically at myself. I looked at the lady and said, "Its ok, Im clumsy, and I do this often." She responded with, "Oh girl, it is only the first day." We both laughed and kept on moving in our own direction!
The day flew by from this point on. We did some math and Bible, and we played in our centers and on the playground. By the time I had the chance to really sit, it was time to get the children and all their belongings together and head for outside until it was time for dismissal. I think all the children got out their first day jitter bugs and are excited to come back tomorrow! I actually had 3 students who kept informing me that they were not ready to go home. Am I that much fun to be around? (I thought to myself- surely not) LOL
With all of this being said, my first day as a "Kindergarten Teacher" in Moscow was a success! I have a lot of memories already and I am excited to see what all this school year will bring me!