Day 9: Second day
I woke up extremely early to finish my homework assignments. I had but one homework assignment to completed and I felt determined to catch up to my peers. I worked on and on for hours until my host family woke up and completed breakfast. I didn't even have time to take a shower before we scarfed down breakfast and left for school.
On the way to school I continued to complete my homework assignments and training my reading. The topic we were studying: megapolis (cities with a population of at least 10 million citizens). Discussing this topic in class is hard on multiple levels: you have to speak in front of a teacher and the class, speak with correct and grammatical Russian, and also form your opinions on topics and defend your arguments. All of this at once is not easy for any of us, but for me it feels especially difficult. I will continue to train on speaking at this level and defending my opinions, but sometimes it's really nerve wracking when you have to immediately come up with an argument regarding the concentration of industry in large cities, and why it is a positive or negative phenomena.
Today was a much better day than yesterday, I did my homework and felt more prepared for class, but I still have a long way to go before I am anywhere near the level of my peers.
Me and Janna went to eat lunch together, and while walking around to find a good cafe, something flew into my eye and kept on bothering me the whole time that we were eating. Even after we parted ways and I headed over to Assel's work to see what it was like (about a 15 minute walk away from the university), my eye kept on bothering me. All of a sudden, the pain went away and I was able to focus on my surroundings better.
When I got to the neighborhood surrounding Assel's work, I had a lot of trouble finding out exactly which building to go to. It turns out that the app I was using for navigation lead me to a completely different place, rather than Assel's work. So I continued to walk to the actual location of Assel's work.
When I got to Assel's work building, the security guard let me through and I finally got to see what her work station was like. Today there were not many people, Assel was very busy with work, and by the time I had got there, it was already time to leave home. We went home and talked about various things relating to my courses and human psychology in general.
We ate dinner: a sauce with mushrooms and chicken over mashed potatoes. The mushrooms were champingong, which are my absolute least favorite, but the way that Assel cooked them made them very delicious! We continued to eat and talk.
After dinner, we walked over to a mall to get some yogurt and household items. Earlier in the day, we tried to look for a dance school or gym closer to the house than the gym that I went to with Monika on Monday for cross-fit, but it turns out that the dance school nearby was only for children! However, the mall that we went to has a large ad for brazilian jiu jitzu, and we will look more into into tomorrow.
Today was generally a lot better than yesterday, but I am still constantly busy and tired. Week one is coming to an end and I am getting more and more used to my new surroundings.
On the way to school I continued to complete my homework assignments and training my reading. The topic we were studying: megapolis (cities with a population of at least 10 million citizens). Discussing this topic in class is hard on multiple levels: you have to speak in front of a teacher and the class, speak with correct and grammatical Russian, and also form your opinions on topics and defend your arguments. All of this at once is not easy for any of us, but for me it feels especially difficult. I will continue to train on speaking at this level and defending my opinions, but sometimes it's really nerve wracking when you have to immediately come up with an argument regarding the concentration of industry in large cities, and why it is a positive or negative phenomena.
Today was a much better day than yesterday, I did my homework and felt more prepared for class, but I still have a long way to go before I am anywhere near the level of my peers.
Me and Janna went to eat lunch together, and while walking around to find a good cafe, something flew into my eye and kept on bothering me the whole time that we were eating. Even after we parted ways and I headed over to Assel's work to see what it was like (about a 15 minute walk away from the university), my eye kept on bothering me. All of a sudden, the pain went away and I was able to focus on my surroundings better.
When I got to the neighborhood surrounding Assel's work, I had a lot of trouble finding out exactly which building to go to. It turns out that the app I was using for navigation lead me to a completely different place, rather than Assel's work. So I continued to walk to the actual location of Assel's work.
When I got to Assel's work building, the security guard let me through and I finally got to see what her work station was like. Today there were not many people, Assel was very busy with work, and by the time I had got there, it was already time to leave home. We went home and talked about various things relating to my courses and human psychology in general.
We ate dinner: a sauce with mushrooms and chicken over mashed potatoes. The mushrooms were champingong, which are my absolute least favorite, but the way that Assel cooked them made them very delicious! We continued to eat and talk.
After dinner, we walked over to a mall to get some yogurt and household items. Earlier in the day, we tried to look for a dance school or gym closer to the house than the gym that I went to with Monika on Monday for cross-fit, but it turns out that the dance school nearby was only for children! However, the mall that we went to has a large ad for brazilian jiu jitzu, and we will look more into into tomorrow.
Today was generally a lot better than yesterday, but I am still constantly busy and tired. Week one is coming to an end and I am getting more and more used to my new surroundings.
Thanks for sharing anak ;)
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mama
What is the population of the place your at? Is it a very large city? Take care son.
ReplyDeleteDad
Almaty is a VERY large city with many playgrounds and malls. As of March 2018, there are over 5 million people. (Source: https://www.zakon.kz/4920342-naselenie-almatinskoy-aglomeratsii.html )
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