Russian Language Classes!

This week I started language school on Thursday. It was a milestone week for me as I took the marschutka, metro, changed metros too and walked to the school completely by myself. Two days in a row and I did not get lost, Friday I even took the marschutka back to Bucha alone. I even had to tell the driver where to stop! WOW this is a big step for me.

Attending language school, that is another story for me; I signed up for the intensive class. My morning of public transportation went well I even arrived early and anybody who knows me well knows I am generally a bit late, but not today. So I arrived at the school twenty minutes early, plenty of time, there is a gentleman there speaking English so naturally I slip into my social mode since I can speak and another person will understand me. We started with small talk, what class are you taking, where are you from, what are you doing in Ukraine… that was the magic question, no I did not witness to him, but God was certainly present. I asked him what his name was he said Tyler, I told him my name and said I was here as a missionary working with youth and orphans. Well guess what - Tyler is Christian teaching English at the language school, attending an English speaking church and working with the street kids trying to rescue them and set up an orphanage for them so they might have a place to live. God is so clever; really, I did not even want to go to class I was so tired, a serious dislike of public transportation and all, what a blessing to arrive at the school and encounter yet another divine appointment.

Class was another story; it began with the teacher Leika speaking entirely in Russian after about an hour of that I was frustrated as I did not feel as if I was learning a thing. Jeff the other student agreed, we politely spoke with Leika letting her know we realize we signed up for an intensive class, but it is difficult for us to learn when we are not at all familiar with what you are saying, would you mind for today at least explaining to us what you are saying in Russian? She was extremely receptive to us; she had just moved back to Kiev two days earlier from Canada and was happy to speak in Russian and English.

My second day of language class, I woke up very tired, not enough sleep the entire week and I was not feeling well, but I knew it was Friday and if I could just make it through one more day I would have a full day to relax and rest up for the next week. So I got ready for class, public transportation all over again, it takes almost an hour and a half to get to school and often I will have to stand on the marschutka or the metro due to the number of people traveling so you can imagine how it might be a bit draining on any given day. Needless to say I made it to school, I even arrived thirty minutes early today, so I decided take a walk and see what was around the school. I walked one block away from the school, I cannot tell what direction, but it was not far at all. I stumbled upon a beautiful park, benches, flowers, a fountain, it was gorgeous, and I was so excited to find such a place amongst so many buildings and downtown area. The park is a perfect place to sit, read, take pictures, observe people, whatever, it is a great new discovery and I was happy to stumble upon it. I walked into class only to find my teacher was sick along with the other student; I wished I too was home in bed at that moment. What did I get up and out of bed for this morning feeling the way I did? I had a substitute teacher, Liliya and she will speak in Russian only and for three hours I will have a one on one session with her. I was not really up for this, I wasn’t feeling well, I was tired; I actually started to tear up when I did not understand her. She kept going, I explained I want to learn, but it is difficult when I do not understand. We got over that hump and it was an excellent class I learned so much from her. It was such a blessing to have a one on one lesson by the end of class we were laughing and joking with each other!