Hollllllllly cowwwwwwww! I have a job! After a whirlwind two weeks (that seriously felt like 2 months) of training, Brooke has officially become a paid-member of the teaching staff at an English language school in Kiev. Ahhh!
I’m definitely kind of excited. Yes, a paycheck would be nice. But… but… oooh I must admit, my mind is already asking, “Where to next?!” Besides this nagging feeling of needing to move on, everything else in Kiev is treating me quite well. I love Ukrainian food: potatoes, dumplings, and borsch. I am remembering more Russian than I thought I would. Actually, the Russian is clearer to me now than it was on the streets of Bishkek, which may have something to do with my mind not being on meltdown from lessons during the day. And, I think I might not be so bad at this whole teaching thing.
For training I felt like nothing more than a substitute teacher, which is frustrating for both the teacher and the students. Now, I have my own classroom and students, most of which are in their lower 20s with a few younger and older thrown in the mix. I can build a lovely little rapport with them over the next 7 weeks (we do 7 week semesters) and hopefully get them speaking some English! Woo!
In order to teach effectively to people who know very little English, I’ve had to dumb down my speech dramatically. I can already tell this is starting to creep into my normal life. It reminds me of when I was working my IT job and started throwing words like “resolution” and “reboot” into every normal conversation. My job here is also to just make people talk, so I, of course, have become a pro at asking the right questions to keep people going.
I will hopefully get some pictures of all my work and classes in the near future. But, for now I must prepare another lesson!
American girl left to travel the world in 2007. Studied languages, slept in a yurt, taught English, met Aussie guy and fell in love. Moved to Australia. Calls Sydney home. Wants a puppy. Still loves to travel. Read more 
where to next?
australia perhaps!
aweee pat!
anything is possible
Congratulations! You DO love borsch! After reading your impression of salo I don’t believe it!
Brooke,
great site! I am planning on applying to AEC where you taught..Question:
?Did they provide you with an apartment or shared living quarters with other teachers, or did you have to pay for a Kiev apartment out of your own pocket?