Notes from Underground

Ok ok, nothing to report, but I felt some pressure from one particularly rage-a-holic reader to write a new post.  So here's what I've been doing:

I read The Call of the Wild.  It's one of the most beautiful little books I've ever read, and certain images will be forever in my mind and in my heart.  However, I can't quite picture what the protagonist would look like.  Buck is 1/2 St. Bernard, 1/2 Scotch shepherd.

I’m preparing for my travels, looking into attractions in Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague.  If anyone knows any must-see sights there, give ‘em here.  I’m also teaching myself German from a book called German Through Pictures.  Ich habe ein Buch!  Er ist auf dem Tisch! 

I’m looking for warm sneakers for my trip, but women’s shoe stores here only seem to sell hooker boots.  Is it me, or is this gender discrimination?

Teaching, or conducting classes anyway.  My second-year students are doing a unit on “Meals and Food” so we’re having class pot-lucks.  My fourth-year students are doing law, so I tried to do a Roger Berkowitz lesson on the historically divine origin of morality versus the atheistic modern age.  This somehow turned into a lesson on how the only English word that can be any part of speech is “fuck.”  Sorry, Senator Fulbright.

Meanwhile, I’ve been supervising the third-year students’ “methodology projects.”  These are basically research projects culminating in presentations, the kind of thing American students start doing in sixth grade.  I’ve realized that in Russian education there’s no focus on critical thinking, so the kids don’t see a problem with printing out a page from Wikipedia and reading it out loud as a presentation.  I’m trying to break my kids of that habit.  It’s particularly difficult when they don’t bother to come to our meetings.  Tonight I told my JCC students how much more I like working with them.  Nuts to the Pedagogical Institute!

Looking ahead a couple days, I’m going to try to make latkes.  I have all these potatoes and some really good sour cream.  I’ll let y’all know how that goes.  The vice-consulate’s wife also invited me to a Christmas cookie exchange, so I’ll be making Jessie and my patented Monkey Cookies.  Except since I’m baking without Jessie, I’m gonna put in some pecans too.  Mama’s cuttin’ loose!

So you can see what a thrilling and noteworthy life I lead here.  Eh, Rachel?

PS--My blood brother and brother-from-another-mother are going to Israel tomorrow on Birthright.  Have fun boys and make good decisions!