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Well I guess I’m learning Russian...

  Tags: Russian
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Brian_N
Pro Member
Canada
Joined 5769 days ago

200 posts - 202 votes 
Studies: English*, Russian
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 Message 209 of 248
21 June 2009 at 3:44pm | IP Logged 
SII wrote:
In Russian schools and universities the size of teach courses and the workload of teachers are measured in academic hours.


I was kinda wondering about this, calling 45 min blocks, 'hours' seemed like it was something she learned elsewhere.
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Sennin
Senior Member
Bulgaria
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 Message 210 of 248
21 June 2009 at 8:33pm | IP Logged 
Brian_N wrote:
Day 126

Well didnā€™t even meet my Native Russian tutor yet and Iā€™ve already decided Iā€™m firing her ass. We agreed that she would teach me Russian @ $25.00 an hour. Any Canadian, American, Brit or Aussie would understand perfectly what that means, $25 for 60 minutes of work. And in our last conversation she throwā€™s in ā€œAcademic hourā€ and apparently that means 1 hour is actually 45 minutes. 2 words...f**k her. I will not pay someone $33 an hour to teach me Russian. $25 an hour was very reasonable and even a little generous. It was a fair offer and I will not negotiate or compromise on my terms. And now I that I feel quite annoyed, that offer has just been rescinded.

It couldā€™ve been interesting. Pity. Whatever though, there are more Russians out there and with a little bit of luck...maybe the next one will have an understanding that 1 hour = 60 minutes.    


The standard academic hour is 45 minutes, she's not making it up ^_^. Maybe it was a honest misunderstanding on her part.


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Brian_N
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Canada
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 Message 211 of 248
21 June 2009 at 10:04pm | IP Logged 
Yeah I kinda think so too. An honest mistake.

In Canada and the States when money is changing hands for labour it is usually by the hour.    To call something less than 60 minutes an hour when your being paid by the hour is a great way to be told to f-off...itā€™s insulting, offensive, arrogant, etc etc. Iā€™m willing to accept that is was an honest mistake on her part, however she has put me in a very difficult position if I want to fix this. I have to tell her that Iā€™m not going to pay her $25 for her ā€˜hourā€™...sheā€™s only going to be getting $18.75 and I refuse to do that. In my mind thatā€™s just as bad...you donā€™t do that to people, tell them your going to pay them one thing and then turn around and then tell them your going to pay them less. And that is on top of explaining to her that ā€˜thisā€™ is the way we do things ā€˜hereā€™, i.e. throwing it in her face that sheā€™s not in her country anymore. Like who the hell am I to start lecturing this girl?

Iā€™d like to fix this situation...but Iā€™d feel like such an asshole by the time Iā€™m done, itā€™s easier to just blow her off and find a Russian who has a better understanding of how things work here. It'll make life easier for both of us.

Edited by Brian_N on 21 June 2009 at 10:05pm

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Brian_N
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Canada
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 Message 212 of 248
27 June 2009 at 3:41am | IP Logged 
Well, if it was going to happen in wouldā€™ve happened already...I guess this project is surviving. Normally when my life changes quickly little projects like this usually get left behind. Not this one though, resilient it is. I guess itā€™s time to move it forward once again. Same thing as before more or less, learning words, learning phrases and a whole lota listening.   

Thinking Iā€™ll probably be able to make a quick trip into Russia sometime in December, not too sure what iā€™ll do while Iā€™m there mind you. As I look at my options, Iā€™ll probably end up going back on my desire to see the ā€˜restā€™ of Russia first. I figure Iā€™ll have the best chance of being a wall flower in a city of over 10 million people. First time around my goal is simple...see, observe and give the Militsa as little money as possible.

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keith1569
Groupie
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5658 days ago

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Speaks: English*
Studies: Sign Language, Spanish

 
 Message 213 of 248
27 June 2009 at 4:16am | IP Logged 
Brian--I sure would like to go to Russia..You might want to check out St Petersburg, lots
of places to see and things to do there..

Keith
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Brian_N
Pro Member
Canada
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 Message 214 of 248
04 July 2009 at 1:54am | IP Logged 
Day 143

Well this is interesting...apparently Iā€™ve developed an accent. We had an extra guy from another shift today, never met him before. When we went for lunch today he asked me if I was French because (apparently) I have a slight French accent. Hmmm...learning Russian and Iā€™m starting to sound like a Frenchie.....Interesting how that works.

Iā€™m going to guess that with all this listening to Russian (and now attempting to say what Iā€™m hearing) Iā€™m developing new pronunciation rules that are bleeding over into myĀ English.


Edited by Brian_N on 04 July 2009 at 1:54am

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Brian_N
Pro Member
Canada
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 Message 215 of 248
05 July 2009 at 9:33pm | IP Logged 
Progress has been slow lately, canā€™t seem to focus as well as here as I could back home. 30 min spurts is the best I can seem to manage. Itā€™s annoying actually, considering not that long ago I used to be able to hammer off hours and hours.

Before I moved to Winnipeg and started making $1300 a week this project used to be one of the center pieces of a plan that would get me out of the middle of nowhere and put me in a city with a very nice paying job. It was supposed to take me at least 3 years to reach where I am now...instead fate decided a 10 hr bus trip would suffice.

And while yes I am pleased to be going toe to toe with those actually finished University once again...now what? What do I do with my life now? Where do I go from here?    How does this Russian project fit into everything? Choices, choices, choices and questions, questions, questions. Iā€™m so lost right now...I truly envy those people who can just lose themselves in life, no purpose, no direction...just living.

Hopefully this phase will be over soon and I'll have found myself a new direction in life. Iā€™m about ready for all this indecision and stagnation to end.

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ExtraLean
Triglot
Senior Member
France
languagelearners.myf
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897 posts - 880 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Spanish
Studies: German

 
 Message 216 of 248
05 July 2009 at 10:34pm | IP Logged 
Brian_N wrote:
Day 143

Well this is interesting...apparently Iā€™ve developed an accent. We had an extra guy from another shift today, never met him before. When we went for lunch today he asked me if I was French because (apparently) I have a slight French accent. Hmmm...learning Russian and Iā€™m starting to sound like a Frenchie.....Interesting how that works.   


After living more than a year in France, I went back to Australia and was told I had developed a slight south african accent. I found this odd. I suppose that it very well could be slight changes in the way I pronounce things. But only one person thought so, the others thought I was normal.

Work a bit, take time off. Do what you want, repeat. Never envy the mindless masses. They are there to be loathed, and used as inspiration to better yourself.

Thom.


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