10 more seconds

So I was on TV yesterday.

It wasn’t all that special, really – but it was still exciting to see myself on the old soviet-era television that we have sitting in the kitchen of my host family’s apartment. If you recall, dear reader, last week I had the pleasure of being invited to Schola Nadejda (“Nadia Elementary School”) as the token American guest.

As with all new experiences of being the token American, it was a little strange, as I wasn’t entirely sure what the purpose of my presence there would be. After sitting and watching their performances, I surmised that it was the 7th Anniversary of the School, and the presentation was for the children’s parents and local people of power. A representative from ACAP, the political party run by President Nazerbayev’s daughter, for example, was there as well.

The school was a girl’s school in the past, having children ranging from preschool age to 10th form classes (essentially, elementary through junior high school in the states) and had just recently begun to accept boys, though even those were very few and far in-between. There were all sorts of performances, but the most sickeningly cute ones came from the 1st form children, where they had danced to a children’s song about a male cat trying to decide between several females. I recall my face hurting for a while after all the grinning I did after that particular piece.

Since my Russian is hardly up to par, especially when people speak fast, I had thought the only reason I was there was to be the token American – but of course, that would be too simple, and I wouldn’t be writing this blog post now, would I?

After the performances, the hostess made a speech and said something akin to “And now, we would like to welcome our honored guest from America, Jay Chen, who will pass out the certificates.” Granted, I only understood the words “America,” “Jay Chen,” and “Certificates,” – so naturally, I wander over to the front of the room with a confused look on my face as the director shoved a stack of certificates in my hands. It dawned on me that part of the celebration was a ceremony of rewarding local students who had participated in an English competition as well, and I was to hand out the certificates to the students who earned them and to congratulate them. Easy, right?

But of course, this is a Jay Chen story, so nothing ever goes that easily.

Afterwards, the director made another short speech, and handed the microphone to me, in which one of the English teachers then proceeds to whisper in my ear, “Okay, you have your speech, right?”

So here I am, in front of the whole school, with a TV camera shoved in my face, having discovered that they want me to make a speech. Luckily, years of model united nations in high school and teaching in classes had made me a pretty good BS-er and giving impromptu speeches. Whatever I blubbered out was hardily long, but I seem to recall saying something about how beautiful the school was and how lucky the children were to be able to attend such a school. Coincidently, I had also taught a lesson this past week using the quote, “To know that you are ignorant is the first step to great knowledge.” – of course, this stuck out in my mind, and I had to find some way to use it, in which I did. I launched into a 2 minute long lecture on humility and being able to find your way only if you realize the opportunities that were presented to you but not offered to anyone else.

I don’t quite recall the rest of the speech, but I think I managed a congratulations in there somewhere and the students cheered at the end of it, so I think I can call it a success. The event was recorded, and then I was on the evening news. No real interview there, since I speak Russian like a 7 year old, but definitely making my progress towards my 15 minutes.

In other news, the photo gallery has been updated again – use the “last uploads" button at the top to see the new pictures. Feel free to comment!