Valya Filimonova
Valya Filimonova's blog
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Getting to know me
||October 19, 2007|1150 reads
 

To add a comment to "Getting to know me"
Kathy
October 19, 2007
Very interesting, Valya!  How old were you when you moved to the U.S.?  How was your English then?  Is Russian Winnie the Pooh the same as ours?  And is Shurik Shrek?  Glad to see you posting a blog!!!
Valya Filimonova
October 19, 2007

Oh, thank you for starring me! :) :) :)

I was 16 when I came to the U.S. And even though I was one of the best students of English back at home, I had an extremely hard time adjusting here (language being just one of many cultural issues).

No, Russian Winnie the Pooh is a Russian interpretation of the original story and may seem to have absolutely no relation to it. But it is SO CUTE and funny! It is very old cartoon too, as well as the rest of the mentioned. Shurik is a classic too (It's a young student's name, short for Alexander); I'd say, much funnier than Shrek :)

Thank you for commenting!!! God bless you!!!

Mike n Laura
October 19, 2007
I would love to see the Russian Winnie the Pooh! (translated of course)

"What's a TV?" --I can identify! 

"I'm scared of the phone; don't like it" --I can identify! 

"M&Ms!!! (Mmm!!! Chocolate!!!) " --I definitely identify, in fact I could eat a whole bag. Now!

Good to meet ya, welcome to MyChurch! (and have another star!)
Valya Filimonova
October 19, 2007

Thanks so much! :) I'm actually finishing up my bag of M&Ms right now! Have you tried the new Dark Chocolate ones??? :) :) :)

I am also very glad to meet you! Thank you for the star! :)
God bless you!

Voice in DC
October 21, 2007
...and at Ryan's I would be one of those guys who would tip you well!!

Glad you are in the states and glad you are here on mychurch!  Based on what little I know about you, I think you are on your way to the last four things you listed above...
Gene Boecker
October 24, 2007
Valya, I have a friend who was in the Ukraine for a number of years - Kiev.  How was you visit when you went back?  Had things changed a lot or a little?  Did it make you homesick?

I can relate - about the chocolate.  You should see all the m&m dispensers I have in my office.  Everyone asks why they're empty all the time.  If I filled them up I'd just have to eat all the m&m's and then it would be empty again!
Jess Stuart
October 24, 2007

Howdy Valya,

Let's hope I spell this correctly: Priviet! 

2.) Math Tutor at RCCC

I tutored math for about 12 years.  It's funny how much more math I learned tutoring, than when I was taking classes.  I guess having to explain it to another person makes it more understandable. 

Valya Filimonova
October 24, 2007

Gene, nice to meet you! Well, strangely, I was more homesick in the U.S. than when I came home... Many things changed and many were forgotten. I felt like a stranger there, and I think I was. The only thing that I truly missed were my friends and my church - the people. Still, after not having contact with them for two years, I felt like I've missed just too much in their lives. My best friend, though, made all the difference. Thanks for asking. :)

A bright side of M&Ms and having them in your office is to challenge yourself: how long can you go this time without taking one? (I'm still on level one of this game!) :)

Jess, priviet! :) :) :) You are so right! I learn the same way. And besides just learning math better, I also learn various techniques that different instructors use. It is pretty challenging, because you have to work with all students individually, explain better but still in terms and boundaries of how they have been taught. Great to meet you! (How did you learn to greet in Russian???)