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Achinsk

Being given the grand title of 'Special Assignment Area' does perhaps allow you to get carried away with notions of working 'behind the front lines' of English Teaching, perhaps as some kind of undercover TEFL operative parachuted in, or else as a member of the crack paramilitary wing of Language Link, making forays from isolated mountain villages cut off from civilisation. The reality is a little tamer. The Town Achinsk is a small town of around 120,000 people - and you should take that on the Russian scale, whereby, in my experience, anything below a million people does feel quite small town in atmosphere. And this, of course, brings with it advantages and disadvantages. Shops There are plenty of shops for both clothes and food, and with 3 small supermarkets having opened on one day last July, you can buy most things pretty easily. Food is relatively cheap. Clothes can be cheap; imported brands are probably on a par with prices in the UK. Mobile phones are widespread and they (or sim cards if you have your own handset) can be bought cheaply. Despite my misgivings they are very handy as many flats don't have home telephones. For international calls, a phone card which costs 400 roubles (about ten pounds sterling) lasts for 80 minutes in calls to the UK. CDs and DVDs, can be bought very cheaply given the liberal attitude of the Russian market to piracy, though the selection is eccentric to say the least (from Rambo to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead). So if you do happen to have access to a laptop with a DVD player then it is definitely worth bringing. It is also possible to get internet access at home, provided there is a line, but the connection is dodgy to say the least and you will probably find that going to a computer club of which there are several, or the post office is much easier, and certainly not very expensive. Entertainment Achinsk has two cinemas, one very modern showing the latest blockbusters on two screens, one showing older blockbusters. There is also a small theatre. Nightlife in the traditional sense -if that is your thing- is limited, though there are a couple of nightclubs. There are also a few bar/cafe/restaurants where you can drink and buy food. But the social life of the town is certainly not limited, it's just that a lot of it is done in people's homes, where the welcome is always warm. In summer, walking the streets with your friends and family in the sudden Siberian heat is a local pastime. Sport-wise there are a couple of swimming pools, some gyms, and plenty of opportunities to play team sports, such as football and volleyball. It is often merely a matter of asking your students and they will point you in the right direction. The same goes if you are interested in walking, fishing, hunting, rafting, and other outdoor pursuits. The great Siberian Taiga is all around and there are some lovely places to be visited in summer and winter. The city of Krasnoyarsk where the local branch of Language Link is based is not too far away either - about three hours on the train or bus - for weekends, or even day trips. There, you can find a lot more bars, clubs and restaurants and wider array of shops etc. The local Link people are also usually pretty good about sorting you out with somewhere to stay for a night or two, and there are other English teachers to meet up with there as well. So you are by no means completely isolated in Achinsk. The Weather While I'm not going to try and claim that winter isn't cold in Siberia, it should also be remembered that there is a warm (and sometimes hot) Siberian summer too. May was very strange weather, with a lingering winter meaning there was still some snow at the beginning, changing in the space of a week to 25+ degrees Celsius and sunshine. And while there has been by all accounts more rain than usual this year, I'm still able to show off the remnants of my Siberian sun tan. However, as I write this, it is mid-October and snow is once again swirling outside my window. The People If you see not having quite as much of an action-packed nightlife as a disadvantage, then one of the big advantages which Siberia and a small town like Achinsk offers, is that, compared to say Moscow and St. Petersburg (and I have lived in both), it is much easier to meet, socialise and become friends with local people. Until 1991, Achinsk was a town closed to foreigners (in order to hide the wonders of it's aluminium factory), and so, even now, any kind of visitor from abroad is very much a novelty. There is no expat scene at all (other than any fellow teachers) and so any social life you do have is with locals. While by the 100th time, the 'Oh my God, you're not Russian…', 'Where on earth are you from?' and 'What on earth are you doing here?' exclamations and questions might lose their novelty. But they reflect the openness and curiosity of people here, as well as a genuine delight (on the whole) that you have come from so far away to live and work in their town. People are always anxious to find out whether you like Siberia and are keen to make you feel welcome here. Invitations, whether for drinks, to dinner, to the local banya, to parties, to concerts, to go fishing, to go on day trips, to go rafting, to go walking in the forest or, of course to go to the dacha, are regular occurrences, and it is difficult not to keep fairly busy. Your students in particular are very friendly and will help you with anything you are wanting to do, from buying clothes to booking train tickets and will usually make sure you get a good deal. Within a fortnight of arriving here I was already involved in twice weekly games of five-a-side football -and post match beer- with the directors of the company in which I have been teaching. And your students will really go out of their way to make very special any event you have while you are here such as a birthday or the visit of a girlfriend. Even the legendary frostiness of Russian shop assistants can be thawed by their curiosity into what you are doing here. If you are interested at all in learning Russian, or in improving your Russian, then it would be difficult to avoid learning something. English speakers are pretty thin on the ground -though many young people know at least something- and many of them you will know, or know of already as they are your students! The enthusiasm of so many of them to take advantage of the opportunity to talk with a native speaker of English means that you not only feel welcome, but a valued presence in Achinsk. The Teaching Nearly all of my teaching has been in-company, within the vast edifices of the local Alumina factory, owned by RusAl (Russian Aluminium). This has had its advantages and disadvantages. As you are mainly working with the management of the factory, attendance can fluctuate dramatically due to your students having many other work and family commitments, and it can sometimes be challenging keeping the momentum going, not so much of individual lessons, but of progress through the course as a whole. But while some of the less motivated students come and go, there is still a core of people determined to make the most of the opportunity to attend lessons (paid for by the company). And with the managing director of RusAl in Moscow currently a New Zealender, there is definite drive in the company to learn English and improve the education of the workforce in general. In the factory and the town as a whole there is a growing feeling, particularly among the young people of the town, for the advantages some knowledge of English can bring in relation to work. As people have begun to realise that there really are native-speaking English teachers in town the range and number of people that want to study, and thus who you may end up teaching has grown dramatically. In addition to my initial work in the factory, there is a wide range of teaching either currently being done or else in the pipeline. There is other in-company teaching, there is teaching classes of students at the local higher education institute, there is teaching evening classes with 'ordinary' townspeople and there are classes being planned in some of the local schools. You could end up doing any or all of these. And as for everyone else in the town, there are all too plenty of enquiries after conversation practice! Living and working in a small Russian town like Achinsk may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is not hard, if you let yourself, to develop a real affection for the place, and in particular for the people. Stephen Carruthers, October 2004 Apply Online N.B. Please be sure to place 'Achinsk' in the space allotted for 'Preferred Posting (first choice)'.