Working in small towns
Podolsk
About the Town
Testimonials
Pictures
About
Podolsk (pedôl`yesk), city (1989 pop. 209,000) in Russia, located immediately south of Moscow in Moscow Oblast. Podolsk lies along the Pakhra River, a tributary of the Moscow River. The medieval village of Podolsk was a fief of the Danilov monastery in Moscow until 1764 and received a city charter in 1781.
The city is considered a major economic center in Moscow Oblast with a diversified economy. At the end of the 19th century, industrialization began in Podolsk with the production of sewing machines and cement. During the Soviet era in Russia (1917-1991), factories in Podolsk also produced boilers, equipment for oil processing, and cables. Podolsk's train station is located along the Moscow Simferopol'- highway. The center of a fertile agricultural region, Podolsk is a rail terminus and lies on the main highway from Moscow to the Crimea. There are electrotechnical industries and factories that produce heavy machinery, cement, and cables.
Trinity Cathedral (constructed from 1819 to 1825) is in the city. Educational institutions include industrial and construction technical schools and a medical training school. The city of Podolsk grew in the late 18th century from the settlement of Podol that belonged to the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. Prior to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Podolsk was a frequent meeting place for Lenin and other revolutionaries. The city has a Lenin museum and numerous educational establishments.
Testimonials
George Masters
I've been living in Podolsk for 6 months now and it's very different from Moscow although only 30 minutes away, it feels like living in a small town and is normally a lot quieter and more relaxing than the city. 
Teaching English 30 kms south of Moscow
Podolsk is a small town 30 kms south of Moscow (from the bottom of the grey line.) most of the town is quite new, with the oldest part being close to the river. The town is dominated by a huge sewing machine factory that takes up the entire horizon of the view from my flat. The BKC School is based at the Economics Institute, near Lenin Square and McDonalds, which is a kind of technical college that also runs courses for adults in the evenings.
I've been living in Podolsk for 6 months now and it's very different from Moscow although only 30 minutes away, it feels like living in a small town and is normally a lot quieter and more relaxing than the city. We are also surrounded by forest which means you get more fresh air, although consequently more snow and it's colder. There are also a lot less tower blocks so it’s a bit less claustrophobic though the fact that they don't clear the snow and ice from the streets very often means that you're normally too busy trying not to fall over to appreciate the scenery. The town has bars, restaurants, clubs and a Ramstore (a biggest supermarket) though all the small shops aren't self service which means that it's good practice for your Russian.
There doesn't seem to be many foreigners in town at all , ( I've met one ) and talking in English still tends to turn a few heads , especially at the market where the babushkas will start jabbing gherkin samples on the end of forks at you , if you go anywhere near them.
The facilities at the school are good and are improving all the time, our admin office has broadband internet and the classrooms are brand new.
When I was the only and first teacher, which was a bit daunting, but there's two of us now, and the demand for lessons seems to be increasing all the time. I teach 32 hours a week (2-9 Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri) to a mixture of students, kids and adults. The levels are quite low Elementary - Intermediate, but this is what I like teaching so I don't mind. It tends to be small adult groups first and last with big groups of teenagers in the middle. The smallest groups are probably 4-5 adults and the largest two teenage groups of 12-13 students. We also get the odd request for 1-1 and specific lessons.
I guess the good thing about working here is that, you're a lot more involved in the running of the school, placement testing your own students and always teaching in the same classroom, and all the stuff to do with the flat goes through the school rather than central office. I also live 15 minutes walk away from my school so avoid the metro rugby scrums in the morning.
George Masters
April 2005
|
