I love my Russian professor

My Russian professor is the most stylin' lady that I've ever seen. She is sleek, always dresses to the nines and we have to call her doctor. It took me a while to get used to because I know her out of class from years ago. She taught my daughters Russian.

The other day we were talking and I told her how beautiful she always looks and how I love to see what she will wear next. She has inspired me to shed my jeans and t-shirts for dresses and make-up again. (She said that she has that effect of people.) I told her how I enjoyed the formality, that I like the European feel of her classes and she knows that I want to teach to adults and said, "I do not have you call me doctor because I am European or even because I like myself. Americans do not understand. In Europe, teaching will not make you rich, but you are teaching the next generation of doctors, philosophers, thinkers and writers and dads and moms like yourself. European teachers dress like they do out of respect for their profession. This is the highest calling. There are doctors out there and there are fine people, but if they don't have a good teacher, they won't get any place. My students are all over the world doing everything. my classes are hard, but I know how important my job is and you will be better in your life and in everything because I respect my purpose and throw logs on your fire to learn!"

I had tears in my eyes.

I want to be just like her. I kicked butt on my translation assignment after that. I dress up to study now. It made me feel good to be in college and even just be alive.

What I admire more about her is that she is professional without loosing her touch with us and she makes us laugh. On Tuesday, someone complained about conjugating and asked why (she was teasing) that Russians just can't get it right and be like the English with easier conjugations.

She replied, "You want to know about difficult? Why do the English have to have seven tenses of the word /be/? Every time I turn around I have to ask myself, 'I need to put /be/ here?' You have seven tenses of it and then ugh-- you have definite articles and they haunt my sleep!" She was pretending to put her hand on her head like she wanted to pass out from the effort!

She asked me to come up and demonstrate the tenses of be and I imitated her walk and her voice (I am a failed actress!) and the whole class was laughing.

I hope that I can be like her whether I teach or be a doctor. I love her personality!