[Musakay] Good morning, pupils!
[Students] Good morning, dear teacher!
[Students] Good morning, how are you?
[Iskandar] You're a sick man, bro. I'm shocked
[Iskandar] 170 kilometres,
20 of which are pure hell on the road
[Musakay] A waterfall forms when it rains,
and sometimes, it washes out the road
[Voice] What are you doing? Why?
[Musakay] As usual, they thought: 'If he's a teacher, he must be a bookworm'
[Voice] Your teaching career is over, right, Musakay?
[Makhach] If he leaves, we'll lose a good specialist, and that would be sad!
[Makhach] Everyone will miss him
[Musakay] I have a certain plan and ideas
THE HIGHLAND TEACHER
[GEO] Ingerdakh, Dagestan
[Musakay Musakaev, English Teacher]
[Musakay] The 1st year, the students didn't know I was a capable athlete
that had taken part in competitions
[Musakay] As usual, they thought: 'If he's a teacher, he must be a bookworm'
[Musakay] When doing chores, they tell their parents:
'Our teacher holds trainings, can we go?'
[Musakay] They ask to go to trainings
[Musakay] Hold it, hold it, hold it!
[Musakay] They go to this playground every break,
and I can see who's best at certain routines
[Musakay] So... that's one!
[Musakay] I sometimes come and show them an unusual routine, explain it, and leave
[Musakay] Then they turn and twist all day, trying to learn it
[Musakay] Good morning, pupils!
[Students] Good morning, dear teacher! Good morning, how are you?
[Students] I’m very glad to see you and say hello to you.
[Musakay] Thank you, sit down, please.
[Girl] This is Musakay, the English teacher
[Girl] I want to draw him...
looking cheerful
[Boy] I thought he'd be like the other teachers, strict
[Boy] But he turned out to be kind
[Boy] But when you irritate him, he gets angry
[Musakay] Don't throw the ball here!
[Musakay] There's an athletic field over there
[Girl] He's handsome
[Boy] He's a stylish dresser
[Girl] I wish he'd teach all our classes
[Musakay] I like working with kids
[Musakay] I enjoy the process
[Musakay] I'd like to keep doing this, but I also realise that,
if things continue as they are,
[Musakay] I'll have to move on and leave the school
[Musakay] Let's translate it
[Musakay] Immediately after rain or hail...
a lot of stones fall
[Musakay] There are landslides
[Musakay] What?
[Musakay] No road? We'll try to get through somehow
[Musakay] If not, we'll go back. What can we do?
[Musakay] OK, bye
[Musakay] Every local warns us there's no road ahead
[Musakay] It's dangerous
[Musakay] You have to look up to make sure nothing's falling
[Musakay] Totally stuck?
[Musakay] Got a tow strap?
[Musakay] Gotta strap?
[Musakay] Hang on, I'll see
[Musakay] I don't think I've got it with me
[Musakay] Look here
[Musakay] Go, go, go
[Musakay] A lot of my friends say,
'What are you doing? Why?'
[Musakay] Starting with my friend, the taxi driver, who keeps teasing me to this day
[Musakay] He's joking, but he still messes with me
[Musakay] He says,
'Your teaching job is very hard, you have to drive there
[Musakay] And I make 5 times as much as you as a taxi driver
[Musakay] What are you doing? Quit!
[Musakay] You have a car, you know the city and the mountains
[Musakay] Come work with me'
[GEO] Makhachkala
[Musakay] Hey, what's up?
[Musakay] What's up?
[Musakay] This is Lyakhim. Park him somewhere
[Man] I'll put him in the yard [Musakay] Not there
[Man] It's fine, he'll start whining in the street
[Musakay] I never park my car in the courtyard
[Musakay] Hey! Those are Mum's flowers! Don't put him there
[Musakay] There's lots of room outside [Man] No, he'll run away
[Man] Leave him here
[Man 1] He worries about his lawn [Man 2] He doesn't touch flowers and trees
[Man 1] Are you saying he'll eat the grapes? [Man 2] No
[Iskandar] How are you doing, Mentor?
[Iskandar] Good evening!
[Man] Why don't you say hello to him? [Iskandar] To whom? The horse? Hold on
[Man] He said he won't touch the trees
[Man] He'll throw you!
[Man] You'll hurt your fingers again [Iskandar] He won't
[Man] What's up? Do you need a bridle?
[Iskandar] I can handle it
[Iskandar] Come here, mate
[Iskandar] He won't move if I somersault off him?
[Man] No
[Musakay] He was just coming down, damn!
[Man] Is that Ingerdakh? [Musakay] Yeah
[Musakay] It rained for a while and it all washed out
[Man] There's a thunderstorm now, too [Iskandar] You're a sick man, bro!
[Iskandar] I'm shocked
[Iskandar] That's a new 'Silent Hill' script
[Iskandar] It's crazy how you have to get there, man
[Iskandar, Musakay’s Friend]
[Iskandar] You just needed another…
[Iskandar] This is just a script of how I spent my day yesterday
[Iskandar] And, in winter, there are hungry wolves roaming around
[Iskandar] Damn, man! There's 170 kilometres to go!
[Musakay] Look… [Iskandar] Don't interrupt me! I was listening!
[Iskandar] 170 kilometres! Hit him! Hit him hard!
[Iskandar] 170 kilometres...
20 of which are pure hell on the road
and a chassis killer!
[Iskandar] And that's just one way! Just think!
[Iskandar] There are 20 more km like that, plus another 150!
[Musakay] You're right about that [Iskandar] This is a good deed, teaching kids
[Iskandar] Does anyone but you go there?
[Musakay] Well, they're all locals
[Musakay] There's one female teacher who came, too...
[Musakay] That's it!
[Musakay] But I'm the only one who comes regularly
[Iskandar] She's like Joan of Arc and Mother Teresa
[Iskandar] She'll go that way, and you'll move closer to the city
[Musakay] We're moving here together
[Iskandar] Honestly, I'm more comfortable here, as everything here is available,
and there's everything I need to develop
[Iskandar] And you can do this too!
[Iskandar] I mean, you won't develop there at all
[Iskandar] Out there, you can only give
[Musakay] When I was single,
I didn't have any financial issues
[Musakay] When you're single, you don't spend much
[Musakay] But since I got married and my daughter was born,
there hasn't been much left, even for food
[Nuriyat Musakaeva, Musakay’s Wife] We've got financial issues:
I quit my job, and a teacher's salary can't...
provide for both the child and the rest of the family
[Nuriyat]When Musakay's gone, I have to constantly take cabs
[Nuriyat]Carry the stroller, carry the girl... It's hard to do this on my own
[Musakay] I usually get up at 3:30 am
[Musakay] I get up in the morning...
[Musakay] I should already be on the road at 5:00 am
[Musakay] The trip takes 4 hours, and then I must go right to work
[Musakay] So, sometimes…
[Musakay] A rock hit the windshield, I didn't see it
[Musakay] They keep falling from above
[Musakay] We're approaching a place where a waterfall forms when it rains
and sometimes it washes out the road
[Musakay] Once, I set out early and was approaching Karata,
when an avalanche occurred about 3 or 4 metres ahead
[GEO] Ingerdakh
[Makhach Kuraev, Principal, Ingerdakh School]
[Makhach]We didn't have an English teacher
[Makhach]In 2019, we applied for a country teacher
[Makhach]I remember how Musakay came to us on September 1
[Musakay] When I came here, I was told that I had to teach 30 hours per week
'You're the only English teacher for grades 2-11
[Musakay] There are 5 lessons per week, minimum'
[Musakay] And I had to adapt, as I had no experience whatsoever
[Musakay] I set out on Sunday, arrived in Karata at night,
stayed over at my aunt's, and walked back Monday morning
[Musakay] It's not that simple, it's not just a path
[Musakay] It goes to the river,
then down the slope and up
[Musakay] You can cut directly to the river, and there's an immediate climb
[Musakay] There've been times when I could just jump over this river
[Musakay] Sometimes, in winter, I've even stepped over it
[Musakay] But, in April and especially in May, the water gets high,
and, sometimes, I've forgotten about that
[Musakay] And at its deepest, the water is knee-high or even higher
[Musakay] If you're carrying a bag, it gets all wet, so do your clothes
[Musakay] You end up walking to Ingerdakh soaked, stop briefly at home,
get changed, and walk to school
[Makhach] At first, people looked at him attentively, studying him
[Makhach] And then, the parents said, 'All our kids talk about at home is Musakay'
[Makhach] He made a good impression on the children
[Makhach] There was even talk of finding a wife for him here, so that he'd stay
[Makhach] There was such talk
[Musakay] I've become like family here
[Musakay] Hello! [Dzhalil] Hi!
[Musakay] What are you doing? [Dzhalil] Repair work
[Musakay] Have you rolled it again? [Dzhalil] Yeah
[Musakay] What the…
[Musakay] There are more cracks in the windshield
[Dzhalil] Yeah, I rolled it [Musakay] Where?
[Dzhalil, Hunter] Back there, near the shed
[Dzhalil] I was going up when it rolled on its side
[Musakay] It didn't flip? [Dzhalil] No, rolled on its side
[Dzhalil] This window and this whole side is totally wrecked, this box attacked me
[Dzhalil] See these holes?
[Musakay] This vehicle is a beast!
[Musakay] Mohammad, what's up? How are you?
[Musakay] When will you go hunting?
[Mohammad, Dzhalil’s Son] When I grow up
[Musakay] As-salamu alaykum! You're already grown-up, no?
[Mohammad] I'm 7 [Musakay] 7? You can go soon
[Mohammad] I know his name
[Musakay] My name? What's my name? [Mohammad] Musakay
[Musakay] I thought you knew my other name
[Musakay] I didn't think I'd have to run so much today
[Musakay] I came to Ingerdakh and immediately fit in with the staff
[Musakay] They allocated a house to me here, and I've been living there for 4 years
[Musakay] Everything is modest here
[Musakay] It's no 5-star hotel
[Musakay] But, for mountain life, these are typical conditions
[Musakay] My bedroom here isn't just small, it's tiny
[Musakay] In cities, even bathrooms are bigger
[Musakay] I put a small heater in it, and I stay only in there in winter
[Musakay] Even in the hallway, water would freeze in a bucket
[Musakay] This is my little heater
[Musakay] It's often cold here because the village is 1,900 metres above sea level
[Musakay] In winter, the temperature can drop to -20°C
[Musakay] The biggest difficulty was that I'm used to having an active social life
[Musakay] I started seeing my friends less
[Musakay] Sometimes I got bored, and they were hanging out while I was working
[Musakay] My only pastime was hiking in the mountains
[Musakay] I went almost every day, walking in different directions
[Musakay] It was the only thing that was interesting for me
[Man] Hey! Where are you going?
[Man] Your teaching career is over, right, Musakay?
[Man] You don't want to do it any more? [Musakay] I'm thinking about it
[Musakay] I'm constantly on the road,
but my wife keeps asking me to spend more time at home
[Musakay] You feel like a guest at home when you spend more time in other places
[Man] Yeah
[Makhach] The teachers say,
'Maybe you can persuade him to stay?
[Makhach] If he leaves, we'll lose a good specialist, and that would be sad!
[Makhach] Everyone will miss him'
[Musakay] I have friends who've worked as teachers,
but due to financial issues,
they had to leave their jobs and move into a different field
[Makhach] Most moved to the city
[Makhach] It's easier to live there, they say
[GEO] Makhachkala
[Musakay] To take a concrete example:
I have an acquaintance with 10–12 years of teaching experience
[Musakay] She worked at a school for at least 10 years
before leaving for a totally different profession
[Musakay] Now she works as a psychologist
[Musakay] Once, when we were talking,
she told me: 'The time will come when you'll have to leave this job'
[Musakay] It wasn't advice, she said: 'You'll have to quit, just like me'
[Musakay] Maybe I'm burning out,
emotionally and physically, too
[Svetlana] It's morally depressing to be constantly on the road
[Musakay] I can no longer say for sure that I'll continue doing what I'm doing now
[Svetlana Rustamova, Psychologist] You have a family now, understand? That's a responsibility
[Svetlana] Moreover, when a child is small, they just have small problems,
but their problems grow with them
[Svetlana] The needs of children are growing today
[Musakay] How can I boost my income without leaving my teaching job?
[Musakay] I have a certain plan and ideas
[Musakay] It was probably a kind of lucky break
[Musakay] Tourism began to develop exponentially in Dagestan
[Musakay] Of course, I didn't miss this chance
[Musakay] I thought: 'I can do this'
[Ramazan Gamzatov, Musakay’s Friend]
[Ramazan] Even a single tour can cover a teacher's monthly salary
[Nuriyat]We told him: 'You should open a travel agency
[Nuriyat]You know so many interesting places
[Nuriyat]Most people just visit touristy places like Sulak Canyon, Derbent, etc.'
[Ramazan] 'If you find unusual places and make interesting Internet posts about them,
you can attract people to your business and earn money,
while cutting out the competition, as only we know about these places'
[GEO] Zizik Gorge
[Musakay] Hello! [Man] Hi, brothers
[Musakay] Happy to see you again
[Man] Shall we go further? [Musakay] Let's go take a look
[Musakay] Failed
[Musakay] At the main tourist spots,
there are crowds of people queuing up just to take a photo
[Musakay] But there's no one here today
[Musakay] There's a nice nook to take pictures [Man] You can climb up a bit
[Musakay] I still have no idea if we'll make any money
[Musakay] Maybe, after doing all this, we'll simply go bust
[Musakay] But the goal is to be financially independent
[GEO] Ingerdakh
[Musakay] I had to adjust my schedule a bit
[Musakay] Another teacher came
[Musakay] Now, I work 3 days instead of 6
[Musakay] So, we've split my workload
[Musakay] Now, I come and work 3 days, and then leave
[Makhach] For a long time, we were afraid he'd leave,
but Musakay has stayed until the end
[Musakay] The first time I drove to Ingerdakh, I noticed a large rock
[Musakay] There it is
[Musakay] It's wide at the top, but narrow at the base
[Musakay] The 1st year, I thought: 'It'll fall in 1-2 weeks'
[Musakay] The 2nd, I thought: 'It'll fall soon, for sure'
[Musakay] The 3rd year, they began roadwork
[Musakay] I thought: 'Now, they'll remove it'
[Musakay] The 4th year's passed, the road's repaired, and it's still standing
[Musakay] My friend jokes:
'That stone is like you: constantly in a difficult situation,
but always hanging in there'