soccer

Two kids in our school had birthdays this week. One turned six and the other three. Normally that wouldn’t be something to write home about, but these kids’ school parties included a puppet show, pony rides, and a circus (no live animals, but performers and clowns). We weren’t complaining either, because we didn’t have to teach the little kids on Friday due to the festivities. At the end of one of the parties they had everyone come to the middle of the room and dance. We joined in with the kids, and they played the hokie pokey!

This morning we toured the All-Russia Exhibition Center. The buildings are beautiful, but we were disappointed that they’d already turned the fountains off for winter. We still got some great pictures though, and did some shopping in some of the buildings. We went from there to the soccer stadium to watch Moscow play St. Petersburg. That’s not something I’d want to do again, but it was definitely a great cultural experience.

We were greeted by a line of guards who surrounded the entire stadium. We had to be patted down and have our bags searched, plus walk through two metal detectors. Once we were inside the stadium we realized our seats were on the other side, so we tried to walk around and get to the other end. But, once again, saw just more guards and lots of dead ends. We finally realized that the stadium was divided into four sections, and there is no way to cross between sections. We decided we would just have to leave, be searched all over again, and enter in the right section. But then someone brought it to our attention that our tickets had already been ripped and they may not let us back in. Finally we decided to be brave enough to approach one of the guards who very patiently pointed out to us that we were on the wrong side of the stadium. Duh! Then he realized we couldn’t get there because we’d already entered this side, and that our situation was actually quite complicated. But, before we knew it, someone sent out a guard with a security vest in English, ready to help the Americans. I think it was the highlight of his day. He had to give us a personal escort out of the stadium, walk us around to the other side (in front of the lines of guards we’d already passed twice—embarrassing!), and then through security again, and finally to our seats. He then informed us that our seats were in the midst of Moscow fans (not surprising, considering we’re in Moscow), and that they’re not a very good team, and probably wouldn’t even score, but that we should cheer for them no matter what. Gulya had already given us that warning, and also told us not to buy any paraphernalia associated with either team because if a fight breaks out we don’t want to be associated with the wrong side. Scary! I was actually glad Moscow didn’t score, because every time St. Petersburg did they lit flares and fireworks and threw confetti and flags. I was scared to see what would happen if our side scored. We decided to leave a little early because we didn’t want to have to be in the subway with that crowd of people, and I’m very glad we did because there were guards at every metro stop. I didn’t want to wait around long enough to find out why!

more of our walk

our walk

I never imagined Russia looking like this. I feel like I'm living in a Jane Austin novel. Here are pictures from our walk. Try not to be too jealous. :-)

teaching

We had our first Russian class today. I loved it. I wish I could have a lesson every day. It made me miss teaching Spanish, and made me wish I could teach Russian. I felt sorry for the other girls because our teacher went so fast. She doesn’t speak English, which was nice, and is a really good teacher—she knew what she was doing. We practiced saying some popular phrases and then went over the alphabet and possessive pronouns. It was so fun. And Julia, our school coordinator, said the director of the school wants to trade me Russian for Spanish lessons. They’re in Spain right now, but when they get back I’ll talk to him about meeting for lessons a couple times a week. I’m excited about that because I want to learn Russian, and also because I’d way rather teach Spanish than English.

Our classes were crazy this week. They were crazy our first two days, but then we got a routine down and the kids started getting used to us, and that made things tons better. But then the school started sending us one or two new kids each day, and they speak no English, so they have no clue what’s going on. We have one child that we’ve had since Monday who just runs around destroying things. I’ve never seen a kid like him before. I’ve also never had thoughts about wanting to physically harm a child, but I will admit, thoughts of that type crossed my mind. I couldn’t even help the teachers at all because he took all my time. Luckily one of the Russian teachers saw him on one of his tirades, running through the drama room knocking down all the blocks stacked against the wall and throwing toys over the puppet stage. She grabbed him and chewed him out in Russian. After that he sat quietly in his chair for about ten minutes before it all started back up again. I told Julia about him and she’s going to talk to his parents. If he doesn’t improve they’ll take him out of the program. The parents are paying extra for them to be in our language classes, so it’s a privilege for them, meaning we can kick him out if need be. I had a good time with him at recess though. He’s a fun kid when he’s on his own terms. He carries around a cell phone and a little calculator in his pocket. He was driving the wooden car, and when I walked by he told me (in Russian) to sit in the car. I got in and he asked me where I wanted to go. I told him to the store. He told me it would be ten rubles. Then we “drove” for a little while and he told me the store was on the left, so I got out and went shopping. We did the same thing a couple times traveling to a couple different places. Sometimes he would pull out his calculator to calculate my fare. It was pretty funny. And of course I enjoyed the Russian part of it. Well, this is a pretty boring post so I’ll throw in a few pictures from our trip last weekend. One is of me getting my souvenir Stalin penny (note the sign says "make a souvenir to yourself")and the rest are from our boat cruise through Moscow. It was gorgeous, but obviously very cold!

Okay, I just have to add that I just got back from jogging with a body guard. Yup, I know most English teachers have guards... I asked Julia if there was a place we could go jogging because our neighborhood is full of gated communities, and the only place to walk is on the streets (which is not safe because they drive crazy) or through the forest. We didn't know if it was safe to jog through the forest, so I asked her about it. Well, our guards at the school said they'd show us where we could go, and the younger guard took us after work through the forest, across the river and into the most beautiful meadow ever. I promise it was safe...I know it sounds possibly scary, but he's really nice. And it was soooo beautiful. I loved it. We all agreed to go back every day until it gets too cold. And I ended up jogging most of the time with the guard because I just happen to be in a group of athletes. They're runners and basketball players, and then there's me. I go on leisurely jogs around the park. So, needless to say I was behind. Plus I speak the most Russian and the guard speaks no English. It was slightly awkward. Oh, and we saw tons of deer. We didn't have a camera with us, but I'll post pictures of it soon!

our school

Here are a few more pictures of the school. That's me with Kadariya, and then Vacia, one of the cutest boys here, and the building is the side of the school. It's hard to see how big it is. It's huge inside--four stories. And decorated so cute with little chairs and tables and beds for naptime. They even have lockers because they change for PE and swimming, and then you've got to have a place for the excessive snow clothes...

Russian and Lenin and boots

I spoke Russian to the kids on Friday. It was only the pre-language group (the 3 year olds). They don't understand the concept of speaking different languages, so I decided it wouldn't matter so much. And I didn't speak with them during our class time, but while we were outside playing. It was really fun. There's a wooden truck that they play in, and Kadinya, the cutest little girl ever, was playing in it. A mom was sitting in the back of the truck with her little boy, and she was pretending the little girl was driving them to the store. It was pretty cool, because I could understand the main ideas of what they were talking about. The mom and boy left, so I got in the back of the truck, and the little girl turned to me and asked me what I wanted to buy. I told her I wanted oranges. Then she said, "oranges and bananas?" I said yes, oranges and bananas and apples. It was great! Then a little boy (Maxim--my other favorite) climbed up and I talked to him a little too. I asked him what some things were called, and I told him I wanted to buy hats and coats. Then we argued over whose truck we were in, mine or his. It was really fun. Then I talked a little bit with one of the teachers. I just asked her how to say a few things as well. I really liked that I could understand what the kids were saying. I'm going to try and do that every day, and try to talk to the teachers as much as I can. I know I'm supposed to be speaking English, but I SO badly want to learn Russian!

We had our first culture class on Friday from Gulya, our native coordinator. It was really fun because Lisa's group came over for it, so I got to see Lisa (my cousin)! It’s fun that she's here, but I haven't gotten to spend very much time with her, although we do go to church together. Anyway, the class was very interesting. It was so weird to me how much the government just up and changed the culture of the people, and it seems that they're all okay with that. Gulya talked about the major holidays, and so many of them were changed in 1917. They pretty much took away religious holidays, and are only now reinstating them, some as recently as last year. She talked about how she and her husband are atheists, because under communism there was no need for religion; the government dictated what morals they should have. I was shocked that the government was able to have such an impact on their culture. Even with a holiday as big as Christmas. Gulya said it was celebrated very strongly until 1917, when it was completely done away with. Then in the 90’s a lot of the people converted their beliefs of communism into beliefs of Christianity, and they decided Christmas should come back. But it hasn’t been as widely celebrated as it once was.

Gulya not only teaches our culture class, but she also escorts us on tours of Russia. Yesterday she took us to Victory Park, where we went to a museum of WWII. That was interesting. Apparently in Russia it’s called the Great Patriotic War. I got a souvenir penny of Stalin. Yup. Stalin. That pretty much sums it up. I feel weird talking about politics in such a public place—like Big Brother is watching me. But I have such a different understanding now. I guess I just thought that since the fall of the USSR, Russians were happy to no longer be under a communist government. That doesn’t seem to be the case. I’ve heard them talk about how great it was when they were united and had so much power, and they definitely still hold their leaders in high regard. We saw Lenin last weekend. His body is preserved in a glass tomb in Red Square. The room is dark and cold, and you can’t see anything except his illuminated face and hands. Very creepy...

So, on to other things. After Victory Park we went on a boat ride through Moscow, on the Moscow River. It was beautiful, but very cold. It actually reminded me of taking ferry rides in San Francisco. We could see the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral from the water. It was very beautiful, but surreal at the same time. Then we went shopping in an outdoor market and I got the warmest boots I've ever worn. The salesman orignally wanted $80 for them, and I walked away with them for $40. I was proud of myself. And I thought my feet were going to boil during church today because it was so warm inside and those boots are super insulated. I find it somewhat ironic that my whole life I've always been cold at church, but now I've finally found a place where I can be warm. Russia.

more photos

The pictures posted about two posts ago are of us on our journey to church. There's one of us in front of some photos of very serious Russians, whom we were obviously impersonating. Then there are two of the metro. In one you can see how beautiful it is. The stations really looks like museums or churches. The last picture is of our house. That's actually where the director of the school lives. We live in his guest house which just looks like a part of that house. It's in the same courtyard. I'm adding here a picture of our school (just the very front of it--it's much bigger), our kitchen and dining room, and some of our kids. Enjoy!