Orphanage and the Ballet Day (December Part I)

        I was pretty much gone all day from home. I went with a Rotarian named Tatiana and her to help her deliver some things to the orphanage. First I went with Tatiana and the new Brazilian exchange student, Fernando, to a man's apartment, where the guy was donating a ton of toys.
     He was from Portland, OR. What in the world? He went to Lincoln High School! He had quite a bit of Russian, as he had A.) been living in Russia for the last two years, B.) studied it in high school and in college, and  C.)was an exchange student to Russia in High school. He is here on business, expanding his lumber company or something. I guess he hasn't really been living in Oregon all that much, as he lived in China two years before Russia and somehow met his wife there, who is from Taiwan. That woman sounds extremely interesting and intelligent. She was in China teaching English, as she has a perfect American English Dialect.

<<Fun Fact: it is usual and almost traditional for Australians and New Zealanders to go to China and teach English for one or two years before starting college. China's students want to learn American English, not British.>>


He and she have had two little girls together, and have moved back to Oregon (or in the process, he goes back there in a couple months I think), so I don't ever get to meet her. She is in OR with their two girls, ages 4 and 6. So he was donating all of the kid stuff that they aren't going to ship back to the US because they just don't need it. It was pretty amazing to see all that was accumulated over a rather short period of time! I don't know how we managed to fit a ton of toys, clothes, a bike, and a scooter,  into a car no bigger than a Ford Focus. 

After some confusion and a few phone calls, we finally got to the children's house. I helped carry the stuff into one of the offices on the second floor of the building. It wasn't the home I went to for America day. In fact, it was for special needs children (more on that later). After carrying all of the stuff in, we sat at a table (awkwardly) and drank tea and ate sweets. Then my fellow Oregonian (even more awkwardly) showed the office ladies what he brought them. There was a lot of stuff, so he just went over the highlights.
We then took some of the toys into a class, where I was really surprised to see the special needs kids. I just didn't know that was the kind of orphanage we were going to. It seemed to me that Down Syndrome was the common one, but there were others with physical issues or other mental issues. We also visited an art class, where there was a young man with severe physical handicaps painting. It was amazing to see, because he was doing a great job. Tatiana talked to him for a long time. We then went back to the car and subsequently to the Oregonian's apartment building, where he left the car running, ran up, and brought me back a nice, lovely jar of peanut butter! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! He made my day right then and there. Then we all went back to Tatiana's house, where I stayed much too long. I had to be home by 5 to go to the ballet, but was half an hour late because I quite frankly lost track of time.

Of course, Julia and I made it just in time and the ballet was excellent. It was beyond anything. Beyond. You know how the last one felt short to me? This one felt way shorter! The lead chick was far and away the best. The guy that played the nutcracker okay, but she totally became her character. She carried you away on her adventure and all of her dancing seemed like effortless expression. Like she was telling us the story personally and it wasn't really dancing. It just was awesome!

Not the Only Exchanger and a Difficult Presentation (November Part II)

We were all kind of worried. All of the Rotarians and I were at the Krasnoyarsk airport waiting
to meet Fernando (the exchange student from Brazil) when he got off of the airplane. Some
Rotarians in Moscow waited for him for two hours to meet him during his rather large layover there and he never showed. They even called over the loudspeaker for him. But, what they didn't know, was that for two hours Fernando couldn't leave the back part of the airport because they had lost his checked bag, and he needed
it to send it through customs. It was on the next flight, which was two hours from arrival. So he
waited back there. He heard his name called once, but he didn't know what to do, because he

Everyone at the Airport with the newbie, Fernando (except for his host mom).

didn't know what would happen if he left that back area without his bags. Kind of unfortunate.
We knew he went through Moscow only because Rotarians called Customs to
make sure he went through.
We waited for what seemed like forever at the airport. We arrived there at 7 (I was picked up at 6:30) , and he didn't get off the plane until 8:25. Needless to say, I got super anxious and no one else really cared. I don't know why I was so excited to meet him. Just happy to have another Exchanger around I guess! It is really difficult to be the only one in the group of people I see regularly to not understand Russian all the way and have to adjust to this wonderful and different culture.

The 30th of November was an interesting day. I gave a speech (or, er, a lecture?) on Non Profit
Organizations in the United States to a charity organization. A Rotaract member had been working for this organization for a couple months. It's focus is to assist parents who have special

Me with the group I gave my presentation to.

needs children.
I also talked a little about Rotary, but didn't know that I was supposed to talk about it before my actual
lecture, so I literally had to wing it.
My presentation was over an hour long. Almost two. Can you believe it? I felt bad for my translator (a Rotaract member who is the same age as me) because it truly is a difficult subject and I talked in kind of a confusing way.
Not on purpose, but I was nervous, too, and got kind of tongue tied sometimes. Poor guy.

Цирк и Детскии Дом (November Part I)

My Pizza

I went to the orphanage with a group of Rotarians in late November the same day I went to the circus. It was for an America day that Rotaract and Rotary put together. I was asked to give my presentation and bring pizza. I made the pizza the night before, from scratch (except for the dough), and it was the best pizza I have made yet. I was pretty proud of it. I was also asked to bring with me some games to play that were "American children's games." I remembered all kinds of games to bring: red rover, heads-up-7-up, ring around the rosie, London Bridge, duck-duck-goose, mother may I. . .But (and this is the worst part) no one could understand me when I was trying to explain how to play the games. So, what ended up happened after the presentation was a few awkward rounds of heads up seven up (not played on tables),  and then they all just played charades for about 15 minutes.
They were then split into two groups. The younger kids stayed inside and watched Tom and Jerry while the older kids went outside and played soccer. I suck at socker, and it was cold so I hung out with the little kids. I brought USA themed stickers my parents sent me in my birthday care package, so I cut them out with one of the Rotarians so that we could give them to every kid.
Of course, the usual havoc ensued of "hers is bigger than mine," and "I didn't get one, I swear." But I was just happy to get rid of those stickers and see some USA paraphernalia.
After a little while the kids started coming up to me and trying to talk to me. That didn't work out so well, as I could hardly understand them when they said words I know, and they couldn't understand me. It was funny that I stillI know less Russian than a five year old! We played some games and I taught one girl how to play the hand slapping game, where you try to pull your hands away before the other person slaps them. After a while it was lunch time and people were starting to go into the kitchen to get lunch, so I went into the little kitchen area where everyone's pizzas were all cut up onto plates. I was not the only one that brought pizza, but mine was the only one being given as "American" Pizza.
You know the comment I heard the most? "Wow, Americans sure like a lot of  cheese, ham, and sausage on their pizza!" I don't think they knew I could understand all of what they said, and I am sure they were just making an observation.I wanted to tell them about the "meat lover's pizza" so many people in the USA are familiar with, but I just stood there and ate my meaty (okay, there was a normal meat amount to me) pizza.  After the tea (Russians drink a lot of tea!) and pizza break I noticed some Rotarians were getting ready to go. It  was about an hour before I really needed to leave, but since I was desperate to get home in time and not be late to get to the circus, I went with them.

 When I got home I was able to chill for about an hour and 15 minutes. Julia told me that Andre's wife (Andre is Julia's cousin and we planned on going with their family in their car) is in the hospital, so we had to take the bus and purchase tickets ourselves, making us leave a full hour earlier than anticipated. We waited for 15 minutes for our bus, and when it didn't come we took a different bus to the center and a second, correct bus to the Circus. When we got to the circus we waited in a line to get our tickets. It was very different than what I am used to. We waited in a line that led to a door. The door led to a small room that had a small window at the very end, where you talked to the woman to buy your tickets. The room was heated, so that is probably why it was constructed in this way. The door was right next to the main entrance though, so who made this I don't think really thought through it all the way (a lot of people weren't happy about trying to push through a line with their small children to get into the building) . There were also some people trying to sell their extra tickets, but it was usually only one ticket, so we didn't buy one.
By the time Julia and I got through the line and into the building and got through the line for the cloak lady (it is common in all buildings to have a cloak place where you hand the clerk your coat to hang up, and in return you get a little key thing with a number for when you come back for your coat) the show was juuust about to start. We were off to the side, so a lot of the performers didn't really pose or perform in our direction. That was my main critique as far as showbusiness goes. They only catered to the people on a balcony straight ahead from the entrance into the ring.
The first people to perform were some dancers. About 8 ladies dressed in "adapted for circus" traditional Russian clothes came out and did a little choreographed shindig. It was basically an intro, as at the end all the performers came out and bowed. The first actual act was a guy on a unicycle juggling. He wasn't sooo good. But he went on different sized cycles so it was really cool to watch anyways. He started out just standing, the juggling being the main thing at first. He dropped stuff a lot. Needless to say he didn't get much applause. He also fell once trying to get on a larger cycle and often failed the first time when switching (he switched 3 times) to a larger cycle. He later came out to perform as a clown. After the juggling cyclist, another juggler came out. Then a couple came out. He was on a bike and she was on foot. It was kind of a love story, where she wanted his bike and so she kept tricking him to let her ride with him or let her steal it by hula hooping. She, at one point, had like ten going. It was mostly amusing. The kind of thing you see on America's got Talent.
Next was the dog lady. She came out and did some dancing and flipping, and then called out a bunch of huge Saint Bernards, which were mostly going to be obstacles for the rest of her act. One of these dogs, when they were performing (just running around the ring with their paws up on the circular fence/barrier) just did NOT want to work. She gave him some negative reinforcement. Not so bad, but I could tell what she was doing. Then, when she had made the dogs lay down in four separate points on the rings, she called the poodles out. There were then different tricks with the poodles- jumping, conga lines- and even a few tricks with toy poodles. The finale of her act was the toy poodles running around on the lip of the ring (that circular barrier) racing the larger poodles. The larger poodles had to jump over the big dogs that were still lying on the ground. There was one poodle that was dyed orange to match the trainer's outfit. In the end, this poodle was the one that ruined her. Instead of returning to backstage, he kept running around and around the ring. She had to kind of herd him back there while resisting the huge urge to chase him and beat him (like how we all feel sometimes with our dogs when they are being stupid, not like she would actually abuse him). I felt for her. She then made the big dogs all line up and bow.
Then was the snake lady. She did awkward sexy dances (remember, this was a circus for kids!) and just carried around different snakes. At one point she had over 100 pounds of snake she was twirling around. Her hair was also  creepily long. She ate fire at the beginning of the dance.
Next up was the cat people. They were just impressive because they were able to train cats! It was a man-woman team. The cats walked across different poles in different ways, jumped from great heights, and even twirled fire and jumped through flaming hoops. Pretty good.
Next was a little delay, or stalling. Two clowns came out (one was that unicyclist) and did some stupid little bits while the stage hands were getting the stage set up for the acrobatics. They were pretty cool. It wasn't acrobatics, simply tight roping. But it still was cool to watch. Those people are fit! Walking at different angles, carrying people on your shoulders (one guy did it with three), walking with heavy things in your hand. They did have safety ropes, but they weren't prevented from falling, simply not hitting the ground hard. No one fell though. Although, when they brought the bears out (about three different times) I was sure that the bear was going to fall. That would be bad. Having a hurt muzzled bear in the middle of a swarm of children. The bears had a very minor part. They only walked the tightrope a couple of times or were walked around the ring by handlers.
Then was the intermission. I learned that, indeed, I was probably the only one over 13 with their mom there. Some people came on dates I think, but as for people with their moms, I was the oldest.

After the intermission was the lions and rope dancer. The rope dancer was, once again, amazing because she was just so strong! I think her act must be where Cirque De Soleile got their inspiration. Although she didn't really dance and make her performance pretty as much as just plain show off. Or at least to me that is what it looked like. Man she was impressive! She even spun from ropes hanging only by her neck!
The lion trainer was the snake lady as well. Her hair was done up super tight though, so it looked like she had a normal amount. The lions were pretty interesting. It was mostly just an exibit on how, like the cats, she indeed trained them to not eat her. So they walked around a lot. No flaming hoops. She did go on a platform and was lifted into the air with one of them. The one kind of gross-interesting thing that happened was there was one lion and he seemed fairly territorial. While he was on his stool thing he kept marking his territory and vocalizing. It was funny because he was situated near the exit, so if there was people down there with their kids watching, then they probably got a little sprayed.
A little anecdote that happened in November:
There have seen two people who I have been getting private Russian lessons in one of the classrooms in the International Department at the University (which is where I study). I always wonder who these mysterious people are, and if they are more advanced or speak a different language that needs more catering to. Or if they are super rich and don't want to associate with the normal class. I can't tell you which is correct, but turns out they are Aussies! I was able to FINALLY meet them. They have been here since June. When they asked me how much I understand and I said about half (they are a couple here solely to learn Russian), the man said he was jealous and that he could only understand about 2 percent. I was blown away! I wonder how, being here since June, you can't know more than 75%?! They only come to university twice a week like me, so maybe they have no other outside source of Russian where they can practice. Or maybe they are going a slower pace. Not sure. I found it really difficult to not speak in Ranglish with them. I feel like this is going to be me when I come back to OR. Ranglish is my totally my new language! One of my friends told me she saw some English people at the market trying to buy something and struggling hard core, so I can only wonder if it was this couple.

Just Something Random

For the first time on my blog, I am writing about the present. Sure, I may give more details on my actual day in a later post- which means you will all be about two weeks behind on my life- but I will post this on the same day I write it.
I want to talk about some of the little things I have been noticing about the transitions from Autumn to Winter. Maybe they are stupid, but I notice them and don't want to forget, so I am sending it out into the world so that the record is kept.
Autumn is kind of a flash-in-the-pan season here. It is here and then gone. One day, you notice the leaves turning color, and then within three days all of the trees in the city and the trees in the mountains surrounding Krasnoyarsk burst into color. There are some trees that do not change, like the assortment of pine trees and the trees I only know as "those ones with leaves that are silver underneath." For some reason, these trees never turned color, but just dropped their leaves when it was winter. These trees losing their leaves are the first sign of winter coming upon us. The day they fell I first thought someone had flung their garbage on our nice grass plots by our apartment building. The metallic brightness of the leaves actually tricked me into thinking that they were pieces of trash.They fell only a few days from the first snow, so that is how much of a sign they were this year that winter was upon us.
Now, I use the term winter lightly, as it is going to get much colder than it was then and how much it is now (-20C). But I can say the wind is a big constant.
The wind really can make or break your venture onto the streets. The thermometer may say the same temperature whether or not the wind is blowing,  but it does not feel this way. When there is a light dusting of snow in the morning and the wind starts, you just wish your face would chip off so you couldn't feel it anymore!
Now the winter is getting more intense- there isn't snow, but packed ice everywhere. The temperature is dropping at a brisk pace and there are even more changes occurring. People seem, for the first time since I have been here- appropriately dressed. There is a saying that Russians (particularly women) dress for the season, not the weather. But now this doesn't seem correct as it is truly COLD and everyone is in heavy jackets and hats. The trees that had the silver leaves now have seed pods that are similar to what I called in grade-school the "helicopter seeds." They are all so chilled and dried out that they make this intense noise when the wind passes through the large clumps in the trees. It is kind of eerie and  always makes me turn in the direction of the sound, which then gets me blasted in the face with cold wind and small particles of snow(if it snowed during the night)!
I am actually excited to switch over to my even warmer coat and investing in some ski clothes (or at least ski pants). For some reason it just seems thrilling and not miserable to me! I guess it is because it is only one year, a few months, and a memory of a lifetime. And I haven't had my own ski pants since I was 13. So at the very least I will use them once a year on my return to the US of A.
I have also been trying to come up with a comprehensible list of things I want to do in Russia other than visiting cities. I came up with going to a ballet, circus, orchestra, opera, and seeing the Northern Lights. Any suggestions or additions? It can be an activity or simply a food to try. Your feedback will also help me know what you want me to write about. 

All for now. In a couple of weeks I will tell you about my weekend/week- I am off to the circus, an America day at an orphanage, and the Nutcracker Suite!

Interesting Week

I went to a school for Air Traffic Controllers last week. They are required to know English, and so every two years they go to a ten day refresher English course. It was really interesting. I was asked to go and speak so that they could hear the American accent. I think it interesting that they have to know English. It is the Universal language over the airwaves, I guess, so that is how they communicate with all out of country flights. They said they don't get a lot of international flights here, but they come in contact with charter flights that are just passing through the area. I have never really  thought of air traffic controlling as an occupation or future occupation, so it was really interesting looking at all the flying lingo they have to learn and whatnot.
It was just neat to even learn that English is required of these people, let along all of the lingo they must learn for understanding pilots. I wonder if they can understand a Southern accent or not. I am not sure why I am wondering this, as the chance that they would have ever come into contact with one is slim, but still it is an interesting question. They told me that most pilots they talk to are just requesting to fly lower. This is because planes cannot fly in too cold of weather, so they have to come lower to the ground for better lift. The air is thinner in colder temperatures.

The whole group I gave my presentation to.

I also taught them that Americans don't say "minus twenty degrees" but "negative twenty degrees." I hope that is correct and not my mind just flip flopping my language around. It is starting to do that. I kind of wish I had brought some Jane Eyre or something so I could keep my brain muscles healthy. Not studying anything other than language is kind of making it whither. They were all guys and there was one woman. About three of the classes combined just to hear my presentation. There were less than 7 people in each class, so it was no biggie. After my presentation and a time for questions they went back to their respective classes, and I chilled with the one in the room in which I gave my presentation.
How I was invited to this school was from Vlad's father. He is attending the class I stayed in. Once again, I think it was just as cool for me to go  to the school as it was for them to have me. Although, if you will all forgive this negativity, I sounded pretty stupid at times. I would sometimes talk just to hear myself speak, not having a point. It was sad, but I think it is because I have been silent for so long (because of the risk of getting lost in translation or wishing I could say it in Russian) that all these words just spilled out of me. Like this class made the little boy take his finger from the dyke holding back all my words and they just poured from me. I could hear myself thinking after I would talk for like two minutes straight "and the point is. . . oh wow I forgot what the point in my talking even was!" It was bad. But I did feel a heck of a lot better afterwards. Now the word (get it, instead of water because I am sticking to my metaphor?) level is down again.

Fall Holiday

One of my fellow exchange friends in the Czech Republic on Facebook- who is more like me than I realized- said this about missing Halloween: "All I really want to do is troll around in some feild untill I find a pumpkin, then take out all the guts, carve a huge ol'American smile on it, and then make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie, then parade around town with it and force people to try my baked goods as the pumpkin stares them down." She has a pretty nice way of summing up how I feel in her statuses. She also said this about her two month mark (she arrived in the Czech Republic only a few days after I arrived in Russia): "Two months ♥ if you ask me about my Czech language ability I will be too busy laughing to reply, if you ask me if I like the Czech Republic I will immediately profess on the top of my lungs that I LOVE EXCHANGE. There are ups and there are downs, but its like the great Miley says, Its the climb."

I felt like sharing these because she has such an elegant way of describing things, and they also coincide with exactly how I feel. Interesting how, although we have completely different exchanges, we feel the same way sometimes.

It was really cool to Skype with my parents and show them all the stuff I talk about in my e-mails. It was funny seeing- and mostly hearing- them.  It was also cool that my two sets of parents were able to meet. Like watching two hemispheres colliding, which I suppose really was happening.

For some reason the weather man is always right. I think that comes with actually liking in an area that is landlocked and surrounded by mountains. You can see the weather coming, and there can be no natural disasters (not really). It has also been getting colder. Probably because it is now fall and turning into winter. Yeah, that is probably why. Whenever it does snow, it snows in the evenings. Although it is cold enough to snow all the time. The precipitation just is particular on what time of day it decides to show itself.  The fall holiday lasts a little over one week.

The first night of the holiday Julia and I tried to open a bank account. She had talked to a bank last month and all they said I needed was some money and a valid Visa. Well, they lied, because now they want a translated copy of my passport. In all those spy movies, they never warned me how difficult it would be to open a bank account in another country! I thought it was easy, and that is why they did it!  So now we have to work on that, so it will be a while because finding someone to do that will be difficult.
 When I was walking to meet Julia at the bank and there was some girl crossing the crosswalk with her pony. He was misbehaving- wanting to be all scared because it was snowing and there were cars, but she just jerked on his halter and yelled at him after they got across the road. He behaved better after that and heeled appropriately as they continued on. I am such a creeper that I keep my camera with me always, and took a picture. It was literally the weirdest thing I have seen in a while.

The Excursion group.

The Sunday of my holiday I went to the national park,called "Pillars." I now understand why. It is kind of obvious now, but then it was my first week in and I think my mind was way too frenzied to really figure out why. At the top of the mountains are bald trajectories of rock. They are in different formations and whatnot, but still just kind of randomly pop up from the ground. So, that is why they are called pillars. I could tell they are going to try to make this park into something. They are putting in more walkways and new playgrounds buildings. The playground I saw was at almost the top of the mountain, if you can believe that!
I think the walkways are like what some of the Western National Parks are trying to do- build a wooden walkway above the ground so that all of the human traffic doesn't harm the environment. The problem is is that they already have a paved road that everyone drives on or has been walking on for years only a few yards from the walkway. But it was nice to have that walkway, even though it wasn't finished in sections. It was way less icy and it usually had hand rails. They also put in some informational stuff along the way. About nests, different animals, etc. They are also putting up more little huts for people to stop and eat or relax in. I think it will be a really interesting place once all of the improvement stuff is done. Maybe then people will feel bad for throwing their trash on the ground, too.
Julia and I were ready kind of early, and so we went down to the street to wait for her cousin to pick us up. Arthur decided that he didn't want to go, and would rather sleep in the morning, so it would just be us. For some reason I had a feeling he was going to sit this one out. Her cousin was late, so we were standing around in the cold for quite a while.
It was okay though, because we got to talk, see someone walking their little dog, the sun rise, and some crows and birds. It was pretty interesting. Then her cousin came. His wife was really sweet, and I would say she has kind of a boisterous personality. But she still seemed to know when to talk and when to not, and didn't domineer conversation. I think it is interesting how there seem to be more people here like that than in the US. It must be another cultural difference. Their nine year old daughter seemed kind of quiet, but just because I was new. She pretty much did her own thing.
Julia and her cousin Andre seemed to talk most of the trip/hike. I also didn't embarrass myself too much on the hike. We went a pretty easy pace so I didn't get puffy or sweaty. Of course, I was my usual clumsy self. My Nikes weren't great on the ice, and Julia said "oh, the BEST Chinese shoes!" which to me is still funny. Especially since Nike outsourced to China but still kind of has the reputation of being American shoes to Americans.

A picture of me after one of the many times I fell.

We went to the top and walked around trying to find the right path to the grandfather rock, but we never did. We gave up after a while.! Julia made bliny to take for food, and they brought sandwiches. Well, brown bread with salami and mayo. They made them for even Julia and I, so we didn't consume all of the bliny.
 The way down was a lot more difficult because we were going with the ice and not fighting against it. We went down arm in arm, able to mostly prevent each other (namely Julia and me) from slipping and falling all the way to the ground. Both Julia and I went to the ground once, our impact slowed way down by the arm-linking technique. Once, Julia slid about a yard, trying to stop but she couldn't get her footing but wasn't falling down.
Slap humor gets to me more now than it used to, since language humor doesn't make it to me as much any more. So, I was giggling or flat out laughing a lot of the way down. I think I almost peed myself a couple of times. We left earlier to beat the rush, and we walked past throngs of people on our way down the mountain.

The next day we went to the symphony with the kids from the orphanage. It was kind of awkward, because I really don't have that much Russian and of course those kids don't have any English. The actually asked me to talk in English for a little while just so all the kids could A.) Openly stare at me B.) Hear what English sounds like and C.) Stall until the doors opened for the music hall.
A lot of the kids seemed pretty happy, but I could pick out 5 from the 15 or so kids that I could tell that they were just angry. You know, the angry at life kind of angry. I think the kids were between the ages of 6 and 14. When we sat down in the theater, we had a whole row saved. One little boy went all the way to the edge of the row and sat by himself. So I went all the way to the edge and sat next to him. All the other kids sat together in the main row, with an isle between our four seats and the big center isle. It was that little boy, me, Julia, and one of the helpers in the four seater row. I was able to ask the boy how old he was, if he likes the symphony. . . and that is pretty much it. He is 8, by the way. Weird to think that I am ten years older than this boy!
There were no Rotarians at the symphony today, so Julia and I were the representatives. There were limited spaces, so it was really kind that they let Julia and I have this outing instead of two Rotarians.
This time there was also different music. And the place was full! It was just for kids, but it still was a full house. Julia said it was because it is a holiday weekend. Instead of the Chello wizard, they had an Opera singer. He had a cool voice but even better faces.

I also found out that Arthur is kind of obsessed with cars. He likes to look up prices and different reviews of cars on the internet. I also found out that both him and Julia think that my father is crazy for having had snakes, tarantulas, lizards, turtles, and even a dwarf alligator as pets. And it is also weird to them that he has these animals in the Church. The Western Church is a completely foreign concept though, I mean the fact that my dad has an office is different to them. Could you picture reptiles in a Russian Orthodox church? I sure can't! That is probably why they think it is so weird!

My Birthday: The Party

First, preparing and not knowing the theme was pretty weird. I has kind of worried all week because the different little things Juila made me do to help prepare for it- painting a picture of a fence, wrapping gifts for our guests (they were cheap lame things with riddles on them so they had to guess what was inside). . .The other preparations only had to do with food, which had me much more excited than worried. Basically, the food was almost all of my favorite meals I have had since coming to Russia, made Grandma Ginger style (my Grandmother in the 'States likes to make enough food for two times the people she will be serving). Juila literally could have fed 30 people with all the food she made. All of my guests came, except for one, as she was out of town. I do hope everything is ok, and am not mad at her.
I learned from one of my friends that it is an insult to wait and open gifts- you should open it all excited like a small child and freak out over it the moment you get it. Pretty much the opposite of what my whole childhood trained me to do! So, once all of my guests arrived (my liaison came, my counselor was supposed to come too but she was sick), Julia gathered everyone in the living room, where we had put a table with plates, nice glasses, and SILVER utensils. I couldn't believe that we were getting out the nice china and all of that when we were setting up, but that just made me realize how loved I am here! Anyways, once all the guests were here I found out that the theme of my birthday was actually saying goodbye to childhood. Which is a really good theme! Although it is the very theme of the party that I have been struggling with lately- I mean, facing the fact that my childhood is gone, over.

So the things we did (other than talk) were all things that we do as children or children-themed. We played twister, tried to spit pacifiers into a bowl of water, were characters/words in a story and had to run around a chair every time our thing was said, and played a word game as well as the present thing. Between all of these were about an hour increment, in which we were either expected to stuff our faces, talk, or both. It would have been better if I could have taken part. Everyone else seemed to get more comfortable with each other as time went on. I mean, my friends from school seemed to be uncomfortable with the friends from Rotary because they are in the class ahead and don't ever interact.
I must say I was a little bit of a boring host, as I couldn't really follow the conversation wherever it went and if they tried to include me it would go horrible wrong because I couldn't understand them really. And, of course, Vlad's mom (Marina, my counselor) was in the kitchen with my родители (parents). They would all come into the living room for the game or activity.
Okay, so from the beginning. Lena came first, bringing a scarf that is really cute but hard to describe.She was pretty eager to see my room and my house.Then Lola, Liza, and Veronika arrived. Liza's gift was my jewelry box, but I thought it was from all of them! I couldn't believe that I got more gifs from them, although I expected some small ones because Lola asked me on Facebook what I wanted. Lola got me a cookbook and a perfume. I really like both! The cookbook is interesting because it has recipes from all over the world, and not just any recipes: recipes with stories behind them! So interesting! Of course I can't understand much of what I read just yet, but I will get there. And this means that I can't lose my Russian- at least for cooking- because I will definitely want to cook from this. It has recipes that different famous people from all over the world from all different eras liked. The title actually says something like that. The fragrance of the perfume is good too- not overwhelming but still good. 
Veronika got me a crocodile skin-textured wallet. It is also purple! She asked me on Saturday if I liked purple, which tells me that the people around me pay much more attention to me than I realize! This makes me feel both loved and paranoid. I love it, so I probably won't use it that much until I return to the states and not hurt it like I will my wallet I brought. The wallet I brought is always at the bottom of my school bag, crushed by everything. And this new one is precious to me, so I will try to take care of it! Then, about ten minutes later, came in Marina, Vlad, and the twins. Marina and Vlad gifted a Krasnoyarsk teacup and plate, which I like and is very pretty. The twins gave me a Russia sports bag, which I LOVE and will probably use a ton when I get back to the states and even here because I don't have a backpack.
Then we got started. We were in the living room for about 15 minutes, talking, sitting awkwardly. Then Julia came in and gave a little introduction thing, telling the theme and all that jazz. The first thing we did was have my guests write on the fence I painted. Like little kids often write on walls or fences, they wrote on the fence I made that was hung on the wall. Like a yearbook kind of thing. Then we did more sitting and awkwardness, and then another game. This one was my favorite, although it was kind of weird. Two people were pitted against each other on opposite sides of the carpet and bowl of water on the floor. They would take turns spitting a pacifier from their mouth and trying to get it into the bowl. I was happy I was the first person to go and didn't have to go to play offs. 
Then, after another break, the food came. I kept trying to help carry stuff out but I kept getting told to sit. So most of the food time I felt like I was being unhelpful and inhospitable by my friends helping my parents serve the food. But I think it is a cultural thing. 
There were a couple of different kinds of salads, a fruit plate, baquet pieces with a cheese-garlic-mayo paste with tomato on top, meat and cucumber, haladiets, mashed potatoes, meat patties sautéed in mushrooms and cream. . .ah, too much! I literally gained four pounds from food weight! 
And for dessert- oh dessert! The dessert was later with the tea, right before everyone (like an hour and a half before and up until the last thing) left. We had tea with two different cakes, one brought out half an hour before the other so we ate a piece of cake from the first and only a few people from the second. Both were chocolate, but one had more chocolate than the other. I was glad the more-chocolate one was first. There were also little gummy bears (not like the ones you know, much larger and resembling dots) and chocolate candies. 
And the drinks! We didn't have water, but there was this soda that tasted like a different version of Inca Cola (a soda in South America and Mexican Markets), and then a Lemonade-like soda that also tasted like a variation of this drink. And, of course, compote (apricot and plum).
After eating we then did the game with the story. Everyone was a different part of the story, and when Julia, the story-teller, said a word, the person assigned the word had to run around the chair. Zhenya had a really common phrase, and often just rand around the chair three or four times even though Julia had only gotten through the first couple of times (but she would say it four times). It was a story about people trying to pull a radish out of the ground, and they can't so they get other animals/people to help them, and in the end when a mouse joins them they finally get it. Then we did a race where we were split into two teams and had to sandwich balloons between us.
After a break, we all put bows in each other's hair and put pacifiers in our mouths and took a picture. After this we played the second to last game with the phrases. I stood with by a chair with papers face down on it, and different guests would go to a second chair with papers face down on it with words on them. They would say "I want to give you a . . .___," using the word on the paper to fill in the blank. I would respond with whatever phrase I picked up. A couple times I got the correct phrase that matched their word, and other times I got the complete wrong one. 
Then we had the dessert and tea. After this we talked for like two hours about different things. Well, they did- I was just proud of myself when I could pick out different words or phrases. I could tell when they were talking about school and when they were talking about other things. 
Then Veronika had to leave, so I asked Julia about the present game. She had completely forgot about it, so Veronika stayed and played it with us. The presents were hanging on a string from a wire that Marina and I were holding. One person would be blindfolded and would have to go with scissors and try to find it. Unfortunately, Marina and I got bored fairly quickly and moved the wire around a lot, making it kind of difficult for people to get a present. Then they all kind of left at the same time, except for Lena. She stayed and helped us clean up, taking all the dishes in and whatnot. This really impressed me. She is a good friend, and very kind, so I can't wait to get to know her better.
Now, for a short bit on my host mom. I cannot express how much I love my host mom. I mean, she isn't my mom-mom, but the lengths she has gone to be kind to me has definitely earned her a very very special place in my heart. She pays more attention than I realize, and is extremely smart. She is pretty much fluent in English even though she hasn't studied it since college. She invests in the stock market well. She cooks food almost every day even after she has been at work all day. She is patient and understanding. She can stop herself from hovering, even though she really wants to. Have I already said that she is a sweetheart?
And she is a poet. On my birthday she said "I think today your soul will be for everyone to see." Really, I think this means "You're happy and we can all see it!" but on a more philosophical level. The other thing she said was everyone is doing all these special things for me so that they can earn a special part in my heart forever, and will never be forgotten by me. 


Apologies for my blog being approx. 2 weeks behind my actual life. It takes time to edit and getting around to blogging.

My Birthday: Part 3

I left for the school at the usual time, if not about 5 minutes later. I got to the school and knew that my class was Math, and being 5 minutes later I needed to hurry and get there (no one else was in the area because they were all in class). When I got out of the coat room there was Liza. She told me that the class was changed because our math teacher is sick, so now we have two Russian classes (this would be like me saying I have English class- it is Language Arts) and then a normal schedule. I knew they probably don't do the whole substitute teacher thing here, so I just followed her to the class. She let me walk in first. I thought this was so I could shield her from the burning questions and chastisements some teachers give for late students, but the lights were all out.

Then it hit me- then the lights turned on- then everyone jumped up from behind desks, and six desks were put together in the middle of the room with lovely table clothes on it and with a beautiful cake in the shape of a Russian Nesting Doll (матрушка) with sugar flowers clumped in the center. Everyone started chanting "С Днем Рождения!" I couldn't stop smiling. I had to cut the cake and serve it to everyone (tradition), and Nastia spoke on behalf of the class and said some really sweet words. One phrase I particularly liked was "Our hopes are. . . that you survive the Russian winter." She listed other things, but that one made me laugh. 

My cake

They gifted me beautiful things made out of the birch bark and with beautiful designs. A mug, a box, a mirror, a brush, a contact book, and Nastia gave me a large Matrooshka doll (Russian nesting doll) and little Matrooshka candies. A girl named Yana gave me a white bear. She sits next to me sometimes in classes and helps me with my university homework and Russian in general. I was really happy and really shocked at, once again, how kind and wonderful all the people are here. I thought that we would do some little celebration, but nothing like this! I was given permission to store my gifts in the Russian classroom.

The rest of the day was pretty much normal. The English teacher gave me some chocolates. And PE was cancelled (you'll like this) because two girls used two different perfumes, the fumes mixed, and a chemical reaction to occurred in the changing room. It became a lovely fragrance of a cross between rotten eggs and mold. After our last class (history) Liza, Veronika, Lola, and I went back to the Russian room to get my gifts. We took pictures in front of the happy birthday sign and then they decided to gather up all of the balloons and have me take those home as well. So, in the end, I was carrying a bunch of balloons, four bags, what was left of my cake, and my school bag. Needless to say Veronika was super kind and helped me carry it all home. 

My gifts from the class.

When I got home I ate and started to get right to work with getting some things ready for the party the next day. Julia gave me two tasks: wrap presents for the guests and paint a fence. So I was wrapping presents (nonsense things that will be funny when they open them) when the mail lady rang our flat.
At the bottom of our apartment building there is a door on every corner (our building is like a square). By each door there is a keypad and a speaker. You can only get to your flat by going through the correct door and putting in the correct code or using an electronic key. If you want to visit someone, you type in their flat number and a phone by their door inside their apartment starts to ring. So, the mail lady "rang" us. For some reason I was hoping there was something for me. I knew there could be a chance it was. She came up to our flat and handed Arthur a piece of paper. 

It said basically to get your butt to the post office right now and pick up a box for a Mrs. Arielle! They didn't even try to do my last name.  So, Arthur said that when Julia got home we would go and get it! When she got home we left for the post office, which is right across the street. I was kind of worried because a passport is required to pick up my box, and since the University had it all I had was the copied laminated version my Dad made me. When we got there, the post office was on lunch break. So we went home, Julia walked the dog, and when she got back it was 1:45. So we went to the post office and waited half an hour (it was supposed to open back up at 2), and they finally opened the doors. 

The Russian post office looks more like the bank in the Mary Poppins movie because there is a fence or whatever around the counter so you can't steal the post or something. The guy didn't ask for my passport until almost the very end of the claiming process. Julia said that all we had was a copy but that "see, it's from America" and pointed to the eagle and the English. The guy really didn't want to fight with her, I think, and we were pretty far through the process (I had singed papers), so he accepted it as a passport. Then he put up TWO boxes on the counter. This made my excitement level go through the roof! It has been snowing lightly (not hard, and not sticking), and for some reason when we left the post office the snow made me even more excited. I think it is leftover from me being a little kid/middle schooler and hoping for the snow to stick for school to be canceled. It has just become a good omen in my life. Hmm.

Love all the surprises and the sweaters and the other stuff my family sent me.My dad put in a wooden-eagle magnet for my host mom and a candle that smells like cinnamon. She really loved the candle, although she hasn't lit it yet. I don't think scented candles are really popular here, so it is going to be interesting to see how much she uses it and if she likes it or if the smell is too overwhelming. Both boxes seemed to be kind of man handled- the corners are all beat up.

I love all of the Americana stuff my dad put in (flag stickers, patches, Oregon magnets, flags of different sizes, a huge pencil with the US postal service logo. . .), and am especially thankful for my shaving cream my family put in, too.  I think Arthur and Julia got a kick out of some of the patriotic things being made in China, and I had never really thought of it before.
My Aunt Michelle sent me hot chocolate- the ultra tasty Umqua kind. I had one of the vanilla ones. I told Julia she could have some, as I really wanted her to try it.
I followed the directions and put the whole pouch in my cup, so when Julia poured herself a little glass from my mug she exclaimed "AH SO SWEET!" and ran over and filled her cup with hot water. Hahahaa. Oh, the wacky Russians and their disdain for ultra sweetness!
My aunt and all of her children also wrote me cards. Jeremiah(one of the younger cousins) sent me a card and a pressed flower inside. Sooo sweet, considering I have a story with him and a flower close to my heart! He also sent me another envelope with just a small square of paper colored blue inside. It made everyone laugh when I opened it. He is such a funny kid.  One of his older sisters sent me a card that she decorated with beautiful hand-sewn flower designs.The other kids also wrote me cards, including the oldest boy. This I was kind of impressed by, since 14-year-old boys aren't usually so thoughtful. I also got cards and letters from my parents, grandparents, my mom's friends, and even my dogs. I really worried about my mother when I saw that I got a card from my two dogs. It was a funny card, but still. I really don't want to come home to a crazy dog lady.

I also love my birthday presents sent to me: a watch, earrings, sweaters, and a bracelet. Oh- and the candy! When I saw Recesses' and peanut-butter filled chocolate eyeball candy I hugged them, and Julia asked what they were.
I sighed "My FAVORITE конфеты (candy)!!!"
Which made her chuckle and say "just candy?!?"
I also got a small bag inside with Mentos and breath mints, as I have many favorite dishes here in Russia, most of which contain a substantial amount of garlic or onion. I must have raved about these dishes too much, because the bag had a little note that read "for your after-garlic breath."  I thought my day was made when I got home from school- and then it got totally made over again! Goodness me! So lucky! My parents didn't put a rush on the birthday package so it is just wonderful luck that I got both and only 2 days after my birthday. I for some reason have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that my family touched every single thing in these boxes! It is just crazy!

I also dreamed in Ranglish the night before. I dreamt that I went to Oregon for my Fall holiday in early/mid November. I kept trying super hard to communicate everyone in Russian, and they kept reminding me that they didn't know what the heck I was trying to say. But I kept forgetting and kept trying to use my Russian to communicate what I wanted, etc.  Weird, huh? I guess you can tell what was on my mind when I went to bed that night- my language! At my outbound Orientation, they said by the third month I should start dreaming in my new language. This is about as close as I think I am going to get for a while!

My host mom is such a character. She told me that the other day she was taking a trolleybus home from work. There was an Armenian boy waiting to get off on the same stop as her. He guzzled a bottle of Coca Cola and then got off. My host mom thought that he was going to throw the empty bottle on the street, so she followed him. Sure enough, around the first street corner he just threw it on the curb.
"Pick that up right now and put that into a trash can. It is just ahead!"
The boy stopped.
"I said pick that up right now!" He turned, picked it up, and stood, looking at her with angry eyes.
"Trash can."

He walked in the direction of the trash can, my host mother in tow. He kept checking behind him to see if she would make him good on his word. They got to the trash can, and he stood there, again with angry eyes, looking at her.
"Put."
He threw it away, and they went their separate ways. My host mom says he didn't talk back because it isn't his country. I wonder if it is because she is older than him and he has been raised better than to disrespect someone older than him. Or maybe it was because he was by himself and wasn't self-confident enough to argue. Either way, it is an interesting story, isn't it?
I really like that my host mother has the opinion that littering is bad. It is a big problem in Russia, but I hear it is slowly getting better. Maybe that boy won't do it anymore, or at least look over his shoulder the next time he does to make sure the Russian woman isn't there to make him do the right thing!

My Birthday: The Second Installation

When I got to the University there was no one from my class there. The class is now separated into two parts: the people who are good at Russian and those who are. . . not so good. That was the group that met at 8:30 on my birthday. I am used to getting to the university and there being a schedule change; I actually just thought that my class would start at 10. So, I studied my homework and wrote a little bit of stuff on turning 18, and how mind-blowing it is. I mean, in all the fairy tales no one is over 18, and if anything happens it is supposed to happen on the 18th birthday. Like sleeping beauty: "On the eve of her 18th birthday she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel!" So, it was weird thinking that I am now older than all of them! And then I started thinking about movies. Now I am officially not the same age as the people in most Disney movies and new pop singers. Weird. What will happen when I turn 30? Then I will be older than everyone on shows unless they are playing someone who IS 30! But that is 12 years from now, so a lot can happen between now and then- and I probably won't care then like I do now. For some weird reason.
I also thought about how, when we are young, our whole lives are targeted for acquiring skills and knowledge that will help us when we are older. "You should know this before you go to college," and "This is a life lesson you will use when you are older," were common phrases at school, church, and home. So, now that I am officially "older," I was thinking about what I have actually learned. Am I really prepared? I know I will learn more and all that, but now my life really shouldn't be geared for "when I grow up." I mean, I am! So, now what? Should it be geared toward getting a great job, a great education, living in Europe? All these things were really throwing me through a loop as I was sitting there, waiting for my class to start. Of course, I over-think everything. A nap usually cures this problem, which I have had since then.
Then the director of the International Education department showed up and freaked out because I was there. Apparently my class had been cancelled for the day and it was even in a new schedule that they had made earlier that week. But they forgot to tell me, so I showed up. I had to bring my passport to the school at 10 anyways, so they really shouldn't have freaked as much as they did. I was made to join the remedial class and given a bajillion numbers and apologies. The remedial class was difficult mostly because of the rough accents. I couldn't understand what they were speaking half the time, and had to rely on the teacher's corrections to properly gauge what page they were on or what they were saying to me.
Then, after the class was over and I handed my passport over I headed home. When I got there, I mostly just looked up a couple of questions I had on Russian grammar and threw myself into making a beastly powerpoint on the non profit organizations in the US. The night before Julia had helped me with the translations, so it was all about aesthetics and writing down what I actually was going to say. My Russian isn't near good enough to talk about a subject like this, so I was going to give more info in English and if the people didn't understand me they could read the slide (which would give the jist of what I was talking about) and look at the pretty and on-topic pictures.
Then I went to the front of the Motkova flat (she is my counsellor), where her son was waiting.We waited for Vlad (my liaison's son) and one of his friends to show up, and then we were off! I really didn't know what place we were going to- because this rotary actually rotates places. We went to a pizza place, but it's name is too much like Chuck E. Cheeze's for me to really trust the food. I didn't have to give my presentation, which I was kind of happy about because it would have been awkward giving it from a small computer screen to 6 people who I knew wouldn't understand all of what I was saying and would really be zoning me out and reading the slides and looking at the pictures. We talked about (I think) what Rotaract actually wants to do, what it will look like, ect.
Then they ordered slices of pizza for everyone and glasses of Pepsi, and we had a little impromptu birthday celebration! The pizza wasn't the usual, all-American pizza I am used to (kind of a "duh" moment, but I figured I would say that). It was almost breakfast-y with chunks of onion and tomato and some ham.
I thought to myself how much my palate has changed since I have gotten here, because I actually really enjoyed the pizza. It also seemed safer to eat than the Chuck E's. I was really interested in watching how everyone ate. Some went super proper and used the super fancy way to handle silverware, one guy picked up his pizza and ate it what I will say is the way I am used to, and yet another person used just a fork to cut it up. I also went with the between-the-two route and used just my fork, but in the end I just ate it with my hands like I am used to. Cutting it up took WAY too long.
The pepsi was also different. It had way less fizz, and tasted almost watered down from the amount of flavor I am used to in a Pepsi. I think that the company must have changed it for the Russian palate. As I have mentioned before, they have a sweet tooth, but super sweet things they can't really handle or just don't prefer. So, I thought about my dad as I drank my bit of Pepsi and wondered if it will come out my nose when I have an American Pepsi in 8.5 months or so.
When I got home it was pretty much as usual, I think. The parrot was let out of the cage and he walked around a bit. Arthur did get home from work rather late (after I got home from Rotaract), so he was really quiet. Well, he is usually kind of stoic, but that night he was quiet.

The 28th I went to the university, and it was a pretty usual day. A lot of my class wasn't there, so I wonder what happened to them. I also was kind of irritated because I worked super hard to study and memorize this text one of our teachers told us to, and we didn't even say it today. It makes me not want to memorize this next piece she told us, but Lord knows she would test us on both pieces next class if I did! After I got home from school I worked on painting this fence for a game for my Birthday party. No idea what game, but I am proud of myself because this thing actually resembles a wooden fence. So YAY! I mean, I am not going to an art school ever but at least it is acceptable. I think Art is the only place I have lowered my standards. The next day I was excited to get to see my friends for a long period of time for the first time in 3 days.

С Днем Рождения!!!

The Sweeties that came SO early to wish me a happy Bday! 

Today I woke up and skyped with my Mom and Dad. I was getting kind of weepy, for no reason really. I mean there is the excuse of not having my parents here, but that isn't really a reason to get too weepy. It is only one birthday, one year, and it isn't like they forgot and don't care- it is quite the opposite! Maybe that is why. Anyways, I was pretty much ready. I had my make up all good and was putting my second earring in when I was called from my room. There were pretty usual sounds coming from the house- Julia skyping Anya, and Arthur coming in through the door from Belka's morning walk. I could hear Anya's distinctive voice on the other side of the wall. I came out of my room, midway through putting in my earring, and saw my three good friends Lola, Veronika, and Liza walking in through our door before Arthur, all adorned with birthday hats!
The fact that I was walking out the door inwardly telling myself that I wasn't going to cry at breakfast for no reason really didn't stop me from beaming and letting those puppies go! Julia brought the computer from the kitchen to the doorway to the action. I hugged all the girls over and over because I was crying and they wanted me to stop. So they just kept hugging me and saying "Don't cry- Happy Birthday!" They gave me balloons and Liza gave me her present of a snakeskin jewelry box. They also brought a cake with 18 candles. They all had gotten together the night before and made the apple-cinnamon delicousness for me. So we went into the living room, where my friends gave me the birthday wishes. In Russia, on a birthday or at a party, each person tells the birthday person basically a toast. Then we lit the candles, took a picture, and I blew them out. I got all of em but the last two, and if my lungs weren't all stupid and puffy from my trying to not sob I would have gotten them. If they weren't on the far side of the plate from me I would have tried and put them out with my tongue.

Me with my cake my friends made! 

They then left, calling out happy birthdays in Russian and in English. Then, after I put my gift and balloons in my room, I come out and Julia and Arthur are standing together in the kitchen. This can only mean one thing: yup, more tears! I actually was going to hold it together until I opened the box. Earrings. Purple smooth stones were at the top, and hanging from them were small chains of Russian silver. I knew those stones weren't purple on accident, and that the earrings weren't long and dangly by mistake either. I knew they were perfect, beautiful, and sought out for. They must have searched for them just for me. As soon as Julia said "They are made from Russian silver" I started to tear up again. Arthur, of course, was like "don't cry!" But I did a little. Actually, Julia said 'There is no need to cry!" So I stood there and looked at her and tried to keep a straight face. Like when you want a little kid to smile, so you tell him to not smile. It was like that, only with crying! How did I become a weeper? I felt a little better. because when Anya saw all her friends gathered around her on the computer after I blew out my candles, she cried a little too. It was really sweet to see them kind of reunited all together for the first time since Anya left. She told them about her school, where she volunteers, and all the cool stuff she has been up to.
I am jumping around a little, but oh well! After I got my gifts all squared away, I ate a quick breakfast and it was off to the university. Because I was so sentimental today, I wore the hat and scarf my friend (Aunt) Becky made me. She knitted them for me, and gave them to me with a note that said to think of her hugging me when I wore them. So, since I was in dire need of a long hug, I wore them! I put on her hat and scarf, a zip up hoodie, and my jacket and left for the street. I didn't change my earrings because silver isn't supposed to get wet, and we all know they would have with my crying! When I got outside I realized that I forgot my phone and should have grabbed an umbrella- it was snowing! I was really thankful for the snow. It helped to dry my eyes out and made it easier to stop crying. I made it to the bus stop just in time to stand for a few minutes, feel my body temp go up, and get on the bus packed with people. I did get a nice little birthday present from God though- I got a seat! About halfway through the ride someone got up, I waded over to the seat, saw no one making a move for it, and sat down. I think the people around me felt they would be less squished if they let me sit down instead of sitting themselves, but I was just really happy to get a seat. Another cool thing that happened is that the bus conductor was lazy (which sometimes happens) and didn't want to scan my card, so my bus ride was free!

Walking, Blini and Central Park

Saturday evening Julia asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. Of course I said yes. We walked from our apartment all the way to the city center, which is about a half hour bus ride. Needless to say it was dark by the time we got there.
We walked along a creek and on one of the three main streets (Myra Street). I finally figured out where the street signs are. They are on the sides of buildings, sometimes nowhere near intersections. This street is the only street decorated for New Years. It was kind of funny- Lena mentioned this fact to me the day before Julia and I's excursion. She said that the city buys enough decorations for the three main streets, but only uses them on Myra street. The end product is so gaudy, some years it can make your eyes hurt.
It also has the most light-trees on it. I don't think I have told you, but for some reason Krasnoyarsk has these trees that are made of lights. They are different kinds of trees, too. Some are just of small flowers, others are fruits, and still others are just gaudy clusters of huge flowers. Julia said that it is because in the winter there isn't very much color, so the city added some! I thought that was kind of cool. Julia seems to have this way of speaking sometimes that is almost poetic, even a language that isn't her own.
We also went to a pancake shop. Well, it is the Russian pancakes, or bliny. It took them a long time to make our bliny. They were a little different than what Julia serves us at home. These were 3 or four of the thin pastries all rolled like a burrito with some kind of stuffing inside. Mine had hazel nuts, crispy fried apples, sugar, and cinnamon. I don't remember what Julia got, only that mine was pretty good. It was really expensive though. I can see why no one really eats out here. It was over 1000 ruples, and it wasn't a fine restaurant or anything.
After the pancake shop we went to the square with the fountains. For some reason they are still running/dancing. In the square were also our friends the white rappers and the fire spinners. The white rappers still made me laugh. We then called Arthur to come and get us. Walking back home was never really an option, and I think he was done with what he was doing anyways.
Lola texted me that night and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I don't know what it is with Russians and their really cool walks, but of course I said yes! I asked Julia the next morning, and she said yes. Instead of walking (we did do a lot of that) we went to the city's Central Park. This place was near the Yenisei River(however you spell that) and had different rides and vendors at it. Well, in the summer. In the fall it had some rides and a few vendors. We got there a half an hour before the park opened, so we walked around for a bit, just stalling.

The Cotton Club! Made me drool so I guess it is a thumbs up!

Lola and I with out cotton candy!

We went on 4 rides: the ferris wheel, a swing carousel, a roller coaster for kids, and a ride called the Cotton Club. There was a sling shot ride that Lola loves, but thank goodness it was not running that day. I can do roller coasters and spinning, but I cannot do dropping or upside-down for long periods of time. After we went on the rides (super fun), we got this weird drink called a cocktail. I think it is just the Russian version of a milkshake. My first run in with this drink was when we went to the zoo. I tried a chocolate one this time, and it was of course the weird delicious that only foreign (or, I guess, not foreign since I am the foreigner) things like this can be. We also got cotton candy, which also tastes different. And it was huge. Between all the rides and after getting the candy we walked around. Then we decided to head on home. When I got back I took yet another nap (love naps!).


The evening was kind of uneventful, and I hit the hay early (love going to bed early!). Overall I would say it was an excellent day!

Shopping!!

Anyways, so after school Lena and I agreed that we would meet in front of my building in 20 minutes to go off to shop. I went down and met Lena, and we caught the bus. The bus ride was fun, because people kept looking at us because we spoke English. I still am not fluent in Russian, so if she wants to communicate with me she still has to use mostly English. We then got off the bus two stops early and walked two looong blocks to Alexsandria. It was alright though, because we bought some ice cream to make sure we wouldn't lose any calories. It was kind of weird that I have been telling Lena about this store all week, and she said she hasn't ever seen this store. When we got to the store front she said "oh, Alexsandria!" I guess she just forgot, because I swear there can only be one way to pronounce this name. I showed her the beautiful umbrella, and she asked the store manager how much. 8,500 ruples! I almost died! The umbrella must be diamond encrusted (to steal what Arthur said), because that price is ridiculous! I admit, I would have paid 30 dollars for that umbrella, but more than 300 is just out of my budget! The shop clerks said it was a one-of-a-kind umbrella, but I think that is what everyone says about their products in Russia. But at that price they better have been serious. So, I guess it will always be my dream umbrella. I will stare at it longingly every time I pass it on the bus until they take it down and put up another display. I was going to name it too, like how some people name their guitars or cars.
We then went to a mall that was near the city center. I told Lena that I would like to buy some souvenirs and needed another pair of shoes. I am sorry, but I really cannot wait four months from now (I really think this is how long it takes for a package to clear customs) for my converse! So I was able to buy some Russian nesting dolls and some magnets at the second mall we went to. The nesting dolls were 9 bucks each, which I think is an OK price. There are three dolls inside and they are hand painted. I think. I know there are three dolls total. I bought three of the nesting dolls and 6 magnets, trying to remember all of the people that collect magnets that I need to buy gifts for.  I then bought two more because they were $1.20 and knew there must be people I am forgetting or would need a gift and would have to be happy with a Krasnoyarsk magnet.
We then went to a church briefly. It was indeed a Russian Orthodox church, but they just call it Church. Any other churches have a specific name. I was pretty happy I knew the purpose behind all of the actions, but still was mystified by it all. It was different than the one my Mom and I visited back in the 'States. Mostly because it was bigger. And, you know, original, authentic Russian.
Then we decided to go to China Town, which is basically the China town as we know it only all in one building. The ground floor is for the home and other needs, while the second and third floor are for apparel. I was determined to buy a pair of shoes here. And, of course, at least one scarf. We went to almost every shoe store. Like the China Town in New York, the vendors were really pushy, ordering you to come into their shops. And you had to haggle with them on the price. So finally, after looking at all of my options, I chose a pair of shoes. The first offer was 650 ruples. WAY too much for off brand shoes in China Town. All of the vendors that we started to haggle with would tell us this astronomical price because I am a foreigner. Lena acted like she had never heard high prices, even at the first offer. She was able to get the vendor of my shoes down to 550, but that was still too much. So I said "I think I will just not buy shoes today." Then you know who popped over to the stall we were in? Yu-YUTING! Her eyes were all huge and she was so confused why we were there. I told her I was with my friend from school and that I wanted to buy shoes. Turns out I (or I should say Lena) was haggling with her sister. Her sister said "Oh, you are friends with Yuting? You should have told me and I would have offered you a better price! How is 450 ruples?" Both Lena and I were shocked.  I thanked her (in Chinese- Yu-Yuting has been teaching me some phrases on the bus). Yu-Yuting did a little dance when I said "She-She" correctly (right tones and everything haha). It was funny to watch her get all excited.

My new shoes with my ratty converse.

We then said our goodbyes and Lena and I left with my new shoes. I asked Lena if she would tell me if they were ugly, and she told me that my shoes are just typical Russian shoes. Which is exactly what I wanted! They have some purple on them, so I am especially happy. I will send you pictures tomorrow so you can see them. I also bought a scarf. I really think that until I have everything to send you guys (still searching for a couple of cheap touristy Russia shirts and Alex's birthday/xmas gift- I know what I am getting him I am just trying to stay in budget) these scarves are going to be a part of my wardrobe. So pretty much until the end of this month. I think I am going to have a scarf obsession like Ms. Heather Best before this is all said and done. I now know a fair price for one (between 3 and 400 Ruples), so now I can make better decisions on which ones to buy and not feel guilty for walking away from some.
After this we went to one of the nearby monuments and had a seat. It was nice to relax our feet. Then her mother picked us up (once again- really happy to not have had to walk) and I was invited to her home. They live near my apartment, it is true. I can see their building from one of our windows. She lives on the ninth floor. Her home was large and beautiful. It had it's own little flair, that is for sure. Not sure how to describe it other than a more up-to-date 70s deco theme.  Lena made dinner (potato-stuffed raviolis) and coffee.We watched part of a movie with English subtitles.  Lena's mom and then her mom's friend came over, and her mom gave me some tea. After I finished my tea Lena walked me home. Her mom seemed really sweet.

Learning more Russian......

The Deathly Trio (my Russian textbooks)

The first page from the center textbook. There are Chinese
translations but not English.

School was kind of long. I did a lot of my University homework, but didn't understand a lot of it. Tomorrow's after school hours should be spent looking these things up and learning the rules behind the homework. There is this crazy rule about adjectives I have just been introduced to. Well, not just. I knew it was coming. If the form of "my" changes with the object/person you are talking about, so should the adjectives describing those things. They change by both the gender and plural cases. This isn't too difficult, but it seems like each word is changed differently. Russians just intuitively know how they are changed, and the language kind of doesn't follow any rules, so it is difficult to teach how to correctly phrase things. It is like they are having to try to make up rules for the language that already exists. There are so many exceptions and special cases, it almost feels like there is a rule if only three words are changed in the same way. This also goes for verbs, which are changed by case similarly to the Spanish language. And this is only similar in that they change if you are talking about "I, you, he, she, they, or we." And, like I mentioned before, there are more exceptions than there are verbs that fit into the conjugation rules. I kind of die inside a little every time I even think about trying to study these rules or crack open my book to look at my notes. Anyways, school was spent studying these notes and doing bookwork.

The ballet

     The ballet was Awesome! and beautiful! No wonder Russian Ballets are so famous. There was just something about it that made the time go by so fast. It was Sleeping Beauty, of that there was no doubt. But it was the classic sleeping beauty, not the Disney version. And at the end there were different partner dances that were really cool. They were supposed to be celebrating the marriage of the prince and princess, but they were stories in and of themselves. Except for this one couple. They were just creepy cats fighting with each other. There are two songs in the ballet that were used in the Disney movie. I thought this was pretty cool. And I was impressed that someone could make up words to them. Well, the "Once Upon A Dream" song. The other was used in the scene where the faeries went to Melefacent's castle.

And the music was live from an orchestra. This may go without saying, but to me it added another element of excellence and beauty to the whole thing. There is just something about live music that can capture you and help take you into the dance. Or put you to sleep. But in this case, it did the former, and enhanced the ballet a million times over. 
The scenes/backdrops were beautifully constructed, and I really liked the costumes. Of course the dancing was good. There were some difficult dances in there! The pure athleticism of all the people were really impressive. At the end of a solo the girls' feet didn't seem to hurt and no one was ever breathing really hard. Another interesting fact is that the king looked like a real life version of Lord Farquad from Shrek. Also, the king and the princess were actually father and daughter in real life. I thought that was cool.

Julia also told me that when Arthur comes with her to ballets the first thing he does is go to the bar and get a class of cognac. I think the guy sitting next to me during the first act had the same system, only he must have had more than one serving. He giggled through most of it. It wasn't too irritating, because the woman that controlled our sector of the theater was related to Hitler. She caught me with my camera once and I think quietly yelled at everyone in my section at least once. Of course I found another way to take pics, but it was during the second half, so you only will see pics of the first scene and 3/4 of the second half. So basically you won't get to see the kiss or the witch. She was pretty good. She didn't really ever dance; she just moved around a lot and waved her cape around. It was still pretty cool. She also had a really big butt built into her costume. Which is probably why she didn't do any dancing. 
It is getting to be Autumn here. The wind howls through the stairwell, and it is a COLD wind. I have said it many times and I will say it again: it is straight from the Arctic circle!