Snow
Intricate, delicate
Gently sifting down
Anxiously I await it
My lashes anticipate the embrace
Snow
It snowed today, and it was quite beautiful! It was probably better than the best snow that our neck of the woods in Arkansas gets all year, and... we went to school. We even played outside at recess, making snowmen and having snowball fights. Russia has definitely got the US beat in recess fun! Unfortunately, I don't have pictures. My semi-descent camera broke, so I probably won't be taking many pictures until after I get back from break in the states, which is only about a month away!!! :)
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Ld, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Well, I have almost been in Moscow for three months, and it is so hard to believe. It is really flying by, especially now that we have become adjusted.
Much has gone on in the last month (?) since I have posted last. All 8 kids have now officially started kindergarten, so it's been fun to have the whole group there most of the time. There are 3 boys and 5 girls, and I think they are starting to warm up to me much better than I might have previously mentioned. It's inevitable that spending 9 hours a day with people can make you beging to become attached to someone, especially cute little three year olds. And while this is not the age or exact job description that I had in mind, now that I have gotten into the groove of what I am doing , I am enjoying it much more. We have fun...
Leah, Rick, Kelly (a student at one of the universities here), and I went to a Cska vs. Manchester United football game(soccer for all you Americans ;) ). Manchester won 1-0 in the last 2 minutes of the game. It was my first professional soccer game, and it really was so much fun! The men definitely out numbered the women however. Oh, and the fans were so into the game too, very unlike in the socialness of games typically in the US it seems.
Then, a group of us went to Beauty in the Beast. It was in Russian, but it was sooo good! It was the same music and story line as the cartoon, but it had some Russian flavor to it :)! Oh, and Bell was so beautiful, but she was actually blonde. We weren't sure about that at first, but she really did turn out to be excellent. Then, there was a very flamboyant candlestick, who was Leah's favorite. He would move his hips every chance he got! :) Oh, and then my favorite was the break-dancing carpet of course! I think he was supposed to kind of be like the foot stool in the cartoon.
Finally, last week, a few of us spent the week in the UK. It was for fall break, and it was a much needed break. We first went to London for a few days and saw as many of the big things as we could. I enjoyed getting to see London and be surrounded by English speakers and a culture much more similar to the US; however, my favorite part of the trip was... Scotland.
We spent the last 5ish days in Scotland, and it really was beautiful. I am so excited that I finally got to do this, because I have been wanting to for a really long time. Even after having gone and come back, it's hard to believe it happened! We went to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands. I will put up some pictures later! Oh, and we had the most magnificent dinner at a friend of some friends here in Moscow. His name is Gus, and he lives in Edinburgh. He is just the neatest guy, so we felt pretty lucky to have gotten to spend an evening with him... There really is much more I could say about the trip, but I'll spare the details unless you ask!
Now, I am back at school and have about 5 and a half weeks until I head home for Christmas... it's unreal, but I have to say that I am so completely excited about it!
Cheers (They say this in Scotland for "bye" and "thank you," and I just love it!),
Becca
Much has gone on in the last month (?) since I have posted last. All 8 kids have now officially started kindergarten, so it's been fun to have the whole group there most of the time. There are 3 boys and 5 girls, and I think they are starting to warm up to me much better than I might have previously mentioned. It's inevitable that spending 9 hours a day with people can make you beging to become attached to someone, especially cute little three year olds. And while this is not the age or exact job description that I had in mind, now that I have gotten into the groove of what I am doing , I am enjoying it much more. We have fun...
Leah, Rick, Kelly (a student at one of the universities here), and I went to a Cska vs. Manchester United football game(soccer for all you Americans ;) ). Manchester won 1-0 in the last 2 minutes of the game. It was my first professional soccer game, and it really was so much fun! The men definitely out numbered the women however. Oh, and the fans were so into the game too, very unlike in the socialness of games typically in the US it seems.
Then, a group of us went to Beauty in the Beast. It was in Russian, but it was sooo good! It was the same music and story line as the cartoon, but it had some Russian flavor to it :)! Oh, and Bell was so beautiful, but she was actually blonde. We weren't sure about that at first, but she really did turn out to be excellent. Then, there was a very flamboyant candlestick, who was Leah's favorite. He would move his hips every chance he got! :) Oh, and then my favorite was the break-dancing carpet of course! I think he was supposed to kind of be like the foot stool in the cartoon.
Finally, last week, a few of us spent the week in the UK. It was for fall break, and it was a much needed break. We first went to London for a few days and saw as many of the big things as we could. I enjoyed getting to see London and be surrounded by English speakers and a culture much more similar to the US; however, my favorite part of the trip was... Scotland.
We spent the last 5ish days in Scotland, and it really was beautiful. I am so excited that I finally got to do this, because I have been wanting to for a really long time. Even after having gone and come back, it's hard to believe it happened! We went to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands. I will put up some pictures later! Oh, and we had the most magnificent dinner at a friend of some friends here in Moscow. His name is Gus, and he lives in Edinburgh. He is just the neatest guy, so we felt pretty lucky to have gotten to spend an evening with him... There really is much more I could say about the trip, but I'll spare the details unless you ask!
Now, I am back at school and have about 5 and a half weeks until I head home for Christmas... it's unreal, but I have to say that I am so completely excited about it!
Cheers (They say this in Scotland for "bye" and "thank you," and I just love it!),
Becca
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pictures of the kids
Here are some pictures that Leah took at the school a few days ago. The kids are just so cute that we had to get some pictures. We are with these crazies 5 days a week from 8 to 5! I have 3 year olds; Julie has 4's, and Leah has the 5's.
A quick note: If you notice, they are all wearing snowsuits or at least really warm clothes. It was probably in the high 50's...
Enjoy!
Julie's Nastya in her amazing bright blue snow suit:
Artione and Leah's beautiful Donna eating lunch. Donna can speak English, Italian, and Russian:
Donna again:
Julie's Sasha and Vanya:
Erika being silly. She is one of the twins in my class:
Yosha. This is what he does every day at recess. He is such a cutie but a mess:
Me and Tat'yana waiting to be served our meal of sand prepared by the kids:
Nastya, the other twin. Leah thinks she looks like Cindy Lou Who. I think she looks like my sister Jennifer when she was young:
Sonya:
Sonya and Vanya. Vanya usually doesn't make that face, but it was just such a funny picture, I had to put it up:
Polina again:
A quick note: If you notice, they are all wearing snowsuits or at least really warm clothes. It was probably in the high 50's...
Enjoy!
Julie's Nastya in her amazing bright blue snow suit:
Artione and Leah's beautiful Donna eating lunch. Donna can speak English, Italian, and Russian:
Donna again:
Julie's Sasha and Vanya:
Erika being silly. She is one of the twins in my class:
Yosha. This is what he does every day at recess. He is such a cutie but a mess:
Me and Tat'yana waiting to be served our meal of sand prepared by the kids:
Nastya, the other twin. Leah thinks she looks like Cindy Lou Who. I think she looks like my sister Jennifer when she was young:
Sonya:
Sonya and Vanya. Vanya usually doesn't make that face, but it was just such a funny picture, I had to put it up:
Me and Polina. There is just too much to say about Miss Polina:
Polina again:
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The story of my appendix or lack there of...
So, I had my appendix taken out the other day… in Russia! And this is the story of my experience…
It started Tuesday night directly after Bible study. As soon as we began to head out, I felt a pain in my stomach, more like a cramp, so I decided that when I got home, it would be bedtime for me. Well, after trying to sleep off the pain for a few hours, I found myself instead in more pain and with very little sleep, so I got up and tried various methods-I’ll spare the details- to make myself feel better, but I just couldn’t get rid of the ache. At this point, I began to get frustrated and had one of those “Is this every going to end?”feelings.
So, I called my parents to ask them what to do. During this conversation my dad asked me various questions about the pain in my stomach and began to have a tiny suspicion of appendicitis from my description, but his guess was the stomach flu or something that I ate from the night. He said that I could call him in a few hours to tell him whether the pain had changed. At this point, the pain was all over my stomach, but there was more pain in the area that my appendix is (or was). He wanted to see if the pain would become more targeted to the one area as the time progressed.
Well, it did. By late morning, my dad was pretty set on my going to the hospital. Fortunately, I had contacted the school and was waiting for a doctor to make a house visit anyways so that I could have a doctor’s excuse for missing school that day. Well, when she got there in the afternoon with Mosha-an amazing Russian teacher that I owe much- to translate, she examined me and also decided that the hospital was where I needed to be. So, she called the paramedics (I’m assuming that is who these people were), and they checked me out too. As they were examining me, Mosha called in to one of the best hospitals here in Moscow and convinced them to take me. She was very proud of herself to get me in, and I am very thankful for her to have done so as well!
So, I packed up my bag with a few commodities, and they walked me down to an ambulance, which I rode to the hospital in. Once at the hospital, I was taken to a doctor who could not have been any older than 25, 26 maybe, and he examined my stomach and gave Mosha and I a list of different examinations that I needed to have to determine the problem. This was the fun part.
It would be a fair statement to say that we are a little more modest in the US when it comes to exposing ourselves, because I definitely felt very “exposed” in most of the tests that I underwent. Let’s just say that Mosha and I became very close, very fast. So, urine and blood samples were taken, and I also had a chest x-ray, ultra sound, and female exam. Then, there was plenty of feeling around on my tummy. After all of this, however, they decided that it was in fact necessary to have surgery because there was a pretty good chance that it was appendicitis.
So, Mosha was kind enough to translate the document that I had to sign as I wrote what it said in English, and I signed the document in English and Russian saying I would have surgery, and it was off to surgery for me… sort of.
Next, I was taken into a room where they had me undress and lay on one of the rolling tables under a sheet. I was then taken to a regular ole doctor’s office where I waited for about an hour to be taken into surgery. It was interesting to lay in the office under the sheet while doctors came in and out socializing. While I was in and out of sleep in that hour, thoughts went through my head of the realization that I was about to have surgery in a foreign country, and not only surgery, but my first surgery. However, I didn’t really care too much at this point. I just wanted to be out of the office and in the surgery room so that they could cut out that silly appendix of mine!
Well, they finally took me in, and they had me sign another document in Russian that said something about total anesthesia. While I don’t usually like signing things that I can’t read, this time I only asked for how long I’d be asleep and then signed the silly thing.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the drawling in of a huge breath and a very dry throat from the oxygen mask. The surgery was over. They then proceeded to take me to my room, and on the way I saw the faces of Rick, Leah, Amy, and Mosha. It was 1 AM by this time, and they had been waiting 5 hours for me to get out of surgery. I am so thankful for how good of friends they were and are to me.
From Wednesday until Tuesday, almost a week, I spent in the hospital recovering. During this time I learned how different Russian medical care is than American. First, I didn’t even have to pay for this visit. Because it was an emergency, they had to take me. My dad jokes about how at least it was cheaper in Russia than it would have been in the US with the insurance deductible. Also, their methods of sanitation are different. Enough said. Then, there’s the fact that I had to stay for so long. In the US, I was told, appendicitis patients leave within a day after surgery usually, but not in Russia. Still, there’s just the simple difference of technology. For example, they were still using glass thermometers. My sheets were even from the Soviet time period… kind of interesting.
During this time I also made a few friends. First, there was my roommate Julia. She knew some English, but it had been a while, so it was fun to give her practice in English, and she was such a kind woman. She was always very helpful to me, especially when I needed to communicate a need to the doctors or nurses who did not speak English, which by the way were all of them but one doctor. They actually gave me him as a doctor because he was the only one who spoke English.
My other two friends that I made were Natasha and Natasha. One was 19 and the other was 28. They both told me that they knew English very well at one time, but it had been a while since they had used it very much. So, like Julia, I got to give them practice with English. Not to mention, I got to know them, and they were both lovely. Our talks helped pass the time away in the hospital too, which was nice.
Also, I have to mention during this time that I had some wonderful friends that came and visited me faithfully. I don’t know what I would have done without them. They are what really helped me get through the week in the hospital. First, Mosha took great care of me by translating, visiting me several times, bringing me water and juice, and calling and checking up on me. She even picked me up from the hospital. I am definitely indebted to her, and while she hates it, I won’t ever stop saying thanks to her. Then, Leah came and visited me every single night that I was at the hospital and brought me anything I asked for plus more! She truly was wonderful, and I owe her big too. Even when I got home I found my room clean. How great is she?! Next, Kristin brought me all kinds of goodies and even took off of school to come see me on the first day. This reminds me that I need to return some stuff! Then, Sonya brought me flowers (I also got some from Polina from church. Both of the sets from the girls were roses, and they smelled amazing!) and gave me CDs on her visits to see me. Next, Julie brought some goods with Leah, and she lent me her Pride and Prejudice movie (the 5 hour one that I regrettably didn’t get to watch). Finally, all the others came and visited me a few days as well, and it was so wonderful to know they cared! I think that’s all the thanks and shout outs… J
In conclusion, it wasn’t easy having my first surgery in a foreign country, where few spoke English and where I was not with my family, but I can say that I don’t mind this experience, and in fact, I find it one that I can look back and laugh about. It’s just such an interesting situation to have been in. I know that I learned a lot from it, things I did not expect to learn coming to Russia… and oh the stories to tell from it!
It started Tuesday night directly after Bible study. As soon as we began to head out, I felt a pain in my stomach, more like a cramp, so I decided that when I got home, it would be bedtime for me. Well, after trying to sleep off the pain for a few hours, I found myself instead in more pain and with very little sleep, so I got up and tried various methods-I’ll spare the details- to make myself feel better, but I just couldn’t get rid of the ache. At this point, I began to get frustrated and had one of those “Is this every going to end?”feelings.
So, I called my parents to ask them what to do. During this conversation my dad asked me various questions about the pain in my stomach and began to have a tiny suspicion of appendicitis from my description, but his guess was the stomach flu or something that I ate from the night. He said that I could call him in a few hours to tell him whether the pain had changed. At this point, the pain was all over my stomach, but there was more pain in the area that my appendix is (or was). He wanted to see if the pain would become more targeted to the one area as the time progressed.
Well, it did. By late morning, my dad was pretty set on my going to the hospital. Fortunately, I had contacted the school and was waiting for a doctor to make a house visit anyways so that I could have a doctor’s excuse for missing school that day. Well, when she got there in the afternoon with Mosha-an amazing Russian teacher that I owe much- to translate, she examined me and also decided that the hospital was where I needed to be. So, she called the paramedics (I’m assuming that is who these people were), and they checked me out too. As they were examining me, Mosha called in to one of the best hospitals here in Moscow and convinced them to take me. She was very proud of herself to get me in, and I am very thankful for her to have done so as well!
So, I packed up my bag with a few commodities, and they walked me down to an ambulance, which I rode to the hospital in. Once at the hospital, I was taken to a doctor who could not have been any older than 25, 26 maybe, and he examined my stomach and gave Mosha and I a list of different examinations that I needed to have to determine the problem. This was the fun part.
It would be a fair statement to say that we are a little more modest in the US when it comes to exposing ourselves, because I definitely felt very “exposed” in most of the tests that I underwent. Let’s just say that Mosha and I became very close, very fast. So, urine and blood samples were taken, and I also had a chest x-ray, ultra sound, and female exam. Then, there was plenty of feeling around on my tummy. After all of this, however, they decided that it was in fact necessary to have surgery because there was a pretty good chance that it was appendicitis.
So, Mosha was kind enough to translate the document that I had to sign as I wrote what it said in English, and I signed the document in English and Russian saying I would have surgery, and it was off to surgery for me… sort of.
Next, I was taken into a room where they had me undress and lay on one of the rolling tables under a sheet. I was then taken to a regular ole doctor’s office where I waited for about an hour to be taken into surgery. It was interesting to lay in the office under the sheet while doctors came in and out socializing. While I was in and out of sleep in that hour, thoughts went through my head of the realization that I was about to have surgery in a foreign country, and not only surgery, but my first surgery. However, I didn’t really care too much at this point. I just wanted to be out of the office and in the surgery room so that they could cut out that silly appendix of mine!
Well, they finally took me in, and they had me sign another document in Russian that said something about total anesthesia. While I don’t usually like signing things that I can’t read, this time I only asked for how long I’d be asleep and then signed the silly thing.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the drawling in of a huge breath and a very dry throat from the oxygen mask. The surgery was over. They then proceeded to take me to my room, and on the way I saw the faces of Rick, Leah, Amy, and Mosha. It was 1 AM by this time, and they had been waiting 5 hours for me to get out of surgery. I am so thankful for how good of friends they were and are to me.
From Wednesday until Tuesday, almost a week, I spent in the hospital recovering. During this time I learned how different Russian medical care is than American. First, I didn’t even have to pay for this visit. Because it was an emergency, they had to take me. My dad jokes about how at least it was cheaper in Russia than it would have been in the US with the insurance deductible. Also, their methods of sanitation are different. Enough said. Then, there’s the fact that I had to stay for so long. In the US, I was told, appendicitis patients leave within a day after surgery usually, but not in Russia. Still, there’s just the simple difference of technology. For example, they were still using glass thermometers. My sheets were even from the Soviet time period… kind of interesting.
During this time I also made a few friends. First, there was my roommate Julia. She knew some English, but it had been a while, so it was fun to give her practice in English, and she was such a kind woman. She was always very helpful to me, especially when I needed to communicate a need to the doctors or nurses who did not speak English, which by the way were all of them but one doctor. They actually gave me him as a doctor because he was the only one who spoke English.
My other two friends that I made were Natasha and Natasha. One was 19 and the other was 28. They both told me that they knew English very well at one time, but it had been a while since they had used it very much. So, like Julia, I got to give them practice with English. Not to mention, I got to know them, and they were both lovely. Our talks helped pass the time away in the hospital too, which was nice.
Also, I have to mention during this time that I had some wonderful friends that came and visited me faithfully. I don’t know what I would have done without them. They are what really helped me get through the week in the hospital. First, Mosha took great care of me by translating, visiting me several times, bringing me water and juice, and calling and checking up on me. She even picked me up from the hospital. I am definitely indebted to her, and while she hates it, I won’t ever stop saying thanks to her. Then, Leah came and visited me every single night that I was at the hospital and brought me anything I asked for plus more! She truly was wonderful, and I owe her big too. Even when I got home I found my room clean. How great is she?! Next, Kristin brought me all kinds of goodies and even took off of school to come see me on the first day. This reminds me that I need to return some stuff! Then, Sonya brought me flowers (I also got some from Polina from church. Both of the sets from the girls were roses, and they smelled amazing!) and gave me CDs on her visits to see me. Next, Julie brought some goods with Leah, and she lent me her Pride and Prejudice movie (the 5 hour one that I regrettably didn’t get to watch). Finally, all the others came and visited me a few days as well, and it was so wonderful to know they cared! I think that’s all the thanks and shout outs… J
In conclusion, it wasn’t easy having my first surgery in a foreign country, where few spoke English and where I was not with my family, but I can say that I don’t mind this experience, and in fact, I find it one that I can look back and laugh about. It’s just such an interesting situation to have been in. I know that I learned a lot from it, things I did not expect to learn coming to Russia… and oh the stories to tell from it!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Completely Random Post
My picture posting and narrative skills are lacking tonight.. I'm sorry for this crazily organized post in advance.
Leah, me, and Kristin eating our apples:
Erica and Tat'yana doing my hair:
Nastya and Tat'yana:
Polina and Tat'yana:
Leah, me, and Kristin eating our apples:
Erica and Tat'yana doing my hair:
Nastya and Tat'yana:
Another week has passed in Moscow. While the days tend to seem long, the weeks fly by. I can't believe that we have been here for over a month and that it will be October soon.
There were a few cold days this weekend, but now it is warming up a little again. The cold weather keeps teasing us. That's okay with me though. I love warm weather and am still waiting on my winter coat to get here in the mail! Oh, but the leaves are starting to change colors, and it is getting to be really pretty! I went for a short run this evening and saw that there were yellow leaves spread throughout the city streets. Also, it is the time of year when many fruits and vegetables (Interestingly, mushrooms are a big one if those are even considered a veggie.), so it has been fun to get to try some of the Russian teachers' harvests from their gardens! Speaking of eating fruit...
This weekend we went to a nice area that has a beautiful overlook of the city. We also passed by Moscow State University, one of the seven sisters that Stalin (I promise it was Stalin this time for those of you who corrected me about him in one of my other blogs :) ) built to show his power. Throughout the night we saw some fireworks, bikers, wealthy teenagers riding limos and dancing in the streets, and probably much more; however, my favorite part of the night was when one of the American teachers, Kelsie, climbed an apple tree in the middle of the city and picked apples for us... It was pretty amusing to see her climb up there, and we were a little nervous about getting caught, so it made for a fun time. Plus, the apples made for a very nice midnight snack. We even hope to go back and pick some more for an apple pie perhaps?
The rest of the weekend was spent resting and getting wireless interent for our apartment finally! Now we can all get on at the same time and skype whenever we want back home.. yes! :) It did stink that we were told that we had to get it on Sunday though, so we had to miss church to wait for the guy to come to set it up. We were surprised that they even work on Sundays.
So, anyways because we now have wifi, giving me the opportunity to get on it as much as I need or want, and in honor of seeing so many incredible dogs here when I go out in the evenings (Seriously, everyone has incredible breeds of dogs that they are always walking. I've seen German Shepards, Miniature Greyhounds, Syberian Huskies, Saint Bernards, Great Pyranises, Newfoundlands and the list could go on...), I am putting up a picture of a cute Newfoundland that I found on the internet, because I am really, really wanting one and cannot wait to get one when I go back to the States!
I am also putting up a few pictures from school. Braids are supposed to be popular here, and the kids, with the help of one of the Russian teachers, did my hair last Friday, so I have to display some of the pictures! It was so sweet.
Polina and Tat'yana:
Kingsley... Beaumont or "Beau..." or some other Old English name I can find :-) :
Monday, September 14, 2009
Moscow International Peace Marathon and 10k
Upon leaving for Moscow I could not help myself but to look for any possible races that would be held while I was here, and to my surprise, I discovered one that would be held September 13, yesterday.
Of course I did not want to go alone though, and so my dear friends Rick and Leah chose to go race too. They did the 10k, and after very much debate, I did the marathon.
Now, for those of you who know how much I love running, you can understand why I wanted to do the marathon so badly. I mean, it is Moscow, Russia! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, I did not run more than 7 or 8 miles this summer in one single day, so that kind of running does not prepare one for a marathon.
Well, the first 6 miles were good. In fact, as expected, I actually went a little faster than my easy pace. Then, starting at mile 7, that's when I was consistently at a pace a little slower than easy pace for the rest of the race. Also, at around mile 7 was when I thought, "maybe this wasn't a good idea." However, the miles started to just run together, and despite the ickiness and soreness I felt yesterday and the soreness that I am feeling today, I am pretty glad that I ran the race.
There were a few interesting things about the marathon that I have to mention. First, instead of gatorade and gu, warm tea and salted bread were served along with water. These things did not settle well with my stomach, but I knew that I had to get something in me besides water, because I usually cramp up really bad after races due to so many electrolites being lost. It's miserable. Fortunately, I didn't cramp up yesterday though- a huge blessing. Another interesting thing was some of the people we saw at the race. One man was barefoot the whole marathon. There was another man who Leah said had a tu-tu on in the race. I saw a few men using the restroom as they were running (not too uncommon in US races either I guess). There were all kinds of shoes that would be miserable to wear in a race being worn. Oh, after the race we saw men just drop their droors right out in the open to change! I could go on...
Then, there was the course. Although the course was pretty repetitive, it was very neat to run in central Moscow. The race started and finished in Red Square by St. Basil's Cathedral, and we got to run by Christ the Savior's Cathedral as well as all along the Moscow River and by one of the Seven Sisters. Plus, there were people from all over running the race. A few people tried to have conversations with me, but most of the converstations ended pretty fast ha. I DID see a few Americans though, so that was neat.
All in all, it was a really fun experience. Leah, Rick, and I are glad we did it, soreness and all! Oh, and we even got to see some friends from church there as well who were participating.
Of course I did not want to go alone though, and so my dear friends Rick and Leah chose to go race too. They did the 10k, and after very much debate, I did the marathon.
Now, for those of you who know how much I love running, you can understand why I wanted to do the marathon so badly. I mean, it is Moscow, Russia! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. However, I did not run more than 7 or 8 miles this summer in one single day, so that kind of running does not prepare one for a marathon.
Well, the first 6 miles were good. In fact, as expected, I actually went a little faster than my easy pace. Then, starting at mile 7, that's when I was consistently at a pace a little slower than easy pace for the rest of the race. Also, at around mile 7 was when I thought, "maybe this wasn't a good idea." However, the miles started to just run together, and despite the ickiness and soreness I felt yesterday and the soreness that I am feeling today, I am pretty glad that I ran the race.
There were a few interesting things about the marathon that I have to mention. First, instead of gatorade and gu, warm tea and salted bread were served along with water. These things did not settle well with my stomach, but I knew that I had to get something in me besides water, because I usually cramp up really bad after races due to so many electrolites being lost. It's miserable. Fortunately, I didn't cramp up yesterday though- a huge blessing. Another interesting thing was some of the people we saw at the race. One man was barefoot the whole marathon. There was another man who Leah said had a tu-tu on in the race. I saw a few men using the restroom as they were running (not too uncommon in US races either I guess). There were all kinds of shoes that would be miserable to wear in a race being worn. Oh, after the race we saw men just drop their droors right out in the open to change! I could go on...
Then, there was the course. Although the course was pretty repetitive, it was very neat to run in central Moscow. The race started and finished in Red Square by St. Basil's Cathedral, and we got to run by Christ the Savior's Cathedral as well as all along the Moscow River and by one of the Seven Sisters. Plus, there were people from all over running the race. A few people tried to have conversations with me, but most of the converstations ended pretty fast ha. I DID see a few Americans though, so that was neat.
All in all, it was a really fun experience. Leah, Rick, and I are glad we did it, soreness and all! Oh, and we even got to see some friends from church there as well who were participating.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
School is in Session
In front of the fountain in the awesome park!
Some of us in front of a garden
My honey (not him, the sack!)
Honey
At the honey market
My room
Our living room
The kitchen
Russian nesting dolls
This is a cryllic "P." It stands for Puschin (I butchered that spelling probably!) Cafe
Leah, Julia (my favorite Brit), and me at Victory Park (not the park I talk about in the blog)
Leah and Rick under an arch on the median
A Russian Orthodox Church
The gals on the day we met all of the faculty... with our cool new scarves!
Well, September 1st has come and gone. We had our first day of school Tuesday. The first day of school is done quite differently here than in the U.S., though. Instead of starting in on the rules and even possibly assignments, on the first day of class in Russia education is celebrated. Every school, including universities, start on September 1st each year. On this day, parents buy flowers for their students to bring to the teachers, who are anxiously awaiting for the students to arrive.
Then, to be specific,at the kindergarten where I work a small play was put on, and then a giraffe (the school's mascot) came out with a cake for all to eat. The kids then got to play for a while inside and outside, had lunch, and then left.Then, the last few days have been a time of adjustment for my students at the kindergarten, and the next week will sort of be the same.
Now, I'll have to admit that having 3 year olds who only speak Russian is definitely out of my comfort zone. It has been kind of hard for me to go from teaching a 4th grade class of American students, where I knew what was expected of me and was on top of the game (or I'd like to think I was getting there!), to a class of 3 year olds that I can hardly communicate with as well as colleagues that mostly speak Russian. The three students that have been there this week (I will have 7 total) look at me with extremly hesitant eyes sometimes, and my colleagues are sooo sweet, but we never know what eachother is saying. Oy vey! I know it will get better, but I'd appreciate the prayers.
After saying all of this, however, I am still glad that I am here. Because of its challenges, this year is hopefully going to be a time of lots of growth and learning.
Outside of school, the weather has been really nice here. We went to the park Sunday as well as the annual honey market. At the honey market one can try all kinds of honey from rows and rows of stands. I bought a clear, sweet honey that comes from a white flower. The man was really nice that I bought it from! It was especially neat to watch him dip out the honey out of his big bin and to see all the bees kind of flying around the honey market. It was a little gross when you were sharing the honey with them though! :)
Well, much more could be said, but I think I'll conclude since it's getting kind of long. Miss you guys.
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