Women, Men, Russian-Korean Wedding, Beards, Police, and Metro

Sorry, guys. I've given up on trying to write short posts. :) Oh, well.

The wedding was really interesting! It's a good thing you can invite yourself to weddings and parties in Russia. I didn't know anyone except Laura H. (not to be confused with Laura M.) and her friend Brent. It was kinda funny. I was meeting Laura at metro Konkovo, and I was waiting for her on the bench, reading a book. And when she walks up, she says, "I just knew you two were going to be sitting next to each other and not even know it!" So, the whole time I was sitting next to Brent in the metro as we both waited for Laura to show up. Anyway, Brent is from New Zealand, and he's a super cool guy. He said, "I'm a missionary...whatever that means." He is really sarcastic, but friendly.

So, we headed to Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary (where Laura actually works...not at RACU like I said before) which was about 45 minutes on the metro and then another 15 minute walk. So it took a while to get there. That is where the wedding was.

The wedding was not what I thought it would be. Laura forgot to inform me that this is definitely not a typical Russian wedding because not only is the couple Christian, they are Russian-Koreans. By that I mean they are Russians...who look Korean. They don't even speak that much Korean, but some of their grandparents speak it. So, the wedding itself was a conglomeration of Russian and Korean traditions. The entire ceremony was given both in Korean and Russian actually. Everyone had Russian mannerisms, clothing, habits, etc. The bride's name was Victoria, and the groom's name was Roman. Roman cried like a baby the whole time. It was pretty funny.

Everyone claps for everything in Russia (in fact, they clap if their plane is successfully landed -- "Yay! We didn't die!")...except it's really funny because they clap in unison (for the most part). I'm sure it has something to do with communism. Everyone's gotta be the same. None of this following the beat of your own drum. Well, actually that's not true. Everyone can follow the beat of their own drum as long as the beat is the same as everyone else's.

There is a Russian proverb which says, "The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut." Don't be different. Don't stand out. Be the same as everyone.

You can see it even in advertisements. They have the "perfect Russian" on the poster. In America, you have a poster where EVERY single race and age is represented. Not so in Russia.

I wonder if things will change though with the newer generation becoming police officers and other officials. You know how the police academy is next door to my apartment building? Well, this means that all the police are walking all around the general area. The dorm for the police academy is next door to us too. So, they are pretty much everywhere. And you see them walking around with their long, dark grey coats, gold Soviet buttons (even their buttons are intimidating), and giant ushankas (Soviet fur hats), but...then you'll see their little black mp3 player earphone cords sticking out of their hats. I mean, what a contrast. The police academy students who are of my generation love western culture, and I can't see how that's not going to influence their worldview concerning independence, diversity, etc. It seems like musicians are becoming more active politically, and they are spokespeople for equality, human rights, tolerance, diversity, etc. So, if Russians police officials in training around my age are listening to American music which is all about being different and asserting your rights and following your dreams, how is this not going to change them?

I mean, I know change happens slowly. I was talking to Liza who is going to the pedagogical university to become a teacher. She said, "I don't really want to be a teacher, but..." and she shrugged her shoulders. Being thoroughly naive and American, I said, "Then why are you doing it? Be something else." She just looked at me like that was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. I mean, I guess it's just that I, like every other American girl, was raised on Disney cartoon movies where every movie has a song about following your dreams. I can't really change that. As silly as this sounds, there's something to be said for following your dreams.

Okay, back to the wedding...

The food was a mixture of Russian and Korean food. Mostly Korean though. I tried seaweed, caviar, and a bunch of other random stuff that I don't know the name of. The seaweed was pretty good, but the caviar made me gag. It was absolutely disgusting. They were little orange balls, and all I could think of was "NEMO!" When I ate them, they burst in my mouth, and liquid spurted out of the eggs. Disgusting!!!!!!! Plus, it was REALLY salty. I mean, it tasted like fishy salt liquid gel balls. That's how I would define caviar.

The woman I was sitting next to wanted to know who I was, so she asked Laura. She tried to pronounce my name which was hilarious. Russians simply cannot do it. I mean, it must be like coughing up phlegm to them. "Muh-hair-eh-deeghf." She tried a couple of times, threw up her hands in frustration, and pointed to Laura and Brent. "LAURA...BRENT." I knew she was saying, "Their names are so easy -- Laura. Brent. Why isn't yours?"

The Russian language doesn't have the th sound, and it is especially hard for them to pronounce it at the END of a word. They do it okay in English if it is a word like "the," three," or "that." But at the end of the word? It can't be done. Sveta, my Russian teacher, whose English is really good, calls me Meredee.

Back to the wedding...

Russian weddings are REALLY long. It was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but Russians are never on time. A scheduled time is an estimate. So, the wedding didn't start till 3:30. Laura and I left at 7 p.m., and they still had not served the cake. Everyone was still singing and having a blast. There were lots of blessings and best wishes given, and a ton of songs were sung together too. One of them I was able to figure out what some of it meant. Laura filled me in on the rest.

The chorus was:

Without God there is no life.
Without God love is dead.
Without God the world is dead.
Without God you and I are dead.

Then, this older couple sang a song and had everyone join in. It sounded very Russian to me with all the yay-yay-yays. Here it is:

Here's another song. This one has hand motions! :)

Another thing that Russians do is have a bunch of skits and games at the reception about marriage, love, and weddings. One of the games had about seven men lined up in front of Victoria, the bride, who was blindfolded. Each man had to come up and kiss her on the hand, and she had to guess which one was her groom, Roman. Well, each one acted like they were walking up to her, but each time Roman kissed her hand. That way she didn't lose! It was pretty funny.

While we were eating and talking, the flower girl in the wedding came, sat next to me, and stared at me. Then she said, "Kak vas zavoot?" It was really funny and so random. I just told her, "Minya zavoot Meredith." And then she got up and left! Kids are so funny. She had a question, asked me, got an answer, and that's all she needed. So, she went on her merry little way.

Speaking of the flower girl...she was basically the only other member of the wedding party. Russian weddings don't have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Also, instead of facing away from the crowd as they say their vows, they face the crowd. So, the audience sees their faces the whole time.

Among other things, I went to church at ICF, and it was okay. I was really tired and almost fell asleep though. After that some of the teachers at Hinkson and I went to a restaurant called Kebab, and we got some lunch. I got chicken shashleek (kebabs) with borsche, which was amazing, and French fries. It sounds like a lot, but when you order fries here, they give you approximately eight fries. If you're lucky, you might get ten. The only exception is at McDonald's. If you buy Coke in a restaurant, it's something like 80 rubles.That's about $2.30. Ridiculous. And you don't get free refills. If you buy Coke at a produkti store though, it's like 35 rubles. Or if you get it at Hinkson, it's 25 rubles, not even a dollar. If I ordered water though, I'd have to pay the same because water isn't free, and nobody believes in drinking tap water.

When we left, there was this adorable little babushka playing some Russian instrument on the street. She was super cute!

After that Gail, Laura M., and I went toured the Moscow metro. We went all the way around the brown circle, and we got off at each station. It took well over an hour.


We had to be discreet with our cameras because there are always more police officers on the weekend, and they like to pick on foreigners. However, they are getting better about that. I should write a post dedicated to the police. They are fascinating.

Anyway, one of them saw me take a picture, and I pretty much freaked out because a) you're not supposed to take pictures in the metro, and b) the Russian police scare me like nothin' else...especially if they are older and have more regimental stuff all over their coats. I just started walking really fast and got on the train quickly. I know I would've been fine. The worst he would have done was either make me delete my picture or ask for my passport, find something wrong with it, and make me pay a bribe. But a few years ago when my friend Beth was in Moscow, she was forced to go to the police station and pay some random, mysterious fee. That's the kind of thing that scares me.

I've been really wanting a picture of the Russian police, but I didn't have the guts to do it. So, Laura M. was pressuring me and forced me to do it. She stood in front, and I put my camera over her shoulder and sneaked a picture. She is really brave and isn't ashamed to be touristy (unlike me). She also kept pressuring me to just ask for a picture with them. She kept saying, "Meredith, they are 12!" They all looked pretty young, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe if I am with Luke, my next door teacher at Hinkson, I will ask because everyone in Hinkson believes Luke has the gift of woo. And there ain't nobody that don't like him! Russians, Americans, etc. They just love him. In fact, he is notorious for having asked for his picture to be taken with some Russian police officers. And they did it gladly! See? The gift of woo.

This says "meer" which means "peace." The words for world and peace are the same. So world peace = meer meer.

Stained glass metro

Interesting fact. Some of the metros are REALLY deep, and they can go as far as 14 floors below the ground. The reason is that when the metro system was built, the Soviet Union was also thinking of it as a bomb shelter.

Art.

I loved the blue background, the black gate, and the soft lights. Just looked cool to me. :)

These lights are fantastic.

Work, work, work.

Mosaic art.

This is an escalator. A very steep escalator. I like to count Mississippis when I go on an escalator because they can be so long. Sometimes, you can look down the escalator from the top and you won't see the end. It's pretty amazing. This one was 82 Mississippis. I went on one this morning that was 107 Mississippis long.

I have more pictures of the metro on Facebook.

Today is International Women's Day. That means there are flowers EVERYWHERE! Men everywhere are carrying bouquets on the streets and metro to bring to their friends, sweethearts, sisters, daughters, and mothers.

Interesting fact though. You cannot buy an even number of flowers. One time this American guy tried to buy a dozen roses, but the tsveti shop owner refused. It's bad luck because a bouquet with an even number of flowers is reserved only for funerals. However, you can buy ELEVEN roses, and then make a separate transaction for ONE more rose. Russians are pretty superstitious.

Regardless of superstitions, I love Women's Day. Tomorrow there is no school, but I am going to have a lesson planning party all day long.

One more thing. I have rant. Here goes.

I don't really understand why men don't have beards here. I think that is terrible! First, most men look better with beards. They at least look distinguished and intellectual (as long as it is not bordering on the homeless-man beard). If they can't have a distinguished beard, then at least their beard will make them look somewhat artsy-fartsy on some level or another. Really, the benefits of a beard are endless.

But on a more important level...

The good Lord has given Russian men a coat....for the FACE. And it's free! Russians LOVE free things. That's why they can't have free drink refills here because they would just stand by the drink machine all day long. So, WHY don't they wear beards here? It simply doesn't make sense to me.

Okay, that concludes my rant, and my rant concludes this post.

Happy Women's Day! I think I am going to buy some flowers for myself and my girls at school.

Much Love,
Meredith

An update!

Check it out. David, one of my 6th graders, is so smart. :) Look at his fingers fly!

I've been wanting to take pictures of empty vodka bottles in the snow. It is the quintessential picture of Russia. Vodka and snow.

This is me cringing with a squinty eye. :) I ordered a salmon bagel, but didn't realize the salmon was going to be raw. I ate it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The cream cheese helped disguise the pink fleshy-ness of the salmon.

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Among other news, I am going to a Russian wedding tomorrow with Laura H. She teaches at RACU, you know, and one of her students is either the bride or groom -- can't remember. I'm pretty excited. It won't be a typical Russian wedding though because they are Christians, and there won't be debauchery at the wedding. That's practically unheard of...from what I hear. (Is that an oxymoron?) I told Laura about Gogol Bordello's song "American Wedding," and she watched the video. She said there wouldn't be any vodka or marinated herring. Haha. :)

My lesson on the Billie Holiday song and the Scottsboro Boys case went really well. I enjoyed it a lot. I got nervous at first though. When I played the Billie Holiday song, the boys could hardly contain their laughter. The boys weren't taking it seriously; they were joking around about everything. I just kept playing it and didn't get on to them for being disrespectful. Then, I just acted normally and asked them serious questions. When they saw I was moving on quickly and ignoring their laughter, they calmed down. I immediately jumped into asking them questions about the song. What is the tree being nourished by instead of water? Why does this make the fruit bitter? What is the purpose of this fruit? Why did Billie Holiday want to record this song? I told them that it was okay to not think the song was pretty. "A song doesn't have to be pretty. Billie Holiday knew this song wasn't going to be one you'd be singin' along with in the shower. It doesn't have what you might call a pleasing melody -- a song you'd want to dance to or listen to so you can relax or feel better about life." I think that once they realized that, they were able to focus and think of it more as a message and less as entertainment.

I was surprised at first that my Korean students weren't more serious about it all. I mean, they know what prejudice is. There is a lot of racism in Russia, and it is not safe for anyone who doesn't look Slavic to be on streets at night. The daytime is fine, but many Koreans have been beat up at night. So, I didn't really get why Paul, Kevin, and Sang-Joon were laughing so much. After thinking awhile, they're laughing because they're in middle school. And what's more...they are laughing because they are middle school BOYS. And that's okay. That's what they are.

They got better later though. I eventually told them why I was doing this. "I don't want you to think that this story is just fiction. The things you read about in To Kill a Mockingbird have happened to real people. Many have experienced similar injustice."

I printed pictures and found biographies for each of the people involved with the Scottsboro case (Thanks, PBS!): the nine black men accused of rape, the two white female accusers, the two judges, and the Jewish lawyer who wanted to free the men. Each student had a person. They had to answer some questions about them, and then they had to share their answers with the rest of the class. The pictures really helped get their attention because they would all crane their necks to look at the pictures, and I'd pass them around. I think it helped them focus.

Even after I handed out the pictures, some of my students still didn't realize it was a real case though. Paul said, "Mees Beck, these are real people? You mean they lived?"

"Yes, Paul. The Scottsboro boys were real people. This really happened."

"No. You mean, they were put in jail even though they did not rape?"

"Yes."

Four of the black men accused were from Chattanooga actually. I told Paul that that was my hometown, and I think it affected him for some reason. Maybe it just made it more realistic.

I mean, how random life is for the Korean students. They live in a Korean home, in a Russian culture, and have an American education. And none of them have even been to America. So, how could it be realistic? America is so far away from them, and it is especially far for an 8th grader.

"These people...were from your hometown?"

"Yes, but a long time ago."

I think he finally understood 'cause after that he was dead serious, and that is an amazing feat for an 8th grade boy. :)

We compared these people to the characters in the novel. Ruby Bates and Victoria Price are very similar to Mayella Ewell. They were white trash hoboes. However, it was pretty cool to talk about Ruby Bates because she later confessed that there was no rape, and she ended up working a lot to support the campaign for the Scottsboro Boys' freedom. So, she was completely different from Mayella Ewell. Judge Horton and Samuel Leibowitz were both very similar to Judge Taylor and Atticus Finch.

Another thing we talked about was whether Tom Robinson was a realistic character. Athough innocent of the rape charges, most of the Scottsboro boys had immoral lifestyles. Many of them broke their parole and were in and out of jail throughout their lives. One of them stabbed a deputy and was then shot. Another killed his wife upon finding her with another man and then killed himself. Another was known to be a sexual predator in prison. They all led very violent and dark lives. The only thing they had in common with Tom Robinson was the economic background. In the novel, Tom is portrayed as a saint who can do no wrong. He's practically a Christ figure -- not too different than Uncle Tom. We didn't get a chance to develop this topic, but I want them to talk about how this affects the reader. It's much easier to be sympathetic for a morally flawless martyr than it is to feel sorry for a violent, sinful man.

Anyway, next week is finals week for my students. The week after that marks the new quarter. Sixth grade will begin reading Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor. Seventh grade will read White Fang by Jack London. I'm not sure if I will like it (I haven't read it), but I know it's gotta be better than Treasure Island. I absolutely hate that novel. Seriously. I hate it, but as Long John Silver says, "Dooty is dooty." And finally, the 8th grade will begin reading Romeo and Juliet. I am super excited about that. :)

To hear Koreans imitate an African American dialect is hilarious, but I bet hearing them speak with Shakespearean language is just as good. Haha...

Oh, yeah, speaking of my Korean students... Sara came up to me yesterday and said, "Mees Beck, may I go to nurse?"

"What's wrong?"

"My finger smarts."

"What?"

"My finger smarts." Then she pointed to her finger which barely had a scratch on it.

I thought it was hilarious. I have never heard someone use the word "smarts" for "hurts" so naturally. I mean, she wasn't even trying to be funny! :)

Among other things, Monday is Women's Day which is a national holiday. This means a three-day weekend for me. :) We've had tons of cake, chocolate, and cookies at school this week to celebrate Women's Day. I bet every tsveti shop (flower shop) in the city is gonna be busy as heck on Monday. All the women at school received a devotional book from the administration. The Russian women at the school got Russian ones too.

I have some stories to tell you about working with the Russians at school, but this post is getting too long.

I'll let you know how the wedding is. I'll probably be worn out afterwards because I hear they last well after midnight. Not sure if we're staying that long though. Laura is flying out on Sunday to the U.S. to renew her visa.

Much Love,
Meredith

Strange Fruit

I'm really excited about teaching tomorrow. Today 8th grade finished To Kill a Mockingbird. To conclude, I'm going to have them listen to Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit" and discuss its meaning. I'm really excited! This song is fascinating. Haunting, chilling, and moving. It's a perfect way to conclude the novel and its themes. Then we're going to talk about the Scottsboro Boys trial to make the novel "more real," I guess you could say.

Here is the song we're going to talk about. The lyrics are below.



Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black body swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
And the suddent smell of burning flesh!
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Music & Lyrics by Lewis Allan

I love my students.

Carly at coffeehouse.

The girls and I bonded on the way to metro...

Carly, Rachel, & moi. Rachel is the kind of girl you meet, and you think, "What are her parents doing to make this girl so wonderful?" She's smart, well-behaved, sweet, funny, kind...

L to R: Hannah, Rachel, Chrissie, Masie, Carly

Random facts: Hannah is moving to Prague next year.
Rachel's father is a pastor of an international church in Moscow.
Chrissie is adopted from Ukraine. She doesn't think I look Ukrainian. :)
Masie is extremely bright. Her mom is a genius too.
Carly is really funny. She tries to fight off the boys by being mean, but it doesn't work. Thankfully, the powers that be (me) move the boys away from her. She is very thankful for my protection. Haha.

David playing chess and drinking out of his Winnie the Pooh mug. :)

Matt is a gifted poet. Very corny, sensitive, smart, and funny.

Drew is a fellow southerner. Obsessed with NC football.

Beautiful girls....Chrissie, Hannah, Rachel, & Carly

David L., David C., and Mark.

Paul (8th grade) and Eun-Chung (7th grade) were cracking me up on Friday. They kept waiting by my laptop for my screensaver to pop up because it scrolls all of my pictures. They asked who every single person is. "Who ees thees?"

"That's my roommate."

"Roommate? OH...And who ees thees?"

"That's my grandmother."

"Grandmother! You steel have grandmother?"

"Two. And my great-grandmother is 99."

"99?!?!?!!?!" They wanted to see pictures of my family, so I showed them. They were fascinated.

Maybe it's just that Koreans are more family-oriented, but I think it's rare for young teenagers to even care about their teacher's family. Most teenagers are friends-focused, but I was surprised to see how interested Paul and Eun-Chung were. And this was after school too. They could have gone home, but they hung around, wanting to know about my family. So funny...

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On Sunday we went to church. I've decided to not go to church with the family anymore. I need an English-speaking church. As fascinating as hearing Russian for an hour and a half is...I need to be at an English-speaking church. I am going to visit ICF next week.

After church we went to IKEA for lunch. The family pronounces it i-kay-uh. Russians pronounce it ee-kay-ah.


Then we went to the mega mall next door to look for a new cord for my laptop. Mine doesn't work anymore, so I have to borrow one of the girls' cord. Thankfully, it works with my laptop. The one I've decided to get is $50. Not too happy about that. It's that pricey because you can use it in a car too. So, that will be really useful to me here. Blah. Plus, it's going to have a European plug, so I'll have to get an American converter when I come back home. :/

After that we went to Ashan which is the busiest store in Moscow. Actually, the whole center (the mega mall, Ashan, and IKEA) constitutes the busiest shopping center in eastern Europe. It's not the biggest, but it is the busiest. Anyway, Ashan was insane. It was so busy. People were crammed in there like sardines.

Russians love Ashan. It's a French grocery store chain, but it's the closest thing to Wal-Mart. The Americans call it a Wal-Mart on steroids. Frankly, I think Wal-Mart has a wider selection, and Wal-Mart is more consistant. That's one thing about Russian stores. They are not consistant. They may have something this week, but not next week. They may have something for a month, and then they won't have it for six months. You can see how crowded it is here. Cathy said that it wasn't very busy when we went. Saturdays are the worst.

I think the most annoying thing about Russian stores is the way they organize things. For example, take the shampoo and conditioner aisle. One side is shampoo. The other side is conditioner. This annoys me because it forces me to look even harder for the corresponding brands and scents of the shampoo I choose. It may sound simple, but it's not...especially when there are a thousand people crammed into that aisle. Oh, and then they will mix different scents and types of shampoo and conditioner in the rows. So, you don't have the green Herbal Essences shampoo bottles lined up neatly next to the green Herbal Essences conditioner bottles. No, the row of Herbal Essences has different scents and types all mixed in every which way, and then you have to push your way through a thousand people to go to the other end where the Herbal Essences row has conditioner bottles for dyed hair, oily hair, normal hair, and frizzy hair all lined up in a scattered fashion. You have to sift throw the row, looking for the conditioner that matches your shampoo. It makes for a colorful display, but I prefer uniformity when I go shopping, where each row stands at attention in the same colored bottle. Haha.

I shouldn't complain. At least they have Herbal Essences....I sound really high-maintenance, don't I? haha


I have more to tell you. I just need to organize it all.

Much Love,
Meredith

I love teaching!

This week is Spirit Week. I was sick on Monday which was Super Hero/Villain Day. Tuesday was Wacky Tacky Day. I tried my best. Today was Time Warp Day, and I dressed like the 1940s. I had my 6th graders guess what era I was from, and I received guesses ranging from Little House on the Prairie to Montezuma.

I love teaching. A lot. Today was especially good. I feel more comfortable with my students. I'm trying really hard to have a good relationship with them because that helps with classroom behavior. So, on Tuesday while I was on recess duty, I played soccer with all of the middle school boys. It was pretty hilarious. I was SO bad. They were really respectful though even though I was no help to them. Every time my ear muffs would fly off, they'd run and go get them for me. They are good kids.

Teaching drama is so much fun. My students are so funny some times that I'll be crying in class because they make me laugh so hard. They do/say the most ridiculous, hilarious things.

I've also really been enjoying teaching literature. In the 8th grade, we are reading To Kill a Mockingbird. We had such a good discussion today. We talked about social stratification in the south, childhood innocence, and self-righteousness. It was so good because the students were responding to one another -- not just to me. The setup of the classroom helps because the desks are in a U, so they are facing one another. I want them to talk to one another, to answer each other's questions and their own questions, and to not be dependent on me to respond "Yes, that is correct." Usually when I give prompts, they answer directly to me, but I try to respond only in questions and not give too many answers.

Seventh grade is reading Treasure Island. Personally, I am not a fan of this novel. It has its moments of excitement, but for the most part, it doesn't capture me. However, I have to teach it, so what can I do?

For an activity, I created a blank Facebook profile template and had my students divided into groups. Each group was assigned a character from the novel, and the profile had to reflect the characterization in the novel. If the character was a pirate, the profile had to have pirate language. If the character was educated, the profile had to use correct grammar. The students had to choose the character's interests, activities, hometown, religious views, political views, favorite movies/music, etc. They had to pick what kind of groups the character would be in and who his friends would be on Facebook. There had to be four friend posts on the character's wall too, and each of these wall posts had to reflect the novel's characterization. It was a lot of work, but I think they really enjoyed it! Here are some examples of their work:

I don't know how effective it was in increasing their understanding of characterization, but they sure had fun with it regardless.

Here are pictures of my students. They are awesome!

My 6th grade boys on Wacky Tacky Day

My 6th grade girls. Glory & Haesl were not tacky at all.

Robert....he's crazy!

David...I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but.....

Jesse...I love this kid!

David L. I have to get on to him a lot for singing at the top of his lungs in class and in the halls. He doesn't know how to hum quietly.

David C. and David C. This often presents a problem when calling their names in class. :)

Glory & Hanna on Time Warp Day

My 7th grade girls on Wacky Tacky Day

Tessa & Ali are joined at the hip

Somebody walked all over Eun-Chung's face!

My 8th graders

Hye-Rim and Masie on Time Warp Day

Phil on Time Warp Day...in his words, "Peace, love, and cookies!"

Tomorrow is School Spirit Day. That means we get to wear jeans. I am starting to feel like a real teacher because I get really excited when we get to have a jeans day! :)

Much Love,
Meredith

Happy Men's Day from Russia!

Various updates...

On Friday night some people from HCA and I went to Shesh-Besh which is an Azerbaijani restaurant that serves a bunch of different Middle Eastern foods, Caucasian food (as in the Caucus region), and Turkish food.

I got soup called kharcho which is a spicy lamb soup. It was unbelievable. I am determined to find a good kharcho recipe and make it for friends and family when I come home.

I also got salmon shashleek. Shashleek is basically shish kebabs, but they didn't serve my shashleek on a stick like they would for others meat. My salmon came with pomegranate dip. It was absolutely delicious.

While we were at Shesh-Besh, we heard English being spoken at a table next to us. Being nosy, we were listening in, trying to see who they were. It was a suspicious table because there was a girl around my age there who was definitely Russian. Then there was an American man who was in his 50s. He was very American. By that I mean he talked loudly and laughed loudly. The third man was a translator. It seemed really suspicious, and all of us agreed that it was probably a Russian bride arrangement. I felt so bad for that poor pitiful girl who didn't open her mouth, but just sat there, smiling pleasantly like a painting on a wall. So scary. It's sad, but the whole Russian bride service thing is a reality.

Among other things, last week Cathy and the girls went to Spain to renew their visas. So, since it was just David and me, their friends Andrei and Yana came and stayed with us to help out with the house and to walk the dog. Yana made traditional Russian food, and it was SO good. They were really cool people. They are in their upper 2os; both are graduates of RACU (Russian American Christian University) where David works. Andrei and Yana LOVE Cody, the family dog. And rightly so. So, they we really happy to stay with us and take care of him. He's a lot of work.

On Friday night I was by myself. Cathy and the girls didn't come back from Spain until Saturday morning. David was leaving for Thailand on Friday to do some teaching. David will be gone for a month -- half of his time in Thailand and Hungary.

So, on Friday night I walked Cody outside. This can be quite an adventure. Cody is so big and strong, and he pulls you everywhere. He's sweet, but very rambunctious. Anyway, so Cody and I get in the elevator and go outside, and it's dark.

You know how I said earlier that Russians will open a door for dogs before they will for people? Well, as I was walking, this man sees Cody, smiles, says the friendly, informal hello "privyet" and makes a kissy noise to him. He completely ignores me, but says hello to the dog!!! Whatever...

So, I'm walking Cody around. He gets into all sorts of trash and bugs people with his wet nose, so I have to say "no" a lot. Well, Cody and I were crossing a street, waiting for the little green man to pop up to let us go, and this girl turns around and looks at Cody and smiles. Cody immediately starts sniffing her, and I pull him back and say, "Cody, no." Well, the girl hears that I am not saying "nyet." So she turns and says something to me in Russian. I said, "Shto?" which means "What?"

Then, thank the Lord, I actually understood what she said. "Kak vas zavoot?" That means "What is your name?" I guess she was addressing the question to Cody, but wanting me to respond.

"Cody." I tell her.

"Are you from England?" she asks me. I tell her that I'm from America.

"Oh, I see. Your dog is beautiful," she says, smiling ear to ear. I just said thanks because I didn't feel like explaining that it wasn't my dog. Then she said, "I studied English at university."

"Oh, that's cool. You speak English very clearly," I said, which was true. Her accent was not bad at all. I could easily understand her.

"No, it is very bad, very bad." By that time, we had crossed the street. I was turning right, and she was going straight. Then she said, "Well, bye-bye!"

It's funny. No one says "bye bye" anymore.

Talking to that girl made me really happy. Sometimes when I am walking to the metro or from the metro it is very lonely. I hear all these people talking, and I just know I can't say anything. Sometimes people say something to me on the metro, and I just pretend to understand them. Usually they are asking to pass by me.

What I am trying to say is that it was really refreshing to be able to speak to a random stranger. And it was really refreshing to actually have understood what she DID say to me in Russian. :)

On Saturday night I went to English Cafe. That was an interesting night. The theme was Decade Day, so everyone had to dress up from a particular decade. We had to be careful about making fun of certain decades because many Russians still dress from the 80s or 90s. Generally, Russians are about ten years behind America when it comes to fashion.

In our discussion groups, we had to discuss things that we associated with certain decades. When we got the 90s, the first thing everyone said in my group was "the collapse," obviously referring to the collapse of the Soviet Union. I forget that all of them grew up in the U.S.S.R. The second thing that they associated with the 90s was boy bands though. What a contrast...hah.

On Sunday I went to church with Christiana and Phil, and it was pretty interesting. We went to ICA. It's a evangelical, charismatic church up on the northeast side of Moscow. It was a really interesting church. First of all, white people are the minority. There were probably at least 200 people there; everyone was either Malaysian, African, or Indian -- most of them medical students. The pastors are from the U.S. though. There are a few Americans, but not many. It's an international church, and the language spoken is English. I found that interesting since none of their first languages are English, and yet that is the language they speak at church. The church service was very much like an American charismatic service except that everyone had a foreign accent.

The sermon was very simple, but very practical. It was about hope in times of hurting. There were ten points made:

1. God is truly in control.
2. There is an eternal life to come.
3. The story isn't finished yet.
4. God hasn't given up on you. Don't give up on Him.
5. There is a purpose in your pain.
6. You are loved.
7. Your prayers are heard.
8. You are not facing this alone.
9. Others have made it through. You can too.
10. Reach out to someone else who is struggling.

Verses were given for each of these. Something the pastor said was really good. He said that when people say they've tried to change and grow in holiness, but can't, he says, "Listen, how old are you? You've taken this long to get into this mess, so at LEAST give God the same amount of time to get you out of this mess." I thought that was a good point. It helps you put spiritual maturity/growth into perspective.


After church we went to Ismailovo which is an open-air market that sells everything from U.S.S.R. weapons to modern tablecloths. The sun was so bright that day. I feel like I haven't seen real sunlight in weeks, and my eyes did not know what to do with the blazing light. It hurt to see it.

The first thing we did at Ismailovo was eat lunch. I can't remember the name of the food I ate, but it is rice with vegetables, meat, and a special kind of flavoring. It's very good, and you put some spicy sauce on it.

We were so cold though. In Ismailovo it was probably less than 5 degrees. I was shaking because I was so cold, and I couldn't bend my fingers. So, I was thankful to find a this tent-restaurant that would at least block us from the wind. Along with our rice, we got a type of salad. And it was frozen to the dish. The guy who was serving it to us had to use the fork like a pickaxe to give it to us. We did not eat it. There was a layer of frost on it. Haha.

It was so cold that day. I bought some hot tea for 10 rubles. I have never had more delicious tea.

I always thought these dolls were called babushka dolls, but they are actually called matroyshka dolls. Matroyshka means mother. The outer doll is the mother, and the ones inside of her are her children. I got a several matroyshka dolls for friends and family members. I really wish I could describe them here, but that would ruin the surprise!

There is one that I got that is absolutely beautiful. I was looking at it, and naturally, the kiosk owner came over to me. "Pasholzta" is what they say to you. It's like saying, "It's my pleasure" or "You are welcome to look." The kiosk guy was probably around my age, and he was so smooth. First, it was easier to talk to him because he spoke English pretty well. Most of the kiosk owners have horrendous English and are in their 50s and 60s. Anyway, this guy asked me where I was from. Then he asked which state.

"Georgia? Oh, yes, yes. Georgia...Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets."

"How have you heard of them?" I said shocked.

"I'm beeg fan. Beeg fan."

I personally think he was lying. My theory is that he researched every state and found things unique to those states. It allows a personal connection between him and the customer. He was really smooth though -- the jokes he said just at the right time, the way he said them, etc. He was a perfect salesman. Very charming. And yet....it worked! Even though I knew he just wanted my money, I ended up buying the matroyshka doll. Not really because of him, but because the matroyshka doll was gorgeous. And boy was it expensive too. Totally worth it though. He came down though on the price. "Well, eet ees normahlly 1200 rubles for Russians. But for Ameericahn, mmmm, 1000." I shook my head no and started to walk away. "Mmm. What about 800?"

I kept on walking. "No, thanks."

"700?"

I kept walking. "Thanks, but no."

"Eet may be more when you come back," he said with a smile.

"Okay."

I came back later and bought it. He didn't raise the price. I'm so glad I bought it.

It's different than the other ones. It is wood-burnt. Most of them are painted. And this one that I got is an Orthodox one. I would post a picture of it, but it is a gift for someone. And I think surprises should be surprises.

After Ismailovo we went to a hotel restaurant. It was a hotel that was built for the Olympics back in the 80s. Anyway, everyone got backlava and hot tea to warm up. For some reason, the waitress served our hot tea in a French press. It's not that that is abnormal. It's just that we ordered the cheap kind of tea, but we didn't press the issue. Later when we got our check, we discovered that our hot tea was 250 rubles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's $7.15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, at the beginning of my Ismailovo excursion, I paid 10 rubles for hot tea which was absolutely heavenly. At the end of the day, I paid 250 rubles. I've never paid so much for a cup of tea...

On to the next subject...

Today was Defender of the Fatherland Day, better known as Men's Day. I live close to Friendship University, and they were lighting some fireworks to celebrate. Not a terribly exciting video, but here you go!