Waiting in St. Petersburg airport

We take off in three and a half hours. The Internet here seems to be working, and some blog posts I tried to do a few days ago have magically appeared. Next stop: Frankfurt!
The last month has been an unforgettable experience for me. I made some new friends,  and learned so much about language and culture. I have much more empathy for my students, who often are overwhelmed, confused, and exhausted by immersion in English.  I can truly empathize with their feelings now.  The puzzles of Russian grammar are logical compared to English grammar.  My conversation skills have improved more than anything, and although I have a lot to learn, I feel that this trip was a well-rounded learning experience.  Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Большое срасибо Many thanks!

Thank you to the Khokhlov family for a month of learning and good memories! Thank you to our teachers, and everyone who helped plan the trip and make it happen. Thank you to Paul, Josh, Audrey, Brianna, Rachel,and Jennifer for being so much fun and making life interesting. It was a great trip!

Ten kilograms of black currants

Blogger is not cooperating for the last few days. Anyway, Sasha brought home a huge pile of currants. Today, Lesya is making jam. First she sterilizes the jars by baking them in the oven. She boils the lids in the stove, then bakes them dry. She has a big pot filled with boiling currants and sugar. She uses a teacup to skim the foam off the top, I think that's the "bad stuff" (I'm not sure what bad stuff), then she takes the jars and lids out of the oven, fills them with jam, puts the lids on tight and turn each jar upside down on the counter. So far this evening, she's made two huge pots, and has one more to boil up. The jam is really tasty, not too sweet, and it's a beautiful dark magenta color.

Why Russians have dachas

These lilies were a gift from Rachel, and her host mom.  They grew these at their dacha, where they also grow vegetables. These were still blooming a week later, and had a total of ten blooms. 

The teapot is my friend

This is the чайник (teapot) that boils all the water we drink, and use in cooking. It makes the fresh hot cup of tea, morning, noon and night. It's water appears in all the tasty soups and borschts. It cooks the rice, noodles and pelmeniki. I like this teapot!

We are at about 58 degrees north latitude

This the map above Valye's desk. I know we're in the north because of the white nights, but it is really striking to look at a map and see it. Juneau, Alaska is about the same as here. I thought I was from the north (Wisconsin), but now I know different.

Guess when this was painted....

This icon of St. Nicholas is in the huge collection of the museum here. I'm not sure why, but he's a favorite saint, almost as popular as Holy Mary. Our teacher told us a joke about a peasant who thought St. Nicholas could probably replace Jesus in importance, at least in Russia. The oldest icons were from the 11th century, I think. They are painted on wooden panels that are covered in woven linen, and prepared with a mixture of gypsum, clay and animal glue. Sounds like an early version of gesso, maybe. This icon was painted in 1294. Those egg tempera paints held up pretty well.

Good Morning, старая русса (Staraya Russa)!

Today we took a trip to see Dostoyevsky's house. It's preserved as a museum, which doesn't sound very impressive until you find out only 4 houses were left standing in the whole town during WWII. The people seem to revere not only his genius at writing but also his personal behavior. He was kind to the poor, he was gentle with his children and family, and he suffered prison and exile. Some of the artifacts in the house are really his, and some are restorations. I think the Russian people must have a special respect for him, because in the time since 1945, they have carefully preserved what they could, despite financial and other difficulties. It's hard to imagine the awful events that took place in this beautiful countryside. The German army occupied the region for 4 years, and many bloody battles took place in and around Staraya Russa and Novgorod.

Blueberries

Sasha's sister just brought a bucket of fresh blueberries. It weighed 7.15 kilograms with the bucket! We ate them with homemade yogurt for dinner (9:30pm). Sasha suggested we should also add some cottage cheese for more calcium. It was an excellent suggestion. Delicious! This family eats a LOT of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. During the first two weeks of my stay, they got regular deliveries of strawberries from their dacha, by autobus. Now it's time for blueberries. Lesya and Sasha are very conscious about eating healthy foods, but every meal includes cheese, sour cream, and/or yogurt. Fat-free dairy hasn't been seen here, in this family, at least not by me. It's delicious, but I think about how conscious we are in the US about every molecule of cholesterol we eat.

We visit a convent

Many thanks to Liza and Marina

They brought these from St. Petersburg for me. My consolation gift! I heard from the students that it was a good trip, but rainy. Someday I'll go and see the palaces, museums and fountains for myself.

It's a Huge Country

Last week we started to learn about Russian history. The main point I came away with was that my ignorance is vast. To be fair, most countries focus their history teaching on their own countries. So, unless a person studies history over a long period of time and focuses on varied sources of information, their world view will be unbalanced. Mine certainly is. The area of the Russian Federation occupies 1/7 of the world's land mass. This is larger than the US and Canada combined. Russia has many rich natural resources, but with 80% of the land not good for agriculture, and a short (5 month) growing season, most of the country is a giant nonproductive space. When the teacher was telling us this, I was thinking about all the oxygen the plants and trees in that vast area are constantly producing, and about the wildlife that must be present. I think those things have a value that goes beyond monetary. Another point I think is interesting is that although Russia has European and Asian lands, the people think of themselves as Europeans. Why? Because that is where most of the people live, and where the most prosperous cities are. Maybe part of the reason is also that all citizens must use the Russian language to get a job and to function in society. The local languages are alive, but are not the language of social power. To the west and south, Russia has lots of neighbors. Except for the Siberian rivers, the country has no strong physical boundaries. These conditions have contributed to many wars and conflicts throughout it's history. War has been a defining and horrifying factor in the lives of the people. This is so very different from the American experience, with the exception of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I cannot imagine the suffering and strength of the people of Russia.

Saturday Night Fever

So, I got a fever last Wednesday, and instead of a boring trip to St. Petersburg, I got to have an exciting visit to a real Russian doctor!! My host family is extraordinarily kind and caring, so I have almost completely recovered. I learned that drinking enough fluids is hard, but Lesya made it easier by bringing me jam-water by the liter. Sasha ran out to get that ugly bulb syringe so I could rinse my sinuses. Valye took me to the doctor, and picked up my prescription. They all took care of me like I was their family member, and I am so grateful to them for all their help. Next time I get sick, I should come here to get their VIP treatment. Hmmm, not a bad idea, and maybe a stop at St. Pete on the way home...

Museum of Wooden Architecture

Felt bag from Olga's workshop

I met Olga, a productive working artist and lecturer, through Liza. She draws, paints, makes wonderful felt sculptures and objects, sews, and creates exquisite dolls and puppets. I showed my family this felt bag, and they were very interested because they hadn't seen anything like it before. I also made a birchbark basket, and while they had seen these many times, no one in the family had ever made one. I wonder if crafts are too expensive to do as a hobby here. Sasha's hobby is his garden. Lesya is too busy working as a dental assistant, and cooking and taking care of her family to have time for a hobby. My feeling is that even their leisure time must have a practical purpose.

Globalization is everywhere

We went shopping and I was a bit surprised about how many American and European brands I saw. The last time I was in Europe was 2002, when I went to Germany, and I didn't notice this phenomenon then. In the grocery store checkout line, at least half of the candies were American brands. I'm not sure if this is good or not, but it's here.

We made these little dolls today

They will protect us from danger. The teacher said we should put one in our suitcase for safe traveling. Then when we get home, we should keep one in our purse, and one in the kitchen, or the car. What kinds of things do Americans have that are similar to this? A lucky rabbit's foot? A religious medal worn as a necklace? Knock on wood?

A Visit to the Folklore Center

We visited the Folklore Center where we played games that were common in Old Russia. It reminded me of Williamsburg, VA, or Old World Wisconsin, where you can also see people in authentic costumes, doing activities from the past.  These games were used here as a way to teach young people about values, and also as a meeting place for the community. Young men and women could socialize appropriately under the watchful eyes of their parents. We laughed a lot, and I thought it was a fun experience. We had a nice cup of tea and some well-earned blini, too.

I wonder about how the traditions of the past are preserved here. There is a lot of history in the buildings, and the language, but my hosts haven't ever been to the Folklore Center.

 They are from Ukraine, so maybe their traditions are different. Or maybe, like Rochesterians, they don't go to the tourist attractions in their own town. Before I came here, I was expecting to see more of the effects of the Soviet Union around me, but the city is bustling, and colorful, the people are friendly, and the shelves in the stores are full. This morning I saw a Mercedes, a Lexus, and a BMW during my 5 minute walk to school.  Globalization is evident everywhere.

First Day of Class

Today was the first time I've been a Russian language classroom since 1977. I'm acutely aware of how much I don't know, never knew and how much I've forgotten.  But, it's only the first day, so I'll try to just take it a little bit at a time.  But teaching me (or re-teaching me) a language, is feeling something like trying to teach a bear to play the accordian.

Our teacher is an expert, and she went into some depth on several grammar points this morning. This was helpful, but a very different approach that I would take with my English language learning students. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the methodology as the month goes on.  

Liza arrived today, and she doesn't look right without a SmartBoard behind her.  

First impressions

 We arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, tired but happy. This is the first photo I took, in the airport.
Now, here is a look at my host family's apartment. This is the living room, bedroom, office and gym.

 Lesya and Sasha prepared a beautiful dinner in their compact kitchen.

 This is my room.

 And here's the colorful bathroom. I like the deep bathtub.

The apartment is light and airy, with windows in the front and back of their building. At this time of year it stays light here until about 1 am. The weather is in the 70s with high humidity. In my mind I keep comparing everything I see with Germany. There are many similarities. We met some of our teachers today, and took a walking tour of the neighborhood around the school. The history here is deep. The city had its 1150th anniversary in 2009.  The United States seems very young in comparison.

The people I've met so far have been very friendly and helpful. I feel very welcomed and comfortable here. There are lots of people out walking, children on bikes and scooters, many people on roller blades, too. The river has a beach for swimming. I'm looking forward to trying it out.