Hannah in Moscow

So far Moscow has been an amazing experience that has taught me a lot about the world. I have really enjoyed being able to immerse myself in another culture. There is a lot I have learned from the language and actions of the people around me. Touring with the Fabers has been a great experience because they have shown me the culture on a deeper level.   

Old Arbat Street - 

For my first full day in Moscow, Maddie took me to a street called Old Arbat. This pedestrian street is lined with many different shops and restaurants. Displayed along the sides of the street are unique, handmade paintings that people are trying to sell. One of my favorite parts of Russia so far is viewing all the art people have designed and created. The reason Maddie and I went down Old Arbat street was to have Auntie Ann's Pretzels and some frozen yogurt. Unfortunately all the pretzel shops closed down so we ate at Dunkin' Donuts instead. Despite the fact that I live in the United States, this was the first time I had ever been inside a Dunkin' Donuts. We ordered a bagel which Maddie was so excited to have because apparently they are hard to find in Russia. For dessert we went crazy at the frozen yogurt store. I felt so cool eating frozen yogurt in a foreign country. I guess fro-yo is popular no matter where you go. 

Anglo-American School - 

I was so excited when Maddie said we were going to have lunch at her school. We have talked a lot about her school over the phone, but it has been hard to picture every event we have discussed. After a long metro and walk, we arrived at a building enclosed in barbed wire. At first I felt like we were about to enter a jail. At least they have a lot of protection around their school. Before we could enter the building we had to pass by a Russian guard. Lucky for us he was pre-occupied by his phone conversation. I did not have any sort of identification that allowed me to enter the school so we were hoping somehow I could sneak in. Maddie showed the guard her badge, and as she turned to open the door for me, she handed her badge to me. I immediately understood what she was doing and showed the guard her badge, passing it off as my own. We felt like secret agents. As Maddie and I walked around the school she showed me all her classrooms where she was given 5 hours of homework a night. It feels so good to be a senior on summer vacation! For lunch we ate in the cafeteria with Elena and Emma. I have never seen such amazing cafeteria food look so good! It is a good thing I did not go there because I would have gained the freshman 15 before even leaving high school. Lunch was very good, and I had a fun time seeing the place where Maddie spent a lot of time learning. 

Cathedral of Christ our Savior - 

Maddie and I got the opportunity to visit another church in Moscow. This one is probably one of my favorites so far. It has beautiful gold onion domes on the outside, and very nicely decorated interior walls. It was so interesting to see all of the details painted across every inch of the church. We toured this church on a good day because there was a service going on while we were in the building. It was interesting to be able to watch how different groups of people worship God. They also had a limited exhibition going on while we were there. It was portraits of Biblical figures placed on the walls. Each picture was very was intricately filled with beading and sewing. The faces of all the characters where so beautiful. It was very cool to be able to experience the great qualities of this church.

Ballet -
Going to the ballet in Moscow was one of the things I was very excited about doing when I got to Russia. We saw a production called Le Corsair at the Kremlin Theater in Red Square. When the ballet started I immediately noticed the beauty and intensity of the sets. Everything looked so perfect on stage and the dancers were very talented. The artistry between the ballet dancers and the pit orchestra was amazing. It was cool to see how the symphony is able to compliment the movement of the dancers. I really enjoyed watching it. During intermission I was also able to meet a Caledonia alumni who also lived on the compound. That was very random, but so cool! After the ballet was over we walked around Red Square at night. This was my first time seeing Red Square since I have been in Russia, and it immediately made me fall in love with the country even more. Everything was so gorgeous, and I really liked being able to to see all the lights. I could not wait to go inside the buildings the next morning with Maddie.

Red Square -

The first thing we did when I got to Red Square was enter the building where Vladimir Lenin is kept. It was a very creepy feeling to see such a strong political leader lay in a glass case in the center of the room. His body has been preserved so he looks a lot like plastic. I was also able to see St. Basil's Cathedral. This is a large church on one side of Red Square that has a lot of beautiful onion domes. While we were waiting in line to get our tickets to enter St. Basil's, Maddie and I learned a new language. We called it knocking. The lady at the front desk did not know any English so she chose to bang really hard on the window until Maddie and I understood what she wanted us to do. I personally think hand motions are much more effective, but I guess she has the freedom to do what she wants. The inside of St. Basil's was much different than any church we have been in so far. A lot of the churches are very big and open, but this one seemed to be a little more condensed. There were a lot of small rooms that made up the church as opposed to one large open area. The inside was very cool, but I think the well decorated onion domes on the outside of the church give it its popularity. For lunch Maddie and I went to a very high-end mall called Gum. It was so high-end that we were not even able to afford using the bathroom. We were not about to pay 500 rubles ($9) each to sit on a toilet. I did enjoy walking around the mall though. It was very nicely decorated to look like a town street. We had a lot of fun window shopping. 

Convents and Monasteries - 

Visiting convents and monasteries was definitely a first for me because I for some reason thought they were fancy graveyards. I quickly learned that they are actually the areas where monks or nuns used to live. Many of the buildings were very old and losing structure, but you could still see the intricate architecture. A lot of the buildings had big bells that were also very beautiful.

International Christian Fellowship - 

On Sunday I had the pleasure of being able to visit the Faber's church. It was very cool to experience a service of the Christian faith in another country. I think it is very exciting that God makes opportunities for people to follow Him no matter where they live. It was also fun to watch Elena play guitar :)

Ismailovo - 

Shopping in a Russian market is something very different than I have ever experienced. When we got to Ismailovo I saw booth after booth filled with homemade goods. The number of products to choose from was so overwhelming. Everything I bought I was expected to barter for.  I was not very good at this. The first thing I tried to barter for was a small matryoshka doll playing the flute. The lady told me the price and I tried to ask for a lower price, but I ended up just offering the same price because I forgot what she said. I probably ended up paying way more for the doll than I should have, but at least it is playing the flute! Many of the people I bought things from were all very friendly. They were interested in where I was from, so apprehensively I told them Michigan and then the United States. Surprisingly they got very excited when I said Michigan. One man said he has visited Detroit and then he spent about 5 minutes talking non-stop about the Red Wings. I guess he is more of a Michigan fan than I am, considering I know nothing about the Red Wings. I had a lot of fun looking at everything the Russians had made. It was so hard for me not to buy everything on display. This was a very cool experience, and I hope I get the opportunity to shop here again. 

Gorky Park - 

In Russia parks are very important to the people living here. They take very good care of the parks, and try to make them look as nice as possible. I have really enjoyed being able to walk through many of their different parks. Maddie and I were feeling quite adventurous, so we decided to go to an area in Gorky called Panda Park and do a high ropes course. I don't really think either of us knew what we were getting ourselves into when we bought the tickets. I went through the course first, with Maddie following right behind me. After a quick safety lesson given in Russian, the helpers let us move through the course on our own with no further instruction. If either of us had died on the course no one would have known. In total I think Maddie and I went down 4 zip lines in which we had to try and land on a pad at the end of the tree. We were laughing so hard at our fear of jumping off a tree with the hope of landing on the cushioned pad. For the most part we did fine, we only crashed a couple times. We had so much fun. I think the Russian workers had a good time making fun of the crazy Americans trying to navigate the ropes course.

Claustrophobia - 

For a continued celebration of Maddie's birthday, a couple of her friends and I did an activity through a company called Claustrophobia. The four of us were locked in a Medieval Room and given 1 hour to escape. Unfortunately out of 3 rooms we were not even able to open the first door. Lets just hope none of us ever get locked in a room, we would all be doomed. It was so much fun working with everyone though. We all had a great time laughing and trying to figure out the puzzle. 

Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music - 

As a musician I was very excited when Maddie's piano teacher was able to give us a tour of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music. It was so insane to be able to walk on the same floors that Tchaikovsky did! The school was beautiful and has so much history in it already. We were also able to see the start of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. The pianist we got to watch was very incredible. I also was able to have a flute lesson with the professor at the conservatory. This was an interesting experience already because the professor spoke very little English. Luckily Maddie's teacher was able to translate. I really enjoyed my lesson and felt like I learned a lot. The teacher was amazing and has played principal flute with numerous symphonies. The entire experience was beyond incredible.

VDNKh Park and Park Pobedy - 

Mrs. Kris, Maddie, and I went to VDNKh for a picnic lunch and to see all the monuments. The first statue we saw had the symbol of communism, the hammer and sickle. This was so cool to see because I have seen the image everywhere, but never knew what it was. We then walked around the park and looked at a lot of the different fountains. They were all so beautiful. It was so fun to be able to walk around another park in Russia. Maddie and I then went to the space museum. I took a Geology and Astronomy class this past year in high school, so I enjoyed seeing life images of many of the things we talked about. After the museum we went metro surfing. The two of us really wanted to ride on the longest metro escalator in Moscow, which leads up to Park Pobedy (Victory Park). We are so nerdy but we had fun. The metro systems we visited today were very nicely decorated and modern. One station looked as if it had a theme of Jack and the Beanstalk. We also passed by the metro that was closed down because it flew off the tracks. So much fun to be had in the metro. 

-Hannah