Церквы / Churches

No matter where you go (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, etc.) Russia is full of old churches, cathedrals, and monasteries. Here's something you may not know: I LOVE them all! It's so amazing that there is history EVERYWHERE in this town, dating back to the first century! So now, children: Settle down, and listen to my tale...

Today the weather was so gorgeous, that Andrew and I went for a walk around town. We started at Andrews apartment, and just walked. A block from Andrews we ran into the церков Федора Стратилата на Ручью, or the Church of Theodore Stratilatus on the brook. A beautiful little church surrounded by a lovely garden, and right next to a public school.


Two blocks later we found some of the old ramparts, ancient fortifications that have since been reduced to an elevated grassy path that goes around the whole city. We followed it far enough to find a stretch of the original walls, complete with graffiti that matched my outfit.


Seeing some Onion domes in the distance, we headed down the street towards Церковь Спаса Преображения на Ильине улице, or the Church of the Transfiguration of our Saviour on Ilina street, which is a HUGE chunk of church, and was recently in my facebook profile picture.


Right across the street was the Знаменский Собор, or Znamenskiy Cathedral. This was also a museum, which meant we could go inside, but also meant that we had to pay for a ticket. In most Russian museums, you can pay extra for a the privilege to take photos --- so I did, and proceeded to take more photos that anyone probably wants to look at. This cathedral has its own album on facebook, if you're interested.


Anyway, the moral of the story is that I love Russia, I love Novgorod, and I love onion domes.

Sarah

Relationship status: In a relationship with Novgorod, Russia

Yeah, we're back together! Feel free to like my status or comment with little hearts made of <'s and 3's. Here are some reasons that I LOVE Russia:

1. The FOOD! Borsch, Schi, Pirazhki, Ponchiki, Vareniye, Kompot, Kasha, Ryazhenka, Sirok, Tvorog, I love it ALL! And then just when I think it can't get any better, my mom puts SOUR CREAM on it! Let me tell you, I had my doubts about the compatibility of Sour Cream with some foods, but all of those worries have long since gone. Sour cream has found a special place in my heart: Right on top of my love for every Russian dish my mother has made for me.

2. The MUSIC. I don't know what it is about Russian music that makes it so appealing to me, but I keep the channel set to Ru.TV 24/7 (the Russian MTV). One of my favorite pastimes in Russia is to watch Music Videos, dictionary in hand, and teach myself the chorus lines Russian pop songs.

3. The BUS. I know, this is also kind of weird... Granted, sometimes I am standing next to one of the many Russians who don't see the benefits of deoderant, or I am sardine'd with half the Novgorod population on one of the squeaky, vintage models BUT: I can not get over the fact that I can get ANYWHERE in this city with my unlimited bus pass, and that one of the easiest questions to ask a stranger at the bus stop is "Excuse me, do you know how I can get to...?" And the answer is always a number, which makes it incredibly easy to understand as well. For example, a conversation I had with someone at the bus stop today went like this, from my perspective:

Me: "Excuse me, do you know how I can get to Moscow Street?"

Russian Stranger: "Blahboobippidybork, oogoo, insteppadank swizzlebizz shalalalala EIGHTEEN. Panarittatta eeleemeelee FOUR shoooooopaderpading... "

Me: "Oh, so I can take either bus 18, or bus 4. Thank you very much!"

Russian Stranger: (smiles) "Flippidy foop fambandingo!"


What a wonderful country.

-Sarah

Dear Russia,

I am starting to view Russia less as a country in which I am living, and more as a person I am getting to know. Right now we're still acquaintances, and we're trying our best to understand eachother, but it's impossible to communicate with my abstraction of "Russia" using words (in Russian OR English). Sometimes we just assume things about eachother, and we are totally wrong: For instance, sometimes I think that Russia and I should do something together, and later I find out that Russia is SO not into whatever I suggested (or vice-versa). Sometimes Russia is my best friend, and I think to myself "You completely understand me! I trust and love you with all of my heart and soul!" Sometimes Russia pushes me in the mud, and kicks me in the face. But what can you do? Take the good with the bad, I guess. Russian and I are working on our relationship, and I am learning a lot from the experience. That being said, this weekend Russia and I had a bit of a row, and now we are hard at work making it up to each other. I see sunny skies ahead.

Sarah

Itinerary Update:

I just bought a Eurail pass for 5 days of unlimited travel anywhere in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Huzzah! I will most likely end my trip in Amsterdam :)

Sarah

ПБ+Джей / PB&J

Hey y'all,

Tonight I was talking with my host mother about Birthdays --- She wanted to know how I celebrated my birthday in America. I told her that usually people make a cake, with candles, yada yada yada. She said "I know, but how do YOU celebrate your birthday?" So, I told her that I don't ask for cake... I ask for PIE. My real mom, you know, in America, makes the most delicious Rhubarb pie EVER. I told my host mom about it, and I had to look up the word for Rhubarb (it's Ревень, by the way). I got so excited, I decided it was time to give my host mom the gift I had brought for her. "But today's not my birthday!" she said, as I was running to my room.

I returned with her gift: A jar of Skippy peanut butter, and some of my mom's homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam. I whipped out some bread and made PB&J sandwiches, Amerikanskiy style. To my surprise, she LOVED it (despite the fact that it has "Soooo many calories")! Thank goodness, because a LOT of europeans (and I told her this) don't like peanut butter. They don't have it here, you know --- it's very hard to find! Anyway, they were just about the best PB&J sandwiches I ever had. God Bless America.

Peace,
Sarah

На Даче/ At the Cabin

Today was awesome. We took a trip to the family Dacha (cabin), where I met some more of my host family: Uncle Zhenya, Aunt Valya, Sasha, Tanya, and "Kotek" the cat. We drank some of Aunt Valya's homemade wine (Best I've ever had), tasted some of her homemade Plum-Apple jam (to die for), and ate a huge homemade Russian meal of Borsch, Salat, and Pirozhok (meat, cabbage, and veggies baked between two layers of pastry bread). Omg so good.


My FAVORITE part was our Traditional Russian banya at the Dacha. The banya is like a sauna: It's a small cabin, and inside is a stove filled with rocks. You heat up the rocks and then pour water on them to steam up the room --- it gets really intense. Then of course, your banya buddy takes a handful of soft, water-soaked (birch?) branches, and HITS you with it! Over and over, like a massage. It sounds crazy, but it was very relaxing. Also, the whole time you wear a felted wool hat, to protect your head from the heat: Something about veins and capillaries, I didn't completely understand... Anyway, you alternate between sitting in this room, and walking into an adjacent room filled with buckets of cool water and splash yourself down. Then you take a break to drink hot, black tea (To help release toxins?) before going back into the room with the hot rocks. After a few rounds of that, you scrub yourself down with braided rope sponges and soap, and you are clean! It's extremely dehydrating, but very therapeutic (and liberating --- I just spent half of the day wearing nothing but a wool hat).

Click here to see all my photos from Russia!

Now I need to do my HUGE pile of homework, that I have neglected until 11pm the night before class. Poka/Bye!

Sarah

A Few Things...

Ok, so, I am sorry that I have no pictures up yet --- I have to get my laptop to a Wi-Fi zone (because I can't download pictures onto my home computer)... But they are coming soon! In the meantime, here are a few nuggets of interesting info, along with some photos that I did not take:

-I recently invested in some tall, black, high-heeled boots. These are a staple for all women, whether you're 15 or 50. Unfortunately, I still stick out because of my short hair and lack of makeup... almost unheard of among Russian women.


- If you see a Russian man on the street, he is most likely:
1.) not wearing deodorant, but compensating with cologne
2.) sporting an ungodly fashion-mullet (See Dima Bilan, Russian pop star, above).
3.) decked out in tight faded jeans, a tiny leather jacket, and pointy black shoes

4.) holding a beer, a cigarette, a beautiful woman, or any combination of the three.

- My host mom fed me homemade liver pate for breakfast today... very unfortunate.


That's all for now --- Ну, пока! (That's Russian for "See you later!")

Sarah

Holy Buckets.

Yeah, that's right... I am in Russia!! After an extrememly long day of traveling, from Chicago, to Stockholm, to St. Petersburg, and finally to Novgorod, I met my host family at 10pm local time. We had been bussed to the University in Novgorod from the St. Petersburg airport, and we were immediately handed over to our families, who drove us home.

My new Russian "Mama" is named Nina: She is incredible! Her daughter, Ksenia, lives nearby with her 6-month old son Dima, who I met today. Dima is adorable, although a bit capricious. I don't really know how to talk to babies in Russian, so I just make faces and try to get him to smile. It seems to work!

Otherwise, this isn't nearly as difficult as it seemed. I am understanding a lot, and if I don't know what to say or how to answer a question, I can usually find someway of getting my point across, even if it's a bit primitive... School starts monday. Can't wait!!

From Russia, with Love,

Sarah