I used to wonder why teachers got all up in arms at the end of the year. “You have to keep working!! The year’s not finished yet!”, they would complain. And I would be thinking: “Right, I checked out after Spring Break.” This past week has been a very frustrating one at work, as the teachers now assume that I understand them, so they don’t tell me anything and classes have been canceled left and right. I still have things I want to finish with my classes, but students just aren’t “here” anymore. Two weeks and holding!
We recently had ten days off for May (labor) Day and Victory Day (when Russia won WWII). And I am very proud to say that I LOVE the weather in Moscow (in the spring, that is!). There are tulips everywhere, the trees are all budding, and Russians have FINALLY lost their winter coats. Allergies aside, I spent ten days exploring the nooks and crannies of this royal place, enjoying time with friends, and discovering that I like living alone and being on my own (and not having to work.) Micah, Derrick, Michelle, Mandy and I spent last Friday evening at Victory Park, with probably 4 million other people to watch fireworks and enjoy spring. The holiday festivities reminded me a lot of the Fourth on Lake Arrowhead, multiplied by 10. I seriously have never seen so many people! After the fireworks – 8 shows around the city and four in our view – we tried to head home. The metro was impossible, so we headed to the street for a taxi. But, there were half of those 4 million people with the same idea. We ended up walking back into the city – down one of the busiest highways into the city. I mean, I walked down the MIDDLE of the highway – and couldn’t stop walking or I would have been run over by the millions of people behind me! It was fun, but a long 4 miles at 10:30 at night!
I was also able to discover the Russian countryside this week, as I started taking the train into the city from work. It is only a 40 minute ride on the train, and it takes me through all the small towns on the outskirts of the city – truly beautiful and a true picture of what I thought of when I pictured Russia. Old ladies rowing vegetable patches, friends sharing a beer under a tree, children running in the fields……Moscow is so cosmopolitan and fast-paced, most would agree that it is almost its own country. I only regret not making this discovery sooner!
I guess I haven’t told many people my plans for the coming months: School is officially over on May 30, but I am going to teach eight days of summer school in June, just to torture myself a bit more. Then, I will entertain the one and only Sara Schumacher (from JBU) who is coming to visit; I am hoping to find some tutoring jobs for the summer while I enjoy the most fabulous time of year in Moscow. I still need to go to St. Petersburg; I'm meeting Drew Cox in Kiev, Ukraine in July and I am hoping to visit Amber Squires in Lithuania sometime, too. So when the summer adventure seems to be ending, I will pack a backpack and meet Hannah Melby in London for a six week backpacking trip around Europe. So you are saying “WOW!”, but really, all that above means little money earned and lots spent! I am looking forward to it all, despite my homesickness (it will have been a year and month when I finally get home in October!) After that, who knows?
My mom keeps asking for a list of things I have learned this year. I'm working on it Mom, I swear. Until I can come up with something a bit more serious, here are a few:
- You can’t leave your windows open at night when you live on the first floor. Devil cats will scare the pee out of you at three AM.
- Proverbs 27:6
- Don’t judge a culture by its stereotypes; don’t judge a person by his or her culture.
- Plants offer a lot of solace.
- They may drive me crazy, but men balance the female spirit in a powerful and necessary way.
- A child’s laughter sounds the same in every language.
- Russian is HARD!
- I have no pride left. I always look stupid here.
- Sometimes McDonald’s actually sounds sort of good.
- I'm definitely not supposed to be an elementary school teacher!
Please don’t stop writing this summer. It will get lonely as many leave for the holidays, so I will continue to write home! Thank you for your prayers…they are felt in a powerful way each day.
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