new blog

I have a new blog. This new one is for a class so it may be boring but really I'm just gonna say whatever I want...except I'll of course sensor for the honor code ;)

Nothing Lasts Forever...except amazing memories!

So my time to leave Moscow is quickly approaching. It's bitter sweet. Of course I am excited to see all those that I love, but every night I walk home now, I walk attempting to breathe in every last detail of this city, the good and the bad, not knowing when, or I guess "if," I'll be back here. Moscow has truly made an impression on me and I've fallen in love (and you never forget your first love ;) ). Thank you, thank you, thank you mom and dad for this experience. I have learned a lot...including Russian which some days it feels like you take 1 step forward and ten steps back- but really I know that I do speak better and can definitely comprehend 1000 times better than I did when I arrived. I am truly blessed to have had such an amazing three months here...

I will go ahead an give a recap of the last couple of weeks, and that will probably be my last post in Russia (maybe I'll do one last one when I get home in a couple weeks).

So today I had one of my most memorable experiences: visiting Lenin in the mausoleum. THIS IS BY FAR ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES IN RUSSIA! Seriously. You have to get in a long line to see him in front of the Kremlin wall, as you enter the black marble tomb, your eyes meet the eyes of Russian guards posted on every wall and around every corner. In uniform, with their arms folded, along with the lights being completely dimmed and the air icy cold to help preserve the body, it was the perfect atmosphere to represent the communist era that Lenin helped along(yes, whether Lenin wanted to or not, he paved the way for Stalin). Wow. It was just a 2 minute walk (if that) past his body, but those two minutes were close to the strangest of my life! They really need to bury the man. After I got out of the tomb, I also saw Stalin's grave. Wow.

Other recent adventures. I saw my first ballet here...Gisselle. It was beautiful and the orchestra was amazing, but the main character dies before intermission. That kind of tells you that the ballet was leaning towards the downer side ;)

Lindsey and I at the theater


(Side note about the theatre and anything that involves clapping in Russia...they clap in unison. It is really strange especially for things like a ballet. I think you could pull it off in the states for a sporting event, but for a ballet, it would be really weird.)

We went to victory park and walked around (it's beautiful, I've been there many times). The war museum is incredible. We walked through replicas of different battles in their history. One of the replicas was of Hitler's failed attack on Moscow. I think our politics teacher cracked a joke about why Hitler had to retreat and it was because "there were no roads to Moscow." haha. anyway, there was also a huge room that had crystals hanging down for each person that died (I think in just WWII -including due to Stalin- but I have been through so many museums and heard so many thing that it's hard to keep things straight) and it was a very sobering experience to stand under that ceiling.





It was a beautiful day, and we ended up playing in the fountains afterward. The girl I am with (Rachel) is a Dartmouth student who also volunteers at the hospital.



We went to the famous cemetery (I forget the name but it's right next to a monastery), and we saw graves of Chekhov, Gogol, Stalin's wife, and many others. We're standing in front of Yeltsin's grave. Personally, I think the grave marker is a little ostentatious.



Last week I spent lots of time out in the sun watching the international beach volleyball tournament. Lots of different people from different countries, but definitely lots of Brasilians.



We got hot by the end and we ended up jumping into the fountains...this time completely getting soaked! Definitely a nice summer day!



So guess what I got to do on Saturday...I went to Yasnaya Polyana!!!! Tolstoy's estate is incredible. It was a day trip (About 3 hours to the south out of a city called Tula), and it was once again a wonderful time to explore true Russian nature.

Train Station that I arrived at.



Tolstoy's grave. He was an incredible man and wanted to stick to the simplicity of life, admiring the peasant way. He didn't want any type of grave stone...he just wanted to be buried in peace, away from all worldliness.



This video isn't much, but I liked it because I caught a man crossing himself in front of his grave. At first I thought that Tolstoy wouldn't have liked that (considering he didn't particularly like the Orthodox church) but he was a man of God and I liked that this Russian man payed his respects to Tolstoy with a symbol that he related to God.




Absolutely beautiful fields.



I also visited Tolstoy's house right here in Moscow!!! I just can't get enough of Tolstoy lately!



Interesting things about Tolstoy:
-He studied 13 languages in his life and was fluent in most of them. (Including him starting to study Chinese I think at 80?!)
-He had 13 children but 5 died young
-He lifted weights ;) I saw them in both houses!
-He cut the legs on his writing chair because he had poor eyesight and needed to be really close to the paper.
-He started a school that had more subjects than was ever heard of for that time.
-OK, and for those of you mormons who have heard rumors about this, he does have a Book of Mormon! I had to look for it real hard, but alas, I found it in the last room on a book shelf at Yasnaya Polyana!

Took a boat tour of Moscow which was pretty. Probably the most striking view was of one of Stalin's 7 sisters (which was the beginning of "his" city). They are the tallest buildings in Moscow and they definitely mark the city.



And this is Ashley and I being funny because we took a similar picture in Pete.



So what else...oh ya. Harry Potter in Russian! Ya! I enjoyed the movie (though I didn't understand everything ;) ). But you know, I laughed and got scared when I was supposed to, so I thought I did a pretty good job!! haha, but really, it was a great tool to increase my vocab about magic ;)

oh, and the weather. We have had quite the rainy summer that is wet and cold. One of the beautiful gifts about Moscow is that they shut your hot water off for two weeks (which apparently is a gift from 3 weeks during previous years). My water went off during a really cold week which helped me wake up in the mornings I guess. The second week weather was warmer (when we watched volleyball) and now my water's back. Except I don't really want to use it because now when I turn on the hot water it comes out brown. hmm...anyway ;) Well, here's a little vid of one of the many storms that we've had. I think I'm taking this vid at about 4:30/5 in the morning...you can't really capture the shaking feeling of the thunder on camera or the deluge outside.



Well, that's all for now. I love you all and I hope that everyone has been having a great summer! Oh, and one last thing...I don't know if this will sound as funny not being in Russia and talking about Russian politics with a professor with a thick Russian accent in English, but I had to write this quote down in my notes when we talked about regional elections under Putin. He was saying that they were much more controlled under Putin, but that control didn't really affect Moscow and Petersberg. But then he added this basically refuting the claim he had just made, "I will not say they were not democratic in Petersberg and Moscow though there are many questions about that."

Buns Butter Cookies With Bacon And Wigs

Inside the Kremlin...


St. Pete.


A creative ash tray.


storming the winter palace.


inside spilled blood...


the cathedral of spilled blood...the inside changed my life. Outside reminds me a lot of Basils.



I'm surrounded by tsars!!!


on our way to Peterhof.




I just think this photo ROCKS!


Winter Palace in the back...


Paul and Peter's fortress in Pete.


Knocking in protest for them to let us back into Basil's!!!!


Pelmeni!

WE GOT AN EMPTY WAGON ON THE METRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!????


the inspiration for the title of this post.



and this one...so sad but I can't rememeber!!! I took an hour train ride by myself to get here and caught up with some other friends...apparently it is the main cathedral in Russia.



Honestly, I couldn't tell you the name of this cathedral...one of the hundred that I've seen in a couple weeks???

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

So. I’m sitting in the hotel right now trying to recall my past weeks. There’s been some good, bad, and ugly, but all in all, I would say that the last few weeks have been good ;)

Here is a completely scattered list of thoughts, events, things I’ve seen, and maybe even random facts:

*While I was sitting talking on skype this evening in the hotel, I was hacking up a storm because I am freaking sick with some type of sinus infection/sore throat. While I was coughing, these two nice women were sitting across my way frantically looking through their purses. Then one of them holds this long silver thing in front of me while I’m trying to cough and talk to mom and code at the same time. It took me a while to realize what it was, but she was handing me a pack of cough drops! What a simple thing to do for a stranger, but I don’t think she realized that she made my life!!!!! Just another proof to me that there is good in this world.

*While sitting at Kolomenskaya park (which is a beautiful LARGE park with a cathedral and a long place to walk along the river) two other girls and I watched a babushka squat down by a tree to relieve herself. We watched in amazement as if it were a tourist attraction. I’ve seen lots of guys going to the bathroom on the streets, but I’ve gotta admit: the grandma surprised me.

(as a side note mostly for the entertainment of Cody, I had to go to the bathroom on the street for the first time…I was running in the morning and there was no way I was going to make it back. The funny thing was I was about 10 steps from my building door. Anyway, I ran behind one of the car garage huts, and ya…hopefully that is the last time that happens)

*I got kicked out of St. Basil’s cathedral while singing in one of the domes, “Be Still My Soul.” Thankfully, it wasn’t because I was singing that I got kicked out with two other friends, but they randomly decided to close early. It would have been nice to know that they were closing early when they sold us the tickets 10 minutes earlier…oh well :) The 50 rubles that we spent was well worth getting yelled at and kicked out of the cathedral.

*I was asked to bear my testimony in Russian in church…I was shaking from fear but got through it ;)

*I had dinner with a friend Marcus Hudson who happens to be from Sandy but I met him at BYU. He married a Russian girl here and he and his wife had me over for dinner, which was a wonderful break from Lidiya’s cooking ;)

*I visited the monastery here in Moscow…a lovely way to spend the afternoon. I feel like if someone were to ask me here, “What do you do in your spare time?” I would probably say something like, “I walk around churches.” You should try it sometime ;)

*Speaking of churches, my favorite church in Russia has been the Cathedral of spilled blood in St. Pete. The name (I hope I’m not getting this mixed up) comes from the fact the Alexander the second was assassinated on the spot that they constructed the cathedral. John Mayor’s lyrics sum up not only my feeling about this church, but about the rest of Russia in general:

I'm writing you to catch you up on places I've been
you held this letter, probably get excited
but there's nothing else inside it

don't have a camera by my side this time
hope that I would see the world through both my eyes
maybe I would tell you all about it
when I'm in the mood
to lose my way
with words

today clouds are painting colors of the cowboy cliche
it's strange how clouds all look like mountains
in the sky next to the mountains anyway

don't have a camera by my side this time
hope that I would see the world through both my eyes
maybe I would tell you all about it
when I'm in the mood
to lose my way but let me say

you should have seen that sunrise (or cathedral ;) )
with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
you'll be with me next time I go outside
just no more 3 by 5's

So don’t worry…I’ll post pictures of the cathedral, but honestly, they are sad attempts at making something so majestic and sacred into a small 3 x 5 photo.

So side summary of other beautiful things that I saw in St. Pete:

*First sleeping train experience. Hmm. We were packed in like sardines and barely slept a wink. I think the fact that it was an overnight ride and it never got pitch black outside made sleeping a challenge, but also made for some beautiful Russian vistas along the way.

*We stormed the winter palace.

*Tried to see the hermitage when really they say if you looked at everything in the hermitage for something like a minute, you would need 30 years to get through it. Largest Rembrandt collection in the world. Works of others artists like da Vinci and Renoir. Just the hermitage buildings themselves were enough to impress me let alone the beautiful paintings, sculptures, and even mummies in the basement.

*A trip out to Peterhof grounds was INCREDIBLE!!!!! The grounds are gigantic and there are beautiful fountains and gold statues it seemed around every corner. There are trick stones there that spray you if you step on them which I thought was pretty cool. My favorite part was looking out on the gulf of Finland. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to live there.

*Walking down Nevsky prospekt was gorgeous. The architecture in Petersburg is so European.

*Peter and Paul fortress was so fun to listen to the history of the tsars from our guide. And yes. Anastasia is there…I hate to break it to you, but she was shot with the rest of them. We were truly walking among Russian royalty in the cathedral which is essentially the burial site for the tsars.

*St. Isaac’s cathedral is an architectural miracle. The 112 columns are solid granite. That means they were cut from one piece and put up as one piece. Incredible.

*We celebrated 4th of July by going inside the Kremlin!!!! How appropriate, huh?! It is pretty much a city in there. Different roads, buildings, parks..and I think 7 cathedrals (wikipedia it to verify if I’m wrong ;) ). Obama’s coming on Monday and I think he’ll be bunking up there.

*Walked through Pushkin Museum.

*There’s a MJ memorial next to the U.S. embassy here. RIP Micheal- I listened to the “best of Michael” in memory of his musical genius.

*Quick back note about Cathedral of Spilt blood…I got in for the Russian price. I know that means nothing to you, but it was probably my proudest moment in Russia…I think the cashier was impressed that I was developing the Russian way of deception when it comes to money ;) Haha, she totally knew I wasn’t Russian but I think she was impressed that I was trying!

*A story with less success: I went to the kosmonat museum with a bunch of friends and it was written on the sign that students were free. We go up and show our id’s but the lady starts freaking out that we have to pay because we’re not Russian. One of the kids in our group started arguing with her that it’s not written on the sign, so she told us to get out of line if we weren’t going to pay, and she immediately printed a sign that had Russians only printed in bold. Haha, we still love you anyway Russia.

*We had a wonderful time exploring Ikea in Russia. fun adventure.

*One of the times that I was at the hospital, one of the little girls had an interesting conversation about why I was not married. She politely informed me that I was too old and I was “late.” I then asked her if she had a bf…she said that she did but he was a “durak” (essentially, an idiot or fool). I just nodded my head and said it happens! Haha, that little girl was cracking me up the whole time…

*We had a wonderful Russian cooking party where we learned to make pelmeni and borsh…YUM! I’ll have to make it for you guys when I get back…SO GOOD! Anyway, you know what I realized about myself?? I LOVE doing dishes. I enjoyed doing the dishes and cleaning up for a large group more than I enjoyed the meal. I must have got mom’s cleaning genes, but it was kind of therapeutic. Maybe it’s because I miss feeling useful or helpful for other people.

OK guys, I’m going to rap up because my head feels like it’s going to explode from sinus pressure, but I’ll post some pics real quick before I go home…know that I love you all and God loves you too! Take care!

so that video was not on purpose

a coupl of vids

Randoms

We are freaking awesome...in the back eighties...Russia ROCKS!!!!!



Russian Flag in our camp



Russian Colors are out for Russia Day






Mr. Lenin and the CCCR




OK, I can't believe I forgot to write about the CIRCUS!!!!! It was so fun and super cheap...lions, tigers and no bears unfortunately, but there was a cheetah!!!! There were so many cool acts...one of the guys that was like running on a rat wheel thing that was swinging around was seriously tripping up and I thought I was going to watch him die. A lot of the acts were geared towards men...enough said.


One of the statues in the park of fallen political statues...Lots of lenins there and soviet union








So this is in front of the red square...all proletariats of the world unite!
This is when we met that random kid Alexander who took us to the palace because we were laughing at the ridiculous photo that we got of me unfortunately because of the wind.