Ramblings from Russia

November 2, 2009

Hello everyone,

Greetings on this cold November morning from St. Pete's. It's a crisp, clear ,sparkling frosty day. The temp is in the low 30's and as I gaze out my apartment window I see people are decked out in warm coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Yesterday I really did try to dress like a Russian with my overcoat etc. but I still get looks like I'm either a CIA agent or someone from faraway ...a walking imposter for sure. Maybe it's the camera around my neck. Hmmm!

A few observations from school last week:

I had the kids bring in materials to build boats and do float and sink experiments adding plastic bears and cubes for weights. Now this is very tricky since there are no sinks in the room and I had to haul water and borrow tubs etc. They were quite thrilled to do something messy and fun which I don't think they're used to. One boy had counted up to 200 bears on his boat when it sank! He yelled, "Rescue, rescue! The Titantic sank." We revived the bears and proceeded. The kids make me smile everyday with their accents and use of the language.

The custodian who cleans my room is about my age and her name is Svetla and for some reason we have become soul mates though each of us can't speak the other's language. She loves looking at my photo of album of Juneau scenes and my family. I use a lot of sign language and we hug. She borrowed the album to show her family. On my birthday she brought me a small Matrushka doll and gave me a tearful speech in Russian. I grabbed another teacher to translate and this is what this simple woman who cleans for a living said, " I wish all people of the world could be like you and me . Forget the politicians and governments and remember the smiles, and hugs and laughter as we try to communicate what is important. I wish you and your family peace and good health on your journey through life." I started to cry as the teacher translated Svetla's powerful words. Such wisdom! These are the moments here that mean the most to me.

Then there's wisdom from the children...Gabriella brought in a leaf that had frozen in a puddle and declared that she had rescued the leaf. We had been exploring leaves for a bit so the kids know a lot about the life expectancy of a leaf. We observed the ice melting and at last the leaf was free from its icy grave and Gabriella tenderly wrapped it up in a paper towel to take it home and keep it warm and safe as she said.

Ms. Alexandra is our art teacher. Now picture a woman in her late 60's with a long white pony tale, sparkling blue eyes who dresses like a Russian hippie from the Salvation Army and wears sneakers and speaks limited English. She came bustling into the classroom this week for her lesson and started throwing garlic, onions, tomatoes, shells, flowers, pottery vases on the children's desks. She gives little direction other than "Just draw like Cezanne!" And the trick is they do. You should see their shadowing and concentration . Then they proceed to water color their sketches producing amazing results. Meanwhile she flits around the room from student to student heaping praise and constructive suggestions. She's amazing! She's not a trained teacher but is so skilled in having the children believe they are artists. And they are!

On the cultural front I attended another ballet, The Scotch Symphony, that was choreographed by George Ballenchine. I loved it because it was more modern and interpretive.

Our 9 day Fall Break started this weekend so I have planned some excursions everyday. I am learning to do things alone since my two companion teachers have taken off to Croatia for the week. I visited the Yusupov Palace where Rasputin was murdered. They do have English audio guides which are quite useful. It's so nice to hear someone speak English to me. I almost started to carry on a conversation with the audio man. No wonder people look at me!
I am learning to read maps quite well and am constantly scouting the sky for church steeples which guide me when I'm lost. I'm constantly calling on help from my guardian angels. Ron Gleason took me to a Russian Orthodox Monastary where we happened to enter during a service. It was so beautiful with Gregorian chanting from the all male choir, and the priest circling the church with insense. People were lighting candles and writing intentions out to leave on the tables under the icons The bell was ringing constantly in the steeple. I looked up and a priest was physically pulling on the heavy ropes and using a treadmill like wheel with his leg to ring the bell. Quite a work out. I wonder if he was doing penance. We visited the graves of Dostoyevsky, Tschaikovsky and Rimsy Korsocov who are all buried along with other famous artists, musicians and writers. They really do play tribute to their famous people. There were even fresh flowers on their
monuments to honor them. I visited the Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral where all the Romanov dynasty are enshrined.

On my way home I saw a man skinny dipping in the Neva River which I'm told they do for health reasons. He proceeded to exit the very cold and polluted river and did a series of jumping jacks to warm up. Time to move on home across the bridge with a smile on my face!

So much for my week. On a sad note...Tom's dear older brother Bill passed away yesterday from liver cancer. Tom had just spent 3 weeks with him and had just returned home to Juneau when he got the call. He'll probably head back down soon once arrangements are made. Obviously his trip here is on hold for now.

Love to all of you!
Kathy