First Real Snowfall, Lenin, and Russian Follk Dance

When we returned from vacation there was a little bit of snow on the ground but it had started to melt. Last Friday night coming back from dinner though we found that it had started snowing a bunch and we had a good 3 inches on the ground! I love that feeling of the first snow when the cold doesn't matter and you can't help but laugh at everything. I jumped on the crunchy snow and then we had competitions to see who could slide the farthest on the sidewalk. When we got back to the school we met up with the other girls and we were climbing up hills and making snowmen. Pretty soon our friends the guards were outside and a HUGE snowball fight broke out! It was the Russians v. the Americans 2 to 5. Because the snow was perfect the game lasted a long time (Though I'm not sure how long because I took off my watch). We were all pretty wet by the end of it, but it didn't matter because it was so much fun we kept talking about it all that night. Honestly, that's the best snow that I've experienced for packing quick little snowballs.

The next day Chelsea and I went into Red Square and waited in line to see Lenin's Body (A MUST in Moscow). It was a good day to go; we only waited in line for about 10-15 min because of the cold. To get in we had to go through the only metal detector we have found in Russia that actually means anything. Usually even if they go off the guards don't do anything but here we had to empty our pockets and people that made the alarm go off got the wand. They take Lenin very seriously. My honest opinion, he looked like a wax figure. I was VERY impressed by it all though. I'm so glad I got to see him.

After that we went to the Cathedral of Christ- one of my favorites so far-- and then met up with the rest of our group at the Russian Folk Dance show. Those dancers made my jaw drop at the first number and I was impressed all the way through. They all are so talented and the music was so upbeat and entertaining. There was a little boy and little girl sitting near us and they kept getting up and jumping around and dancing along. They were adorable.

My life is awesome. That's all.

Hostel, not Hostile.

Yes, I am still writing about our vacation experience. For some reason it's just difficult for me to update my blog and keep it updated.

After our Baltic Cruise, Chelsea, Nusly, Hailey and I all stayed in St. Petersburg to finish up our vacation. Since this was our 3rd time in St. Pete we decided to take it easier and just hit all the spots we didn't have time for the first or second time. We stayed in a hostel for two nights, my first hostel experience ever, and it was so much fun! We almost didn't find them because it's on the 4th or 5th floor of a building that looked like all the others. We counted the steps one day and there were 120 steps. It was a long upward walk. The place was in the middle of all the tourist attractions, had free wi-fi, clean sheets, 3 real bathrooms and FREE breakfast! What else do you need?!

 Aside from the rockin' set up we met tons of great people. They were possibly my favorite part of our time in St. Petersburg. The first night we played cards with a Canadian who was doing a few days in St. Pete before going onto Moscow and then taking the Transiberian across Russia. Later we met an Englishman who teaches at an English school in Dubai. We also met a cute German couple who were traveling in Russia. The next day we played cards with Jeff, fondly referred to as Jeff-O, who is from Australia. He taught us all sorts of fun Australian slang and also that Shuffling was cool in the 90's. Best letdown of my life. I loved hearing all the accents and about all the places that these people have travelled to. Don't worry, when they invited us to go out to the bars or to a casino with them we told them to not go drink and stay and play cards with us. It didn't work but it was worth a shot. We also taught an Iranian man who was there with some busniess associates how to play Scum. He returned the favor by giving us Iranian Candy! It was this marshmellowy textured thing with pistacios in it. I don't like pistacios so I thought it was kind of gross but I'm really glad I got to try it!

The first day we were there we went back to the Hermitage (because it's free for students) and got to see some things that we missed. Like Monet and VanGogh. I loved it! We also got to see the Japanese art which was a nice break from European. Afterwards Hailey and I went to St. Issac's Cathedral and went up to the very top! You can see all of St. Petersburg from the top! Despite the cold we hung out up there for probably an hour or so. It was incredible.

The next day we travelled out to Catherine's Palace. First of all, the gardens there were some of the prettiest that I've seen since coming to Russia- even in the Winter. Inside the Palace was ornate and incredible. The Amber room was so intricate that it is hard to imagine people actually making it. We also saw the photos of the destruction is suffered during World War 2. It's crazy and eye-opening to be in a country that has lost so much history because of wars. So many historical buildings were near destroyed in the bombings and such. Learning about all of it has been very sobering.

We heading back to the hostel to pick our bags and play one last round of five crowns with Jeff-O before taking the night train home. It was a rough night with very little sleep- thank goodness we had a few days to recover before teaching. 

Baltic Cruise: Estonia

The last day of the cruise we went to Tallinn, Estonia. It is really well known for the well preserved "Old Town" where medieval towers and walls still stand. It was incredible to see the history. The whole town was pretty picturesque and it was wonderful just to walk around. The streets were all cobblestone and the old houses and shops were so quaint. We saw and got to go inside St. Olaf's Church. It has a really tall steeple that has been hit by lightening  a ton but they keep rebuilding it anyways. It now serves as a Baptist church and we got to go in for part of their service. It was really sweet.

We got to walk around and on Medieval ground. It was incredible to think that it has all been preserved for so long. On street that we walked us was cobblestone and the walls were stone on one side and back walls to houses on the other. Artists put up their pictures and displayed them to sell on the side with the bricks. I loved the feeling of that street even though it was all uphill. It was a really cold day and the food in the touristy places was all really expensive so we kept going till we found a local place that served awesome roasted cheese soup and pasta! Just so you know... the bread they give you in Estonia before you get your food is not free, they charge for that.

We went to the old town well because apparently they used to think that an evil spirit lived there so they would sacrifice cats to the spirit in the well to pacify it. They had a small ladder going down the well- so what did we do? Climb down for pictures of course!!! It was a ton of fun!

Baltic Cruise: Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden. Thankfully, Hailey got to come with us this time. I had used Google Maps to figure out how to get to the Stockholm, Sweden Temple. It's about a 30-40 min train ride out from Central Station. Not everyone wanted to make the trip (total travel costs ended up being about $15 or so) so it ended up with Hailey, Chelsea, Laura and I. Everything went unbelievably smooth getting out there. It really helps that Swedes speak English. We made friends with our train ticket salesman. His name was Kim and he was some kind of Asian. We found out that while Sweden has the most expensive public transport in the world, it is also really nice (especially compared to Russian trains). We had a nice chat with some university students on the train- all of them were from different countries and they are spoke great english. 

As the train was approaching our stop we looked out the window and saw the temple right as we passed it! We hopped off the train and knew exactly which direction to walk. Temple grounds have the same feeling whether we are in the states or in a foreign country. It was so incredible to just sit and enjoy temple grounds. While we were there we talked to a native Swede and he explained that all Swedes can speak English as a matter of survival in the international community. He also told us how to say hello and goodbye in Swedish. It was awesome. 

After we were done at the temple we hit up a small grocery store and grabbed some food. Don't worry, there was a woman there giving out samples of Swedish chocolate. We all ended up buying some. It really is so wonderful! YUM!

We went back to Stockholm and spent the rest of the seeing different sights such as the palace and some other places. At one point we decided to grab dinner. We tried to find a place that was less touristy and would have more authentic food. We slipped into this little shop that offered some different plates and then pizza as well. Hailey and I asked a man in the shop which dish would be the most Swedish, his response- NONE of them. We were tired and didn't want to look anymore so we ordered pizza. It was definitely not american pizza though they gave all their styles american names. Good Job Sweden:) The sun was down by 4pm and I felt so off.

Overall, I loved Sweden too. It was also the beginning of taking what I referred to as "Artsy" Pictures. Don't worry there will be an album later. :)

Baltic Cruise: Rough Starts and Finland

Okay, so I know that it has been a long time since I have posted. Don't fret though, I'm still having the time of my life and perhaps that is why I'm not posting as much. Also I do really regret not having pictures with these posts, but I guess if I was really heartbroken about it I would do more to get them on here.

We just got back from our "Vacation" but we don't start teaching again until the 14th so we have a few days to rest from our adventures and boy do I need it!

We left our school last wednesday night via bus, metro and night train to get to St. Petersburg. Just getting there was quite the adventure. There is a decent chance that our bus driver was slightly intoxicated, or at least not paying attention. It was a great start to the trip and we had to muffle our laughter and big eyes. This is more of a side note but I thought that it was fun-- our night train was a midnight train, the ticket even says 23:59. Yes, I did sing Journey on the way there.

So, onto the Cruise.... we weren't sure if we were going to be on nice cruise ship or like... a ferry and kind of roughing it. Let me just tell you, I'm surprised we could feel the ocean on such a giant boat! Her name was The Princess Anastasia, I thought it was very fitting:) Anyways, the ship was really ritzy but all the food and everything was pretty expensive so we mostly ate off the boat and limited what we purchased on board. I learned that Russians are awful at efficient lines. I stood so often in a line that was just a mass of people trying to get out first. Bottle-necking at its best.

Our first night on the cruise Hailey got really sick, so sick that she couldn't go to Helsinki. It was so sad but it was also a good thing because she got to go to a doctor for free on the cruise. It turns out that she had contracted tonsilitis and she needed antibiotics. It really was incredible how it all turned out. She had a miraculous recovery and got to go to Sweden and Estonia with us which was awesome!

So Helsinki. It is one of the most beautiful cities. We walked out into the harbour and then walked though a closed market that was selling all sorts of Finnish Food, lots of Reindeer meat. The weather was great and I only wore my coat because it was more comfortable than carrying it. We spent a total of 4.5 hours in Finland but every minute was great! We went to the Lutherern Cathedral and took sweet pictures inside. the interior design was completely different than all of the Russian Orthodox Cathedrals that we had seen so far, much more plain but so beautiful. We got in just in time to stay for Daily Prayer. It was so incredible to get to sit in on their service. While there weren't very many people in that huge building the ones that were regulars sat up front with their Pastor (is that right?) and the whole service was in Finnish.  We also took pictures next to the "Bridge of Love". It is tradition that young married couples, or just those in love, secure a lock on a bridge to seal away their love. This particular bridge is loaded with locks and made for some fun pictures. We spent a lot of time in Finland walking to the sites and exploring the city. We made some friends in the open air market where there were some ladies who let us sample some of their bread. Out of the whole trip Finland had the BEST bread!

I ate some kind of Kebab sandwich. The meat was beef though I was tempted by the Reindeer. That is my one regret in Finland was not trying the reindeer meat. Oh well, you live and you learn. We bought some bread for the boat trip to Sweden and we also tried their pastries. Side note: trying pastries in different countries has almost become tradition for our group. The little pastry shops are so easy to find and great little snacks. Donuts really don't have much on these little things, YUM!

Unfortunately, we didn't run into Elder Adams, as cool as that would have been. Chelsea went to high school with the twins so it would have been awesome to just randomly run into him in Finland. Finland is one of the prettiest places that I have seen and I am so grateful that I got the chance to see it and be a part of it for a few hours.

p.s. I haven't edited this so I'm sorry if the glaring errors are frustrating.