Yesterday was a very interesting day.  First let me say that I'm going to get myself into trouble one of these days jumping on a bus or metro not sure of where I'm going.  You know I just don't like to be taken advantage of by taxi drivers, and they charge so much more anyway.  The first day I was here I took the bus to the metro which was quite easy, but then I jumped the metro to Nevsky Prospect.  I couldn't hear the conductor telling the stops so I had to ask other people where to get off.  They were very helpful.  Last night was hysterical!  I was on my way to the ballet.  The desk clerk at the hotel gave me three bus numbers.  I actually thought I had to change buses three times!  They were three buses that went to the Mariinsky Theater.  I asked questions at the bus stop of Russians waiting for the bus and they explained to me to take any of these buses and it would take me directly to the theater.  Next problem, how to recognize the theater when I got there!!  A couple young told me it was a big green building.  I told them everything here was big!  The conductor came to get my passage and I kept giving her the wrong amount, so then the couple gave her my fare.  They showed me a picture on their phone of the building.  They got off and another lady who was on the bus said you need to get off at the next stop and helped me once again even to cross the busy street.  People here are very friendly and helpful, but once again only if you are friendly to them and acknowledge their help.  They don't get much of a chance to practice their English so they are happy when they get the opportunity.

I went to the Church of Spilled Blood yesterday.  It was built on the spot of the assassination of Alexander the II.  It is a beautiful church, full of colorful tiles outside and hundreds of mosaics inside.  It is built in the Russian style which was considered very ugly for many years but is now famous.  This is the second church I've visited here.  I was going next to St. Isaac's but decided against it for the time being. My love of churches comes a lot from studying the architecture, like the Notre Dame  It's hard to describe in a few words but building churches over a long period of time evolved and the Notre Dame is a good example of this with its flying buttresses, etc.  When you visit newer churches they are either beautiful or not and don't have the same allure for me as a Notre Dame or churches lit it.  Besides the Church of the Spilled Blood was built as a monument for a man, just my opinion.

Afterwards I had lunch at Sbarro which was okay, not as good as the U.S.  I listened to American Music, Maroon Five and Move Like Jager as I walked down the street and saw people trying to draw people into restaurants dressed as cheerleaders and American type guys!!Girls with tattoos all over their legs walk along in min skirts.  Guys on skateboards with dreads scoot down the street along with skaters.  You have to be careful not to collide with them!  I looked at the American movie advertisements, still amazed at how many American influences this place has.  Isn't Citibank American too?  It's everywhere and really funny spelled in the Russian cyrillic alphabet. At the airport it was all over their control tower.

So last night was the ballet.  I can't describe to you the ballet.  It was definitely worth every penny of the ticket, and I've never been to intrigued by ballet as this.  The principal dancer from my perspective looked like she had the body of a twelve year old, not surprising.  She was tiny in every way.  It was a large company with at least five men.  The first act everyone was dressed in green with a green backdrop.  The second act it was changed to dark red, the third, white.  The dancers were so fluid, they looked like they had no bones.  It was most amazing to me to watch their hands; they were so perfect.  Of course there were no errors.  The third act was supposed to be the best and everyone thought so, but I preferred the second.  The choreography was amazing. Many of the steps were unusual and interesting. It was in the new theater so I didn't get to see the beauty of the old theater, but I went to see the dancing.  The live orchestra was also wonderful.  At the end of every act, stewards walked across the stage and presented the principal dancers with flowers sent by admirers.  Some didn't receive any and sometimes the men would turn and present their flowers to the women.  

Today I'm off to the Hermitage.  I don't think it will need much of a guidebook. I'll just visit the parts I like.  It's far too big to try to see it all.  I'll go for the Impressionists and Post Impressionists and then take in whatever else appeals to me like Rembrandt and the other Flemish artists.  Tomorrow I'm taking a guide bus that actually has interpretation in English to the Peter and Paul Fortress filled with history on a small island.  It's really hard to understand everything you're seeing here.  Almost nothing is explained in English nor are many of the tours in English at all.  I will take a boat tour of the riverways, but they are only in Russian. After being here  while you realize that most likely many of the buildings you are seeing were once palaces turned into buildings used for other purposes now. Katherine presented everyone with a palace is she liked them.  

On my way

Leaving for Yerevan tomorrow for the last time! I'm packing up all my belongings I brought to Armenia.  Tuesday morning I will start my adventure to all the sights I wanted to see in Eastern Europe, at least most of them.  I'll start off in St. Petersburg.  Ever since living in Kazakhstan I've wanted to visit Russia.  Getting all the VISA etc. isn't easy, but I'm on my way.

I posted a notice on Facebook that I was taking messages to Eric Snowden, who is somewhere in the airport in Moscow.  No one wanted to send a message knowing President Obama reads all emails now!  It's pretty funny.  I think people in America are finally starting to realize that we are not always the victims but sometimes the perpetrators.  It's about time they woke up.  How can we save our freedom if we avoid facing those who are taking it away?  Until July 9 and St. Petersburg.....

Conferences in Ukraine

January 26, 2013

One week later, now sitting in the airport in Kiev on the way to Moscow.  This trip has been so exciting.  It’s been the best part of my year so far!!  I arrived in Kiev and met up with my Regional Language Officer, Jerry Frank, and two other Senior Fellows, one who is a former journalist, and one who is a lawyer.  We spent three days in Kiev touring and eating.  Kiev is just beautiful.  It is so modern with so many beautiful buildings.  There are onion domed churches everywhere you look, and they are all painted like birthday cakes. 

It was quite cold with about eight inches of snow on the ground the day we arrived.  The snow and weather weren’t so bad, but there was a layer of ice almost everywhere and we had to be on a constant lookout for falling.  It’s difficult to try to see the sights when you’re always looking at the ground!  We went up a funicular to see a church at the top of the hill.  Christmas feels so turned around here.  Just as we are taking our decorations down, they are putting theirs up.  Now it is the end of January and the decorations and Christmas music are still in full swing. I had received my Holy Water in Armenia before I left, only to get showered by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.  People were also filling up bottles of water and the priest was sprinkling water on the heads of the crowd.  When one priest saw I was taking pictures, he rushed to the side of the other priest and they both posed!  It was quite comical.  I’ll send the pictures when I have my wire!! 

We went to a McDonald’s in Kiev that was the largest McDonald’s I have ever seen.  People in this part of the world really like McDonald’s; they are everywhere.   I think it’s really funny because all I hear is that Americans are fat because of fast food!  The restaurant was several rooms with a hostess that tried to find a seat for everyone, often difficult to do.  Then other ladies clean up after you when you finish.  It was quite busy.  We also went to a street market and picked up a few souvenirs that were made by the locals.

On Saturday, we boarded the train to go to Lviv.  The train was really nice and clean with an overhead t.v. with movies, WiFi, and a food bar in the adjoining car.  Every now and then a worker would wheel the cart down the hall and sell food.  We arrived in Lviv quite late and couldn’t wait to get some sleep.  We had spent the last three nights talking, joking, and comparing notes about our local posts.  The next three days were spent at the ELF Conference.  It was so amazing; these people are all so impressive and such interesting people.  The one thing about them all that continues to amaze me is how quirky they are!  I just fit right in!  They are almost all quite creative people, actresses, and writers, teachers, who lived and traveled all over the world.  Some of them look strange and some of them just act strange!  They are a lot of fun.  After we finished our ELF conference, we participated in the conference at the local Ukrainian Franko University.  The Ukrainian people are so friendly and smiling all the time.  It’s is so nice to spend time with them.  I attended mostly workshops about technology.  I think it is going to be a good way to keep myself entertained over the next five months.  I’ve learned a lot.

My presentation was on teaching reading and writing for elementary and beginning English speakers.  You would be amazed at how the teachers here receive the information about teaching methods in the U.S.  I am one of the few teachers here that has actually spent a lot of time teaching in the U.S. and certainly one of the few elementary teachers.  They are so grateful for ideas and new methodology.  I used several foldables in my presentation and showed them how to make different types of Word Walls and graphic organizers.  It was really fun!

My presentation for the ELF Conference was on using Social Media.  Because of the low budget for materials I received from the Embassy, I have no money to buy supplies for my universities.  It has gotten to be a real joke with all of us; every time someone says $900 all the fellows know what they are talking about!  Everyone else received $2200. It’s a long story why this happened, but it has been difficult and I’ve had to come up with creative ideas for materials unable to buy anything!  So, my presentation was on using Edmodo to teach medical terms using the television show, “Grey’s Anatomy”.  I showed them how to use Wordle for vocabulary, and they were laughing looking at words like rectal exam, etc!  It was effective and practical though, and I certainly showed them what you could do with no money!

Wednesday afternoon we took a bus tour of a castle about one hour out of town.  The countryside was quite beautiful with a lot of plots set aside for people who still use the old system of using these little plots for growing vegetable in the summer.  They said it is not very practical now as far as making money goes, but many of the older Soviet people are stuck in that way of life.  The castle was small but very beautiful and we enjoyed hearing about the history of how the area was inhabited by the Poles, Austo-Hungarians, and Russians.  They have such a history!

Last night we took our boss, Jerry, out to dinner for opening his apartment to us when we arrived early for three days.  We now call it the Jerriot!  We went to a restaurant called Amadeus.  The waitresses were dressed in pretty dresses, and there was a two piece band playing Dr. Zhivago.  The food was really good.  I had gypsy shashlick, which is Russian barbecue.  We all laughed the whole dinner and had a great time.  The head of the language department at the university where we presented joined us as well as Jerry’s assistant from the Embassy.  We walked home in the snow and watched the ice skating rink, some kind of igloo you could go into, and ice sculptures on the lawn.  It was quite pretty. 

Last night at 10:35 we boarded the train from Lviv to Kiev.  It was an overnight train and arrived in Kiev at around eight the next morning.  I slept in the cabin with Alyona, and it was more comfortable than I would have imagined except that the temperature was way too hot!  The train consisted of fourteen cars, all sleeping cars.  I felt like I was in a Soviet mystery or spy story, everyone speaking Russian and the surroundings looking like something out of a movie!  The conductor came and woke you up right before arriving and served coffee or tea.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed hearing Russian again.  When we arrived they said the temperature was -14 Celsius. 

Now onward to Yerevan, and then home to Vanadzor.  Comparing and Contrasting Kiev and Vanadzor is shocking.  They are like two different worlds.  I hope I didn’t make too many mistakes; I’m quite tired!