For a field trip, my mom took me to the Hermitage that was the Winter Palace for the tsars in St. Petersburg. Now it is an art museum. We were going to look at the paintings. From the outside the Hermitage is green and designed with gold patterns. Inside the courtyard was a tiny park surrounded by gravel. When I walked into the courtyard, I felt like I was exploding with excitement.
Inside I walked up a luxurious staircase after I got my ticket. Red carpets on the stairs made the stairs grand. The railing had been created of the finest wood and were just as magnificent as the steps that were made of marble. I felt like a queen. I loved going up the stairs.
Then I saw a room that had red walls. Hung on them were pictures of Catherine's generals. Catherine the Great knew all her generals by name. And in that room were hundreds of portraits -- one for each general. I think that it would have been hard for her to remember their names. They all looked the same because most had the same sideburns and short hair. Most of them wore a grumpy expressions. The room was as big as three big playgrounds.
At the end of my stay, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the entire Hermitage. When I go again, I want to see the Egyptian part because the mummies and coffins are there. As I left, my eyes were round with seeing so many pretty things.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Feelings.
I've only been here a couple months, and I still feel that things are hard on me. I don't know the language very well, and so it's very hard on me when some Russian kids comes up to me and says something. "Ya nee ponimayu" is the only way I can answer ("I don't understand"), but little kids don't even understand what I mean. They just keep repeating themselves. It's tiring because they don't understand that I can't speak their language. When that happens, I can't do much. I have to just give up sometimes. The help I need is for me to learn the language fast, to speak like them. That's my only prayer - that someday I will be able to understand. So please be praying for me.
My neighborhood is more quiet than where we were when we first arrived, but it's not like what I really miss in Virginia. Tramvais (street cars) and cars just rush by my window. Bright lights shine in my room. I don't like it. Sometimes I hate Russia. When two people speaking in Russian walk by, I want to say, "be quiet." When babushkas tell me things and scold me, I want to say, "buzz off." The other day at a museum when me and my friend were looking at a mosaic and doing nothing wrong, a lady who is a guard came by and said something in Russian, and I had no idea what she said. We were doing what everybody else was. We weren't stepping on it or hurting the mosaic. I didn't like it. For the rest of our time in that room, she watched us like an owl and a hawk. I was angry. I wanted to shout in Russian, "What did we do? We did nothing!" She watched us like we were uncontrolled little babies let loose. I wish I could understand the Russians.
My feelings here and on and off. I wish some things were easy. When I first got here, I was happy and excited. I wanted to try new foods. Now it's just plain boring, sad, and gloomy, and I don't feel at home. It's frustrating also because I can't read; I can't speak, and I can't understand their traditions. Do you know what they believe? When I tell you this, you will be in utter shock. To those of you who have had babies, please don't take this personally, but they believe that if you sit on the floor either in a house or outside on the ground, or in a car or anything, you will not have a baby. Isn't it amazing what they believe? That's a really really weird thing to believe, and I don't get it.
Down near the Neva river, you see lots of brides and limousines everywhere, because there is a statue of Peter the Great, and their tradition is to go see it on their wedding day in their nice clothes and everything. I don't get why they have to go see him, of all people.
Please pray for me that I will feel at home and be able to learn and speak the language.
My neighborhood is more quiet than where we were when we first arrived, but it's not like what I really miss in Virginia. Tramvais (street cars) and cars just rush by my window. Bright lights shine in my room. I don't like it. Sometimes I hate Russia. When two people speaking in Russian walk by, I want to say, "be quiet." When babushkas tell me things and scold me, I want to say, "buzz off." The other day at a museum when me and my friend were looking at a mosaic and doing nothing wrong, a lady who is a guard came by and said something in Russian, and I had no idea what she said. We were doing what everybody else was. We weren't stepping on it or hurting the mosaic. I didn't like it. For the rest of our time in that room, she watched us like an owl and a hawk. I was angry. I wanted to shout in Russian, "What did we do? We did nothing!" She watched us like we were uncontrolled little babies let loose. I wish I could understand the Russians.
My feelings here and on and off. I wish some things were easy. When I first got here, I was happy and excited. I wanted to try new foods. Now it's just plain boring, sad, and gloomy, and I don't feel at home. It's frustrating also because I can't read; I can't speak, and I can't understand their traditions. Do you know what they believe? When I tell you this, you will be in utter shock. To those of you who have had babies, please don't take this personally, but they believe that if you sit on the floor either in a house or outside on the ground, or in a car or anything, you will not have a baby. Isn't it amazing what they believe? That's a really really weird thing to believe, and I don't get it.
Down near the Neva river, you see lots of brides and limousines everywhere, because there is a statue of Peter the Great, and their tradition is to go see it on their wedding day in their nice clothes and everything. I don't get why they have to go see him, of all people.
Please pray for me that I will feel at home and be able to learn and speak the language.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Food I've had
Food here is very tasty. I enjoy the food for breakfast. Let me tell you about breakfast. Some people enjoy eating leftover dinner for breakfast. Do you? I myself personally think it's weird. For breakfast I often have muesli with milk. Let me explain muesli if you've never had it. it is sooo good.
One of my favorite dinner foods is Russian ravioli called "vareniki." Filled with potato and the slightest taste of mushoom, it's really, really, really good. For dessert we have my favorite "blini," a very thin pancake that you might call a crepe. They are filled with Russian jelly "varenya" - which is also very tasty. You take them from the store frozen and bake them. Believe me, you'll want fifths by the time you've had seconds. "Tvorog" is what I like too. This is like cottage cheese; in fact it's very similar to cottage cheese; only it's a little drier and it can come in different flavors. It's sweet and sour, and the lumps in it are not as big. I myself find myself to like it.
Cous cous is rare here. Last time I had it was at a furniture store, and it was very good. You must be wondering, "why don't they have cous cous there? Russia is very close to India." I don't know why, though, either. Or are you wondering about how one can eat at a furniture store? IKEA is the name of the furniture store. They also have a cafe there where you can eat if you are there for a long day of shopping. Two of the last three times we were there we ate.
One of my favorite dinner foods is Russian ravioli called "vareniki." Filled with potato and the slightest taste of mushoom, it's really, really, really good. For dessert we have my favorite "blini," a very thin pancake that you might call a crepe. They are filled with Russian jelly "varenya" - which is also very tasty. You take them from the store frozen and bake them. Believe me, you'll want fifths by the time you've had seconds. "Tvorog" is what I like too. This is like cottage cheese; in fact it's very similar to cottage cheese; only it's a little drier and it can come in different flavors. It's sweet and sour, and the lumps in it are not as big. I myself find myself to like it.
Cous cous is rare here. Last time I had it was at a furniture store, and it was very good. You must be wondering, "why don't they have cous cous there? Russia is very close to India." I don't know why, though, either. Or are you wondering about how one can eat at a furniture store? IKEA is the name of the furniture store. They also have a cafe there where you can eat if you are there for a long day of shopping. Two of the last three times we were there we ate.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Flowers and Berries
The flowers in the country are so very pretty. You wouldn't imagine how big the Queen Anne's lace is. You know, the white puffy stuff that looks like cauliflower on top of a green stalk? In the country, Queen Anne's lace is so tall, it's the size of me and taller. And the big flower part is about a foot across, and the stalks were almost an inch across. The short wildflowers are so pretty, they are a girls favorite colors: red, purple, and pink. They are beautiful - like little cups. I would love it if you could smell them. If you were there, it would take five minutes to finish your "ooos" and "aaaahs."
There are also wild berries that taste really good. Some friends of mine showed them to me. They are GREAT. I wish I could send some to all of you. If you pick them fresh here, they taste better than any in America. They have red currants which are mouth-watering.
The reason I know all this is from visiting new friends in the country. They have a cute house that is still being built. To get to the second floor, for example, you have to climb a ladder. Take a load of this: the girls have wallpaper with writing in English. And we're in Russia! My dad says it is kind of hip to write in English here.
Soon after arriving, we went outside -- just us girls. The eldest is Rada, a very pretty name. She is 11. The second eldest is 8 - Anita, a very pretty name I think, too. The youngest is three. They took me to their backyard; it is so big. At the very back, they showed us a little trail through some raspberry bushes. Then we ate the raspberries. They are juicy, delicious, anything you can imagine. Then they took me back into the woods, and they showed me a big clump of blueberries, which I also really enjoyed. When lunchtime came, I was so hungry I thought I heard someone calling us to lunch. It was just the wind; we had run all the way back to the house for nothing. I loved to the time there and was sad when we had to leave.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
My first few days
It's really hard here, because I miss my friends so much. I feel like running away and just going home in secret. I really want to see my friends again. I'm glad we have phones and blogs. When I got to Russia and I looked out through the airplane window, my heart felt as if it would sink down to my toes. I couldn't beleive I was actually in the world's biggest country. I couldn't beleive I was staying here. It was so hard to beleive that everything was Russian. As I got into the airport, it felt so hard to understand that we weren't going back. It felt as if my heart would break.
Sure, with my Russian, I was a little clumsy, and I smiled some. But I am learning to understand that Russia is not like America. The way I'm getting used to it is in our apartment. For when you walk in the building, you walk into this smelly and very dirty door. I was sure our place would be so dirty, you would not be able to sit down in comfort. So as you walk up the stairs, the stairs are very very dirty. You can't even sit down and not have a body full of dirt. The railing is chipped; the windows are filthy. The only nice thing about it is the window at our floor. It's all flowery - pictures of flowers at the top. It makes it seem a little like home. Otherwise, there is nothing about the stairway that seems like home.
As you walk into our apartment, you have to use keys. The keys are much different from America's keys. They way you walk in is different. You walk in to this very big door, and you use a key to get through it. They you see two more doors in front of you. One is our neighbors; the other is ours. It is surpising when you walk into our apartment - surprisingly furnished and very clean. It isn't like the stairs, which I am very glad for. The first thing you do when you walk into a Russian apartment is come into a tiny little mud room where you have to take off your shoes. Then you walk into (in ours) the study part. Then, if you keep going, you come to a fork. Two doors are in front of you again: my room and the boys' room. I am very glad I have a room by myself. It makes me feel like we are at home again.
My room has a broken bulb. My doorway has a chinup bar - very nice sometimes. Then you walk into my room and right beside you is a little desk, connected to a bookshelf. To your right, there is a green and white checked sofa. Then is a bunk bed. I sleep on the bottom. It is cold sometimes to fall asleep, because there are no sheets. Sometimes it is hard to wake us, because I still have jetlag. In front of the bunk bed is a TV on a sort of book shelf with tons of movies. I like my room, because it is a nice quiet area with a window; it's a good place to run away to. I spend a lot of time making it my own. My thoughts are that I will always enjoy having a room of my own for this period while we are here. I will tell you about the rest of the house later. God be with you, and I hope He is with me too.
Sure, with my Russian, I was a little clumsy, and I smiled some. But I am learning to understand that Russia is not like America. The way I'm getting used to it is in our apartment. For when you walk in the building, you walk into this smelly and very dirty door. I was sure our place would be so dirty, you would not be able to sit down in comfort. So as you walk up the stairs, the stairs are very very dirty. You can't even sit down and not have a body full of dirt. The railing is chipped; the windows are filthy. The only nice thing about it is the window at our floor. It's all flowery - pictures of flowers at the top. It makes it seem a little like home. Otherwise, there is nothing about the stairway that seems like home.
As you walk into our apartment, you have to use keys. The keys are much different from America's keys. They way you walk in is different. You walk in to this very big door, and you use a key to get through it. They you see two more doors in front of you. One is our neighbors; the other is ours. It is surpising when you walk into our apartment - surprisingly furnished and very clean. It isn't like the stairs, which I am very glad for. The first thing you do when you walk into a Russian apartment is come into a tiny little mud room where you have to take off your shoes. Then you walk into (in ours) the study part. Then, if you keep going, you come to a fork. Two doors are in front of you again: my room and the boys' room. I am very glad I have a room by myself. It makes me feel like we are at home again.
My room has a broken bulb. My doorway has a chinup bar - very nice sometimes. Then you walk into my room and right beside you is a little desk, connected to a bookshelf. To your right, there is a green and white checked sofa. Then is a bunk bed. I sleep on the bottom. It is cold sometimes to fall asleep, because there are no sheets. Sometimes it is hard to wake us, because I still have jetlag. In front of the bunk bed is a TV on a sort of book shelf with tons of movies. I like my room, because it is a nice quiet area with a window; it's a good place to run away to. I spend a lot of time making it my own. My thoughts are that I will always enjoy having a room of my own for this period while we are here. I will tell you about the rest of the house later. God be with you, and I hope He is with me too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)