Post Office

Following class yesterday, several of our members had postcards to mail back to the States or other places around the world. So we decided to walk to the local post office. I quickly realized after walking in that we would be there for A LONG TIME!!!!

Unfortunately for our cashier, the four member of our group that went to the post office all had several postcards. It was very strange to see stamps being put onto a postcard with a glue stick!!! It was a slow process, but it got done.


Today, I returned to the post office to mail a few more and the same cashier was there. When she saw me, she just smiled! We have been so lucky to have wonderful people helping us, and she was no different. Krasnodar and its people are wonderful!

Russian Orthodoxy

Tuesday, June 29

Our topic yesterday was Russian Orthodoxy. We were given a broad overview of Orthodoxy in Russian's history and it's influence on people today. It was interesting to note that in the 2000 census, almost all people interviewed considered themselves Russian Orthodox, but only 3-6% said they were practicing members.

Following our lecture, the presenter took us to three cathedrals in Krasnodar. We viewed St. Catherine's Cathedral, Holy Trinity Cathedral, and St. Elijah's Cathedral. To the right is a picture taken inside of Holy Trinity Cathedral. It is a picture of the iconostasis found in the cathedral. It was beautiful!

We were also allowed to climb to the top of the bell tower. The priest of the church, Father Daniel, took us up to the bell tower. The view of Krasnodar was amazing. We could see the Kuban River and most of the city. It was a little scary walking up the winding staircases to get to the bell tower but well worth it!!!

After viewing St. Catherine's and Holy Trinity Cathedrals, we arrived at St. Elijah's. To my surprise, we were taken up to the choir loft and given a short 'recital' of songs sang during a traditional Russian Orthodox service. Five members of St. Elijah choir were present and sang parts of eight songs. It was amazing. St. Elijah is a small church and the sound that the five singers made was breathtaking. I got chills!!! It is Russian Orthodox tradition to not use any instruments in the church, but only the voice. To the right is a picture of the five singers.

Agro Complex

Well...it was back to work today. We began the morning having group discussion about our projects with our group leaders. Following our meetings, we listened to a lecture on the Russian economy.

We ate a quick lunch then boarded a bus to visit a local agricultural business. Krasnodar has many crops that are similar to Kansas. Boys and girls - Can you guess what one or two of these crops are??? (Hint: One of them is our state flower!!!) Your right!! There are sunflowers, wheat, corn, soybeans, and more harvested around Krasnodar. I've actually thought I was in Kansas a few times when I have seen the crops beside the road. :)

When we arrived at the complex, we were taken through a sugar factory. This company not only harvests crops, they also raise cows, pigs, and makes sugar and flour. We saw the entire process that sugar cane or sugar beets go through to become the sugar that you eat on your cereal. It was really cool to see the big containers filled with sugar syrup then sugar crystals. The picture to the left is of a worker checking the sugar crystals to see that they are forming correctly. Finally we were taken to a service center. At this center, machines that are used to harvest the crops are fixed. The first machine I saw was a John Deere tractor! WOW!!! Am I in Kansas??? ;) Russian farmers use the same machines as farmers in Kansas. The next time you are riding in the car with your parents, look for the different machines out in the fields!

Weekend at the Sea!

It has been a few days since I last posted and A LOT has happened. I hope in the next day or two to add a few pictures too of our fun weekend!

Friday, June 25
The day started with Russian class. I'm now starting to put together some small sentences. I'm learning slowly, but hopefully, I will remember everything I learned so I can teach my students when we start school in the fall!

After classes, we boarded two vans and drove to Taman, Russia. This is a small ancient Russian village that is boarded by the Azov Sea and the Black Sea. Our group stayed in a beach house called Hotel Jaguar. It was located a little outside Taman but right on the Azov Sea. It was beautiful!!! We could walk right out into the water from our hotel.

Before we arrived at the hotel, we stopped in a small village to view a Cossack museum. Upon our arrival, a folk singing group greeted us with a customary loaf of bread, salt to dip it in and a beverage. This is a traditional Russian greeting. At one time, salt was very expensive and hard to find. So if you offered salt to a guest, it was for a very special occassion. The singers sang a traditional Russian song while we ate the bread and salt. After the song, we toured the museum and then were asked to join the singers in the backyard.

Waiting for us was a 'traditional Cossack wedding party.' This was pretend but a lot of fun. We were the guests of the 'groom.' The singers performed, danced, and invited us to eat in the wedding feast. It was amazing!!! There was so much food. We left the museum stuffed!

When we had finished eating, we continued to our hotel. Several of the teachers in our group, including Miss O'Neal, decided to go for a swim in the Azov Sea. However, the water is very shallow (not very deep). I could only walk in the water or sit on my knees, but that was okay. It was a wonderful way to finish a day of traveling and eating!!!

Saturday, June 26
This was our first day in Taman. We drove into the city and were taken to an archeological museum. Taman is an ancient Russian city that dates back 2700 years. We were shown artifacts from many different periods in Taman's history including pieces of pots, dishes, bowls, pipes, jewelry, and more.

Our tour guide continued our tour of Taman by taking us to an actual archeological dig site where artifacts are found daily. Student volunteers were at the site beginning to clean away grass and twigs so that archeologists can begin to dig for more artifacts. This was really cool!

For the rest of the afternoon, we relaxed at the beach. Can you guess boys and girls who are neighbors were? No not just people.....ANIMALS!!! We had dogs, ducks, chickens, roosters, and goats that lived beside our hotel! It was really funny to see these animals playing with each other and in the water! ;)

Sunday, June 27
This morning we visited a museum celebrating a very famous Russian poet and author, Mikhail Lermontov. During the 1800s, Lermontov traveled through Taman. He was only there for two days, but he described his experiences in a short story a few years later. The book he wrote, A Hero of Our Time, became very famous. The Cossack house that he stayed in has been reconstructed in Taman for visitors to see. There is also a literary museum beside the Cossack house. Inside we saw copies of Lermontov's paintings, drawings, writings, and military orders.

After visiting the museum, we stopped at Attaman Village. This is a reconstruction of a traditional Cossack village in the 1800s. It is a little like Silver Dollar City but without the fun rides. The people are in traditional costumes, there are different buildings that would have been found in the village (school, houses, stores, etc.), foods, animals, and more. It is easy to imagine living in this village with all of the house and buildings. It was neat to imagine living here in the 1800s.

When we had toured all the village, we went back to our hotel for a quick lunch then boarded the bus to return to Krasnodar. While on the road, we made two stops. The first was at a World War II memorial. The memorial is all outdoors and has many different types of military equipment used during World War II. Visitors are able to climb, stand, and touch the equipment. It was neat to get so close to the tanks, airplanes, helicopters, and different machines used during World War II. Our second stop was at a lotus pond. A lotus is a beautiful flower. The lotus was brought to Russia from Egypt and is now taking over. The pond was covered in lily pads and lotus flowers. It was really pretty.

Unfortunately, our weekend had to end! We returned to Krasnodar to begin another week! If we are lucky, our next two weekends here will be just as fun, if not more fun, than this weekend!!!

Pictures

Just FYI....If you have been checking out the blog, you might look over the last few posts. I finally added some pictures. I hope to add more as the trip continues!

River Cruise

Pryvet! We had Russian class again yesterday! Our teacher definitely increased the vocabulary. We learned a few letters of the Russian alphabet - They use an alphabet called cyrillic. Some of the letters look like English letters (a), but some are tricky. For example, Russian has the letter 'P'. However, it isn't pronounced like the English letter. It actually is pronounced like the letter 'r'. WOW!!! It can be confusing!

Following our Russian class, we had a lecture about the educational system in Russia. It was interesting to hear about Russia's schools from pre-school to the university. Most kids in Russia start school when they are 7 years old. They might start at 6 years of age and attend kindergarten, which is like kindergarten in the United States.

After eating lunch and having a meeting with our group leaders, we had some free time to walk around Krasnodar. I went to a few stores to see what they have. The stores in Russia are different than in the US. They are very small and have special items at each store. There are small grocery stores, book stores, flower stalls, little buildings to buy gum, candy, drinks, etc., phone shops to buy cell phones, and more. I went into the supermarket yesterday and bought my favorite Russian snack. They are called Choco Pies! I'll try and buy extra to share with you boys and girls!!! They are yummy!

In the evening, we were taken to the Kuban River and had a private boat ride on the river. It was really nice. We could relax and enjoy the view of Krasnodar while enjoying our time together. We saw people fishing and swimming in the water, as well as the city skyline. It was a great way to end our day!

History Day

Wow!!! I am filled with information today!

We began by having two lectures from a professor of history from Kuban State University about the history of Russia. She focused on the Soviet years to present day. The professor had a great deal of information to share and also asked our opinions of the Soviet period as Americans. I forgot though how hard it is to take notes for three hours. Miss O'Neal needs to go back to school to do a better job of studying!!! :)

After our lectures, we had another fabulous lunch at the university before riding a bus to the Krasnodar Natural History museum. The museum was very impressive. A guide took us through their premier exhibits including regalia from the beginning of Krasnodar's history in the 18th century. A group called the Cossacks settled this area after Catherine the Great gave them the land as a gift for their bravery and loyalty to Russia. The Cossacks named the town Ekaterinodar, Catherine's gift, in recognition of Catherine the Great's gesture. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the town's name was changed to Krasnodar.

We also saw a wonderful exhibit about World War II and Krasnodar's history in the war. There were many artifacts on exhibit to see including ammunition, rifles, military suits, parts of planes, and more. It was very interesting to hear about the battles fought in and near Krasnodar. This area was very important to the Allies eventual victory over Nazi Germany.

First day of classes

I am having a great time. Yesterday we went for a tour around Krasnodar then saw Romeo and Juliet at the ballet. It was amazing!!! Boys and girls, the ballet is a performance where the actors dance to tell a story. There are no words only dancing. Today we had our first classes at Kuban State University. This is a university just like Pittsburg State University. Right now, the students are out of school like you. However, many students are still studying because they have to take special tests to see what information they learned this year and the tests are very soon. My host family lives about 10 minutes away from the university so I can walk to campus everyday. We had an awesome lunch in the cafeteria (in our own special room).

We also just met the rector of the university. He is like Mr. Gottlob. He is the principal of the university. While we were talking to the rector, a few film crews from local news stations and a newspaper reporter were at the meeting. So, I might be on the Russian news tonight or in the Russian newspaper tomorrow!! Pretty cool! (The picture below is of one of our group members, Vinton from Washington. He is being interviewed by the Russian TV station.) After our meeting with the rector, we had a short tour of the school and are all using the internet right now in their university computer lab. It is very nice and new. Their computers are just like our computers at George Nettels, but I have to make sure I am typing in English and not Russian! :) I had my first Russian class today too! Pryvet!!! (This is hello in Russian. You can see a picture of my classmate, Attalia from Indiana, above. She is practicing her Russian alphabet.) Hopefully by the end of the three weeks, I will be able to say a few things in Russian!!! ;)

Finally in Krasnodar!!

Hi everyone! Well...after 30 LONG hours of traveling, I am now in Krasnodar, Russia! I started my travels on Friday morning at 5:45 am and traveled to the Detroit airport. From there, our group flew to New York City to Moscow, Russia, to Krasnodar, Russia. This doesn't sound like a lot but with 3, 5, and 7 hour layovers, it made for a long trip. Below is a picture I took while flying from New York to Moscow as the sun was coming up! Beautiful!

I am happy to say though, that I am in Krasnodar and am setteled in with my host family. Artur, Olga, and Anna are wonderful. They made a special welcome meal for me tonight including a cake!!! YUM!!! I really am excited to get a chance to travel/tour Krasnodar and share pictures and information with you! Keep checking the blog. I will try to post as much as possible. This is a marker in Krasnodar that celebrates the year the city was founded (or settled). Do you know what year Pittsburg was founded? Look for the signs in Pittsburg the next time you go with your mom and dad in the car. They will have the year that Pittsburg was founded.

Final day of orientation

Today has been another long day but very interesting. We had some good sessions that helped us prepare for our time in Russia. I got to enjtoy a little taste of Ann Arbor today. Several of our group members walked to Zingerman's Deli! It was awesome! It is an internationally-known deli. It was really good but not as good as Mall Deli!!! I'll really miss the deli while I'm gone! Well, I have to get up really early tomorrow to start the long journey to Russia. I will fly from Detroit to New York City to Moscow to Krasnodar. It will be a long day but very exciting to see my host family. I hope that I will be able to post everyday, but I am not 100% sure. So for now, Do svidanja (goodbye in Russian).

Learning about Russia

Today has been a long day but interesting. Eight presenters gave us background information over topics ranging from Russian politics, language, customs, history, and what to expect during our stay in Krasnodar and Moscow. Right now I am watching a documentary called Anna. We'll have another session tomorrow to learn more about Russia. Had a great day!!

Russia Bound!!!

I can't believe today is finally here! After waking up at 5:30 am this morning, I started my journey to Russia. First, I am attending a pre-orientation in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Can you find Michigan on a United States map? Hint - Michigan looks like a mitten!!! I started my adventure in Kansas City this morning and flew to Chicago then to Detroit. From there I took a shuttle to Ann Arbor. I will be spending the next three days here getting ready for my trip to Russia. Today I met my roommate. Her name is Julie. She is from our neighboring state to the north (can you figure out what state that is?) and she teaches high school Spanish and Russian. I also met the other 10 teachers that will be going on our trip too. They are from all across the United States including: Washington, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, and of course...KANSAS!!! They are really fun people and I look forward to learning more about them on our adventure together! I am in the Eastern Time Zone now so it is getting late. Tomorrow we have a long day of lectures about Russia so I need to get some rest. I hope you are having a great summer and I look forward to sharing information with you!