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!
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!!!
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!!!
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