In the past few weeks we celebrated not only my birthday, but Easter as well. I thought that I would tell you a little bit about those days and some other highlights since my last posting.
My birthday (36th) fell on a Wednesday this year. I declared it a vacation from school. We have been very structured and have not had any days off from school since we came. The kids were thrilled to have a day off. I didn’t tell them that the day off was really for me! The kids gifted me with a quiet morning so that I could sleep in. When I finally wandered out everyone was very eager for presents. The ki
ds had spent a lot of time making me cards and drawing me pictures. I received two very special gifts. The first was a Matryoshka doll. This one was unique because each doll had a “sight” from Saratov painted on it. The doll had all my very favorite Saratov sights – I can’t wait to show it to everyone when we get home! I also received a teapot. Russian’s are known for drinking tea. This teapot was made from Russian clay and is beautifully decorated. I was surprised by all the gifts (our friend Nick showed Ken a souvenir shop – they were very sneaky). We went for a walk to the Volga – saw that the ice was melting. We never did get to see the “riding the ice” spectacle, but seeing the thawing Volga made me very aware that spring is on its way! We went to a local café for dinner but the kids were not sure that they could find anything they would like, so we ended up at Papa John’s. We are still working on adventuresome eating with our kids. We ended the day with a lovely cake from our favorite pastry shop. I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable birthday. The only thing missing was being with family and friends!
Easter is an important h
oliday for Russians! We found kits to dye and wrap Easter eggs. We especially loved the plastic wrap for eggs. The egg slides inside a decorated piece of plastic. The egg is then dipped in hot water and the plastic seals to the egg. The designs were beautiful – Russian churches etc. Everyone was telling us about Kulich Cakes. They popped up in many of the grocery stores, in the market and on stands in the street. They looked like a giant cupcake. We have loved all Russian desserts so we eagerly went out and bought some Kulich for our Easter. While it was good, it doesn’t compare to the pastries. It was more like bread that had raisins and bits of dried fruit inside. We went to a house church and they had a meal after their service. We enjoyed talking with all of the members but had a very nice conversation with Max. We have really loved getting to know some Russians outside of the University and learning about their lives.
We also have had some changes to our plans as far as travel… We were planning to go to Europe (France/Switzerland) in early May. The University is on a bit of a break and it would have been a good time to travel. However, Ken was invited to speak at a University in Nizhny Novgorod. On the map Nizhny Novgorod does not look so far away but there is no direct train line from Saratov. We hear that it is a 20 hour train ride. We are realizing how remote we are! We discussed trying to do both but decided that all the train travel would be very stressful for the kids. We had a family conference to let everyone give their input and cast a vote. We were amazed that everyone agreed on going to Nizhny Novgorod! We all felt like we wanted see all that we could of Russia while we are here. So hopefully we will get to Western Europe at some other time in our life but for now we are looking forward to Nizhny Novgorod (which we hear is the most beautiful city in Russia). At the end of our time here we are also planning to see Moscow and hopefully St. Petersburg.
In closing, just a few highlights:
• We met an OH native who has been here for 13 years. We had a traditional Russian meal with his family. We finally tried beets and found that they were good!
• Bought tickets to the local ballet – looking forward to that in a few weeks.
• There is still ice on the sidewalk in places but it is rapidly disappearing.
• April 15 is not a tax deadline in Russia, it is the day that the heat gets turned off. We have been roasting all winter but I’m wondering how cold these spring nights will get?!
My birthday (36th) fell on a Wednesday this year. I declared it a vacation from school. We have been very structured and have not had any days off from school since we came. The kids were thrilled to have a day off. I didn’t tell them that the day off was really for me! The kids gifted me with a quiet morning so that I could sleep in. When I finally wandered out everyone was very eager for presents. The ki
ds had spent a lot of time making me cards and drawing me pictures. I received two very special gifts. The first was a Matryoshka doll. This one was unique because each doll had a “sight” from Saratov painted on it. The doll had all my very favorite Saratov sights – I can’t wait to show it to everyone when we get home! I also received a teapot. Russian’s are known for drinking tea. This teapot was made from Russian clay and is beautifully decorated. I was surprised by all the gifts (our friend Nick showed Ken a souvenir shop – they were very sneaky). We went for a walk to the Volga – saw that the ice was melting. We never did get to see the “riding the ice” spectacle, but seeing the thawing Volga made me very aware that spring is on its way! We went to a local café for dinner but the kids were not sure that they could find anything they would like, so we ended up at Papa John’s. We are still working on adventuresome eating with our kids. We ended the day with a lovely cake from our favorite pastry shop. I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable birthday. The only thing missing was being with family and friends!Easter is an important h
oliday for Russians! We found kits to dye and wrap Easter eggs. We especially loved the plastic wrap for eggs. The egg slides inside a decorated piece of plastic. The egg is then dipped in hot water and the plastic seals to the egg. The designs were beautiful – Russian churches etc. Everyone was telling us about Kulich Cakes. They popped up in many of the grocery stores, in the market and on stands in the street. They looked like a giant cupcake. We have loved all Russian desserts so we eagerly went out and bought some Kulich for our Easter. While it was good, it doesn’t compare to the pastries. It was more like bread that had raisins and bits of dried fruit inside. We went to a house church and they had a meal after their service. We enjoyed talking with all of the members but had a very nice conversation with Max. We have really loved getting to know some Russians outside of the University and learning about their lives.We also have had some changes to our plans as far as travel… We were planning to go to Europe (France/Switzerland) in early May. The University is on a bit of a break and it would have been a good time to travel. However, Ken was invited to speak at a University in Nizhny Novgorod. On the map Nizhny Novgorod does not look so far away but there is no direct train line from Saratov. We hear that it is a 20 hour train ride. We are realizing how remote we are! We discussed trying to do both but decided that all the train travel would be very stressful for the kids. We had a family conference to let everyone give their input and cast a vote. We were amazed that everyone agreed on going to Nizhny Novgorod! We all felt like we wanted see all that we could of Russia while we are here. So hopefully we will get to Western Europe at some other time in our life but for now we are looking forward to Nizhny Novgorod (which we hear is the most beautiful city in Russia). At the end of our time here we are also planning to see Moscow and hopefully St. Petersburg.
In closing, just a few highlights:
• We met an OH native who has been here for 13 years. We had a traditional Russian meal with his family. We finally tried beets and found that they were good!
• Bought tickets to the local ballet – looking forward to that in a few weeks.
• There is still ice on the sidewalk in places but it is rapidly disappearing.
• April 15 is not a tax deadline in Russia, it is the day that the heat gets turned off. We have been roasting all winter but I’m wondering how cold these spring nights will get?!
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