amazingly discouraging

Someone I know just posted this on facebook.  I was amazed.  It is also discouraging...but redemptive.  Not sure how to describe it.  You just have to watch it.  Please do.  Only 16 minutes.


THIS IS VANCOUVER from St. Peter's Fireside on Vimeo.


There is always hope.

Must-Do's, An Update

Here's a list of the things that I would like to accomplish this, my third, year in Moscow:
(in no particular order)

1.  Horseback riding outside of Moscow
2.  Hockey game
3.  Spartak soccer game (a Moscow team who is notorious for fighting and being hooligan-y. :)
4.  Shashlik outside of Moscow
5.  Buy a nice Russian doll for myself
6.  Go to the ZOO! (even though I've heard it's really depressing)
7.  Tour the TV tower here in Moscow and go to the top!
8.  Spend as much time as I can with my Russian friends!
9.  A Cafe crawl (much like a pub crawl minus the drunkenness)
10. Go to a concert. (Skillet will be here in November.  Totally going.)
11. Go ice skating.  (still haven't done that!)
12. Musical: The Sound of Music.  I will be in Russian but we are definitely going.  Might wait until winter has set in.
13.  Cirque Du Soleil (In Moscow soon, need to buy tickets.) 

There will be more additions, I'm sure.  Hopefully this year will be happy and productive.  Here's to another school year and to...To-Do Lists!

I finally crossed one off the list.  I wanted to repost to remind myself of all the things I want to do and also to share with you the things that I have done.

So I finally made it to the zoo.  My first impression is that it is huge.  It's strangely nestled into the city's tall building and apartments.  When you first walk in, it looks so small!  And then you start walking and see that it just keeps going.  The second half of it being across the street.  You have to walk on a bridge over the street to get to the other half.  I was going to put pictures here but I have been crazy busy.  I will put them up on the next update.


Hopefully I will add even more to this list and continue crossing them off!

-Kristin

No New News :)

I don't really have any new news to write about.  (I always chuckle whenever I read, write, or hear "new news."  Probably only my mom and sister know why. :D)  So I will write about things that I am looking forward to.
This weekend I am going to the souvenier market here in Moscow.  I will be buying some Christmas presents and, of course, some new cheap movies.  They are around $4 or less and they acutally work.  It may be wrong to buy pirated movies...but everyone does it. :)  Then we will go to a friend's house for her annual fall party.  We call her neighborhood "Little America."  Once you enter the gate, it's like you've just teleported to America.  There are yards, trampolines, grills, driveways...And it will be the weekend when this community celebrates Halloween so there will be children running around in costumes.  I can't wait.
On Sunday, we are going to a Hillsong church here in Moscow.  I've always wanted to go to one.  It will be all in Russian but I am still very much looking forward to it.  I'm sure I will know a lot of the songs, but now I will be able to hear them in Russian.  After church, we will attempt to go to the zoo again.  Now we know what time it closes.  AND THEN after the zoo, I need to go home and plan my trip to Italy!!  Did I tell you I'm going to Italy?!  Amber and I are leaving on October 28th and will return on November 6th.  We are flying into Rome and will stay a few days there.  Then we are thinking of going to Capri and southern Italy.  We were looking at pictures last night and it looks gorgeous.  I think the temperature should be in the 70s! :)  Also, I have a friend from college, Lyndsey, who will be staying in Naples while we are there.  So I get to see her too!  HERE you can read her blog about all her travels.  Once I return from Italy, you will hear all about it.  I can't even imagine how many pictures I'm going to take.

I also am looking forward to Thanksgiving.  I think we have a line on some turkeys this year.  We also come equipped with 4 cans of pumpkin pie mix and evaporated milk.  We also have some stuffing mixes.  It's going to be a real American thanksgiving this year.

And then...HOME for Christmas.  I should be in America on the 17th of December.  I have an appointment on the 19th for a root canal.  That's the reason I need to fly back to America.  But I also am very much looking forward to three weeks at home with my family.  :D 

No other major news.  Autumn is here and she is almost leaving us already.  Winter is coming.   I need to buy a new coat...

Shut the front door....

So I realize that I haven't blogged in a while.  Life got a little busy.  Mondays and Wednesdays I am taking Russian classes.  I really like them so far.  They are challenging but it is also encouraging to see how much Russian I already know. 
Recently was also our Teacher's Day celebration.  We sang Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."  Sadly, no one recorded it, because I forgot to give Sarah my camera.  But hopefully we will sing it again soon and will record it.  Everyone liked it and I personally think we were the best act.  :)
Well, my inspiration for writing this blog is a conversation that I just had.  One of my students speaks almost fluent English.  Her nanny is American and I have been talking to her this week.  Today we talked for a little while.  She was telling me about the family that she works for.  Get this:  She has an apartment in the city which is paid for.  Soon, she will move into their $50 million home with them and have her own place there.  She goes everywhere with them.  Soon they will fly to Maldives for three weeks.  This summer she spent 3 months in Italy.  She, then, told me that if I found a job like her, I could be making $75,000-$100,000 per year!!  Can you believe that??  Can you believe that people have that kind of money to pay someone to play with their child?? 
That's insane.  And yet....I'm interested.  :)  I mostly likely will never do something like that.  I think the risk is too great.  Yes, you could be making a lot of money which would be nice to pay off all my loans and save a lot for the future.  But what if you end up working with a crazy family?  Like they are horribly mean.  It makes me think of "The Nanny Diaries."  Great movie.  I sometimes feel like her. 
Anyways, just thought that I would share.  :)

The First Day of School

September 1st is the day of knowledge in Russia.  It is the first day of school EVERY year even if it falls on a Sunday.  The students come to school with flowers and balloons.  They gather on the steps of the school and sing the national anthem and the school song.  Then they release their balloons and start crowding into the school.  Our school is on a small street in the forest outside of Moscow.  Today the street was filled with Land Rovers, Lexuses, Mercedes, and Audis.
The kindergarten did not partake in these festivities.  The kindergarten is, for some reason, not really seen as part of the school.  One day, the whole school has a day off...except the kindergarten.  What???
Instead of the ceremony on the steps, we had a play for the children.  And yes, I was in the play.  I was a puppet named Jamie.  The play had dancing houses and lots of choreography.  I wish I had a video to show you.  The play wasn't a total disaster considering we only practiced twice.  The children liked it.
After that, the children played for a little while and then went home.  Thankfully, I have one student who speaks English.  He is only 3 and speaks English, Russian, and French.  It's really unbelievable.  He was speaking to me in English and then would switch to Russian when he was talking to someone else.  I was so jealous.  :)  I'm really going to enjoy talking to him.  It's nice to have a child that actually understands me.  Today when we were playing he picked up a phone and said, "Let's call the dessert man.  Do you want a dessert?"  It was SO cute.  And what little kid would say that?
At the end of the day, I was tired but excited about the new school year.  And plus, I got these beautiful flowers.  Oh the benefits of being a teacher in Russia....

Practicing for our play in 20 minutes. 

The students just starting to arrive.  Not too many balloons just yet. 

Traffic...... 

Someone else's flowers...

MY flowers!  :)

Russian Flea Market Finds

Today we made a journey outside of Moscow to a flea market.  It was huge and cheap.  I couldn't tell you the name of it, or even the train stop.  But I enjoyed it.

 A while back I bought a old Russian camera.  I absolutely love it.  It takes the most amazing pictures.  I would like to take care of it but I just lug it around in my purse.  I was hoping to find a case for it and I did.  It fits perfectly and it was only $3!!  Great find, right?

I also bought this vintage bag that I'm going to use as a purse.  I really like it.  It was around $7.

Then I found this beautiful scarf.  I paid less than $2.  :)

It was a great day with friends.  Came home with some fun stuff.  Tomorrow is the honey festival.  I stumbled upon it with a friend the other day.  We were walking through the park and I didn't know that the festival had moved.  I bought a huge jar of Acacia honey.  It's delicious.  They had all kinds.  Here are a few pictures that I took.  Hope to get more tomorrow.  And maybe some more honey too. :)

"Whoever drinks honey, will not get sick."  It sounds better and rhymes in Russian. :)

Well, I have lots more pictures that I will hopefully put on here or on facebook sometime.  I'm really enjoying being back and I'm looking forward to many more adventures this year.  I actually added more to my "To-Do List."  Here you can see My To-Do List for Year 3 in Moscow.  That's all for now.  Bedtime for me.

Metro meandering

So I had a little free time in the metro today, waiting for some friends.  I've been wanting to make a video like this for a long time.  I really like.  Every time I watch it, I see a new pair of shoes that I didn't notice the first time.  I love the character of each person, seen as they walk past.  At first it looks like a video of just feet...but if you look closer you can see the people.

This city amazes me every day.  I'm living in a city of 15 million (or more) people.  I am just one.  

i made this. :)

Ok, so I'm new to this crafty thing.  Usually when I'm doing crafts, that means I'm making noodle necklaces with my kindergarteners.  :)  This time I decided to make a holder for my earrings.  I went to IKEA yesterday and bought a frame.  I found an old shirt that I don't wear and cut the lace off of it.  Then I stretched it across the back and stapled it in.  Then I had fun taking pictures of it.

I just love my little angry owls.  Doesn't he look angry?

This is a little detail that I decided to put on.  Last year I threw away some clothes but before I did, I cut all the buttons off of them (and I also saved the fabric for school.)  I glued some of the buttons on the corner.  And the silver rose with the pearl used to be my favorite pair of earrings.  I lost one when I was in Paris and I just couldn't throw this one away.  I decided to use it on here.  Glad I kept it.

You're Gonna Go Places

So I left America again.  Before I did, I travelled down to Minneapolis with my parents and my little brother.  We had time to go to the MOA.  I love going to the Mall of America.  It's a little overwhelming too.  First we decided to eat dinner.  I chose Panda Express which provided me with a fortune that I believe is quite accurate. :)

I rather like it.  :)  Then we split up, boys and girls.  The boys went to the amusement park to ride "one" ride (which ended up being three.  The girls headed to Forever 21.  :)  I love that store.  I could spend hours and hundreds in there.  My mom and I decided to look over the amusement park and saw my dad and Alex float by on the log flume.  haha.  A bald head and a black head.  hehe.  Then we lost them again and decided to go to Starbucks and people watch.  "Look at her shoes.  Why would anyone wear those?"  "Do I look like that?"  "I'm going to look like her when I'm old."  "That was a weird couple."  "That kid's going to get spanked when they get to the car."  You know, things like that.  

This was the view from the hotel window that night.  Beautiful, I think.

The next day my flight left at 1pm so we had time for one last run to Target and Wal-mart.  We also eat a big breakfast at Perkins.  It was so nice to not have to be at the airport at 5am. 

Once I got there, I tried not to think about the fact that I was leaving for a long time.  I already told my mom that she was not allowed to cry this time.  :)  I also told my them that once I check-in, we will say our goodbyes and they have to leave.  No more watching me in the security line and waving.  It just makes it worse.  It really does.  It's not embarrassing or anything it's just more like torture.  So after I checked in, we walked over to the escalators, they said goodbye and no one cried!! :)  I think I saw my mom starting to tear up but they were already on their way down the escalator so it was not to bad.  I was proud of us.  

I didn't bring my guitar this time so it was a lot easier to walk around.  I get tired so easily carrying that around.  I had some time before boarding so I went to Caribou one last time.  Iced cold press coffee with white chocolate.  Very good.  There wasn't any seating so I walked over to Starbucks.  :)  I sat and read "The City of Ember."  I really liked that book.  I recently watched the trailer for the movie that came out in 2009, I think.  I was NOTHING like the book so I'm not going to watch it.  I think it will just make me mad.

Once I got to Washington D.C. my other flight was already boarding so there was no layover time there. That was nice.  United is not as nice as Singapore and you don't have 50+ films to choose from.  They automatically play 5 and you can tune into the one that you want.  I saw an independent film and decided to try it.  OH MY GOSH.  I can't really describe this movie other than it was crazy.  And great.  And I think everyone should watch it.  Here is the trailer and I think it will convince you, too.

Right???  I don't know where you can rent it, but find it online or something and watch it.  It was so good.

Once in Moscow I knew that I would have problems.  When I got into the line for passport control, I do my typical thing and doubt my choice of lines.  I look at the other one and think, "That one looks faster.  Yeah...I think it's faster.  Should I switch?...no just stay here...no...I think I'll switch."  And then I DO switch.  Right when I switched, the passport control officer of that line went on break.  I'm not kidding.  He left!  So of course, my original line was faster.  Then I switch again.  Anyway...it took over an hour.  I could see my luggage going by over and over.  I just knew that someone was going to steal it.  Once I get up to the window the officer tells me to follow him.  Apparently there's a problem.  I get taken to the back.  I try to explain that my valid visa is in my old passport but I also have a new passport.  I guess when your passport is no longer valid, the visa inside it is also no longer valid.  But this is only in Russian.  I called the Passport office here in America twice, making sure that this would not be a problem.  They said, "No, no, just give them both passports.  It's fine."  I wanted to say, "M'am, have you ever been to Russia??"  Once in the office, the man told me to pay him $50 and sign this paper.  I told, "I am not paying you any money or signing ANYTHING until you call the embassy and THEY tell me that I have to do this."  Turns out he was telling the truths and wasn't just trying to get a bribe out of me.  

I made it to my apartment and now I'm sitting here, relaxing.  Tomorrow we are going to the airport to meet the new teachers.  I'm excited and looking forward to starting a new year here.  Then on Wednesday we're going to IKEA.  This involves a 30 minute metro ride and then a 30 minute bus ride to the outside of Moscow.  Then the insanity of walking around IKEA and finding everything that you need.  And then making the journey back while carrying everything that you bought.  It does discourage you from buying too much, though.  I'll leave you with this fun picture I took while driving through Minneapolis.  I really like it.

organize my girly stuff

Since being back in Moscow, I've started to feel like this is really a home to me.  Because of this,  I've started to organize my apartment so that it's more like a home and not just a place I keep my stuff while I live here.  I found these great ideas on Pinterest and also another craft blog that I found.  (Sorry that I cannot give credit where credit is due because I can't remember the name.  I'm sure they're not the first to think of it anyway.)

For my bracelets, I put them on a bottle that I kept.  (by the way, I collect bottles from time to time so this puts some of them to good use.) :)

This summer I finally got some cosmetic brushes.  I've never owed any.  I saw this idea on Pinterest.  The container is a little too big I think but it gets the job done.  I just happened to find it in my apartment not being used.  I like the coffee bean idea.  But I think when I go to Ikea soon, I'm going to look for a large size coffee mug.  I think that would be cuter.  A coffee mug with coffee beans in it to hold my brushes.  :)

I'm also going to try this idea to organize my earrings.  I took this picture off the internet.  When I go to Ikea I'm going to try and find a cute frame.  I've also seen it with lace stapled in behind the frame.  Not sure where I'm going to find lace or wire. We'll see.

I also organized my bookshelf.

Must-Do's This Year

Here's a list of the things that I would like to accomplish this, my third, year in Moscow:
(in no particular order)

1.  Horseback riding outside of Moscow
2.  Hockey game
3.  Spartak soccer game (a Moscow team who is notorious for fighting and being hooligan-y. :)
4.  Shashlik outside of Moscow
5.  Buy a nice Russian doll for myself
6.  Go to the ZOO! (even though I've heard it's really depressing)
7.  Tour the TV tower here in Moscow and go to the top!
8.  Spend as much time as I can with my Russian friends!
9.  A Cafe crawl (much like a pub crawl minus the drunkenness)
10. Go to a concert.
11. Go ice skating.  (still haven't done that!)

There will be more additions, I'm sure.  Hopefully this year will be happy and productive.  Here's to another school year and to...To-Do Lists! 

some more music

I don't mean to post only songs lately.  I have some blog posts I've been meaning to write...but for now this song popped into my head  and decided to share.  enjoy

"Brand New Key" by Melanie

Hoppípolla

Sigur Ros is a band from Iceland.  Their name means "Victorious Rose."  This song is in Icelandic.  I put the lyrics in English at the bottom.  You have to watch this video.  It's somewhat captivating.  I think you will enjoy it.

smiling

spinning in circles
holding hands
the world is a blur
except when you're standing

dripping wet
completly soaked
no rubberboots
running inside of us
wants to burst out of the shell

wind in
and the smell of your hair
i hit as hard as i can
with my nose
jumping into a puddle
wearing no boots
completely soaked (dripping wet)
wearing no boots

and i get a nosebleed
but i'll always stand up again
(hopelandic)

and i get a nosebleed
but i'll always stand up again
(hopelandic)

what i wore

I stole this idea from another blog that I follow.

I just liked my outfit today and decided to post it.

listen to me

Last night I went to see "Crazy Stupid Love" with my mom.  It was a good-ish movie.  I didn't enjoy all the people sleeping with other people but, hey, that's what movies seem to be about these days.  I was most impressed with the song choice during the credits.  As I was walking out of the theater, I heard this beautiful ear candy coming from behind me.  I had to find it.  I found it and here is it for you.

"Blood" by The Middle East.

the invisible things of Him are clearly seen...

Just some pretty summer pictures for your eyes to enjoy.

me

Only two more weeks left of summer and then it's back to work...

time goes by...

It's crazy to me how time flies.  People say that all the time, but it really has gone by so fast this summer.  A few days ago  I got my new passport in the mail.  My old passport was going to expire soon and besides, it was full! :D  I'm pretty proud that I filled my passport.  It wasn't on my bucket list but it should have been.  Maybe now I should put "Fill Up Two Passports" on my bucket list.  I doubt I will because my new passport has twice the amount of pages.  I thought that would be a good idea...but I didn't think about the bucket list thing.  Darn.  :)  But honestly, after this school year, I'm sure how much traveling I will do.  If I'm going to move back to America, it's just not as easy to travel.  It just costs so much.  That's what I've LOVED about living in Europe.  It's so much cheaper to travel around.  And everything is so close.
And actually, I'm not sure how much traveling I will accomplish this year either.  I have to come back to the US for Christmas because I need a root canal. bleh...  I had to put it off until December.  So I'll definitely be back for that.  And THEN my cousin Dallas is getting married in March.  I really would love to come back for that.  Hopefully that will work out.  But that will be my springbreak and will also be very expensive.  So we'll see.  I also need to be saving just in case I can't find a job...which is very much a possibility.  Whose idea was it to become a teacher??  wait...mine.

I was recently at the theater with my friend and saw the preview for the new Mission Impossible movie.  It started out with someone saying, "An hour ago...a bomb blew up the Kremlin."  Then they showed the Kremlin exploding.  I literally put a hand to my face and gasped.  People looked at me like, "Geez lady, it's just a preview." haha. It was SO weird.  If you haven't seen the trailer, you can see it HERE.  Russia is just that close to me, I guess.  And I've never seen that explode.  I've seen the Empire State Building destroyed so many times and even the White House.  That's not even a big deal anymore.  But to see that symbol of Russia blow up...it was so strange.  It's something that I see all the time.  I've thought about it getting bombed, of course.  While living in Russia, there have been 2 suicide bombs in Moscow.  I've blogged about it before.  You can read that HERE if you would like. Anyway, I just thought my reaction was interesting...and a little embarrassing. :)  I can't wait to see the movie.  I guess I'll have to watch it in Moscow.

well, my pictures are done uploading to facebook. :)  This blog was just to take up time while I waited.  Hope you enjoyed it.

baby steps for a 25 year old

A little update on my current doings...I've been driving around the country seeing loved ones.  :)  I drove to Denver to see my sister and brother-in-law.  I made the drive by myself and it was torture. Ugh...I'm never making that drive alone again.  Or if I do, I'm going to stop half way or something.  But I'm SO glad I did it.  I had a great week there.  Denver was beautiful and I took a ton of pictures.  Somethings we did:
-hunted Dog the Bounty Hunter (unsuccessfully)
-hiked up dinosaur ridge (then ran down and made everyone think we were really exercise-y.)
-went to Buffalo Bill's grave
-got Starbucks every day!
-watched a lot of TV (it was either really hot or pouring...besides it was nice to just sit at home and do nothing) while listening to a small dog chewing on a squeaky toy.
-went to Goodwill and bought too many books
-went to the theater and watched Super 8, Water For Elephants, and HARRY POTTER. :D
-watched people exercise at Red Rocks.
-ate at this AMAZING restaurant, Casa Bonita.  A must-see if you are going to Denver.
-giggled a lot

It was a fun week.  Now I am in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  That drive wasn't bad at all.  It is nice to be back in Shawnee but it is SOOOO hot.  We are just trying to stay in the cool air.  Tomorrow we are going to the zoo.  We being me, my aunt Jennifer and her 3 granddaughters.  It only costs a dollar on Wednesdays.  Yesterday we went to Walmart and bought little mist fans in preparation for the heat tomorrow.  We'll see how long we last.
 Last night I went to see Bridesmaids with my cousin, Brian.  And  I have to say, it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.  To be honest, it kind of inspired me.  If you haven't seen it, I do recommend it.  You just might want to skip the first scene and ignore all the bad words. :)  Other than that, it was a great movie.  It was about a woman whose best friend is getting married.  She is the maid of honor, but everything kind of goes wrong.  In a weird way, she reminded me of myself.  I really sympathized with her.  I almost started crying when bad things kept happening to her.  Lol.  My life is actually pretty good.  I have a good job.  I have an apartment.  I get to travel.  I have a great family and great friends.  But to be absolutely honest, I have been struggling lately with being single.  I've been single my whole life.  You would think that I would be used to it by now.  But actually, I think that makes it harder.  I just turned 25, an age when most people are married or at least on their way to being married.  It's strange to be back in America where almost all of my childhood friends are married and have houses.  I come back and I instantly feel like I'm 16 again.  I'm back in my hometown, living with my parents, fighting with my little brother, and go to Target every day.  But most people my age are having babies, trying to decide on a color of paint for their sitting room, and planting geraniums in their backyards.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  There isn't.  It actually great and...normal.  That's what adults do and I guess we're adults now.  Maybe I'm struggling with trying to fit into that "adult" crowd and being single at the same time.  How do people do that?
 I don't know.  Maybe I won't ever figure it out.  But that movie inspired me to think a little differently about my life.  To move on from things that were unhealthy for me and to try and focus on things like living healthy.  Not just physically healthy, but spiritually healthy.  In the movie, she gets some advice from a new friend, "You're your problem.  You're also your solution."  We can sit an complain about lives and the problems that we have, but most of the time, if we just change something small, we can be our solution.
I want to challenge myself to eating healthier and actually using my gym membership.  Why am I wasting my 20s being lazy and eating crap?  I don't know.  I can sit and complain about being overweight but it's no ones fault but my own.  I also want to challenge myself to praying more often and reading the Lord's word.  I haven't been praying as much as I should and as much as I would like people to think.  I don't want to tell people, "I'll be praying for you," but then only pray once or twice.
*sigh*....from some reason last night after the movie, I decided that I wanted to be really open with my blog readers.  I don't know if anyone will read this or not.  Even if no one does, I was honest with myself.  And If you did read this...feel free to hold me accountable.  I think I need more accountability in my life.
At the end of the movie, she drives off with her new policeman boyfriend.  I don't have one of those so I didn't really sympathize with her then.  :)
Anyways, that's all for now.  Baby steps to an awesome upper-twenties life.  Let's see how this goes.

Back in the USA

So my trip home didn't go quite as smoothly as I had planned.  The night before my big flight home, I stayed up all night having fun with friends.  We went to see Swanlake at the New Opera theater in Moscow.  I had recently watched Black Swan.  That movie is seriously so weird.  Very well done but bizarre.  It actually made me a little depressed after I watched it.  It was disturbing.  Anyways, it was a good movie nonetheless.  Having watched the movie, it made the ballet a lot more interesting.  I think the version in the movie was better than the live version that I saw.  During one of the intermissions, we were sitting there talking and we saw a group of twenty-somethings across the theater.  By the way they were dressed and the way they talked, we could tell they were American.  Americans just stand out in Moscow.  They are easy to spot.  Most of the time.  After the ballet, my friend went up to them, "So...where are ya'll from?"  And they said, "Texas."  :)
After the ballet, we went to the restaurant at the top of the Ritz.  It is SO expensive but has a great view.  We just sat there and chatted.  By then, it was almost 12am.  I was debating whether or not I should just go home and finish packing (Because at this point I wasn't done packing...I seem to save myself that joy until the very last minute).  I decided that I would just tough it out and stay up all night.  After the Ritz we walked over to Red Square.  It was beautiful at night.  But there was this crazy street cleaner truck driver.  He did NOT care if he drove right past people and drenched them with water and whatever other chemicals they use to clean the streets.  He was tearing around Red Square spraying the street and we had to run for our lives.  It was pretty funny actually.  And a good memory.
After that, we made our way to Starlite diner.  GREAT burgers and shakes just for the homesick American.  We stayed there until about 2:30am and then all piled into a cab and went home.  Once I got home, I had about 3 hours to pack, shower, and clean.  My car was coming at 6am to pick me up.  I was able to do it.  I woke up Megan at 5:50am and said goodbye. :(
Once at the airport, I found Jeff's mom and friend.  We made it through security and passport control pretty quickly.  Probably because we were so early. :)  All of us had no sleep at this point.  They kicked us out of the gate area to clean and we had to stand there and wait.  It was torture.  We were so exhausted.  I even put up a status on facebook about how tired I was.  I don't even really remember doing that.  I was falling asleep.  Once on the plane I was happy to find out that it was a pretty empty flight.  Most of the 12 hours, I was able to lay down over three seats and semi-sleep well.
Once we got to Houston, I had to say goodbye to June and Linn.  They were headed to Oklahoma and Alabama.  I noticed right away that my patience has "changed," let's say.  Walking on the moving walkway (just a flat conveyor belt that moves so you can get where you're going faster) people were just standing on it.  They weren't even standing on the right side like you're supposed to!  I was getting so frustrated.  I wasn't even in a hurry but I'm SO use to walking fast and getting where you need to go as quickly as possible, that I just could not stand waiting behind them.  People who were not on the moving walkway were walking past us!  I had to tell myself to calm down.  "You're not in a hurry...it's ok..."
I was also waiting in a huge line for an elevator.  I needed to go down but only the up button was pushed.  But I needed to go down!  So I walked to the front of the line and pushed the down button.  It made sense to me, but I think I made everyone mad.
So I finally made it to Minneapolis.  I called my parents and they were in Duluth waiting for me.  I got to the gate and saw that the flight was leaving earlier.  I thought, "O wow, I'm actually going to get there sooner."  Then the guy got on the horn and said, "We were hoping to leave 30 minutes early, but this flight has just been cancelled due to fog in Duluth."  WHAT?  Cancelled??  They said that they might try and find us all a bus to Duluth.  I waited for a little bit and that I called my parents and they said they would drive to Minneapolis to get me.  The whole reason I bought a ticket to Duluth was to save them a trip all the way to Minneapolis.  Now they had to drive to Duluth AND Minneapolis.  Story of my life.
So I went to get my luggage and sat by the baggage claim area for 3 hours.  So, I had stayed up all night in Moscow, took a 12 hour flight to the states, then another flight to MN, then had to sit at the airport for 3 hours and then a 4 hour drive home.  UGH.  But I made it and I'm happy to be home.  LONG trip, but worth it.

home again home again jiggity jig

"To market, to market to buy a fat pig.
Home again, home again, jiggity jig."
-Mother Goose

So, another year in Russia is almost over.  I can't really believe it.  Is this what happens when you get older?  The years fly by and you can't even remember what happened?  I am very much looking forward to being home.  I will be flying into Duluth very soon.  It will be a bit strange.  I've never flown out of or into Moscow alone.  It going to be really weird.  Although, I've just found out that my friend, Jeff's mom will be on the same flight as me.  She is here visiting for the week.  Last night she made fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy.  It was SO good.  I'm excited to be home and having home cooking all the time.  I'm planning on cooking a lot, too this summer.  I feel like I am adult-enough to start cooking dinners for everyone. :)
This summer I plan on visiting my sister in Colorado.  I'm also thinking about going to Oklahoma for a week or so.  Then somehow I have to see some other friends in Missouri, Arkansas, and other states. AH!  I hope I can make my rounds.  Other than that, I plan on fishing, reading, going to Target, going to Caribou, going to

Here are a few pictures of summer so far.
Summer, Chapter 1: Moscow.  Coming soon, Chapter 2: Minnesota.

Delicious cakes made by a friend.

Boys during summer school.  too cute i think.

Experiments with bubbles for science camp.

 

Our weeping willow

   

what lulls you to sleep?

So, I was just offered to sit in a meeting.  This meeting will be about the planning of art classes for the next school year.  They will discuss music, dance, drama, and visual art.  Normally I would be all over that but when the meeting is in Russian it's a little harder to participate.
I've gotten to the point where I can follow the conversation in the meeting and know the general topic.  I can even understand maybe 60% of it, depending on what they are talking about.  But I've found that the sound of Russian just simply makes me sleepy.  I would have NEVER thought that Russian could be a calming and soothing sound but it certainly is.  I will be sitting in the meetings and following along as best as I can, and then my mind will drift off and I hear constant sound of Russian.  Then I start to nod off.  I find myself thinking, "I could just lay on the floor right here and listen to them talking and I could have a great nap."  I've even gotten to the point of pinching myself just to stay awake.  And then my boss will say, "Kristin, are you following this?  What do you think?"  My eyes are half open and I have no idea what they are talking about. 
One of the worst feelings in the world is when all you want to do is sleep but you can't.  So, what lulls you to sleep?  I love the sound of rain, thunderstorms, and a shower.  If I had the money and it wouldn't so wasteful, I would have a running shower in my bedroom all night. :)  I would sleep SO good.  Or a dryer.  That also would be nice. 

Cookies

It is now summer school here at MES.  I have been put in charge of summer school and the planning of each day.  I decided to make it a 2 week long science camp.  The first week we are learning about our senses and the second week, we will be doing fun science experiments.  These children are 3-6 so the experiments involve things like bubbles and raisins and the making of goop.

Today we talked about our sense of taste.  I brought the kids to the lunch room and we all made cookies together.  It was really fun and the children enjoyed it.  After the children left, I was finishing them and the cooks came out to see them.  She asked me, "What are you doing?"  I told her that I was making cookies.  She said, "Weird cookies."  haha.  I told her, "American cookies."  They don't make cookies like we do in America.  They don't make the dough and then make it into balls and put it on a cookie sheet.  I was a little worried that they wouldn't turn out.  After about 20 minutes, the children came back.  The cookies were ready.  The cook brought them out and said, "Are they done?  I don't know if they should look like that." :)  They were done and they were good. 

May in Moscow

May in Moscow is amazing.  I've come to realize, living in very cold climates my whole life, that spring is so much more appreciated.  It is special when you have to wait for it so long.  SO long.  Spring did not want to come this year.  At one point, I felt like I was developing SADD.  I was talking to my Russian friends about it and they thought that was a completely crazy idea.  (These two friends are "psychologists," mind you.)  People who develop a disorder because of the weather??  And then buy silly table lamps to shine on their faces during the coldest and darkest nights of winter??  They thought it was pretty funny.  I would never invest in a fake-sun lamp to keep me happy when it's snowing...but I did start taking vitamin D. 
At first when winter comes, she's a lovely time of year.  She woos everyone with her slowly falling snow.  You can hear the bells of Santa's sleigh and the soft singing of "Silent Night."  You get to put on your newly bought winter coat and look cute with your matching scarf and mittens.  You get excited about drinking hot chocolate by the frosty window as winter blankets the city with snow.
But then...4 months later...winter isn't so cozy anymore.  She's a mean and nasty old woman who refuses to leave even when she knows she's not wanted.  People have lost all interest in her...and yet she holds on with her cold, dead hands.  And just when you think the old hoot is gone for good, she shows her face again...and again you curse at the weather man.  You get sick of wearing your winter coat.  It's not cute to you anymore.  You feel like your scarves are slowly choking you to death.  You could still go for some hot chocolate...but only because it's still so cold!
But then...finally...spring shows her beautiful face.  You were waiting and waiting and even cursed her for not coming. But she slowly waltzes in as if she was never late at all.  And you've forgotten why you were mad as you become mezmerized by the warmth of the sun and the hundreds of tulips.
In Moscow, spring means to long weekends.  The first long weekend is Labor Day, May 1st.  On Friday of this long weekend, me and a group of friends went to this amazing restaurant.  It's called "In the Dark."  Here, you are seated, served, and eat in complete darkness.  When you get there, you first choose your meal.  There is a menu with four choices: Red-sea food, green-vegetarian, blue-meat (without seafood), and white-mystery meal.  There were seven people in our group.  Then we went downstairs.  The hostess told us to put our purses, cellphones, and even watches, in a locker.  Then we all stood single-file and held onto the person in front of us.  Then our waiter came.  Did I tell you that all the waiters and waitresses are blind??  He led us into COMPLETE darkness.  I have never been in a place so dark.  Literally cannot see anything.  At first your eyes play tricks on you and you almost see a fake light where light should be.  It's really weird.  So...our waiter lead us to our table.  One by one he sat us down, showing us our chairs and napkins and silverware.  Then he brought us our drinks and then our food.  We ended up eating with our hands.  It was really delicious.  You don't really know what you're eating until you put it in your mouth.  While we were eating, we could hear other people around us and we could also hear a band playing.  It was a live band too because they were interacting with the people in the restaurant and asking us questions.  It was such a fun experience.  Definitely worth the steeper bill.
The next day I was able to help out with a youth retreat.  It was at a place in Moscow called Pokrovsky Hills.  I like to call this "Little America."  It is just like a neighborhood in America.  Everyone speaks English.  There are houses and driveways and yards.  There are trampolines and grills.  It's so nice to visit when I'm homesick.  The youth retreat was so much fun.  I led the worship for the sessions.  We played games.  Then we had a campfire and made s'mores!!

The next day was another day 'o' fun.  After church, my Russian pal, Vitaly, invited us to his place outside of Moscow to make shashlik.  This is basically Russian kebabs.  In America, we have cookouts and barbeques but in Russia they make shashlik. So we walked and walked from Vitaly's apartment until we found just the right place in the woods.  Then he started up the little grill and we were shashliking. :)  Doing stuff like this makes living so far from home worthwhile.  Becoming good friends with people and doing normal things like having a picnic.  It makes this place seem a little more like home than just a temporary job.

The next weekend was another three day weekend.  May 9th is Victory Day.  (Pictures still need to be developed.)  This is when Russia celebrates their defeat of Germany in World War II.  Germany signed the surrender document late on the 8th of May 1945 which would be May 9th, Moscow time.  To celebrate this, every year they flex their military muscles with a massive parade on Red Square.  You can watch it HERE.  It's pretty impressive.  You have to be officially invited to watch it at Red Square.  Us townsfolk can watch a "parade" on Tverskaya street as the tanks and trunks drive through Moscow to get to Red Square.  After we watched the tanks roll by, we all went to Starlite Diner.  It is a fifties-style American diner that we like to visit a couple times each year.  Then we made out way to Victory Park.  Here, along with hundreds and hundreds of other people, we walked around the park and watched war veterans receive flowers from strangers.  All through out the city, the veterans put on their uniforms and come to local parks.  Here people give them flowers and thank them for their service.  It is truly a beautiful tradition.
Reversing back one day to the 8th...this was a Lord of the Rings Marathon.  It was my roommate, Sarah's idea.  It started at 10am.  People came and went, but in the end at 11pm, there were three of us that made it through all 3 movies.  I didn't really think I could do it.  :)  Those movies are so amazing.  I would encourage you to try it some rainy day.
Well, that's all for now.  I can't wait to come back to Minnesota in June.  It's been way too long, don't ya know?