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.  :)