Our Free Time in Russia
Activities
By Maria Warnick

Throughout the past few weeks we have been very busy with our new class related to agriculture engineering, which is taught by Dr. Buffington, from The Pennsylvania State University. In addition to this class and field trips we have managed to fit in several new and exiting activities. To start off Dr. Buffington's stay, we took him to the House of Journalists', where we enjoyed a traditional dance recital given by Anna, one of our Russian Students, and her fellow dancers.

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Left to Right: Ulia, Maria, Tonya
"Just swinging around town"

We began our engineering class on Wednesday, which left Monday free, to do whatever we wanted. While most of us used the day as a time to rest and prepare for our next class, two of our Russian friends, Tanya and Ulia, took Josh and myself on a two hour train ride west of Moscow. We spent the day at Obninsk, a town that is known for their advancements in the first atom splitting in Russia. While there, we looked at the sights of the town and shopped for things too expensive to buy in Moscow. Overall, the four of us were glad we ventured out of the hostel and got away from the city. We all had a great time and saw our first glimpse of the Russian countryside.

There are many different parks in Moscow and a variety of things to do. On one of the warmest days since we have been here, we took a trip to Gorgy Park, a large amusement park. No one went on the rides, but we scoped out the place for a future date when we could bring all of our Russian friends to enjoy a warm spring day. The next day most of the students went to Ismylovskey Park, which is a large park set up with local venders and craftsmen, selling their goods to Russians as well as to tourists. It was a nice sun-shinny day, which made the trip very enjoyable. Ismylovskey Park is the place in Moscow to buy Russian souvenirs for family and friends back home. They sell things from old Russian relics to hand crafted dolls and blankets. Many Americans had a fun time wheeling and dealing with the vendors, who all seem to speak some English.

For several weekends now we have been enjoying ourselves at local nightclubs. However, if we go out we have to come home very early or plan on staying out all night until 6:00 in the morning when the clubs close. This is due to the schedule of the Metro, which shuts down between 1:00 am and 6:00 am. Some of us have been getting homesick for the American breakfast that we usually eat late night/early mornings back home on the weekends. So with a little research, one of our students discovered the All American Bar and Grill. There we can order our meal in English and eat a true all American meal. I'm sure we will be going back there a time or two.

We are all a little homesick, wanting to see our friends and family back home. However, we are still enjoying our time in Moscow and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along to do something new. We are learning many new things about Russia outside of the classroom during our different activities- enhancing our stay here.

Dobray Utra! (Good Morning!)
Education
By Jennifer O'Boyle

Dobray Utra! We've gotten rather used to hearing those two words first thing in the morning on Tuesday's and Friday's. They signal the start of yet another one of our excursions into learning Russian. Granted, much of the time it's a perilous journey, with hidden traps like Prepositional Case, sentence structure, and AH to OO, YA to U. But somehow we manage. We would be lost, however, without the help of our wonderful Russian teachers, Vera and Lyoudmilla.

Left to Right: Vera (our Russian Teacher), Abby, Ron "Learning the Language"

Both Vera and Lyoudmilla have been with the program from its inception, four years ago. Therefore, they are well versed in the trials and tribulations that come with trying to teach a room full of woefully ignorant Americans how to communicate in Russian. When we first arrived, way back in January, we were treated to the sight of their smiling faces five days a week. They, on the other hand, were forced to sit through our blank stares, and repetitions of "I don't know", and "Could you spell that for me, please?"

All through January, we had Russian class five days a week, for three hours. Vera and Lyoudmilla would take turns, one working with us two days a week, the other for three, and every week they would switch. For the first week or so we focused most of our attention on learning the Cyrillic alphabet, which is 33 letters, and contains Greek letters. From there we moved into basic vocabulary and started to learn things like simple sentences, verb tenses, and the six cases (Prepositional Case, Accusative Case, Possessive Case, etc.).

Starting in February, we began to have class two days a week, usually Tuesday and Friday. Now that we know the alphabet, we've begun to work more on our vocabulary, practicing simple phrases and useful words. There have been a few times that we have had to reschedule class, due to field trips or schedule conflicts, but for the most part, we know what to look forward to. And we do look forward to classes. On Tuesday's with Lyoudmilla, we spend class hoping that there will be a bit of time at the end, so that she can tell us more about Russia in general, and Moscow in particular. She is a huge history buff, and a veritable fount of information on different historical places and museums to visit, both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg. She is actually the one who told us how our Metro stop, Petrovska-Razymovskaya, got its name. It's a long story, involving the daughter of a tsar, and a secret marriage. Very interesting.

As for Vera's class on Friday's, we can hardly wait for the singing to begin! She has been teaching us a Russian folk song, "Katusha", and we are enjoying it very much. Vera has a great sense of humor and when she's not teaching us "Katusha", she's usually making us laugh (even when its at ourselves).

They are two wonderful people, and I personally do not know what this trip would be like without them. One thing is certain, I never though that learning a language could be so much fun!

Celebrating an International Women's Day
Culture
By Josh Brown

On March 8, 2002 we celebrated an international Women's Day here in Russia. It symbolized a day of celebration and appreciation for women. The holiday is somewhat similar to Mother's Day in America; however, here women of all ages are honored. The gentlemen of our group met and arranged a special evening for the ladies. All aspects of the night were kept secret. The room was decorated with rose pedals, candles, and with soft music playing in the background. As the ladies entered the room, they were greeted and then seated, not knowing what to expect of the evening's events. Once everyone was comfortable, the first course of dinner was served. The night consisted of three courses and a dessert. These dishes included fruit salad, homemade chicken soup, and baked chicken with rice. Dessert consisted of ice cream and strawberries. The gentlemen (as exceptional waiters) served champagne, juice, and the meal.

Left to Right: Abby, Tonya, Jane, Nadia
"Our $1.50 Beauty Pageant"

Once dinner was completed, phase two began. The ladies were randomly divided up into four teams. It was made clear that each activity involved a lot of teamwork and encouragement. The first contest consisted of the infamous chocolate and flour game. A large pile of flour was made in the center of the table and a piece of chocolate was placed on top. One member of each team came forward to begin the competition. Each person took turns trimming away a section of the flour mountain, until the chocolate fell. Then that lucky lady had to retrieve the chocolate, without using her hands. Needless to say, we had a lot of flour-covered faces after this activity. The second game consisted of lifesavers and toothpicks. The girls lined up in their respective groups and had to pass the lifesaver from one person to the next via the toothpick, which was held by their teeth. This activity took a lot of teamwork and everyone had fun. The winner of each competition received first pick at the bag of goodies that we had prepared. However, the girls did not know what the items were going to be used for. At the end of the night, they took all of the collected winnings and participated in a $1.50 beauty pageant. One lady of each group was blind folded and then instructed to apply makeup to a fellow team member. They used toilet paper, sponges, light bulbs, aluminum foil, and many other items to prepare for the event. Once everyone was finished and we took lots of pictures and the gentlemen distributed white roses to every lady present. It was an elegant touch to complete a wonderful and eventful evening.

"A tribute to women"

The Start of Spring?
Weather
By Ron Westover

Picture: (weather map of Russia)
"Bird's Eye View"

As we take our first steps into the month of March, we begin to notice a subtle change in the daily weather. Since we've been here, we have seen numerous overcast days. Now though, the gray blanket that once covered the Moscow region is starting to gradually disappear. January and February allowed the sun to show its face only on a few occasions. It seems as though every other day we are greeted with sunshine. Maybe spring is finally arriving. One thing is for sure, winter is still trying to keep its grip. Although the temperature has been rising, an occasional cold front does come through, chilling the air yet again. Most of the snow is melted, but it is still quite common to awake to a fresh dusting. For the month of March, the average temperature has been 28 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a sign that winter is starting to make her exit. February's average was a mere eighteen. One thing is for certain, the majority of the American students are not sad to see a drop in the number of cold days they encounter on their excursions.

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