A Trip to Remember!!
Activities
By Tara Cornmesser

It was a chilly Friday afternoon in Moscow. There was a general feeling of giddiness throughout the group as we embarked on our weekend "adventure". Sure we had been told we were getting out of the city for a few days, but we really had no idea what to expect. Luckily, as with everything in Russia thus far, we were not disappointed!

We took a bus approximately an hour outside of the city, landing us at a remote stop. The driver instructed us to follow a path through the woods. After a brisk twenty-minute hike through the snow-crusted forest, we came upon what appeared to be a small development, our sanatorium. Although somewhat tired from the trek when we arrived, we were still very much excited to see what the weekend would bring. After an easy evening in, we were ready to face whatever Saturday had in store for us!

Saturday morning it was up at 8 am and off to breakfast! The morning was filled with glorious cultural events to accompany the celebration of Masalnitsa (as discussed in Sam's article). We enjoyed dancing and music all morning long. After lunch, we decided to rent cross-country skis. I had never been skiing of any sort! I think I should just say that the first half hour or so was a little on the challenging side for me J. However, it was also one of the best experiences of my young life. Once I figured out how to work the ancient wooden skis, I enjoyed the breeze on my face as I glided through the sparkling forests…then I fell. The entire group was very supportive of each other. We had quite a few laughs and some of us ended up with a number of bruises, but we returned to the sanatorium with spirits higher than when we had left.

We rented the pool complex for the evening: 10pm until midnight. We swam and enjoyed the heat of the Finnish sauna and the relaxation after the day's long activities. After we worked our muscles dancing and skiing, it was a nice way to work out all of the kinks in our bodies…and have a lot of fun.

On Sunday, we were sad to have to head out. Personally, it was hard for me to part with the trees; I had felt like I was back home. However, we did not leave until we said farewell to Lady Winter! Then it was back to Moscow and the homework we had conveniently forgotten. This weekend was a nice opportunity to get back to nature, and to enjoy each other's company. We will never forget the memories we made that weekend.

Smiles all around for our Maselnitsa weekend

This past week's weather, I have to admit, was nice. Coming from Maryland I can appreciate "mild" winters. For example, when we walked to a greenhouse for our seminar class, I was able to enjoy the not-so-cold walk. Before we left for the seminar, I anticipated another brisk, cold day. As usual there was no sun and it was snowing. But to my surprise, when I went outside, a brisk cold wind did not hit me in the face. It was a nice: about -1°C (30°F), and the snow that was falling made perfect snowballs, of which we took full advantage. Even though what I have just described as nice, the ice is ever present, making for a difficult walk. The only encounter with problems was the ice that is ever present on the places we decide to walk on.

The weather seems to be confused on what it wants to be: cold or tongue-sticking-to-spoon cold. A few days during these past couples of weeks have seen ample sunshine: not enough to melt all the snow, but enough to warm the air a little. During this time of winter, the average sunshine is two hours per day, and recently we have been seeing more sun than gray.

In between the bright days, which highlight some of the beautiful buildings, some days are just too cold to bear. I'm talking about those exhilarating -20°C days. Luckily, during this winter, these types of days have not been a common occurrence for it to get that bone-chilling.

Even though the temperature is warming up, I have observed that the Russians don all their clothes that they wore when it was -20°C, while the Americans are eliminating layers: hats and gloves are some of the first items to go. However, I think I should take tips from our Russian friends when walking outside; points for slipping on the ice the most definitely goes to the Americans. I am suspecting this is because the dress shoes the girls wear have some kind of special traction system that protects them from falling: their heals remind me of small ice picks puncturing the ice below. I might have to purchase a pair of those stilettos to get ahead of the game, so that I will be ready for what Moscow's winters have to offer and for future winters to come in State College.

On the 17th of February we were invited to School # 1576 to meet with high school students. The students we were meeting have all been studying English extensively as part of their normal course curriculum. We American students were nervous about the experience because we did not know much about the school or the students, other than they wanted to talk to us. We knew that the students had received some English but we were not prepared for the high level of English these students had.

After we entered the conference room, ten very excited, squealing 15 year-old Russian girls greeted us. All of the girls we worked with are in the tenth form (tenth grade). We separated ourselves throughout the room so that we did not have any Americans sitting side by side. This was a great system because it encouraged the Russians to sit by an American. We decided that the best way for all of us to get acquainted with each other was for us to talk to the person to our left and learn a little about them.

Tell me more! Brie talks to her new friends at the school.

The girl I was sitting next to was both excited and nervous to speak to me. I introduced myself and she reciprocated, telling me her name is Elena. She was very worried that her English was not very good and I immediately reassured her that she spoke excellent English. I was extremely impressed at the level that she could speak at.

After introductions we played a game with the girls. To practice English, the Americans decided that we should play hangman, which had worked well when we played it with the Russian students from the University, and it worked even better with the high school girls. They were thrilled to play the game and they also participated words up for us to guess, making it a lot of fun.

Hangin' in more ways than one. Tara leads a game of hangman

We appreciated the opportunity to interact with these bright girls. They are interested learning about American life, while using their English. They question everything, and are eager to learn, to expand their knowledge base. They give up their free time to practice their English, jumping at any opportunity to speak English. The girls cannot wait for us to return, and I can say that I am looking forward to talking to them again. I am sure that the next visit to the school will be as successful as the first.

Let's Get Together and Feel Alright
Culture
By Samu Dupont

Sound the Party Alarm!!! In comes funky Russian techno beat, somewhat resembling the Tetris theme music, proceeded by dancing, food, drinks, and merry moments. Oh Yeah! Party Down in Moscow like it's 1999.

Moscow, like any other city of its size, has enough party people to keep the party going all day and all night. An excursion to an all-night dance club taught us a little lesson about parties here in Moscow. But if you leave Moscow for the countryside, you may find another group of party people out in the forest having a soul shakedown of their own.

Last weekend we packed our things and left the grueling pace of Moscow for a mental refresher to a sanatorium (not to be mistaken for a sanitarium, which is for "crazy" folk. This weekend was also the Russian holiday, Maselnitsa, which literally means butter week. How could it be bad? You eat Russian pancakes for a week, then sing and dance and burn a scarecrow looking lady to welcome in the spring time. Hmmmm… Interesting holiday, eh? Well, even though I was told about some of these things ahead of time, I did not know what to expect.

Maselnitsa had turned out to be more than we could have ever imagined. After breakfast, the morning festivities began. The music was funky and the bodies were moving. As I looked around the snowy courtyard, I saw children and babushkas dancing together wearing big smiles. Everyone came together under the music and festivities; there was no age in this crowd, only people. Everyone became an equal when the celebration began. Traditional Russian circle dances were in affect, while others were dancing on the sides. And break dancing in the snow is harder than one would think.

Sam steals the show, break dancing during the Maselnitsa festivities

As the morning went on the games began. The games included everything from skating across the snow on small pieces of paper to a public beer chugging contest. After laughs were shared, the party moved indoors where we found some sparkly clowns dancing around like Santa's elves. Next, the troll clowns came out and stirred up the crowd a bit until everyone headed back outside for another round of dancing and Russian pancake eating. MMMM MMMMM… The Russian pancakes are known as Blini; they are similar to French crepes. We eat them on Maselnitsa because they are golden and round like the sun that comes with the spring. Later on that evening we had the chance to hear a traditional Russian folk band. They played the accordion, drums and a guslee (a big triangular bass guitar) that was at least the size of its operator. I was blessed to hear them play the Tetris theme song, which was just the song that I had wanted to hear.

The next day's events were carried out in a similar fashion. We all gathered in the courtyard for one last Maselnitsa throw down to let everyone know that spring was on its way. This time, the music was provided by one jolly accordion operator, rather than the thumping beat of Russian pop. He had everyone singing at their highest capacity and dancing like they were shaking the flu. People in the crowd were dressed in a rainbow assortment of colors from head to toe, with masks and/or paint covering their faces. There was a wide variety of percussion instruments jamming all around the circle. This type of jam is what I miss the most from home. Before I knew it, we were having more Russian pancakes.

Laaaaa, la la laaa! Locals beltin' out that folk

This holiday experience was not one of commercialization or special discounts, but rather, a celebration of life not just for the young, but for everyone. This holiday truly expressed how grateful we all were to hear that spring time will emerge out of the heavy set Russian winter that we have faced. For me, this holiday has brought a new meaning to celebration.

Gasoline Engines 101 and John Deere at MSAU
Moscow State Agroengineering University
By Lynn Ressler

Recently Dr. Valery Chumakov gave us the opportunity to take a whirlwind tour of a few classes at Moscow State Agroengineering University (MSAU). We were able to visit some of the classrooms and we also learned about the new partnership between John Deere and MSAU.

Since MSAU is an agroengineering university, many of its classes are technically oriented. One of the classrooms we visited had at least half a dozen sample engines on display for students to look at and learn how they operate. I found it particularly interesting, because bits and pieces of the engine had been cut away so you could see the internals of the engine. Obviously, the engine would no longer run with these various missing pieces, but I had never seen a real engine opened up like that. It was interesting to have an outside perspective looking in at such a technical curriculum.

One of the displays even had a small hand crank that you could turn, causing the engine's parts to move and rotate. You could watch the pistons in the engine rotate up and down in opposite motion from each other. It was easy to imagine how the spark would ignite the gas vapors creating a controlled explosion that would force the piston back down. I am not much of a mechanic, but even I could appreciate how the engines were opened up so you could see what was going on.

Dr. Chumokov in his element

We also learned about the newly formed partnership between MSAU and John Deere. John Deere opened its first office here in January of 2003 and they are currently developing a sales and service network across the country. Aside from the need to stock their parts locally, they are looking to build a group of mechanics that are trained to service and repair John Deer equipment.

John Deere partnered with MSAU to create a special series of classes where the students learn how to service John Deere equipment. John Deere has provided funds to furnish a new classroom for lecturing, and a shop where the students can get hands-on experience working with John Deere tractors.

Students benefit from the John Deere partnership because they are learning skills that will give them a good shot at landing a well-paying job after graduation, as with John Deere. It was interesting to see that Roman Martinov and Ksenia Zhelko, two Russian students from a previous years' "program," are now working for John Deere. They met with us and gave us a presentation on John Deere and what its doing in Russia. After the presentation they took us to see the John Deere-sponsored shop where the students get hands on experience servicing the equipment.

It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of the Russian machinery with John Deere equipment. Through the education that the students receive at MSAU, they will be better prepared to work with all sorts of technology. These skills will enable them to leaders in the future of Russian agriculture.

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