Exploring the Heart of the Kremlin
Activities
By Mary Anne Anderson

Shane and Sam pose with an important officer on our visit to the Kremlin

A couple hundred years ago, a girl only had to be single to get an invitation to the see the inside of the Kremlin (this led to a viewing before the tsar-he was choosing a wife). Men had to come on invitation or just simply storm the fortress-either way visitors underwent a rigorous inspection.

Today, the inhabitants are less specific about those allowed to see the inside. For 150 rubles, anyone (except those wearing shorts) can view the royal treasures of the Kremlin. Nearly always, there is a line of tourists waiting to pass through the gateway (and movie theater turn styles) and walk up the bridge to Trinity Gate.

Trinity Gate stands as an entrance tower, with a green peaked roof and a red star atop it. These stars were the creation of Stalin--in 1935 he replaced the double headed eagle, (which previously capped each of these towers) with the stars.

Inside, numerous churches, government buildings and artifacts line the grounds. Immediately through the gate, to the left is the Kremlin Palace of the Congress. It was built during 1960-61 for the Communist Party congresses. Today ballets and concerts are held in this 6000 seat auditorium.

Next, we visited the Assumption Cathedral. Inside, this cathedral once contained the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God-an icon said to have worked miracles upon those who looked upon it. Now that icon rests in Tretyakov Gallery. In its place is a copy, The Virgin of Vladimir. Also inside this cathedral is the Throne of Monomakh-a tent-roofed wooden throne, made in 1551 for Ivan the Terrible. The iconostasis is large and ornate-covered in icons each adorned in gold-leaf.

There are several cathedrals inside the Kremlin, each with its own theme and biblical painting. The central iconostasis in each is remarkable. The icons were created by the master craftsman. They are painted in vivid hues of red, blue, black, and gold.

Outside on the lawn, there is the remarkable Tsar's Cannon. With a 89cm bore, this cannon has never had a shot fired from it. One would suspect the cannon balls were too heavy to be loaded into it. Shane Leland, senior at Montana State University-Bozeman, comment, "I thought the Tsar's Cannon was the coolest thing I've seen since the War of 1812."

The other eclectic piece of history on the lawns is the Tsar's Bell. Another elephantine piece of art, this bell weighs nearly 202 tonne. As the story goes, in 1737 while this bell was cooling off in the foundry casting pit it came in contact with water. This caused an 11-tonne chunk to chip off. Oops! This chunk now rests beside the great bell in front of Ivan's bell tower.

While inside the Kremlin, visitors are always under the watchful eye of the guards. They keep tourists herded into the right areas and make sure everyone is respectful inside these walls (and they keep people of the grass and out of trees as Sam found out).

All in all it was a delightful visit-thankfully we didn't have to meet the old requirement for entry.

Smiling faces show that Brie, Meg, Tara, and Mary Anne enjoyed their visits to the Kremlin

The weather blows you this way or that
It dictates your shorts or your hat
Moscow weather hasn't been much better
Time to go out and take off your sweater
Wake to the sunrise pouring in your eyes
Opens up your spirit to improvise the wise
Down and out we're flipping like a trout
Where we go we're prepared like a boy scout

Break out the sunglasses, Tara and Shane know sunny days are here to stay!!

All around Moscow lots to do and to see
My smile starts blooming like the buds on the tree
Springs becoming true: more to see more to do
Love is in the air as the temperature becomes fair
Much love to spread and give; much life to love and live
Music in the underpass never sounded sweeter
Loving Russia so much I could jump a meter

The birds are chirping while the dogs bark
Right out my window and in the park
Lighting up like a lightning bug spark
The people's smiles have more teeth than a shark.

Right now everything's alright
With my brothas to my left and my sistas to my right
We're storming the town 'cuz the weather full of might
We got lots do before our international flight
Including several staying out all night

Next few days we hope the best
Sun shining like a treasure chest
It won't be long now we tell ourselves,
With a greater anticipation than Santa clause's elves
We don't know what to expect, but we never fret
because mama always said you gotta take what you can get.

We're headed into the final stretch. One more class to finish up and we're home free! Our last class happens to be in Agricultural Engineering, with Dr. Dennis Buffington as our teacher. He hales, with the blue and white we know and love, from Penn State University.

Dr. Buffington grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania. He graduated from Penn State with his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in agricultural engineering. After graduation, he headed over to University of Minnesota where he received Ph. D in 1971. He then began his 14-year stay at the University of Florida in Gainesville, focusing on teaching, research, and extension work. Then, in 1985, Dr. Buffington returned to his first alma mater, Penn State, as head of the agricultural engineering department. He remained as such until 1996 when he resumed teaching, research, and extension work for Penn State.

Dr. Buffington currently resides in State College. He has been married for 36 years. "We got married when I was eight and she was ten," he joked. He and his wife have two daughters, Kristen and Melanie, and two grandchildren, Daniel and Margaret.

This is Dr. Buffington's fourth time teaching here in Moscow. When I ask him to comment on his previous visits here, he replied, "I'm very impressed with the improvements that have taken place in and around Moscow since my last visit in 2002". He told me that the city and the farms have all seen vast improvements.

In Dr. Buffington's course we are all learning a lot. We are studying biological systems and their interaction with their environment. We also have a large part of the course that deals with energy components. For myself, I have found this the most interesting class so far. We solve many analytical problems in Dr. Buffington's class and are forced to think critically about realistic situations.

His never-ending enthusiasm for teaching in Moscow is inspiring every time he discusses he experiences here. Dr. Buffington said, "In each of my four teaching assignments in Moscow, I have thoroughly enjoyed the interactions with the American and Russian students, in and out of the classroom". I think everyone would agree with you Dr. B.! We have all had a blast these past four months and will sorely miss these times we spend with our professors and Russian classmates.

Shopping in Moscow: From Big to Small, It Has 'em All
Culture
By Lynn Resler

Before coming to Russia, I had no idea what I would find here. One of the things that stood out to me is that there are many little kiosks on the streets here. All of these kiosks are small stands that sell anything and everything. There is a chain of "Kartoshka" stands all across the city which sells backed potatoes with cheese, and other toppings. They make a great "on-the-go" meal and they are relatively inexpensive.

There are also produce kiosks which sell anything from bananas, apples, mandarins, kiwis, tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe even a pomegranate or two. Also on your way to the metro, there are dozens or little stands that are set up and the vendors sell anything from baseball caps, magazines, cigarettes, beer, socks, shirts, and even roller blades. Most of the stands have a little table underneath a small portable tent to protect the vendor and their merchandise from the elements. Every night these vendors take down their tent and box up their products and take them home.

My favorite thing about the little kiosks is that they can pop up overnight. One day, a new truck appeared on the corner of the block, when translated to English it is called "Express Pharmacy". I was very amused because one morning it just appeared, as if by magic. There was no construction or building phase, it went from zero to completion overnight. The truck has been parked in the same spot for the last 6 weeks. I guess that location is good for business, so it's staying parked right there. Kiosks are indicative of a developing economy. It takes less money to start a business in a kiosk than a store in a conventional building.

There are also several new buildings with glass storefronts. Inside the buildings are individual spaces where an independent businessperson can rent the space and open a shop. There is one shop close to the metro stop here that sells all sorts of hand blown glass vases, oil lamps, and dishes that I think are really neat looking. At the other end of the same shopping area, there is a place that sells pots, pans, and electric teapots, and further down you can even buy a new guitar.

Shopping anyone? Anything you can imagine can be purchases at stands like these

When you want to buy something from a seller in a kiosk, you need ask the vendor for the item and he or she will hand it to you. For those of us who prefer not to have to speak with the seller to buy a product, you can always go to "Europa's," the 24-hour small supermarket across the street. It has everything from canned goods, boxed cereal, Pringles, ice cream, yogurt, milk, cheese, sausage, eggs, bread, vodka, beer, fish, and frozen pizzas; there is even a currency exchange and ATM in the store. It's just like a traditional western style supermarket where you get a cart or basket, walk through the store, pick up the groceries you want, and head for the checkout.

For the American going through homesickness and craving a Wal-Mart-like SuperCenter, Moscow even has something for you. There is no Wal-Mart in Russia; but the French have their own version: Ashan. A few weeks ago I went to Ashan with some Russian students from our class. Unless you have access to a car, getting to Ashan requires metro ride and then a shuttle van ride, but if it's Wal-Mart you want (or its French equivalent), then Ashan is for you. The store is at least the size of a typical Wal-Mart SuperCenter at home. It sells houseplants, electronics, kitchen appliances, CDs, computers, toiletries, and every food product imaginable, all under one roof. The Russian students also tell me that the prices are also lower than what you can find anywhere else. Ashan is truly the French-owned cousin of Wal-Mart.

If you come to Moscow, know that all kinds of exciting shopping adventures await you. I think that when I go home, I am going to miss all the little kiosks along the streets. The kiosks just create a homey touch and it's nice to see the same the familiar faces of the vendors each day when you walk down the street.

  Our time studying here at Moscow State Agro engineering University in Moscow is all too quickly coming to an end. Reminiscing, I can recall clearly the first day we arrived in Russia and met our soon to be peers from MSAU. Several of the girls accompanied with Dr. Chumakov picked us up at the airport. Their smiles were very warm and welcoming, even though they were quite shy to speak to us. Upon arrival to the hostel we had a whole team helping us with our never ending stream of heavy luggage. After we had gotten our room assignments and things unpacked, a large delicious Russian meal, which had been prepared in our honor, awaited us. This warm hospitality assured me that we were going to have an unforgettable semester ahead.

From our classroom experiences to seminars, we have spent many hours with the students from MSAU. Dr. Hartman's Global Perspectives class was definitely the ice breaker that helped us all feel more comfortable. We learned how to work together and communicate in small groups and then present the information we had learned along the way. This was the beginning of the mixing of two very different cultures in an environment that provoked us to speak about our differences, as well as other cultures around the world.

Socializing or studying? Students work together to learn new material

This bright group of girls left quite an impression on me. Their ability to speak English, learn many new English words, as well as their diligence to learn in our classroom situations was inspirational. Not only did they participate in our class in English, but I also had their other classes as well. MSAU is cultivating some brilliant minds that will someday be significant contributors to the Russia and the International Agricultural Industry. I no longer view the students as the Russian students, but more as peers and friends.

We will forever be thankful to the students and staff from MSAU. Not only for seminars and hosting us, but they have been the key to unlocking the true Russian Culture beyond what the average tourist will see. One weekend that I remember quite well was our visit home with one of the Russian girls, Nastya. We spent the weekend eating way too much good food, singing karaoke (in Russian of course), enjoying her families' banya and most of all, basking in each others' company. This deeper look inside a culture is something I am honored to have had experienced.

The MSAU campus may not be our alma mater, such as Penn State and Montana State, but nevertheless, Moscow State Agroengineering University will always hold a significant place in our hearts and memories for years to come. Through building cross-cultural friendships, we have learned that our Russian friends are not so different from ourselves. Our friendships and ability to work together is of great magnitude, I like to imagine what our world leaders could learn from us. As young people, we are the future. Learning the skills to work together and communicate ensures a promising future for both our countries and the world as a whole.

Students often work in groups to make sure everyone understands

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