A Day of Celebration

Culture
By Erin Wahal

Local church that offers English masses, attended by Steve and Justin

Tatyana’s Day (Tatyanin den), just another reason for the average university student to celebrate? Not in Moscow, Tatyana’s Day, or Student’s Day is a celebration that takes place yearly on the 25th of January. This celebration is a holiday for students to celebrate the founding of the Moscow State University. The decree founding the University was signed on January 25th in 1755.  Tatyana’s day for this reason is celebrated as a feast holiday for students rather than a religious holiday. Celebration of this day includes a day off of classes as well as exams for students. Who are then free to participate in activities such as ice skating, skiing, going to the movies, or the disco for a reduced rate.

This isn’t the only holiday that we have had the opportunity to observe while in Moscow, on January 19th, the Muscovites, did what may seem crazy to you or I, but not to them. Masses of people, numbering over 2,000 in the Moscow region alone, plunged into icy rivers, lakes, streams, or ponds against advice of the head of police and physicians. It was only by luck that these bodies of water hadn’t been frozen solid by the ever declining temperatures, reaching -24 degrees F at times.  Although this seems similar to a tradition in the United States, resembling the Polar Bear club, this tradition has more significance.  These believers were celebrating the Russian Orthodox Epiphany, by attempting to symbolize the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.  They believe by plunging into the icy waters, they would be purged of their sins.
To properly do this, a person would cut a cross shaped hole into the frozen water, and while priests chanted prayers, would dunk themselves three times under water. As a result of the weather, these believers often passed out or had frozen hair, before ever completing this task. These “dunkers” are known by the nickname Morzhi or walruses.
 Religion aside Russians have longed believed in the benefits that are associated with bathing in freezing water. Although most physicians recommend at least 6 months of preparation for a feet like this, people rarely take their advice.

Everybody loves finals, right?

University life
By Justin Robinson

Imagine spending a whole month taking final exams. It sounds like your worst nightmare right? Well, ok, but you don’t have to pass them on the first try. That makes this whole idea easier to stomach. Our group came to Moscow towards the end of our Russian colleagues testing period. The differences between Penn State’s final exam system and Moscow State Agro Engineering University’s (MSAU) seemed very intimidating at first.
First off, at MSAU a student has more finals to take, due primarily to their course load.  A typical semester at Penn State usually entails between five and seven different subjects while at MSAU about eight to nine classes are expected and sometimes more. We discovered that most of the studying for these exams is done in the hostel/dorm room. The MSAU campus does not include such things as a HUB or other large study facilities besides libraries.
Students tend to room with others who are taking the same classes as they are, like at Penn State. The opportunity to study for finals together in the hostel room can be beneficial because “two heads are better than one”. Our Russian friends are living four to a room, so it must be difficult if one person wants to watch T.V. while everyone else is studying.  But fortunately they seem capable to work things out.

Two Russian students (Olga and Marina) prepare for their exams in the cozy comfort of their warm dormitory.

On the bright side of things, students have more than one chance to take the finals. If they have a bad week and fail one, they can retake it. The goal is to get better than a 3 out of 5. This numerical system is used instead of our letter grading system and Russian students also don’t worry about GPA, because it isn’t calculated. Better marks allow students to get more financial aide from the government, so Russian students take finals very seriously. And because the finals period is spread out over a month long time time-span, one shouldn’t have to pull all-nighters studying. So, after a closer look Russian finals are not as intimidating as one thinks upon the first impression.

Just Chillin'

Weather
By Rebbeca Heilman

When the Russian students limit their outdoor activities, one can assume that it would be wise to stay indoors.  During our first week in Russia, we were greeted with Arctic temperatures, which Moscow has not experienced in over 30 years.  The overnight temperature on January 18th plummeted to minus 24 degrees Fahrenheit.  We would only brave the elements when absolutely necessary, to go to the bank and the grocery store. With the high demand of electricity to heat buildings and homes, Moscow officials worried that there would be massive power outages throughout Russia.   Many schools and businesses were closed for multiple days, not only because of the dangers of exposure to the Artic weather but at the request of officials.  This helped to cutback and limit the amount of electricity distributed throughout Moscow.


Nicknamed Ivan 'Chillin' of skii when Russian classmates could note recall the name of the statue.

Due to limited fuel resources and at the request of city officials, the administration of our building would not turn up the heat in the rooms. Instead, we wore as many layers as possible plus our heavy winter coats while in class and in our rooms.  However, this only did so much to help us cope with the cold.  At night, even with extra blankets covering us and extra clothing worn to bed, the temperatures in our rooms fell to uncomfortable levels.  To try and limit the amount of cold air entering our rooms, we taped and froze extra towels and blankets over the windows.  Even though many laugh at this idea, it was successful and our rooms began to rise in temperature.

Group out for an excursion in the streets of Moscow enjoying the "warmer" weather.

We were very fortunate that our heaters worked through out the week, where many homes temporarily lost heat when heating pipes burst throughout Russia.
The cold temperatures have eased up this week and we currently feel that 10 degrees Fahrenheit is warm.  The temperatures are approaching the normal temperatures for the month of January, between 0 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the forecast says that we might be in for another visit from the Arctic temperatures, before the end of January.

Education
By Heather Hutcheson

Eager studetns of various Russian English classes gather around with us for a group photo after our discussions
Over the hills and through the woods – to teach English class we go!  In the general spirit of Russia we are given the commondirections describing only the time of departure and the destination; then, off to the middle school.  During our two mile hike through the Russian wilds to the middle school, a string of questions fills our minds.  “What does a Russian middle school look like?”  “What will the kids be like?”  “How well do they already know English?” And, of course, “What will we do to help them?”
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As we enter what appears to be a very American looking school inside, our presence seems to stir up quite a commotion.   While walking down the hall, the young students point and yell Russian words and phrases at us.  We are celebrities.  However, due to our current inability to speak Russian, we do not know whether we are popular celebrities or just the opposite.
 
Not only is the school very American looking inside, but also the young Russian students speak better English than some students at Penn State.  They quickly tell us that the commotion we just experienced was the children’s excitement that we had finally come.  As for the abilities of the students, when the thirteen year old Dascha slips “egotistical” into a sentence, we could have mistaken the school for one in the States.  As for class-work, many of the young students have already taken physics and a third language – either German or French.  Friendships are quickly formed throughout our hour long conversations.  Steve’s new friendship with Sergio ends with presents; Erin gets a snickers bar and Steve a holographic card with the times tables on the back. 
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Before we leave for the day, our new Russian friends invite us back for “International day” which also happens to be St. Valentine’s Day.  Excitedly, they tell us that they have been preparing a song-in English- that they will sing to us.  They ask us if in return we can sing them an English song too.  Knowing that they like bands such as Green Day and Pink Floyd, we ponder our options.  As we leave the school that day, we are all filled with the excitement brought on by imagining our next meeting with the Russian students for songs and fun.