Spring has finally Sprung

Weather
By Erin Wahal

The group out enjoying the warmer weather in Russia.

Could it be true?  Has spring finally sprung in Moscow?  There have been many changes in the normally frigid, windy, bone chilling winter weather of Moscow.  With the celebration of Maslensita also came the official end of winter and the beginning of spring.  Spring officially started in Russia on Sunday the 6th of March, and the weather seems to be agreeing with this.  The sun has started shinning, and the weather seems to be getting warmer; warmer being any temperature that doesn’t have a negative sign in front of it.  We can finally see pavement!
The temperatures have changed from -24 degrees F to more tolerable temperatures ranging from 14 – 32 degrees F.  This temperature range is more characteristic and can be expected for the month of March in Moscow.  The hours of sunshine are increasing the average daylight hours in Moscow for this period is about 4.5 hours per day.  After battling what I thought were tough winters in State College, I never thought that I would hear myself say it feels warm outside when it is 25 degrees F.  However, now the Pennsylvanian and Nebraskan winters even seem tame.

With the change in the weather there has also been a great change in the activities that we can do.  Now that the weather is warmer, we have more opportunities to visit places outside such as Gorky, Sokolniki, or Luzhniki Parks.  Along with changes in activities has also come a change in our attire.  While I used to wear two pairs of pants daily and three pairs of socks, I can now lose a few layers and put on only one pair of pants and only two pairs of socks.  However, there is light in the end of the tunnel there are some days when the sun does not shine and the temperatures are very low (less than 10 degrees F).  Although it has been much warmer, we are still looking forward to ‘true’ spring weather that Moscow has to offer!

Does any student really know what to expect when they walk into the classroom on the first day? Besides the fact that our classes were going to be very long, none of us really did.  However, we soon found out that the different teaching styles used in foreign countries could make class both enjoyable and informative.  Our two professors we have had thus far come from two completely different backgrounds and thus have different teaching styles. Not only us but also the Russian students had to adapt to them.

Dr. Shannon, or as he preferred to be called, BJ, was unlike any previous teacher I’ve had in my college career.  I believe that it is because he isn’t a professor, but rather a businessman.  But don’t be fooled, he still knows how to get students involved in the class and help them to take home the “important” information.  BJ is the president and CEO of his company Global Concepts Ltd.  And has spent years traveling around the world teaching business managers and workers how to do their jobs better. He describes himself as being in the “people business” and spent his time teaching us how we can also be in the “people business”.  As BJ always says, “No matter where your life may takes you, you will be successful if you are a good communicator.” 

During his class, we would have interactive sessions where we were asked to break up into groups to work on solving problems for a fictitious Russian business.  Everyone had a specific role to play in the groups. One person would take notes, the chairperson would direct the discussion, and the reporter would give the final answer for the whole group.  These sessions were a great way to apply the knowledge that we had learned during lecture and to put our problem solving skills to work.  These sessions also served as a type of “translation break” for the Russian students.

Our next month’s professor, Dr. Buffington, came to us from the Agricultural engineering department of Penn State.  His past four experiences teaching and participating in this program are a bonus to all of us this year.  He knows how to interact with the Russian students and encourage them to add to the classroom discussions.  Like in BJ’s, we break up into little groups to solve problems; however, the groups aren’t structured the same way as in BJ’s class.  The problems are actually our homework, and luckily Dr. Buffington gives us enough time to fully understand it before leaving class.  Not only is class instructed differently, but the classroom is set up differently too.  There are 6 tables with 3 people sitting at each. One American student sits at each table to provide help in translating to the Russian students while the Russian students provide us with help in subjects that are familiar to them.  In Dr. Shannon’s class, we would sit in a big circle and our seat would change every class so we got to know all of our Russian comrades; however, this did not always ensure the Russians a seat next to any American students or vice versa.  All in all, both teaching styles are fun for the students and effective for learning.  Amongst other things, Russia has taught us that it’s possible to sit through a six hour class, learn, and have fun.

Questions? Comments? E-mail Us!

No better week then butter week

Culture
By Stephen M. Williams

While being in Moscow, I have been experiencing many holidays that we don’t celebrate in America.  Sure, they have some of the same holidays just like we do, such as Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day, but Man’s Day and Women’s Day?  Both holidays are exciting for us foreigners, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can match up to Maslenitsa or Butter Week.

Butter Week is a 7-day celebration that everyone in Moscow – from children to adults – celebrates.  It is a Russian tradition that involves taking a pole and crafting a lady out of cloth and feathers.  They then proceed to burn her at her “stake” to symbolize the end of winter and the beginning of spring.  We got our first taste of butter week when we were invited to the local high school where we participated in their celebration.  We were amazed by the show that the students put on.

Sam and Justin enjoy some blinis during Maslenitsa

Upon arrival, we were met with utter chaos.  However, within ten minutes, all of the young Russian students had festive tables set up complete with traditional Russian pancakes, tea, and cookies.  They were all dressed up and putting on song and dance performances about the history of Maslenitsa for us.  Why us?  Well, also upon arrival, we learned that we would be judging the different tables belonging to the different classes.  Before we knew it, we had full bellies, lots of fun.  To top it off, we watched them burn the cloth and feather lady.  All right, so burning a lady may sound kind of harsh, but having participated in this event and actually feeling the warmth come off of the fire, it really does symbolize that spring is here. 

Although the burning of the cloth and feather lady was a sight to see, it definitely isn’t the best part of Maslenitsa; the best part is the food.  The food of choice during this holiday is a blini.  A blini is a rolled up pancake that can be filled with a variety of foods including fruit, meat, or sour cream.  After the blini is done cooking, laid out, and steaming, it represents the sun, another way to symbolize that spring has finally arrived.

Erin and Steve enjoy a last moment with the cloth and feather woman, before she is set on fire

            Although we spent the whole week celebrating Maslenitsa and eating blinis, the actual celebration in Russia isn’t until Sunday; and there is no better place to be then Red Square.  On Red Square there were food vendors, games, singing, dancing, and of course, a little fire.  It was just a big old party where everyone could eat, dance and be merry.  I must say that out of all the Russian holidays that I will experience while I am here, Maslensita will be the one that I will never forget.

Crazy Russian amusement parks

Activities
By Samuel Carpenter

Who knew that people go to an amusement park when it is covered with ice?

After a month of sub artic temperatures, it was finally time to brave the outdoors.  Shortly after our arrival in Russia, we proposed the idea of going ice-skating with our newly made Russian friends.  Once the weather warmed up to a survivable degree, we made plans for the evening we have been looking forward to for the past month.  We bundled up accordingly and met our friends outside of our hostel. 
We didn’t know what we would find after our metro ride.  We normally just walk down to the PSU Ice Rink, show them our student Id and shoe size, and skate around on perfectly groomed ice counter-clockwise.  We were expecting something similar to this, but in the middle of Moscow.  Upon our arrival, we paid an entrance fee of less than $2 to gain admission to what looked more like an amusement park than a skating rink.  We assumed that the general circular ice-rink was simply located somewhere on the park grounds.  After entering, we were surprised to find that the skating rink was the amusement park.  All of the pathways, sidewalks and grounds were covered with a thick, permanent sheet of Moscovian ice.  Within the park, we found restaurants, fair games, food stands and other typical amusement park attractions.  Contrary to normal American safety precautions, the restaurants and small rides were all accepting of ice skates as proper footwear. 
As is to be expected of Russia, there was absolutely no order to the 5 mile long park.  Along with the rest of the people entering, we set off through the masses of skaters on foot while we searched for a rental hut.  Receiving rental skates was an experience all in itself.  As we have found out, it is apparently common in Russia to have a several people doing the job required of one.  The ice rink was no exception.  We had to pay for our skates at a kiosk, and then give the receipt to an employee who required collateral – either a Russian passport or fifty dollars.  After paying for the hour in advance and handing over our shoes and bags to yet another employee, we were finally on the ice or sidewalk; better yet, both. 
To say the least, there was a lot more going on than our typical ice rinks back home.  In the park, we had to watch out for a number of obstacles such as merging paths with no chosen skating direction, restaurants randomly opening onto the path, and, strangest of all, random cars driving down the path pulling lines of skaters.  These “samba” lines were sometimes up to 50 skaters long with a whipping tail at the end taking out skaters left and right.  To say the least, it was a challenge for even those that could skate well and even more so for the inexperienced.  We were glad to have had the fun but chaotic experience, and extremely happy we all made it without any bodily injuries.  Needless to say, we certainly enjoyed the necessary outlet of energy after the coldest winter of our lives