More Sights in Moscow

In high school, I took AP European history. It ranks in my top 5 favorite classes in high school, maybe even college. Whenever I travel, I'm surprised how much I remember from that class. However, Russia's history is only partly European and it certainly wasn't the main focus of our course. There is so much Russian history and culture... It's amazing how selective the course material in AP Euro is. 

Most of the Russian history I know, is about St. Petersburg. So I'm really looking forward to that part of the trip. All I knew prior to coming to Moscow was here there were some really colorful churches. We visited the church that is featured on the fronts of tourist books and is all over postcards and local art. 

St. Basil's Cathedral sits just outside of the Kremlin wall and is part of the red square. Construction of the original church began in the mid 1200s. It's been through many renovations, updates, and restorations over its 9 century history. Ivan the Terrible played and instrumental role in the history of the church. Legend has it that he thought it was so beautiful that he had the architect blinded so that he could never construct something so beautiful again.

As we climbed up to the second floor, we could hear beautiful music. Old church hymns are just so beautiful. The voices of the men's quartet rang out in absolute perfect harmony, the
acoustics in the church were unbelievable. The echoes created were simultaneously beautiful
and eerie.

In the Red Square is also Lenin's Mausoleum. After his death, Lenin's body was embalmed and has been preserved (against his will). While standing in line to enter the mausoleum, we saw a mass of people all carrying red flowers, mostly carnations, and carrying the Soviet flag. It's tradition in Russia to leave red carnations on the graves of family and important figures, mostly military members. Many important Russian figures are buried behind the mausoleum including Stalin. Many Russian's still celebrate Stalin and come to his grave regularly to leave flowers.

It was a little bit weird seeing Lenin's body.  Didn't look at all real. Kind of like a wax figure. There is crazy security present both indiscriminate and outside of the mausoleum and then people parade past much like seeing the Mona Lisa.   

Near the red square is the tomb of the unknown soldier and Alexander Park. In the park, there a bunch of statues of Russian story characters. Of course the signs were all in Russian so I don't know what the stories are about.

We also walked past the Beloshi Theater - one that has seen many premiers of great ballets and operas and through much of the theater district. Unfortunately most of the theaters are closed to the public except for during performances.  There are so many statues and monuments. I didn't know who most of them were. We did find a statue of Karl Marx. 

The Moscow Metro

Guide books and blogs say to go on or take a tour of the Moscow metro. They aren't kidding. Wow. Just wow. Easily the most unique thing about this trip so far. Don't get me wrong, the other things are amazing, too. But I have never seen anything quite like the Moscow metro. I'm sure, like anything, that the beauty starts to fade the more you ride it, but seeing it for the first time is awe inspiring. 

Opened in 1935, not only is it beautiful, it is efficient and cheap - 50 rubles (currently $0.70) for one trip. It's the largest metro system outside of Asia and during rush hour, trains run about every 90 seconds. We haven't had to wait more than 3 minutes for a train. 

I've navigated plenty of underground public transport systems and generally have a good understanding of them. This is the most confusing simply because of the language barrier. When my family went to Turkey, I assume it was similar, but my parents did all the navigating and I just followed along. Riding the Moscow metro is 

one big matching game. Lots stopping and comparing maps to signs and generally looking lost. 

Most of the street signs and all of the signs in the metro use the Cyrillic alphabet as opposed to the Latin alphabet that I am used to. Check it out: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_alphabets

Turns out, when we got here on the first night, we made it out of the correct exit at the  station near our hostel by sheer dumb luck. Since then, we've done it incorrectly 2 times. I think we've finally figured out the signage. At least now we know how to get back to the hostel from all exits from the metro now. The first time we did it wrong it took us almost an hour to get un lost in the same neighborhood! Last night we added maybe 10 minutes to our walk once we left the wrong metro exit - that should give you a pretty good idea how big the metro stations are! 

Here are photos from 4 of our metro stops on our self guided tour (one of the hostel staff recommended her favorite stops). Still a few more to see!

Komsomolskaya

Belorusskaya

Kievskaya

Arbatskaya

Moscow - The Kremlin

We rode the metro to the Moscow Kremlin. A Kremlin is a Russian citadel. The Moscow Kremlin houses the government and is the home of the Russian President. It's surrounded by a tall wall with gorgeous clock towers. Inside there are many churches/cathedrals and museums. We went in almost all of them. We spent the most time in the Armoury. It houses an extensive collection of artifacts some from as far back as the 13th century.

A few of my favorite things were: 

1. "The Chiming Clock: Temple of Fame" This beautiful clock built for Catherine the Great. It has a mechanical organ inside and when it plays one of its 13 tunes, the crystal tubes on its face turn and reflect the light resembling sun rays. 

2. The Faberge Eggs. These intricate Easter eggs were given as gifts and contain surprises. My favorite on display was the egg containing a miniature working replica of the first Trans-Siberian Railway train. You can't take pictures inside the buildings so I've borrowed this one from the interwebs!

3. The coaches. Amazing to see the transformation of the coaches through out history. There were small carriages in the exhibit, they were the carriages for the children in the royal families. Fun fact: These carriages were pulled by ponies and staffed by dwarfs (little people). Couldn't have big things towering over small royalty?!

We also saw many beautiful thrones, some of the largest natural emeralds in the world, and of course intricate coronation gowns including the gown worn by Catherine the Great. I'm glad corsets for everyday wear have gone out of style. 

We walked through a few Cathedrals and saw where Ivan the Terrible was entombed. He of course, had his tomb at the alter.

The paintings in the cathedrals are magnificent and cover the walls and the ceiling. Even the ceilings of the cupolas are painted. 

In the court yard areas inside the Kremlin are other artifacts including the Tsar's Bell and Canon and my favorite, the cannons of the war of 1812.

I geeked out a bit over these canons. So, one of Tchaikovsky's most famous works is the 1812 Overture written to commemorate the Russian Victory over Napoleon in his invasion of Russia. Canons played a huge roll in the Russian success in the largest battle in the war. So, included in the score are parts for 16 canons. Not these specific canons, but canons to represent the actual cannons of 1812! Pretty darn cool. 

Reflections from the plane

I'm headed on another adventure. It never gets old. it's such a rush. Routine helps me get through my nerves and focus on the adventure. I have routines about how I pack my carry on and what I wear on board, what I do when I get to the airport and what I buy before I board the plane. I love window seats. Mostly because I like to sleep against it. But it's also part of my routine. I like to watch take off and landing. Watching the airport disappear seeing the clouds get closer and closer. I count down in my head 3-2-1 take off and see how close I can get to the actual wheels up. And I try to guess when the wheels will touch down. 

I'm looking forward to this adventure. I'm glad to share it with my good friend, Christina. We've travelled well together before and she puts up with my quirks. And my other routines...like frequent bathroom breaks and snack breaks. 

So as much as one has to be flexible and prepared for mishaps, travel is my routine. And I like routine.  Now, I'm not as well traveled as some of my peers and sometimes I feel jealous, but I sure do like me life. I like prioritizing travel and adventure. I like seeing new things and broadening my horizons. I like listening to conversations, even when I have no idea what is being said. I like old buildings and history. I like cultural traditions and thinking about local food (sometimes I eat it, too). I like local digs and staying in hostels, riding metros and getting lost. 

Why Russia? Why not Russia? Cheap off season flights, inexpensive logging and an exchange rate in my favor. Fascinating history and a rich cultural fabric including - artists - especially music and dance. Looking forward to it. 

The Hardest Day

For the past 3 weeks, Amanda and I have been teaching at a secondary school near our regular placement, Kerith Brook. The students and teachers here are really wonderful and welcomed us right in. I've loved having a opportunity to teach health. We planned a 4 session curriculum based on the curriculum I use back home at Social Health and then Amanda taught a lesson on mental health.

Session 1 - Goals and Dreams
Session 2 - Healthy Relationships
Session 3 - STDs including HIV
Session 4 - Unhealthy Relationships and Rape
Session 5 - Mental Health and Drug/Alcohol Addiction

The first two lessons went really well, the students need some coaxing to share and discuss, but by the end of the first lesson, they were much more open with us. The third lesson was the hardest day of teaching I have ever experienced. There were a few times during the lesson where I was holding back tears as the students asked questions. There were 3 girls who visibly had tears in their eyes as we talked about the challenges of living with HIV. 

There is still a huge amount of stigma surrounding people with HIV. While the students were very knowledgeable about HIV, there were still many myths, especially when it comes time to talking bout the origins of HIV and how one child in a family may be infected and others not. 

There were questions about rape and HIV infection and what if a woman wants to have a baby and is HIV positive. There were questions about whether there is a pill to prevent HIV after rape like there is a pill to prevent pregnancy. Even though they all know HIV is no longer a "death sentence" the way it used to be before antiretroviral (ARV) drugs were widely available. However, HIV is still a huge barrier to living a successful life due to the stigma. People still lose their jobs if they are suspected of being HIV positive. Women are considered damaged and no longer desirable wives. 

We spent a long time talking about ways to reduce stigma. We talked about the importance of testing and knowing your status. We talked about that if everyone made HIV testing routine, there wouldn't be the belief that every time someone walked into a testing clinic that they are automatically HIV positive. We talked about the importance of not judging those who are positive, especially without knowing their story. There are many ways and reasons that someone becomes HIV positive. 
This was such an eye opening day of teaching. 

I'm so glad I had opportunities to discuss HIV with the women's group before teaching. They have helped me understand more of the personal elements of HIV infection beyond the facts of infection. There is still much work to be done but I think progress is being made in the right direction. 

Love these kids. I will miss them all. 

Family

Family

The main reason I came to Kenya was to volunteer. It's been a lifelong dream of mine. But, I also wanted to come to Kenya specifically, because I knew I would get to see family. One of my New Years resolutions his year was to connect more with extended family. I love that this trip has allowed me to do that.  

Mostly, I spend time with my cousin Ben and his wife Gladys. We always have such an amazing time. They are so welcoming even though I hadn't seen Ben in 6 years and I hadn't ever met Gladys. But I suppose, family is family no matter how long it's been!

We've been on scenic drives through tea and coffee fields and filled me in on some Kenyan history especially around colonization and tea. We reflected on the fact that our parents lived during colonization and independence and how that may have shaped their lives. I have talked to my father a little bit about Kenya's independence, but I think I'll keep asking! 

Ben also took me to the farm where my father grew up. I have been before, but the last time was 20 years ago. Some of the things were the same as I remember (or at least what I saw in pictures). It was so nice being in the place where my dad was raised. It's such a peaceful environment and all the people we passed along the way were so kind and welcoming. I could stay in those tea fields forever (not really), but a summer perhaps. 

We also visited my Tata (aunt) Margaret, Ben's mom, she made us food... I'm a mostly vegetarian and definitely not adventurous about animal products other than cheese. So, I scooped what I thought was greens onto my plate, then I noticed something unfamiliar in it, so I asked Ben what it was, and completely straight faced said, "intestines." Needless to say I didn't eat it. It's a traditional food, just not one my parents make! Maybe at another point in my life, I'll be more adventurous with food, but right now, I'll stick to other non culinary adventures! 

They've also welcomed me in to some comforts of home that I miss. Things like wifi and hot running water. When I was sick, they let me stay at their house snuggled up on their sofa while I recovered! Family is the best! 

I have also been out to see other cousins and an aunt and uncle. My cousin, Wairimu and her husband hosted many of us for lunch eve though though they have new twins at home. They live in a beautiful home in a suburb of Nairobi. It was so nice sinking my feet into grass for the first time being here! 

This past weekend, my uncle drove me out to visit another auntie, Tata Wambui. She's the aunt I'm named after. We had lunch and then she gave me a tour around 

her compound and introduced me to her cows! There are a few things that run in my family, teaching, a love of plants, studying human behavior (specifically child development), and cats. Well, at least Wambui's love cats. Tata Wambui has 3 cats and a tiny kitten. The oldest cat is 16! They are mostly outdoor cats, but they do get to come in the house on occasion. They love when the cows have milk. Currently the cows aren't milking because both are pregnant. But when they have milk again, Tata says the cats will follow her to milk the cows and will sit by her feet while she boils milk and then wait (almost) patiently until she puts some in a dish for them! 

I got about a dozen a avocados from her and her neighbors and have been eating avocado on everything for a week! We also picked yellow guavas. I have only ever had guava juice before. I love guava. It's sweet and tangy kinda like kumquats.  This was the first time I've ever spent time alone with Tata Wambui. I knew I liked her before, but she's even more fantastic than I realized. I hope in the near future I can spend more time talking to and learning from her

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family. I think I could live here (don't worry, though, I will come home at the end of this trip).