Two Days In

We are having a great time and are slowly working out the kinks in the plans! 

Janet, Michelle, Amanda: Enjoying lunch after Day 1!

On Day 1, we had a few minor set backs. We had a few kids who were not on the list show up. And it's so hard to tell them they can't come back - we just don't physically have the space. But, we also had a few who signed up and didn't show up. So, we may actually be able to add a few of the new ones to the list.

I headed to camp on Day 1 after traveling for 30+ hours and only getting 4 hours of sleep in a bed. So, needless to say my brain was not completely in my head! Amanda and Michelle had been sick all weekend. So, we had to reshuffle an activity we forgot the materials for! I ended up putting my old PE teacher hat on to play games in the school yard.

We have 4 volunteers cooking lunch for all of the kids. Jane, my favorite human ever, one of her friends and 2 of the teachers from the school. There are also 2 local university students helping out with camp. In fact, 4 of the 7 teachers from the school and the school principal are donating their time off to come to camp every day! Now that's dedication!

On Day 2, we walked with the kids to a big field for sports and games. We played soccer (football) and ran around with Frisbee and jump ropes. I love watching the kiddos play. Some of our youngest campers don't speak much English yet (1 of the reasons we are so thankful for our teachers and local volunteers). But play, it's a universal language. I had so much fun playing soccer with the girls (yes we played girls and boys separately....) and with the little ones.

GOAL!

We rested before lunch with a read aloud. I started reading the BFG to some of the older kiddos.

Lunch is by far the highlight of the day! The kiddos come from varied backgrounds. Some come from families who can provide lunch, but most, do not. They are loving having a huge helping of delicious food at camp and it's such a joy and it's humbling, to be able to provide it for them.

Going back!

Last summer, I went on an adventure unsure of what to expect. I had been to Kenya a handful of times, but always with my family or with a group. Even though I was meeting up with a group of volunteers this was a big trip. I've travelled alone many times, but this felt different, maybe it was the length of time I'd be gone or the uncertainty of the experience. I didn't know what my homestay would be like. I didn't even know where I would be placed.

I decided long ago that I wanted to work in Kenya, like have a job in Kenya. So I decided to test the situation with a longish short stay. The best way I could find to do this, was through volunteering. I already had some knowledge of Kenya, but wanted to enrich my understanding. I figured if I immersed myself in the culture and learned as much as I could, I'd be a better person and a stronger candidate for a job when that time rolls around. I'd have a better understanding of the people with whom I'd be working.

I had mixed feelings about the volunteering I was signed up for. And, after six weeks, I still did. International volunteerism is complicated. It sets up complex and often frustrating relationships. It's hard to balance the expectations of the volunteers and the expectations of the community. That being said, I believe international volunteerism can be successful and mutually beneficial. I wouldn't be going back if I didn't!

I met Amanda and Michelle in our homestay last year. Amanda and I spent nearly every day together and became good friends. Our skills and interests complimented each other and we realized our collective strength could do big things. Our original volunteer placement was challenging on many levels but together we made it fabulous experience! As we talked with the volunteer coordinator and the school, principal, Camp Marafiki Pamoja was born.

About six months ago was when the real planning began. We wrote a proposal and started raising money. Raising money is hard! Thank you to all who contributed with items and money. We really couldn't have done it without you! Amanda is an absolute rock star, by the way. This whole thing would never have gotten off the ground with out her determination and the support of her networks in Canada!

We are hoping to give our campers an authentic day camp experience complete with arts and crafts, games, science experiments, music, and movement. We are hoping to keep hem safe during their school holiday and make sure that they get at least one good meal a day. People often ask why not do these things at home where there are also kids who spend their school holidays idle and don't get nutritious food? There is need everywhere.

I'm so excited this has all come together. I'm nervous it won't go well. I'm hopeful the kids and the community will benefit - even half has much as I have through this whole process! I look forward to blogging this experience and sharing it with you.

Lots of Art and Museums

The Hermitage is a massive art museum. Much of the art that was in palaces and other historic  in St. Petersburg has been moved here. During World War Two, much of the art had to be moved in order to be saved. Many of the pieces were buried under St. Isaac's Cathedral. 

Part of the Hermitage is the winter palace. We spent nearly 3 hours and only saw one floor of one wing of this museum. Like I said, its massive. We decided to see the exhibits that were of the rooms of the winter palace and the Russian art. 

Hermitage - Winter Palace

Another Building - Another Part of the Heritage

Monument outside of the Hermitage

Like any good palace, there is a grand staircase. Oh man, it this one grand! At the top of the stair case, we went into a small throne room. Many of the historic sites in St. Petersburg have had to be majorly refurbished. Many were destroyed in fires or were bombed during World War Two. A lot of what is seen is recreations of what was there originally or rooms have had to undergo massive restoration. The restoration process is pretty fascinating. The attention to detail is incredible. It's a shame so many of the original objects and designs have been destroyed but I am glad there are people with the desire and skill to preserve what's left and help tell the stories of the past.

The Armoury Hall (ballroom) in the winter palace is rather plain for a ballroom  its vintage, but it's a pretty neat place - during World War One it was converted into a hospital for injured soldiers. 

Armoury Hall

 There was a long narrow room full of portraits officers from the war of 1812 and as I walked through, the audio guide read a poem by Pushkin. I had been commenting to Christina that I hadn't read any Russian literature, at least not that I'm aware of, and I'd never even heard of Pushkin before this trip. Now I've heard a poem by him while in Russia. 

The large throne room was magnificent. You have to look both up and down in these Russia palaces. The floors and ceiling are so intricate. In the throne room, the parquet floor mirrors the details of the ceiling. With the exception of the emblem of the palace because it would be rude to walk on that. Some of the parquet floors are made out of up to 9 different types of wood. 

Parquet Floor

Large Throne Room

Throne - Winter Palace

Each time a new person takes the throne, they redecorate the palace according to their taste and the style of the time. In 1837, much of the palace was destroyed in a fire and when it was rebuilt and decorated it was decorated in the style known as eclecticism. This was a rebirth of classical style with new "modern" elements. Artists began deviating from the standard elements of style.

Piano

Library in the Winter Palace

Door Handle

Orchestral Clock

Wine Vat

Carriage for snow

After the Hermitage we walked over to the Kunsthammer Museum. This was on the recommendation of the American we met at the ballet. She described it as babies in jars, and in fact, that is one of the things in this museum (and by far the most popular exhibit in the museum). It is an anthropological/ethnographic museum that happens to contain a collection of human anatomical specimens. 

Babies in jars is a really graphic, morbid way to describe the exhibit. But, it is what grabbed our attention. We had not flagged the museum in the guide book prior to this description. Really though, it's quite a collection of extraordinarily well preserved embryos and fetuses. There are some other anatomical specimens including reproductive parts, digestive system parts, and some parts of children that were really uncomfortable to look at. But, overall it was an extraordinary exhibit. 

Peter the Great was really interested in science and began collecting these "monsters" as they were called at the time. He collaborated with doctors and scientists all over Europe to collect the specimens for educational purposes. Many of the fetuses were collected, studied, and preserved by a Russian doctor that taught midwives. Most of the fetuses had rare birth defects or malformations and were spontaneously  aborted or died shortly after birth. If you have a strong stomach, it's well wort a visit (or a quick google image search). It's amazing how far humans have come in understanding how these things occur and how to have healthy pregnancies and how to deliver a complicated pregnancy safely for the mother. 

On this day we also visited the History of Russian Politics museum. This is something that would need to be delivered in a much more interactive way for me to enjoy it. The audio guide was boring and I got lost in all the names and acronyms. But, that being said, there were some interesting Soviet era propaganda posters including one that said something along the lines of 'vodka is bad, put your money in the national savings bank.' What's interesting about this, is that most of the money the government was investing in the bank came from the sale of alcohol. 

Yusupov Palace and a Cool Monument

I've been doing something I used to make fun of my family for - being "boring,"old and going through museums reading the signs and listening to the audio guides. Well, now that I'm grown up (I think) I really enjoy these things. I've rented/paid for the audio guide at every museum we've visited on this trip. Partly because most of the signage is in Russian and partly because I love the little anecdotes shared through out the guide. I'd rather have a real life guide - maybe next trip I'll splurge on a real guide at a few of the museums. 

My favorite museum/palace we visited in St. Petersburg was the Yusupov Palace. This home was huge, but not totally ridiculous for a palace. We weren't allowed to take photos, because we didn't buy a photo ticket (language barrier issue, I'm sure). But we managed to sneak a few. 

After ascending the grand staircase (yes please) we went through the ceremonial bedroom. No one actually stayed in this room. But guests had to walk through it to get into the entertainment spaces including 3 parlors, a dance hall, a banquet hall, and a dining room.

I enjoyed the dance hall with its beautiful parquet floors (who knew parquet could be beautiful)! Another group of tourists waltzed through the dance hall, it was quite cute. I also really enjoyed the dining room. The legs of the table were griffons.

This palace had a beautiful theater in it. Many amazing performers have graced its stage including Lizt and Berlioz. We were fortunate to walk into the theater just as a performing group was beginning a demonstration. Amazing. If we had more days/evenings here, I would have love to take in a full concert.

Downstairs we went through part of the living quarter - a spectacular library and a beautiful fountain room and the biggest billiard table I've ever seen.

The best part of the of the palace is the basement. It felt very secretive. We had to ask to go down and it was entirely in Russian. We were escorted through the exhibit by a museum staff member. It was an exhibit reenacting the death of Rasputin. Rasputin was a spiritual advisor/mystic. He was invited over to the palace for a private party. He was then led to the basement rooms for dessert. The desserts had been poisoned. When he was weakened, Prince
Felix Yusupov shot Rasputin 4 times. They thought he was dead, only he wasn't. They dragged him to the river and dumped his body. When he was discovered, it turns out the real cause of death was drowning. The exhibit also included many original documents and articles written about Rasputin and his death. 

In the basement was also an example of the original kitchen. On display were kozoulya. These are hard cookies that look a lot like gingerbread. They are made in Russia for special occasions like weddings or new babies. They are also made for Christmas. The horse and the deer were historically known as being holy animals with protective powers so the tradition kozoulya are traditionally cut in those shapes. It's considered bad luck to eat the, right away and some people simply keep them and never eat them as to keep their protective powers intact. 

On the day we went to the Yusupov palace we did a long self-guided walking tour. We walked past St. Isaac's Cathedral. This is one of the largest cathedrals in Russia. We decided not to go inside. If I ever come back, I will. But, we were feeling a bit churched out.  Outside of the cathedral in the square is a monument to Nicolas first. Is was my favorite monument in the city. It features Nicolas on his horse. But around it are 4 women. 1 his wife the other three his daughters. They are holding objects to 

represent faith, wisdom, justice, and might.  

St Petersburg -The Ballet

St. Petersburg is a city rich in culture and history. This music nerd has geeked out a few times, like this time in front of a statue of Rimsky-Korsakov. There are so many great composers to come out Russia and more specifically St. Petersburg. There are roads named for great composers, musicians, and writers. There are so may statues and monuments. I was a bit bummed not to be able to see the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, it's currently completely under scaffolding. 

Rimsky-Korsakov

Glinka

We wandered through the theater district and moseyed down one of the canals. There are many
bridges crossing the canals. Some are for vehicles and others are spouts for pedestrians. These
bridges are known for being romantic hangouts. One of the most famous is the Lion Bridge over the Griboedov Canal. My favorite bridge was the Bank Bridge. This bridge was built in
1826. It used to be in front of a bank (go figure). Now the building is the St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance. 

The Bank Bridge

The Bank Bridge

The Lion Bridge

One of the most special experiences of the trip was our evening at the ballet. I abandoned the notion of being a ballerina many years ago. But my love for ballet has remained strong. We saw a production of The French ballet Giselle. A Russian dancer collaborated on the oginal choreography, but the ballet was never performed in Russia, only by the traveling Ballet Russe. Recently, the Mariinskiy (Kirov) Ballet has been reviving classic ballets. 

Christina and Janet in our hotel lobby before the balleg

The theater is gorgeous both inside and out. We sat in a box at the back of the main floor and had a perfect view of the entire stage. It was so nice to see a ballet with a live orchestra. For a long time after I gave up on being a professional ballerina, I thought it would be fun to play oboe in a ballet orchestra. I did once in high school for a local dance school production.

Model of the inside of the Miriinskiy Theater

I'm partial to (and often critical of) the oboe parts in orchestral music. The oboist I'm the pit was incredible. I'd venture to say this was a flawless performance. Seeing the ballet in Russia is just a tourist experience but rather a full cultural experience. People really appreciate the art and show it buy shouting "bravo" and buying the dancers flowers. I'd go again, only the tickets are sold out!