Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

     Some of you may have heard this poem by Robert Frost, for me it has come to be a mantra in my life and I have finally decided to tell people why. For a while now I have been pondering on life and how every decision we make affects our future in some way or the other. It can be good or bad, or we may not know what it will develop into, but the roads we choose change the course of our life no matter what. Here's how this simple phrase from a famous poem became my life motto and has allowed me to work up the courage to talk about a life changing experience.
     I am assuming a lot of people that are reading this right now know me, whether you know me well or not, I am sure you know that I am shy. I may seem stuck up or stand offish because I am too shy and introverted for my own good. I have always been that way. When I was little my dad had to say my part for me every year in the primary program. I had to work up the courage all class to have the confidence to answer a question for my teacher, and if I got it wrong I was devastated because I worked so hard and failed. Luckily, I found a scapegoat to help me cope with this and that was soccer.

Little me. 

    When I found soccer my life lit up. I was able to perform on the field and I was actually pretty good. This allowed me to open up to my teammates, build confidence in myself, and grow as a person. Soccer was my life for 14 straight years. I woke up, went to school, went to soccer, then went to bed. I absolutely loved my life like that and I learned a lot. I learned team work, I learned how to win and how to lose, I learned how to be confidant, I was humbled, I was pushed to my limits, I gained a second family, and most of all I was part of a team. The time came for me to graduate to the next level of soccer and that was college soccer. I was blessed to have offers from a couple of schools but they were all out of state and that is where I realized I had a problem.
     As the time came to commit to a school, I didn't. It wasn't because I didn't want to go and play in college or give up soccer, it was because I physically and emotionally could not handle it. The thought of being somewhere that was thousands of miles away from "home" and the idea of change terrified me. Fortunately, I had worked hard enough in school that I was accepted to BYU. This allowed me the decision to take the "road less traveled by". Although I was excited for BYU, it hurt me to give up playing college soccer and to watch all of my teammates go play, but through some prayer and a disorder I wasn't aware of yet I took the road less traveled.

Me playing high school soccer senior year. 

    Finally, it came time for my second year at BYU and I was moving into an apartment with my friends. These girls were my best friends, and still are but I was scared out of my mind. Of course, like a lot of people know, I am stubborn so I didn't tell anyone how truly anxious I was to move out and live on my own. This became a problem because my first night in the apartment I had an anxiety attack. There aren't many words that can be used to describe one of these, just trust me when I say they are not pleasant. I drove home from Provo at 2 AM and acted as if everything was ok. My mom, being a mom knew there was something wrong and dragged me to the doctor. To start off, I was utterly embarrassed that I was 19 years old and I couldn't live 45 minutes away from my house. On top of that I was horrified that when I went to the doctor she put me on medication and told me I needed to go talk to a therapist. I spent countless nights crying and even became depressed because I had no confidence in myself. But, my mom dragged me to the therapist and it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me in a while.
     I found out that I had an anxiety disorder, which was a no brainer considering my childhood, and also that I was depressed. I had recently had major ankle surgery, I wasn't able to play soccer, I had lost 10 pounds and I was made to be an anxious person. My life seemed to be falling to pieces and I was devastated. I worked with my therapist for a couple of months and was improving immensely and that is when I dropped a bomb on her.
     I walked into therapy and told her that I was going to teach English in Russia for 4.5 months. I still remember the look on her face, surprised is an understatement. In fact everyone I told didn't think I would actually go through with it. Now this is where the second less traveled road comes in for me. At this time in my life I was seriously considering going to serve an LDS mission for 18 months and I was trying to decide between that and going to volunteer in Russia. It was my age group who at that October General Conference was eligible to go on missions earlier than 21 and everyone was doing it! One Sunday I had 4 farewells in a row for some of my girlfriends that had decided to go serve the Lord and I love that they did. They are an inspiration to me, but I learned that this is not what I needed to do. I got an answer to a prayer that I needed to go to Russia and so I went on another road less traveled by and it has made all the difference.
    Going to Russia was the best decision of my life I have made so far. I worked hard with my therapist before I left to make sure I wouldn't have anxiety attacks over there, I brought my medicine with me, and that morning I left for the airport I was scared out of my wits to leave and go not just 45 minutes, but 5,165 miles away from home. But guess what, I did it! I not only survived without any issues, I lived in Russia!!!! Life was full and great and I grew more in that 4 months as a person than I had in a long time. Most of all I proved to myself that I could overcome hard things and do anything that I set my mind to.

Loving St. Petersburg, Russia

Me playing with my kids. 

     The reason I decided to tell this story is because I know that even if you don't care you hopefully can get something out of this last little bit. No matter how low in life you may feel, there will be better days ahead. No matter how deep in despair you are, there is a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, who will lift you up out of it. I would not have made it through the past year if I had not relied on the solid foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I spent countless hours praying for comfort and relying on what I know to be true. That is that because of the Atonement, Christ knows exactly how you are feeling and what you are going through. He suffered in Gethsemane for me, and for you. He bled from every poor and suffered every pain and affliction so He could know how to help me with my anxiety disorder. He can help you with whatever you may be going through no matter how big or small. I also learned that even though trials are never what one wishes for, they are given to us for a reason. This trial will always be a part of my life and it severely affected me for about 6 months, but looking back on how much I have learned, how deep my testimony has become, and the person I am today because of it, I wouldn't change my situation for anything. So wake up every morning and smile because you ARE a Child of God and He does love you. Heavenly Father is watching over you and you can overcome anything when you are holding Christ's hand.
     So as you can see, I took the road less traveled by twice and it has made all of the difference. It was a bumpy, uphill, lonely at times, and scary road but I took it and I conquered it. I served 50 kids, I have been getting a fantastic education, and I met and learned about people and cultures that have changed my view on life. If you are facing a choice between two roads, don't be afraid to take the one less traveled, it will be challenging but it may just be the best thing you have ever done in your life. I can testify to you that that is the truth.

   

   
 

Keep me in your heart, I'll stay there Forever.

      The moment that we got back from our big vacation (my last post) my life in St. Pete's has been crazy. It has been one big thing after the next and I blinked and  now I am headed home in just 3 days. So let me catch you up on what has happened the past three weeks here in Russia, my second home.
       The past two Saturday's have been awesome with our Russian mom Sveta! The first Saturday she took us to Pushkin. It is a suburb of St. Petersburg that is about 30 minutes outside of the center of the city by bus. It was a tiny little city with a huge palace! The Palace in this city is one of Catherine the Great's Palaces. I know, it is pretty awesome that she gets to have more than one palace. Anyways, it was the attraction of the city. The Palace is actually still being restored today because during WWII it was destroyed by the Germans. Nonetheless, the inside and outside of the Palace were absolutely stunning even if it was refurbished. The outside was this beautiful Tiffany blue shade with gold and white trim all over the place. There were also two curving staircases that looked like a princess should be walking down them! I loved it. The inside was even better! There was gold EVERYWHERE! It was mostly Baroque style, which was unusual because most of the palaces I have seen in St. Petersburg have been classical style. Inside of the castle they also had the famous Amber room. Unfortunately, they don't allow anyone to take pictures inside of this room but every inch of the room was a piece of amber. From the floor to the ceiling, and even the frames of the pictures. It was breathtaking and I was blown away. So the inside of the palace was thrilling! Then we ventured to the backyard, which was a giant park! The park had beautiful gardens, a huge pond, and multiple buildings styled like different countries architecture. It included styles from Greece, China, Turkey, Italy, and Egypt. It was so lush, green, and just gorgeous. I might have loved the park more than the palace just because it was so pretty. After the park and palace we went to a little blini stand where we had authentic Russian blini. I got a potato and dill blini and a banana and chocolate one. The banana and chocolate one was one of the best blinis I have had in Russia so far! So, as you can see, Pushkin is an amazing little suburb in St. Petersburg that is definitely worth the day trip and time it takes to see all of it.

The outside of the palace. 

The main room in the palace. All gold. 

The palace after getting destroyed. 

In front of the Chinese part of the park. 

        This past Saturday was our last day with Sveta. It was a very sad day but we made the best of it and had a lot of fun. For the second week in a row we went to a suburb of St. Pete's. We ventured out to Peterhoff, which is another palace but we went to see the gardens and the park. It also had fountains everywhere! They were all over the palace grounds and in the gardens. We spent the day walking around and looking at all the different parts of the groudns. My favorite part was all of the tulips that had just bloomed along with the fountains that were in the backdrop. There was also a look out point into the Gulf of Finland so there were a lot of Russians out tanning along the shore. That was interesting to see Russians in swimming suits! After we walked around the palace grounds and took a lot of pictures of the fountains, we went to the little souvenir street that was outside of the palace! There were some great Russian souvenirs there and I finally got a fabric egg necklace that has an elephant inside which I was really happy about.  Peterhoff is totally one of the most beautiful places in Russia I have been to and again we spent the whole day there and ended up sun kissed and tired. It was a great way to end our excursions with Sveta with such a beautiful place.

          Luckily, we did get to see Sveta one more time on Monday night! She came over to the apartment and brought ice cream. Like many times before, all 9 of us girls sat in the kitchen and talked about whatever and ate the ice cream! It was really hard saying goodbye to Sveta, though. We all promised we wouldn't cry, but of course we all did. Sveta, or for anyone that is reading this, I just want you to know that you are one of the most amazing ladies that I have ever met in my life. Thank you again for sharing all of the knowledge of your city with me. I loved seeing you every Saturday and getting a tour of a certain part of the city from a local and especially someone who is so in love with the city. You always know how to make us girls smile and ILP in St. Petersburg is so lucky to have you! So thank you for all you did for me while I was here in Russia, I look forward to coming back and visiting you someday! 

The palace at Peterhoff and the gardens. 

Fountains and flowers in the park.

Saying goodbye to Sveta. Going to miss this beautiful Lady! I love you!

              Now for an update on my students of what has been going on the past couple of weeks in class. It really hasn't been anything too exciting except for the hours that we spent preparing for our spectacle. You are probably wondering what spectacle is...so let me explain. It is pretty much like a primary program, actually a lot like it. We wrote a script, taught the kids songs to sing in between their speaking lines, and then we made costumes and performed for the parents! It was a big deal at one of our schools and everybody came out for the occasion. At both of the schools I teach at the theme of our spectacle was Under the Sea. Our characters consisted of: mermaids, crabs, pirates, jellyfish, octopi, sharks, and fish. All of the kids were dressed to look like these characters and then they had a story line of going to a party at a mermaid castle under the sea. It was really cute and the kids seemed to have a great time learning new songs! The new songs that we taught them were Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid and Yellow Submarine by the Beatles! I was so proud of my kids for performing for their parents and doing so well. They worked hard for 3 weeks to perform it and that work paid off! Plus, who wouldn't love 50 little Russian kids singing Disney songs? It was a grand time. 

Before spectacle at the private school I teach at. 

The mermaids ready for spectacle at the Kindergarten. 

               The past week has been full of spending time with our kids because it is the last week of teaching and the last week of school until the kids are out for summer. It has been so fun just being able to relax, speak English, and have a good time. If you asked me before I came if I was prepared to teach 50 Russian kids every week I probably would have cried but I would not change the past 4 months for anything. These children have touched my heart. Yes, there were days where I wanted to pull my hair out, but at the end of the day kids will be kids. I fell in love with each of their individual personalities. I will miss walking into class everyday and hearing "Teacher Bre!!!". There is nothing like the pure joy in the voice of these little Russian kids when they see someone they love. I have spent about 3 hours a day 2-3 times a week with these children and to say I am going to miss them is an understatement. I will always carry a piece of them in my heart. 

               I also feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to live here in St. Petersburg, Russia for the past four months. It was a spur of the moment choice to go on ILP and take a semester off school but I am so glad I decided to take that leap of faith. I was able to experience many different cultures and see various countries. I have been to 6 countries in four months and I plan to keep adding to that list. Even though the US has been in conflict with Russia and it has been scary at times, I have to say overall I like the people of Russia. I have been welcomed and loved and Russians sure do know how to make you welcomed. I am so thankful I could come and have this great experience of serving children here in Russia. I learned a lot of patience, independence, how to make a pretty awesome Russian face, how to read and understand some Russian, and I learned some teaching skills. I think overall though I found some of myself here in Russia and developed more as a person. There is nothing like serving others to help find yourself. So as I pack up and leave St. Pete's, which I now consider my second home, I just want to say if you need help discovering yourself, or just need a break from America. Take the time to go serve others, especially children. They will love you and you will be rewarded. Also, you will learn to live your life to the fullest and love it! You won't have any regrets. Thank you, Russia, for changing my life forever, a little piece of my heart will always belong to St. Petersburg and my children. 

Alina and I. 

Me and my sass a frass Rita. 

Dasha has my heart. I am trying not to cry in this picture. 

My grown up Dasha. 

She is the cutest Russian you will ever meet. I love my Vitalina. 

Big Vacation

     The truth is I have been really busy here in Russia and I haven't had much time to post on my blog. I guess I have just been enjoying my last couple of weeks here soaking up the memories. Luckily, I got to spend the past 10 days traveling around Eastern Europe. As a group we were able to go to four different countries and their major cities! We spent time in Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Riga, Latvia; and Tallinn, Estonia. It was one of the best vacations I have ever been on and I loved seeing the different cities and experiencing the various cultures. Now, let me talk a little bit about what I did in each of the countries. This is pretty much just going to be an overview though, so if you want in depth details, come talk to me in 2 weeks when I get back to the USA and I would love to tell you all about it :)
      The first country that we stopped in was Finland. We spent about a day and a half in Helsinki! Unfortunately, it was raining the whole time we were there and pretty chilly but we still tried to make the best of it. We actually ended up arriving on one of their holidays. Everyone was dressed up in sailor hats and these fancy pants. Apparently, the occasion was to celebrate students so there was a big parade, food, candy, and a ton of families out and about. Most of the places were closed in the city that day because of the holiday but we were planning on going to the Fortress of Suomenlinna. It is located on an island in the Baltic Sea about a 10 minute ferry ride from Helsinki. Even though it was raining and windy we decided to venture out to see the fortress and we weren't disappointed!

The streets of Helsinki. 

The Fortress was very cool. People actually live on the island so there were cute, little colorful houses everywhere. It was very green and open. I enjoyed seeing the spectacular views from the edges of the island. You could see out into the Baltic Sea and some swans even joined us as we were looking out. The rolling hills combined with the old fashioned buildings made it a beautiful scene. There were even hobbit looking houses on the island and a miniature beach that you could walk down to! It rained most of the time we were out there and it was freezing but the breathtaking view made up for the bad weather.

The first building you see at the fortress. 

The view from the edge of the island. 

 The second day in Helsinki we stuck to the center of the city. We explored the various souvenir shops and even went to the market on the pier. I loved looking at all of the locals selling handmade items and apparel. There were also a ton of local people cooking traditional Finnish cuisine that smelt delicious. I was a little scared when I was offered a fried sardine though. I still regret not trying it but it just looked so weird! After walking around the market we went to the main cathedral in Helsinki that overlooks most of the city. It has these huge stairs leading up to it and once you get to the top you can see most of Helsinki. It was a great view. The inside of the cathedral was nice as well, but very simple compared to the Russian churches I have been frequenting for the past 3 months. The rest of the time in the city was spent walking around the streets and exploring different sites and cathedrals that we stumbled upon. My favorite thing about Finland though, was probably the cinnamon rolls we had at our hotel for breakfast! The best cinnamon rolls I have ever had in my life! Finland treated me well and I would love to go back someday.

The main cathedral in Helsinki

Roaming around Finland. 

               The next country that we went to was Sweden. We spent 2 days in Stockholm, which was a good choice because I absolutely adored this city. It is located right on the water and is made up of many islands that are all connected. There are boats everywhere, colored buildings, and flowers. We stayed in a hotel that was right in the center of the city, right next to the Central Station which is one of the happening places in Stockholm. The first day we explored Old Town Stockholm which is called Gamla Stan. It is a compact area that is full of winding streets and colorful alley ways. It definitely reminded me of the typical European pictures you see of the colorful alley ways and I loved that. The buildings were all so old and historical. It helped that local souvenirs were located in most of the shops. Gamla Stan had a charm to it and I plan on going back to it and spending a lot of time there. We also saw the changing of the guards in front of Dottingham Palace on that first day. That was a big event as there were hundreds of people surrounding the guards. They were on horses and trotting around in front of the castle. Not to mention a lot of the guards were playing instruments on the horses. It was like a mini parade that everyone wanted a front row seat to, so I don't have great pictures but the horses were beautiful and the music was great. I also recommend the Nobel Prize Museum to anyone who goes to Stockholm because that was very interesting. We just happened to stumble upon it and go in but it turned out to be a great decision. They had the history of every Nobel Prize winner and backgrounds about each of them. So, if you like history and learning about those prizes it is a very high-tech, modern museum. 

Changing of the guards. 

Gamla Stan (old town Stockholm)

 The second day in Stockholm was spent at the Vasa Museum. This is one of the most popular things to see in Sweden. The museum contains a ship that was lost on the sea floor for 300 years and it was found, excavated, and now sits in a museum. If I am remembering right, I think about 90% of the ship is the original that was found in the ocean.
    Walking around the ship was breathtaking. It is gigantic and the detail that the original builders put into it is impressive. There was a lot of symbolism that went a long with the designs which was very interesting to learn about. Let's just say that the Vasa Museum is defininitely worth  the time it               takes to go through the 6 floors of the museum. It was probably my favorite part of Stockholm!

Flowers outside the Vasa Museum.

A view of the Vasa. 

 The next 3 days of our trip were spent in Riga, Latvia. On the first day there we walked around the city. Riga is a small little city and we were located right in the middle of Old Town where most of the tourist attractions are. Riga was a lot like Stockholm where it had the colorful buildings and precious little alleyways. I absolutely loved walking around and seeing what was down each one. That first day we went to a honey shop that we came upon and it was the best honey I have ever had in my life. The lady that was working there owned the shop and harvested and made all of the honey personally. It was a very cool shop and a lot of the girls bought the delicious honey. That day we also went to a World War II museum which was very informative. The museum was in an old tower that was a circle so the different floors were set up to go in chronological order as you went around the circles. I liked that I was able to see the history of Latvia through out the different wars leading up to World War II and then I was able to see what happened after. I had never realized that a lot of the Baltic states became free countries not that long ago. I realized that when I saw a picture of Bill Clinton signing a paper in the museum.

Stockholm, Sweden

  The next day in Latvia was probably my favorite day of the trip so far. We decided to go to Cesis, which is a small town about 2 hours away from Riga. In this town they have a castle that is from the 15th century that is in ruins. It is the main thing in this little town, and when I say little I definitely mean tiny. It took us about 5 minutes to walk through most of the town. Once we arrived at the castle, the employees gave us a lantern with a lit candle in it, and told us to go and explore. It was awesome because we could go anywhere we wanted to in the ruins and explore all of them. Of course, there were some places that were barred off because of structure issues, but overall we got to walk through and climb through most of the original castle. It was thrilling as we walked up the dark corridors with only the little light from our lanterns! All 8 of us girls also decided to play a game of Sardines in the castle, which was very fun. Even though some of the Brazilian tourists there thought it was weird we were all hiding throughout the castle. Another plus was the grounds surrounding the castle were beautiful. They were a luscious green with yellow dandelions everywhere. Then, on the outside of the castle wall there was a simple little park that had a nice lake with ducks in it. Of course I had to go feed the ducks and we ended up encountering a swan as well. It was a day well spent in Cesis. That night we went to a tavern called Ala. Itis an underground, authentic Latvian pub that was EXCITING! The only light in the place was candles and the wax from all of the candles was on the walls from melting over the years. A great thing as well was that the food was dirt cheap and super delicious. I ordered traditional meatballs that were scrumptious. They came with an interesting sauce that I don't really know how to describe and some sauerkraut. It was an overall mouthwatering meal and the scenery helped for a true Latvian tavern experience.

A view of the honey from the honey shop

A view of the wax from all of the years. 

My authentic Latvian food. 

Me with my lantern in front of the Cesis Castle. 

Some of the landscape surrounding the castle. 

   

  The last day in Riga wasn't too extravagant but we had a good time. It was raining and cold so we tried to stay inside most of the day. A lot of the day was spent walking around to the different cathedrals and going inside of them. Lexi and I also ended up walking around the streets of Riga because we couldn't find one of the churches. It was interesting because they had a bunch of huge, colored snails all around the city. Overall, Latvia was a great country!
       Finally, the last part of our vacation was spent in Estonia in the capital of the country, Tallinn. It is a city located up on the North coast right by the Baltic Sea. Unlike Stockholm and Riga, Tallinn was a medieval city that still had most of the original structures from the city walls upright and functioning. They had turned old city walls into parts of buildings and such. I loved the medieval look of this city. There were also a ton of lookout points in Tallinn that were gorgeous! When you stood on them you could see the whole old town part of the city and luckily again our hotel was located right in the center of the city. Most of our time in Tallinn was spent walking around the city. One of the days we had a local take us around so we learned about all of the history pertaining to different buildings and she took us to the various monuments which was nice because I always enjoy knowing the history behind where I am. The next day we went to the beach, unfortunately there was a rain storm following us throughout vacation and it caught up with us again at the beach but we still got to set foot in the Baltic Sea! It was soooo cold, but we made the best of our beach time by collecting sea glass, walking in the waves, and playing in the sand. There wasn't any sun to soak up though, which would have made it perfect. Our vacation was finished up by souvenir shopping in Old town. I think my favorite part about Tallinn though was this little tavern located in a church that we ate at 3 times! The employees were all dressed up in old medieval clothing and the only light in the restaurant was candle light. Every time we went we ordered a bowl of Elk soup that we got in old ceramic bowls and we had to drink the soup. It was surprisingly delicious and filling. They also sold delicious homemade apple pies that I know I will always dream about! One of the times I was also able to fish a pickle out of a barrel and eat it and I love pickles so that was a fun adventure! Tallinn will always be on the top of the list of most charming cities I have ever been to.

One of the original parts of Tallinn. 

View from one of the lookout points. 

Me at another lookout point. 

                    Hopefully I put enough detail into this post that you were able to get a feel for some of the fun that I experienced over the past 10 days! I know that I will never ever forget the great times I have had. I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to travel around some of Europe and experience different cultures and come into contact with new people. I definitely had my share of love, laughs, and life. I hope you all have a fantastic day and remember to be positive!

  

Setting foot in the Baltic Sea. 

Vacation to Lithuania

    Yes folks, you read that right. I had to opportunity to go visit Vilnius, Lithuania, this weekend for a fun little get away for three days. If you don't know anything about this country or even where it is, it is one of the Baltic States that broke away from the Soviet Union and is located right by the Baltic Sea. It is not a very big country at all, about the size of West Virginia but from what I experienced it has a lot to offer. Let me enlighten you on the adventures I experienced in this simple, yet extravagant little town.
     We left Thursday night around 10 pm for Lithuania. Our choice of travel was bus which unfortunately takes a really long time but it is also the cheapest option for poor college students like us. The bus ride took about 14 hours with a lay over in Riga, Latvia, which was fun to see the scenery of that country before we go back in May. Luckily the bus company was called Lux Express so it wasn't some old beat up school bus. There was a bathroom, free hot chocolate, and one of our buses even had touch screens on the back of each individual seat. Sitting in a bus for that many hours was not extravagant but it was cheap and gave us a scenic view of the Russian, Latvian, and Lithuanian countryside.

      We rolled into Vilnius around 12 PM on Friday afternoon, it was a very long and tiring bus ride and we were happy that we had finally arrived. My first impressions of the city was that it was a lot bigger than I had pictured it to be. From that moment I was thrilled to be able to explore the city. The first thing we did when we got off the bus was withdraw some Lithuanian money from the bank. Lithuanians use LTL's and it was about 2 USD per LTL so a pretty good exchange rate. I always enjoy seeing other countries currency because it is so interesting to see how they pay for things. All of the countries I have been to so far have been a lot different than the US, which is fun. After withdrawing money all 8 of us headed to our hotel, which was a super nice hotel. It had two HUGE rooms, a wooden staircase, a nice bathroom, free wifi, and a continental breakfast. It was one of the nicest hotels that I have ever stayed in before and fitting 8 girls in it was an adventure as well. Let's just say it was a big slumber party and we are always having a blast together.

Lithuanian currency.  About 9 USD. 

      

      

    After resting for a small moment at our hotel, we decided to go walk around the town for the night. Luckily, the city is small enough that you can get across it in about 30 minutes so we were able to see a lot in a little amount of time. I absolutely adored the city more and more after each little road and alley we walked down. The city is filled with cobblestone streets, European style buildings, and old ruins from the original parts of the city. One couldn't help but fill charmed by this old yet modern town. Another thing that I liked was that even though there was graffiti all over the place, it was decorative graffiti. Instead of swear words and gross pictures, the artists decided to make art which was really interesting. While walking around we also stumbled upon Piles Street, which was the most happening street in the city. It reminded me of walking around Old Town San Diego, there were little vendors everywhere, artists with their paintings out, and small little food places that were similar to food trucks. Fortunately, we were able to make getting ice cream every place we visit a tradition at one of the shops on the street. Along with this small street, we came upon various cathedrals that were very beautiful and one of them even had a crown on top that our Russian mom Sveta told us to see. It was absolutely gorgeous. Once we returned to our hotel our day finished with eating Lithuanian pizza. I decided to get a vegetarian pizza and it was one of the most delicious pizzas I have ever eaten in my life. The crust was thin, the veggies were roasted perfectly, and everything meshed well into a scrumptious overall taste. One interesting thing was that they offered us fry sauce with our pizza! Who knew that Lithuanians knew what fry sauce was, I thought it was a Utah thing. Needless to say, the first day in Vilnius was a successful one.  

One of the alleys with the sun shining through. 

Some of the graffiti in the city. 

My vegetarian pizza. 

    The second day in Vilnius was just as exciting as the first day. We started off the day by heading to the cathedral with the crown on top. Unfortunately, it was closed so we weren't able to go inside but as I stated previously, the outside was very extravagant. Next, we went and relaxed in the park on Piles Street because the sun was out and we never ever see the sun in St. Pete's. It was great to feel the warming sensation of the sun on my face again and all of us just wanted to sit there and soak up the sun. So...some of the girls decided to feed pigeons and others decided to go look at the vendors and we all just laid back and soaked up some vitamin D. Finally, we started our trek to see some of the sights in Lithuania. The first place we went to was the city wall that the Lithuanian's built around their whole city to protect it. There was a very beautiful view from the surrounding area and the wall was old and charming. After that we decided to take the hike up to the tower that overlooks the city of Vilnius. The hike up to it is a steep, cobblestone road. Once to the top it was a breath taking view. If you spun in a circle you could see the whole city from just that one point. Thankfully it was a beautiful day with the sun shining, blue skies, and no wind. Sitting up on that hill overlooking the city was pure bliss and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to see such a extravagant city. The rest of the day we strolled around Vilnius to take in the last couple of hours we would be able to spend in the city. We ventured to a KGB and holocaust museum that was a tribute to the Lithuanians deported during WWII and also an old KGB prison in the basement. It was a great tribute to history but it was also very saddening to see the persecution that these people experienced. I felt sorrow for them and grateful for my life and the blessings that I have had in it of safety and always knowing I have a place called home. Finally, since we were saddened by the museum we decided to go find some dinner. I decided to get a burrito, pannini like thing that was probably one of the most delicious things I have ever had in my life. It had roasted meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and this delicious sauce (I have no idea what it was). I tried to eat it slow but it was so delicious that I couldn't, my mouth is even watering thinking about it now. Before heading to the bus station we decided to treat ourselves one more time to ice cream. It has been interesting to me while abroad the various ice cream flavors other countries have, and Lithuania did not disappoint. I was able to get kiwi ice cream in a waffle cone and it tasted exactly like a kiwi. It was very scrumptious. 

In the center of Vilnius

Lithuanian ice cream. 

The cathedral with the crown. 

   













     This weekend was one of the best ones of my life. Vilnius is on the top of my list of places to return to and visit in my life. If you are looking for a relaxing time somewhere and a place where people are happy, the setting is beautiful, and there are fun but not strenuous things to do Vilnius, Lithuania is definitely the city for you. As you stroll along the river at night or gander around Piles street during the day, you will experience happiness and know that you are in a special place. I really hope my post has done Vilnius justice because even though it is a small city and a tiny country, it has a whole big heart. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, I hope it brought you some joy and a little bit of knowledge about Lithuania. Remember to show love to everyone. We are all in this together and sometimes just a smile or taking a moment to invest in someone's life can turn a their day of even their life around. Live you life to the fullest, laugh until your belly hurts, serve others selflessly, and love with all your heart. Until next time :)

Here Comes the Sun

     Hey my blogging friends, I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog I have just been really busy here in Russia living it up. But I am going to update you on what has been going on the past couple of weeks, don't be too excited :)

      In classes the past two weeks we have been doing a lot of arts and crafts. For St. Patrick's day, which they don't celebrate in Russia, some of my kids and I made leprechaun faces. Now, I had to have a detailed description of what a leprechaun was and what St. Patrick's day was but eventually they understood and really enjoyed themselves. What kid wouldn't love becoming a leprechaun for a day?

My little leprechauns. Dasha didn't get the memo :)

            Also in classes this week we talked a lot about the weather. In one of my schools we took on the adventure of making umbrellas. Very appropriate since it has been raining and snowing here a lot lately. It was very interesting watching my children attempt to explain to me what an umbrella was because they didn't know what it was called in English and they aren't allowed to speak Russian. Let's just say it involved a lot sound effects and charades. I absolutely love that about my kids, no matter what we are talking about they always have a sound effect to describe it. This makes classes very funny and interesting! Anyways, once they figured out what an umbrella was in English and what it is used for my children really enjoyed making their little umbrellas. I am  in love with my Russian babies if you haven't noticed, but  who wouldn't? Look at how cute they are!

Gosha being the little crazy boy he is. 

Kostia and Tioma

Love sassy Rita. 

    That is an over view of my teaching the past two weeks, which has definitely been fantastic and rewarding. Nothing feels better than having one of your kids spontaneously start speaking English and having it make sense. I finally feel like I have started to make an impact on these children. It makes all of the stressful, crazy days worth it. 

     

   

                                                                          Now on to one of my favorite days of every week, which is Saturday! On Saturday's we either go on a cultural excursion or we have a Russian cooking class. We have our own little Russian mama named Sveta! She is definitely my favorite Russian and she makes me so happy. I don't think I will ever be able to thank her for all she has taught me about the Russian culture but I am definitely grateful for what she has taught and showed me so far. 

         First, for culture class two weeks ago Sveta taught us how to make Borsch. This is a really popular Russian soup that is totally Russian. It takes about an hour and a half to make in total but it is worth every minute of work. YES, it is that scrumptious. Some of the ingredients in it include: beets, onions, cabbage, tomato, potatoes, shredded chicken, and carrots. Once it is all finished you sprinkle it with dill and put some smatana on it. Smatana (totally butchered the English spelling of it) is like the Russian version of sour cream. It is a little bit runnier and not as creamy tasting as sour cream but overall it is very delicious. When those two things are added to the finished soup the soup is ready to eat. The flavor explodes in your mouth and the second you take your first bite you fall in love with the succulent spices and combinations of flavors in the Borsch. I am so thrilled that I know how to make this soup now and you better bet I am going to make it when I get home. A very successful Saturday filled of delicious flavors and great memories.

Picture of my first bowl of Russian borsch! The white globs are smatana and the green is dill.

           This Saturday was a fantastic one as well. First, I have to say that the weather was amazing so that helped a lot. It was about 45 degrees outside (which is a lot for St. Petersburg) and the sun was shining bright so it made the day a lot happier! Sveta took us to the Cathedral on Spilled Blood, also known as the Resurrection Cathedral. This Cathedral looks a lot like St. Basil's in Moscow which is one of the most iconic pictures of what Russia is. Anyways, the cathedral is along a canal and you walk along the canal and up to the ginormous view of the new Russian style. There is also a bridge that gives you the perfect view of the cathedral from far away. It is definitely a picturesque site that will be engraved in my mind forever. Inside of the cathedral was very beautiful as well. The whole inside of the church is made up of mosaics. They are all over the walls and I can only imagine how long it took the architects to finish all of the artwork but it was mind blowing! I absolutely loved this cathedral and the surroundings of it. Just the atmosphere of the sun shining, walking along the river, and gazing upon the brilliant cathedral was a day well spent. 

Sveta and I. Love my Russian mom!!!

 After we went and explored around the cathedral and saw the inside, we were very hungry! So, Sveta took us to a Russian Pie place. Russian pie is a lot different than the traditional American pie, but it definitely holds it ground in the taste test. I got a piece of pie that was a mozzarella and tomato pie. It was soooo delicious and the mozzarella and tomato meshed very well together. I absolutely loved it. My dessert pie was a berry dessert pie. It had blackberries and raspberries in it. For anyone who knows me very well, I am obsessed with berries. I could eat a whole carton of raspberries by myself. So let's just say I was in heaven with the combination of the raspberries and blackberries and the pie crust. It was so delicious that I wanted to lick my plate clean. That would not be very acceptable though, especially in Russia. The best part was it only cost 100 rubles which is about $3! Plus it was a lot of food and very filling. It was a great end to a great day!
       That is it for this post. I am loving my time here in Russia and I can't believe it is going by so fast. I am so grateful that I could come here and serve these kids to help them have a better future. Do a little service around your house or in your life this week, it really does make you feel great. Have a great week everyone and remember to smile!

The gate surrounding the Cathedral. 

                                                       

My tomato and mozzarella pie and my berry pie. 

Me with my pie!

Lighting in the cathedral with the mosaics in the background.