Simple Girl, Simple Life: 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!