What adventures Russia gave us this week:

Working on the Spec-Tacle-

Based on how rehearsals went this past week, the concert should end up being either absolutely epic or very disastrous. One aspect of the performance we can count on being awesome, though, is the "Cowboy Joe" song--they love it. If all else fails, they'll at least sing that one loud and proud.

The last week of teaching was abnormally good--I actually liked it quite a lot. After almost four months, I still can't say that I'm pro at this teaching English stuff. But I've learned so much from these darn cute kids, and I've definitely grown quite fond of them all. I love hearing "Hye-lo Mees Ollie!" and getting attacked with hugs everyday. Its weird that we won't see them again after this week--I don't really know how I'm going to react to all that.

A couple pictures of my kids--who couldn't love these kids?!

Yuliana: our former evil child turned angelic.


Since every other kid seems to be named Sasha here, our nickname for this little guy is "dimple Sasha." He's such a sweetheart.


Masha. She's a bit of a space cadet, but such a cutie. The cutest thing she does is give us the thumbs-up sign and wink--something we think she probably learned from some past ILP teachers.

Climbing Sparrow Hills-

What the tour books claim to be the best view of Moscow. While it was pretty overcast, we still got a pretty great view:




The icing on the cake was that they even had a Kroshka Kartoshka up there at the top for me. Which was, as always, wonderfully cheap and delicious. Even though this one didn't have my favorite topping option: the soured cabbage.

Seeing the Novodevichy Convent...
One of the Novodevichy's claims to fame is that it is the oldest working convent in Russia--founded in 1524--which has made it the 3rd most popular tourist site in Moscow. The walls and cathedrals were awesome, and we even got to see several nuns walking around the grounds.





The most interesting part of it seeing a little girl inside the largest cathedral who, the nuns told us, was getting ready to be baptized. She was probably about 5 or 6, was in a cute white dress, and was being taken around to each of the icons by what looked to be her dad, who had his arm around her and was kneeling beside her as he pointed to and talked about each one.








Another great fact the Novodevichy Convent can boast is that it is where my current favorite Russian historical figure, Czarina Sofia Alekseyevna, was sent after trying to have her crazy younger brother, Peter the Great, assassinated.

What a looker.

... and Cemetery
Which is the final resting place of several famous Russians, such as Chekhov, Krushchev, Gogol, and more.


Me and Shostakovich--who wrote the Leningrad Symphony (Symphony #7) during and for the victims of the 900 Day Siege. Its hard to see, but his tombstone has some music notes on it. I quite liked it.

The creepiest tombstone:

Nadezhda Alliluyeva--Stalin's second wife. No one is sure whether she committed suicide after a huge fight at a public dinner party between her and Stalin, or whether he killed her and framed her death. The whole head in a box thing was a bit unsettling.

Boris Yeltsin

While I didn't particularly love Russia's first president's flag gravestone, the guy does have a very tough-sounding name. My firstborn son just may have to be a "Boris."
Going to a Russian Circus:
One of the best performances of any kind I've been to--so cool. While the dancing bears and lions were cool to see, they didn't seem very happy down there. The seals, though, seemed to eat the applause right up--those things are pure muscle, its crazy. So they were probably my favorite.




The human tricks were pretty impressive, too. Not to mention nerve-wracking to watch. This guy balanced people on ladders with his neck. Oy.


And last but not least...
Surviving another babushka run-in:
For some reason, I seem to make the old Russian ladies here very angry on metros. My offense this time was talking too loudly.

I hate being yelled at by the babushkas--makes you feel really awful. Made for a funny picture, though.

8 more days til home! Bittersweet. Hoping to take in as much of Russia as I possibly can this next week.