Hello again!
It's been awhile since we had something exciting to write about and then everything happened at once!
Last Saturday (the 5th) we went with some friends to the KHL All Star Game! It started with talent competitions and then the game began! Matthew and I were pulling for the red team since it had the most St Petersburg players on it (and my new favorite player!). Our friend Masha was pulling for the blue team who ended up winning.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the All Star game, basically they get together good players past and present who are all currently playing and put them on two teams and have a match! In general, because these games are for fun and don't go into the stats the players don't play as hard and it is higher scoring. But more fun things happen which is always good and the energy is really high!
For example, at the end of the game the red team pulled their goalie so they could get another player on the ice. A blue player broke through with the puck and so the red team started throwing their sticks at him. :-) This would never happen in a real game and was fun to watch!
For example, at the end of the game the red team pulled their goalie so they could get another player on the ice. A blue player broke through with the puck and so the red team started throwing their sticks at him. :-) This would never happen in a real game and was fun to watch! 
Scoring on the blue team! Hooray!
All together!As many of you know, Matthew and I both went to Moscow this past week. Matthew took his 11/12 class to the Armory and the State Historical Museum (entrance below) and the AP English teacher took the same classes to Tolstoy's estate. I came because I can. ;-)
Below is part of the Kremlin wall. Kremlin just means fortress or castle. At its earliest, a wooden fortress existed here in 1140!
Below is part of the Kremlin wall. Kremlin just means fortress or castle. At its earliest, a wooden fortress existed here in 1140! 
Our group by a war memorial for St. Petersburg. In Cyrillic (Russian alphabet), it says Leningrad, which was the name of SP during the USSR. Something that is commonly recognized and memorialized in Russia and in SP specifically is The Blockade. Leningrad was completely closed off by the Germans in WWII for 900 days. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history and had the highest casualties (1,500,000 - soldiers and civilians largely due to starvation). It is the largest life loss ever in a modern city.
So that is what this is a memorial to. There are many in SP as well. Something indeed to remember.
We couldn't take any pictures in the Armory so we don't have anything to share from that.
Tolstoy asked to be buried in the woods. When he was a child his younger brother told him he had found a green stick with a secret on it that would make everyone happy and bring peace. He told Leo that he had buried it in this wood and Tolstoy wanted to be buried over that stick.
We couldn't take any pictures in the Armory so we don't have anything to share from that. The next day we drove way out of the city to Yasnaya Polyana, his estate and where he spend most of his life and all of his time writing.
The picture below is of the Birch Walk where he planted a long aisle flanked by tons of birch trees. And the students we were with. :-)
There are several buildings on the estate but this is the house that Tolstoy, his wife, and their THIRTEEN kids lived.
There are several buildings on the estate but this is the house that Tolstoy, his wife, and their THIRTEEN kids lived. Anna Karenina and War and Peace were written in this house!
Again, no pictures allowed. But in his life his family realized he was and would be a great and significant mind and writer. So they did a fantastic job preserving his things and his home. His office/writing room is set up as it was when he used it and there is a picture of him at the desk writing! You half expect to look up from the picture and see him sitting there!
Tolstoy asked to be buried in the woods. When he was a child his younger brother told him he had found a green stick with a secret on it that would make everyone happy and bring peace. He told Leo that he had buried it in this wood and Tolstoy wanted to be buried over that stick. He has no headstone and is only a simple mound.
On a much less reverent note, the sign for the area warned you that you were entering a "quite" zone. The students and I were much amused.
-Amanda
The photo above is of a church in the city of Tula. Tula is very close to Yasnaya Polyana and we briefly stopped there. I'm always excited to visit another Russian city:-)
And now I, Matthew, take over to fill in more details on the rest of the trip. Amanda returned early, leaving Wednesday night so that she could get back to her class. I remained in Moscow with the students for the basketball tournament on Friday. The 9/10th graders came down on Thursday to provide a fan section for the team, so our entire high school was in Moscow!
This is the entrance to the Baptist Seminary where we stayed in Moscow. The facilities were nice and they provided us with breakfast in the morning. The only downside was that it was a good 15 minute walk on icy sidewalks to get to the metro, but even then that wasn't too bad.
This is a photo looking up at one of the corners of the State Historical Museum which stands opposite St. Basil's on Red Square.
Our intrepid heroes on Red Square! Plus, its visibly winter in the background, making this photo extra-Russian:-)
The State Historical Museum from the middle of Red Square.
Lenin's Mausoleum. The father of Russian communism continues to be publicly displayed in Red Square 87 years after his death. His presence is understandably controversial and a few weeks again the controversy was reignited with some members of the Russian duma calling for Lenin's removal from Red Square. For now he remains as a "living" example of history. Where else can you view the preserved bodies of one of the most influential people of the 20th century?
Luckily, all of us got the chance to see him. This was my second time to view Lenin and the experience is unique to say the least. There is still a great deal of ceremony surrounding the Mausoleum, but in post-Soviet Russia it is devoid of most of its meaning. Guards are still positioned throughout the mausoleum to enforce a reverent atmosphere (men were asked to remove their hats, hands were to remain out of pockets, and no one was allowed to stop moving as we filed past Lenin's body).
St. Basil's Cathedral, perhaps the most iconic church in all of Russia, and certainly the one most instantly recognizable to foreigners.
This is the ceiling of the grand entrance hall of the State Historical Museum. It depicts all of the Tsars and Princes who have ruled Russia throughout its long history. The museum was completed in the late 19th century, so it does not depict any later leaders but it is still an impressive visual representation of the long scope of Russia's history.
Here is IA's 9/10th grade class on Arbat Street. Arbat is one of the oldest and most famous streets in the city, so we paid it a visit.
This was something that I was very excited to see- the famous side street next to Arbat that commemorates Viktor Tsoi. Viktor Tsoi was the lead singer and songwriter for the Soviet rock band Kino. He died 20 years ago in a car crash, but is still remembered as a hero of Russian music and for many Russians Kino's music provides the soundtrack to the last years of the Soviet Union. I happen to be a fan of the band so I had my picture taken:-)
Tip off at the basketball tournament! IA played in a one day tournament hosted by the Anglo-American school of Moscow. We had a bit of excitement getting to the tournament- the bus that we rented to take the team and all of the teachers and students became stuck while trying to go down a narrow street packed with parked cars on either side. One car in particular was sticking out just a bit too far to let our bus past. After some deliberation about what to do, I got to join in with the rest of the basketball team as we picked up and moved the car. It was one of the most memorable moments I've had as a teacher and we were greeted with a chorus of cheers as we reentered the bus. Its going to take more than a narrow lane of snow packed cars to keep the Cossacks from playing!
Some of our high school girls posing here with our school's principle!
And one final photo from the tournament. We won two games and lost one which put us in third place overall in the six team tournament. The one game we lost was hard fought and very close. We're proud of our students for a wonderful week in Moscow. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to take this group of students. The school has never sent a group to Moscow for a whole week, and these students rose to the occasion and behaved excellently.
Of course a trip like this couldn't end without one last bit of excitement, which came at the very end. Because the basketball tournament was only one day, we had to leave almost immediately after our last game in order to catch our train home to St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, our bus got stuck in Moscow's infamous traffic which forced us to ditch the bus and take the metro. There was a bit of a scramble to try to match up students who didn't have any rides left on their metro passes with those that did, but we managed to get everyone in and safely negotiated Moscow's labyrinthine metro to the train station.
And finally, a word on the age old conflict of Moscow vs. St. Petersburg. There is quite the rivalry between the two cities and both have very distinct feels. My sympathies like strongly with St. Petersburg, as do almost all of our students and teachers. Moscow is an impressive city, but also very much bigger, more crowded, and with a somewhat less welcoming populace. I was shoved more on the streets and in the metro in two days in Moscow than I have been in six months in Petersburg. Still, it all comes down to a matter of preference: the European appearance of St. Petersburg and its more relaxed atmosphere, or the bustling big city feel of Moscow and its enormous population and undeniable affluence. The high school and teachers left in good spirits, rejoicing that we get to live in St. Petersburg and not Moscow:-D
-Matt and Amanda
On a much less reverent note, the sign for the area warned you that you were entering a "quite" zone. The students and I were much amused.-Amanda
The photo above is of a church in the city of Tula. Tula is very close to Yasnaya Polyana and we briefly stopped there. I'm always excited to visit another Russian city:-)And now I, Matthew, take over to fill in more details on the rest of the trip. Amanda returned early, leaving Wednesday night so that she could get back to her class. I remained in Moscow with the students for the basketball tournament on Friday. The 9/10th graders came down on Thursday to provide a fan section for the team, so our entire high school was in Moscow!
This is the entrance to the Baptist Seminary where we stayed in Moscow. The facilities were nice and they provided us with breakfast in the morning. The only downside was that it was a good 15 minute walk on icy sidewalks to get to the metro, but even then that wasn't too bad.
This is a photo looking up at one of the corners of the State Historical Museum which stands opposite St. Basil's on Red Square.
Our intrepid heroes on Red Square! Plus, its visibly winter in the background, making this photo extra-Russian:-)
The State Historical Museum from the middle of Red Square.
Lenin's Mausoleum. The father of Russian communism continues to be publicly displayed in Red Square 87 years after his death. His presence is understandably controversial and a few weeks again the controversy was reignited with some members of the Russian duma calling for Lenin's removal from Red Square. For now he remains as a "living" example of history. Where else can you view the preserved bodies of one of the most influential people of the 20th century?Luckily, all of us got the chance to see him. This was my second time to view Lenin and the experience is unique to say the least. There is still a great deal of ceremony surrounding the Mausoleum, but in post-Soviet Russia it is devoid of most of its meaning. Guards are still positioned throughout the mausoleum to enforce a reverent atmosphere (men were asked to remove their hats, hands were to remain out of pockets, and no one was allowed to stop moving as we filed past Lenin's body).
St. Basil's Cathedral, perhaps the most iconic church in all of Russia, and certainly the one most instantly recognizable to foreigners.
This is the ceiling of the grand entrance hall of the State Historical Museum. It depicts all of the Tsars and Princes who have ruled Russia throughout its long history. The museum was completed in the late 19th century, so it does not depict any later leaders but it is still an impressive visual representation of the long scope of Russia's history.
Here is IA's 9/10th grade class on Arbat Street. Arbat is one of the oldest and most famous streets in the city, so we paid it a visit.
This was something that I was very excited to see- the famous side street next to Arbat that commemorates Viktor Tsoi. Viktor Tsoi was the lead singer and songwriter for the Soviet rock band Kino. He died 20 years ago in a car crash, but is still remembered as a hero of Russian music and for many Russians Kino's music provides the soundtrack to the last years of the Soviet Union. I happen to be a fan of the band so I had my picture taken:-)
Tip off at the basketball tournament! IA played in a one day tournament hosted by the Anglo-American school of Moscow. We had a bit of excitement getting to the tournament- the bus that we rented to take the team and all of the teachers and students became stuck while trying to go down a narrow street packed with parked cars on either side. One car in particular was sticking out just a bit too far to let our bus past. After some deliberation about what to do, I got to join in with the rest of the basketball team as we picked up and moved the car. It was one of the most memorable moments I've had as a teacher and we were greeted with a chorus of cheers as we reentered the bus. Its going to take more than a narrow lane of snow packed cars to keep the Cossacks from playing!
Some of our high school girls posing here with our school's principle!
And one final photo from the tournament. We won two games and lost one which put us in third place overall in the six team tournament. The one game we lost was hard fought and very close. We're proud of our students for a wonderful week in Moscow. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to take this group of students. The school has never sent a group to Moscow for a whole week, and these students rose to the occasion and behaved excellently.Of course a trip like this couldn't end without one last bit of excitement, which came at the very end. Because the basketball tournament was only one day, we had to leave almost immediately after our last game in order to catch our train home to St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, our bus got stuck in Moscow's infamous traffic which forced us to ditch the bus and take the metro. There was a bit of a scramble to try to match up students who didn't have any rides left on their metro passes with those that did, but we managed to get everyone in and safely negotiated Moscow's labyrinthine metro to the train station.
And finally, a word on the age old conflict of Moscow vs. St. Petersburg. There is quite the rivalry between the two cities and both have very distinct feels. My sympathies like strongly with St. Petersburg, as do almost all of our students and teachers. Moscow is an impressive city, but also very much bigger, more crowded, and with a somewhat less welcoming populace. I was shoved more on the streets and in the metro in two days in Moscow than I have been in six months in Petersburg. Still, it all comes down to a matter of preference: the European appearance of St. Petersburg and its more relaxed atmosphere, or the bustling big city feel of Moscow and its enormous population and undeniable affluence. The high school and teachers left in good spirits, rejoicing that we get to live in St. Petersburg and not Moscow:-D
-Matt and Amanda
