Thanksgiving and First Snow!

Greetings from the Snow-covered streets of St. Petersburg:-)

Winter got off to an unusually early start for St. Pete's this week as cold winds and snow greeted us. St. Petersburg, while certainly subject to cold temperatures and snowfall, is not all that different in terms of its weather from Northern Indiana where we lived before, so even the locals here were surprised by the several inch deep snow that has covered the ground for the past half week. With temperatures in the upper teens and twenties (Fahrenheit) and a nice stiff breeze from the Gulf of Finland, we've been getting a taste of what will no doubt be the norm for all of January and February:-)

However, an early start to winter weather did not dampen our spirits of gratitude as we celebrated Thanksgiving this past week. While Thanksgiving day was spent working at school, we had the day off on Friday and spent it with Masha's family on Kronstadt. A good time was had by all and Amanda and I got to stretch our Russian language abilities a bit. Saturday was the World Partners Thanksgiving celebration with the rest of our team members. We enjoyed a meal of typical American foods like turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie:-)

We certainly have much to be thankful for this year, as these past 11 months have been extremely eventful for Amanda and I:
- graduation in May
- wedding May 22
- a summer filled with planning for departure, visiting friends and family, and
adjusting to married life
- moving to Russia and settling in to a new country
- beginning work as first year teachers at IA

Through all of this, we have been so blessed by God and what He has done through other people. The support we have from our friends and family both here and in America, the prayers and gifts of our wonderful donors, and the constant encouragement from everyone at IA has sustained us and helped us thrive through our first four months here in Russia.

So a heart-felt thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, given financially, sent us words of encouragement, told others about our work, or done anything else known or unknown to help us here!

As is often the case, here are a few photographs that cover the past week or so of our activities:


Tuesday night we watched CKA, St. Petersburg's hockey team, take on Spartak Moscow in a great game. Unfortunately, Spartak won 5-4 in a shootout. We sat right behind the fan section and took this picture of their colorful flags.


A picture of the action at the other end. Watching world class hockey from the 18th row for less than $7 a ticket is easy to get used to:-P


The goalie for Spartak was none other than NHL legend Dominic Hasek! He's still playing at age 45 and looked pretty good in the game.


A snow-covered bridge on Kronstadt from the night we had dinner with Masha's family.


A picture of our snowy courtyard taken from out of our window.


Our playground is even more fun with the added snow!


World Partners Thanskgiving in Russia! I couldn't get everyone in the picture, but a good time was had by all!

-Matt

Flowers and Q& A

So our anniversary (6 months! Not a year yet.) is the 22nd! So we gave presents last weekend and Matthew gave me a lovely daisy bouquet. :-) As of now we have spent more of our "married life" in Russia than in the US!

Pictures!

We also recieved a wonderful package from Grace Church and their kids department! It had tons of things like postits, fun computer paper, stickers for good papers, and games for our classes!

They also sent us tons of pictures they drew, some of which are on our refrigerator.

The whole thing made us smile a lot and was a lot of fun.

We also got cards with questions for us so we will answer those here!

Q) Is it cold there?

A) Yes, but no more so than when we lived in South Bend, IN. The weather is fairly similar actually. Constant, drastic changes in weather or temperature from bodies of water. But the wind here is the killer. We live fairly close to the Gulf of Finland and the wind that comes in from the Gulf is cutting and frigid! So that is much colder.

Q) Do you go to church/do they have church?

A) They do have church. Traditional Russian Christianity is called Orthodoxy, but Protestant or Lutheran is common here as well. We go to a Protestant church and the service is in Russian, translated to English.

Q) What do you like to eat?

A) We like our American food and they do have Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and KFC here. But as far as Russian food, there are many things we like. One is called Perogi. It can be like a pie or it can be like a pastry. They have ones filled with meat and they have ones filled with fruit or chocolate. We have a little store that makes them on our walk to school and they are very cheap and wonderful there. About $1! We also like something called Blini. They are like crepes but the Russians have many more kinds of fillings for them. They fill them with caviar and chicken, and chocolate and banana. Tons of different kinds! For more about blini, check out Matthew's post. Finally, there is a wonderful thing here called Sirok. It is a kind of dessert cheese and they have them in little chocolate covered bars. They taste just like little cheesecakes!

Q) What is your favorite store?

A) Our favorite grocery stores are called Paloshka and Lenta. They have a huge variety of things that other stores do not so we like going there. We don't really go clothes shopping because clothes here are so expensive! There is a new department store that opened here on Nevsky called Stockman's and they have a grocery store in the basement that has all sorts of things that we can't usually get here (like oreo's and Ritz Bits with Cheese!).

Q) Have you had a good time?

A) Yes! We really like being here. The city is nice and we live in one of the best areas in the city. Also the school we teach at is the best school I have ever taught in and we love everyone we work with and our students! It will be very hard to leave here someday.

Q) Have you gotten sick and had to go to the doctor?

A) No, thank goodness! We have both been pretty healthy. We've both had colds and I have a but of stomach weirdness right now but we have not been so sick we have had to go to the doctor. Matthew did have to go to the doctor for another reason though! He had to go so that the government would see if he was healthy and decide if we could stay here or not! So he went with other people from school and they had to go to different doctors who did different things and sent the results to us and the government. He is healthy so we can stay!

So if anyone else is interested in sending us questions, we would be glad to answer them! Thank you Grace for your wonderful package and constant prayers!

Amanda

Harvest Party!

Hello everyone!
It has been awhile! Things got busy and routine around here but we are back with a photo filled post for today!
November the 5th Matthew and I helped with a high school lock in. It went really well and because we have amazing kids there were no problems at all! I stayed up till about 3 am and then slept for a while and Matthew stayed up all night.
Yesterday we ran a 80's themed room for the school's Harvest Party. Very much like a Halloween party but in November and not everyone in the school is from a country that does Halloween. So this allowed everyone to get in on dressing up!
Our room was karaoke from the 80's (in theory though we had many other songs).
So some pictures!
These are two of my students. On the right we have a World War I aviator (he had goggles on and off through the day) and on the left we have an 80's punk. He used to have fairly long hair so that was a surprise! They sang various songs but in this picture it was Do-Re-Me.

Here we have Ben, one of our Australians, singing Yesterday!

One of Matthew's Korean students singing Solider of Fortune by Deep Purple. We were very impressed he knew it! Especially since the only other song he knew in the book was Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree!

In purple and also (at least the girl on the left) styled to the 80's!
Our amazing 4th and 5th grade teacher singing a very dramatic and apparently weird (it was in Russian so I couldn't tell!) song.

Her family came as the Flintstones (full picture below). She is in my 6th grade class and was a good Dino!

From the Japanese families there were paper throwing stars. The twins are Japanese school girls and the older girl is in traditional Japanese dress.

These girls went as 50's ladies. The one in front looked exactly like a 50's Menonite which was hilarious!

We had a Bottle of Coke and the one next to her is one of my 6th graders as a greaser. He has the most hair I have ever seen on a boy so it was perfect!

Again we have the meonite and next to her "Dancing Queen" from ABBA (read her sign!)

And the Flintstones in their car! You can't see Dino but you can see the rest of the family. And they sang the whole theme song which was pretty cool. :-)

Here we have the high school Mafia. Apparently these amazing clothes were left in their apartment by their landlord! Very nice!

And Pacman for the 80's! On the back they had the blue and white aliens for when they are being chased!

And finally, our Swedish family went as the Swedish royal family!

So that is all for now and there will be more again soon!

Amanda

Rivals

Throughout history, there have been epic rivalries that define their eras.


Yankees vs. Red Sox


Democrats vs. Republicans


Paper vs. Plastic


Coke vs. Pepsi

But perhaps the greatest rivalry in all of St. Petersburg is to be found in the cutthroat world of fast-food blini. It is the rivalry between...

Teremok and Chainaya Lozhka!!!!!

Blini is a popular Russian dish. Blini are essentially the same as crepes and can be filled with various savory or sweet fillings including chicken, creme, ham, cheese, sausages, mushrooms, fish, and even caviar (for the savory ones) and berries, jams, chocolate, and sweet cream cheesy fillings (for sweet ones).

Blini has become a popular fast food in Russia in the past ten years or so and many different restaurants, street side kiosks, and food court stalls can be found across St. Petersburg serving different variations on this delicious food. However, two chains in particular have distinguished themselves in the unbiased opinion of this writer:

Teremok! (Теремок)



Chainaya Lozhka (Чайная Ложка)


(note: none of these pictures in this post are ones that we took. You can find them all posted on other sites)

One never has to go far in St. Petersburg without seeing these familiar logos. And both most certainly have their advantages. Depending on the type of experience and food you are craving will determine which place will manage to make you part with your hard-earned rubles. A word about both places is in order.

Teremok!


A Teremok store at a mall food court.

Teremok is a fast growing company with over 150 outlets between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company was even featured in an article on Time Magazine's website in 2008.

In a land known for its somewhat surly customer service, Teremok is a breath of fresh air. The company stresses customer service and even makes its employees address you by archair Russian terms that translate to "master" and "mistress." How's that for service?

In comparison to Chainaya Lozhka, Teremok also offers the bigger blini. In addition to blini, Teremok also offers an array of Russian salads and soups and essential sides like buckwheat. Beer and a house brew of kvas are also available, along with tea, coffee, cappuccino, and soda.

Some personal highlights from the menu include:


The "E-Mail." I'm not sure what earned this delicious blini that name, but the irresistible combination of mushrooms and cream makes this a staple of my Teremok dining experience.


The "Alyosha Popovich." Like the "E-Mail," this blini sports an imaginative name, this time named after one of the heroes of Russian folklore (Teremok also offers another blini named after another folk hero, Ilya of Murom, but I haven't tried it yet). The Alyosha Popovich is filled with chicken and a delicious sweet cream sauce.


For desert, one need look no further than the "Lakomka." This delicious blini is filled with а sweet cream-cheese like substance that tastes a bit like cheese cake (It is made from a cheese called Quark in English) and also small apricot pieces.

Chainaya Lozhka ("teaspoon")


A typical Chainaya Lozhka storefront.


The interior of a typical Chainya Lozhka restaurant.

Well what on earth could Chainaya Lozhka offer in response to such an array of mouth-watering delicacies is the thought that is undoubtedly running through your mind. And it indeed is an understandble thought: Teremok blini are delicious. However, Chainaya Lozhka has a few tricks up its sleeve as well.

Atmosphere is one area where Chainaya Lozhka surpasses Teremok. All food is served on actually plates with real silverwear. None of the paper plates and plastic silverwear that Teremok offers: white china and silverwear is what you can count on at Chainaya Lozhka. The only downside to this is that the tables aren't large enough to accomodate the large array of plates that you will get if you order one of their...

Lunch Specials! Chainaya Lozhka can't rival Teremok in terms of the size of their blini, but they have found some nice ways to supplement their smaller (but still delicious) fare. For just 142 rubles (around $4.70) you can get a blini, a Russian salad, and a personal pot of tea.

Russians think of "salad" in the way that we use the word for dishes like "egg salad," "potato salad," or "tuna salad." This means one word: mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is a staple of the Russian diet. Diet friendly? No. Delicious? You better believe it. So the salads you can expect at Chainaya Lozhka are salads mixed with things like eggs, tomato, cheese, potatoes, beats, carrots, and mayonnaise.

The personal tea pot is a nice touch too. You can order a pot of tea at Teremok, but at Chainaya Lozhka you can refill your pot with more hot water yourself. At Teremok you have to ask them to do it at the counter, which can be a bit of a pain if its busy (and it often is). Plus, you still get a nice tea cup with a saucer.

Chainaya Lozhka also offers one blini in particular with potatoes in it that is delicious. The combination of potatoes and beef works together perfectly for this particular blini.


This is what your table will look like if you get a lunch special at Chainaya Lozhka!

Amanda and I both enjoy eating at these two places. While my personal sympathies lie with Teremok, I do appreciate a meal at Chainaya Lozhka. My one complaint is that they have a penchant for playing Russian folk music that sounds like its being sung by the Chipmunks non-stop.

A note from Amanda: I actually like Chinaya Lozhka better! I like the amount of sides you get and we have never had to stalk people for a table at a Chinaya Lozhka (we do have to every time we go to Teremok). And the free tea refills means you can stay and drink tea for however long you want. Teremok has no meal options and their sides are as much as their billini!

In general prices are more expensive in St. Petersburg, so a meal at either of these places will cost a bit more than it would at an American fast food restaurant, but for St. Petersburg, eating out at these places is an affordable change of pace for times when you just don't feel like cooking at home.

It just so happens that we grabbed lunch at Teremok with some friends after church today:-)

I just thought it might be interesting to share a bit about some of the delicious food that Russia has to offer!

-Matt

Riga!

Hello again!

We just arrived back from Riga, Latvia on the night train this morning after a fun two days there. We needed to leave the country in order to get new visas, which was the purpose of the trip, but we also enjoyed the chance to relax and see the sights as well! Amanda and I joined Jarod Z., another fellow teacher from IA, to make what everyone at school calls a "Riga run" for visas.

The seemingly never-ending process of getting a work visa in Russia now enters its next stage. Our new visas are only good through the middle of January and during that time we need to complete a range of medical tests and other things to get our final work visa that will allow us to stay for a year and travel in and out of country without restrictions (at the moment we can't leave the country and legally re-enter it due to the conditions on our new visas). All of this is part of the joy of working in Russia!

However, for all of the hassle that it is to get visas, the requirements do have their perks when it means that you get to travel to a beautiful city like Riga and enjoy getting outside of St. Petersburg for a few days. Riga is the third largest city on the Baltic Sea (behind our own St. Petersburg, and Stockholm, Sweden) and is home to over 700,000 residents. The ethnic makeup of the city is about evenly split between Latvians and Russians (a consequence of Latvia's rather tumultuous history particularly from 1918 forward), even though overall Latvian's make up 60% of the population of the country. However, it seems as if almost everyone speaks at least some English in addition to Russian and Latvian.

The hotel that we stayed in was in the center of the old city. With its narrow cobblestone streets and German-influenced architecture, this part of Riga looks like what most people think of when they visualize a European city. The center of the city is filled with remarkable architecture and has earned the city UNESCO world heritage site status (just like the center of St. Petersburg:-)). The hotel that we stayed in was a former convent and was very nice and very reasonably priced which was fortunate since Latvia also happens to boast the fourth most valuable currency in the world. Even though Latvia is a member of the European Union, they have so far yet to adopt the Euro and instead continue to use the lat as the national currency. Overall, prices are comparable to somewhere like Finland and are a bit higher than St. Petersburg's so it wasn't too bad, it was just a bit discouraging to change so many rubles into so few lats.

Being somewhere other than St. Petersburg was a nice change of pace, and I really enjoy traveling by train. The train ride to Riga takes about 13 hours, but this includes scheduled stops as well as the procedures that have to be done at the borders. Border officials for both Russia and Latvia simply board the train and come to your car to inspect your documents and stamp your passports. All you have to do is sleep until someone bangs on your door at 3 a.m. and asks to see your passport and make sure you aren't hiding any contraband in the storage areas:-)

Another benefit of a trip to Riga is a chance to buy a few hard-to-find items in Russia. For us, this meant that we could buy a couple of boxes of brownie mix, some KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce, some syrup, and some cheese dip mix. It was fun to see some familiar brands again! We also got the chance to grab a meal at T.G.I. Friday's for another dose of the familiar.

It seems as if every single storefront in the old part of the city is a restaurant or a cafe. Anyone interesting in bumming around coffee shops in Europe should make Riga a priority destination for the near limitless variety of places to eat that it offers in such a small area.

Of course we documented our time there with numerous photos, and here are some of the sites that we took in during our stay:


The entrance to the courtyard of Konventa Seta, a former convent that also has the hotel where we stayed. I would definitely stay there again and give a big thumbs up for the nice buffet breakfast that had surprisingly little fish for a breakfast in North-Eastern Europe.


A fairly typical street in the old part of Riga.


A bridge in a park covered in love padlocks. Married couples attach a padlock to the bridge as a symbol of their love and throw the key into the river.


Freedom Monument, commemorating those who fought to secure Latvian independence from Russia in the war of 1918-1920.


Me, standing by a window on the 24th floor of the Radisson Blu hotel in downtown Riga.


An Orthodox Church.


A street close to our hotel.


A statue of the Musicians of Bremen. Rub them for good luck!


The side of St. Peter's Church- a striking brick Lutheran church whose distinctive tall spire is a major landmark in the Riga skyline.


St. Peter's from the front, looking up at the steeple.


Close-up of the steeple. The second of three levels is an observation deck that you can pay to go up into and see a beautiful view of the city, which we did and took some great photos:


In addition to the Old World charm of the city center, Riga has some other striking sites including several notable bridges and a 1,200 foot tall television tower.


Another interesting bridge spanning the Daugava River that runs through the city.


Here you can see the central train station that we arrived and departed from!


Another aerial view of the city.


A train bridge.


The wind on the observation deck was UNBELIEVABLE! If it weren't for the iron grating I would have been afraid of being blown right off.


A statue in a nearby square. The spire of St. Peter's stands out once again in the background.


We walked down by the river and took some pictures.


Here's one for the family lore:-)


A shot by the river in the evening.


Hesburger! We ate at this Finnish fast-food restaurant twice. Hesburger is a fairly shameless imitation of McDonalds (their signature burger, the Hesburger, is virtually indistinguishable from the Big Mac in appearance, although it does taste different). Hesburger has locations all throughout Finland and the Baltic States. Unfortunately, both of its Russia locations are in Moscow.


An illuminated bridge at night.


Riga claims to be the birthplace of the Christmas tree and is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first public Christmas tree in the city this year.


A fascinating museum that we went to. It chronicles the forced integration of Latvia into the Soviet Union as well as its occupation by the Nazis during World War II.


A Latvian ice cream parlor we visited. I'm not sure what the Latvian pronunciation is, but reading it phonetically in English is rather amusing:-) Don't worry, no one got sick and the ice cream was good!


On the train ride back, Jarod wanted to see if he could fit in the luggage compartment. This of course meant that we all had to try...





What can I say, sometimes after being the teacher all day, you just need to cut loose a bit:-)

Well, now are mini-vacation in Riga is over and its time to get back to work.

Keep checking back!

-Matt