Spring Concert and Senior Banquet

    We've been a wee bit behind on posts this last quarter. A lot has happened since the last post!

    The last post we mentioned that Matthew had accepted the offer from University of Illinois. Recently he also learned that he will be receiving the Foreign Language Area Study Fellowship. This will cover the costs of all of his courses for the first year, as well as providing a stipend, so that he can continue studying Russian language. This was very exciting news for us and Matthew was very happy to be able to continue with his Russian language studies. 

    And even more recently we were able to sign a lease for graduate housing with U of I as well. This means we have a car and a place to live for next year, as well as a partial income! God has definitely blessed us and we've both felt that this is the right decision for us for the next section of our lives. 

    More locally, the school has been wrapping up as well with some major events. The Spring Concert was about a month ago and the students and parents did a fantastic job! The upper floor was turned into a cafe and the kids had many different songs and costumes to match the theme "Hard Rock Cafe." 

High School Choir students sing "Who Put the Bomp"

Jr High Choir sings a medley of Beach Boys songs 

Costumes! 

Jr High Choir sings "You Can Count on Me" 

One of our Russian-American high school students sings a Russian rock song with the band

High School Choir sings "Airport Rhapsody," a re-write of "Bohemian Rhapsody"

It was easliy the best concert since Matthew and I have been here! There was a lot of great singing, instrumentals, solos, choreography, and a variety of songs from several of the countries represented at the school! 

Senior Banquet was at the beginning of May and was unnaturally cold! There was actually snow in parts of the city that afternoon! But everything went very well despite the temperature.

We had 5 seniors this year, a "big" class for us. 

Matthew :-)

Our MC's for the evening. This was the first year that we have had senior banquet as such, and the students did a fantastic job recognizing the seniors. 

Me and the seniors

Freshmen and Sophomores

Boys!

Senior and Freshmen Girls!

Junior and Senior Girls!

Song and dance!

The Junior class performed a skit they wrote summarizing the seniors' experiences of the year. It was very good-natured and very accurate! The seniors really liked it. :-) 

After dinner we headed off on a boat ride through the canals!

Cold!

Everyone! :-D

(Sadly, Matthew actually was not feeling well and so he did not make it to the boat ride.)

Tomorrow is graduation! We are both excited and a little sad. We're entering our time of saying goodbye to students, friends, and the city.
Continue to pray that things will come together as they have been already and that we will be able to say goodbye well.

Birthdays and Busyness (of the best kind of course)!

Greetings once more dear readers.

These past few weeks have been unusually busy for us, so I will do my best to bring you all up to date with what has been going on for us.  The fourth and final quarter of the school year is in full swing and we have only about five more weeks to go, which only adds to the sense of speed.  Everything is rushing towards the finish line!

About two weeks ago we had the chance to spend some time with a group from the U.S. that came to visit Jim and Olya on our team.  Jim and Olya were preparing to move to the U.S. and the team came from Jim's home church in Indiana to visit and help with the move.  It was fun to meet more fellow Hoosiers in Russia, and an added bonus was that they had extra tickets to the ballet.  Amanda and I got to an enjoy an excellent production of La Bayadere at the Mariinsky Theatre in very good seats:-)

That same week Amanda also spoke to the high school youth group.  She talked about how being with other Christians can sometimes be the most difficult and painful things in a believer's life, but why it is still important to be part of the Church.  The students responded very well and many seemed to be thankful for the chance to talk about some of their experiences.  For students who are the children of people in ministry it often means that they have seen the unpleasantness that sometimes comes with the kind of work their parents do, and it is encouraging to know that they are not alone and that it is OK to acknowledge those experiences.

In the midst of all of this both Amanda and I celebrated our birthdays.  I can now in fact reveal that we are both getting older.  I've found more than a few white hairs in my head this past year, so I guess my carefree days of youth are behind me now:-) We were both surprised and flattered by how enthusiastic our students were.  Both of us had students make drawings, sing songs, and even compose poems in honor of the occasion.  It was yet another reminder of just how special the students that we get to teach our.  It is truly a privilege!

Last week we also had the opportunity to go to a special concert celebrating Russian and Korean culture put on by various organizations connected to Korean citizens and students living in Russia.  A number of families from our school went, and we were treated to traditional dance, singing, and instruments from both Korean and Russian history and culture.  It was the first time either of us had been to a performance of Korean music and dance, which made the evening particularly special.  It was a lot of fun and a reminder of the riches of the cultures that we have the joy of being able to spend time around.

Last Saturday/early Sunday we took part in an Orthodox Easter service at a nearby church.  The Easter liturgy takes place at midnight in the Orthodox Church so we gathered together with a large crowd of people at a beautiful church alongside the Neva on the island we live on. It was a beautiful service and being able to chant in unison with so many others the truth that Christ is risen (Христос воскресе) and that truly He is risen (воистину воскресе) was a wonderful way to commemorate the most important day of the Christian year.

We have also been at work on trying to prepare for our return to the U.S. in just a few months time.  About three weeks ago I made the decision to accept the admissions offer made to me at the University of Illinois. I am very excited about being offered a fully-funded package to the Ph.D. program in history at a school with one of the best Russian history programs in the U.S. I am now in the process of working to get all the details of that sorted out, and Amanda is working on applying for jobs and sorting out issues related to her teaching license.  We have also purchased our return tickets and will be heading back to the U.S. towards the end of June.  We still have lots of things to do, both here in Russia and in preparing for our return. Your prayers for this whole process are greatly appreciated!

Here are some photos that document our recent goings on, along with a few other things that have taken place not long ago:

Students from my 10th grade history class drew this for me.  The fact that I like Angry Birds has been the source of much amusement to my students this year and made it into the drawing.  My ubiquitous thermos of tea also made a guest appearance:-)

Amanda's students also got creative and drew a special birthday cake for her.

Amanda speaking to the youth group.  We met at the home of one the students.

Russian-Korean concert

A traditional Korean dance, as performed at the concert we attended.

One of the acts for the Russian part of the program was a folk quintet.  The balalaika contrabass was especially impressive to see.

The geography posters that my 9th grade students make have continued to be wonderful.  This one even included a drawing of me!  It was inspired by the fact that I always comment on a picture of cute Japanese monkeys hugging in the snow that is in our textbook.  The student who made this student drew me in with the monkeys on her travel poster for Japan.

Amanda's Romeo and Juliet costume and set design project continues to be a big success.  Year after year students come up with creative ideas for staging the classic play.  This year included the idea of doing versions set in samurai times, between India and Pakistan, and with children (to give just a few examples).

I had the surprise of having a student give me her homework in the form of a handwritten letter, complete with envelope.  This was in response to a comment I made about the student's exceptional handwriting.  The "stamp" states "letter writing doesn't have to be dead!" I responded with a very formal typed letter:-)

My 11th grade history class was also very inspired by a reading I gave them on the subject of economic imperialism.  To explain the ways in which many countries were manipulated by outside forces, especially by businesses that exploited weak governments and economies, we read an article about the activity of banana companies in Central America. (You can read the article "When Bananas Ruled the World" here, if you are really interested). The class decided to write revolutionary slogans on bananas and bring them in to class. It's always nice to see students getting into history, even when it is in surprising ways!

Our girls' basketball team has continued to make good progress this year.  Amanda and I had the chance to go to their second game several weeks ago.  Our team put up a valiant effort against an excellent Russian school that had some of the best shooters (male or female) that I have ever seen any of our basketball teams play against.  It was fun to see our girls in action and to be able to support IA's newest sport.

Our friend Katya, who teaches third grade, is getting married next month, and Amanda recently went to a wedding shower for her.  Her fiance is Australian, so she will be moving there after the wedding, which will be in St. Petersburg.  While IA is sad to be losing a great teacher, we are all very excited for her!

Our headmaster prays for Katya during the shower.

Thank you for reading! We will probably have more updates soon, as our schedule continues to look quite busy up through the end of the year.

-Matt

Yaroslavl

Greetings!

This week is IA's spring break, and we are actually having spring-like weather.  Things have been very sunny and the temperatures have been creeping upwards, even if we are still waiting for the return of leaves and grass. The time off has given us a chance to relax, catch up on a few things, and also to take a short trip.

We spent two days (plus another 24 hours for travel) in the city of Yaroslavl. We were hoping to be able to travel somewhere over spring break, as we continue to try to see as much of this part of the world as we can while we are here and blessed with money from outside tutoring to let us travel, and I in particular wanted to see more of Russia. While St. Petersburg is of course part of Russia, it also lies on the very western edge of the largest country on earth, so I feel like we only get to experience a small slice of this vast country. St. Petersburg is also, by Russian standards, a very young city (founded in 1703), so we set off to a city that was founded in 1010 A.D.

Yaroslavl is about 750 kilometers from St. Petersburg, and is located to the north-east of Moscow.  By train it took a little over 12 hours to get there.  We left from Petersburg in the evening on Monday and arrived a little before 7 a.m. on Tuesday.  We had some unplanned excitement when we were unable to find our hotel.  We had bought a map of the city, but when we found the street our hotel was on, the building right next to the number after our hotel was abandoned.  We asked a person on the street where our address was and he was unable to help us.  We ended up walking to a nearby hotel that we had seen before and asked if they had any rooms available.  We were able to make a reservation there, but could not check in for another six hours. Later that day, a mere 15 minutes before we could check in at our new hotel, we stumbled upon the place where we had made a reservation.  It turned out that the street it was located on ended at one place, but continued, partway down another street.  This was not indicated on the map we had or in the guidebook we had bought.  At this point we were very tired and didn't feel like trying to go back to our new hotel cancel our reservation there and take our bags from there back to our original hotel, so we decided to cut our losses and just go to new hotel.  The hotel ended up being very nice and the staff was extremely helpful, so we didn't regret it.  It was a bit frustrating to have spent half a day waiting to be able to check in and take a shower and thinking that our hotel didn't exist only to find it at a very inconvenient time.  Apart from feeling a bit frustrated and a little stupid, we had a wonderful time exploring the sites of Yaroslavl.

Since we went at a time when not many tourists visit, there was not as much open.  The old churches in the city are the main sites to see, but many of the ones with famous interiors are closed until the start of the summer season.  Unfortunately, this meant that we were unable to go inside some of the best known churches (including the church of Elijah the Prophet, which is famous for its frescoes). However, we were still able to appreciate the many examples of 17th century architecture found in the city.  Yaroslavl is part of the Golden Ring, a series of historic cities to the north-east of Moscow that represented important principalities and centers of trade from the 11th through 17th centuries.  Yaroslavl was once the second largest city in Russia in the 1600s and an important trading center before the rise of St. Petersburg.  It was also an important center of activity during the Time of Troubles, a period of political, social, and economic turmoil from the late 1500s to 1613 that witnessed coups, civil war, and foreign invasion before the establishment of the Romanov dynasty. The city today has a population of around 600,000, which pales in comparison to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but still makes it an important regional center.

Yaroslavl is also located alongside the Volga River, which has played an important historic role in Russia and continues to be a key waterway.  I had wanted to see the Volga for some time, so finally being able to see a small part of Europe's longest river was an enjoyable experience for me. Most of the main churches were located close to each other and along side the river, so we were able to walk almost everywhere.

It is always fun to get outside of St. Petersburg, and especially interesting to be able to experience other parts of the Russia.  We were happy to be able to spend a few days in Yaroslavl.  Here are some photos that document the main sites that we took in during our stay:

The hotel we actually ended up staying at. It was located right in the center of town and had a fun, Russian folk/fairy-tale theme to it.

One of the old towers/gates located in the center of the city.  Like most of the main historic buildings, it dates from the 17th century (although it has undergone various restorations through the years), when the city was at its peak in many ways.

The Volkov Theater.  The Volkov was the first theater in Russia, opening in 1750.  While the current building dates to the beginning of the last century, Yaroslavl is considered to be the birthplace of Russian theater and has continued to maintain a certain level of cultural influence.

A monument to Dmitri Pozharsky, a prince from the Time of Troubles who was one of the main leaders of a people's army that worked to drive out the invading Poles and Swedes who were taking advantage of a period of chaos in Muscovite Russia.

The belfry inside of the Spaso-Preobrazhenskie Monastery, located in the center of the old part of the city alongside the river.

A statue of Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Kievan Rus (the earliest Russian state). Yaroslav was the founder of the city and Kievan Rus is considered to have reached its height during the time of his reign.

A monument to Our Lady of Kazan, a famous icon that was invoked as the protector of Russia during the Time of Troubles. This shrine (along with other scenes from Yaroslavl) is included on the 1000 ruble note.

I'll be honest.  There are about 100 churches in Yaroslavl that look just like this one, so telling them apart can be a bit difficult for visitors like us.  This is the Spas na Gorodu church, which is next to another church of very similar appearance.

This statue of a bear was in front of our hotel.  According to legend, Yaroslav the Wise killed the scared bear of the local pagans with an axe.  A bear carrying an ax is the symbol of the city.

The Church of Elijah the Prophet.  Arguably the most famous of Yaroslavl's churches and another example of 17th century architectural treasures in the city.

Elijah the Prophet from a different side.

The Assumption Cathedral.  This church was destroyed during Soviet times and rebuilt in 2005.

The front of the Assumption Cathedral.

Amanda with the Volga and Kotorosl rivers meeting in the background.

A park at the spit of the old part of the city.  You can see the seal of the city, featuring the bear and the ax.

The Church of Elijah the Prophet, lit up at night.

The Bogoyavlenie Church, located next to the Spaso-Preobrazhenskie Monastery.

The St. John Chrysostom Church. This church was easily visible from the other side of the river, but difficult to find once we started walking towards it.  It took us about an hour of walking around muddy roads and decaying wooden huts to finally locate it.  Like many of the churches, it is in a state of disrepair and currently closed.  However, the beauty of the church is still evident.

The Assumption Cathedral and park, as seen from the other side of the Kotorosl River.

Me putting my hand in the Volga.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, is from Yaroslavl.  A museum dedicated to her and to Russian space exploration is located in the city.  In front of the museum is an interesting model of the solar system laid out in stone.

Part of another beautiful church that has fallen into disrepair.

We found this metal carriage in front of two small churches.

On our last night we went to a fun restaurant with a Ukrainian peasant theme.

It's always good to be back home, but we were happy for the chance to enjoy a few days outside of St. Petersburg.  Thanks for reading!

-Matt