parting is such sweet sorrow...

I had some amazing experiences here. I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do and learn in the last 4 months. And there's a lot that I'm going to miss.

My friend, Elder Mark Larsen! I don't think I could have made it if it weren't for the help he gave me. See you in a few months, buddy!

Downtown Moscow! Amazing memories with some amazing people :)

My students. They made this experience worthwhile for me. I love them all, and I'm so glad for the opportunity I had to teach these kids :)

My host family. I can't explain how wonderful they were to me. I love each of them so much!

I know I complain a lot, but now that I'm only hours away from leaving Russia, I realize that I'm going to miss it. There's a lot waiting for me in America, but I'm leaving a lot behind here. I'm so happy that I got to come here and experience this country and culture. I am leaving Russia as a better version of the person I was when I came. I'm so excited to see my family and friends in America and to share my experiences with them!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm coming homeeeeeee!!! :)

a letter.

Dear Russia:

If I may be frank, I’m not going to miss you at all. I didn’t like getting yelled at everyday, and I downright hated your “EXACT CHANGE ONLY!” policy. But I’ll admit it’s not all your fault; you’ve been through a lot. And there are a few things that I will miss:
* an awesome public transportation system. I love the metro <3
* my own room. The futon was crap, but the privacy was well worth it.
* the nicest and most accommodating host family I could have asked for.
* some of the cutest kids I will ever have the opportunity to teach.

And that’s about it.

You gave me four of the toughest months of my life, but I learned a lot about myself and I’m grateful for the opportunity you gave me to see a bit of the world that I probably never would have explored otherwise. I loved being a teacher, I loved living with a host family, I loved collecting free Spice Girl themed Russian nesting dolls.

But I’m going to be honest: I like America a lot better than you. I think the US has a lot more to offer than you do, sorry. Peanut butter, free ice water, wi-fi hotspots everywhere. Marked parking stalls, non-smoking sections, clean public restrooms. WALMART. I don’t need to go on. I don’t mean to make you feel bad. It is what it is.

I didn’t leave much of a mark on you, but you definitely made an impact on me. I think these last four months, however difficult they may have been, were worth it.

That being said, I never want to see you again.

Happy New Year,
Michaela

100 days

That's how long I've been in Russia.
And I only have 11 left.

:)

C O L D

Imagine, if you will, getting dressed in the morning. How long does it take you? Five minutes, if that? I used to think nothing of getting dressed. Now, I basically have to plan my day around it. It's an EVENT.

Let me explain what I mean: In Russia, as in most places I've been to, it is very cold in the winter, and it's important to bundle up to stay warm. However, a Russian winter takes the term "bundle up" to a whole new level. Getting dressed in the morning takes me roughly 20 minutes, on a good day. I'm exhausted by the end of it, sweating quite a bit from the forehead, which sweat turns into ice crystals if I don't think to wipe it away before I go outside.

Dressing oneself during a Russian winter is something of an art, I've found. Here's how I usually go about it: Always dress the bottom half first. That includes leggings, tights, long johns, and jeans (in that order). Then, the socks. Two pairs of normal socks and a pair of wool ones over those, into which the jeans must be tucked. Seeing as I only own flare-legged jeans, this can take a while. Next, we move on to the top half. Two tank tops AT LEAST, to keep the core temperature up. Undershirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, and two hoodies. Then, the little winter wardrobe accessories: two scarves (one wrapped tight around the neck and face, one draped over the body and neck and tied in the back), fluffy hat (must cover ears!), and two pairs of gloves (and, of course, it's never enough to keep your hands from freezing, so you must remember to keep your hands in your pockets at all times). Oh! I forgot. Before you adorn the winter accessories, you first have to turn your iPod on and put your headphones in. With two pairs of gloves between your fingers and the touch screen, the only way to work an iPod is with your nose, which is difficult and embarrassing. Believe me, I know. Before putting on the heavy winter coat you must first put on your boots because if you put your coat on first, there's no way you'll be able to bend over to assist your feet, socks, and jeans into the boots themselves without tearing the inner lining of your coat. Again, believe me, I know. Anyway, once you put on your boots and coat, you should be ready to go.

This process shouldn't take me as long as it does, but I'm a forgetful person in the mornings, and I often forget one of the steps toward the beginning, causing me to undo everything and start the whole process over.

It's a tedious thing, these Russian winters. And boy, are they chilly.

"Freezing" doesn't even begin to cover the amount of cold I feel right now. I don't mean just in Russia; I mean ANYWHERE. Back home, the temperature gets below 50 degrees, and we blast the heat. The temperature in Moscow at the moment is a balmy 15 degrees (but it feels like 2 when you're outside with the constant 10mph wind chill). And here I am, sitting in someone's living room, hoping the blood in my veins doesn't freeze solid. I'm colder now than I was walking outside; at least out there I've got layers. I want to walk to the front door and put more clothes on, but I'm afraid my hosts would think it odd of me to reach for my hat and scarf when I'm already so layered with clothes that I can barely bend my legs or fold my arms.

I shouldn't complain, though. Today has been MUCH warmer than it was only a few days ago. Wednesday brought the coldest temperature I have ever (and likely WILL ever) endured: -15 degrees. That's Fahrenheit, by the way. I was sure my nose was going to fall off that day.

The Baltics

The Baltic countries include Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and I visited all three (in that order). Tallinn (the capital of Estonia) has a fantastic old town, and we toured the whole thing. There is so much history there! Estonia also brought my first experience in a travelers hostel, which was quite the experience. There were so many people from all over the world that I met just by staying in hostels. And the hostel-owners were so kind and chill with everything. We got to our hostel in Estonia at 1 in the morning, and Dennis (the hostel-owner) was up waiting for us. He was totally fine with us being late, showed us to our rooms and left us to unpack. I enjoyed the whole hostel experience, for the most part.

We spent two days in Estonia, then took a bus to Riga, Latvia. Riga has a fantastic old town as well, though it’s significantly smaller than the one in Tallinn. There was a beautiful park in the city that we spent a lot of time just walking around, appreciating the fall weather and listening to people busking in the park. It was lovely.

From Riga, we went to Villinus, Lithuania. There was a lot to see in Lithuania, and we didn’t quite get to see everything we wanted to, half because there wasn’t enough time and half because we were all so worn out from traveling for a week and a half. Regardless, we did a lot while we were there, including going to the KGB museum. Going to that museum (despite the dark nature and awful feeling of the place) was the highlight of my trip to Lithuania. I learned so much and got to see first hand what a KGB prison looked like. EYE-OPENING.

I had so much fun on that vacation, but I was certainly ready to come back to Russia by the end. I may complain about Moscow, but no matter where you are, it’s a comfort to come home at the end of the day and sleep in your own bed.

NOTE: Pictures from my trip to the Baltics are available through my Facebook page. My camera ran out of battery in Riga, so I don't have many :(

Scandinavia

On our 10-day vacation, we were able to visit Finland and Sweden. I enjoyed both places, but I have to admit, I left a piece of my heart in Stockholm. Despite Sweden being the most expensive place we visited, I enjoyed it the most and it broke my heart to leave after only two days. I could have spent the whole 10 days there, easily. I think much of that had to do with the initial shock of leaving the ex-Soviet. The whole place just seemed… I don’t know, brighter! People smiled at you on the street, they offered their help if they saw you were lost. Even the weather was better. Perhaps it’s unfair of me to praise Stockholm so much after barely 48 hours there, but I just can’t explain how happy I was to be there. The people were VERY Anglo-friendly as well; almost everyone spoke English. I was in heaven.

Inside the theater section of Stockholm's Music Museum.

C R E E P Y . . .

Swedish Sunset

(no caption needed)

Main floor of the cruise ship that took us from Stockholm to Helsinki and back.

S w e d e n :)

Finland was fun, too, though I was greatly sleep deprived both days I was there, so I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. But the people were kind there, as well. And, despite the rain and gray skies, I really enjoyed the weather. Helsinki is beautiful, and the shopping is great :)

Posh hang out spot in the mall

My friend, the reindeer

Church in the Rock, in Helsinki

St. Petersburg :)

I was able to spend a weekend in St. Petersburg in October. It’s a gorgeous city with tons of historical sites and tourist attractions; I could have spent a whole week there. Here are some of the highlights:

T h e H e r m i t a g e

By far, my favorite part of the St. Petersburg trip was visiting The Hermitage. It’s a museum/palace, and everything about it is absolutely breath-taking. The building itself was a piece of architectural beauty. It was so H U G E. I got lost more than once, just walking around and looking at the exhibits. On one of my wanderings, I came upon a huge ballroom where everything glistened with gold. The sun was setting out the window, and I nearly passed out from the beauty. In walking around, I realized that some of the most famous painters in the world (Da Vinci, Picasso, Monet, and SO many more) were featured in that museum, and I had a blast finding all of them and taking pictures with their art. I overdosed on art history and culture that day. It was a wonderful feeling.

PICASSO

DA VINCI

Some Egyptian mummy tomb I found.

Hanging out with Zeus/Jupiter/King of the Gods, nbd.

P e t e r h o f f

Peterhoff is an old palace where Peter the Great used to spend his summers. It was absolutely beautiful, and the grounds around the palace were amazing. The whole place is sprinkled with statues and fountains (which run on gravity, by the way). We were disappointed that the fountains were turned off for the winter season, but it didn’t take away from their beauty. The inside didn’t disappoint, either. The rooms were so grandiose and lavishly decorated. My favorite room by far was the palace library. It was the library of my dreams. If I’m ever rich enough to afford a house with its own library, I’m going to create an exact replica of the Peterhoff library. G O R G E O U S .

Those were the two big places that we hit up, but we went all over the place during this weekend.

Church of Spilt Blood (just like in Anastasia)

St. Isaac’s Cathedral

This is the group of American teachers that came to Russia with me. From right to left: Me, Ardo, Maggie, Jordan, Kelsey, and Jake (down in front). We're a team :)