Ukranian Pysanki Eggs--I Made My Own!!

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by a friend to come and make some Ukranian Pysanki eggs. These are the famous painted eggs with incredible detail and design. They are made from real eggs and are not wooden. Let me take you through the process of making them.

1. Take a white egg. Make sure that it is solid and has no cracks and is not weak.



2. Looking at a design or making your own design, draw litely on the egg with pencil. I used a design ready made--which is actually easier than making your own on your first try. I liked the traditional look. I picked something that wasn't too hard, but not too easy. I liked a bit of a challenge. Then you take bee's wax and scoop it into the wide end of this little tool. You get the tool hot in the fire and it melts the wax making it come out the tiny end of the tool. You apply this to part of your design, but not all of it.



3. You put it in the first color of dye. I used Yellow. This means that everything under the wax would be white. It's white because under the wax is the color of the egg.



4. Then apply more wax to the design. This then means that whatever wax you put on at this stage will keep that part of the design yellow. Then set it in more dye. I used orange dye at this stage.



5. Do the process one more time and then set it in the last color of dye--red.



Here are some of the other girls working on their eggs.



6. Now mine is still not finished. I need to remove the black wax. For a short period of time, hold the egg right next to the candle flame. Hold it only until you see the black wax starting to melt and get close to dripping. If you hold it too long, it will scorch the egg. When the wax starts to melt, take a paper towel and wipe the wax off. Continue until all the wax is off.



7. Now we have to get the yolk outside of the egg. Nadja has special tools for this so that you don't have to blow it out and get dye all over your lips. You poke a small hole in the top of the egg with the tool. Then you turn it over and squeeze the tool. It is a suction action and makes all the egg come out from inside.



8. And wa-la! We are done! Final project! I think this looks pretty good for being my first egg ever.





Here is a final look at some of the other eggs done that day.

København, Denmark--Spring Break 2011

A few weeks ago in the middle of March, I went with Kristin and Amber to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit our good friend Oli Jakup Jakobsen. In the fall, Oli Jakup had studied as an exchange student in Moscow and we got to know him through the young adults Bible study we all went to on Tuesdays. In December he moved back to Denmark where he is studying. He will graduate in May and return to his home in the Faroe Islands. Most of you have probably never heard of these islands, but they are situated halfway between Scotland and Iceland. They are part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which is why Oli goes to school there, but the islands are very different from Denmark and he wants to return as soon as he graduates. Anyway, we decided to travel to Denmark to explore it on our spring break. It was great that Oli was still there so we could spend time with him. He was kind enough to let us stay at his flat. We slept on mattresses on the floor and on his couches. It was a very nice set up.



There is so much to tell, so I will just share some of the highlights. It was quite windy and cold while we were there, but we bundled up as best we could and went to see the sights. The first day we walked from his flat to the downtown area--a couple of kilometers away. It was a long but nice walk and we saw a lot. After that we got the Copenhagen Card so we could take the public transportation.

On our walk we searched for the graves of the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and the fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen.



And we found them!





We walked over the beautiful canals. It is pretty from a distance, but when you look closely at the water, it is unfortunately full of garbage. Sad.



We saw a protest by a bunch of farmers. They had driven their tractors into the city and parked them in the main square. We asked a farmer what it was about and he told us of how they had lots of extra taxes and restrictions and wanted these lessened. This picture is great and I like how it is a good representation of Denmark--an agricultural country in the midst of high culture and long history.



Copenhagen is a city of bikes. There are probably more bikes than cars. They even have their own bike lane that is as big as the car lanes, and watch out for them because they won't stop for you.



We saw Amalienborg Palace, where the royal family lives. And the guards were in amazing uniform.





We walked around the harbor and some of the most scenic areas of Copenhagen. It was beautiful and people were milling about and enjoying themselves.





We went to a zoo and some other nice museums. The zoo was okay--not the best I've been to, but not bad. My favorite day was the day we took the train out of the city to a little village about 40 minutes away. In this quaint, beautiful village is the Frederiksborg Slot. This is a huge castle and it took my breath away. Unfortunately it closed 10 minutes before we got there. Apparently they close early in the winter months because the castle does not have electricity and it gets dark early. So we had to walk around outside, but we had a marvelous time.







Of course we also stopped along the way at a cute cafe and bought another Chai Latte. I think this was maybe chai latte #5. I think we had one each day. We hadn't had them since we moved to Russia since we couldn't find a coffee shop that served them in Moscow. We were obsessed with them.

On one of the last days, Oli drove us about 100km outside of Copenhagen. If you don't know, Denmark is made up of a series of islands and one main peninsula. Copenhagen is on a small island in the north east part of the country. We drove south and crossed a bridge to a different island. Denmark is very flat with very few hills. There is only one part of the country that has a bit of elevation and those are some cliffs called the cliffs of Mun. This is pronounced as "moon." They are a white chalky substance that look a bit like the cliffs of Dover in southern England. There was a very long staircase that took us to the base of the cliffs where we walked along the edge of the sea and enjoyed the scenery.







Of course we also saw The Little Mermaid. This is the iconic statue for Copenhagen, as their most famous author, Hans Christian Andersen, wrote the story of The Little Mermaid. Overall, this was a lovely trip.

Women's Day

Shortly after Maslanitsa is one of the biggest celebrations in Russia--Women's Day on March 8. This holiday is not just for mothers--it's for all women! Like I've said earlier, Russians know how to celebrate. A few days before the actual holiday I began getting boquets of flowers from my students. Then the gifts started pouring in from each class. I left for home two days in a row toting huge and heavy bags of gifts and flowers.

The boys in the classes also give gifts to the girls-not just the teachers. The kids (parents) go in on a gift that is all given to each girl. The boys lined up on Friday morning each carrying a gift bag. Then each boy said something nice about the girls that he appreciated. Then they gave them the gifts. It was some nice lotions, bath wash, etc.





All over the city that weekend, men and women were carrying around big bags of flowers and gifts. I've just never seen anything like it.

I ended up putting all my gifts on the fireplace mantle just to see the amount of it. As you can see by the picture here it is quite overwhelming. Let's see: there are 5 bouquets of flowers, 1 boquet of chocolate, and a basket with coffee, sweets, chocolate, and biscuits; a bottle of wine, a bottle of champaigne, perfume, and makeup; another box of chocolate, a wall hanging, and a couple of gift certificates to grocery stores and makeup stores. All in all, it's almost ridiculous what you get for just being born a girl. Kinda fun too though! I certainly will enjoy it while I am in Russia, because I know that when I leave I will never get this kind of thing again.

Maslanitsa--The Coming of Spring

Seeing as it's been almost a month and a half since I've last been on my blog, I figure it is probably time to update once more.

Spring is bursting upon us with full force. The Russians actually celebrate the first day of spring on March 1st even though the spring equinox isn't until the 21st. They call this holiday Maslanitsa. The day was cold, windy, and a light snow was falling. Nonetheless, the Russians celebrate their spring in full force with mulled wine, lots of food, dancing, drinking, and the burning of an all important scarecrow. Let me go back and explain it in a little more detail.

The children left school at noon. The teachers from the city campus were bussed out to the country campus at Zaitsevo so we could have our spring celebration in the fresh country air. They arrived and everyone went outside to play games. Can you see it? A bunch of adults playing jump rope, musical hoola hoops, and techno dancing? Well I guess the adult part was that the winners of the games got champaigne. And guess who won two games...my roommates. Let's just say we had some nice dinner refreshment!





Then came the best part. There was this huge wooden scarecrow they had set up. They call her Mother Winter. Then everyone got a small piece of paper. On it we had to write things that we desired to give up, habits we wanted to change, etc. Then you placed the papers under the scarecrow and they lit it on fire. Winter went up in smoke pretty quick:)



Then we went inside to enjoy the food they always eat on Maslanitsa--Blini. These are big pancakes that are very thin--like large crepes. Then you eat them with salmon, jam, or sweetened condensed milk. I like it with salmon best. There were songs and performances prepared by a lot of different teachers. And we had some dancing. No one was dancing for a while, but they had music going on in the White Hall, so a few friends and I went to take advantage of the Disco. All in all, Maslanitsa is a great holiday. Russians celebrate in style.

You Know You're in Russia If...

Two of my friends, Megan and Kristin, came up with part of this enlightening list about living in Russia. It is quite entertaining, so even though I am stealing their list and adding about 30 of my own, I thought you might be interested in some of the things I see and go through by living here. Beware: it’s a long list.

 The majority of the calories you consume daily are from chocolate.
 When you are walking outside your eye literally freezes shut.
 You begin thinking that –15 degrees is warm.
 For a week of school you may have 6 out of 32 students.
 Your students may stay home from school if they coughed one time on Saturday. This means they will be ill for a week or more.
 You ice skate everywhere. You’re not actually wearing ice skates but since the sidewalks are one big sheet of ice you just glide along everywhere. (Because we all know if you try to lift your feet the chances of falling have greatly increased).
 If a law changes and you are upset, wait a week and it will change again…or ask someone else and they will give you a different answer.
 On the metro you smile and someone looks at you like you are mentally ill. And if you are reading a book and begin to laugh…you will get lots of weird looks.
 You get body slammed by a 70-year-old woman who was walking on the other side of the street but decided that she wanted to walk exactly where you were.
 You have almost been knocked out by the swinging doors at the entrance and exit of the metro.
 You have been afraid of riding the metro because suicide bombers are in fact real and very prevalent in Moscow.
 One errand a day is an accomplishment. Two is a maybe and a huge feeling of success.
 You have had to put some groceries back because you realized that carrying 6 bags on the metro is quite a challenge.
 Your students correct your spelling of “mom” in class because it is spelled “mum.”
 You drink so much tea that now you think teeth are actually yellow—When we made paper self-portraits I made my teeth white and my students told me “no, teeth are yellow”. I was quick to tell them mine were in fact white. But most of them still cut theirs out of yellow paper.
 You realize that kids really don’t need to drink water if they have tea…right??
 You hear English and get confused, sometimes it still sounds like Russian.
 It takes everything in you not to pet the lady’s coat next to you on the metro.

 You hear the other teachers tell the children that putting tons of butter on a small piece of bread is, in fact, healthy.
 You have to walk in a zig zag pattern on the sidewalks to avoid all the spit.
 Now, sweetened condensed milk is not just an ingredient in a recipe but actually a sauce to be poured on desserts and breakfast items.
 You have become immune to the flavor of dill because it's in almost everything.
 Your kids will eat 2-3 cloves of garlic on their bread at breakfast, and sometimes even make necklaces of garlic, because they believe it will keep them from getting sick.
 You know that in June you will be either taking showers at a friend's flat or taking freezing cold showers, because your hot water WILL be shut off for 2 weeks.
 Piracy doesn't exist. You can get almost anything for free on the internet. Software, movies, music...
 You hear the strangest medical advice: "Don't read and eat at the same time. Your body can't focus on digestion." "Don't eat milk with fish because you will get sick." (And I told them my dad soaks his fish in milk after filleting them and they were shocked.) "Don't put milk in your tea. The chemical reaction will cause you to be sick." (Even though the whole of England drinks tea this way.)
 You get an eye-roll and an exasperated sigh if you come up to a cashier and give her anything but exact change.
 You are tempted to wink at a complete stranger on the extremely long escalator because you know you will never see them again.

 To buy groceries and other items, you are frequently forced to shop at 3 or 4 places until you can find all you need, and even then you tend to never find certain items.
 Celery, Dr. Pepper, Nutmeg, Oreos, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, and Peanut butter are nearly if not absolutely impossible to find.
 You’ve eaten borscht 2 times this week and you are still craving it.
 The things you love most are the variety of soup, juice and wafers. There is just nothing like them anywhere else.
 You think that paying $8 (250 rubles) is normal for a cup of coffee.
 In restaurants you often buy coke, tea, and sometimes even wine, because it is cheaper than buying a glass of water.
 You hear or experience horror stories surrounding the Russian medical services here. I know a girl who was hit by a car and had a severe concussion. The hospital refused to take her because she was an American, so the ambulance drove around trying to find a place that would take her. They got lost so they pulled over and had a smoking break while she was still in the ambulance.
 You get used to carrying your passport with you EVERYWHERE.
 Contracts don’t really mean anything. They can write something in a contract, but they are not really bound by it, and often pull the “It’s written, but it’s not really in the SPIRIT of the contract” ploy.
 You get used to speaking really quietly and your personal bubble gets significantly smaller as you speak to people very close to their faces.
 You get so used to not understanding anyone and find it easy to zone out. But when you hear some strangers speaking English you want to go up to them and just listen…or to ask them if they are tourists and need help.
 You think that taking an hour to get to church is a good commuting distance…no big deal.
 You realize that to get things done, or have something your way, you must first establish a good relationship with someone. Relationship comes before everything else. And you find you kind of love this and kind of hate this fact.

 And working at Moscow Economic School:
 You are no longer surprised by your 2nd grader who wears a different Armani suit to school every day.
 Crazy vacation stories cease to surprise you…like the 3rd grader who took their private 767 to their private Caribbean island and had a big Christmas party where they invited the Black Eyed Peas to play for them.
 You get used to seeing some nannies, drivers, and bodyguards sit in the atrium ALL DAY as they wait for their little charges to finish school and go home.
 There is practically a birthday party every day. The person with the birthday provides lots of fruit, candy, cakes, and tea for the rest of the school.
 Every time you turn around someone has put chocolate on your desk again.
 Everyone says “Prietneva appetita,” which means, “enjoy your meal” even when you are eating just a piece of chocolate or drinking a cup of tea.
 Your kids speak British English so you have become accustomed to calling erasers “rubbers,” trash “rubbish,” and trash cans “bins.”

 You meet some incredible people from all different backgrounds, races, countries, and experiences. But for a time their lives flow with yours and you are incredibly grateful…even though you know a goodbye is in store at some point.
 You find that even though this list is long and filled with difficult, challenging, and crazy life experiences, that you have somehow, in some way, fallen in love with this country, this city, the people, the food, the culture and the language. And all you can do is say, “Thank you Lord, for bringing me here.”

Thoughts to Ponder

For Christmas my friend Amber was given a book titled: "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy" by Eric Metaxes. I had heard of it recently, so when she was reading it, I asked her if I could read it when she was finished. She gave me the book last week, and I have been pouring through it. It has been rather difficult to put down actually. This is not a dry biography by any means. A number of years ago, my family got a copy of the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's version of the life of Bonhoeffer. I have listened to it several times and each time it has moved me deeply. Reading his biography now is giving me an even deeper understanding of this amazing man used by God in extraordinary ways. I read a quote by Bonhoeffer that comes from a letter he wrote to his brother-in-law, Rudiger Schleicher. I shall quote it directly as it is very powerful and so true.

"First of all I will confess quite simply--I believe that the Bible alone is the answer to all our questions, and that we need only to ask repeatedly and a little humbly, in order to receive this answer. One cannot simply "read" the Bible, like other books. One must be prepared really to enquire of it. Only thus will it reveal itself. Only if we expect from it the ultimate answer, shall we receive it. That is because in the Bible God speaks to us. And one cannot simply think about God in one's own strength, one has to enquire of him. Only if we seek him, will he answer us.

Of course, it is also possible to read the Bible like any other book, that is to say from the point of view of textual criticism, etc.; there is mothing to be said against that. Only that that is not the method which will reveal to us the heart of the Bible, but only the surface, just as we do not grasp the words of someone we love by taking them to bits, but by simply receiving them, so that for days they go on lingering in our minds, simply because they are the words of a person we love; and just as these words reveal more and more of the person who said them as we go on, like Mary, "pondering them in our heart," so it will be with the words of the Bible. Only if we will venture to enter into the words of the Bible, as though in them this God were speaking to us who loves us and does not will to leave us along with our questions, only so shall we learn to rejoice in the Bible...

If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way, who is obliging, who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ. And whoever will find him must go to the foot of the Cross, as the Sermon on the Mount commands. This is not according to our nature at all, it is entirely contrary to it. But this is the message of the Bible, not only in the New but also in the Old Testament." --Deitrich Bonhoeffer (1936)

I could commentate on what this means to me, but I think I would rather you think about it yourself and what it means to you.

Here is another thing to ponder that Bonhoeffer wrote. "He pointed out that nowadays we often ask ourselves whether we still need the Church, whether we still need God. But this question, he said, is wrong. We are the ones who are questioned. The Church exists and God exists, and we are asked whether we are willing to be of service, for God needs us" (Bonhoeffer, 125).

My Impromptu Life

Today I went to a concert. I had received two free tickets from my roommate Ella, who didn't want to go, so Kristin and I went instead. However, we did not know what the concert was, who was going to be in the concert, where it was, how to get there, or anything else about it. We only knew that it was somewhere near a certain metro station and that it started at 2pm.

So we trekked out to that metro station and thankfully were familiar enough with the area that we were able to find the concert hall without too much trouble. There were hundreds of people there and lots of kids so we knew it had to be something with kids, but we didn't know whether it was a play or musical performances, etc.

And suddenly we were greeted with one of the most amazing concerts I have ever been to. The first two groups were dances. First a bunch of girls did an amazing dance routine dressed as snegurochkas and then a group of boys did a traditional Russian dance. If you have ever watched "The Fiddler on the Roof," think of the scene at the wedding where the men do that cool dance with the wine bottles on their hats. This was a bit like this, except 10 times better and without the wine bottles. Amazing. I just am kicking myself that I didn't get pictures of those first two acts.

Then there was an amazing girl, probably about 10 years old who did an incredible classical piece on a harp. And then a 15 year old boy who did two pieces on the piano--one by Chopin and one by Rachmaninoff. All of these kids were astounding and each performance was so much better than most performances by kids these ages. These were the best of the best and most of them had probably been at these musical instruments most of their childhoods. Other acts included violins, clarinets, an accordian, singing, xylophone, and a tap dancing routine.

This was the young classical harpist and the boy sang a beautiful Russian opera song.



This was the two boys who played Debussy's Clair de Lune on the piano and xylophone. Absolutely breathtaking.



This was the tap dancing routine done to American country music by Shania Twain:)



And finally this was an incredible cellist.



This was an amazing concert and I am so glad we went even though I still don't know what the concert was or what it was for. On the way back we crossed the river and the scene was so breathtaking with the ice and ducks that I just had to take a picture.



After the concert we met friends at a Mexican restaurant. I haven't had Mexican in such a long time and was so glad to find some. It was certainly not the best Mexican I've had, but it was still quite good. On the way home we took an impromptu sidetrack to get to the metro. We passed a "Dom Knigi" House of Books where most of the books were in English. Of course, we HAD to stop in, and of course I HAD to buy something. And what I find I found. Bill Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There." Bill Bryson has been one of my favorite authors since college and is Britain's favorite American author, who writes "hugely funny (not snigger-snigger funny, but great-big-belly-laugh-till-you-cry funny)" travel stories. This one is about his travels in Europe. My other favorites by him have been "Notes from a Small Island" about Britain and "Mother Tongue" about the English language.



After leaving Dom Knigi, Alister suggested we all walk to find a statue of the man who invented Russian printing. It was not far from the metro, so after a couple of wrong turns we finally found it. It was directly in front of a Ferrari and Masserati store with billionaires shopping inside while we tourists stood outside taking pictures of some statue. As we were leaving I notice in the corner of the Ferrari store, a kid's toy Ferrari go-cart. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if some of my kids from school have this and go scooting about followed closely by their nannies and bodyguards.





And this is the FSB building. The FSB is now what they used to call the KGB. Maybe I shouldn't have been taking pictures, but oh well.



Well, I had better wrap this up so I can get ready to go see my insanely wealthy but sweet kids tomorrow at school. It is Sunday night and I have had a good day and a good weekend. I shall wrap it up by drinking a cup of English Breakfast tea, while listening to Mumford and Sons, and reading a little Bill Bryson:) Goodnight world. Catch you in the morning.

Sarichka