From Russia With Love: Mostly Moscow

It has been much too long since the last post, but we have been super busy!
Teaching has been busy, stressful, and filled with small rewards over the last couple weeks. We have spent much more time teaching and preparing to teach than we thought we would, and that has made it very difficult to find time to even keep in contact with family, let alone have time to blog. But here are some things we have been up to since the last post:
A week and a half ago we were able to go to the ballet of Cinderella here in Voronezh! It was very entertaining and so beautiful! The set and costumes were gorgeous and the dancers did a fabulous job. I loved it so incredibly much and Philip liked it too. We really hope to be able to go to the ballet again.

Cinderella and the Prince

Stage

Philip and I in front of the Ballet Theater

It has been very, very cold here in Voronezh, so there have been a few times on the weekends when we have just stayed in because it is too cold to venture out. Every day we look forward to when the snow will melt and spring weather will show up. Not having to wear a million layers and only 1 pair of socks will be a dream come true!
Well, one of the most exciting things from the last couple weeks is that we took a trip to Moscow this past weekend! It was awesome! At least minus the part about me getting super sick and having to just stay inside for a whole day =( . Here is a little about what we did there….. We left for Moscow this past Friday and came back into Voronezh on Tuesday March 8th (International Woman’s Day, this is a VERY big holiday here). While we were there we were able to visit the Kremlin and red square (including the museum of the armory and treasury and I wish I could have taken pictures because I have never seen so much gold and so many jewels in one place in my life), several beautiful cathedrals including Saint Basil’s and Cathedral of Christ Savior, we tried to visit Lenin’s tomb but it is closed until April, we visited an underground mall, several metro stations (they are each uniquely decorated and can be quite beautiful), Arbat street (in the Russian version of Monopoly it is equivalent to Boardwalk), Hard Rock café (first time I had ever been), and all the group except Philip and I (because I was sick) went to the souvenir market. I was so sad that Philip and I didn’t get to go to the souvenir market. Now most everyone in our group has gotten nearly all of the souvenirs they want and need for themselves and friends and family and we still have hardly any.
So more details about some of the things we did…… It was really neat to be able to visit the Kremlin and red square. The architecture is very neat and like nothing I have ever seen before. My favorite part of this area of Moscow was Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the museum of the state armory and treasury. Saint Basil’s Cathedral is a very beautiful cathedral, from the outside mainly. It is very small inside, and also very old. I imagine that when it was first built (similar to the other cathedrals inside the Kremlin), it would have been quite stunning because the paintings all over the walls and ceilings inside would have been fresh and bright. The museum of the state armory and treasury was very impressive. This museum is full of royal treasures from Russia’s past. Like I mentioned earlier, I have never seen so much gold and so many jewels in one place, especially large jewels. In this museum there are bibles of just the 4 gospels that are hundreds of years old and they are very large. These 4 gospel bibles are big books and the covers of the books were usually gold and covered in jewels. We saw one of these bibles that was surprisingly rather small, and the jewels on the cover were thicker than the actual bible. It was crazy. In this museum we also saw very ornate dishes, tea sets, and just everyday items that were made of gold and covered in jewels. We also saw some very old armor. We saw the helmet of Ivan the great and lots of old crowns. It was interesting to see how most of the old crowns (that are hundreds and hundreds of years old) are fur lined around the base. Very Russian looking for sure. One of the parts of the museum that was my favorite was the display of clothing that they had. They had clothing of priests, Tsars, and Tsarinas on display. We saw Catherine the Great’s wedding dress and coronation gown. Let me tell you, she had an unnaturally small waste….. and feet…. It was amazing to see how many pearls and jewels that were used on their clothing, especially on the priests clothing. I also loved seeing the Carriages that belonged to the royalty of Russia long ago. This museum was the neatest thing and Philip and I both really, really enjoyed it.
Possibly my overall favorite thing that we got to see and experience in Moscow was Cathedral of Christ Savior. This cathedral is in active use by the Russian Orthodox Church, so we obviously could not take pictures, and us girls had to wear a covering over our head when we went in. This cathedral is enormous and is so beautiful and ornate. It was a very unique and special experience to be able to see the followers of the Russian Orthodox church worshipping. Inside of that cathedral I could feel the love that these people had for the Lord. They love the Lord and are doing their best to worship Him. It is the first time in Russia, besides when we have gone to church ourselves, that I have seen so many Russian people acknowledging God in their lives and showing Him their love and devotion. This is an experience that will always be special to me.
Going to Hard Rock Café was awesome! We all had been missing yummy American food (McDonalds was not satisfying this need) so Hard Rock Café hit the spot! Philip and I shared nachos (I never realized how much I would miss tortilla chips), onion rings, and a super yummy bacon cheeseburger. Oh yum. I can still almost taste it just thinking about it. Don’t think that we don’t like Russian food though, because for the most part we really do (I am becoming quite fond of buckwheat), but sometimes you just need some food that really resonates with the good old taste buds. We had a good time there.
The worst part of Moscow was definitely the getting sick part. Sunday night was nearly unbearable as to go along with my fever and cough I had to blow my nose every 2 minutes and my eyes would not stop watering. I decided to take some NyQuil with the hope that it would help to calm my symptoms and allow me to get some sleep. Worst decision ever. The NyQuil did nothing to relieve my symptoms; it only made me extremely drowsy, which made me 10 times more miserable. Due to the NyQuil I could hardly keep my eyes open, but because of my nose and eyes, and I couldn’t keep my eyes closed. It was unbearable. After suffering through this vicious cycle for 5 or 6 hours I couldn’t take it any longer. I needed to sleep and medicine would not help. This was one of those times in life when you are so physically miserable that the only thing you know to do is to get on your knees and pray for relief. So this is what I did. After this I also asked Philip if I could receive a blessing. Here I have to take a second to bear a simple testimony of the power of the priesthood and the power of God. Philip pronounced a simple but sincere blessing upon my head, and within a half hour my symptoms subsided and I slept. For me at that time, this was a miracle. One I desperately needed and am very grateful for. The Lord hears His children and when they exercise faith, He does bless them. (If you are not a member of the LDS church and would like more clarification on blessings and priesthood please visit mormon.org).
So Tuesday we took an 8 hour bus ride back to Voronezh. It was amusing because there was a lady and a guy on the bus that were very interested in the fact that we were American. The guy talked to Philip about random things for 6 hours of the 8 hour bus ride. I am totally serious. Six hours. It was also interesting because although the guy could not speak much English, he could understand almost everything we said because he watches a lot of movies in English. The bus is always an interesting place……

Pictures From Moscow!