Another week has come and gone! It is already the middle of October, and you can tell that the weather is getting colder and colder! Each day people seem to get bulkier and bulkier as more layers are put on! Hats, scarves, boots, and coats are the sight of every person you pass on the street- including me! My host-mom is making/letting me barrow one of her coats. It is brown and everything I own is black… so that bites, but really I am not trying to impress anyone, and I like being warm! However the leaves and colors make up for the cold weather- it is beautiful!
View from my window!
So teaching is becoming easier, but also harder. It is what our head teacher calls “expectations”. Haha When I first came here and was teaching there were no kids and only returning kids. They all spoke, but not a lot and I was so concerned that I wasn’t doing it right… but now with the new kids, (some of which never ever sit in their seats, usually scream, only speak Russian, and hit other kids) I am just so happy if there is any speaking going on at all! My expectations have been lowered, but they needed to be. I was looking at the kids not realizing how easy it was, and now that I know how hard it can be, I am just happy when no one cries, and when there is speaking going on at all!
However I never realized how much the kids could grow on you! They laugh and are silly and it is a positive experience! I just hope to be more selfless, because a lot of the time I get caught up in the ME, ME, ME aspect and this is a volunteer job!
SO teaching went normal Mon-Fri! As a kindergarten teacher I teach Every weekday from 3-7. There are good and bad things about teaching in the evening. But I love my fellow ILPs and we have a blast!
So on Monday we went to FHE with the missionaries and some of their investigators. We always have a fun time on Monday nights! The people are really great! We played a big General Conference matching game and ate yummy snacks and hot chocolate!
Then on Wednesday a few of us took an adventure in the morning. I live really really close to the river-thingy (some body of the water ;) ) and there is a footbridge/park nearby. So we walked to the bridge. It was absolutely incredible because the leaves were all changing and it was magical! :) Never have I really paid that much attention to fall before, but man, the leaves and trees here are so incredible! It was a bit chilly, but it was so worth it! We took pictures and explored.
It was so picturesque!
I love the fall colors!
Chilly? Yes, but the kindergarten teachers are enjoying themselves! :)
I was wearing the same color!
!!AUTUMN!!
LOVE LOCKS
Also on the bridge it is a Russian tradition to lock away your love. So you and your husband take a lock and lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the river! The bridge has a few locks in locks, but I hear in Moscow there are bridges just COVERED in locks! I think it is a really cute idea! Here are some of the locks on the bridge:
Many keys are at the bottom of the river!
Cute!
Awww Liena and Dima- Bahaha!
Um at my house I am still getting lots of delicious food! My host mom is such a chef and just never uses a recipe and everything tastes wonderful. The other night we had chicken and garlic rice and on Friday we had pizza. This pizza has sausage, cheese, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, peppers, mushrooms, and this cream cheese stuff! It is epically delicious!
So then our weekend is never dull…ever! So after teaching, 4 of us went to Volleyball. Alix and Mikaela go to English club, which is where the missionaries teach English. However, their visas are only for missionary work, so they are not allowed to write on a board or look like a teacher (hence English “club”) and we as ILP teachers cannot proselyte at all- only teach English! So Alix and Mikaela help the missionaries by writing on the board. (it works out perfectly!) It is really cool because our visas are for volunteer teaching and that is what they need help with! So we can totally write on the board! I would go, but I am teaching during English club.
But I did go to Volleyball, but there were a lot of players there so I actually didn’t play, I sat on the sidelines and socialized! There are so many Russians that speak English, and really really well, but you wouldn’t know it. They don’t volunteer their English very freely! But it is so fun to talk with them when they do speak to you in English! I love getting to know them! I wish that I knew a lot of Russian because that would be awesome to talk to them in their native language! But we meet all kinds of people at Volleyball! They are all pretty much non-members which is cool publicity for the church!
I think everyone has a fun time because it is not serious at all. So there are about 15 kids from the States that are doing a semester of study abroad in Voronezh and 2 of the kids heard about Volleyball and so they have been coming and they are so fun to talk to and play with! So many Americans in Voronezh! ILPs, Missionaries, and all these study abroad students! Crazy! Also at volleyball we met Max who is an ILP graduate of quite a long time. He was there when it first started, but he speaks so well, you really wouldn’t be able to tell that he wasn’t American, he doesn’t really have an accent and he speaks so clearly! So ILP WORKS! Hahaha it is so good to know that my labor won’t be in vain!
Um then on Saturday was AWESOME!
We started out with a baptism of 4 new converts! 1 is the guard at the church, his wife was a member, and then the others were a family that moved here from Armenia a while ago. The Armenian family’s conversion story is really neat and spiritual! But they are actually headed to Armenia this next week, so that is really sad :( But they are awesome members and the sisters bore their testimony in Relief Society, and it was really powerful!
So 4 of us went to the baptism and it was so neat- I loved it! The member support was great too!
So I guess they had filled up the font last night, and when they got to the church this morning it had all drained!!! So they had to refill it with cold water! They were warming up water and dumping it in… but let’s face it… it was still freezing. They were going to cancel the baptism, but the converts said that they would be baptized no matter what! FAITH!
The 3 on the front row are the Armenian Family, then Elder Jones, then the Sergei (the guard), his wife, Elder Stegaby, and Sister Dick. On the back row is Elder Fish, Elder Wine, Elder and Sister Frost, and Sister Kuessling! :) A glorious day!
So all of them went down in the freezing water, but it really was an incredible experience for everyone watching. After the service and the meeting they had refreshments, but the people seriously pulled out the tables in the foyer and fed us sandwiches and pie-things and brownies and cream puffs! These guys do serious refreshments here too! The church is the same everywhere!
The elders filling up the font!
I love Mormon gatherings!
Me and Jallyn at the baptism!
You know you have lived in Russia for a while when you see a piece of bread with a slice of sausage and cucumber on top and you know it is a sandwich, and it actually looks kind of good….
Yes... that is what we are eating!
Then after that Me, Mikaela, and Ryan went on a walking tour. I have "The Lonely Planet" guidebook for Russia, and there is a page for Voronezh and told us of this cool walking tour. We defintitly went at the right time of year, because the leaves were incredible!
However, getting there was fun! We have never crossed the bridge to the right bank from the church, (because the church is south) and we always head from north to the bridge. But we found a bus and me and Mikaela got there. We then called Ryan and told him how to get there, but it was hard trying to tell him what to do, but we got it figured out. So we waited at the stop for Ryan's bus, and we see one with the same number zoom by! I jokingly say "Bye Ryan!" and Mikaela turns to me and says "No, I think he was actually on that bus!!" haha so we walked up the road which turned into a hill and rescued Ryan! I didn't think we would fund him that fast! But we found him! (or he found us...).
But anyways we took this amazing walking tour and the buildings were so colorful, and the leaves were so beautiful that it was so much fun! Here are some amazing pictures! (I actually wish the pictures did it justice)
We walked up this insanely long "yellow brick road" :)
Cool building!
Everything was perfect!
Maybe a bit run down... but beautiful
The leaves were such an awesome pattern!
So the tour took us to a church and a monastery! They were both breathtaking. I wish i had more pics but my camera was feigning death!
So we went past this museum house thing, but we didn't know how to get in... or if it was really open, so we went behind it and took pictures! It was kind of like a backyard, so I am not sure if we were trespassing. But the balcony area and backyard area were awesome! And this random black cat jumped up on Mikaela as we were taking her picture and so when I sat down it jumped on me too! I thought of you mom! you would have really liked him!
Kitty! кошка!
I love all the random colors in this picture!
This was the church!
This was the church/monastery (I always stand in this awkward position in front of things!) Talk about an awesome color!
The roses are so tiny and beautiful!
The flowers there were awesome! These roses are speckled with pink!
Ending our journey and headed to BARak O'Mamas
Then we met up with the missionaries! They took their P-day on Saturday this week. It is so much fun to be around them, because they all speak English and they are so friendly and they have such an amazing spirit about them! We actually both had bought tickets for the ballet and it ended up that it was the same ballet/same night, so we decided to meet up (us having invited ourselves kind of…!)
So we ate again at BARak O’mamas! I ate a cheeseburger and fries this time, and yes… it was delicious! Then a got apple juice too and it was warm (silly Russians and their no ice!) and then for dessert me Mikaela, Luke, and I inhaled a square of apple pie!! Hahaha it was probably fun to watch us eat it!
It's a party! Speaking English and eating American food- In Russia!
We love to eat here! (Even if it is smoke-infested)
And these are the wonderful Frosts, who... yes... paid for every single one of us... These people are so incredible... I don't even know what to think. I want to be just like them. Never to they think of themselves, they are so so so so generous!
It was so fun to be there with the missionaries. We were all inter-mingled and it was great. We then all went to go see Romeo and Juliet Ballet. Elder Wine goes home at the beginning of November, and so he needed to see a ballet before he leaves! Us ILPs were on the very tippy-top balcony- 3rd row in. The missionaries were on the tippy top balcony and the last row! Haha but we love cheap ballets! 8 bucks for that ballet! :)
AWESOME!
So Ryan hates ballets, so he didn't go to this one, but there was a miscommunication with the ticket , so when we split up after Barak O'Mamas, we didn't realize that Ryan had my ticket until he was long gone. So Ryan being as awesome as he is, ran all the way back so we could make it in to the ballet in time!
And the ballet was really good, some technical difficulties (like one of the lantern holders getting stuck behind the curtain!!) But it was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Jallyn and Luke having fun at the Ballet!
Intermission!
So Colorful!
(L-R) Elder Wine-from Utah, Elder Jones-from Nevada, Elder Fish from Arizona, Elder Stegaby from Sweden, Elder and Sister Frost-from Utah, Sister Kuessling from Paris France, and Sister Dick from Vermont! :) Elder Stegaby and Sister Kuessling speak remarkable English- it is awesome!
Then on Sunday we just had an awesome day at church! These saints (members) here are incredible!
I am so happy to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It brings me so much joy and peace of mind! :)
I hope your Sunday is just as good! :)
Love ya'll!
Feel free to update me at kelseeg@hotmail !!!
Bye bye! until next week!
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