Gorky Park is Cool, Even Though Gorky Rhymes with Dorky

It's true.  It is cool.


One of the hardest things to adjust to over here isn't the language (even though that is definitely tough), the food, the climate, or even the culture.  It's being alone most of the time.

Now, as a full-on introvert, I didn't think I would mind at all.  And I don't mind terribly, but it's just that all of these incredible experiences I'm having would be so much better if I had someone to share things with, to tell them about, to see the same things as me.  I am seeing so many amazing things--things that you just have to be in person to experience--and I can't whip out my camera fast enough to catch all the funny/silly/crazy things I see.  All the pictures in the world couldn't do the real things justice.

Every time I walk the streets of Moscow I wish I could wear a camera on my head, just so you could see everything I'm seeing.  (But then I remember how weird I would look, and I don't wish that anymore.)

But seriously--that feeling of descending into the Metro and catching your first glimpse of the station, the majesty of a Russian Orthodox church, the gorgeous Muscovite sunsets over the skyscrapers, the sweet Russian babushkas wearing headscarves and patterned cotton dresses...these are the things I am falling in love with.  And since I love you, I want to share them with you.

On that note, I did something kind of different on my walk today in Gorky Park.  I took some videos of everything I wanted you to see, and put them all together.  It's a poor substitute for having someone here with me in person, but at least I get to share my view with you! Bonus points if you can spot the albino snake. Enjoy your walk!

Nice.

Look at this ad!

Notice anything...unusual?

Ah, yes...the classic Russian trick of sticking your unwanted soft drink unobtrusively to a helpless ad.

Quite the creative litterbug, that one.

Russian Sights.

Here's some photos from our adventures as of late.

We went to a Ринок (rinok, market) where they sold pretty much everything.  

On the one hand, it made me wish our food was less processed and removed from the actual idea of food.  We only see meat if it's packaged unrecognizably in neat little styrofoam containers.  Here, we saw whole pig carcasses strung up, while others were hacking at sides of beef.  

On the other hand, sanitation is nice too.  Just saying.  Go USA.

Fish...eww.  But pretty, right??

Their vegetables....I could diiiiiiie.  

They all look so beautiful.  Obviously, not all of them are local (hello, watermelon and bananas), but they do such a neat job of displaying all of them.  I wish I could have taken more pictures of the spices, the dried fruits, the honeys, the pickled things, but Tim said it wasn't a good place to get out my phone.  Wish you were here.  :(

Our spoils from the Ринок: Armenian cherries.  

Another Ринок purchase: homegrown beefsteak tomatoes, deep red all the way through--not like the fake, tasteless pink tomatoes we have in the States.  Yuck.  

This market was suuuuper expensive, though.  Those tomatoes were absolutely amazing, but we only got three big ones and it cost us around $7! 

(!!!!!!)

We'll come back when we're rich.

Tim and I in a blurry picture on a Saturday night stroll at a park across the street.  This picture was taken around 9 PM.  It stays light so late!

A heart installation sculpture at the park.  I bet it looks awesome at night.

Man, Russians sure know how to do parks.  It was sooo much fun.  There were paddle boats, a skate park, a dancing square, a live concert, fountains, vendors selling balloons, cotton candy, and corn on the cob, barbecue...it was so cool.  

Not to mention...

GIANT INFLATABLE BEAN BAGS.

YOU CAN SIT ON THEM.

LOOK HOW COOL THEY ARE.

You are jealous, just admit it.  American parks are lame in comparison.

A beautiful apartment building on our way back from the market.

Not all apartment buildings are so pretty--here's another one that is more typical.

We were invited over to the Senior Missionaries' apartment for dinner.  This is the view from their apartment.

Entry to a Russian apartment building.

Tiny golden church peeping out amongst the trees and city!

A ride up a looooooooong escalator in the Metro.

More prettiness on the wall in the Metro stop.

Look how cool these lights are! I love it. 

This is the backside of our apartment building.  I love the patterns on the bottom of the balconies.

It's been rainy all this past week, but I'm hoping the weather starts getting nicer so we can go out and explore even more!

Technology Tuesday: How to Make Sure Your Phone Has An iCloud Backup (And What To Do If It Doesn't)

Listen, you guys.  iCloud backups are important.

Really important.

When I worked at the Apple Store, that is one of the first things we would find out from people when trying to troubleshoot a device.  Why? Because in order to fix it, we would usually swap it out (in which case you lose your data, unless it's backed up) or reset the firmware (in which case you would also lose your data). iCloud backup is turned OFF by default--so unless you've gone in to manually turn it on, it is NOT on.


I also can't tell you how many times I saw people who had lost their device or had it stolen, without knowing whether it was actually backed up or not.  Talk about a major bummer--most people were on vacation at the time, taking lots of beautiful pictures, and then everything was gone.

That's the hazard of living in this digital age.  Luckily for you, Apple has created an automatic backup system for your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch and it's FREE.  iCloud backup is an encrypted compressed backup that contains EVERYTHING from your phone, except your music. (Music you always have to put back on from your computer for licensing reasons.) It will save your settings, the way your apps were organized, your app data, text messages, recent calls, etc etc.


EVERYTHING.


So, you don't HAVE to use it, but just know if you don't that I am staring you down and judging you through the internet!!!!   J/K but not really.


Here's how to check to see if it's turned on:

How to Get into the Moscow Metro

Tim helped me take a little video to show you what it's like to ride on the Metro!

You guys, the Moscow Metro is my fave.  It is so beautiful.

(Oh, and excuse the shaky hand/bad focusing...I was using my iPhone and trying to simultaneously video/get on the escalator/not get pickpocketed/not look TOO much like a target tourist all at once. If you know me in real life you know that I lack skills* in hand/eye coordination.)

(*Maybe "lack skills" isn't quite the right phrase...it's more like "utterly fail at".)

It's a radically different experience for this small-town Idaho girl, but in a good way.  There is all kinds of beauty in this world, and I am growing to love the beauty of urban living.  

This Is What It's Like To Get Into a Russian Apartment.

I tell you what, Russians don't mess around with security.  You'd have to be one great thief to actually manage to break into a Russian apartment.  I thought I'd take a video to show you what it's like.

Here's what I have to do:

• Unlock the outer door with a magnetic key;
• Pass the doorman;
• Ride in the Tower of Terror elevator for 8 floors (my least favorite part);
• Use another key to unlock the door to our floor;
• Then use two keys on my industrial apartment door.

The upside is that I always feel really, really safe.


Watch for the elevator part--it's not really pitch black in there, my camera just had a hard time adjusting.  But you can see the elevator moving floors from several cracks where the light flashes through.  Doesn't inspire much confidence.


Also, sorry for my horrible Russian.  Although, whatever, you won't be able to tell how bad it is anyway.  But the doorman is really sweet, he always tries to speak to me even though I only know how to say like five things.



The video ends abruptly because I found some at home in my apartment...


DUN DUN DUN!!!

SUSPENSE!!





So...that was our cleaning lady at the very end, not someone that broke into our industrially secure apartment.  I felt kind of embarrassed because I'm sure she thought I was being some weird American, talking to myself and making a video.  Like all Americans do.

Let's go back and talk about that elevator for a bit.  Did you SEE that 2 inch gap between the door and the stairs?? Every. Single. Time. I am on that elevator I have to distract myself and try to find somewhere to look where I can't see light shining through from the floors passing (so far, I can't find anywhere).  My thoughts start to wander and I start to think about why it's creaking so much, and what would happen if it just suddenly dropped, and just how high up are we anyway?

It's pretty bad.

But I'm forcing myself to get over it, because, hey, death by elevator--there are worse ways to go.  And because I guess the rational side of me can sometimes admit that it is not that likely that it will break.



(I think hope.)

I Was Courageous Today.

Today, I forayed into the wilds of metropolitan Moscow on my own.  I feel so accomplished.  And brave.  

(Before I tell you about my journeys...here's a look out my window today. Moscow has been very foggy today.)

So: an unaccompanied excursion for me today.  So far, Tim has been on all of my treks to the grocery store, on the Metro, to church...everywhere.  I've been really scared to go anywhere on my own, but I gave myself a goal today to go visit the little church across the street from our grocery store.

Easy peasy: I know my way there and back and it's only a 10 minute walk. A perfect test for my Russian navigational skillz.

I was a little anxious leaving our apartment, and I mentally double- and triple-checked everything as I locked our door.  Passport? Check. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. Camera? Check. Bus and Metro pass? Check check.

Once I was out of the building and on the street, though, I felt a lot better.  As with most scary experiences, it just took that first nudge to get started, and the rest wasn't that bad.

As soon as I got to the church, I felt a little weird about just standing around and taking pictures.  It's not really in a touristy neighborhood, and I didn't want people to judge me as just some annoying tourist snapping pictures of everything.

But whatevs, that's exactly what I am--and I will probably never see those [judgmental?] Russians again. So there.  Another sticker for my Brave Chart.


So: here are some pictures of that cute little church:

(sorry the pictures are so dark...I'm still trying to figure out how to use our camera...)

 I wanted to go inside but I wasn't sure what the sign said, and I was worried I would be interrupting a service or something. (Not the ideal situation to find yourself in if you don't speak a lick of Russian).

These are large icons of the saints, on either side of the main entrance.  I love them so much.  Russian Orthodox churches are so beautiful.  I just wish you could see inside of them--most of them you aren't supposed to take pictures in.  I did manage to sneak a few in a couple of the other churches I saw today.

 I just stood outside the front of the church and tried not to stand out too much.

My plan backfired--it must've worked TOO well, because soon a woman came over to me and started saying something like, "Шелфкйсдфишйлекафйишелфчласдфчшечгсйднвлсй?"

To which I tried to reply, "Я не гаварю па-русский" (Ya nyeh gavaryu pa-ruuski), which means "I don't speak Russian."

To which she replied, "Плскйфошиенфаслкдйфлсйафд. Eyou xhave Russian eiss."

(You have Russian eyes.)

I thanked her, flattered that I must not have stuck out as much as I thought I had, and she left with her dog to leave some flowers at the foot of the icon outside the church.

Thank you, Russian lady, for being kind and not making me feel like a total idiot.

From there, I decided to walk down the street a little bit further and see what else was on that street. 

See the little "11" on the building?

That's the building number.  Most of the buildings are numbered, and that's how they do most addresses.  Instead of saying 2039 Leninsky Prospekt, they'll say Leninsky Prospekt, Building 11, Apartment 142.  

It's mostly on the grid system, so the building numbers get bigger or smaller depending on the direction you're heading.

On my way back to our apartment, I saw another church as I was crossing the street:

This woman was about my age, just making sure her headscarf was on before she goes into the church. All of the women wear headscarves in the church--it's considered irreverent if you don't.

You can see a woman in the background, too, worshipping before one of the entrances.

Their churches are so beautiful sometimes it makes me want to cry.

(In a good way.)

Headscarves at the entrance, in case you forgot yours or don't have one:

Russian Orthodox churches are usually built in a cross shape, but still very round.  Like this:

 They don't have benches for people to sit on, the worship is done standing.

I wish so badly that each of you could experience the profoundly sacred experience that is being in a Russian Orthodox church.  They are a glorious piece of heaven on earth.  Here's what it's like looking from the entrance into the church:

They are absolutely gorgeous inside.  There are different stations set up with icons, where people will worship by bowing, making the sign of the cross, praying, and meditating.  You can buy a candle to light and leave at the station.  Everything is quiet and still, and you are surrounded on all sides by murals, golden icons, candles, and velvety fabrics.  It takes my breath away every time.

Of course I know I'm being incredibly simplistic about this rich religion, so take it at face value.  We were able to take a tour last summer that told us all about the unique symbolism in the church building itself, as well as the way the church operates and how people usually worship, so you're definitely just getting the ClifNotes version here.

Once I left that church, I checked the map to see where I was and if I should walk home.  Lo and behold, on the map, there was a cluster of little churches not too far from me.  I decided to walk over and see what it was.  

When I got to the right location, I found a beautiful park.

There was a huge wall surrounding the churches on all four sides, so I tried to walk around to see if I could find a way in. 

I finally found the entrance, and found out it was a monastery! It was originally built in 1591, and it's a whole cloister of buildings surrounding the main church.

Beautiful graveyard.  

I didn't see his grave, but apparently the famous Russian writer Solzhenitsyn is buried here.

The entrance to the main church.

I tried to sneak another picture of the inside...

This is in one of the naves.  It kind of shows you what the altars are like with the candles in front.

A sneak shot of the main altar, with the wall of icons.  I can't remember what it's called...actually, I think it's called the veil.  Behind the veil is the Holy of Holies, where only the priests can go.

A room off of one of the naves, with some of the robes from the priests.

A barrel of holy water for people to drink or wash their hands or feet with.

One more sneaky shot...

After that, it started raining really badly so I decided to walk home.  Luckily, I wasn't too far away (this amazing place is less than a mile away from our apartment.  Isn't that incredible?? Someone needs to come visit meeeee!!).

I made it back from my adventures in one piece.  I even rode the bus.  (!!!!)   I'm pretty sure I deserve not one, but TWO stickers on my Brave Chart for that.

Home again, home again.  This is the back side of our apartment building.  

I love that gate.  It's so pretty.

I got home and hung up my wet clothes to dry while I had hot peppermint tea in a blanket on the couch.  

I think I'll just stay here forever.