Sightseeing

St. Basil's Cathedral

This past weekend I got to go sightseeing! My roommate from Belgium went the week before so he knew how to get us around even with the language barrier. First of all, the subway is way cheaper then New York. Luckily, the kiosks had English and Russian so printing a metro card isn't too difficult. The metro is also much deeper then in New York. It's a couple minutes on the escalator to get down to the bottom. But the nicest thing about the Moscow metro is that it's very clean! They take pride in it and it's very well kept. After about 10 minutes on the metro we arrived at our destination. When we first walked out of the tunnel we were right outside the Kremlin walls! We walked around to the entrance to Red Square and all of the sudden boom there it was! St. Basil Cathedral, Lenin's tomb, etc. We had a great time and I enjoyed every moment. Enjoy!

The Best Company of them all--The Bolshoi!

My first metro card.

Roommate Janos in the metro. 

Hot Dog place in the metro.

Red Square!

The Kremlin

Lenin's Tomb

 *Addendum from my mom:  When your Dad and I were kids, it would have been practically impossible for an American to stand where you are standing.  This picture, right here, drove home the fact that you are in such a rare position to become an ambassador for good between the Russian and American communities.

Been there!  

This was still a very difficult week, but things are getting better.  I am very good friends with my roommate and being able to get out of the school and see this beautiful city lifted my spirits for sure!

Mom's View: Culture Shock

ISAAC at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography,
ie The Bolshoi Ballet Academy!

Isaac comes from a pretty normal American family in that the kids bicker, like all kids would do, but I don't let them get away with it for long.  Name calling is specifically outlawed in our house, though some gentle jibbing and teasing happens.

When Isaac arrived in Russia, some wonderful people from Church picked him up, fed him a wholesome, homemade meal and got him situated at the school.  His roommate, Janos (YAWN-ose) was arriving the same day--a boy with whom Isaac had corresponded a bit before arrival.  They didn't know they would be in the same room and the same class, but it has been a blessing for them.  They have become good friends and rely on each other to get through these very tough first days and weeks.

The next day, Isaac went to his first class.  His teacher is Ilya Kuznetsov, an excellent, young teacher who has posted many videos of his classes on YouTube.  Since Isaac has all ballet videos posted on YouTube memorized, he knew Kuznetsov and knew he was getting a great teacher.  What he didn't know was that his teacher was going to be Tough.  With a capital T.

For the first three days, Isaac was called, simply, "Stupid America!"

It is a longer story than you care to hear, but the first time we were able to talk was on the evening of his fourth day at the school.  When Isaac first told me that he was yelled at, called names and mocked for the first three days in Russia, tears stung my eyes.  Not my good boy.  Not my nice boy.  Not my son, dang it!  Work him hard, yes.  Make him sweat, absolutely.  But don't hurt his soul!  I was ready at that moment to pull the plug and bring him home.

But I restrained.  Swallowing hard, I asked the next question:

"Is it just you or is he mean to everyone?"  When Isaac confirmed that Kuznetsov was mean to everyone, then I relaxed a little.  It's not that I approve of the technique, but as long as all of the boys were in it together, it somehow made the hardness of it softer.

On the fourth day, Isaac was ignored.  "I was never so glad to be ignored in all my life!"

Before he left for Russia, I made Isaac promise that he would tell me every day that he was praying, reading scriptures, and not drinking Vodka or smoking cigarettes.  He laughed at me as he chided me with a, "You know me better than that, Mom!"  Yes, I do.  But when I can't be with him, read his body language, know his friends and all of his business, I worry.

During that first conversation, I asked him the questions.

His reply was simply, "Mom, I have never prayed so hard in my life."

If the only thing he gets out of this experience is a reliance upon the Savior, it will have been worth every penny and sacrifice!

McDonald's: Comfort Food!

More to come . . .

--Emily

Pictures of the First Week at the Bolshoi--A Day in the Life

Moscow State Academy of Choreography aka Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

Dorm Hallway

Our Dorm. My name is at the bottom.

Some pictures on the walls.

Second floor where all of the studios are.

The first floor is currently under construction so the courtyard is kind of a mess.

This is where the magic happens.  Studio for Boys 5th B class.

Our studio.

Our studio is in the corner.

Room for relaxation and stretching at the end of the day.

Laundry Room

The kitchen.  The academy has a cafeteria, but the food is notoriously bad so many of the students supliment their meals here with microwavable food.

The elevators are really small here.

This is the breakfast we eat every day.

Grocery Store.  "Thank you for my American junk food!"

Yay!

Yay!

Kit Kat.  Classic logo.

Weekend Splurge.

It's so beautiful!  Especially after a week of disgusting cafeteria food!

Our room and my roommates.  Stipon (Bulgaria) is at the desk and Janos (Belgium) is on the bed.  My bed is next to the window--with the junk food stash.

Other side of the room.  Janos is camera shy.  Those are our closets.

My roommate.

Next week:  Faces!