When There Are Icicles Above You...

One of our first Sundays in church a woman gave us some very wise advice: "When there is ice on the ground, look down. When there are icicles above you, look up." I'm guessing some poetry to that statement was lost in translation, or at least I hope so. However, with the great March thaw I am beginning to appreciate how serious this icicle business is.

Best of Russia

Here are a few reasons why I love this place so much:

1. Beer is consumed, carried, and considered as normal as Gatorade:

Just a casual Sunday stroll..."with one hand in my pocket and the other one nursing a long neck."

2. Really convenient recycling systems:

 I walked behind these guys and watched them open, drink, and dispose of their beers all in about a 10 minute time span. Impressive.

3. Laundry services available every corner:

One day I came home to a laundry machine just chilling in the entry way of our apartment building. Why you might ask? The only reply I can give you is why not?

4. Toilets are as rare as trash cans

There is this really strange thing where you can't find trash cans, like anywhere, in Russia. They are so rare. It is the same with toilets. If you are out and about and you need to use a restroom..."just go man, just go." So, there was some really hilarious irony when I found this toilet, in my apartment building, being used as a trash can. (That tube/pole next to the toilet is a trash pipe. In apartment buildings you stuff your trash down these tubes....I don't know where the tubes go. They remind me of Sweeney Todd and it kind of creeps me out.)

5. You can pretty much wear anything you want in this city:

Yes, those are pink jeans. Yes, that is a man in pink jeans. Yes, he paired his pink jeans with a camo patterned coat. And yes, he still thinks he is BA.

...to be continued. I'm certain of it.

Inside St. Isaac's

Last weekend we went inside St. Isaac's! It was really beautiful and over the top with decadence, which is just the way I like it. This is actually the fourth St. Isaac's church to be built, the original being in honor of Peter the Great who was born on St. Isaac's day. It is St. Petersburg's largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral. 


As an update on teaching, things are so much better I cannot even believe it. What a turn around. I actually kind of like these kids sometimes! Just kidding. I pretty much love them..a lot. Especially my 13 year old boys. Who knew? They are so smart though, and they say some really funny things. Not to say things are perfect and that I have suddenly become a magnificent teacher, but I am just less stressed about the situation and enjoying getting to know these Russian kids. Enjoy these pictures, love and miss you all!

It was very snow the day we visited, but I think it looks kind of pretty.

The statue to the left of the Cathedral is of Tsar Nicholas. Which, is probably not that interesting to most people. However, what is cool about it is it balances on only two points. It is hard to see, but the two hooves on the ground are the only thing holding the whole statue up. 

The beautiful ceilings inside.

The chandeliers were really amazing.

Fun fact: This is the 4th largest Dome in the world. It could hold 10,000 people in it. It's hard to see but at the very top is a huge, hallow dove.

This is the main architect, actually a Frenchman. He died just a couple of months after it was completed. The cathedral, interestingly enough, took 40 years to build. "Just like your cathedral in Salt Lake," our tour guide Sveta informed us. She's a "Russian Mormon" as she puts it because when she came to America she went to Nauvoo and Temple Square. 

The doors might have been my favorite part of the church. They are absolutely enormous. The casts are all 3-Dimensional and all stories from the scriptures. Super cool looking.

Blogging...

So, it turns out that I am just not a very good blogger. My fellow teachers who also have blogs are busting out more posts than there are days in the month! They are much better writers than me though. My friend Allison literally has people from all over the world who follow her blog on a regular basis, and she doesn't even know them! I just can't compete with that kind of talent. So, naturally, I will just give up and pretty much just post pictures of this beautiful place. For me, that is really the best part and I hope my five faithful followers will concur! I am still loving this amazing country and can hardly believe I am really here some days. I hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all!


St. Isaac's Cathedral:

This was our first peak at St. Isaac's Cathedral. We passed by it on our way to another place. The inside is soon to follow!

The Bronze Horseman:

This guy is the Bronze Horseman who was built by Catherine the Great in honor of Peter the Great.  He is a big hero over here and she built it to try to get on the people's good side, basically. It is a very important monument and is kind of like a Statue of Liberty to the Russian people.

I think the translation is actually Copper Horseman, but he is known as the Bronze Horseman because of the poem written by Pushkin, another very important person to Russian history. 

This is the Peter Paul Cathedral across the river from where the Bronze Horseman is. There are a lot of important historical places really close to each other in this area.

Church on Nevsky Prospect:

This is just a pretty little chapel we found tucked a little off of Nesky Prospect.

A really beautiful stone just outside the chapel.

Lady of Kazan:

This is more of the Lady of Kazan. I finally went inside, but no cameras allowed, sadly. It is cool thought because it is a working cathedral for the Russian Orthdox church.

A Different Side of Nevsky:

Allison and I had an adventure walking on a street that runs parallel to Nevsky.

My pretty friend busting the Russian face...And it is an owl, in case you were wondering.

They have public transportation that runs on some sort of electromagnetic wiring. I totally made that up. I don't know how it works, but the trolleys connect to these overhead wires and it creates quite a mess of crossing lines at intersections. Just look at all of that! I can't imagine why things ever go wrong... Anyway, I always try to avoid them in pictures so I decided to just embrace them and devote an entire picture to them.

Nevsky at Night.

I have this funny love for light poles. They are so cool looking.