Charades anyone?

My world has become one big game of charades.  Since my Russian is limited to about 20 words, I have to act out most everything to everyone around me.  Day after day....charades!

Take, for example....

In IKEA, to tell our Russian speaking driver that I want to look around for awhile -  2 fingers (peace sign) in the eyes - then around the room symbol.  Easy enough.

To tell our driver I’m going to walk into the bank - the “let your fingers do the walking” symbol of index and middle finger walking on the palm of my hand.  Check - that works.

Looking for matches at the grocery store (those who know me well know I’m a fanatic about candles....this girl needs to light her candles!).  I spent 5 minutes with the grocery store manager acting out “matches”.   I found a package of birthday candles and used my hand to make a small explosion at the top of my index finger...clearly the charade for match - right?  After multiple attempts - no clue....I put the b-day candles down and left in defeat.  (For whatever reason, matches are one of the elusive items not to be found in Moscow - my neighbor finally took pity and gave me a book of matches she picked up at a hotel).

Ever thought about how you would charade toilet paper?  I did...and decided to hunt it down on my own...no matter how long it took.

I’ve also found myself in hysterics, laughing, when the charade process doesn’t work after about 7 or 8 minutes.  I have this out of body experience where I’m looking down on the scene and realize how completely idiotic I must look.  What am I doing???  Most of the time, from the “charadee”, I get a dead-pan look back...and finally the shaking of the head that signals....nope...nada...nyet...not playing...game over.  So then you realize you can get along without many things, but tomorrow is always another day!

The Chocolate Factory!

"Red October"...pronounced "Krahs-nya Ak-tyah-bar"

We live on an island on the Moscow River, literally.  And...we live near the former Moscow Chocolate Factory - brings a hint of sweet happiness just knowing it’s there. The factory operations were recently relocated outside of town but the building remains.  The former factory, called Red October, has been converted info great restaurants, cafes, galleries, shops and bars.  

This is the island - the black outline at the top is the Kremlin, Chocolate Factory is at the tip of the island in red.

We experienced the bar action first hand last weekend - Steve and I unexpectedly found ourselves with friends “clubbin” at several of the bars until 3 a.m. Saturday night!  What????  - you say.    I know...we can’t remember the last time we were out on the town until the wee small hours...not to mention ever “clubbin” before.  We decided we have to do it from time to time - it’s part of the experience...and the people watching is fantastic.   Moscow nightlife is world class...very loud techno music...everyone, and I mean everyone, is smoking (Steve and I are considering taking up smoking as the first hand smoke is much better for us than the second hand smoke....this can only help our triathlon training - right?).  

The factory in warmer days...

The factory on the tip of the island

Chocolate bear made back in the day - nice gold necklace!

Shoe removal...

Tearing hair out at present...no Internet connection in the apartment!  Beyond frustrating.

Questions for you:   What socks do you have on right now?  Thoughts on their condition?  Upon close inspection, perhaps a hole...or two?  Any chance they are in need of a little Clorox?  

A shock wave of these questions went racing through my brain as I entered the home where the Moscow Christmas Traditions event took place the other day...  

Brain:    “Ut oh....not good...trouble ahead...warning....warning....this is about to get really really embarrassing!”  In slow motion I removed my boots....holding my  breath....eyes darting around sizing up everyone else’s sock situation...............................then a huge exhale when I realized I was in the clear!

  Disclaimer:  these are not my socks, no really.

Proper Russian etiquette, and actually, almost a requirement when entering any home in Moscow, is to remove all footwear at the front door.  This is so second nature to most...shake hands, remove shoes.  Spring, summer, winter, fall - shoes off.  Even workmen, I learned today, enter all homes with special slipper type flip flops.  Boots off, flops on.  It has a bit of a Japanese-esque feel to it but the truth is, Moscow has a bit of a soot issue.  It’s actually more like the fine dust you kick up driving over a gravel road.  It’s not that we’re walking through a constant cloud of this...it just seems to be everywhere.  The entrance way of every home has a shoe rack for shoes during the visit and most people (at least the Russians) offer slippers to wear while visiting.  I’m planning to swap out an old pair of shoes for an upgrade during our next home visit...

How great are these?  Mop the floors in comfort!

Christmas Russia Style...

Today, I attended an event with a speaker who shared Russian Christmas traditions...fairly fascinating.  Here’s the scoop: 

Russians used to celebrate what they call the “old style” Christmas on December 25th which was mostly a religious celebration, (very little commercialism - meaning no singing bass with Santa hat mounted to the wall).  Decorations were somewhat limited to ornaments on spruce trees with star on top.  

During the Soviet era, starting in 1917, all Christmas celebrations (and New Years eve celebrations) were illegal.  Soldiers and guards looked into windows of homes to make sure there was no celebrating.  All production of ornaments and decorations ceased.  

Only foreign embassies celebrated Christmas.  Children grew up knowing nothing about Christmas...until one day...in 1935...Stalin and his family attended a holiday reception at the British Embassy in Moscow.  Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana, asked her father why they didn’t have a huge Christmas tree with decorations.  From that day forth, celebrations were allowed in Moscow, but not to celebrate Christmas....only to celebrate New Years Day.  So, all former Christmas traditions were moved to New Years Day traditions.  And, to this day, the big holiday celebration in Moscow is New Years Day (they do not have a December 25th celebration).  They also have a Russian Orthodox Christmas that follows the Gregorian calendar.  The Russian Christmas is celebrated on January 7th and is mostly religious with a midnight church service (most churches do have trees and candles to celebrate).

Here are a few other interesting tidbits:

• Russians exchange their gifts on New Years Day.

• Most spruce trees (“New Years” trees) are sold starting December 25th.  When the holidays are over, some people chop off the branches and carve the date into the tree trunk as a memento from the holiday.  They will collect these over the years.  If you buy your tree at IKEA, at the end of the holiday, IKEA will buy your tree back and reuse the wood.  No wonder that bookshelf is so lopsided!

• The Kremlin has the biggest and best tree in Moscow (similar to our Rockefellar Center tree) and it is delivered by helicopter.  It has a theme each year and is decorated with ornaments that represent a historical event (i.e. Sputnik space travel).  

• Their Santa Claus is “Father Frost” (again, no Christmas connection).  He is a grandfather and has an assistant (like an elf) called the Snow Maiden - some say she is his granddaughter.  Parents put all their children’s gifts in a big sack and a live Father Frost visits each house (apartment) on New Years Eve.  The parents like to celebrate with the Father F and offer him shots of vodka....apparently he can hardly walk by the end of the night.  And what child doesn’t like a tipsy Santa to kick off the celebration??

• From December 20th to January 10th, the Kremlin Palace holds a children’s performance and the audience is children only - 6,000 a day!   The parents must wait outside on the outskirts of a big square, (there are adults inside who help the children with their coats, etc.).  When the performance is over, each child receives a box with a gift inside - usually chocolate.  They then go outside and parade in a circle around the square until they spot their parents in the crowd.  Fairly amazing - don’t you think?  Apparently this was a very special event during Soviet times...now the children are hoping for a video game in their gift box rather than chocolate!

Deck the halls!

We were forewarned....Moscow can be a land of inconvenience for American Ex-pats.  We moved into our new apartment on Saturday and thought we were thinking 10 steps ahead by having the Internet guys meet us first thing.  They did get our Internet up and running...but the minute they walked out the door...not so much.  I found myself scrambling to the window shouting down the street “Wait!!!”.  That apparently doesn’t translate so well in Russian...they were gone.  We now have Internet access for about 32 seconds then it conks out for an average of 47 minutes.  When the Internet is your life line to the outside world - you want the thing to work!  They will be back in the morning...

It brings me great joy, along with glad tidings, to tell you Christmas tress are available in Moscow!!!  Steve and I bought our mini live tree yesterday at OBI, Moscow’s version of Home Depot, (complete with orange decor).  We just had our traditional tree trimming party (it took all of 8 minutes).  The lights are a touch on the florescent side - but we were thrilled to even find lights!  We also found the cutest ornaments at IKEA made out of straw... 

Moscow is beautiful at Christmas time.  Lots of decorations and lights strung across most streets.  Christmas decorations are in the stores along with English speaking Christmas carols....it’s kind of amazing to hear Jingle Bells in a store while surrounded by Russian speakers who have no idea what “Jingle Bells” means. I love it as it makes me feel like home.  I’m attending a “See Russia” event tomorrow put on by the American Women’s Organization.  The topic is Russian Christmas traditions - can’t wait!

All things fur!

No room for PETA in Moscow.  This place is climbing with fur.  The people watching is fantastic!  What you most likely imagine Russians wearing walking along the busy streets is exactly what they are wearing.  It’s a fashion show of fur...men, women and children.  

The full length fur coats are mostly worn by older women who absolutely have the matching fur hat.  Many women wear the mid thigh fur - in every color combo you can imagine.  Then you have the huge wild fur bomber hats....worn by the category of people who feel the crazier it looks, the warmer you feel.  

Many of the older men are wearing the typical Russian fur hats....as are the police.  Everyone is wearing fur lined boots and their fur-lined puffy coat hoods are in the “up” position at all times.  We’re all running around completely bundled Eskimo-style, with just a little face showing... it’s actually quite charming...until you remember it’s negative 100 degrees outside.  

I’ve seen a handful of men wearing this:

I think Steve would look great in one of these...don’t you?  Perhaps a little something for him under the tree Christmas morning...

I had a few extra hours to kill before our landlord stopped by for a sign off on the apartment.  I thought I would take in a walk around our new neighborhood - get to know the area, the people, make friends.  Ten minutes into the walk I realized under no circumstances should I ever, EVER leave the house without long johns.  I should probably wear them at all times during waking hours, sleeping hours and possibly in the shower.  My jeans felt like a wind sieve and my legs became sticks of ice.  I also remembered I had on thin socks and a pair of dressier boots that had no business walking the streets of Moscow.  I cut the walk short and bolted back to the apartment.  Mother Nature can get ‘r done in Moscow...

Observations...

Today, a potpourri of observations...

Steve was given our apartment key on his last trip to Moscow several weeks ago.  While finishing our moving prep in Atlanta I asked him if we needed to make a couple of copies.  He said....”well....I don’t think we can...”  Here’s why: This is our apartment key!  

Can you believe it?  I knew we were going back in time - but this looks a touch medieval. At least it doesn’t get lost in my purse.  I almost impaled myself with it when I went diving into the car to get out of the cold.  I like to think of it as the “key to our castle”.  Guess who’s the Princess?  (I also respond to Queen).  

On the nights Steve has been out of the country (three of the last four since we arrived....side note, he’s currently in Baku, Azerbaijan), I have taken in as much Russian fare for dinner as possible.  This is what I order most nights:  

Russian Borscht!  This really needs no explanation since, per the name of the blog, I’m still trying to find out who moved mine.  Simply stated, I LOVE BORSCHT!  Russian beet soup with a dollop of sour cream - complete heaven.  I plan to have it every day.

Salmon caviar and Bellini pancakes!   Another completely melt in your mouth delicacy as far as I’m concerned.  By the way, Steve will have none of the afore mentioned, (I’m sure many of you are saying “smart man”).  I give my amazing mother complete credit for my love of caviar and Bellinis!  She is known for passing this hors d’oeuvre on special occasions and I believe the tradition started with her amazing mother.  The tradition lives on...

The traffic.  Holy smokes.  It took me 1 hour to drive 2 miles from the apartment to our hotel this evening.  Now, I will say, this is a bit unusual as the other nights have not been this bad.   But when it is bad, it is really really baaaad.  It makes D.C. and Atlanta traffic look like childs play.  I just took this photo from our hotel window...

Some big performance must be going on in the center of Moscow tonight - unbelievable.  In the middle of the photo you can see the Moscow River - it froze over last night and is covered with snow.  Quite Christmasy, really.  It’s currently -5 degrees, but only feels like -20, thank goodness!