Saturday
we decided to live in complete denial that we were leaving the next day
(besides the fact that we did everything but chain Sveta to our bodies
to make sure she would hang out with us for our last day). We wanted to
stay local for our last day, so we got up early, ate our last kasha, and
headed down to the embankment to take a water taxi down the Volga to
the women’s monastery. Walking there I realized how comfortable I’d
become in Yaroslavl. It was really bittersweet and made me that much
more dedicated to try and get back there one day.
The ride down the Volga was beautiful and freezing (by freezing I mean slightly uncomfortably cold. I’m sure we looked pathetic to the Russians). Going to the monastery was definitely the best choice we could have made for the day. It was by far the most beautiful place we had been. Those women knew how to do a monastery right. The entry way was covered in frescoes and flowers. The church was floor to ceiling gold icons and there were so many roses inside that it didn’t have that musty old church smell. Never before have I walked into a building like that and been blown away by the beautiful smell before I was blown away by the amount of gold inside. There were also tiny shards of ancient humans in little circles inside icons... so that was weird... but the beauty totally made it okay.
We went and saw one of the ancient icons that the monastery was dedicated to. We walked around the rest of the grounds for a while, drank some questionable holy water that made my insides burn for a week, and ended at the tiny cafe. Let me give you a piece of advice: When you go to the monastery, BUY A RIDICULOUS COOKIE. These nuns have a damn hilarious sense of humor. The my cookie was in the shape of a cartoon fish and was frosted incredibly well. We didn’t eat them for another day because we got piroshkis, but they tasted like gingerbread heaven covered in delicious frosting filled with caramel jam.
After the feeding, we found the bathrooms that traumatized Mary Elizabeth. They were probably the nicest public restrooms I saw the entire time I was in Russia. She had no idea how good she had it. We walked down to the river while telling Mary Elizabeth what a REAL bathroom fiasco was and sat down while our child, Becky, frolicked in the Volga... yet another questionable body of water. At least she didn’t drink it. Sveta demonstrated just why we make her come with us everywhere we go when she whipped out the surprisingly small bag she had been carrying around with her all day. She pulled out a bag of about 7 apples and nectarines, a bag of carrots, nuts, and a knife to shank our enemies (or, you know, cut the apples but believe me it looked MUCH more like something you would shank someone with than something you would pack to cut fruit). There was also a blanket to sit on, a water bottle, papers, and all the rest of her belongings in there. I’m pretty sure she just opens it up and climbs in at night. She probably has a bed in there somewhere.
Since a monastery is never enough, we figured we’d spice up the day with a trip to the zoo. We meandered past the dachas and along the road to the bus stop. It reminded me of being little in Belgium but without all the badminton, elderly people or vicious geese chasing me.
The Yaroslavl zoo is exactly what one would expect the Yaroslavl zoo to be. It was built for the town’s 1,000th birthday and was filled with what looked like whatever animals they could get their hands on. This included: one singular zebra, cheetahs, all of Santa’s reindeer, something called “wild arctic ass,” a herd of mountain goats, cows, bears and a pack of wolves housed in one large exhibit, and the largest smattering of birds I think I’ve ever seen. The birds alone consisted of your standard zoo birds like flamingos, various kinds of ducks, owls, the usual. And then there were the chickens and pigeons. There was an entire line of cages housing different types of chickens: ones with pompoms on their heads, ones with fluffy feet, ones covered in hair, giant chickens, tiny chickens, regular chickens, ones with long feathers, roosters. The pigeons were the same story except they were all housed in the same cage. My personal favorite was pants pigeon aka a pigeon who appeared to be wearing pants. When I come back to take back baby Sveta, I will also be making a stop at the Yaroslavl zoo to obtain my pants pigeon. The three of us will live a life of joy and comedy.
The rest of our time in Russia was filled with tears and goodbyes and the terror that Becky would be abducted and sold on her day alone in Moscow while the rest of us flew home.
Flying home, I realized CCS Russia was filled with a whole new kind of magic and the most special people I’ve ever met. It opened my eyes to new, beautiful things. I left my heart with pants pigeon and baby Sveta and I hope one day we all can be reunited and laugh over some delicious food cooked by Lena and a condescending yet well deserved judging stare from Galina. But for now, it’s time to move to Boston and let the sitcom that is my life start a new season. Stay tuned, loyal reader(s?).
The ride down the Volga was beautiful and freezing (by freezing I mean slightly uncomfortably cold. I’m sure we looked pathetic to the Russians). Going to the monastery was definitely the best choice we could have made for the day. It was by far the most beautiful place we had been. Those women knew how to do a monastery right. The entry way was covered in frescoes and flowers. The church was floor to ceiling gold icons and there were so many roses inside that it didn’t have that musty old church smell. Never before have I walked into a building like that and been blown away by the beautiful smell before I was blown away by the amount of gold inside. There were also tiny shards of ancient humans in little circles inside icons... so that was weird... but the beauty totally made it okay.
We went and saw one of the ancient icons that the monastery was dedicated to. We walked around the rest of the grounds for a while, drank some questionable holy water that made my insides burn for a week, and ended at the tiny cafe. Let me give you a piece of advice: When you go to the monastery, BUY A RIDICULOUS COOKIE. These nuns have a damn hilarious sense of humor. The my cookie was in the shape of a cartoon fish and was frosted incredibly well. We didn’t eat them for another day because we got piroshkis, but they tasted like gingerbread heaven covered in delicious frosting filled with caramel jam.
After the feeding, we found the bathrooms that traumatized Mary Elizabeth. They were probably the nicest public restrooms I saw the entire time I was in Russia. She had no idea how good she had it. We walked down to the river while telling Mary Elizabeth what a REAL bathroom fiasco was and sat down while our child, Becky, frolicked in the Volga... yet another questionable body of water. At least she didn’t drink it. Sveta demonstrated just why we make her come with us everywhere we go when she whipped out the surprisingly small bag she had been carrying around with her all day. She pulled out a bag of about 7 apples and nectarines, a bag of carrots, nuts, and a knife to shank our enemies (or, you know, cut the apples but believe me it looked MUCH more like something you would shank someone with than something you would pack to cut fruit). There was also a blanket to sit on, a water bottle, papers, and all the rest of her belongings in there. I’m pretty sure she just opens it up and climbs in at night. She probably has a bed in there somewhere.
Since a monastery is never enough, we figured we’d spice up the day with a trip to the zoo. We meandered past the dachas and along the road to the bus stop. It reminded me of being little in Belgium but without all the badminton, elderly people or vicious geese chasing me.
The Yaroslavl zoo is exactly what one would expect the Yaroslavl zoo to be. It was built for the town’s 1,000th birthday and was filled with what looked like whatever animals they could get their hands on. This included: one singular zebra, cheetahs, all of Santa’s reindeer, something called “wild arctic ass,” a herd of mountain goats, cows, bears and a pack of wolves housed in one large exhibit, and the largest smattering of birds I think I’ve ever seen. The birds alone consisted of your standard zoo birds like flamingos, various kinds of ducks, owls, the usual. And then there were the chickens and pigeons. There was an entire line of cages housing different types of chickens: ones with pompoms on their heads, ones with fluffy feet, ones covered in hair, giant chickens, tiny chickens, regular chickens, ones with long feathers, roosters. The pigeons were the same story except they were all housed in the same cage. My personal favorite was pants pigeon aka a pigeon who appeared to be wearing pants. When I come back to take back baby Sveta, I will also be making a stop at the Yaroslavl zoo to obtain my pants pigeon. The three of us will live a life of joy and comedy.
The rest of our time in Russia was filled with tears and goodbyes and the terror that Becky would be abducted and sold on her day alone in Moscow while the rest of us flew home.
Flying home, I realized CCS Russia was filled with a whole new kind of magic and the most special people I’ve ever met. It opened my eyes to new, beautiful things. I left my heart with pants pigeon and baby Sveta and I hope one day we all can be reunited and laugh over some delicious food cooked by Lena and a condescending yet well deserved judging stare from Galina. But for now, it’s time to move to Boston and let the sitcom that is my life start a new season. Stay tuned, loyal reader(s?).
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| Here's Pants Pigeon because I couldn't take pictures of baby Sveta |
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