We have now been here just over a week though it has felt like much longer. We have been busy shopping, exploring, and participating in our school’s orientation for new teachers. There have been way too many experiences to condense into a single blog post, but here are some highlights.

The parks!!! They do not mess around when it comes to parks and play areas here. We have only visited a tiny fraction of the parks in Kazan but they are a sight to see. I am curious to see how they look and are utilized when covered with snow. There seem to be lots of indoor options as well. Today we dropped off the kids at a play center in the mall so we could shop IKEA without any complaining. It was glorious for us and the kids had a blast bouncing and climbing.

We have had fun exploring the food of Kazan. At our local grocery Alden discovered crab as well as mushroom sour cream flavored Lays. We haven’t sampled the mushroom ones yet, but the crab are pretty tasty. Some of you may have seen Simon’s facebook post about the horse salami he bought at the corner market. Alden and I weren’t big fans (maybe partly psychological aversion?) but Mila couldn’t get enough of it. We also discovered chanterelle mushrooms for 200 rubles per kilo which is about $1.25 per pound.

Our school arranged a tour of the city on Saturday. It was a bit of a whirlwind (sadly, we left Mr. Smart at home) but a great way to see some of the highlights and take note of places to come back to for more exploration. For those of you that don’t know, Kazan’s history in a nutshell is east meets west. The word Kazan means cauldron and it is quite the melting pot. Kazan is located in the semi-autonomous republic of Tatarstan. It was conquered in the 16th century by Ivan the Terrible and claimed by Russia. After a couple of turbulent centuries, both cultures have peacefully flourished here as evidenced by its nearly equal concentrations of cathedrals and mosques. It is also home to the oldest kremlin (walled fortress) in Russia which was built between the 10th and 16th centuries. Kazan celebrated its 1000 year anniversary in 2005. This occasion brought about much new construction which has made the city even more vibrant while paying homage to its rich history.