Victory! Mila mastered riding her bike! Over the past couple of years, Mila has been working to feel comfortable on her bike. It seemed every time she started blossoming in her confidence there would be an interruption- either travel or snow- that put a pause to her efforts. This spring she has been confidently zipping all around campus.

Victory! Alden successfully completed his PYP exhibition with two of his classmates on the topic of gaming addiction. They worked hard on their project (when they weren’t too busy playing video games)- researching, writing, and creating a multimedia presentation to share their findings. We were able to attend his presentation and were thrilled to learn about the strategies for combatting gaming addiction like going outside, setting time limits, and cleaning your room. But joking aside, they did a great job and we were proud of Alden for his success on this culminating project of his elementary school years.

Victory! We received Sputnik 5 vaccinations! After months of vaccines being available in Russia for citizens, we finally were able to get a vaccine as a foreigner. Locals are skeptical about the vaccine- we only know 2 local colleagues who have opted to get vaccinated and some local friends told us they thought it was possible that the government was using the vaccine for mind control. Despite some reservations, we decided the risks of getting Covid were greater than the risks of the vaccine, and along with many of our expat colleagues, we got vaccinated. We are hoping this will help our return home and our future travels be safer and easier.

Victory! Bonus week of vacation! We had two back to back long weekends scheduled in May, but at the end of April, Putin declared a 10 day holiday for the country. Woohoo! So we decided to extend our planned long weekend trip to Yekaterinburg adding a few days in the country exploring the nature of the Urals.

We took an overnight train from Kazan to Yekaterinburg, sleeping in bunk beds and arrived to Yekaterinburg in the afternoon. We rented a car and headed out of town, spending our first night in a lovely room in a creepy hotel. The hotel seemed abandoned and must have been trying to save on electricity as all the halls and common areas were dimly lit. Fortunately, the room was fine and the creepy girl in the painting did not haunt us after all.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We made a quick stop at a monument near the hotel marking the border between Europe and Asia so we could stand with one foot on each continent.

• 

• 

We spent the rest of the day at Deer Streams Nature Reserve. Despite some grumbles from the kids about how hot it was (76 degrees) we enjoyed a long hike in the park. We saw a cave that had been inhabited by prehistoric humans, climbed across two bouncy suspension bridges, and observed a toad crossing the trail.

After our full day of hiking, we were ready to relax at our “Forest Country Club” located outside the small town of Sysert. The hotel had a fun outdoor playground with lots of log-based climbing structures. They also had a game room where we were surprised to find the game Grimm Forest, designed by our neighbors in Portland, and one of my childhood favorites Scotland Yard, both games translated into Russian.

• 

The next day we explored a local park, hiking along a small river to a former talc quarry that is now a lake. We saw quirky natural sculptures, a giant ant hill, mating toads, and masses of floating egg sacs. Despite more grumbles from the kids about the weather (too cold this time, mid 50s), it was a fun adventure.

On the way back to Yekaterinburg, we stopped to check out the lake in Sysert, a sculpture garden made out of scrap metal and other recycled materials, and spent a couple hours at a Sky Park. The kids convinced me to join them on the ropes course and I humored them, though I opted out after the beginners’ level which was plenty high for me. Mila completed all three courses that were allowed for someone of her height and Alden did the three courses plus a zipline course. They would have gladly done all seven levels if time had allowed.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In Yekaterinburg, we stayed on the 15th floor of our downtown hotel with a sweeping view of the city.

We met up with our friends and colleagues Kelly and John. Kelly is Mila’s teacher so she was pretty excited to get to hang with her teacher on vacation. We did a lot of walking, checking out parks, sculptures, fountains, and interesting architecture.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We visited two museums- Glavny Prospekt Art Gallery and the Yeltsin Center. The Glavny houses an eclectic collection- they have a Pop Art exhibit with many Warhol paintings and an interesting display of sculptures made out of recycled objects that was a highlight for the kids. We saw the paintings of a talented Russian artist, Alexander Novik. They also have an exhibit of Matisse paintings and cut paper pieces. Another highlight is a rock collection which contains various minerals and fossils, along with displays of stone cutting art pieces by different local artists. The Yeltsin Center had been recommended to us by many people so we decided to check it out. It is in a stunning building and has interactive exhibits related to the history of Russia and the Soviet Union as well as artifacts and a plentitude of information about the center’s namesake, Boris Yeltsin.

Victory Day!- We joined locals in Yekaterinburg to celebrate Victory Day on May 9th which honors veterans and those who died in WW2 and celebrates the end of the Great War. It is a huge event in Russia, as 1 out of every 5 Russians died in the war. Last year, celebrations were postponed until summer due to Covid, so this was our first time experiencing Victory Day in Russia. We watched the parade, listened to concerts and watched dances in the park, and viewed the fireworks from our hotel room.

We came back refreshed and ready to enjoy our last month in Kazan.

Sadly on our first morning back after the break we learned about a tragic school shooting at a nearby school. Our local community is grieving- yesterday was a day of mourning in all of Tatarstan with schools and many businesses closed. We grieve for the families and school community impacted by this horrible tragedy.