I began the day with a great run to Red Square. I've been told that one meaning of red is beautiful, and seeing St. Basil's and the Kremlin at sunrise was stunning. If the computer cooperates, you should see some pictures of St. Basil's and the Kremlin at sunrise. Our group is staying at the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski-a fabulous hotel that overlooks the river and the Kremlin. I feel fortunate to have easy access to great views and runs.
Today we visited the American Embassy to learn more about Russian history and culture as well as the Russian economy. A highlight was the 10-minute presentation of Russian history from the 6th century until today. After an interesting meal of bulgur and carrot salad at Cafe Moo Moo-imagine Chick-Fil-A in an old tavern-we toured the Kremlin. I hadn't realized how much there was to see. Until the snowfall and drop in temperature, we spent much of our time outside learning about the fortified walls, towers, and churches. During the museum visit, we saw the carriage sled that carried Catherine the Great from St. Petersburg to Moscow for seven days. It required 23 horses! We also saw the boots that Peter the Great made himself. Apparently, he made them bigger so that his feet would appear larger than they were. Cindy, Jeff, Eric, and I enjoyed dinner at a nearby cafe that served wonderful food. However, we never figured out what happens to the caged rabbits in the corner. It's still snowing and still beautiful, and I am so very glad to be here. On Saturday, March 29, twelve of us TGC (Teachers for Global Classrooms) teachers leave for Moscow, where we will spend a few days learning about the Russian education system before visiting other cities in Russia. My travelling partner, Julie, is an English teacher who works at a Beverly Hills High School. She and I will be spending a week meeting with English teachers and students in Barnaul, Siberia-a city more than 1,400 and four time zones away from Moscow!
Since our Global Education Symposium in D.C. last February, our group has been planning for our visits to different areas and schools in Russia. Students in my American Literature classes have created collages introducing themselves, my newspaper class is creating a mini-paper describing our school, other students have created videos describing who “We Really Are,” and our fabulous tech guy has helped me record a video of a typical school day. One student even helped me create a brief quiz of Russia that was taken by three different level world history classes, and our Latin teacher-who speaks Russian-has helped translate an American version of the quiz into Russian, so that Russian students can see how much or how little they know about the USA. From what I can tell, Julie and I have many opportunities both to observe and experience Russian approaches to education as well as share American philosophies and strategies of teaching since we will be co-teaching classes, participating in discussions with teachers and students training to be teachers, and offering presentations to teachers from the Altai region (the background picture is of the Altai Mountains-according to google images). I am especially interested in finding out about the different identities Russians recognize and cultivate. While the people we are working with are Russians, they live in Siberia. So I expect that this region-with its massive size and unique cultures-will allow for experiences different from those in other areas of the country. The collages my American literature students have created not only introduce themselves and the USA but also express so many identities. Similarly, I imagine the students I encounter in Russia will have different things, ideas, and peoples with which they identify. I started my teaching career in Greece when there was no internet, no smartphone, or no youtube. I used to travel internationally during school breaks, but it has been seven years since I visited and taught in China. So I am also curious to see how much this connectedness influences such travel and experiences. As this is my first overseas trip since the birth of my four-year old daughter, I do appreciate the access to such technology. Today my American Literature students were writing captions for their photographic introductions.
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