Homemade Perogies - Courtesy of Heather!

One of the highlights while living in Russia was the lunches we shared at the school. Seriously, the food was A-mazing! We had perogies at least once a week, they’re like the Russian version of dumplings.

Left to Right: Anne, Meredith, Me, Wynter and Jade.

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Voronezh loveliness from Mikaela ♥

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BLINI

I learned how to make blini (also known as blinchiki) the first time I went to Russia when my family was adopting three of my younger siblings. I loved making it for my group in Voronezh this past fall! Just be sure to make enough because they are addicting. 

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Russia Recommendations

 

Going to St. Petersburg, Moscow, or Voronezh? Or even just dreaming of Россия? Here are some recommendations from iLP alums to get pumped and informed about Mother Russia.

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Locks of Love

One of my favorite things about being in Russia was learning about all of the different traditions. My favorite tradition was the Lock and Key tradition. All over the city of Voronezh (and in other places in Russia as well) there would be bridges covered in different padlocks. Some were heart-shaped, some were house-shaped, some were just normal padlocks. We learned that when people get married one of their biggest traditions is "locking their love away." As a couple they would close their lock on a bridge and throw away the key. It’s symbolic of locking their love away, making it untouchable from everyone else.

Shannel Walker
Voronezh, Fall 2010

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Michelle • Voronezh • 2010

I loved teaching the kindergarten in Voronezh, Russia. My students were all just so cute and I was amazed to see how much they learned over the semester! I had one particular student, a tiny 4-year-old girl named Dasha, that I will never forget!

All semester long, we had the hardest time getting Dasha to focus. She would just lean back in her chair and her eyes would glaze over and she'd be off in outer space. Anytime we tried to get her to speak, she'd just shake her head and in her tiny little voice say, "No!" We were so frustrated that Dasha was our only student that didn't seem to be improving in the slightest, despite all of the attention we'd been giving her.

One day, when we had about one month left, we were going through our opening routine. We would start out every day with the calendar, doing the day of the week, the month, and what day it was that month. I held up our calendar chart and pointed to Tuesday and asked the kids, "Is it Tuesday?"

I had barely gotten the question out when Dasha suddenly shouts, "No, it's not Tuesday!" The other kindergarten teacher and I were shocked--it was as if a rock had spoken!

The rest of the semester, Dasha was still a little space cadet, but she was speaking so much more than before! It was so much fun to see her improve and it was so hard to leave at the end of the semester!

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