I almost forgot to do this until I saw someone else's online. And people say social media is a total waste of time! So what did I do this year?
I traveled. A lot (for me). Riding the high of my Ruskeala trip in the end of 2022, I decided to keep it up. I made day trips by car with friends, and took a couple of solo trips to Russian regions further from Moscow.
First was a big May trip to the republic of Dagestan, in the Caucasus. I flew alone and joined a tour group to have one of the best experiences of my life. We were divided into 4 groups among different jeeps and driven to see the main sights, mountains, and of course go hiking. Before we went anywhere, we had our first of many lunches at a fish restaurant. Since i don't eat fish or meat, they ordered me... chicken! Once we settled that I also consider chicken to be meat, I had my fill of fresh vegetable, breads, dumplings, potatoes with mushrooms, and lentil soups. Then we headed off to the Sulakski canyon, which I zip lined across before we had a speed boat tour.
Our main hub every evening was Gunib, where we had breakfast and dinner at a wonderfully cozy guest house with our group and guides. From there we drove across many mountains, hiked to an abandoned village, went into caves, splashed in waterfalls, danced in the rain, and pet some of the many cows roaming freely. We also went to a mill where they make something called urbech - think peanut butter, but made out of different nuts and seeds (you can have ones from apricot seed, flax, hazelnut, and cashew, just to make a few). We didn't make it to the Caspian sea, but that's just another reason to go back!
Next was a day trip to Kolomna in early June, where I saw the old Town and Kremlin, ate a special treat called kalach (sort of like a bread roll with a handle at the end. They normally come stuffed with some kind of pate, which I obviously passed on), went to a soap factory, and got to fly in a 2 seat plane above the city! I even got to steer a bit.
My stop after that was a trip to Ekaterinburg, which was not the smoothest trip, but I still enjoyed it. I looked up the local weather forecast at least a dozen times while packing, and boy did it lie. It was about 10° colder than promised, and raining! Given that it was late June, I hadn't bothered bringing a jacket, so my first stop was the mall. From the hotel I took the metro, which was just as beautiful as Moscow's. After buying a jacket and eating in a great vegan cafe nearby (thank you, Happy Cow app), I walked what felt like the entire city until I thought I would drop. I saw the stone keyboard, the river, the circus, the dam, the museums, and the cathedral built on the spot where the Romanov family was shot that fateful night in 1918. The next day I visited the Yeltsin center and learned a bit of history, and did a lot more walking. The third and final day I visited the Museum of Fine Arts that displayed iron works, paintings, and stone works from the natural stones in Sverdlovsk region.
After this I thought I was heading back to Moscow, and I eventually did, after missing my flight seated at the gate right next to it, and then buying a new ticket which cost more than the original round trip. A first, and hopefully last, learning experience.
Knowing that I went home to the US in mid July, you might think this was my last Russian summer trip. Guess again! I snuck one last road trip in with friends. We went to Plyos, a river town in the Golden ring where painter Levitan spent a lot of time - and being there, it's easy to see why! It's got a very relaxed atmosphere, music plays by the water front, and everything is so nice and peaceful. Here I had my first glamping experience, since we rented a dome with actual beds and a shower inside at a campgrounds. For dinner, we grilled. The next day we stopped in Kostroma on our way back to Moscow.
Finally, then I headed back to America! I was there for the birthday/ gender reveal party of one of my oldest friends. Mom and I took our annual ferry trip to Port Jeff. Pop graciously let me drag him on many a hike, thanks to my Alltrails app; also sponsered by my new contacts, which I'd gotten a prescription for right before leaving Moscow with the goal of hiking glasses-free in mind. We watched all the Indiana Jones movies in order to prepare for the latest one in theaters, followed by all the Mission Impossible films. We took a father- daughter trip to Newport, RI, where we spent a lot of time going through the mansions of the Golden age and seeing how the other half used to live, in between lunches and snacks by the ocean. In CT there were lunches with uncle and brunches with friends, and a group trip to see the Barbie movie. It was a short but good trip back.
Then it was back to work, where I got a promotion this year to Phase Leader of secondary school! After waiting 2 months for every member of the team to arrive, things have been chaotic - new building, new schedules every day, new journal which doesn't work. On the plus side, things have been much smoother with my students, and my 5th graders won first place at the Christmas concert!
I'm now cruising through a well earned break until January 9. Lots of reading, walks through the city looking at decorations, cooking, training, seeing friends, playing with dogs, and lighting candles. I went to a concert on Thursday, and the last kickboxing session of the year Friday. I've cooked a big curry, bought lots of food, and will be heading to friends later to have a very cozy new year's eve. Wishing everyone a calm and peaceful 2024!
