The August Break Day 23: Adornment

23.8.14

Kristen says...

Showing new people around is so fun, an reminds me (and I have talked about it before), that one of the coolest things about Vlad (IMHO) is the large amount of public art here, and specifically the painting adornments on building, street and tunnel walls. 

Whereas in many cities aroud the world, buildings are allowed to be left in their natural color or painted a solid different color and other walls are kept bare or given over to graffiti, many surfaces in Vlad are adorned with beautiful and often historic and/or educational murals. 

For example, this tunnel adornment depicting the medal tallies from the Moscow Olympics in 1980:

And the 2014 Sochi Olympics:

(Notice who is on top of both lists...) :)

Of course, there is also the grafiti adornment here:

Often it, too, is a form of art adornment (not always, but often).

How lucky we are to live in a place so full of artistic talent and beauty--we do not have to go to a museum here to enjoy local art, we are treated to a full showing of artistic adornments just walking or driving around town!

KF 

Olympic Wrap-Up

24.II.14
Kristen says...

I love the Olympics. Love love LOVE them!

It has been hard to choose between these two awesome bags! (The left was a gift from Chris' grandmother, the right was my backpack from 2nd to 6th grade!)

It has been really awesome to be in the country that is hosting the Olympics again (even if I'm actually geographically farther from the games than my family in the States). There is really just something special about being around the "home team."

Of course, it was also a little different, since the past two times (Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002) were in my home country, so I could unabashadly love everything about them, because they were, you know, in my country.

Still, it has been really neat to see the Russian reaction to the Sochi games. We watched the Opening Ceremonies with other Americans, but each working day of the games I turned on the NBC broadcast over the lunch hour at the Consulate (one of the advantages of being 17 hours ahead!!) and spent a lot of time enjoying the games with the added Russian perspective.

We had a nice time congratulating each other when competitions were won, and consoling each other when things didn't go our way. (It was especially sad when I was watching the withdrawal and subsequent retirement of figure skater Evgeni Plushenko (pron. PLUshenko, I've been told multiple times--emphasis on the PLU) with my Russian colleagues. It was very interesting to see the range of emotions from sadness to anger about that particular event.)

Chris also got to experience something really cool last Saturday night when Russia and the US faced off in the hockey game. We are 7 hours ahead of Sochi, so the game was going to start at 11:30 pm Vladivostok time. Hockey is, as you might have heard, kind of a big deal in Russia, and so clearly everyone was going to stay up and watch this game...so the local movie theaters and hockey arena made a very smart fiscal decision and sold tickets to people who wanted to watch the game on the big screen!

Chris and some of our colleagues got tickets to the game's presentation at the brand new, really nice ice hockey arena and had an interesting evening watching the game surrounded by excited Russian hockey fans.

 Before the game the arena was opened for those who wanted to ice skate:

 And then the game began:

So that was pretty cool!

 I didn't go for many reasons, one of which was that I'd come home from work the day before with horrible headache (and I didn't think an 11:30 pm hockey game would help that), and another was that I find hockey exceptionally boring. (In the spectrum of sports, hockey ranks slightly higher than soccer and just below basketball and baseball...American Football, swimming, track and field and figure skating, of course, are nearest the top...)

Still, I've watched my fair share of the Olympics...and done a bit of Sochi shopping...

So cool! This is a very popular item here in Vlad, I'm quite happy I found one before they were sold out! :)

So, just like the Sochi Bear Mascot, I'm shedding some (mental) tears at the end of the Olympics, but looking forward to August 5, 2016, for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in Rio! :)

And, as always, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that some day, somehow, Chris and I will actually attend the Olympic games...That is my Olympic dream! :)

KF

A Trip to Thailand (Part 2)

8.II.14
Kristen says...

Happy Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics!!

Chris and I had a really interesting experience today--we went to a friend's house to watch the Opening Ceremonies but due to a technical glitch ended up watching not the NBC "American" version, but the local Russian version...which of course showed the same thing, but with all commentary in Russian...

Luckily, Chris had DVRed the NBC version, so this afternoon I re-watched the entire thing with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira...and was glad I did, because I got a lot more out of it actually understanding the history and reasoning behind the symbolism (instead of guessing, which is what we did this morning). :)

---------------------------------------------------

But you wanted to know about the last part of our Trip to Thailand...

If you remember, we spent our first day in Thailand visiting the Reclining Buddha and the Monastery of Wat Pho, as well as the Grand Palace and the Wat Arun.

Something I failed to fully discuss were my thoughts on the Grand Palace...it was really, really huge, and gorgeous, and really, really Thai. However, and this is not at all a bad thing, it did not meet my expectations of what a Grand Palace should be.

To me, a Grand Palace is Versailles, or Schönbrunn Palace, or I suppose even Monticello, in a way...what I expected was a house that you could go through and see how the monarchs lived, see some of their clothing or dinnerware or something personal...

What the Grand Palace in Bangkok was, was Buddhist temples.

European palaces (and American estates) are all about the people who lived there. The Grand Palace in Bangkok was all about Buddha.

Which, in a way, makes total sense, since most of the people there (94.6 %!) are Buddhist, but in a way makes no sense at all since the monarchy is still alive and well and totally beloved...so it surprised me that there was no place where the common people (and visitors) could go and see how the monarchy lives (I mean, you can tour Buckingham and Kensington Palaces in London!)

Anyway, not a bad thing, just not what I expected.

So, at the end of our first day we were pretty tired and a little footsore (the first day in sandals always gives me blisters between my toes), so we went out for a quick dinner at a German restaurant (AMAZING, I had the cheese spätzle, yum!) and then went to bed.

Day 2 was pretty boring, we had to work. Ho hum.

Dinner that night was much less boring, we went out to a burger place and Chris fully enjoyed this:

Huge burger, fries, good times

and I fully enjoyed this:

Thai Tea--very similar to Hong Kong tea, except that it's served cold rather than hot, and uses sweetened condensed milk rather than evaporated milk. Not too bad at all.

 Next we went to a neat restaurant with an outdoor terrace on the top of a downtown building for drinks and an amazing view:

On our way back to our friend's house we saw some other fun Bangkok nightlife, including a number of mobile bars:

I'

 Oh, and protesters:

Yep, I'm not sure if you've been following the news in Thailand, but there have been large protests in Bangkok over the past weeks, and we arrived within a week or so of their beginning.

I've never spent a lot of time around protesters or protests, but I have seen footage on the news and I have to say these seemed like very peaceful and controlled protests to me. I asked the taxi driver who took me to the airport about the protesters and he reminded me that Thailand is a Buddhist country, and the teachings of Buddha promote peace...thus the low-key protests.

Our third and final day started early again, this time with a trip to the amazingly huge Chatuchak (JJ) Weekend market:

Needless to say, the market was also amazingly overwhelming, but we didn't get lost and we didn't get ripped off (as far as we could tell) so it ended up pretty well! :)

Walking around the market. Photo by Tim Kase, used with permission (Thank you!!)

 I have been to a few markets around the world (most notably the night market in Hong Kong and the big market in Guatemala) and this was by far my favorite market experience. As opposed to Hong Kong, this one had a much greater variety and was full of things I actually wanted, and opposed to Guatemala, the sellers were SO nice! Instead of high pressure sales/following you around trying to sell you things, they just said hello and smiled at you. Lovely.

More market offerings. Photo by Tim Kase, used with permission (Thank you!!)

One of the funniest things about this market was this amazing sign:

 Yes, squat toilets can be found in Thailand, too, but often they are interspersed with "regular" toilets, too...and this sign showed how to use the regular toilets for those who needed to know. Thailand definitely wins the prize for best signage!

After about two hours at the market we were tired and hungry, so we headed back to our friend's apartment and got some food, then spent a few hours by the pool. Then I took a little nap because my plane back to Vlad was going to leave at 1:00 AM (ridiculous time for a flight) and I was tired! :)

Before the sun went down on our last day, though, we took advantage of the fact that our friend lives in a really, really tall building...with a helipad on top.

 So, we went up to the top of the world!




 We went up first via elevator, and then had to walk up some fire stairs.

Notice anything interesting? Level AA takes the place of floor 13, because floor 13 doesn't exist...it's a superstition thing. :)

Anyway, here's the view from the helipad:

Beautiful Bangkok

On Top of the World. Photo by Tim Kase, used with permission (Thank you!!)

Helipad

Chris :)

The photographer. Photo by Tim Kase, used with permission (Thank you!!)

 After our trip to the top, Chris and I ran one more Thailand errand:

Chris had a fitting for his new suit and blazer!

Yes, like so many before him (Obama and both George Bushes included) Chris visited a tailor in Bangkok to take advantage of the low prices and excellent craftsmanship to get a custom-made suit. Snazzy. :)

After that, it was a waiting game until 10:30 when the taxi came to take me to the airport for my 1:00 AM flight (again, that is a ridiculous time for a flight!) Notice I am talking about just myself, Chris actually stayed in Thailand for another week for training, so I came back by myself.

It was a smooth flight, and due to the early hour I actually managed to sleep for about 5 of the 5.5 hrs of the first flight, hoorah! In fact, I slept so long that I had this cute little note on the seat in front of me when I woke up just in time for the descent:

After a short two-hour layover in Seoul (where I allowed myself to enjoy a delicious frozen treat unavailable to me in Vladivostok)...yummy!!!!

 It was back on the plane for the 2.5 hr flight to Russia!

Something interesting that those who haven't traveled internationally lately (or at least haven't traveled in Southeast Asia lately) and who understand World Geography might be wondering is, why does it take 2.5 hours to fly from Seoul, South Korea to Vladivostok, Russia, two cities located just under 500 miles apart (think Omaha, NE, to Chicago, IL)?

 Check out that flight path!

 That is why. International airspace issues are really, really interesting!

So, long flights aside, I made it back to Vlad no problems. I had planned to take the airport train back home, but found it wasn't running for another two hours after I arrived, so I took a bus instead.

Good times. There was a movie and everything! :)

And, so, even though it was almost 70 degrees colder in Vladivostok than it was in Bangkok, there were some definite advantages to coming back...first of all, of course, was the adorable puppy waiting to welcome me home, and the second was this, the city welcoming me back:

I never get tired of this view. Beautiful!

KF

Vladivostok Happenings: Jazz, The Olympic Torch and Winter Weather

20.11.13
Kristen says...

I feel like it's been forever since I've done a real "Vladivostok post", so I'm very happy to be able to write this one today!

It has been an eventful couple weeks here in the city. First of all, the city hosted another International event: The Vladivostok International Jazz Festival!

A gigantor billboard near the center of town...seriously the thing is probably somewhere between 1 and 2 storeys (yep, that is grammatically correct, believe it or not) tall!!

 Chris attended one of the concerts while I was in Europe, and we attended another together after I got back:

It's not a great picture, but the pianist is Eldar Djangirov. I can't say jazz is my favorite style of music, and especially the style of jazz these three preformed, but Chris (and the rest of the audience) really enjoyed it. :)

Then, this past weekend the Olympic Torch came to Vladivostok! (We're at less than 100 days, people!!!)

We went downtown early Saturday and watched the setup around the main square and along Svetlanskaya St...

It looks like early morning, but it was probably 11 am or so...it's staying darker, longer in the mornings now...unlike most of the world, Russia doesn't "fall back" (or "spring forward", for that matter...)

I'm assuming this tape was an attempt to keep people from mobbing the runners in the streets? From some of the photos I've seen, I'm not sure it worked...

These billboards lined the roads the torches were being run on...notice that the graffiti was also covered for the occasion! :)

VERY unfortunately, Chris and I didn't actually see any of the torches (we were downtown too early and back home by the time the events occurred) but we did have Cinnabon (the only Western chain open in Vladivostok! Sooo good!), so that helped a little :)

Um, amazing.

Notice anything different about Chris? He's participating in Movember (or just lazy, I'm not sure which...I guess we'll see on Dec. 1!) :)

Sorry about the lack of torch pictures taken by me, but if you're interested, you can check out some (probably much better quality) pictures here, and find out more information about the torch in Vlad here and here.

 I also heard that one of our locally employed staff saw someone swimming with the torch, which is kind of interesting...and I was also told that the torch is now on it's way toward Sochi on the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is apparently the first time an Olympic torch has traveled by train...fun trivia to store up for later! :)

 Finally, (and amazingly late in the year, apparently), we had our first round of SNOW this week! :)

The view from the back of our apartment.

This was quite distressing to some people...but I kind of like it (when I'm not outside walking the dog, that is!) Thanksgiving is next Thursday, which I use as my own personal marker of when I can start decorating for Christmas...it will feel much more authentic now that there is snow on the ground! :)

KF

A Busy September: Part III!

22.9.13
Kristen says...

Well, I meant to write this last weekend, but this weekend will have to do...as it says in the title, September has been busy! :)

Last weekend we broke "tradition" and actually did something sporty while in Russia...well, actually, last weekend was the culmination of a series of sporty events that began the week before but...

Getting ready to be athletic...

To commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the APEC conference in Vladivostok, a Dragon Boat race was planned, to include both teams to represent local businesses as well as foreign consulates, etc.

What is a Dragon Boat race, you ask?

It's basically a fast race in a canoe-like boat that has a dragon's head and tail...if Wikipedia is to be believed (blech) the idea was originally Chinese (of course, what wasn't?) but has now spread all over the world. Various family members have commented on recently seeing Dragon Boats in different parts of the US and the world. If you Google it there are some fun videos on the Internet that you can watch to get a better idea.

There are apparently varying ways to row in a Dragon Boat, and the Russians have (not surprisingly) come up with their own way...which seems to be pretty effective. The local team (the Vladivostok Tigers) have been World Champions more than once in the past few years, according to one semi-pro Dragon Boater who works at the Consulate.

Tigers of Vladivostok, Sports Club

Why was a Dragon Boat race planned to commemorate APEC, you ask?

No idea.

But anyway, it was organized, and our Consulate was invited to participate.

So we did!

We had the option to organize a 10-man team, a 10-woman team, and/or a 10-person team, made up of 6 men and 4 women. We couldn't find 10 interested women, but we had enough to participate in the 10-man and 10-person competitions.

Originally I wasn't going to participate (not for any reason, I just wasn't asked) but somebody (Chris) let it get around that I'd rowed crew in college (which is true, for one semester in my sophomore year...I would probably have continued but I knew I was going to have to miss an entire season while I studied abroad in London so had to give it up) and I was recruited...

 

Drake University crew member 2003! :) / 2013 Consulate Team...funny

Of course, Dragon Boating is much different than rowing crew, but the contest is at least held at a place that looked familiar...

Note the unadorned dragon boats in the front and the image of the crew team on the side of the building.

We had practices three times before the actual event, with between 8 and 12 people in the boat depending on who showed up...at no time did we actually practice with the boat exactly as it was for the race, so I took pictures of the trophies before the race thinking that this would be the only shot I'd get of the hardware.

The all-male team was up first:

Chris is in the middle, with the sunglasses.

And then my mixed-gender team was second:

I'm in the back, on the far side of the boat with the pony tail.

The race was *only* 200 meters in Novik bay off of Russky Island (maybe a 20-minute drive in good traffic from our house, and crossing the new gorgeous bridges) but let me tell you, 200 meters of Dragon Boat racing is exhausting, especially when you've only practiced two or three times.

Still, believe it or not, both teams won their heat! It was great!

Even better, when it came time to hand out the trophies, we were awarded first place of the Consular teams! :)

The top of our trophy

Even, even better, we also got medals...given to us by Ivan Shtyl, 2013 sprint canoe bronze medalist at the London Games! :)

I love Chris' face in this picture

 He was nice enough to pose with our team for a photo:

 and sign medals for those who wanted it:

 Winning is fun! :)

If you're interested in seeing the complete scores or other pictures you can click here or here for two local newspapers' coverage of the event.

Of course, being the loving wife I am I can't help but share the other fun event of the day...while they were tallying the results of the Dragon Boat races they offered the chance for anyone who wanted to participate in a kayak race...I had already changed my clothes (you get remarkably wet during Dragon Boat competition) but Chris was game:

 Unfortunately his kayak wasn't, and he got a little wet... :)

 However, a "fishing" kayak was quickly procured for him, and he smilingly participated in the race.

 He did a nice job and didn't finish last in his heat! :)

 Other highlights of the day included seeing this gigantic specimen of sea life:

Who knew there were jellyfish in Russia?!

The business of life has continued into this past week, when I started volunteer teaching 2 days a week at a local school, providing 6th grade English lessons for the lone American student and cultural studies (social studies) for some Korean fourth graders. It's heaven.

We also celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day at the Consulate this past week:

We are nothing if not goofy! :)

Booty for those willing to dress or talk "Like a Pirate"

The business continues this week...September 29 is "Tiger Day" in Vladivostok! :)
KF