Time for one last update before 2013 comes to an end. I guess to wrap things up, we have to go all the way back to Thanksgiving, which we shared with good friends of ours who had us over. We brought my great grandmother's sweet potato biscuits, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce (the kind the holds the shape of the can). We had a great time and also learned the secret of brining a turkey beforehand to get a delicious and juicy result.
Since Thanksgiving was so late this year, we moved right into Christmas mode before we even finished the leftovers. It really gave us a chance to see how much Aiden has grown since last year because now he is able to really help us out. He helped Stephanie put the tree together and was even able to help us with some of the baking. He was thrilled to be allowed to pour ingredients in the bowl as we were mixing.
Of course, getting ready for Christmas also means doing the gingerbread house. This year I decided to create a Russian dacha, inspired by ones we've seen on our travels. While the finished product looks deceptively simple, the roof was a real challenge because I decided to make a four piece roof instead of just two halves that rest on an A-frame house structure. Just take my word for it - the roof alone is a feat of confectionery engineering.
The weather certainly cooperated in setting a festive spirit as we got our first substantial snows of the season - enough to make a little snowman. Aiden was very taken with the Frosty The Snowman cartoon and talked about it constantly, but when faced with a real snowman, seemed less certain about whether it was really such a good idea.
However, he had no problem with sledding, so long as I was willing to pull him around the snowy playground...
It seemed that all of Moscow was getting into the Christmas spirit with us - on the way to work one morning I had to walk under the upper half of an enormous fake tree suspended precariously from a crane. Then, on my way to our office Christmas party, I narrowly missed being smashed by a large chunk of ice falling off the building. That, along with all the traditional slipping and sliding definitely made it feel like the holiday season had arrived in Moscow.
After our office holiday party, Stephanie and I picked Aiden up from daycare and tried to head home. Our timing couldn't have been worse as it seemed it was the exact same time that President Putin decided to head home from work. This is a daily exercise that involved shutting down no less than four major roadways in the middle of rush hour traffic while Mr. Putin sails smoothly down the center lane with his escort of flashing lights and sirens. Normally this doesn't affect my commute as I take the perekhod under the street and cross the bridge on foot. This time, with the stroller, we had elected to use the crosswalk and got stranded in front of the Russian White House for a good 20 minutes. Apparently, once the cars are allowed to go again, the stoplights favor the traffic over the pedestrians and we had to wait even longer to cross to the bridge. We definitely weren't thinking Christmasy thoughts at that point.
Stephanie had a great story from the music class she takes Aiden to at the Embassy. Typically, Aiden just runs around the room while the other participants sing songs, but lately he has been engaging more. But on one recent class, another mommy with curly hair was there and Aiden didn't pay enough attention. Stephanie watched as he kind of draped himself over this other woman and cuddled with her, then suddenly, he looked up and saw Stephanie across the circle. She said the look on his face was priceless - clearly an expression that said "If you're over there, who is this person I'm leaning on", and quickly changed to horror as he realized his mistake and sprinted over to her. I still can't stop laughing.
This year, Aiden was still enamored with Santa on TV, but terrified of him in person. Stephanie tried to get Aiden to see him at his daycare Christmas party, but he wouldn't even get down from her arms. Given that reaction, we skipped the Christmas party at the Ambassador's residence and focused on getting ready for our own, which we held for our friends from my office, complete with cookies, hotdogs wrapped in bacon, crackers and dips, hot cider, mulled wine, and an assortment of other goodies. We even put a yule log on the TV!
That said, my shopping experience was less than appetizing. When I went to get the cheese - an assortment of red and green pesto-flavored cheeses to be precise - I saw one worker busily wrapping the hand of another employee with gauze and trying to do it fast enough to keep ahead of the copious amounts of blood that was seeping through. I stood there waiting, silently urging them to send her for medical attention that she clearly needed and desperately hoping that neither one would be the one to take my order. The girl eventually left (hopefully to the nearest medical clinic) and another girl, completely uninvolved in the possibly severed finger scenario took my order. I had everything I needed and the party was a success.
Dushanbe is not too distant of a memory at this point to appreciate the fact that living in a predominantly Christian country means much better Christmas decorations and Moscow really goes out. Ahead of the big day, we went for a quick visit to the nearby Hotel Ukraina to check out their decorations, which were very nice.
Aiden was also very taken with the scale model of central Moscow by the reception area.
The outside was even more impressive in the twilight...
And then we crossed the bridge to take in the patriotic-themed trees outside the Russian White house,
And the hi-rise where someone got the idea to project a christmas tree on the front with laser lights that shine all the way up into the clouds, creating an imitation of the northern lights in the sky. I still have trouble getting past the similarity between this decoration and the scene in Independence Day just before the aliens blow up the Empire State Building.
To cap off the evening, the tree that was being assembled by crane earlier in the month was now fully functioning in all its gaudy glory, complete with larger-than-life statues of Ded Moroz and the Snegorichka. Aiden was overcome with fear of the Santa figure, so we couldn't linger too long. Our retinas were probably better off for the shortened exposure.
One of my favorite work events ever took place on the 23rd at the Ambassador's residence. He held a reception for the group Perspektiva and Best Buddies, which work on supporting people with mental disabilities in Russia. Given that I worked with Best Buddies in college, I was more than happy to volunteer. The event was great and we had a lot of fun with the participants, but I also have to share some drama that occurred for yours truly.
Early in the evening, when meeting one of the participants, I also met his companion/buddy who was a, let's say full-figured redhead in a relatively brief red skirt and calf-high black boots. At first I just thought she was being friendly. And then I thought I was just being silly, but then she cornered me and started asking lots of questions. Eventually, she asked me if I have a large family (and my answer to this question made me realize that I still hadn't made the transition to thinking of myself as the "father" in my family). I still took it in the context of how many siblings I have - usually if people want to know how many children I have, there is a more direct question for that. Anyway, I answered that I have a sister. And the young woman, we'll call her "Red", said she had a couple of siblings and a husband but no kids.
I immediately realized my mistake and tried to backpedal, talking rapidly about Stephanie and Aiden. I said, "I wonder why I didn't think of it that way?" It was an honest question - one that I'm still thinking about, but Red seized the moment and said - very suggestively, eyelashes aflutter - "Yes, why didn't you?" I was like a trapped animal, looking for a way out. I suggested she go try the pizza and she invited me to come along. I politely declined and said I had something else to do and made a beeline for some of my coworkers. Lame, I know, but I didn't want to do anything else that could send the wrong signal. And if you caught the part where she said she had a husband, that didn't seem to matter a whole lot and even our Russian friends confirm that it doesn't necessarily mean a lot here.
For the rest of the evening I made sure I was never alone, but I frequently caught Red passing nearby, eyes always on me. I think I know what a seal feels like when the sharks are circling just offshore. At first my colleagues thought I was overreacting, but before long they saw what I saw and realized I wasn't messing around. Toward the end of the night, the DJ got things going and a nice dance party was underway. When they played "What Does the Fox Say" I couldn't resist and joined in.
I didn't lose my situational awareness and occasionally saw the flash of red as Red prowled the edge of the dance floor, using it to keep myself at a safe distance. At one point I saw her getting a little too close for comfort and started edging toward the other side of the dance floor. Suddenly, I turned around and there she was! Her eyes sparked and a wolfish grin split her face and she started gyrating toward me. I was trapped, my peeps were too far away to save me, I panicked... I threw up my hands in a warding gesture and shook my head, saying " Ya neh magu!" (I can't!). How embarrassing! But as I said, I was panicking and it was more diplomatic than the truth (Ya neh khochu!/I don't want to!). Frankly, it didn't seem to phase Red and she kept coming, but with that awkward outburst behind me, I didn't feel that I was sinking any lower by fleeing, so that's what I did.
I think Red left not long after that and I was safe to enjoy the rest of the evening, which was great because the Ambassador joined in a little later and really cut a swath through the dance floor.
Alas, Moscow is experiencing the warmest winter in 130 years and all the snow was melted by the time Christmas rolled around. It's kind of disappointing since this was probably our best shot at a white Christmas for the next several years. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with some close friends. We made our own delicious brined turkey and cooked one of the country hams my parents sent me for Christmas. We also tried out a new cooked egg nog recipe that turned out really well. But just before bedtime, we told Aiden he had to go to sleep so that Santa could come and he did NOT like that. He started shaking his head and crying - it took us a good 15 minutes to get him calmed down enough to go to sleep. After that, we set up the rest of the presents and some of his new toys to surprise him when he woke up.
That didn't really work out either because when he woke up we asked him to come and see what Santa brought and it was another 15 minutes before we could coax him out of his room. Once he saw the new train track, however, we had him on board and he was more than happy to open his other presents.
One of the nice things about Russia being on the Orthodox calendar is that while our Christmas was over, theirs is still gearing up, so we've made a point of going out to see the lights and keep the Christmas spirit going. The day after Christmas we went to the newly opened Shake Shack on Old Arbat. It was just like the original, which is really funny because I remember when the ONLY Shake Shack was the one at the kiosk in Madison Square Park. Less than 10 years later, they're a successful international chain!
We enjoyed the lights as we walked down to the Kremlin and Red Square and visited the various little Christmas markets they've set up nearby. We even found a stand selling hot Medovukha (honey wine), and Sbiten (a traditional spiced honey and tea drink). We also picked up a Tulskiy Pryanik for later as it's impossible to get them outside of Tula except around Christmas.
After taking in the blinding lights at GUM, we stumbled across a light show being projected on the side of the Metropol Hotel, and sat and watched that for awhile. There is a video as well if you're interested in seeing the whole thing...
The next night, we read that there is a Christmas market near the old Red October Chocolate Factory, so we decided to check that out. It involved a rather nice walk down Gogol Prospekt and around Christ the Savior Cathedral.
We also got some great views from the bridge, but were disappointed that when we got the the factory, we couldn't find even a trace of anything Christmasy. Oh well, it was a nice walk...
and I still got a kick out of a new restaurant called "What's Up Dog?"
Now we're off for a little vacation, but will be back before Orthodox Christmas and plan to visit some more Christmas markets (hopefully ones that actually exist) when we get back!
Since Thanksgiving was so late this year, we moved right into Christmas mode before we even finished the leftovers. It really gave us a chance to see how much Aiden has grown since last year because now he is able to really help us out. He helped Stephanie put the tree together and was even able to help us with some of the baking. He was thrilled to be allowed to pour ingredients in the bowl as we were mixing.
Of course, getting ready for Christmas also means doing the gingerbread house. This year I decided to create a Russian dacha, inspired by ones we've seen on our travels. While the finished product looks deceptively simple, the roof was a real challenge because I decided to make a four piece roof instead of just two halves that rest on an A-frame house structure. Just take my word for it - the roof alone is a feat of confectionery engineering.
The weather certainly cooperated in setting a festive spirit as we got our first substantial snows of the season - enough to make a little snowman. Aiden was very taken with the Frosty The Snowman cartoon and talked about it constantly, but when faced with a real snowman, seemed less certain about whether it was really such a good idea.
However, he had no problem with sledding, so long as I was willing to pull him around the snowy playground...
It seemed that all of Moscow was getting into the Christmas spirit with us - on the way to work one morning I had to walk under the upper half of an enormous fake tree suspended precariously from a crane. Then, on my way to our office Christmas party, I narrowly missed being smashed by a large chunk of ice falling off the building. That, along with all the traditional slipping and sliding definitely made it feel like the holiday season had arrived in Moscow.
After our office holiday party, Stephanie and I picked Aiden up from daycare and tried to head home. Our timing couldn't have been worse as it seemed it was the exact same time that President Putin decided to head home from work. This is a daily exercise that involved shutting down no less than four major roadways in the middle of rush hour traffic while Mr. Putin sails smoothly down the center lane with his escort of flashing lights and sirens. Normally this doesn't affect my commute as I take the perekhod under the street and cross the bridge on foot. This time, with the stroller, we had elected to use the crosswalk and got stranded in front of the Russian White House for a good 20 minutes. Apparently, once the cars are allowed to go again, the stoplights favor the traffic over the pedestrians and we had to wait even longer to cross to the bridge. We definitely weren't thinking Christmasy thoughts at that point.
Stephanie had a great story from the music class she takes Aiden to at the Embassy. Typically, Aiden just runs around the room while the other participants sing songs, but lately he has been engaging more. But on one recent class, another mommy with curly hair was there and Aiden didn't pay enough attention. Stephanie watched as he kind of draped himself over this other woman and cuddled with her, then suddenly, he looked up and saw Stephanie across the circle. She said the look on his face was priceless - clearly an expression that said "If you're over there, who is this person I'm leaning on", and quickly changed to horror as he realized his mistake and sprinted over to her. I still can't stop laughing.
This year, Aiden was still enamored with Santa on TV, but terrified of him in person. Stephanie tried to get Aiden to see him at his daycare Christmas party, but he wouldn't even get down from her arms. Given that reaction, we skipped the Christmas party at the Ambassador's residence and focused on getting ready for our own, which we held for our friends from my office, complete with cookies, hotdogs wrapped in bacon, crackers and dips, hot cider, mulled wine, and an assortment of other goodies. We even put a yule log on the TV!
That said, my shopping experience was less than appetizing. When I went to get the cheese - an assortment of red and green pesto-flavored cheeses to be precise - I saw one worker busily wrapping the hand of another employee with gauze and trying to do it fast enough to keep ahead of the copious amounts of blood that was seeping through. I stood there waiting, silently urging them to send her for medical attention that she clearly needed and desperately hoping that neither one would be the one to take my order. The girl eventually left (hopefully to the nearest medical clinic) and another girl, completely uninvolved in the possibly severed finger scenario took my order. I had everything I needed and the party was a success.
Dushanbe is not too distant of a memory at this point to appreciate the fact that living in a predominantly Christian country means much better Christmas decorations and Moscow really goes out. Ahead of the big day, we went for a quick visit to the nearby Hotel Ukraina to check out their decorations, which were very nice.
Aiden was also very taken with the scale model of central Moscow by the reception area.
The outside was even more impressive in the twilight...
And then we crossed the bridge to take in the patriotic-themed trees outside the Russian White house,
And the hi-rise where someone got the idea to project a christmas tree on the front with laser lights that shine all the way up into the clouds, creating an imitation of the northern lights in the sky. I still have trouble getting past the similarity between this decoration and the scene in Independence Day just before the aliens blow up the Empire State Building.
To cap off the evening, the tree that was being assembled by crane earlier in the month was now fully functioning in all its gaudy glory, complete with larger-than-life statues of Ded Moroz and the Snegorichka. Aiden was overcome with fear of the Santa figure, so we couldn't linger too long. Our retinas were probably better off for the shortened exposure.
One of my favorite work events ever took place on the 23rd at the Ambassador's residence. He held a reception for the group Perspektiva and Best Buddies, which work on supporting people with mental disabilities in Russia. Given that I worked with Best Buddies in college, I was more than happy to volunteer. The event was great and we had a lot of fun with the participants, but I also have to share some drama that occurred for yours truly.
Early in the evening, when meeting one of the participants, I also met his companion/buddy who was a, let's say full-figured redhead in a relatively brief red skirt and calf-high black boots. At first I just thought she was being friendly. And then I thought I was just being silly, but then she cornered me and started asking lots of questions. Eventually, she asked me if I have a large family (and my answer to this question made me realize that I still hadn't made the transition to thinking of myself as the "father" in my family). I still took it in the context of how many siblings I have - usually if people want to know how many children I have, there is a more direct question for that. Anyway, I answered that I have a sister. And the young woman, we'll call her "Red", said she had a couple of siblings and a husband but no kids.
I immediately realized my mistake and tried to backpedal, talking rapidly about Stephanie and Aiden. I said, "I wonder why I didn't think of it that way?" It was an honest question - one that I'm still thinking about, but Red seized the moment and said - very suggestively, eyelashes aflutter - "Yes, why didn't you?" I was like a trapped animal, looking for a way out. I suggested she go try the pizza and she invited me to come along. I politely declined and said I had something else to do and made a beeline for some of my coworkers. Lame, I know, but I didn't want to do anything else that could send the wrong signal. And if you caught the part where she said she had a husband, that didn't seem to matter a whole lot and even our Russian friends confirm that it doesn't necessarily mean a lot here.
For the rest of the evening I made sure I was never alone, but I frequently caught Red passing nearby, eyes always on me. I think I know what a seal feels like when the sharks are circling just offshore. At first my colleagues thought I was overreacting, but before long they saw what I saw and realized I wasn't messing around. Toward the end of the night, the DJ got things going and a nice dance party was underway. When they played "What Does the Fox Say" I couldn't resist and joined in.
I didn't lose my situational awareness and occasionally saw the flash of red as Red prowled the edge of the dance floor, using it to keep myself at a safe distance. At one point I saw her getting a little too close for comfort and started edging toward the other side of the dance floor. Suddenly, I turned around and there she was! Her eyes sparked and a wolfish grin split her face and she started gyrating toward me. I was trapped, my peeps were too far away to save me, I panicked... I threw up my hands in a warding gesture and shook my head, saying " Ya neh magu!" (I can't!). How embarrassing! But as I said, I was panicking and it was more diplomatic than the truth (Ya neh khochu!/I don't want to!). Frankly, it didn't seem to phase Red and she kept coming, but with that awkward outburst behind me, I didn't feel that I was sinking any lower by fleeing, so that's what I did.
I think Red left not long after that and I was safe to enjoy the rest of the evening, which was great because the Ambassador joined in a little later and really cut a swath through the dance floor.
Alas, Moscow is experiencing the warmest winter in 130 years and all the snow was melted by the time Christmas rolled around. It's kind of disappointing since this was probably our best shot at a white Christmas for the next several years. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with some close friends. We made our own delicious brined turkey and cooked one of the country hams my parents sent me for Christmas. We also tried out a new cooked egg nog recipe that turned out really well. But just before bedtime, we told Aiden he had to go to sleep so that Santa could come and he did NOT like that. He started shaking his head and crying - it took us a good 15 minutes to get him calmed down enough to go to sleep. After that, we set up the rest of the presents and some of his new toys to surprise him when he woke up.
That didn't really work out either because when he woke up we asked him to come and see what Santa brought and it was another 15 minutes before we could coax him out of his room. Once he saw the new train track, however, we had him on board and he was more than happy to open his other presents.
One of the nice things about Russia being on the Orthodox calendar is that while our Christmas was over, theirs is still gearing up, so we've made a point of going out to see the lights and keep the Christmas spirit going. The day after Christmas we went to the newly opened Shake Shack on Old Arbat. It was just like the original, which is really funny because I remember when the ONLY Shake Shack was the one at the kiosk in Madison Square Park. Less than 10 years later, they're a successful international chain!
We enjoyed the lights as we walked down to the Kremlin and Red Square and visited the various little Christmas markets they've set up nearby. We even found a stand selling hot Medovukha (honey wine), and Sbiten (a traditional spiced honey and tea drink). We also picked up a Tulskiy Pryanik for later as it's impossible to get them outside of Tula except around Christmas.
After taking in the blinding lights at GUM, we stumbled across a light show being projected on the side of the Metropol Hotel, and sat and watched that for awhile. There is a video as well if you're interested in seeing the whole thing...
The next night, we read that there is a Christmas market near the old Red October Chocolate Factory, so we decided to check that out. It involved a rather nice walk down Gogol Prospekt and around Christ the Savior Cathedral.
We also got some great views from the bridge, but were disappointed that when we got the the factory, we couldn't find even a trace of anything Christmasy. Oh well, it was a nice walk...
and I still got a kick out of a new restaurant called "What's Up Dog?"
Now we're off for a little vacation, but will be back before Orthodox Christmas and plan to visit some more Christmas markets (hopefully ones that actually exist) when we get back!
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