First and Lasting Memories of Moscow

Just finished FHE with the Irelands, Masons and Reeses. We practiced Christmas songs in Russian to sing at the Hospital a week from next Friday. We discovered that we may be missing 5 couples...all will be traveling on assignment. So, now we will have to scramble for singers. We will need at least 20 and we hope to get a ringer or two!

Some time ago, I mentioned that at a FHE we seniors created a list of memorable moments that we have experienced in Moscow. Narene was our scribe and she ended up with quite a list. Many you will already be familiar with, if you have been keeping up with the blog. I would invite many of you seniors from Christmas present to Christmas past to add to the list. Just make a comment and I will add it to the list.

Here goes:

Metros – crowded, noisy, amazing system
Interesting and different décor in metro stations
People reading, doing crossword puzzles and electronic games, text messaging
Courtesy to children, pregnant, lame, and elderly – giving up a seat
Long escalators, one at Victory Park is a 3-minute ride
Avoiding eye contact, looking down or eyes closed
Homeless sleeping, beer bottles rolling on the floor, beggars going from car to car
Romancing on the metro and escalators
Carrying passports and registration all the time; renewing visas every 90 days
Tall girls with slender waists, fashionably dressed
Every possible shade of red, orange, maroon hair (formerly, red in Russian = “beautiful”)
High spike heel shoes and boots, tight pants
Panty hose worn all year around, often “fish net” or floral design
Fur coats and fur trim on jackets, fur hats, wool hats, knitted or crocheted hats
Scarves wrapped around neck, pretty shawls
Summertime dresses too short on both ends, boots & miniskirts
Boots and purses to match (black, yellow, silver, whatever); big purses
Short babushkas, not slender
Scarves tied under the chin
Black coat, black stockings, black flat shoes
Selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, or clothes hanging over their arms
Tall guys, pointed-toe shoes
Shoulder bags, back packs, briefcases
Children wearing hats in all seasons
Children bundled up in snowsuits with arms straight out and only faces showing
Nice parks
Moms, grandmas, dads, grandpas pushing baby carriages (“Cadillac” baby carriages)
Walking many dogs, many breeds, big and small
Flower beds and containers in spring and summer
Litter on the sidewalks, spit, cigarette butts, garbage
Trash cans scarce, usually very small
Babushkas and foreigners sweeping cigarette butts, leaves, trash with twig brooms Short-handled brooms
Many onion-dome churches
Icons (no graven images), candles
Women wearing scarves; men removing hats
No places to sit in their churches (offensive to sit in the presence of God)
Babushkas sitting outside with a cup for donations in all kinds of weather
Children walking to school with a parent or grandparent
Similar age children walking in opposite directions
Taking flowers on the first day of school
Large statues – Soviet and war heroes, historical and cultural, poets
Stray dogs everywhere; not many cats
Dogs sleeping in the metro stations
People with a dog and a cup wanting coins to buy dog food
Flower shops on nearly every block
Babushkas selling flowers on the street and metro entrances
Large bouquets carried on the metro train in all seasons
Sok (juice) in many flavors
Real butter, whipping cream yogurt, sour cream
Bread fresh every day at bread stands – black, rye, wheat, white, brown, seeds
Good cheese
Beautifully wrapped pieces of chocolate candy
No ice for drinks
Water with gas
McDonald’s – long lines, stand in line for 20 minutes
Staking out a table, sharing tables with strangers
Chocolate shakes (“shokolada cocktails”)
Chicken “McFeak” (large chicken sandwich)
Salads with cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheese
Blinis (pancakes with variety of fillings)
Kartoshkas (with added scoops of dill and sour cream, mushrooms, etc., as desired)
Sharmas (type of burritos)
Shashlik (skewers of grilled meat with or without veggies)
Syshke (hard biscuits shaped like a donut)
Kvas (drink made with fermented bread)
Watermelon stands
Ismaly Park, matrushka dolls, Grandfather Frosts, nativities
Kiosks along the streets, each selling their limited variety
Renoks selling rows and rows of clothing and merchandise, big bras
Asian Market’s maze of narrow aisles, men pushing carts at closing time
Babushkas selling dill pickles and cabbage combined with shredded carrots in a brine
Vendors selling on the electrishkas (electric trains)
Porto potties, pay to use, may or may not have toilet paper
See-through toilet paper--Not readily found everywhere
Public places with public “toilets,” sometimes without a stool and seat
Flush with pull-up knob or push button, limited or no water in bowl of stool
Typical to have toilet brush and aerosol can to spray
Cars parking on the sidewalks; traffic horrendous (2 hours driving vs. 20 minutes on the metro)
Car alarms, rows of very small metal garages with big locks
Pedestrians walking in the street; no pedestrian right of way
Nobody stopping to pick up kopek coins on the street
Walkers holding hands or locking arms
Walking on packed snow and ice in the winter with swept snow build up on the sides
Wading through or around puddles, almost rivers, when the ice and snow melts
Carrying Kleenex tissue in cold weather for drippy noses
Man-hole covers everywhere
Hitch hikers holding a hand palm down for a car to stop; negotiate with driver for price
Checklist before leaving the apartment each day:
*Passport
*Name tag
*Cell phone
*Metro pass and bus pass
*Keys
*Money (rubles)
*Umbrella on many days
Trying to find things in the winter time with all the layers and pockets
Trying to get off a crowded bus
Bring your own cake for birthday celebrations
Fancy cakes to buy at the food stores
Ice cream is expensive but good, comes in small containers (Baskin Robbins!)
Big apartment buildings everywhere, some old and some new
Apartment security
Magnetic locks on outside doors
Double doors into the apartment with bolts on the side and above, each locked, padded
Person to monitor who is entering the building
Control heat by opening windows
Hot water piped into apartments, no hot water for 2 to 3 weeks each summer
Small electric pitcher to heat water when hot water is shut off
Water filters in apartments or drink bottled water
Washing fruits and vegetables with ACE chlorine water solution
Small, slow elevators
No elevators if no more floors above the 5th floor
Dirty entry ways to apartments
Bad phone lines
Handy folding clothes racks for drying clothes
No screens on windows
Chandeliers, lace curtains
Uneven floors
Uncomfortable Soviet couches
Beds with padded mattresses, no box springs
Light switches in odd places and at varying heights
Removing shoes when entering an apartment
Slippers available at the door for guests
Painting fences, buildings every spring
Green paint, no preparation of surface before painting, no concern for drips
No “fresh paint” signs
Painting over graffiti without matching paint color, zigzagging around objects
Painting lines on center of road followed by two guys measuring with tape afterward
Construction and repairs everywhere, take a long time
One crew finishes a project (e.g., sidewalk) and two weeks later it is dug up
Many unfinished construction projects
Big cranes in the sky which ever direction you look
Steps of different height in the same stairway
Crumbling concrete
Uneven asphalt sidewalks accumulate ice and puddles
No apparent zoning laws
Checking coats in museums, ballets, restaurants, etc.
Children taken to the museums, ballets
Senior Moments:
*Thinking ballet is over when flowers are presented to dancers at end of an act
*Finding the right exit from the metro
*Using limited Russian to ask for directions
*Putting accent on wrong syllable in a Russian word (“You mean “Mac don alds.”)
*Taking the “scenic” route to get to our intended destination
*Never finding the “roses,” but still having a good time
Won’t shake hands through a doorway
Won’t get a flu shot
Only can get one x-ray a year
Hospital stays are long
Faith of Church members is strong
Vacations used to make a trip to the temple, take own names, do many sessions
Check appliances at the store “testing” area before buying, no returns
Blue or purple stamps on documents
Size A4 computer paper
Brides getting photos at picturesque sites, traveling in limos, guests accompanying
Brides putting padlocks on bridges to express their forever love
A young man and a young lady witness with banners across their chests
Typically see 1 or 2 children in a family, frequently see twins
Long past date of expiration on food is not unusual
Store selling only 3 buttons even though had 6
Cashiers tearing receipts before giving to customer
Cashiers sitting down, often not smiling
Planting new grass, not cutting until way too high
Weed whackers used more often than lawn mowers
Unlimited sights to see and experience
Museums, historical places, ballets, operas, circus, beautiful old buildings, arts & crafts
Red Square at night and with Christmas lights
Many police and military personnel in uniforms
Security guys in dark suits with two-way radios in grocery stores
Policemen pulling cars over by showing a stick
Hitch hikers holding a hand palm down for a car to stop; negotiate with driver for price
Everyone using a cell phone and an mp-3 player
Musicians on the street and in the metro connecting tunnels
Grocery carts and gypsy bags, carrying “pack-ets”
Several aisles of alcoholic beverages in the grocery stores
Nothing to accommodate the handicap getting around, many invalids
Ramps for buggies and shopping carts
Many old ladies, not so many old men
Fireworks frequently all over the city
New Years Eve with fireworks lighting up the sky from 10:30 p.m. to past 1:30 a.m.
Different Russian holidays, working on Saturdays to make up for a holiday
Coat, hat, scarf, and gloves to keep warm in cold weather; but too hot in the metro
No sun for days during the winter
Long days, short nights; short days, long nights
Looking forward to Family Home Evenings with the senior couples
Happy memories of our Saturday outings and miles walked together
As the driver Yuri says, “What a pity.”
Yes, what a pity to leave the city.
But all good things must come to an end.
Moscow has become our friend.
[List compiled by the Senior Missionary Couples at FHE, 21 Oct 08.]