Greetings from Moscow!
Week five was a busy one for us. In class, students learned and practiced verbs of motion and continued to make progress on mastering the case system. Outside of class, students continued to explore Moscow and collected interviews for their culminating projects.
On Saturday, students enjoyed a guided tour of the Center of Cosmonautics and Aviation at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements in Moscow (VDNKh). The Center is the largest space museum complex in Russia and opened in April of this year in the newly renovated historical pavilion “Cosmos.” The students and I learned about achievements of Russian cosmonautics and prospective space exploration projects.
This is the front of the pavilion. The name of the pavilion can be seen on the glass entrance: “COSMOS. Mechanization and Electrification of Agriculture of the USSR.”
This is the view from the inside of the pavilion.
The first exhibit as you enter the museum is the capsule used by Yuri Gagarin, the first human to successfully journey into outer space, to return to Earth. Several miles above the ground, the chair he was in ejected from the capsule. Tanks in the arms of the chair provided oxygen to him at that time. Then, much closer to the ground, he ejected from the chair and landed by parachute.
A view of the Center beyond the Vostok 1 capsule.
A full-sized replica of Sputnik 2, the spacecraft that took Laika, the first animal to orbit the earth, into space. If you look closely at the photo above this caption, you can see a stuffed dog in there.
One of the original Sputniks.
A group photo before we left.
On Wednesday, we visited a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Moscow. We enjoyed a presentation about the company, followed by a tour of the plant and a tasting of Coca-Cola products.
“Welcome!”
Awaiting a presentation about the history of the company.
Putting on white coats before visiting the bottling area.
Donning hair nets and vests, which read “GUEST.”
A display of various commemorative cans and bottles of Russian Coca-Cola products.
Our tour guide hands out beverage samples and goodies to take home.
Below are a few more photos from this week. We look forward to week six!
Paige enjoying the Flower Festival at GUM.
McLaren making a presentation about American slang to an audience of Russians at the American Embassy in Moscow.
Paige on the observation deck of the Children’s Musuem of Moscow.
Cheyenne, Paige, Peter and Inga at the Izmailovo Kremlin in Moscow.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
Playing “Telephone” with Russian language partners.
The Museum of Cosmonautics at VDNKh.
The main entrance to VDNKh, the Exhibition of Economic Achievements. Atop the main gate is a famous statue of a factory worker and farm girl.
The most famous fountain in the park: “Friendship of the Peoples.” Each statue represents one of the former Soviet republics.
The Azerbaijan Pavilion.
Mixed teams (Russian and American) for a warm-up activity with language partners.
