December

December was a better month than I could have asked for. By December I was fully into the swing of things and thriving in my routine, and I’d also become really attached to and enamored with Tyumen. Despite the onset of “winter” (also known as the "frost" or in my opinion "absurd cold"), my spirits were high. Life was great and I was also looking forward to what was in store in the near future. That would be a week-long trip home to NJ for Christmas and New Years, followed by an entire month off from teaching in January – more than half of which I would spend traveling.

In honor of the holiday season, I focused on teaching about/discussing traditions for Christmas and New Year. Russians don’t celebrate Christmas the way Americans do. Christmas in Russia is on January 7th. Christmas is strictly a religious holiday and people just go to church – and not necessarily to attend a mass. New Years, however, is a different story. They celebrate New Years like we celebrate our Christmas – with presents, songs, a "New Years" tree (a Christmas tree - just with a different name), and their version of Santa – “Father Frost” (in Russian: d-yed mah-rose) and his “Snow Granddaughter” (in Russian: sneg-ur-och-ka). Most families celebrate together until midnight, and then after the clock strikes 12, young people will join their friends at their homes or in clubs or bars, for example.

Every month I lead a culture roundtable for all of the English teachers in my department. For December, I suggested we have a small holiday party. Everyone brought a dish and my department gave me two unexpected and really beautiful presents (or as some Russians would say “presented with some gifts”) an elephant (it's Russian tradition apparently) and a painting framed in jade. They also gave very warm holiday wishes – warmer than I would have even expected! I was really touched by their hospitality, for thinking of me and for making me feel so welcomed and included.

The gift exchanges didn’t stop there, some of my students even gave me a gift (even after I gave them their exam!), Grunya and Sergey gave me traditional house shoes, and I was also given a book about architecture of the wooden houses (I love them) in Tyumen by the director of the library!

Additionally, I hosted a cookie baking party with the American Corner group in my flat (I guess I speak British now). I felt that cookies at Christmas were essential. I had intended to make some of the cookies my Italian grandmother and aunt make, but after realizing that was too complicated and I didn’t have the right ingredients, I settled on chocolate chip cookies w/m&ms!

So after a pretty great month and various festivities leading up to the holiday I left Russia for the US on December 23!