I know I know I know

Yes, I know I've been bad. But what can I say? Again It's been quite a while since my last post. But I do have a semi-good excuse. I've just been SO busy. Life in the big Russian city doesn't keep you idle. Plus classes just got a little more real.

So, in this post I just want to discuss my trip to Pskov. I actually plan to make a post around Sunday discussing other things that have happened in the couple of weeks before. I like reverse chronological order. So it was a pretty busy time in Pskov. On the first day we met with out lovely guide Annya in the AM. Our first stop was the Kremlin of Pskov. We got a tour and went inside a church. It was quite different than what we have previously seen. The style was much more simplistic, which is not a bad thing. Afterwards we went to this like metalworking place. We got a tour and we got to make our own Pskov coins! And you know what was even more amazing? WE WERE ON TV!!!!! So I got to make my own coin by striking a piece of metal with a hammer and I got my exposure on TV. It was a successful dyen(day). After everything we were left to relax and do whatever. So... what do American students do in a small Russian city at 11:30 PM? We go see New Moon of course. If you don't know what New Moon is, it is the sequel to Twilight, a teen romance movie with werewolves and vampires. Like it's a pretty horrible movie, but it was in Russian so it wasn't all in vain.

And the next day begins with an hour trip to Pechory which is a few kilometers from the Estonian border. In Pechory we visited the Pskovo Pechersky Monastery. It's a large monastery that houses about 100 monks and priests. I liked it quite it a bit and we learned about how it there were caves where people are buried. But unfortunately, people are no longer allowed down there. So we continued our journey and headed to Izborsk, where one of the oldest fortresses in Russia is located. We climbed to the top of a tower from where we could see the whole place. It was a pretty amazing view. We also headed to these springs where if you drink from them you will receive either love, money, wisdom, or like death. Obviously I drank from the spring of wisdom haha Our last stop of the day was the honey farm! We got a tour of the place from the head beekeeper and at the end we got to sample pretty much all of his products. They were all pretty good which was evident when everyone in the group went up to buy something after the tour ended. That night we didn't do much except go out to eat. No new cinema adventures unfortunately(New Moon was the only thing playing x_x)

Our last trip with Annya was to a pottery class. It was pretty amazing. We learned how to make different little things out of clay and we even got to throw pottery! I made a hedgehog, a cat, a Pskov plaque, and my own pot. I really enjoyed everything that was planned out for us. Going to a small Russian city was quite a different experience than being in big Russian cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. I felt more at ease in Pskov than I did in Moscow. But at the end of the day I could not survive if I had to in a place like Pskov for a year. I just don't feel like it has what I need, it doesn't have the energy and that "it" factor that Moscow does. But overall it was a nice break and I could definitely visit again.