Train in Moscow

The train arrived at 6:45 and it was raining. The many gifts made for a lot of luggage which I was trying to take to the terminal in the rain. Much to my disappointment the driver holding my name card was not there. I was not having much luck finding someone who could speak English. After about 20 minutes I heard my name over the intercom but I couldn't understand the rest of it telling me where to go. Finally, a very stern looking policeman took me to where the driver was standing. Boy, was I glad to see him.

Last Day in Nizhney

Previously, I was in Nizhney Novogorod in March. Today we took a tour in the sunshine. It looks a lot different with the beautiful flowers, fall leaves on the trees and no snow.
After a specially prepared dinner, going away gifts, and good-byes, it was time to get on the train. This train was brand new with only two people per car.It left the station at 10:45 and would arrive in Moscow at 6:45 am. There a car from the Embassy would meet me and take me to the airport. This was the beginning of a 36 hour trip home.

 

 

Lyceum and Hoklama

When I was sick the last time I visited I was scheduled to visit a Lyceum and go to the Hoklema factory in Smirnoff. but did not get to go. So today was the day.
It was about an hours drive to the town so Nina was telling me a little about her job with the accrediting group. She talked about the issues they have in getting teachers to teach in the village schools. They are trying some programs such as buying a young teacher a car and a flat if they will teach ten years in the village. They have also offered them a 25% pay increase over those that teach in the larger cities. These approaches haven't worked real well and have gone a long way to upset the teachers that have taught in these villages and did not receive the perks.

We arrived at the lyceum in Smirnoff and toured the school before meeting with about 20 students who were in the 11th form (grade). They will be going to college next year. These students had participated in an Intel Project-based Learning classroom. Two groups of students presented their projects for us. The first group focused on the sport facilities available for volleyball, a sport they loved to play. They put together a business plan after analyzing the deficiencies (windows, lighting, floor surface) of the facilities. They met with and interviewed the principal about their concerns and proposed a funding model that contained finding sponsorships. As a result of their efforts, new windows were replaced in the gym and the floor was resurfaced. Their in-depth presentation also contained what skills they developed and what they learned conducting this project.

The second group felt their project was a little silly and didn't want to show it but the teacher convinced them to go ahead. This team of boys loved to play computer games so their presentation centered around researching the popularity of playing computer games and the future employment opportunities available for those that create them. Their project was really well done and brought a lot of credibility to the field.

The trip to the Hoklema factory was so interesting. This traditional Russian painting goes back to the founding of Smirnoff. Today their factory employs 500 painters (almost all women) and 1300 people in all the factory. We began the tour seeing how the wood is formed into dolls, bowl, cups, beads etc. The wood comes from the lime tree. From there we went to see the Matruska dolls being painted. The painting of the dolls is more like an assembly line as each painter paints a certain part of the doll, like the face, or the apron or dress. There is the traditional doll that is red and yellow an has flowers on the apron.Then there are dolls of all colors and some special character dolls. In showing us some of the special order dolls they showed us a set of dolls made for the Green Bay Packers in 2002. The outside doll is no other than Brett Favre and there are four other dolls including Darren Sharper.I asked if they sold that set and she told us they were not in their shop but only part of their special collection. When I came back later she handed me a set and charged me $18. What a fun souvenir.

The next part of the tour showed the steps in the 58 day process of making the dishes, spoons, and other speciality pieces. It includes different kinds of layers of solutions, painting and then baking. The baking process turns what looks like silver  into a very bright gold. When the pieces are ready to be painted, one painter does the complete piece. It was fascinating to see the talent of the painters.

 

 

The final part of the tour was a master class. Nina and I were taught how to paint a Matruska doll. Needless to say, I could never be hired in that line of work but it was fun to try.

I have seen and purchased pieces of Hoklema  painting but I have a total new appreciation for the talent that goes into making the them.