Giving Thanks...for Moscow!

It's a little after 11 pm, another batch of dough for this week's second round of pies is refrigerating as we speak, and I'm feeling calm, tired, and grateful, crashed on the couch. I joined in on Thanksgiving Round 1 after work (this will be the first of 3...how does that happen in Russia?!) and my stomach would happily decree it a success. My primary endeavor was the pie. Pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate cream. Moscow poses some difficulties to the American baker, but on the whole I was satisfied with the product.

Being away from home on a very American holiday (no one that I've talked to here really understands what this one's even about) normally makes one a bit nostalgic for home, family, and whatnot. And while I would always love to be spending time with my family, I have to say that most of my feelings of gratitude today were focused on Moscow. Here's a few of those thoughts in no particular order.

I'm grateful for Moscow evenings. For city lights and for stillness that is all the more poignant after a day spent in a city of 15 million+.

I'm grateful for Russian. The language and the relationships that speaking has allowed me to develop. It's a challenging but stunningly beautiful language, which you may not believe if you haven't had the chance to listen to it closely.

I'm grateful for the work which brought me here. And the patience that trying to do my job in Moscow is helping me develop. There are aspects of working here which drive me crazy. Every. Day.
But how I love my colleagues and getting to work with such amazing singers!

Two of my lovely sopranos!

I'm grateful for who I've become in Moscow. In leaving the known behind, redefining self,
expectations, and my world, I've grown into a more preferable version of self.

I'm grateful for the foreign. And for the fight to find the familiar. Hunting through multiple grocery stores to try and find a turkey and finally locating and purchasing two 3.2 kilo babies. Which then half to be hauled back through the metro, a bus, and up a significant number of stairs. There is never a dull moment in daily living.

I'm grateful for the cold. And the snow! Who would have thought I could pen those sentences?!? I have to say though, snow transforms a city into something magical. And an evening walk in the cold...but still breathable!...air is romantically refreshing.

The list could go on, but I'll leave it at that. Let it be known though that on this American
holiday, this American girl is grateful for Russia. For Moscow.