Some of you have asked about how large AAS is in terms of students. They have 1300 pre-K thru 12 students and a waiting list of 750. They are the pre-eminent English language school in Moscow and everyone wants to get his/her children into the school. The priorities for acceptance are: the children of the employees of the school, the children of the three embassy employees, then the children of citizens of these three countries plus New Zealand and Australia, and then it is open to anyone with money. The school is so popular that many apartment complexes advertise their proximity to the school as a selling point. I think I mentioned that it is very expensive to attend the school, 10,000 per child upfront for capital improvements, and then about 27,000 a year for high school and a little less per year for the lower grades. That is a pretty big budget, but it is expensive here in Moscow and every single one of the parents feels like it is money well spent.
I attended a general Q&A session with one of the two finalists for the job as Director of the school. If I were five years younger I would have applied in a heartbeat, knowing what I now know about the school and Moscow. This candidate seems rather inexperienced for this high visibility position, and yet, I’m told that he is considered the better of the finalist. My concern is that he will be chewed up and spit out by the powerful parents who are on the board. As in all large international schools in major cities around the world, understanding the local politics related to the relationship of the board to the school, is one, if not the, most important skill needed by a director. This candidate comes from much smaller schools in more ‘backwater’ cities and if gets the job, he is going to need a crash course in how to manage boards.
We were up this morning at five thirty. Not sure why, but we were both wide-awake so we got up and Cindy got ready while I made her lunch and breakfast. She was out the door at 6:45 and most likely won’t be home until after six this evening. We were tired when we got home last night, but I wasn’t about to allow exhaustion to stand between us and a good hot meal. I did a quick survey of the fridge and cupboards and found just what I needed for a quick but tasty meal. The day before I had purchased some large cherry tomatoes and a ball of mozzarella thinking I would make a caprese salad. Instead I made a caprese pasta. I got a big pot of water boiling and added a half box of penne. While that cooked I flash sautéed in butter and olive oil, the cherry tomatoes, keeping them whole, until their skins just started to blister and crack open. I then tossed in a very large handful of garlic that I had chopped very fine. I like to add a sprinkle of coarse salt to the garlic as I chop it so that it begins to sweat and release lots of the garlic oils. It cooks in just a minute and I removed the pan from the heat as soon as the garlic started to brown. I had an almost empty jar of prepared pesto so I added a ladle of the pasta water to the jar and shook it up to get all the goodness out of what remained. I drained the pasta and returned it to the pot and quickly added the hot tomatoes and garlic, the pesto juice and the ball of mozzarella that I had cubed and tossed it all together. I had placed two bowls under the strainer so they captured the hot pasta water, I drained those and added the hot pasta alla caprese, topped it with fresh pepper and Parmesan and we were off to the races. I don’t know what I’ll do for the next ten days without having anyone to cook for in the States.
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A Walk in the Park with Lenin |
My walk today was exhilarating. We had our first warm day in perhaps two weeks and the temperature, coupled with a clear blue sky, created a perfect day for walking. I discovered yet another impossibly picture perfect park. It is about one block wide and five blocks long, smack dab in the heart of a bustling business district. At the end of the park is a statue of Lenin surrounded by a lovely bed of flowers. I’ve attached a photo from my cell but it isn’t very good and doesn’t capture the beauty and majesty of the park. There are times when I’m walking in Moscow and I feel like I’m in Paris or Madrid or Vienna. Clearly Moscow borrowed a lot of styles and design themes from these and other Western European cities when it when though its growth spurt.
I snuck up on the US Embassy by going around the Russian White House and through a lovely children’s park that is filled with fanciful art and statues. It was so hot I had to sit down and take off my jacket to let the perspiration evaporate. It was fun to watch the little kids with their moms and nannies enjoying all the playgrounds and swings. There is a huge chess board where I’m assuming kids can actually stand on it and be living chess pieces. I suddenly realized that I was the only man in the park and that I might look a little suspicious sitting there with a jacket over my lap looking at little kids, so I departed. On the way towards the embassy there is a very small little park, which contains the original bridge where the Bolsheviks started the Moscow Uprising in December of 1905. There is a great statue to the brave men and women who died in the failed fight against the Tsar. Again, I tried to take a photo with the cell but the lighting wasn’t that great.
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| Monument to Moscow Uprising 1905 |
Having walked for more than two hours I decided to do my business, paying a TV bill at the embassy, and head home where I had lots of packing and laundry to do, not to mention getting dinner ready. I shall greatly miss my walks in Moscow while I’m in the states and will use my time away to research new and exciting urban hikes for my return. That’s it for now, more from WV tomorrow. Perhaps Cindy will continue to keep you informed regarding Moscow, but I seriously doubt she’ll have the time.
Ciao, Cindy and Wm
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| Lenin in the Park |
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