YourDalyHug: (Beslan) Russia Recap 2019

Chip and Ira at the airport

We arrived in Beslan with no delays. We were greeted, as always, at the gate by our friends. After collecting luggage, I was greeted by my dear friend Aslan! It is always such fun to see him. This year we didn't have a bus, since we were staying in Beslan. Aslan, who is a taxi driver, grabbed me and my luggage and a couple of others and dragged me to his car to give us a ride. After unloading our luggage, laughing and exchanging hugs I offered him money for the taxi ride. He just shook his head and said NO! Got back in his car and drove away with a smile! I can't wait to see him again next year.

My friend Aslan!

We stayed at Nadya's home, which was a real treat. I already told you about her as one of my gift givers. ( https://yourdalyhug.blogspot.com/2019/04/gift-givers.html ) Her home is a typical/traditional Russian home. Quaint, well kept, and always comforting. Since we stayed in Beslan this year, we could actually walk to the school! This was a real treat and a welcome change from hopping on a bus every morning. The weather in Beslan in April is typically good. 55 to 65 and mostly sunny. Great walking weather, plus we got to see parts of Beslan we don't normally see. We also met people we wouldn't have met otherwise. I even got "mugged" by some gypsy kids one day. That was fun and scary at the same time, Ha. They had my pockets empty of balloons before I could pull out my first magic trick :0). The walk was a great way to start our days, and especially nice on the first day after an early morning plane ride. We got to the school midday and ended up just playing with the kids for an hour or so. No master classes til the next day.

Our daily walk to the school!

Friday we walked to school and spent the majority of the day there. My friend from last year, Sarmat, saw me as I entered his classroom. He ran to me instantly and gave me a hug. Quite a feat for a child who has autism. Every time I saw him after that he hung close to my side as I entertained him and other children. He is one of the many wonders of this world to me. I love him dearly! I do not do "master" classes anymore, as I just try to entertain where needed. My friend Pluk ( https://yourdalyhug.blogspot.com/2019/01/meet-pluk.html ) joined me as we entertained Albina's classroom. The kids instantly go berserk and it is generally chaotic for 15 minutes or so. Albina sits at her desk and thumbs through papers to allow her kids this opportunity to play with two clowns. Pluk and I actually did a nice job of keeping the kids in their seats for a few minutes as we did an improv skit. Then the last 10 minutes or so we ran around the room and interacted with small groups as we got tugged on, hugged, and questioned repeatedly about things such as how old we are and "can I have a balloon?", etc. Ha ha! Then we quietly say goodbyes and the kids instantly go back to studying, like we were never there. It is a marvel I can hardly wrap my brain around. But I enjoy it for what it is for as long as it last! I think Pluk did too.

Pluk and I do a selfie with the whole class :0)

After lunch at 2pm, we headed to an orphanage in Vladikavkaz. It is an orphanage we visit every year and is always filled with fun in my eyes. It is never the same two years in a row, and this year we played outside the majority of our time there. That is always my preference, but sometimes we get corralled inside to play in a small room. Outside is way better, especially with that fresh mountain air. This year I especially enjoyed a small group of tween girls who giggled a lot at me. I asked the first girl in the group what her name was "Kak vas zavut?". Her reply "Klone". She was being cute and funny of course, but I gave her a nose just the same. The rest of the girls lined up to tell me their name was Klone also. A couple of them went to the end of the line to try and get a second nose, Ha Ha. I was wise to them though, and we all laughed. Then we ventured to the sport court and played some "Samurai" and other games with balloons and whatever else was handy. Good times!

Some of my favorite kids ever in Vladikavkaz!!

After the orphanage we headed back to Beslan and had a nice dinner at Maria's house there. Maria wasn't there of course, but teenagers from the school were already there preparing our dinner for us. They do all the cooking, cleaning, and organizing for us while there. Truly impressive!
Saturday morning we walked to the school where our bus awaited. We were heading to a "camp" somewhere near the mountains. It was an unusual experience as we tried to locate the camp :0). Our bus driver, a lovely man named Valery, laughed the whole time and didn't seem bothered that we had no idea where we were going, Ha! We sorta did, and Vika our fearless leader eventually got us to the right spot. We played with some kids and ate a quick dinner, watched a show and some fireworks and then headed home. Sometimes our visits need tweaking for the next year, so we will discuss it :0).
It was still a unique and fun experience I feel. It can just be more productive next time. Nobody is perfect, not even the people who go on Maria's trips :0).

The kids at "camp" enjoyed the fireworks. They generally don't have experiences like this.

After our visit we drove back to Beslan. On our way back we were driving through Vladikavkaz. Vladikavkaz is a city of about 330,000 people. Some of the Russians were staying in Vladikavkaz and invited us to walk around the city with them, and then have dinner. 10 minutes into our walk we ran into Ruslan ( https://yourdalyhug.blogspot.com/2019/04/ruslan-musician.html ). He was insistent on talking with us and then inviting us back to his office. It was an experience I won't soon forget. I am not sure how the Russians felt about it, as I am sure they would have rather kept walking around the beautiful city of Vladikavkaz, but they were good sports about it all. After our visit with Ruslan we ate dinner and headed back to our home base in Beslan.

Ruslan played the piano for us. What a talent!

On Sunday we spent the whole day in the mountains. Basically taking they day off from clowning and other "work". It was a glorious 67 degrees and sunny out. I perfect day to spend in the mountains. The drive alone is worth it, but being deep in the mountains is a real treat. We saw cows, wild horses, donkeys, and sheep... all ON the road. We went to a small place called Dargav, AKA "The City of the Dead". It was an interesting little place with "Beehive" graves. There is interesting history in Russia, especially in the mountains. We walked around, fed the donkeys, celebrated Oksana's birthday with cake and tea, and then headed to explore a local monastery.

Beehive graves in Dargav

A monastery deep in the mountains is a fascinating thing to me. Monks meandered about and tourists flock to see it. We stayed for a few minutes to explore, then headed to Vadek's country home. Lucky enough it was only 1 mile from the monastery! There we ate delicious schashlik and hung out with friends. Not a bad way to end a beautiful day in the mountains.

Vadek cooks Schashlik for his guests. Yummy!

On Monday we went to a local CP clinic. It is my favorite place to visit in Vladikavkaz. It is a place filled with color and happy people. It is run by a lovely woman named Nonna. All of the employees there do their job with smiles on their faces. The kids and parents seem happy to be there as well. I am not sure they "need" clowns, but they welcome us with open arms :0). Some kids have to sit or lie still on a table for 15 to 20 minutes at a time to get tests done. So I guess we help with that a little. Distraction and play can make time move faster, I have seen it in action.

Two teenagers from the school help distract a young girl who has to sit on this table for 15 minutes for her testing. You can't see them, but there are electrodes attached to her legs. I presume to measure muscle movement and strength. Children with CP get spasms in their muscles frequently.

Debya, from Texas, entertains Anjelina for her testing.

After our visit to the CP clinic we headed to the school to play for a few hours. After that we headed to a dear old friend's house in the mountains for dinner. Marat is a lovely man. His wife, Zita, used to be the minister of education in Beslan and was very instrumental in helping Maria continue her visits to the school. Believe it or not, a past administrator tried to get Maria to stop coming. Thank God Zita stepped in to help and we continue our important work to this day. They have a beautiful home on the side of the mountain. We ate yummy food and hung out by the fire as Pluk played her ukulele.

Pluk plays the ukulele by the fire.

On Tuesday we toured the school museum for our annual history lesson from Nadya. It is always powerful, emotional, and I learn new things. Then we clowned a little bit with the kids, ate lunch and headed to Dur Dur to visit kids at the orphanage there. It is another orphanage we visit every year and I love it. This year we played some games and I took a walk with Vadek. It is kinda becoming our annual thing. I don't speak much Russian and Vadek speaks little English. So we mostly walk in silence. We will do a hand gesture and use a word or to "converse" and after 15 minutes he shakes my hand, says "spaciba". I say "thank YOU" and goes off to hang with friends. It is a moment I can't quite explain, but is somehow really important to us both. After Dur Dur we headed to the Hot Springs in the mountains for a nice relaxing dip. We ate a late dinner and then back home to rest up for our final day.

Vadek and myself. Special bond!

Our last full day in Beslan is always a concert at the school. This year was as fun as always. All the participants of the master classes get on stage to show what they did. Pluk, Debya, Joy and I did a short song as clowns. And the Russian children did various "skits" they worked on all week. The traditional dance routine from their region, plus more. This year a group of 10 year olds did a two stepping country dance, to Debya's delight. She is from Texas. They were really good and super cute! A group of 15 to 16 year olds did an American scene/dance set in 1940s NYC. It was really cool. And they seemed to really enjoy themselves! They certainly have great talent, and no fears.
After the concert, we did our annual trip to get ice cream with Albina's and Sveta's class. It is one of my favorite things to do, and not just because I love ice cream. Walking with the kids and just laughing along the way is so much fun, and filled with excitement. At the restaurant where we get ice cream, the kids sit at two long tables and are served ice cream by waitresses and waiters. This year, both classrooms wanted me to be at their table. So, Maria did a "panoramic" photo where she could capture me at both tables. During "live" action I tried to bounce back and forth as much as possible. All the kids seemed satisfied with the results, Ha.

Two Chips are better than one :0)!

After ice cream we went to our annual closing dinner at The Farmer. It is a nice restaurant out in the country a bit. It is a farm to table restaurant with a DJ and dance floor. It is always a great way to end our trips there. The final morning we packed up and headed to the airport. We of course did our annual stop at the cemetery. Another emotional, but important, part of the trip. We laid a red carnation on every grave site. That is 334 carnations! I always visit the graves of Boris and Vera. They are Nadya's children who were killed in the siege. I also visit Tarkan's grave. He is the oldest person to die in the siege. His story ( https://yourdalyhug.blogspot.com/2017/05/teacher.html ) touches me and so I feel the need to say hi to him every year. Then I walk around and try to take in as many faces and names as I can until we head to plane to fly home. Well, back to Moscow where I stayed a few more days before flying to HOME. I was completely exhausted after this trip! I am sure it is partly because I am getting older, but also it was just more active it seemed. I look forward to next year as much as ever, even though it is good to be home.