A Kids Life in Russia

A Kid's Life In...
Russia
By Trevor

Did you know that 11 times zones cover the Russian Federation?

People sometimes jump in a river that is 33-36 degrees F. on New Years.

You can see Vladimir Lenin's (a communist leader) body in the Kremlin.

Russians do very well in ice skating at the Olympics.

Zdravstvuite (hello) menia zovut( my name is) Olia. I am a 10 year old girl. I live in Moscow, Russia. I speak Russian and English and write in Russian Cyrillic. Russia is a very big country even though many republics have left since the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991. In fact, Russia is the biggest country in the world. Part of Russia is in Asia and part of it is in Europe. In the summer it is warm but in the winter it's cold and snows.

My family is Russian, like most of the families here, which means we are descendants of the Slavic people. I usually wear jeans and cotton sweaters. Dresses are O.K. People in my country dress a lot like people in the United States although many wear plainer clothing and of course we have to wear warm clothing since Russia is known for its long, cold winters.

I live in an apartment like most people in Moscow. The cities in Russia are very crowded. The apartment buildings are very tall but our apartment is very small. I fold up my bed during the day and store my bed sheets. At night, I make my whole bed. It's work. We also share a kitchen and toilet with two other families.

Children in Russia go to school from ages 6 to 17. Elementary education lasts for nine grades. School starts at 8:30 and ends at 2:30. After ninth grade, we can go to a secondary school (we learn a lot of math, science, history and languages) or a vocational school (we learn a career). At the end of ninth grade we take a national exam. If you score well, you can win a gold or silver medal. That is my dream! I want to win a gold medal and go to a secondary school. I will learn math, Russian, English, French, and art. I will like math the most.

My favorite foods are blinies (thin pancakes served with salmon and other fillings) with sour cream and piroshkises (pastries filled with meat). They are so good. I also like to eat borscht, which is soup made from beets. Shchi (cabbage soup) and tea are also yummy. Like most Russians, we eat our main meal at midday and have a lighter meal in the evening.

The metro trains are a good way to get around Moscow and they're also fun. Boats and cars are used too. There are many bridges because of all the canals. Fun places I like to visit in Moscow are the zoo, the planetarium, the Gum department store, the museum, the swimming pool, and the stadium. I wish that I could go there every day. Some important places are St. Basil's Cathedral (it has many onion-shaped domes), the Kremlin, which is a government building, and the museum of the Fine Arts. Did you know that there are over 660 museums in Russia? We love to visit them. My favorite place is the planetarium. I like to see the stars. I like to go soccer ball sledding and skiing in the winter and swimming and play soccer in the summer. Soccer is the most popular sport in Russia.

I use rubles and kopeks to buy things. There are 100 kopeks in a ruble. One U.S. dollar = 0.59 rubles.

There are fun holidays in Russia. I like Christmas the most because I get presents from Father Frost on January 7th. Another holiday is New Years on 1-2.

I hope you will come and visit Russia someday. Bye!