Elder and Sister Pocock

We had two P-days this week because on Wednesday all of our missionaries were gone from Perm. It was transfer day...so they were either riding the train to Ekat to deliver a companion or pick one up or they were flying out of the country for their three-month visa trip. (Every three months the government requires us to leave Russia to go into another country in order to get our visa renewed. They work it out so that the missionaries go to Finland or Ukraine so that they can take in a temple session and then return.) At English class, a less active member (who ice skates every day after work) asked if we would be interested in seeing an ice skating exhibition of younger children. We told her that we would love to meet her there. So Wednesday we left a little early so we could take in all the sights along the way. Below is a school that some of our FHE young adults attend. The words read: Perm State Technical University...I know, they make simple words soooooo hard!

This is one of many beautiful Russian Orthodox Churches...it looks like they were repairing a steeple.

Near the church we ran across a large, new Semya...family grocery store. We got so excited at the variety of things we could buy. Kent didn't get too excited about this!

They had huge bins of every kind of vegetable and fruit imaginable. You take your selections to the weigh-in area and weigh your own produce and then it dispenses the price you put on the outside of the bag. This saves time in the check out line.

Here is how we buy our ice cream...it looks like long, loaves of dough. To serve, all you have to do is slice off a piece.

Yum, pigs feet and cow's tongue...Russian delicacies!

Here we are at the ice skating area. They have these exhibitions free of charge prior to major holidays. On Thursday, March 8 is one of the biggest holidays in Russia...Women's Day. We have since read an article that stated that March 8 is an International Women's Day. Did you get candy or flowers? I have never seen so many men carrying bouquets of flowers; there were several young boys that had single stem roses they were carrying home after school...I'm hoping it was for their Mom. Even women were buying gifts and remembrances for their friends. English class was held that evening and our ice skating friend Tanya, gave me a Cowberry pie for Woman's Day. So thoughtful and soooo good.

This is an inside view of this huge arena.

The lighting was bad so my little camera didn't do very well but here is a view of some of the children doing their warming up. It was pretty impressive. I would say that the youngest participant was about five (and already she is very professional) and the oldest was about seventeen. It was a treat. Ellie, Lucy and Mia...you would have loved it.

At the end of the presentation, about twenty children came out and did a dance on skates to a Russian folk song. They were really enjoying themselves.

After the exhibition, our friend Tanya took us to the outdoor skating area, where she skates everyday. This is Tanya in the pink coat. She is an English teacher at a private military school for children. She comes to the English classes taught at the church to better her skills. This last week we had our advanced English class participate in debating skills to help them think on their feet. They really got into it!

This outdoor skating area is about the size of two football fields. In the center, we saw young people playing a hockey game.

Around the outside of the field is an area for speed skaters to practice. It was really fun to watch them. See how the blades of their skates are only hooked at the toe.

Our friend, Tanya, introduced us to this 70 year old woman that speed skates everyday. She is an international champion in the veteran age bracket. She told us that she is coming to Salt Lake City for the Veterans International Championships in 2015! We told her how close we live to SLC and told her we would love to cheer her on. She is delightful. Guess what, she didn't have any socks on. She told us they like to feel that they are one with their skates. My hands were frozen just taking her picture and there she was skating with bare feet!

She hesitated at my taking her picture because she recently feel down and broke her front teeth and blackened her eye. Double click on the picture and you will see what I mean. But this didn't stop her. This is a representation of the Russian will...when they set their minds to something, they give it their all!

I have to admit, these next pictures were my favorite part of our afternoon. We live in an area where there is a lot of graffiti, wine and vodka bottles, cigarette butts, and very sad and depressed looking people. It was totally refreshing to cut through an amusement park for children on our way back to our apartment. Here we were thrilled to feel happiness in Russia. Fathers playing with their children on the rides...