![](https://efbrow20.me.holycross.edu/files/2018/12/P_20181118_160115-169x300.jpg)
Last week my mom came to visit me! We hadn’t seen each other since August and I was so excited to show her around. Unfortunately, I got a nasty cold almost as soon as she got here. But we tried not to let that put a damper on our time together. We ticked off almost everything on her to-do list (including 3 ballets!), and we were both exhausted after our week-long “vacation”.
![](https://efbrow20.me.holycross.edu/files/2018/12/P_20181118_183429-e1543757097991-169x300.jpg)
It was good for me to see Moscow and my time here through the eyes of someone taking it all in for the first time. Obviously, as my mom, she and I are going to think similarly about things. But it was also nice to have some things I was thinking validated and confirmed. My mom also thought it was weird that each escalator in the metro has someone employed to watch it…
![](https://efbrow20.me.holycross.edu/files/2018/12/P_20181123_163318-e1543757190253-169x300.jpg)
Because my mom doesn’t speak Russian, I did almost all the planning and navigating around the city. Being here with someone who has the same knowledge of Russian that I did two and a half years ago made me realize that I really have made a lot of progress. Sometimes in a city full of native speakers it is easy to be overwhelmed by the mountain of Russian I still don’t know. Seeing how far I have come was encouraging.
![](https://efbrow20.me.holycross.edu/files/2018/12/IMG-20181123-WA0002-169x300.jpg)
My mom was also kind enough to help me cook a Thanksgiving dinner for some Russian and international friends. We couldn’t find a whole turkey, so we stuffed a big chicken and got a huge turkey leg! Everyone really enjoyed the food, and my host mom made the most beautiful pecan and apple pies that I have seen in any country. We even introduced some new foods; in this land of root vegetables, some of my Russian friends had never tried sweet potatoes! Although it wasn’t an exact recreation, I feel that we captured the spirit of the holiday. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it calls on us all to be grateful for what we have. If I counted my blessings, it would take all day, so I’ll just say thank you to my mom and all my friends, new and old.
Love, Emily
Russian word: Спасибо огромное (spa-see-ba oh-grohm-no-eh) Thank you so much