December | 2012 | a diamond in Moscow

It’s been a tough year for us with adapting to a new country I didn’t choose to live in and many other events that happened throughout the year which made it a year that I can’t wait to end so we can begin 2013 with hope and faith that all will be better.

I haven’t asked for much living here……in Dubai shopping was amazing and 30% cheaper than Moscow. Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel was not a stranger to my shopping and gift list. But moving to Moscow made me realized those hay days were gone and we needed to tighten the purse strings.

All I wanted was two tickets to the new Bolshoi that went under renovations and was closed for 6 years and re-opened late last year just in time for our arrival.

Getting tickets was another story……unless you were a Russian citizen it was virtually impossible….. Nutcracker, Swan Lake were only for the elite Russians. We tried various internet ticket sites with no luck and gave up after three months of trying.

A year later the Greek made my dreams come true. I dropped hints that my Nordic walking friend had been to the Bolshoi and bought the tickets on http://www.bolshoi.ru with great success.

I casually mentioned this to the Greek and before I knew it we had second row from the front in the orchestra stalls and were going to see Puccini’s “Turnadot” on the 12th of the 12th 2012.

The Greek always tries his best at making my dreams come true and this was yet another example. So for any expat living here or tourists visiting tickets can be found on the website http://www.bolshoi.com with a little perseverance and sensibility.

It will display all operas and ballets showing availability. It can be a hit and miss with some tickets being only one seat here and there and if you persevere you can find two together. Prices start from 3000 rubles (US$100) upwards and you will receive an email confirmation that you then present to the ticket office to collect your tickets, which we did an hour before the show. The doors open one hour before so its good to get there early and head to level seven for a champagne before the show.

We spent three hours with two intermissions which gave me the opportunity to show the Greek around this amazing building as I had already been on the Bolshoi Tour two weeks prior. You are free to roam from level to level and the staff were helpful and welcoming.

Below are a few photos we were able to take of our special night. Overall a great cultural experience full of Russia at its best. A must do if you get the opportunity.

Saturday morning we gave up our much loved sleep-in to help raise money for the IWC (International Womens Club) of Moscow Embassies Winter Bazaar. We headed off to one of the large hotels in Moscow to attend a fund raising event whereby countries from around the world were parading their cultural foods, wines, clothes, souvenirs, trinkets and anything else they could sell.

Of course the Greek and I were happy at the last minute to help man the Australian stand (more like a table)! The Stand was a joint venture between Australia, New Zealand and Canada, what a combo; it was more like the Commonwealth table.

Our fearless leader and wonderful organizer was Kathy Banham, her enthusiasm alone was contagious enough to get us wanting to volunteer not only our products but our time and help as well. She is an excellent ambassador for Australia; she loves our country and everything it has to offer.

Speaking of products I prepared 18 boxes of half dozen sausage rolls and tomato sauce. The Greek helped me package them in between quality controlling the sample ones I had to prepare to encourage his participation!

So with the temperature sitting at minus 3 we woke up at 7.30 am to darkness and headed off to the hotel via our trusty METRO. The Greek carried a large container with our saleable goodies to the venue whilst local citizens were trying to figure out where the crazy expats were off to now.
As we entered the great hall we were both blown away as to how many exhibitors there were! We estimated at least 50 countries were being represented. They had a food hall in one area and the other stalls selling souvenirs etc in another section.

There were continual raffles, whereby you bought a ticket walked on stage and if your number was lucky you won tremendous donated presents e.g. a trip for two to Brussels or a Christmas Hamper. The line for tickets was long and everyone wanted to win. The Greek pointed out that someone had donated a 4-day seminar on personal skill grooming by an English firm. We both looked at each other trying to picture the usefulness of this prize to a Russian Babushka from the suburbs……….but I digress!

Our stand as I mentioned was represented by 3 countries and we had sausage rolls, ANZAC biscuits, Maple Syrup, Kangaroo & Koala Dolls, flags, NZ wines, and anything else we could find to sell. Our little table raised 30,000 rubles for the charity and all of us were happy with our effort.
The Greek was like a used car sales man, he loved being out there selling whatever he could to the unsuspecting shopper and never budged on price even though every Russian knows that is the way you trade. He said “It was for charity and you can never discount on generosity and good causes”.

Mind you after about 2 hours the Greek wanted to explore the other stands, as did I, and we headed for the food hall. So we tried food from Gabon, Morocco, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. All the food was prepared, packaged and served by men and women from all over the world. The love and care that went into every dish was a reflection of the people that represented their respective countries. It was home cooking at its best with exceptional flavours and variety, the Greek was sad that this only happened once a year and not every week. Other countries were selling products that reflected their culture or anything that would sell like second hand books, bed linen and jewelry.

As mentioned this is the largest charity event in Moscow and we had a blast being part of it. It was as if we were visiting different countries under one roof. As an expat I felt very proud and honoured that women from around the world had come together to donate their time, recipes, expertise and hearts for charity and I for one was very humbled and excited to be part of it.
Finally we left the day to Kathy Banham who stayed on til the end and more. The Greek was a great help for the day but was a little annoyed that Greece was not supporting the day and vowed that next year the Russians not only experience Australian cuisine again but he may throw in a Spanakopita as well!

Ciao from Karla Spera.
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