Guilderland High School student Haewon Hwang and Ichabod Crane High School Student Rose Schneider, winners of the 2012 Albany-Tula Alliance Essay Contest, returned from Tula, Russia with dozens of new Facebook friends and a deeper understanding of Russian culture. Accompanied by board members Mary Emerson, Dawn Weinraub and Videographer Sonja Stark, the five were overnight guests at Tula State Pedagogical University.
The above photo was taken at a delicious cafe where the students of School #3 treated us to cappuccinos and Tula fabulously creamy ice cream. The second photo is a picnic invite to the Russian summer home of our good friend Elena Molchanova. Elena and her mother spend all day preparing a feast for 25 friends that included fresh fruits and vegetables from their vast gardens.
10 days were spent exploring Moscow University, Leo Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana Estate and attending the Leo Tolstoy Conference. Sonja Stark is editing video segments of the trip to be shown on the ATA YouTube Channel soon. To see more photos, see our Flickr Gallery.