This was kind of a boring week. It was only a four day week because of a Russian holiday, but nevertheless it seemed to drag. The holiday itself was very interesting, however. It’s the Russian version of ‘Memorial Day’ called “The Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland” where all men who have served in the armed forces are honored for their service. Traditionally you are supposed to congratulate and thank any man you know that has served. On March 8th is International Women’s Day, where you are supposed to honor women, and thank and congratulate any women on this holiday. I asked about the meaning of the holiday, and while they weren’t sure, the answer I received was that the day originated in the days of the Soviet Union when the government was trying to encourage women to get out of the kitchen and take more active roles. I feel like holidays like these are taken much more seriously here than in the United States, where to many Memorial Day just means a day off. I think it has to do with mandatory military service here- people are much more likely to respect and honor veterans if they know that someday they will have to serve as well.
Yesterday I finally made it to the sports hall. I had gone a few days earlier and met with someone there, but I was finally able to get my first workout in over a month yesterday. I also bought a pool pass- for 500 rubles I am allowed 8 visits for the month of march. It’s a strange system to me- instead of a membership or a pay as you go, its both. I think that’s how most of the gyms work here as well, but this is through the university so its much less expensive. Oleg, the guy who helped me get everything in order to go into the gym told me that he used to be a boxer, and years ago went to Chicago for a bout. He spoke to Иван Сергеевич for me (the coach I worked with last time) and not only does he remember me, he’s looking forward to seeing me. I’ve been told that he is out of the hospital and slowly returning to his teaching duties.
After class yesterday Roma called me and invited me to go out to services and dinner with the Rabbi, but I knew I had already made plans to go work out. I told him I’d like to go, but I’d likely be late. Well, after rushing through a workout, I hopped on the bus, went back to the dorm, showered, changed, and jumped back on the bus back to the university. I had looked earlier in the day at a map of bus routes, and found that if I went back to the university I could catch a bus that would take me directly to the synagogue, instead of walking. I was making pretty good time, but when I got to the stop for the second bus, it never showed up. According to the sign, there should have been a bus every 10-13 minutes, but I waited for about 45 and didn’t see one. I finally spoke to Roma and told him I was going home, because I thought it would be rude to show up for dinner after missing services, and he said that was probably right. He told me they might be going to a party later, and he would call me if they were. As I got on the bus to go back home, the bus going to the synagogue finally showed up…
Roma finally called me sometime between 11 and 12, but I had to decline because the dorm closes at 1am so I wouldn’t be able to get back in. He said either today or tomorrow he and his friends are going to a movie, and he’ll give me a call.
Tomorrow I am meeting with Вова to go to the bathhouse. I’m looking forward to it. I don’t really know any details, other than that there are 8 of us going. It should be an interesting experience.
Tonight the marketplace next-door is closing. Apparently they are turning the building into a medical clinic, so I won’t have the convenience of going right outside for fresh produce and meat. I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else to buy Armenian rotisserie, Korean carrot salad, and freshly dried pineapples.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
23 February 2009
I had a pretty relaxing weekend, for the most part. Saturday I got up and went to the Hermitage, and walked around for about three hours. I saw some really interesting exhibits. They have a special section on Egyptian art right now, and they have an actual mummy on display outside of the sarcophagus and wrappings. I didn’t want to spend too long there, because I know I can go back for free on a student ID.
After I left the museum, I walked to the metro and rode across the city to the metro stop (Достоевская) where Natasha told me I could find a barber supply shop. I went in, and they had one straight razor left in the store. They didn’t have strops or sharpening stones, however, and didn’t know where I could find them, so I didn’t buy it. I explored the area for an hour or so after that. I had never been to that district before, and I found a sign showing how rich the area was in literary origins. They showed about 15 different points within a few blocks where famous authors had lived (Anna Akhmatova and Fyodor Dostoyevsky to name a couple) and it showed how to find their homes. I’m definitely going to go back and take a look around.
At one point I found the most feminine mall I’ve ever seen in my life…I mean, most malls are geared towards women anyway, but this one was absolutely designed exclusively for women. It was five or six floors, and every single store was dresses, purses, women’s clothing, jewelry, lingerie, bathing suits, cosmetics, perfume, accessories…I mean EVERY single one. I’ve never seen anything like it. When Brittany comes here next month I’ll have to take her over there.
Other than that, I had a relatively boring weekend. I relaxed, watched Russian movies, did homework, and sat around the dorm most of the weekend. I don’t like doing it, but I didn’t have much going on. I’ll be able to get my transit pass on Thursday, and then I can do a lot more exploring. Its not that paying per trip is expensive, but after a while it adds up and I don’t like carrying a lot of money in my wallet, so it gets tiresome.
Вова invited me to go along with him and his friends next weekend to a bath house. That’s one of the things I had wanted to do while in Russia, so I’m looking forward to it. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect though. All I keep picturing is the movie Ирония Судбы, where someone brings vodka in with them and everyone gets so drunk that they forget who has a plane to catch and the wrong guy ends up getting aboard.
After I left the museum, I walked to the metro and rode across the city to the metro stop (Достоевская) where Natasha told me I could find a barber supply shop. I went in, and they had one straight razor left in the store. They didn’t have strops or sharpening stones, however, and didn’t know where I could find them, so I didn’t buy it. I explored the area for an hour or so after that. I had never been to that district before, and I found a sign showing how rich the area was in literary origins. They showed about 15 different points within a few blocks where famous authors had lived (Anna Akhmatova and Fyodor Dostoyevsky to name a couple) and it showed how to find their homes. I’m definitely going to go back and take a look around.
At one point I found the most feminine mall I’ve ever seen in my life…I mean, most malls are geared towards women anyway, but this one was absolutely designed exclusively for women. It was five or six floors, and every single store was dresses, purses, women’s clothing, jewelry, lingerie, bathing suits, cosmetics, perfume, accessories…I mean EVERY single one. I’ve never seen anything like it. When Brittany comes here next month I’ll have to take her over there.
Other than that, I had a relatively boring weekend. I relaxed, watched Russian movies, did homework, and sat around the dorm most of the weekend. I don’t like doing it, but I didn’t have much going on. I’ll be able to get my transit pass on Thursday, and then I can do a lot more exploring. Its not that paying per trip is expensive, but after a while it adds up and I don’t like carrying a lot of money in my wallet, so it gets tiresome.
Вова invited me to go along with him and his friends next weekend to a bath house. That’s one of the things I had wanted to do while in Russia, so I’m looking forward to it. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect though. All I keep picturing is the movie Ирония Судбы, where someone brings vodka in with them and everyone gets so drunk that they forget who has a plane to catch and the wrong guy ends up getting aboard.
Friday, February 20, 2009
20 February 2009
I went to services at the Grand Choral Synagogue tonight. My friend Roman invited me, and I met him there (I actually showed up about 30 minutes early, he showed up about 40 minutes late, so I was there for quite a while). It was a little uncomfortable waiting there, because every person that came in said hello to me in Russian and then switched to Hebrew, so while I was struggling to understand what they were talking about, each time I’d realize the reason I didn’t understand was because they weren’t speaking Russian.
It was something I’ve never experienced before…it was a Hassidic community and I didn’t understand a lot of what was going on. I wasn’t in the actual service all that long, however. We stayed for about an hour, then went to the youth Shabbat dinner. It was conducted by one of the rabbis and his family, and it was a good time. I got to meet some of Roma’s friends, and had some good food. I definitely ate too much, though. There were all different kinds of salads on the table, so I assumed that at a free dinner, that is all there will be, so I ate a lot. I tried everything, because it was all Russian dishes I had never heard of before. However…after I thought everything was wrapping up, they started the second course of chicken and rice… but I only had one drumstick as I was already full. There were a lot of prayers and a lot of singing, and the rabbi drank almost an entire bottle of vodka himself (only one other person had a glass), because every toast that was made he dignified with vodka while everyone else drank soda or grape juice. I suppose the vodka was getting to him, because once the toasts started, they started happening more and more often. I enjoyed myself, I had an opportunity to meet some interesting people, try some new foods, and have a new experience.
Roman asked me about the quality of the dorms, and I told him my plan for living here until the end of April and then finding a family to live with. He told me that he was planning to ask his parents if they would let me stay there, but he couldn’t promise anything. I really like Roma, the only problem is he speaks English fluently, and he told me that unfortunately he lives far from the university. We’ll see.
I called my professor Нонна Николаевна yesterday and accepted the job offer. She says we will talk about specifics on Wednesday, and I will also be speaking with Gary (the other American in my group) who is doing it. I’m not sure if I am getting my own class, or if I will be taking over his as he is leaving in a few weeks.
It was pointed out to me yesterday by a friend that I have a tendency to translate American expressions into Russian when I speak, and in translation they don’t make any sense. For example, I said to someone yesterday in Russian “at first glance I thought…” and they didn’t understand, and today I said to someone “do you think you can give me a ride home?” and if he hadn’t studied American English I don’t think he would have known what I meant. I need to work on either using Russian expressions or speaking as literally as possible.
Other than that, not too much going on. I think I am going to go to a museum tomorrow, perhaps the hermitage. We’ll see.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
18 February 2009
Last night I went to the Hillel for an event they were having called “Yes and No: Both sides of the Arab/Israeli Conflict.” I was nervous about it, because while I was very interested, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to follow what was going on. However, I showed up early, got a good seat, and really enjoyed the discussion. It was four professors from the university, two seemed to lean more towards Palestine, while the other two seemed to be more Pro-Israeli. I’m not sure who the moderator was, but he certainly knew what he was talking about as well. It was really an interesting discussion. One of the pro-Israeli speakers kept discussing America’s influence on the situation, and I enjoyed hearing the foreign interpretation of American politics, though I didn’t agree with everything he said. There were two question and answer periods, and I tried to ask a question during one of them unsuccessfully. I wrote out my question in English, and then started translating (I started with English because I needed to jot down my thoughts before I could phrase it). I wasn’t sure how to say part of it, so I asked a kid there I knew. He told me to give it to Irina (the director) in English and she would translate it…I wasn’t sure that she’d be able to, because while I know her English is good, she’s not completely fluent. Regardless, I wrote it out neatly and passed it to her, asking her to translate and ask the question. I saw her look at it for a few minutes, and show it to the people around her, and then about 5 minutes later passed it back with a note written on it that said “this question has been already, in softer form.” I think she was trying to tell me that someone had already asked the question, but I know it hadn’t, so I think she just didn’t know how to translate it. That’s fine though, it was my own fault for not just taking the chance and asking myself. It was a tough question. Afterwards I saw a girl I knew, and she introduced me to three others, and the five of us went to the metro together, and then one of them lived near me so we rode the next subway together. Because the discussion went much later than I thought it would, I had to walk back from the metro stop, I suppose around a mile or so. Around 11pm the busses stop running, and I didn’t get out of the metro until around quarter after. I didn’t mind the distance, but it was cold.
Today after class my instructor asked me to stay after, and then asked me if I would be interested in working with the philological department helping Russian students study their English. It would be 1-2 days a week, and I would be paid. I told her I would think about it, because I am already doing it with the Hillel. She gave me her cell number, and told me to let her know by Friday. I really don’t want another reason to speak English, but I am volunteering at the Hillel (even though they offered to pay me as well) and it would be nice to make some money while I’m here, make some more friends, and have something to add to my resume. Speaking of, I have to make a resume in Russian for one of my classes. She gave us a sample, and it is very strange. The person lists their marital status and that they have two kids. You would never see that in America…
After I left the university, I went across the river to take a look at a hotel Brittany found for when she comes next month. I had trouble finding it, because the street it was on for whatever reason wasn’t in any map (online either) and I’d never heard of it. It was supposed to be part of the Admiralty complex. When I got to the spot where there should have been an entrance to the street, there was a giant gate and a kid in a military academy uniform standing guard. I realized I had no choice but to ask him, so after about five minutes of collecting myself I went up and asked him about it. He said that the entire building was a military academy, and that he had never heard of the hotel or the street, and suggested I look somewhere up on Nevskii Prospekt. I guess I was lucky- either he was younger than I thought he was and was intimidated by me or he was just unusually personable for a Russian cop-in-training. Nevertheless, I circled the block and found it. It was in a really nice area, but I couldn’t get in. The front door was locked, and after I rang three times and waited ten minutes, nobody came to unlock it, so I left. I will try again later this week. Perhaps the concierge was on a lunch break or something.
Tonight I went to the Laundromat, despite my protests. It wasn’t bad. For 120 rubles you can drop off your laundry and detergent and come back in three hours and pick up your clothes cleaned, dried, and folded. It was funny when I dropped them off- I went with Valentin, and he asked the woman to wash his clothes in colder water because he found that his pants and shirts felt tighter lately. I joked that he had been eating too much, and her answer to him was that he should go for a run once in a while and everything will be fine (Valentin is about 6’2, and I’d be surprised if he’s much more than 120). After that, she said that if we’d like we can tell her what clothing can’t go in the drier, and she returned it to us after it was washed for us to air dry. Its really a pretty convenient system (even though I didn’t want to use it). I think I will probably continue to wash my socks myself, however, because its not particularly difficult and it will save me trips to the Laundromat.
Today after class my instructor asked me to stay after, and then asked me if I would be interested in working with the philological department helping Russian students study their English. It would be 1-2 days a week, and I would be paid. I told her I would think about it, because I am already doing it with the Hillel. She gave me her cell number, and told me to let her know by Friday. I really don’t want another reason to speak English, but I am volunteering at the Hillel (even though they offered to pay me as well) and it would be nice to make some money while I’m here, make some more friends, and have something to add to my resume. Speaking of, I have to make a resume in Russian for one of my classes. She gave us a sample, and it is very strange. The person lists their marital status and that they have two kids. You would never see that in America…
After I left the university, I went across the river to take a look at a hotel Brittany found for when she comes next month. I had trouble finding it, because the street it was on for whatever reason wasn’t in any map (online either) and I’d never heard of it. It was supposed to be part of the Admiralty complex. When I got to the spot where there should have been an entrance to the street, there was a giant gate and a kid in a military academy uniform standing guard. I realized I had no choice but to ask him, so after about five minutes of collecting myself I went up and asked him about it. He said that the entire building was a military academy, and that he had never heard of the hotel or the street, and suggested I look somewhere up on Nevskii Prospekt. I guess I was lucky- either he was younger than I thought he was and was intimidated by me or he was just unusually personable for a Russian cop-in-training. Nevertheless, I circled the block and found it. It was in a really nice area, but I couldn’t get in. The front door was locked, and after I rang three times and waited ten minutes, nobody came to unlock it, so I left. I will try again later this week. Perhaps the concierge was on a lunch break or something.
Tonight I went to the Laundromat, despite my protests. It wasn’t bad. For 120 rubles you can drop off your laundry and detergent and come back in three hours and pick up your clothes cleaned, dried, and folded. It was funny when I dropped them off- I went with Valentin, and he asked the woman to wash his clothes in colder water because he found that his pants and shirts felt tighter lately. I joked that he had been eating too much, and her answer to him was that he should go for a run once in a while and everything will be fine (Valentin is about 6’2, and I’d be surprised if he’s much more than 120). After that, she said that if we’d like we can tell her what clothing can’t go in the drier, and she returned it to us after it was washed for us to air dry. Its really a pretty convenient system (even though I didn’t want to use it). I think I will probably continue to wash my socks myself, however, because its not particularly difficult and it will save me trips to the Laundromat.
Monday, February 16, 2009
16 February 2009
I did laundry by hand for the first time yesterday. There actually is a laundromat nextdoor, but I wanted to do it for 3 reasons: 1) I wanted to try it. Its not uncommon here, and even my roommate An does all his laundry by hand. 2) when I calculated my costs, I never included laundry fees (its about 150 rubles per load) and i'd rather spend that money on a museum ticket or something, and 3) I had some things that needed to be washed carefully, and I didn't want them destroyed by the washing machine down there. It wasn't bad- took me about forty five minutes, and my clothes seem reasonably clean.
Today was kind of a blah day. Went to class, came home, did some errands. They didn’t start our new class today; I suppose they are still organizing it. An told me he no longer wants to take it, because he is too tired after lessons. I am worried about that as well, but the class is “The History of Russian Culture” which is exactly what I want to study…so we’ll see. Perhaps I could drop another class in place of this one. I wouldn’t mind dropping conversation- we don’t actually have conversations, and I feel like I’m not learning anything. It’s only been two classes so far, though, so I suppose I should wait and see.
I was planning to go to the gym today, but I went back with An because he told me he was going to get his new pass for the busses, so I figured I would get one as well. On my first day, they told me in the university office that I had to come back at the end of the month to get one, but I thought perhaps I could just buy my own and not through the university. Unfortunately, it seems that I have to be registered for one, so I will have to just wait until next week and pay every time I get on the bus until then. It’s not much, but it’s annoying to have to deal with. It’s so much easier with a card, because they just walk by and scan it with a hand scanner- if it lights up, they keep walking.
Perhaps I’ll go tomorrow after class. First I have to make the last payment on my tuition, however. Then I will have to be somewhat quick, because I am going to the Hillel tomorrow night as well. Irina invited me to an event they are having. It is a debate about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and they have invited some guest speakers. It sounds interesting; I just hope I am able to follow the dialogue. Afterwards there may or may not be an English club- she said it depends on how late the debate goes. Like Dad said, I didn’t come to Russia to become spiritual, but I think it is good to spend time with a group of people, and it is a good way to find someone who can provide me a homestay. I am thinking now what I will do is stay in the dorm through April, and find a family to live with for May and June. It will be less expensive that way, it will be easier to find a family for a shorter period of stay, and that way I will still be able to experience both a dorm and a family life.
Valentin has decided to take the next few days off from class, and I am really impressed with what he’s working on. He was a history major in college (he’s 25 years old) and he and four other people have written a history textbook, and he is doing some final editing on his portion. Apparently he wrote over one hundred pages, the publisher told them they had to keep it under 400 and there are five of them to be evenly distributed in the book so he is working to consolidate his text.
Tonight I had white rice for dinner. An was appalled that I was going to cook it in a pot on the stove, and taught me how to use our rice cooker (its one of the many things left to us by people that lived in this room previously). Its an interesting process. Before he cooks the rice, he “washes” it, which means he pours water in the bowl, and rubs and sifts the rice until the water turns completely opaque, then he dumps out the water and refills it and repeats the process. He does this three times. Then he put it in the rice cooker, and told me not to touch it until it clicked off. It really did taste a lot better than if I had cooked it on the stove.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
14 February 2009
Last night I bought another movie from the grocery store down the block. I chose it on the advice of the kid working there, and because it had the option of English and Russian, so I figured I could bring it back with me and perhaps I could watch it with friends. I had had the kid try a bunch of movies in the store DVD player to check quality, and finally just chose this one. I didn’t have him check this one, however. A few hours later when I finished cooking dinner, I put the disc in, and instead of any kind of language options, the movie just started, and the dialogue was in English, then a two second delay before being dubbed in Russian, then Chinese subtitles that filled a third of the screen. I thought about just dealing with it, but I was annoyed because its frustrating to watch something like that, and I thought it might be interesting to see how well I could argue in Russian. Not to mention, what’s the point of being an American in a foreign country if you aren’t going to act like one. So after I finished my dinner, I walked back to the grocery store, and as I walked in, I saw the kid talking to a woman about a movie, but I just said “this movie isn’t in Russian, its in English with Chinese subtitles” and the woman customer looked startled, and the kid’s eyes opened wide and he said “just a minute, I’m with a customer.” She made him show her all of the three DVDs she was about to buy, and two of them were English dubbed with Russian like the one I had, so she didn’t buy them. He told me I was mistaken and that only the beginning was like that, so I told him to put it in. He did, and seeing the issue, he told me to pick something else. I chose the one that he had told me earlier was a better choice, but I had rejected it because it was only in Russian. I told him I thought it might be too difficult for me to understand, and he said if I watched it and couldn’t follow it, then I could bring it back and exchange it again. The guys that work there may not be very bright, but they are personable. I haven’t tried watching it yet, but I have seen a few ads around the city for the movie, so it must not be too bad.
This morning I got up early and met up with Вова and Ваня. They picked me up downstairs, and we went to a museum, the bookstore, the bank, and out to lunch. It was a good time. They took me to Кунсткамера, an anthropological museum. It was an interesting experience. Each room was about a culture from a different part of the world, and then the biggest exhibit was on death. Apparently Peter the Great was fascinated with the work of a particular anatomist, Roysch. I’m not entirely clear on what his profession was, but from what I read there he was a wonder at embalming and preservation methods, and to this day scientists aren’t sure how he was so successful. Tissue he preserved is still in near perfect condition three hundred years later. It was creepy and interesting at the same time- there were animals, body parts, and babies in jars all over the room…and they were all real, and were all preserved sometime in the early 1700s.
After that, we stopped by the bookstore so I could pick up a book I needed for class, and while we were on Nevskii Prospekt I swung by the bank. The dollar-ruble ratio dropped another ruble today, so I figured I’d take out money for the next few weeks now in case it drops some more. With what I have now, I should be able to make the last payment on my tuition, pay for rent for the month of March, and still have money to pay for internet, food, and get a public transportation pass for the next few weeks. The way the public transportation works here is that you can either pay each ride, you buy multiple ride passes, or you can buy monthly passes. An had an extra pass for the busses, so he gave it to me on the first day, but he asked for it back yesterday because the one he had been using expired. Through the university, I can get a pass that is good for the metro, trolleys and busses, but I have to wait until the end of the month to get it. When I first arrived, it was the first week of the month so it was too late to apply for one. it will be a lot easier when I can just do that.
After that, we went out for sushi. While we were eating, Vova and Vanya invited me to a movie on Wednesday. I also asked them about getting a hat, and told them the deal with the market I went to yesterday. I told them I want to find something practical, not something marked up to sell to tourists. They said they will help me when we meet up in a few days.
When I got back, I figured for Valentine’s Day I should have some chocolate, so I swung by the Коробейнок, the market next to the dorm, and I went to one of the candy shops. There were these chocolate things, white and dark, a little bigger than malt balls, and I didn’t understand the word on the label for what was inside them, but I bought two of each because they looked good. When I bit into them, however, they turned out to be prunes… Now…I like prunes… but I don’t think they belong in chocolate, and that certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.
Having finished my weird treat, I packed up and headed out to an internet café. I wanted to make a bunch of calls through my computer, and I figured I’d rather get out of the dorm room to do it where I can get some tea and relax a little, instead of sitting in my dorm room like usual, especially because Valentin had friends coming over. I must have been there about four hours. At one point I got hungry, and on the advice of the girl behind the counter I a fajita…at least that’s what they called it. It was awful. It tasted like it had been freeze dried, rehydrated, and micro-waved. I told the girl behind the counter the next time I walked by that I thought it was terrible. She thought it was funny.
This morning I got up early and met up with Вова and Ваня. They picked me up downstairs, and we went to a museum, the bookstore, the bank, and out to lunch. It was a good time. They took me to Кунсткамера, an anthropological museum. It was an interesting experience. Each room was about a culture from a different part of the world, and then the biggest exhibit was on death. Apparently Peter the Great was fascinated with the work of a particular anatomist, Roysch. I’m not entirely clear on what his profession was, but from what I read there he was a wonder at embalming and preservation methods, and to this day scientists aren’t sure how he was so successful. Tissue he preserved is still in near perfect condition three hundred years later. It was creepy and interesting at the same time- there were animals, body parts, and babies in jars all over the room…and they were all real, and were all preserved sometime in the early 1700s.
After that, we stopped by the bookstore so I could pick up a book I needed for class, and while we were on Nevskii Prospekt I swung by the bank. The dollar-ruble ratio dropped another ruble today, so I figured I’d take out money for the next few weeks now in case it drops some more. With what I have now, I should be able to make the last payment on my tuition, pay for rent for the month of March, and still have money to pay for internet, food, and get a public transportation pass for the next few weeks. The way the public transportation works here is that you can either pay each ride, you buy multiple ride passes, or you can buy monthly passes. An had an extra pass for the busses, so he gave it to me on the first day, but he asked for it back yesterday because the one he had been using expired. Through the university, I can get a pass that is good for the metro, trolleys and busses, but I have to wait until the end of the month to get it. When I first arrived, it was the first week of the month so it was too late to apply for one. it will be a lot easier when I can just do that.
After that, we went out for sushi. While we were eating, Vova and Vanya invited me to a movie on Wednesday. I also asked them about getting a hat, and told them the deal with the market I went to yesterday. I told them I want to find something practical, not something marked up to sell to tourists. They said they will help me when we meet up in a few days.
When I got back, I figured for Valentine’s Day I should have some chocolate, so I swung by the Коробейнок, the market next to the dorm, and I went to one of the candy shops. There were these chocolate things, white and dark, a little bigger than malt balls, and I didn’t understand the word on the label for what was inside them, but I bought two of each because they looked good. When I bit into them, however, they turned out to be prunes… Now…I like prunes… but I don’t think they belong in chocolate, and that certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.
Having finished my weird treat, I packed up and headed out to an internet café. I wanted to make a bunch of calls through my computer, and I figured I’d rather get out of the dorm room to do it where I can get some tea and relax a little, instead of sitting in my dorm room like usual, especially because Valentin had friends coming over. I must have been there about four hours. At one point I got hungry, and on the advice of the girl behind the counter I a fajita…at least that’s what they called it. It was awful. It tasted like it had been freeze dried, rehydrated, and micro-waved. I told the girl behind the counter the next time I walked by that I thought it was terrible. She thought it was funny.
Friday, February 13, 2009
13 February 2009
I went last night to the Hillel’s “English club.” That was an interesting experience. I was the ‘guest of honor’ to some extent, as the only native speaker. It was an interesting experience. They asked me a lot of questions about America. They wanted to know about the politics, the culture, our relations with Russia, our impressions on Russian politics, and what my impressions of the city were. They asked me if I had been to Moscow, and what I thought of it. They told me that relations between Moscow and St. Petersburg are similar to that of Los Angeles and New York; stiff competition. It was an interesting night. This one guy there was asking me some really weird questions. For example, he said that he has heard that America is preparing to split into several smaller countries… I told him that if anything, we would be adding states. Most of the conversation was between Irina, these three people who spoke very good English, and me. The other eight or nine people hardly said anything. I felt uncomfortable when they asked for the American perspective on Russian politics, but they told me, which was true, that they had been honest with me when I asked about the Russian perspective on American politics, so I was honest with them. At the end of the night, I noticed that money was changing hands. Irina had asked me to stay after to talk, so when everyone left I asked her what that was about. She said people paid 150 rubles each for the English Club, because they had a very limited budget and she preferred to use Hillel money on strictly Jewish events. When I pulled out my wallet to give her money, however, she seemed surprised and said that I didn’t have to pay, and was actually planning on giving me money for helping out. I told her that wasn’t necessary and that if she would simply not insist on speaking in English with me every time we talked, I would call it even. She agreed, and told me about some other events coming up. They are having a debate on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict next week that sounded interesting, so I think I will go to that.
I’ve been trying to experience new tastes while I’m here. Today I went to a café and tried a soup called Щи that I had heard of, which has a cabbage base. It was delicious. I am really enjoying Russian soups. I don’t think I’ve gone into the Philological department main building a single time without stopping in their café for a bowl or two of whatever they are serving. I drank Кисель the other night, as well. I had read about it in a fairy tale in Dr. Lehrman’s class, and when I saw it in a café I had to try it. It was weird…the people I was with didn’t know all the ingredients, but they said they knew it had cranberry juice and potato powder in it. It had a very tart taste, and along the top of the glass was a filmy skin with the consistency of glue. It tasted alright, but the gluey surface made it a little tough to drink…so of course I stopped after the second glass.
Today in class, my instructor assigned us to go to the bookstore and buy a copy of Gogol’s short story ‘Nose.” It was funny when she gave the assignment, because she basically told us to go this weekend to the nearest bookstore and buy Gogol’s nose. She started laughing and had to tell us that if we need any help from a salesperson, make sure to phrase it differently. I’m going to go tomorrow at some point. I’m also meeting up with Вова tomorrow. We are going to meet around 11 to walk around the city a bit and tour a museum. I am looking forward to it, because I haven’t been to any museums yet. I’ve been mentally putting together a list of places I want to see, and started memorizing bus and metro stops where I can find them.
I’ve been trying to experience new tastes while I’m here. Today I went to a café and tried a soup called Щи that I had heard of, which has a cabbage base. It was delicious. I am really enjoying Russian soups. I don’t think I’ve gone into the Philological department main building a single time without stopping in their café for a bowl or two of whatever they are serving. I drank Кисель the other night, as well. I had read about it in a fairy tale in Dr. Lehrman’s class, and when I saw it in a café I had to try it. It was weird…the people I was with didn’t know all the ingredients, but they said they knew it had cranberry juice and potato powder in it. It had a very tart taste, and along the top of the glass was a filmy skin with the consistency of glue. It tasted alright, but the gluey surface made it a little tough to drink…so of course I stopped after the second glass.
Today in class, my instructor assigned us to go to the bookstore and buy a copy of Gogol’s short story ‘Nose.” It was funny when she gave the assignment, because she basically told us to go this weekend to the nearest bookstore and buy Gogol’s nose. She started laughing and had to tell us that if we need any help from a salesperson, make sure to phrase it differently. I’m going to go tomorrow at some point. I’m also meeting up with Вова tomorrow. We are going to meet around 11 to walk around the city a bit and tour a museum. I am looking forward to it, because I haven’t been to any museums yet. I’ve been mentally putting together a list of places I want to see, and started memorizing bus and metro stops where I can find them.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
11 February 2009
I signed up for a new (another) class today- the history of Russian culture. An told me he signed up for it, and today he showed me where the signups were. It starts next week, and I’m looking forward to it. That will put me at six classes, with a total of 18 hours a week. It doesn’t seem as intense, though, as when I took 18 hours that one semester at UD. I don’t know if its because I’m more focused here or if its just because I’m taking classes that I want to take. Either way, it should be interesting.
This afternoon after class, I met up with Yulia, and her friend Natasha. The three of us had dinner, where we spent about an hour or two talking. Natasha is studying to be a tour guide with Yulia, and they invited me to go with them to their class this evening where they would be learning how to explain Spanish art to English speakers. They wanted me to come and critique their professor’s English, because they felt that she made a lot of mistakes. It was incredibly boring. Natasha’s English is really impressive. She speaks with an accent somewhere between British and Australian (she is trying for Australian) and makes very small mistakes. The professor, however, sounded like a robotic voice that you hear when you dial a wrong number. Her accent was somewhere between British and American, which just sounds strange, and her intonation was all over the place. I don’t think she said a single sentence with correct intonation, and she mispronounced a lot of words. For example, she taught the whole class how to properly pronounce “thistle” with a hard “T”. I basically sat there and passed notes back and forth with Natasha the entire time. Afterward, the three of us walked down Nevskii Prospect, and then I headed home. At one point, Yulia asked me if I’ve ever heard of Peter the Great. I wasn’t sure how to respond, and Natasha said “he’s not an idiot” and I said “yeah…and I’ve been here before and I do have a degree in Russian studies…”
There were two girls riding horses down the sidewalk on my way back. It’s strange that I’m starting to get used to that. Last week coming home from class I saw a woman walking two ponies (as if they were dogs) that were about the size of Great Danes.
I made an account on “vkontakte” tonight. It’s basically the Russian version of face book, but I figured that while I’m making more Russian friends, it could be useful. Because I’ve had my regular face book set to Russian for a few months now, it’s really no different.
Tonight I finally met one of our suitemates- Nikita. He spent a year in an exchange program studying in America; in Arizona of all places. He is in his first year of studying English at СПБГУ. He seems like a decent enough guy.
This afternoon after class, I met up with Yulia, and her friend Natasha. The three of us had dinner, where we spent about an hour or two talking. Natasha is studying to be a tour guide with Yulia, and they invited me to go with them to their class this evening where they would be learning how to explain Spanish art to English speakers. They wanted me to come and critique their professor’s English, because they felt that she made a lot of mistakes. It was incredibly boring. Natasha’s English is really impressive. She speaks with an accent somewhere between British and Australian (she is trying for Australian) and makes very small mistakes. The professor, however, sounded like a robotic voice that you hear when you dial a wrong number. Her accent was somewhere between British and American, which just sounds strange, and her intonation was all over the place. I don’t think she said a single sentence with correct intonation, and she mispronounced a lot of words. For example, she taught the whole class how to properly pronounce “thistle” with a hard “T”. I basically sat there and passed notes back and forth with Natasha the entire time. Afterward, the three of us walked down Nevskii Prospect, and then I headed home. At one point, Yulia asked me if I’ve ever heard of Peter the Great. I wasn’t sure how to respond, and Natasha said “he’s not an idiot” and I said “yeah…and I’ve been here before and I do have a degree in Russian studies…”
There were two girls riding horses down the sidewalk on my way back. It’s strange that I’m starting to get used to that. Last week coming home from class I saw a woman walking two ponies (as if they were dogs) that were about the size of Great Danes.
I made an account on “vkontakte” tonight. It’s basically the Russian version of face book, but I figured that while I’m making more Russian friends, it could be useful. Because I’ve had my regular face book set to Russian for a few months now, it’s really no different.
Tonight I finally met one of our suitemates- Nikita. He spent a year in an exchange program studying in America; in Arizona of all places. He is in his first year of studying English at СПБГУ. He seems like a decent enough guy.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
9/10 February 2009
9 and 10 February 2009
In two parts because I was too tired last night to finish
9 February 2009…
I just got back from my first encounter with the St. Petersburg Hillel. I finally got my internet access today, and while I was on skype Irina sent me a message inviting me to come to their Tub’shvat ceremony. I wasn’t planning on going, but I realized I had nothing else to do and if the purpose of my trip is to study language and culture, I should probably do that. I ended up being late, because I forgot to wind my watch and it was a about 15 minutes slow. It was an interesting experience. They had all different kinds of fruit from Israel set out on the table, and Irina and Yana? (I’m not sure if I remember her name correctly) led the ceremony, talking about the purpose of the observance and the significance of respecting nature. They went around the table leading a discussion. The girls next to my let and I took turns asking each other how to say different kinds of fruits in each others language. I learned fig, apricot, and date. I’ve never eaten a fig that wasn’t dried before…it was a strange taste. It had the consistency of a tomato and wasn’t quite as sweet. It seemed nobody else had ever seen one before, and I demonstrated how to eat them. To end the ceremony, we watched a French movie dubbed in (British) English with Russian sub-titles about a man who dedicated his life to preserving and encouraging the spread of nature. It was interesting. Afterwards, I stuck around and spoke with some of the other students in the group. They were very nice, and invited me back. I think I will go on Thursday night to their “English Club” (basically their version of our “Russian Table” and perhaps go to Shabbat dinner as well. Anyway, I’m very tired, so I think I will go to sleep. I’ll write more tomorrow.
10 February 2009
I bought the rest of my textbooks today. Including two books I didn’t need (one was optional, the other was a book on improving intonation and eliminating a foreign accent) it came to a total of about $40. I think my cheapest semester at Delaware I paid around $280. I need to email Dr. Selimov later and ask him some cultural questions. For example: how to accept a compliment. Last night at the Hillel, I was talking to these two guys I met, Миша and Рома, and they asked me why I was in Russia. I explained to them the same story I’ve gotten used to repeating, which is that I majored in Political Science and Russian in my university, and that if I want to use Russian professionally, I need to be completely fluent, and I felt that the only way to really do that was to come to Russia. Рома told me that I seem to know how to speak already, and I said that I’m not fluent and I make a lot of mistakes. He said I have a very good accent, and I make less grammatical mistakes than most foreigners. I thanked him, and he seemed annoyed. He said I shouldn’t thank him because its true. That’s not the first time I’ve thanked someone for a compliment and gotten a similar response. I need to figure out the correct way to handle that kind of situation. I don’t want to seem arrogant and that I receive compliments all the time, but I feel like when I do receive one I should know what to do. Anyway, I started a second section because I thought I had a lot more to say, but now I’m not so sure. More next time I suppose.
In two parts because I was too tired last night to finish
9 February 2009…
I just got back from my first encounter with the St. Petersburg Hillel. I finally got my internet access today, and while I was on skype Irina sent me a message inviting me to come to their Tub’shvat ceremony. I wasn’t planning on going, but I realized I had nothing else to do and if the purpose of my trip is to study language and culture, I should probably do that. I ended up being late, because I forgot to wind my watch and it was a about 15 minutes slow. It was an interesting experience. They had all different kinds of fruit from Israel set out on the table, and Irina and Yana? (I’m not sure if I remember her name correctly) led the ceremony, talking about the purpose of the observance and the significance of respecting nature. They went around the table leading a discussion. The girls next to my let and I took turns asking each other how to say different kinds of fruits in each others language. I learned fig, apricot, and date. I’ve never eaten a fig that wasn’t dried before…it was a strange taste. It had the consistency of a tomato and wasn’t quite as sweet. It seemed nobody else had ever seen one before, and I demonstrated how to eat them. To end the ceremony, we watched a French movie dubbed in (British) English with Russian sub-titles about a man who dedicated his life to preserving and encouraging the spread of nature. It was interesting. Afterwards, I stuck around and spoke with some of the other students in the group. They were very nice, and invited me back. I think I will go on Thursday night to their “English Club” (basically their version of our “Russian Table” and perhaps go to Shabbat dinner as well. Anyway, I’m very tired, so I think I will go to sleep. I’ll write more tomorrow.
10 February 2009
I bought the rest of my textbooks today. Including two books I didn’t need (one was optional, the other was a book on improving intonation and eliminating a foreign accent) it came to a total of about $40. I think my cheapest semester at Delaware I paid around $280. I need to email Dr. Selimov later and ask him some cultural questions. For example: how to accept a compliment. Last night at the Hillel, I was talking to these two guys I met, Миша and Рома, and they asked me why I was in Russia. I explained to them the same story I’ve gotten used to repeating, which is that I majored in Political Science and Russian in my university, and that if I want to use Russian professionally, I need to be completely fluent, and I felt that the only way to really do that was to come to Russia. Рома told me that I seem to know how to speak already, and I said that I’m not fluent and I make a lot of mistakes. He said I have a very good accent, and I make less grammatical mistakes than most foreigners. I thanked him, and he seemed annoyed. He said I shouldn’t thank him because its true. That’s not the first time I’ve thanked someone for a compliment and gotten a similar response. I need to figure out the correct way to handle that kind of situation. I don’t want to seem arrogant and that I receive compliments all the time, but I feel like when I do receive one I should know what to do. Anyway, I started a second section because I thought I had a lot more to say, but now I’m not so sure. More next time I suppose.
Monday, February 9, 2009
7 February 2009
I had my first three classes this week. First days are tough, because I didn’t know what they were talking about when they went over homework or referenced previous classes. I think I was ok though. I particularly liked my literary language class (yesterday). We talked about Solzhenitsyn and read a short story he wrote. It reminded me of the classes I took at Delaware. My conversation class was ok, but not quite what I was expecting. She turned on a “Ну Пагоди!" cartoon (basically the Soviet “Tom and Jerry” and paused it every few seconds for us to provide commentary. It was fun, but very difficult. We went through two or three episodes.
As I said in my last entry, I’ve realized that I need to hear a lot more Russian Russian. I like talking with other students, but I need to hear more of the native tongue so I can get better at understanding what I’m hearing. Thus, I went with Valentin to the grocery store the other night (I didn’t need anything, but was really bored. However, I was very tempted to buy a bottle of champagne I found that cost the equivalent of about $1.10) and after he was done we went into the little movie store they had. They had movies that were still in theatres when I left the US. The kid working there was probably about 16 or 17, and kind of dumb. At one point when he was helping us find movies, he suggested ‘Tropic Thunder.’ I asked if it was good, and he said it was a really great movie, but he didn’t like it because the DVD was really bad quality… obviously he is quite the businessman. At one point, Valentin asked him a question, and he walked out from behind the register and across into the main store, leaving the drawer of the cash register open. When he came back, we told him and he didn’t seem like it was a big deal. He also didn’t notice when two little kids came in and stole DVDs, so Valentin told him and he took off after the mother. We each bought movies though, because it was incredibly cheap. I also bought a road map with a small map of the subway system thinking it would be useful to carry with me, but when I got home and opened it up (it had been sealed in plastic) I realized that one side is a map of the entire oblast, and the other is the city, and completely unfolded is about 3’x4’…way to big to open walking down the street.
Last night, on Valentin’s suggestion, the three of us had dinner all together. An made white rice and a potato dish, Valentin made fish, and I made pelmeni. Of course, we all ate with chopsticks. It was a good meal. Speaking of chopsticks, I’m fascinated watching An eat every night. The way he uses them is like an art. His fingers are so precise and nimble, and he uses them as if they were an extension of his hands.
While we were cleaning up, I heard music coming from outside, and An told me that every Friday night people sit in the stairwell and play music and sing. I was very interested (and I also want to make more Russian friends, particularly in the dorm where it gets very boring in the evenings) so I went outside to listen. There was one guy sitting with a guitar, and two girls. He was really good, and one of the girls sang along with him from time to time. When he finished a song, I said hello and introduced myself (their names were Maksim, Yulia, and Nastya). Maksim asked where I was from, and when I said America, he began to play and sing “This land is your land.” After that, he asked me about the Superbowl, went on to start playing some more American classics. When his phone rang and he had to run upstairs, Yulia sang Whitney Houston’s I will always love you. When she sang, she had almost no accent, but when she spoke it was really hard to understand her. I stayed with them for about a half hour, and then Maksim had to leave, and they invited me to join them for a cup of tea upstairs. I returned to the dorm room to clean the rest of my dishes, and then went up. It was a really interesting experience. Nastya and her roommate, Olya put out tea, cakes and chocolates and we all sat and talked until about one in the morning. As soon as I have internet access, I have to email Dr. Amert and Dr. Lehrman and tell them how much their classes helped me, and I used things I never thought I would need to know. Olya asked me if I’ve ever read any Russian poetry, and every time I started reciting one she finished it with me (just like Dr. Lehrman said). Later we started talking about politics, and thanks to Dr. Amert’s 401 course I was able to answer their questions about American government and explain the primary system to them. We talked about everything- literature, music, politics (Russian and American), languages (Nastya is a Belorussian studying French and English and Olya is a Ukrainian studying English and Italian) and I was even able to hear both of them recite poetry in their own languages.
I was really surprised at how well I was able to follow the conversation. From time to time Nastya asked me if I understood what was going on, and only two or three times the whole night I had to ask to have something explained to me. Unfortunately, as it started getting late, I became tired and I started becoming more difficult to understand, and when I answered questions I could feel my grammar and pronunciation slipping. They were getting tired too, so we all said goodnight. It was fun, and I hope to spend more time with them, and with Maksim as well.
I didn’t end up going to the English Club at the Hillel Thursday night.. I got an email from Irina a few hours before saying that it had been cancelled because there weren’t enough people going (it is still between semesters for the normal students, so there is hardly anyone here). I emailed her back and said that if she still wanted to get together, to give me a call. She didn’t call me until 7pm though, and I was in the grocery store with Valentin so I told her it was too late, because by the time I got back and figured out how to get there, it would be close to 9pm and I had class the next day. I emailed her later and told her that if she was free we could meet up sometime before Thursday. I haven’t checked my email since, but she hasn’t called either. Yulia Burmistrova called me as well and asked to meet up this Sunday around 4pm. I’m not sure what she has in mind, but she’s recently been licensed as a tour guide, so it should be interesting. As for today, I hope I can figure out something to do because I don’t want to spend my entire Saturday just sitting around.
As I said in my last entry, I’ve realized that I need to hear a lot more Russian Russian. I like talking with other students, but I need to hear more of the native tongue so I can get better at understanding what I’m hearing. Thus, I went with Valentin to the grocery store the other night (I didn’t need anything, but was really bored. However, I was very tempted to buy a bottle of champagne I found that cost the equivalent of about $1.10) and after he was done we went into the little movie store they had. They had movies that were still in theatres when I left the US. The kid working there was probably about 16 or 17, and kind of dumb. At one point when he was helping us find movies, he suggested ‘Tropic Thunder.’ I asked if it was good, and he said it was a really great movie, but he didn’t like it because the DVD was really bad quality… obviously he is quite the businessman. At one point, Valentin asked him a question, and he walked out from behind the register and across into the main store, leaving the drawer of the cash register open. When he came back, we told him and he didn’t seem like it was a big deal. He also didn’t notice when two little kids came in and stole DVDs, so Valentin told him and he took off after the mother. We each bought movies though, because it was incredibly cheap. I also bought a road map with a small map of the subway system thinking it would be useful to carry with me, but when I got home and opened it up (it had been sealed in plastic) I realized that one side is a map of the entire oblast, and the other is the city, and completely unfolded is about 3’x4’…way to big to open walking down the street.
Last night, on Valentin’s suggestion, the three of us had dinner all together. An made white rice and a potato dish, Valentin made fish, and I made pelmeni. Of course, we all ate with chopsticks. It was a good meal. Speaking of chopsticks, I’m fascinated watching An eat every night. The way he uses them is like an art. His fingers are so precise and nimble, and he uses them as if they were an extension of his hands.
While we were cleaning up, I heard music coming from outside, and An told me that every Friday night people sit in the stairwell and play music and sing. I was very interested (and I also want to make more Russian friends, particularly in the dorm where it gets very boring in the evenings) so I went outside to listen. There was one guy sitting with a guitar, and two girls. He was really good, and one of the girls sang along with him from time to time. When he finished a song, I said hello and introduced myself (their names were Maksim, Yulia, and Nastya). Maksim asked where I was from, and when I said America, he began to play and sing “This land is your land.” After that, he asked me about the Superbowl, went on to start playing some more American classics. When his phone rang and he had to run upstairs, Yulia sang Whitney Houston’s I will always love you. When she sang, she had almost no accent, but when she spoke it was really hard to understand her. I stayed with them for about a half hour, and then Maksim had to leave, and they invited me to join them for a cup of tea upstairs. I returned to the dorm room to clean the rest of my dishes, and then went up. It was a really interesting experience. Nastya and her roommate, Olya put out tea, cakes and chocolates and we all sat and talked until about one in the morning. As soon as I have internet access, I have to email Dr. Amert and Dr. Lehrman and tell them how much their classes helped me, and I used things I never thought I would need to know. Olya asked me if I’ve ever read any Russian poetry, and every time I started reciting one she finished it with me (just like Dr. Lehrman said). Later we started talking about politics, and thanks to Dr. Amert’s 401 course I was able to answer their questions about American government and explain the primary system to them. We talked about everything- literature, music, politics (Russian and American), languages (Nastya is a Belorussian studying French and English and Olya is a Ukrainian studying English and Italian) and I was even able to hear both of them recite poetry in their own languages.
I was really surprised at how well I was able to follow the conversation. From time to time Nastya asked me if I understood what was going on, and only two or three times the whole night I had to ask to have something explained to me. Unfortunately, as it started getting late, I became tired and I started becoming more difficult to understand, and when I answered questions I could feel my grammar and pronunciation slipping. They were getting tired too, so we all said goodnight. It was fun, and I hope to spend more time with them, and with Maksim as well.
I didn’t end up going to the English Club at the Hillel Thursday night.. I got an email from Irina a few hours before saying that it had been cancelled because there weren’t enough people going (it is still between semesters for the normal students, so there is hardly anyone here). I emailed her back and said that if she still wanted to get together, to give me a call. She didn’t call me until 7pm though, and I was in the grocery store with Valentin so I told her it was too late, because by the time I got back and figured out how to get there, it would be close to 9pm and I had class the next day. I emailed her later and told her that if she was free we could meet up sometime before Thursday. I haven’t checked my email since, but she hasn’t called either. Yulia Burmistrova called me as well and asked to meet up this Sunday around 4pm. I’m not sure what she has in mind, but she’s recently been licensed as a tour guide, so it should be interesting. As for today, I hope I can figure out something to do because I don’t want to spend my entire Saturday just sitting around.
4 February 2009
4 February 2009
Today was my first day of class- lexical studies. It could have gone better. I had first day jitters, and made a lot of mistakes. Also, because the consulate in New York spelled my name on my visa Дэвид instead of Давид like I’m used to, it ended up like that in my registration and on my student id and everywhere I sign anything I have to put that. As a result, in class today whenever the professor called my name I didn’t notice. I told her after class though, and she said she would be sure to use the form I prefer. The group I’m in is an interesting one. There is one other American, one person from Finland, three people from Taiwan, and six or seven people from China. It reminds me of the ELI at UD, but instead of huge masses of people from Korea and Turkey, the majority here is China and Taiwan. Just like at UD, they tend to stick together and whenever they aren’t answering someone directly always speak in their native language (Chinese). I understand wanting to speak in your own tongue, but I feel that that isn’t really helpful. I know I saw friends in the ELI who were on both sides, and the ones who were disciplined enough (Julien) to speak in the language they were studying as much as possible were the ones who were most successful. Following his example, I’ve more or less refused to speak English outside of talking to people from home and this log. I met people from England today and responded to all their questions in Russian, refusing to switch my thinking. I’ve noticed that my Russian verbal abilities are very unbalanced. From my studies combined with the short time I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to the point where I can more or less say anything that’s on my mind…but I have trouble understanding everything I hear. I think the reason is that while I have had a lot of practice speaking, it is usually with other students of Russian, so we are both speaking slowly. I need more interaction with native speakers, so I have started watching TV (we have one in our room, and there is one in the café downstairs) and I am going to meet up with Вова this weekend, as well as go to my first meeting at the StPb Hillel tomorrow night. I told Valentin about it, and invited him to go along with me for their “English Table” (I know I don’t want to speak English, but if I am going to make Russian friends I suppose an hour a week is a sacrifice I’ll have to make). I know Valentin isn’t Jewish, but he speaks English fairly well, and he’s as bored out of his mind sitting around the dorm room as I am. Today after I got back from class An took a nap, and I was so bored I went to the store in the next building and walked around for a while, bought a can-opener and some tomato sauce (which was terrible, by the way- I don’t care if they are closer to Italy, Russians do not understand Italian food) and had a conversation with two shop-keeps at a video store, eventually buying a cheap Russian DVD to watch later. I then came back and walked up and down the stairs of the building three times (I live on the 17th floor) and then sat in the café and watched the news for a while. When I left I bought an iced cream. For some reason I don’t get sick from Russian iced cream. Plus, I figure if you have to walk 34 flights of stairs to get it, you’re no longer a fatty (or perhaps it’s the other way around?).
I signed up and paid for internet today. Unfortunately because of volume, I won’t have access until at least Friday, probably Monday. I’m looking forward to finally being able to have access to my email without having to borrow An’s computer every night while he cooks dinner. I don’t like sitting at his desk, because with the way our room is set up, we each have a desk, a bed, and a bookshelf, while the kitchen is just a sink, electric stove, and small dorm refrigerator. There is nowhere to eat, so when he finishes cooking he needs to sit at his desk to have dinner. No matter where I am in an email, every time I hear the door between the kitchen and bedroom open I end it quickly so that I won’t hold him up. Every time I apologize and tell him I’m finishing up. It isn’t all bad though. Since I’ve been sitting at my computer bored without internet, I’ve become a master at 3D pinball.
Anyway…that’s pretty much it. I finally have all my documents in order, other than picking up my copy of my registration on Friday and making the last two payments on my tuition, so after my first (and hopefully only) freak-out the other day, I am feeling much better.
Today was my first day of class- lexical studies. It could have gone better. I had first day jitters, and made a lot of mistakes. Also, because the consulate in New York spelled my name on my visa Дэвид instead of Давид like I’m used to, it ended up like that in my registration and on my student id and everywhere I sign anything I have to put that. As a result, in class today whenever the professor called my name I didn’t notice. I told her after class though, and she said she would be sure to use the form I prefer. The group I’m in is an interesting one. There is one other American, one person from Finland, three people from Taiwan, and six or seven people from China. It reminds me of the ELI at UD, but instead of huge masses of people from Korea and Turkey, the majority here is China and Taiwan. Just like at UD, they tend to stick together and whenever they aren’t answering someone directly always speak in their native language (Chinese). I understand wanting to speak in your own tongue, but I feel that that isn’t really helpful. I know I saw friends in the ELI who were on both sides, and the ones who were disciplined enough (Julien) to speak in the language they were studying as much as possible were the ones who were most successful. Following his example, I’ve more or less refused to speak English outside of talking to people from home and this log. I met people from England today and responded to all their questions in Russian, refusing to switch my thinking. I’ve noticed that my Russian verbal abilities are very unbalanced. From my studies combined with the short time I’ve been here, I’ve gotten to the point where I can more or less say anything that’s on my mind…but I have trouble understanding everything I hear. I think the reason is that while I have had a lot of practice speaking, it is usually with other students of Russian, so we are both speaking slowly. I need more interaction with native speakers, so I have started watching TV (we have one in our room, and there is one in the café downstairs) and I am going to meet up with Вова this weekend, as well as go to my first meeting at the StPb Hillel tomorrow night. I told Valentin about it, and invited him to go along with me for their “English Table” (I know I don’t want to speak English, but if I am going to make Russian friends I suppose an hour a week is a sacrifice I’ll have to make). I know Valentin isn’t Jewish, but he speaks English fairly well, and he’s as bored out of his mind sitting around the dorm room as I am. Today after I got back from class An took a nap, and I was so bored I went to the store in the next building and walked around for a while, bought a can-opener and some tomato sauce (which was terrible, by the way- I don’t care if they are closer to Italy, Russians do not understand Italian food) and had a conversation with two shop-keeps at a video store, eventually buying a cheap Russian DVD to watch later. I then came back and walked up and down the stairs of the building three times (I live on the 17th floor) and then sat in the café and watched the news for a while. When I left I bought an iced cream. For some reason I don’t get sick from Russian iced cream. Plus, I figure if you have to walk 34 flights of stairs to get it, you’re no longer a fatty (or perhaps it’s the other way around?).
I signed up and paid for internet today. Unfortunately because of volume, I won’t have access until at least Friday, probably Monday. I’m looking forward to finally being able to have access to my email without having to borrow An’s computer every night while he cooks dinner. I don’t like sitting at his desk, because with the way our room is set up, we each have a desk, a bed, and a bookshelf, while the kitchen is just a sink, electric stove, and small dorm refrigerator. There is nowhere to eat, so when he finishes cooking he needs to sit at his desk to have dinner. No matter where I am in an email, every time I hear the door between the kitchen and bedroom open I end it quickly so that I won’t hold him up. Every time I apologize and tell him I’m finishing up. It isn’t all bad though. Since I’ve been sitting at my computer bored without internet, I’ve become a master at 3D pinball.
Anyway…that’s pretty much it. I finally have all my documents in order, other than picking up my copy of my registration on Friday and making the last two payments on my tuition, so after my first (and hopefully only) freak-out the other day, I am feeling much better.
1 February 2009
1 February 2009
I slept much better than I thought I would last night. I used the night-shade Mom gave me, and as soon as the lights went out I fell asleep. This morning An took me to a bank to exchange some money. The bank was closed (its Sunday) but I was able to take some money out of the ATM. I almost had a heart attack when it came out, because it showed me my balance in dollars without a $, so I assumed the number was in rubles, which would have meant that somehow I had nearly depleted my savings. Fortunately, I did a balance check and it gave me the amount in dollars (it was a Citibank ATM, not a Russian bank). After that, he took me to a supermarket to buy some groceries. I was able to get a lot; the only thing I couldn’t find was some kind of tomato sauce for pasta. I asked him where to find it, and he brought me to the ketchup. When I told him by tomato sauce I meant for pasta, he wasn’t sure what I meant. #1, here ketchup is called ‘tomato sauce’ and #2 when I asked what he uses on his pasta, he said ketchup. So I bought the pasta and will figure out what to do with it. I was worried that I spent too much, until I went by a sign outside a currency exchange and realized that what I thought was significantly overspending for my first time in a market was really only about $16. The only thing I forgot to buy was a power-strip…we have 3 outlets in the bedroom, and the one next to my desk is used for the TV. Also, for some reason the prongs on my adapter are too thick for the outlet, and don’t fit, so I have my adapter going into one of An’s adapters, because I needed a 3-pronged outlet for my laptop.
I think living here will go well. I am certainly getting along very well with my roommates. Last night they gave me their apartment rules which were certainly reasonable- clean dishes after using them, no shoes in the apartment (but wear something clean on your feet (so Dr. Selimov was right about getting slippers after all)), contribute to communal things, and keep the apartment clean. They told me they will respect my wishes to speak only in Russian. I think until I moved in they generally spoke in English, and I hear them speak in English when I am not in the room with them, but even though it hit me hard when I first showed up, I am starting to like the fact that the only English I have is when I answer my email and when I write this log.
Just after I got back from the market, I got a call from Vova. He invited me out, and about an hour later he showed up with Vanya, another friend of his. They took me on a brief tour, and then we stopped for dinner at a Subway. After that, we went all over the city, pulling over from time to time to walk around while they gave me historical accounts of various landmarks. We went to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Church of Spilled Blood, this giant ship designed as a replica of the warships used by the Vikings (which houses a restaurant), a battleship-turned-museum that was used in both world war I and the Russian revolutionary war, Kazanskii Cathedral, down Nevskii Prospect, a mosque and we ended up at SPB, a pub. I tried a drink called Морс, or “mors.” It was strange. It was a non-alcoholic fruit drink that tasted kind of like Hi-C, but they told me that it was very rich in vitamins. I suppose it was just a mix of some very sweet fruit juices. It came in a small glass, just barely bigger than a shot glass. They taught me a lot of interesting things about Russian culture. The Russians have a lot of pride in their history. They knew the dates and significance of every building, they told me stories about Peter the Great, and explained anything to me that I didn’t understand. That of course made me feel great, because I had very little trouble understanding them (so far I’ve heard Vova say three words: beer, food, and ship). Vanya was very nice as well. They let me sit in the front seat of the car, an Alfa Romero that Vova told me belongs to a friend of his, and I am assuming it is Vanya’s. At first, I thought he was reckless, but then I realized he may be the best driver I have ever met. When we got to the pub, he drove past a spot, and then drove about 40 meters in reverse at about 25 miles per hour and parallel parked in one move into a spot that gave him about an extra meter in front and back. He drove like he was in a James Bond movie, flying around pedestrians and other cars. Speaking of, I’m starting to think there are virtually no laws when it comes to driving in Russia.
They also took me to put some money on my phone, as well as to a currency exchange to change over the American cash I had left in my wallet. I should have changed over the American money I have in my belt, but I didn’t want to just walk into a building, lift up my shirt, and pull out a wad of cash. I will try and go back tomorrow morning before I go to the university. If not, I have enough already to pay for the first month of housing, my documents, and at least one week of tuition, if not two. When I change over the rest of my cash I can pay for the rest of the month of tuition. When I stopped into the currency exchange, it was 35.16 rubles to the dollar. Unbelievable! That’s almost ten rubles to the dollar more than the highest amount I saw my entire last trip! I know that its bad for the Russian economy, but I am not going to complain.
Vova and Vanya were asking me questions to compare the effects of the economic crisis in America and Russia. I told them how surprised I was at the costs of fruits and vegetables in the grocery store. They told me that the reason is that they can only get domestic vegetables in the summer because of the extreme climate, so they import the majority of their fruits from Israel, as well as various countries across western Europe (in the store I saw signs for fruits and vegetables from France). Prices certainly rise in the US when the weather changes, but at least we can still grow some things in the south, and it isn’t particularly difficult for us to import from South America.
I think the most incredible thing I saw tonight on my tour was the Neva. I’ve never seen water frozen so thick. In some areas, you can even see waves and ripples frozen across the surface. It looks like a car could drive off the road and not break through. It was really some sight.
Well, that’s about all I have for tonight. Hopefully I will receive internet access tomorrow, and then I can begin posting these somewhere.
Oh, and I asked Valentin about the entrance exam. He told me that it is optional. Apparently, if you don’t want to take the exam, you can just tell them what level you want to enter, and they will place you there. If it doesn’t work out, they will move you. I’m not sure what I will do. After only a day and a half, I can already feel an extreme improvement in my Russian, but I suppose I’ll just see what happens.
I slept much better than I thought I would last night. I used the night-shade Mom gave me, and as soon as the lights went out I fell asleep. This morning An took me to a bank to exchange some money. The bank was closed (its Sunday) but I was able to take some money out of the ATM. I almost had a heart attack when it came out, because it showed me my balance in dollars without a $, so I assumed the number was in rubles, which would have meant that somehow I had nearly depleted my savings. Fortunately, I did a balance check and it gave me the amount in dollars (it was a Citibank ATM, not a Russian bank). After that, he took me to a supermarket to buy some groceries. I was able to get a lot; the only thing I couldn’t find was some kind of tomato sauce for pasta. I asked him where to find it, and he brought me to the ketchup. When I told him by tomato sauce I meant for pasta, he wasn’t sure what I meant. #1, here ketchup is called ‘tomato sauce’ and #2 when I asked what he uses on his pasta, he said ketchup. So I bought the pasta and will figure out what to do with it. I was worried that I spent too much, until I went by a sign outside a currency exchange and realized that what I thought was significantly overspending for my first time in a market was really only about $16. The only thing I forgot to buy was a power-strip…we have 3 outlets in the bedroom, and the one next to my desk is used for the TV. Also, for some reason the prongs on my adapter are too thick for the outlet, and don’t fit, so I have my adapter going into one of An’s adapters, because I needed a 3-pronged outlet for my laptop.
I think living here will go well. I am certainly getting along very well with my roommates. Last night they gave me their apartment rules which were certainly reasonable- clean dishes after using them, no shoes in the apartment (but wear something clean on your feet (so Dr. Selimov was right about getting slippers after all)), contribute to communal things, and keep the apartment clean. They told me they will respect my wishes to speak only in Russian. I think until I moved in they generally spoke in English, and I hear them speak in English when I am not in the room with them, but even though it hit me hard when I first showed up, I am starting to like the fact that the only English I have is when I answer my email and when I write this log.
Just after I got back from the market, I got a call from Vova. He invited me out, and about an hour later he showed up with Vanya, another friend of his. They took me on a brief tour, and then we stopped for dinner at a Subway. After that, we went all over the city, pulling over from time to time to walk around while they gave me historical accounts of various landmarks. We went to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Church of Spilled Blood, this giant ship designed as a replica of the warships used by the Vikings (which houses a restaurant), a battleship-turned-museum that was used in both world war I and the Russian revolutionary war, Kazanskii Cathedral, down Nevskii Prospect, a mosque and we ended up at SPB, a pub. I tried a drink called Морс, or “mors.” It was strange. It was a non-alcoholic fruit drink that tasted kind of like Hi-C, but they told me that it was very rich in vitamins. I suppose it was just a mix of some very sweet fruit juices. It came in a small glass, just barely bigger than a shot glass. They taught me a lot of interesting things about Russian culture. The Russians have a lot of pride in their history. They knew the dates and significance of every building, they told me stories about Peter the Great, and explained anything to me that I didn’t understand. That of course made me feel great, because I had very little trouble understanding them (so far I’ve heard Vova say three words: beer, food, and ship). Vanya was very nice as well. They let me sit in the front seat of the car, an Alfa Romero that Vova told me belongs to a friend of his, and I am assuming it is Vanya’s. At first, I thought he was reckless, but then I realized he may be the best driver I have ever met. When we got to the pub, he drove past a spot, and then drove about 40 meters in reverse at about 25 miles per hour and parallel parked in one move into a spot that gave him about an extra meter in front and back. He drove like he was in a James Bond movie, flying around pedestrians and other cars. Speaking of, I’m starting to think there are virtually no laws when it comes to driving in Russia.
They also took me to put some money on my phone, as well as to a currency exchange to change over the American cash I had left in my wallet. I should have changed over the American money I have in my belt, but I didn’t want to just walk into a building, lift up my shirt, and pull out a wad of cash. I will try and go back tomorrow morning before I go to the university. If not, I have enough already to pay for the first month of housing, my documents, and at least one week of tuition, if not two. When I change over the rest of my cash I can pay for the rest of the month of tuition. When I stopped into the currency exchange, it was 35.16 rubles to the dollar. Unbelievable! That’s almost ten rubles to the dollar more than the highest amount I saw my entire last trip! I know that its bad for the Russian economy, but I am not going to complain.
Vova and Vanya were asking me questions to compare the effects of the economic crisis in America and Russia. I told them how surprised I was at the costs of fruits and vegetables in the grocery store. They told me that the reason is that they can only get domestic vegetables in the summer because of the extreme climate, so they import the majority of their fruits from Israel, as well as various countries across western Europe (in the store I saw signs for fruits and vegetables from France). Prices certainly rise in the US when the weather changes, but at least we can still grow some things in the south, and it isn’t particularly difficult for us to import from South America.
I think the most incredible thing I saw tonight on my tour was the Neva. I’ve never seen water frozen so thick. In some areas, you can even see waves and ripples frozen across the surface. It looks like a car could drive off the road and not break through. It was really some sight.
Well, that’s about all I have for tonight. Hopefully I will receive internet access tomorrow, and then I can begin posting these somewhere.
Oh, and I asked Valentin about the entrance exam. He told me that it is optional. Apparently, if you don’t want to take the exam, you can just tell them what level you want to enter, and they will place you there. If it doesn’t work out, they will move you. I’m not sure what I will do. After only a day and a half, I can already feel an extreme improvement in my Russian, but I suppose I’ll just see what happens.
31 January 2009
31 January 2009
Just settling into my new dorm room. I have two roommates, “An” from Taiwan (shortened from something i'll have to learn to pronounce), and Valentin from Romania. It was a longgggg trip (behind schedule on every leg). I tried watching a movie en route to Germany (there were screens on the chairs in front of us) but it didn’t work out. I started feeling sick, but fortunately one of the flight attendants walking by noticed that I looked pale, and got me a pill for motion sickness and some water. It knocked me right out and I slept almost the entire rest of the flight. When I got to Frankfurt, I couldn’t believe how expensive everything was. I know airport goods and services are overpriced, but it was ridiculous. I exchanged for just 10 euros to cover me for something to eat while I waited. I got tired of sitting around though, so I watched a movie on my laptop. I couldn’t get internet connection. They had a WiFi available, but it was something like 20 euros just for a one day pass. I didn’t have any further problems. I suppose I had a sort of a German culture shock, if you could call it that. In my six hours sitting at the airport, both times I went into the men’s room there were women inside cleaning the floor around the urinals while the bathroom was still open and there were other men inside. I guess it isn’t a big deal; it’s just not something I’m used to. Got on the connecting flight ok, but it was not the plane that was shown on the Lufthansa website. It was the smallest plane I’ve ever been on; six small chairs across, with curtains to divide the sections, and forget a movie, there weren’t even headphone jacks. It was the most boring plane ride of my life. I slept through some of it.
When I got to the airport, I was a little worried because I didn’t know if Olga’s boyfriend was planning on meeting me there or expecting me to call him. I didn’t know what he looked like, as I only met him the day before and at the last minute sent him a picture of me as I was packing up my computer to get ready to leave. Fortunately, as I walked through customs a guy walked up to me and introduced himself. He was incredibly helpful. He took me to a store where I was able to get a sim card (three, actually, because it was some new years promotion), shaving cream, and a new phone card. Then he took me back to the dorm, where he helped me figure out the entry process. The woman behind the desk wasn’t expecting me, and didn’t know who I was. He spoke with her, and she made some phone calls and found keys for me. I told her I didn’t have any rubles, and she took a twenty dollar bill in exchange for my keys. After dropping off my bag, he took me out to dinner. He didn’t know where there would be a currency exchange, so he paid for everything and said I could just pay him back next time we meet up.
I think I will get along very well with my new roommates. They both speak English, but we are really only speaking Russian. Вова (Olga’s boyfriend) didn’t speak a word of English. It hit me rather hard, because I realized that this is going to be a much more difficult trip than I had previously expected. I have a lot more respect for the ELI students now- especially Julien, Olga and Dinara, who came completely on their own.
I need to go out tomorrow and get a bunch of things for my room- hangers, a power strip (we have two outlets in the entire room for three people), and see what else I need. An said he would take me to the university technician to set up my internet. There is WiFi in the dorm room, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m having trouble figuring out this cell phone, but I’ll get it.
Anyway, that’s about everything. I need to get back to unpacking.
Just settling into my new dorm room. I have two roommates, “An” from Taiwan (shortened from something i'll have to learn to pronounce), and Valentin from Romania. It was a longgggg trip (behind schedule on every leg). I tried watching a movie en route to Germany (there were screens on the chairs in front of us) but it didn’t work out. I started feeling sick, but fortunately one of the flight attendants walking by noticed that I looked pale, and got me a pill for motion sickness and some water. It knocked me right out and I slept almost the entire rest of the flight. When I got to Frankfurt, I couldn’t believe how expensive everything was. I know airport goods and services are overpriced, but it was ridiculous. I exchanged for just 10 euros to cover me for something to eat while I waited. I got tired of sitting around though, so I watched a movie on my laptop. I couldn’t get internet connection. They had a WiFi available, but it was something like 20 euros just for a one day pass. I didn’t have any further problems. I suppose I had a sort of a German culture shock, if you could call it that. In my six hours sitting at the airport, both times I went into the men’s room there were women inside cleaning the floor around the urinals while the bathroom was still open and there were other men inside. I guess it isn’t a big deal; it’s just not something I’m used to. Got on the connecting flight ok, but it was not the plane that was shown on the Lufthansa website. It was the smallest plane I’ve ever been on; six small chairs across, with curtains to divide the sections, and forget a movie, there weren’t even headphone jacks. It was the most boring plane ride of my life. I slept through some of it.
When I got to the airport, I was a little worried because I didn’t know if Olga’s boyfriend was planning on meeting me there or expecting me to call him. I didn’t know what he looked like, as I only met him the day before and at the last minute sent him a picture of me as I was packing up my computer to get ready to leave. Fortunately, as I walked through customs a guy walked up to me and introduced himself. He was incredibly helpful. He took me to a store where I was able to get a sim card (three, actually, because it was some new years promotion), shaving cream, and a new phone card. Then he took me back to the dorm, where he helped me figure out the entry process. The woman behind the desk wasn’t expecting me, and didn’t know who I was. He spoke with her, and she made some phone calls and found keys for me. I told her I didn’t have any rubles, and she took a twenty dollar bill in exchange for my keys. After dropping off my bag, he took me out to dinner. He didn’t know where there would be a currency exchange, so he paid for everything and said I could just pay him back next time we meet up.
I think I will get along very well with my new roommates. They both speak English, but we are really only speaking Russian. Вова (Olga’s boyfriend) didn’t speak a word of English. It hit me rather hard, because I realized that this is going to be a much more difficult trip than I had previously expected. I have a lot more respect for the ELI students now- especially Julien, Olga and Dinara, who came completely on their own.
I need to go out tomorrow and get a bunch of things for my room- hangers, a power strip (we have two outlets in the entire room for three people), and see what else I need. An said he would take me to the university technician to set up my internet. There is WiFi in the dorm room, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m having trouble figuring out this cell phone, but I’ll get it.
Anyway, that’s about everything. I need to get back to unpacking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
