10 March 2009

I went last night to the synagogue for a youth Purim party. I guess I had an alright time. I definitely prefer going to events at the Hillel. I have friends in both places, but I feel that the Hillel is a much warmer and more welcoming environment, where it is easy to just show up and make friends. The youth programs at the synagogue remind me of Temple Emanuel, where if you don’t go every week to every single event you don’t belong. I always feel like such a stranger there.
It was a costume party (the theme was come as your favorite movie or cartoon character) and with no material and not wanting to go out and spend a lot of money, I decided to go as a stereotypical American tourist. I wore my bright yellow swim trunks with orange flowers, knee-high blue socks, sneakers, sunglasses on my head, a t-shirt that had some pictures of famous St. Petersburg sights (the only thing I bought, it cost about 6$. I figured what could be more American than going to a foreign country and buying souvenirs in your own language?), and I carried my backpack with my camera and giant map hanging from the sides. I only knew about four people there, though, and there were easily over a hundred. I squeezed into a seat between two people I didn’t know, and basically spent the first two hours by myself. I had a nice dinner though… afterwards I was able to meet up with Roma and had a good time.
One thing I couldn’t believe though…when they were setting up the tables they brought in box after box of liquor…and it ALL went. They must have gone through, I don’t know, forty to fifty bottles of whiskey (and there was also two different kinds of vodka). The liquor went faster than a fraternity party, but unlike a frat party, the Russians actually hold their liquor…a LOT of liquor. I don’t think he was actually drunk, but Roma put his arm around me and led me around telling people in English in a really thick Russian accent (he doesn’t usually have a Russian accent…he certainly speaks with one, but its not the typical Russian accent. It sounds more Israeli really) that we were twin brothers (he’s about 6’4, skinny, very white, and has long black curly hair) separated at birth and that we were headed back to America as soon as I learned English and got him an American visa.
Yesterday afternoon (before the party) I went out for a bit, and when I got back to the dorm An was standing in the middle of the room, and he told me he had very sad news, and his voice was cracking like he was on the verge of tears. I assumed the worst, and expected to hear that Valentin was hit by a bus or something…but it turned out that the power cord to his laptop had torn and his computer ran out of battery… I asked him why he didn’t just go buy a new one, and he told me that he couldn’t because it was specifically for his computer. I guess he thought they only make Sony Vaios in a few places. I gave him the address of the store where I bought my Ethernet cable and told him to bring his cord with him. When I got home today, he had a new one and was in a great mood.
Today I went for a blood test at the university clinic, because in order to apply for my extended multi-entry visa I need proof of an HIV test within 2 months of application, and the one I took to get my first visa was back in November. When I was in the examining room, the nurse stood on my right side and with her left hand demonstrated making a fist while telling me to do so. Without thinking, I started clenching my left fist, and she just laughed and told me wrong hand. When she started swabbing my arm with the alcohol, I turned away because I don’t like to watch people stick needles in me, and I think she thought I was scared because she told me in the diminutive like I was a little kid that everything would be ok in just another moment, and then sang to me while she put the needle in and walked me out.
I read in the news yesterday that an American science ship was traveling through international waters off the coast of China, and some Chinese boats started harassing the Americans by throwing blocks of wood at the ship’s engine, trying to detach the equipment being towed by the ship and cutting off their path, forcing the boat to come to an emergency stop. The American press claims they were being severely harassed in international waters, the Chinese claim the Americans were trespassing in Chinese territory. During our break today I turned to Tana, this girl in our group from China and asked her if she knew anything about it because I was curious what the Chinese news would say. She hadn’t heard about it, and I explained it to her. She told me she didn’t believe it was true, and said that the American news is not dependable. I couldn’t believe I was hearing that from someone from China! I basically said that to her, and she asked what I meant, so I told her about the American journalists denied internet access at the 2008 Olympic games (she hadn’t heard about it). She also didn’t know about all of the American protests against participating in the Olympic games in China. It was very interesting to me to hear someone from a country that has such heavy restrictions on their media tell me that I shouldn’t trust my news. I discussed it with Sarah Chehab, and she said that likely the citizenry aren’t even aware of it, and even if my country places bias on our news at least as in America I can seek alternative news sources.