Well, I’m in my new apartment (tapping into a wireless signal I found. Olga’s son brought over a modem, but I have to go buy an internet calling card in order to use it, and even then it’s through the phone and restricted). The trip getting here was a long one. After about an hour of filling out paperwork and walking around handing in forms from my arrival and getting deposits back, we finally headed out. An and Valentin offered to help me with the move, which was great because I couldn’t have done it in one trip alone. It wasn’t that I had a lot of stuff, but I was really lazy with the packing and ended up with my big duffle bag, my backpack, my little duffle bag, and a shopping bag full of books. In all honesty I could have gone without the little duffle bag…but it was just easier to have a bunch of light things. Because of how long it the exit process took, we left in the middle of rush hour, and it took us over an hour to get door to door by bus. It turns out that the army doctor left (it was very confusing how she explained it…it seems like she herself isn’t exactly sure what happened, but he left a lot of things behind) and his room is now available…which I took. It’s a little smaller than the room I was originally going to take, but this room is my room, instead of my room shared with the living room. The bedroom is about the same size as the dorm room that An, Valentin and I were sharing…except its mine. I have a full-sized bed (which I’ve never had before), a large wardrobe, a large bookshelf (she has more books than I could ever thing a person living alone could have), a table to work at, and a huge window. I can’t even compare this to the dorm.
It was a little depressing leaving. I only lived there for three months, but it was the first time I ever shared a room with anyone, so it felt like I was with An and Valentin a lot longer. On the way out we were talking about when I first showed up. An and I talked about how it took me three days to learn his name, and Valentin brought up how when I told him that I was colorblind, he put his arm in the air and asked if I could tell how many fingers he was holding up. They both agreed that they don’t want a new roommate. Of course, they also said they didn’t want me, and Valentin didn’t want An. An doesn’t think they will get anyone else before they leave because the semester is ending soon…but I disagree.
When we got here, Olga was more than hospitable. We put my things down in my room, and she invited us into the kitchen where she put had already set a table, and served us a salad from fish and beets, kasha with mushrooms, tea and bread with homemade preserves from a berry I forgot the name of, but one that we don’t have in the United States. She told us she doesn’t have guests often, and was very excited to have all of us. It was a very nice time. She told us stories and asked us about ourselves, and in the end even sent a jar of preserves home with Valentin and An. I called Vera earlier, and she told me to come over around 8:30 tomorrow. I agreed, and later realized that I am going to English Club tomorrow, so I will have to call her tomorrow afternoon and tell her I can’t make it. Olga has been great. She keeps telling me over and over that I need to start feeling at home.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
27 April 2009
Well, I move on Wednesday. I spoke to Olga today, and I’m going to go over Wednesday afternoon and move my stuff. An offered to help me, so one trip should be all I need. Without my winter clothing I don’t have all that much, but I have a reasonable amount of books. Speaking of- I went with Kristina this weekend to a used book store where I found a book with George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm in one! Recently I had been wondering if Animal Farm had ever made it to the Soviet Union in translation, and it seems that it did. It is rather interesting, however, that while 1984 is credited as a novel, Animal Farm (translated as “The Beastly Court”) is a ‘fairy tale’ and is only about 70 pages long. I’m looking forward to reading it. As I won’t have internet in my new apartment, I should be able to get a lot of reading done.
Today in conversation class, we concluded our topic from last week, ‘superstition’. Our homework had been to write and speak about a superstition either from our native country or that we learned about in Russia that we consider the most ridiculous. When our professor got to the Chinese kid I spoke about last time (Dzin Bin maybe? I’m never really sure about his name) he told us that he didn’t do the correct assignment, and rather thought the assignment was to write about whether we would prefer to stay in our home country or live in Russia (?). He then read us a really lengthy, confusing essay about why he loves China and why it’s the best place in the world, so much better than any of our countries. It was really uncomfortable for all the non-Chinese people in the room (including the professor). It was a fun class. I’m not quite sure why, but the professor asked me a LOT of questions. I don’t know if she was interested in the American perspective or just mine, but every time she asked a question it would be “and how are things in China? And in America? And in Italy? And in America? And in Austria? And in America? America? America?” I didn’t mind. It’s a conversation class, and I talk a lot.
This weekend my friend Magalee from Belgium joined me for tea. She brought me Belgium chocolate which was incredible. She is in my conversation class, and she said last week I surprised her by speaking counter to the stereotypes she had of Americans. I responded by telling her that by showing up with chocolate she fit my Belgian stereotype perfectly.
Friday after class I walked to the main campus with Johann, the new student in our group. He’s from Finland, and has apparently lived in the city for three years already for work. I don’t really understand…he said he has an apartment in France, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki, and that he has also lived in Switzerland and Germany which sounds pretty incredible. He works for a company that builds/designs (I didn’t quite understand) cruise ships. He said his wife doesn’t like St. Petersburg, and moved back to Helsinki. He said it’s a six hour bus ride, which according to him isn’t too bad. I feel that would be very difficult. I think its amazing that he has apartments all over Europe, but I cant imagine living so far apart for three years. I feel like at that point either they would have to compromise or he’d have to make some career changes. If he has apartments all over Europe, he is probably doing fairly well in the company and I would think he could probably decide where he wants to live. Either way, he’s a very nice man and was good company on the walk to the main building.
I was supposed to go to the movies with Vova tonight, but he called and cancelled this afternoon (again). I think this is the third time he’s cancelled on going to the movies. I think in general every time we make plans we have to change them a few times before we actually meet up. I don’t know if that means he’s really busy or just bad at making plans.
Today in conversation class, we concluded our topic from last week, ‘superstition’. Our homework had been to write and speak about a superstition either from our native country or that we learned about in Russia that we consider the most ridiculous. When our professor got to the Chinese kid I spoke about last time (Dzin Bin maybe? I’m never really sure about his name) he told us that he didn’t do the correct assignment, and rather thought the assignment was to write about whether we would prefer to stay in our home country or live in Russia (?). He then read us a really lengthy, confusing essay about why he loves China and why it’s the best place in the world, so much better than any of our countries. It was really uncomfortable for all the non-Chinese people in the room (including the professor). It was a fun class. I’m not quite sure why, but the professor asked me a LOT of questions. I don’t know if she was interested in the American perspective or just mine, but every time she asked a question it would be “and how are things in China? And in America? And in Italy? And in America? And in Austria? And in America? America? America?” I didn’t mind. It’s a conversation class, and I talk a lot.
This weekend my friend Magalee from Belgium joined me for tea. She brought me Belgium chocolate which was incredible. She is in my conversation class, and she said last week I surprised her by speaking counter to the stereotypes she had of Americans. I responded by telling her that by showing up with chocolate she fit my Belgian stereotype perfectly.
Friday after class I walked to the main campus with Johann, the new student in our group. He’s from Finland, and has apparently lived in the city for three years already for work. I don’t really understand…he said he has an apartment in France, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki, and that he has also lived in Switzerland and Germany which sounds pretty incredible. He works for a company that builds/designs (I didn’t quite understand) cruise ships. He said his wife doesn’t like St. Petersburg, and moved back to Helsinki. He said it’s a six hour bus ride, which according to him isn’t too bad. I feel that would be very difficult. I think its amazing that he has apartments all over Europe, but I cant imagine living so far apart for three years. I feel like at that point either they would have to compromise or he’d have to make some career changes. If he has apartments all over Europe, he is probably doing fairly well in the company and I would think he could probably decide where he wants to live. Either way, he’s a very nice man and was good company on the walk to the main building.
I was supposed to go to the movies with Vova tonight, but he called and cancelled this afternoon (again). I think this is the third time he’s cancelled on going to the movies. I think in general every time we make plans we have to change them a few times before we actually meet up. I don’t know if that means he’s really busy or just bad at making plans.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
21 April 2009
I mailed my winter clothing home today. It wasn’t cheap, but it was still less and lighter than I was expecting. I was able to get about
I finally got my registration for my visa today. When the first woman was making a photocopy, she asked me about going to Poland. I told her that the plans have changed, and I am no longer leaving tomorrow…to put it lightly she didn’t take it well. She started yelling at me for lying to her, and then went out of the room. A second woman came in (the one who I always see yelling at foreigners in the visa department) and asked me why I’m not going to Poland. I told her that I had been planning on it, but I was just told that the plans had changed. She then said a lot of words that I don’t think I’ll learn at the university…in class, anyway. She said she had already written some ministry and said that I was leaving the country and that now she’d have to do everything all over again. I really didn’t see a lot of options, so I just calmly apologized and said that it wasn’t my decision to change the plans. She calmed down, crossed off the dates of departure on the registration, signed it, and gave it to me. I don’t really get what the big deal was…but I apologized again and left. To be fair, I knew the dates had changed over a week ago, but I had already wasted a lot of hours and gone through the whole process of requesting an expedited visa, so I wasn’t going to go tell them I didn’t need it anymore and wait until June.
Other than that, not too much going on. Valentin let me use his thermometer, and I am indeed sick with a fever. Sasha gave me some cold medicine, and I will go tomorrow to the clinic. Hopefully it will be something simple and they can just give me medicine and I’ll be back on my feet by next week.
On a side note…I don’t want to seem ignorant of other cultures or anything…but for dinner I ate two eggs that were dipped in holy water and given to my roommate Sasha as a gift for Russian Orthodox Easter. They were delicious. To be fair, Nikita ate the last of my eggs...
I finally got my registration for my visa today. When the first woman was making a photocopy, she asked me about going to Poland. I told her that the plans have changed, and I am no longer leaving tomorrow…to put it lightly she didn’t take it well. She started yelling at me for lying to her, and then went out of the room. A second woman came in (the one who I always see yelling at foreigners in the visa department) and asked me why I’m not going to Poland. I told her that I had been planning on it, but I was just told that the plans had changed. She then said a lot of words that I don’t think I’ll learn at the university…in class, anyway. She said she had already written some ministry and said that I was leaving the country and that now she’d have to do everything all over again. I really didn’t see a lot of options, so I just calmly apologized and said that it wasn’t my decision to change the plans. She calmed down, crossed off the dates of departure on the registration, signed it, and gave it to me. I don’t really get what the big deal was…but I apologized again and left. To be fair, I knew the dates had changed over a week ago, but I had already wasted a lot of hours and gone through the whole process of requesting an expedited visa, so I wasn’t going to go tell them I didn’t need it anymore and wait until June.
Other than that, not too much going on. Valentin let me use his thermometer, and I am indeed sick with a fever. Sasha gave me some cold medicine, and I will go tomorrow to the clinic. Hopefully it will be something simple and they can just give me medicine and I’ll be back on my feet by next week.
On a side note…I don’t want to seem ignorant of other cultures or anything…but for dinner I ate two eggs that were dipped in holy water and given to my roommate Sasha as a gift for Russian Orthodox Easter. They were delicious. To be fair, Nikita ate the last of my eggs...
Monday, April 20, 2009
20 April 2009
The lecture last night was interesting. Not particularly educational…but interesting. They discussed Jewish identity in St. Petersburg and Russia as a whole. I think the moderator spoke more than both speakers put together, but all in all it was a good presentation.
Apparently today was Hitler’s birthday, and as a result I had been told that there wouldn’t be many people in class. Supposedly every year on April 20th, skinheads come out and attack foreigners, in particular the Chinese. When I got to class, it was almost empty. Half of my class is from China. We started talking about the issue, and my professor said that likely none of the Chinese students would show up. Then Mao Sin (he goes by Maksim) showed up, and when the professor said ‘good for you that you aren’t afraid’ he pulled out a switchblade and said ‘I’m not worried.’ That was a little weird. One other Chinese student showed up, Dsen Dsei (or something like that I’m never sure how to pronounce it)…but I think he came because he’s not very bright. He’s the one that every week in class when our Monday professor asks how our weekends were, he says he sat at home and studied…but then never has any homework done, doesn’t know the grammar, is hard to understand, and whenever a professor asks him a question one of the other Chinese kids has to whisper to him in Chinese before he answers. Anyway…we started talking about the issue, and everyone said that in their own countries it isn’t recognized as any sort of holiday, and most of us didn’t even know it was Hitler’s birthday until we were told a couple days ago. We spent quite a while talking about it.
After that, the topic moved onto same-sex marriage. It is a conversation class, so in order to keep everyone interested in participating, the professor chooses controversial issues and makes sure to get input on everything from every country represented. Everyone put in their opinions, which for the most part were pretty liberal (except one girl from Austria) until that guy Dsen Dsei from China told everyone that he thinks homosexuality is a violation of human nature and that he thinks that it is wrong and that marriage should never be allowed because it ruins the idea of a family. The professor asked him what he would do if one of his friends told him that he was gay, and he said that he wouldn’t associate with such people. I raised my hand, and said that we just finished talking about how wrong it was that the skinheads in Russia were targeting people because they were different, and how can someone say that its wrong for skinheads to target foreigners, or Jews, or Chinese…and then talk about how homosexuals should be cast out for being a minority. I might have gone too far…because he didn’t say anything else for the rest of the class.
After class I came home for a bit, then returned to the university to pick up my registration for my new visa…and after waiting in line for a half hour they told me to come back tomorrow.
When I went today to work out, I ran into Dima again. I’m not sure if I mentioned this yet, but a few days ago I ran into Dima, the guy who was my translator two years ago when I was here. His English hasn’t really improved at all and he’s gotten chubby. Other than that, he’s still kind of a jerk. I was bench pressing heavier than I’ve done in a while, and when I got to my last rep I pushed a little harder with my right arm than my left, and the bar tipped a little. The weights fell off the left side of the bar, and fortunately for me the guy I was working with was spotting me, and he slowed down the bar as it flew in the air but it still pulled me off the bench onto the floor. A few people came to see if I was ok (I was fine, the bench was pretty close to the floor so I didn’t hurt myself) and Dima started lecturing me. Apparently the bar I was using is the only one in the gym that isn’t Olympic standard, in the sense that while it is the correct weight and length, the bar tapers a bit on each end (which doesn’t make any sense to me). In order to continue condescendingly scolding me, he decided to switch to English but kept using the wrong words for things… so eventually I just told him in Russian that I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me because his English was completely unintelligible. After that he stopped. It seems like I pushed the envelope with people a few times today…
As I was finishing my workout, I had been talking with Oleg a bit about the different exercises. It’s hard for me to learn the different names, because they are all very specific technical descriptions of the movements. He joked to someone that it was an international gym, because the American student had partnered up with the Czech student to work out. This girl came up to me, and asked me if I was an American. I said yes, and she asked me if I would help her with an assignment. Apparently she is studying English, and her homework was to come up with 20 words that are spelled differently in England and in the United States. I gave her the only two words I could think of at the moment. It was really difficult to finish a hard workout and then be asked in Russian to think in British English. I gave her my contact information, and told her to get a hold of me before her homework is due and I’ll help her out further, but I just wasn’t in the state of mind to do anything useful. She then switched to English and said “you speak very well.” I thought she was talking about my Russian but I just said “huh?” and she said “you speak English very well. You have a good accent. I like it.” In retrospect I think she was trying to say she likes the American accent, but at the time I was completely confused about how to respond to a compliment that I speak my native language well so I just gave her a meek ‘um…thank you?’
Tonight Valentin, An and I exchanged Skype information so that when I move next week it will be easier for us to stay in contact. It turns out An’s Skype handle is the Russian word for “room.” Yeah…try and understand that one. Valentin and I laughed for a really long time after that. He didn’t get why it was strange, and told us that it’s easy to remember. I told him I’m going to remake my account and call myself “window.”
Apparently today was Hitler’s birthday, and as a result I had been told that there wouldn’t be many people in class. Supposedly every year on April 20th, skinheads come out and attack foreigners, in particular the Chinese. When I got to class, it was almost empty. Half of my class is from China. We started talking about the issue, and my professor said that likely none of the Chinese students would show up. Then Mao Sin (he goes by Maksim) showed up, and when the professor said ‘good for you that you aren’t afraid’ he pulled out a switchblade and said ‘I’m not worried.’ That was a little weird. One other Chinese student showed up, Dsen Dsei (or something like that I’m never sure how to pronounce it)…but I think he came because he’s not very bright. He’s the one that every week in class when our Monday professor asks how our weekends were, he says he sat at home and studied…but then never has any homework done, doesn’t know the grammar, is hard to understand, and whenever a professor asks him a question one of the other Chinese kids has to whisper to him in Chinese before he answers. Anyway…we started talking about the issue, and everyone said that in their own countries it isn’t recognized as any sort of holiday, and most of us didn’t even know it was Hitler’s birthday until we were told a couple days ago. We spent quite a while talking about it.
After that, the topic moved onto same-sex marriage. It is a conversation class, so in order to keep everyone interested in participating, the professor chooses controversial issues and makes sure to get input on everything from every country represented. Everyone put in their opinions, which for the most part were pretty liberal (except one girl from Austria) until that guy Dsen Dsei from China told everyone that he thinks homosexuality is a violation of human nature and that he thinks that it is wrong and that marriage should never be allowed because it ruins the idea of a family. The professor asked him what he would do if one of his friends told him that he was gay, and he said that he wouldn’t associate with such people. I raised my hand, and said that we just finished talking about how wrong it was that the skinheads in Russia were targeting people because they were different, and how can someone say that its wrong for skinheads to target foreigners, or Jews, or Chinese…and then talk about how homosexuals should be cast out for being a minority. I might have gone too far…because he didn’t say anything else for the rest of the class.
After class I came home for a bit, then returned to the university to pick up my registration for my new visa…and after waiting in line for a half hour they told me to come back tomorrow.
When I went today to work out, I ran into Dima again. I’m not sure if I mentioned this yet, but a few days ago I ran into Dima, the guy who was my translator two years ago when I was here. His English hasn’t really improved at all and he’s gotten chubby. Other than that, he’s still kind of a jerk. I was bench pressing heavier than I’ve done in a while, and when I got to my last rep I pushed a little harder with my right arm than my left, and the bar tipped a little. The weights fell off the left side of the bar, and fortunately for me the guy I was working with was spotting me, and he slowed down the bar as it flew in the air but it still pulled me off the bench onto the floor. A few people came to see if I was ok (I was fine, the bench was pretty close to the floor so I didn’t hurt myself) and Dima started lecturing me. Apparently the bar I was using is the only one in the gym that isn’t Olympic standard, in the sense that while it is the correct weight and length, the bar tapers a bit on each end (which doesn’t make any sense to me). In order to continue condescendingly scolding me, he decided to switch to English but kept using the wrong words for things… so eventually I just told him in Russian that I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me because his English was completely unintelligible. After that he stopped. It seems like I pushed the envelope with people a few times today…
As I was finishing my workout, I had been talking with Oleg a bit about the different exercises. It’s hard for me to learn the different names, because they are all very specific technical descriptions of the movements. He joked to someone that it was an international gym, because the American student had partnered up with the Czech student to work out. This girl came up to me, and asked me if I was an American. I said yes, and she asked me if I would help her with an assignment. Apparently she is studying English, and her homework was to come up with 20 words that are spelled differently in England and in the United States. I gave her the only two words I could think of at the moment. It was really difficult to finish a hard workout and then be asked in Russian to think in British English. I gave her my contact information, and told her to get a hold of me before her homework is due and I’ll help her out further, but I just wasn’t in the state of mind to do anything useful. She then switched to English and said “you speak very well.” I thought she was talking about my Russian but I just said “huh?” and she said “you speak English very well. You have a good accent. I like it.” In retrospect I think she was trying to say she likes the American accent, but at the time I was completely confused about how to respond to a compliment that I speak my native language well so I just gave her a meek ‘um…thank you?’
Tonight Valentin, An and I exchanged Skype information so that when I move next week it will be easier for us to stay in contact. It turns out An’s Skype handle is the Russian word for “room.” Yeah…try and understand that one. Valentin and I laughed for a really long time after that. He didn’t get why it was strange, and told us that it’s easy to remember. I told him I’m going to remake my account and call myself “window.”
Sunday, April 19, 2009
19 April 2009
I learned how to make sushi this weekend. My friend invited me for dinner, and when they suggested sushi, I assumed we’d be going out to eat…but when I got out of the subway I found out we were making it by hand. It was fun and a lot easier than I would have expected. I also had a chance to try “iced cream potatoes” which surprisingly are not actually made of potato or iced cream. They are brownie-type desserts made to look like potatoes.
Friday I got my new (multi-entry) visa! They didn’t have the registration yet, however, so I have to go back on Monday. Even though the trip to Poland was postponed, I think its much better to get it now than to have to wait.
Tonight I’m going to another lecture in the series presented by the Hillel (this is the third of three). After the first one on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I decided I wasn’t going to any more of them, but this one seems like an interesting theme. They will be discussing identity in Russia, in regards to both civic and ethnic status. My friend Roma is one of the speakers, so it promises to be a good presentation.
I think I’m sick. Valentin was sick two weeks ago (he thought he had the flu), and I’m pretty sure I have whatever he had. Despite him deliberately trying to get An sick by coughing in his direction and throwing tissues at him, it looks like I caught the bug. Hopefully I won’t have it as long or as bad as he did, because I don’t want to skip any classes. I think I’m just going to drink a lot of tea (shouldn’t be too hard) and buy a lot of fruit tomorrow. I keep thinking of what Dad told Stefanie the first time she got sick away from home her freshman year of college...
Today is Russian Orthodox Easter. I was planning to go to the Kazan Cathedral last night to watch the ceremony (it was supposed to be the largest in the country) but as I was already feeling pretty sick, I decided to have a light dinner and go to bed early. I imagine the streets will be pretty empty today.
Friday I got my new (multi-entry) visa! They didn’t have the registration yet, however, so I have to go back on Monday. Even though the trip to Poland was postponed, I think its much better to get it now than to have to wait.
Tonight I’m going to another lecture in the series presented by the Hillel (this is the third of three). After the first one on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I decided I wasn’t going to any more of them, but this one seems like an interesting theme. They will be discussing identity in Russia, in regards to both civic and ethnic status. My friend Roma is one of the speakers, so it promises to be a good presentation.
I think I’m sick. Valentin was sick two weeks ago (he thought he had the flu), and I’m pretty sure I have whatever he had. Despite him deliberately trying to get An sick by coughing in his direction and throwing tissues at him, it looks like I caught the bug. Hopefully I won’t have it as long or as bad as he did, because I don’t want to skip any classes. I think I’m just going to drink a lot of tea (shouldn’t be too hard) and buy a lot of fruit tomorrow. I keep thinking of what Dad told Stefanie the first time she got sick away from home her freshman year of college...
Today is Russian Orthodox Easter. I was planning to go to the Kazan Cathedral last night to watch the ceremony (it was supposed to be the largest in the country) but as I was already feeling pretty sick, I decided to have a light dinner and go to bed early. I imagine the streets will be pretty empty today.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
16 April 2009
Whenever I’m on the bus, I see the warnings of the fines/penalties for attempting to catch a free ride, and when I look at the old women who work as conductors I wonder how they enforce anything. Yesterday I found out. After the conductor scanned my bus pass, I sat down, and I heard a deep voice behind me ask to see my ticket. I turned around, and an ENORMOUS man in plainclothes was flashing a red badge at me. I showed him my bus pass, and he went on to ask two or three more students before sneaking to the back of the bus and sitting down again.
The other day, I was in kind of a bad mood…I don’t know if it was the bad weather, the frustration about my classes (I changed another class this week), or what…but I was feeling a little hungry while I was walking around the city, so I stopped into a fruit market for something to eat. As soon as I walked in, I saw a big pile of Red Delicious apples. I bought one, and with the first bite I knew the taste and knew it was American. I bought two more (the woman behind the counter thought it was funny) and when I left the store the sun came out, and I walked around eating apples (which did turn out to be American, they had a sticker from Washington state) and enjoying the day. I don’t know why that was all I needed, but I was in a great mood after that.
Valentin met up with that girl from the jazz club a few more times, and apparently mentioned to him that her favorite song was “Your Song” by Elton John, so he spent the next two days learning it so he could sing it for her. I recorded one of his practices with my camera... I couldn’t stop laughing hearing the Romanian Elton John in action.
Last night Valentin invited some of his (Romanian) friends over for dinner. An and I were invited to join, and it was a nice time. It was about eight of us in total, and they prepared Romanian food, dessert, and one guy had even brought Moldovan wine. They didn’t give me names for anything, but they had a salad made of cucumbers and tomatoes in some kind of sauce, rice, chicken with peas and corn also in some kind of sauce, and the dessert was a bunch of fruit cut up in a yogurt sauce (I read up the other day on lactose intolerance, and apparently pure yogurt should be digestible, but that most of the stuff available in the United States has added milk solids and such to give a richer flavor). It was a lot of fun…even if I didn’t understand 90% of what happened. In the middle of dinner, I received a phone call from a woman in the city offering me a room in her apartment. Even if I already found a place, I’m glad I received more than one response…although I’m not sure where she got my phone number if I only included my email address in the advertisement…
Today Kristina and I went to the consulate. She wanted to find out where it was and ask a few questions and asked if I would go along. I didn’t mind, and I figured while there I can ask about preparing for the Foreign Service exam.
When we got there, we gave our passports to the guard (Russian, but American employee) outside the door, and he handed them both to a Russian police officer. Before we could say anything, he told us to wait a moment walked into a little shack with darkly tinted windows. About a minute later, he came back and handed the guard our passports. The guard asked if everything was in order, and then gave them to us. I really don’t like the idea of Russian police recording who goes in and out of American consulates, and I don’t understand how they are able to do that, or why the American guards are compliant…especially considering when he took our passports we were technically standing on American soil.
When we got inside, Kristina spoke to the woman at the desk, and I walked around. In the seating area, there was an enormous portrait of Barack Obama, a slightly smaller portrait of Hillary Clinton, and a small notebook-sized picture of Joseph Biden. When I returned to the room where Kristina was, there was an elderly woman at the counter telling the girl behind the desk that she is worried because her Russian friends have been telling her that the dollar will expire on the first of May, so she needs to find another currency. The girl behind the counter didn’t know what to say, so she just more or less said “Your money is safe, I promise.”
I asked her about study materials for the Foreign Service Exam, and she went to get someone else. The guy who came out to speak with me turned out to be the Vice-Consul for St. Petersburg, which was kind of exciting. He was a really nice guy and gave me some advice as well as his card. Afterwards, I asked him about the police outside. He said that that isn’t normal, and that he was going to look into it. He said if I come back, when walking into the consulate I don’t have to give the Russian police my passport and I can say no. I told him that I didn’t give it to him, that the consulate guard did, and he looked surprised. He told me that that should never happen and he was going to find out why it did. On our way out, he came after us and took down my name to include in his report about the police. I’m glad I had an opportunity to speak with him, but the whole deal with the police made me feel a little uncomfortable. I don’t like the idea of foreign police keeping tabs on me.
The other day I was at the gym, and I ran into Ivan Serge’evich again. I was talking with him, and at one point I misused an idiom. He told me that that isn’t how Russians speak, and that if I really want to learn the language I shouldn’t be sitting in class and studying in the dorm, but I should be out spending all my time socializing with Russians. I told him I’m working on a balance, but he just kept telling me that I was going about my studies all wrong.
Anyway, English Club was cancelled for tonight, so that means I can have a leisurely dinner which I’m going to get started on now.
The other day, I was in kind of a bad mood…I don’t know if it was the bad weather, the frustration about my classes (I changed another class this week), or what…but I was feeling a little hungry while I was walking around the city, so I stopped into a fruit market for something to eat. As soon as I walked in, I saw a big pile of Red Delicious apples. I bought one, and with the first bite I knew the taste and knew it was American. I bought two more (the woman behind the counter thought it was funny) and when I left the store the sun came out, and I walked around eating apples (which did turn out to be American, they had a sticker from Washington state) and enjoying the day. I don’t know why that was all I needed, but I was in a great mood after that.
Valentin met up with that girl from the jazz club a few more times, and apparently mentioned to him that her favorite song was “Your Song” by Elton John, so he spent the next two days learning it so he could sing it for her. I recorded one of his practices with my camera... I couldn’t stop laughing hearing the Romanian Elton John in action.
Last night Valentin invited some of his (Romanian) friends over for dinner. An and I were invited to join, and it was a nice time. It was about eight of us in total, and they prepared Romanian food, dessert, and one guy had even brought Moldovan wine. They didn’t give me names for anything, but they had a salad made of cucumbers and tomatoes in some kind of sauce, rice, chicken with peas and corn also in some kind of sauce, and the dessert was a bunch of fruit cut up in a yogurt sauce (I read up the other day on lactose intolerance, and apparently pure yogurt should be digestible, but that most of the stuff available in the United States has added milk solids and such to give a richer flavor). It was a lot of fun…even if I didn’t understand 90% of what happened. In the middle of dinner, I received a phone call from a woman in the city offering me a room in her apartment. Even if I already found a place, I’m glad I received more than one response…although I’m not sure where she got my phone number if I only included my email address in the advertisement…
Today Kristina and I went to the consulate. She wanted to find out where it was and ask a few questions and asked if I would go along. I didn’t mind, and I figured while there I can ask about preparing for the Foreign Service exam.
When we got there, we gave our passports to the guard (Russian, but American employee) outside the door, and he handed them both to a Russian police officer. Before we could say anything, he told us to wait a moment walked into a little shack with darkly tinted windows. About a minute later, he came back and handed the guard our passports. The guard asked if everything was in order, and then gave them to us. I really don’t like the idea of Russian police recording who goes in and out of American consulates, and I don’t understand how they are able to do that, or why the American guards are compliant…especially considering when he took our passports we were technically standing on American soil.
When we got inside, Kristina spoke to the woman at the desk, and I walked around. In the seating area, there was an enormous portrait of Barack Obama, a slightly smaller portrait of Hillary Clinton, and a small notebook-sized picture of Joseph Biden. When I returned to the room where Kristina was, there was an elderly woman at the counter telling the girl behind the desk that she is worried because her Russian friends have been telling her that the dollar will expire on the first of May, so she needs to find another currency. The girl behind the counter didn’t know what to say, so she just more or less said “Your money is safe, I promise.”
I asked her about study materials for the Foreign Service Exam, and she went to get someone else. The guy who came out to speak with me turned out to be the Vice-Consul for St. Petersburg, which was kind of exciting. He was a really nice guy and gave me some advice as well as his card. Afterwards, I asked him about the police outside. He said that that isn’t normal, and that he was going to look into it. He said if I come back, when walking into the consulate I don’t have to give the Russian police my passport and I can say no. I told him that I didn’t give it to him, that the consulate guard did, and he looked surprised. He told me that that should never happen and he was going to find out why it did. On our way out, he came after us and took down my name to include in his report about the police. I’m glad I had an opportunity to speak with him, but the whole deal with the police made me feel a little uncomfortable. I don’t like the idea of foreign police keeping tabs on me.
The other day I was at the gym, and I ran into Ivan Serge’evich again. I was talking with him, and at one point I misused an idiom. He told me that that isn’t how Russians speak, and that if I really want to learn the language I shouldn’t be sitting in class and studying in the dorm, but I should be out spending all my time socializing with Russians. I told him I’m working on a balance, but he just kept telling me that I was going about my studies all wrong.
Anyway, English Club was cancelled for tonight, so that means I can have a leisurely dinner which I’m going to get started on now.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
11 April 2009
I met up with some friends last night and we went to a jazz club. I had a great time with my friends (there were about 8 of us) but I didn’t particularly like the group that performed. The vocalist sang in English (sort of) and tried to use every single aspect/tool of jazz singing in every single song…i.e. every slide, swing and scat that Ella Fitzgerald ever did, this woman tried to do in every song. She also made trumpet noises with her lips two or three times while pretending to be muting a bell of a trumpet (then going wah wah wah) while doing a call and answer with the sax player. One of my friends (from France) asked me how her English was when they took a break, and as I was saying “Her English isn’t clear. It’s very difficult to understand her” she walked past me smiling.
At one point, there was a pretty Russian girl standing between Valentin and I. He said a couple things to her, and then decided to go get a beer. As he left, he thought he would make a move. Well…in Russian the verb for “to drink” and the verb for “to sing” are only one letter different, and Valentin has only been studying Russian for less than a year. So…he ended up motioning towards the bar/empty stage and asking her if she was interested in a sing. She looked very surprised and said no. As he walked away, she looked at me laughing and asked what he was talking about. I told her he wanted to DRINK with her, not sing. When he came back, I went to another spot in the club and didn’t see what happened between them, but I know when we left he decided to stay behind with her.
This morning I showed Valentin the video of mom singing. He told me she has a very beautiful throat (again, he hasn’t been studying Russian very long). I thanked him and told him it runs in the family.
I’m meeting with Olga tomorrow morning to see the apartment and figure out what I’m going to do…
At one point, there was a pretty Russian girl standing between Valentin and I. He said a couple things to her, and then decided to go get a beer. As he left, he thought he would make a move. Well…in Russian the verb for “to drink” and the verb for “to sing” are only one letter different, and Valentin has only been studying Russian for less than a year. So…he ended up motioning towards the bar/empty stage and asking her if she was interested in a sing. She looked very surprised and said no. As he walked away, she looked at me laughing and asked what he was talking about. I told her he wanted to DRINK with her, not sing. When he came back, I went to another spot in the club and didn’t see what happened between them, but I know when we left he decided to stay behind with her.
This morning I showed Valentin the video of mom singing. He told me she has a very beautiful throat (again, he hasn’t been studying Russian very long). I thanked him and told him it runs in the family.
I’m meeting with Olga tomorrow morning to see the apartment and figure out what I’m going to do…
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
8 April 2009
I may have found my host family…
On Monday, I spoke with a woman named Olga who contacted the Hillel after reading my letter. I was given her phone number, but when I called her she said she misunderstood, and thought I was just looking for a place to stay. She said she isn’t home much, and I would more or less be living by myself. She said she did have a friend/neighbor, however, who took in foreign students from time to time and might have room. She gave me her friend (Vera)’s number, and said she would call her as well. Well, I spoke to Vera, and we arranged to meet this afternoon for tea.
This afternoon I spoke to Nikita, and he suggested I bring chocolates with me, and even suggested a brand. I asked the woman behind the candy counter, and she agreed that it was a good choice. The apartment seemed to be in a great area- right in the center of the city, a ten minute walk from the metro, and even near the train station. When I walked there however, the neighborhood was more than a little scary. There were a LOT of swastikas spray-painted on the buildings on her street. At one point I saw someone wrote in huge letters “1945 YOU ARE NOT PATRIOTS!” I saw 1945 written in a few other places, which makes me wonder if the WWII reference is the name of a local hate group. Someone had also spray-painted a number of times a stencil of someone throwing a swastika into a garbage can. There were also anti-white power signs and in a few spots I saw “STOP THE NAZI MOVEMENT!” I suppose it’s good that somebody is trying to counter the Neo-Nazism, but all the same I don’t want to move into a skinhead neighborhood. However…at the time it seemed like I was walking into an extremely hateful neighborhood, but the more I think about it the more I realize that pretty much everything I was seeing was anti hate groups… I need to speak to Vera about that.
When I got there, Vera was great. She was sweet, friendly, hospitable, and I ended up sitting with her for over three hours. She is a retired Russian professor who actually lived and worked in the same dormitory I am living in, and her husband is a retired German professor, and they have a son in his late twenties. She had a really nice apartment that they were in the process of renovating, and made tea for us while her enormously overweight cat licked my arm. She told me that unfortunately she doesn’t have a room available. They have two rooms to rent; one is currently in use, and the other will be taken in June. I was upset, because I really liked her and her husband, Anatoly. She suggested their neighbor upstairs, Lena, and called her to invite her for tea.
After about an hour, Lena showed up with her daughter who was probably around 10-12 years old. We all sat, and Vera explained the situation to Vera. She talked me up a lot, saying that I am very studious, I am not looking for someone who speaks English (on the contrary I want people to speak Russian with), and mentioned that I brought chocolates and said I would be a good tenant. The whole time, Lena looked at me like she was terrified. She started asking me strange questions, really personal and not particularly relevant. She asked me how my parents felt about my studying Russian, what they felt about me coming here, to name every single Russian author I had ever read, and what my parents do for a living. After the question about their professions, Vera asked her what that had to do with anything. Lena’s response was “I’m a single mother living with a young daughter, and I have responsibilities! This strange man wants to live with us, so I need to know who he is” to which I answered that I’m not from a family of criminals, so she has nothing to worry about. She then brought up price, and told me that my offer was ridiculously low, and her counter-offer was more than double what I had said. I told her I had to think about it, and Vera said we could talk about money later.
Finally, she said she would show me the apartment. Vera was tired, and said she would meet up with us later. When we got into the hallway, Lena told me that she didn’t feel comfortable with me, because ‘the kind of person who gets into politics is usually unsafe, messed up, and has a lot of problems.’ I told her that perhaps she didn’t understand me…I’m just a student, not a politician of any sort. She said all the same, she wasn’t sure how she felt about me. After that, we heard a door opening and Vera came out, having decided to join us after all.
We went upstairs, and they showed me a really beautiful apartment. Incredible for a single parent to have an apartment like that in the center of the city. Anyway, when she got to the room with the spare bed, she said very callously “I guess this is where you would stay…” and not another word about it. When we got back into the hallway, she asked about a couple museums in town, and if I had been there. She then said “well… we have to get going, my daughter has a lesson to go to. You should come visit us sometime…or rather we should meet up at the museum I was telling you about…” and then when I asked when we could meet again, she said to talk to Vera.
When we got back to the apartment, Vera asked me what I thought. I told her that I thought Lena didn’t like me and was afraid of me for some reason, and told Vera what Lena had said to me when we were alone. She said it certainly seemed that way, and from the questions Lena was asking me, Vera could tell that there had been a bad first impression. She said not to worry about it, and we went back to her kitchen. She said that she really enjoyed her time with me and wanted to help. She called a few friends asking about spare rooms, and took down my phone number to call me if she heard anything.
I went home, and ask I walked in the door my phone rang. Vera had spoken with Olga, and they came to an agreement. I could live with Olga, and go to Vera for breakfast, dinner, and in afternoons for conversation (they live in the same building). I would pay each of them part of the money, and it would come out to around the same amount I was expecting to pay from the start. It sounds like a great deal, I just need to see the apartment and ask some questions first (accessibility to laundry, internet, and things like that).
Aside from that…my request for an expedited multi-entry visa was approved, but in the same day I found out that the trip to Poland was postponed a month. Either way, it will be nice to get my new visa and be done with paperwork for the rest of my time here.
On Monday, I spoke with a woman named Olga who contacted the Hillel after reading my letter. I was given her phone number, but when I called her she said she misunderstood, and thought I was just looking for a place to stay. She said she isn’t home much, and I would more or less be living by myself. She said she did have a friend/neighbor, however, who took in foreign students from time to time and might have room. She gave me her friend (Vera)’s number, and said she would call her as well. Well, I spoke to Vera, and we arranged to meet this afternoon for tea.
This afternoon I spoke to Nikita, and he suggested I bring chocolates with me, and even suggested a brand. I asked the woman behind the candy counter, and she agreed that it was a good choice. The apartment seemed to be in a great area- right in the center of the city, a ten minute walk from the metro, and even near the train station. When I walked there however, the neighborhood was more than a little scary. There were a LOT of swastikas spray-painted on the buildings on her street. At one point I saw someone wrote in huge letters “1945 YOU ARE NOT PATRIOTS!” I saw 1945 written in a few other places, which makes me wonder if the WWII reference is the name of a local hate group. Someone had also spray-painted a number of times a stencil of someone throwing a swastika into a garbage can. There were also anti-white power signs and in a few spots I saw “STOP THE NAZI MOVEMENT!” I suppose it’s good that somebody is trying to counter the Neo-Nazism, but all the same I don’t want to move into a skinhead neighborhood. However…at the time it seemed like I was walking into an extremely hateful neighborhood, but the more I think about it the more I realize that pretty much everything I was seeing was anti hate groups… I need to speak to Vera about that.
When I got there, Vera was great. She was sweet, friendly, hospitable, and I ended up sitting with her for over three hours. She is a retired Russian professor who actually lived and worked in the same dormitory I am living in, and her husband is a retired German professor, and they have a son in his late twenties. She had a really nice apartment that they were in the process of renovating, and made tea for us while her enormously overweight cat licked my arm. She told me that unfortunately she doesn’t have a room available. They have two rooms to rent; one is currently in use, and the other will be taken in June. I was upset, because I really liked her and her husband, Anatoly. She suggested their neighbor upstairs, Lena, and called her to invite her for tea.
After about an hour, Lena showed up with her daughter who was probably around 10-12 years old. We all sat, and Vera explained the situation to Vera. She talked me up a lot, saying that I am very studious, I am not looking for someone who speaks English (on the contrary I want people to speak Russian with), and mentioned that I brought chocolates and said I would be a good tenant. The whole time, Lena looked at me like she was terrified. She started asking me strange questions, really personal and not particularly relevant. She asked me how my parents felt about my studying Russian, what they felt about me coming here, to name every single Russian author I had ever read, and what my parents do for a living. After the question about their professions, Vera asked her what that had to do with anything. Lena’s response was “I’m a single mother living with a young daughter, and I have responsibilities! This strange man wants to live with us, so I need to know who he is” to which I answered that I’m not from a family of criminals, so she has nothing to worry about. She then brought up price, and told me that my offer was ridiculously low, and her counter-offer was more than double what I had said. I told her I had to think about it, and Vera said we could talk about money later.
Finally, she said she would show me the apartment. Vera was tired, and said she would meet up with us later. When we got into the hallway, Lena told me that she didn’t feel comfortable with me, because ‘the kind of person who gets into politics is usually unsafe, messed up, and has a lot of problems.’ I told her that perhaps she didn’t understand me…I’m just a student, not a politician of any sort. She said all the same, she wasn’t sure how she felt about me. After that, we heard a door opening and Vera came out, having decided to join us after all.
We went upstairs, and they showed me a really beautiful apartment. Incredible for a single parent to have an apartment like that in the center of the city. Anyway, when she got to the room with the spare bed, she said very callously “I guess this is where you would stay…” and not another word about it. When we got back into the hallway, she asked about a couple museums in town, and if I had been there. She then said “well… we have to get going, my daughter has a lesson to go to. You should come visit us sometime…or rather we should meet up at the museum I was telling you about…” and then when I asked when we could meet again, she said to talk to Vera.
When we got back to the apartment, Vera asked me what I thought. I told her that I thought Lena didn’t like me and was afraid of me for some reason, and told Vera what Lena had said to me when we were alone. She said it certainly seemed that way, and from the questions Lena was asking me, Vera could tell that there had been a bad first impression. She said not to worry about it, and we went back to her kitchen. She said that she really enjoyed her time with me and wanted to help. She called a few friends asking about spare rooms, and took down my phone number to call me if she heard anything.
I went home, and ask I walked in the door my phone rang. Vera had spoken with Olga, and they came to an agreement. I could live with Olga, and go to Vera for breakfast, dinner, and in afternoons for conversation (they live in the same building). I would pay each of them part of the money, and it would come out to around the same amount I was expecting to pay from the start. It sounds like a great deal, I just need to see the apartment and ask some questions first (accessibility to laundry, internet, and things like that).
Aside from that…my request for an expedited multi-entry visa was approved, but in the same day I found out that the trip to Poland was postponed a month. Either way, it will be nice to get my new visa and be done with paperwork for the rest of my time here.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
5 April 2009
We didn’t end up going to Pushkin. We decided that there were still things in the city we wanted to visit, so we spent the day touring instead. I had really wanted to go to this one museum on Nevskii Prospekt that displayed wax figurines of former emperors of Russia…but it turned out to be a real disappointment. I was imagining a Madame Tussaud’s type setting, but it turned out to be three small rooms with a total of about fifteen figures with nothing more than a name plate identifying them. They sold pamphlets to take around with you to learn about the people you would be seeing, and we bought one, and it turned out to only have information on four or five people.
After that we went back to the mall to get some more souvenirs for Brittany, then to the market for a few minutes. Brittany wanted to buy something, and without even realizing it I short-changed a merchant. I’m pretty proud of myself, really. The woman wanted six hundred fifty rubles. I expected we would end up paying five hundred. I offered four fifty, and she said impossible. She said five hundred, and I agreed. I then counted out four-fifty in fifty and ten ruble bills and handed it to her, even saying ‘four hundred fifty rubles.’ She counted the money, said thank you, and as we turned to walk away she looked a little confused, but didn’t say anything. I don’t know if she didn’t realize her mistake, or just assumed she wasn’t getting any more money. I didn’t realize it myself until we were walking out of the market, but either way I’m pretty happy about it.
Following our time in the market, we had to go back to get ready for the ballet. It was only my second ballet, and I enjoyed it. I have this feeling, though, that a ballet is like a museum. You see certain exhibits that really interest you and you really enjoy…but every now and then you walk into a room where you have no idea what’s going on. All in all, though, it was a great performance, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre was incredible.
We weren’t sure what to do afterwards, so we decided to hop on the subway to Lenin’s Square. On April Fool’s Day, someone decided to set off a grenade on a statue of Lenin, and blew a hole clear through him. We wanted to see if we could get there and take a picture of it, but it had already been completely covered in a wooden enclosure, and two men were even building a perimeter around the base of the statue.
Saturday we met Vova at the Peter-Paul Fortress. He was our tour guide, and we went to the cathedral where the former emperors are buried, the torture museum (different from the last time I was there), walked along top of the wall that goes around the island, and we walked along the beach where we saw a lot of leathery elderly people in Speedos tanning. We also saw one guy strip down to his underwear and climb into a small section of river that had been carved out of the ice for swimming so his friends could take a picture. As soon as the flash went off, he jumped out and went running for a towel, yelling about how cold he was.
After the fortress, Brittany and I went back to the market to get the last of her souvenirs. She found some things she liked, and then we still had some time to kill so I went back and spoke with one of the merchants that I had talked with the other day. They were getting ready to close, and the woman tried pressing everything she could on me and I told her I didn’t really need anything she had, and somehow we got into a discussion of the business of the market. She was trying to charge me about seventy dollars for a little wooden box with some paintings on it that I hadn’t even expressed any interest in. I asked her how she could justify the price, and she told me that the boxes aren’t made by machines somewhere in china where each design is just stamped on, but rather they are hand painted by artists pouring their soul and culture into every piece. I laughed and asked her if that’s the case, why does every single booth in the city sell the exact same souvenirs. I guess at that point she realized I wasn’t going to buy anything, and just started talking with me as she packed up. She said that obviously everything there is for tourists; why would a Russian want nesting dolls or pictures of the Russian presidents or things like that, and that for whatever reason foreigners go crazy for that stuff, so of course everyone will have the same products. She said the majority of the stuff is made by either students or retirees looking to make some extra money, and they will rent space from the owner of the market who will then give them a percentage of the revenue. When we got on the topic of quoting foreign currency, she told me that she doesn’t see any reason why there’s a problem with her accepting foreign currency. I told her that her own government threatens foreigners, telling us that its illegal for us to participate in any transaction with our own currency, and that everything has to be in rubles. She said that it was nonsense, and told me that there’s no difference if I go to a currency exchange and buy from her or if I buy from her with dollars and she makes the exchange herself. At this point I had already told her I was an American (the whole conversation started talking about dollars) and she told me that it was evident that I’m American; supposedly my mannerisms, my eyes, my face…everything just screams American. For fun, I told her Brittany (who hadn’t said a word) was from Hungary. She said she’s worked there a long time, and she can tell things like that. She said it was clear that Brittany was Hungarian, but she wasn’t sure at first and could have guessed Slovenian. She said its this ability to guess nationalities that makes her so good at selling junk to foreigners. I didn’t bother telling her she had no idea what she was talking about. It was really interesting to me…I think I would be willing to buy some overpriced junk from her if I could just spend a few hours watching and listening to how she does her business.
For our last dinner in the city, we went to a café near the hotel and each had Russian salads with chicken Kiev (I know... Ukrainian food for the last night in Russia) with some Russian Standard to wash it down. We hadn’t had any vodka the whole time she was here, and she didn’t want to leave without trying some. 50ml each was enough, though.
Today was rough. Got up at three am to go to the airport. The taxi came at four am, and despite expecting an hour minimum, it took about twenty minutes to get to the airport. Brittany couldn’t check in until five twenty, so we sat until then. Around five thirty, a line started forming, so we got up, said our goodbyes, and Brittany went through security. I sat around for another twenty minutes or so until public transportation started, and went home. it took me a little over an hour to get back to the dorm, where I slept for about three hours, then got up and started the trip back to the airport. I had told Kristina that I would meet her when she arrived, but the timing didn’t quite end up working out as I had hoped.
Fortunately, I was able to pick out Dr. Lehrman’s friend who had also agreed to meet Kristina (I saw a sign he had made for her while I was waiting for her to make it through the entry procedures) and he had a car waiting. We all went back to the dorm, and I took Kristina to a currency exchange and for groceries. Tonight she came with me to a party for my friend Mirella. She is going back to Italy tomorrow, so she had a going-away party. It was a lot of fun, but I didn’t stay too long because I need to get back to work tomorrow after a week of English. I’m really glad Brittany came. We really had an incredible week. I couldn’t have imagined a better time.
After that we went back to the mall to get some more souvenirs for Brittany, then to the market for a few minutes. Brittany wanted to buy something, and without even realizing it I short-changed a merchant. I’m pretty proud of myself, really. The woman wanted six hundred fifty rubles. I expected we would end up paying five hundred. I offered four fifty, and she said impossible. She said five hundred, and I agreed. I then counted out four-fifty in fifty and ten ruble bills and handed it to her, even saying ‘four hundred fifty rubles.’ She counted the money, said thank you, and as we turned to walk away she looked a little confused, but didn’t say anything. I don’t know if she didn’t realize her mistake, or just assumed she wasn’t getting any more money. I didn’t realize it myself until we were walking out of the market, but either way I’m pretty happy about it.
Following our time in the market, we had to go back to get ready for the ballet. It was only my second ballet, and I enjoyed it. I have this feeling, though, that a ballet is like a museum. You see certain exhibits that really interest you and you really enjoy…but every now and then you walk into a room where you have no idea what’s going on. All in all, though, it was a great performance, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre was incredible.
We weren’t sure what to do afterwards, so we decided to hop on the subway to Lenin’s Square. On April Fool’s Day, someone decided to set off a grenade on a statue of Lenin, and blew a hole clear through him. We wanted to see if we could get there and take a picture of it, but it had already been completely covered in a wooden enclosure, and two men were even building a perimeter around the base of the statue.
Saturday we met Vova at the Peter-Paul Fortress. He was our tour guide, and we went to the cathedral where the former emperors are buried, the torture museum (different from the last time I was there), walked along top of the wall that goes around the island, and we walked along the beach where we saw a lot of leathery elderly people in Speedos tanning. We also saw one guy strip down to his underwear and climb into a small section of river that had been carved out of the ice for swimming so his friends could take a picture. As soon as the flash went off, he jumped out and went running for a towel, yelling about how cold he was.
After the fortress, Brittany and I went back to the market to get the last of her souvenirs. She found some things she liked, and then we still had some time to kill so I went back and spoke with one of the merchants that I had talked with the other day. They were getting ready to close, and the woman tried pressing everything she could on me and I told her I didn’t really need anything she had, and somehow we got into a discussion of the business of the market. She was trying to charge me about seventy dollars for a little wooden box with some paintings on it that I hadn’t even expressed any interest in. I asked her how she could justify the price, and she told me that the boxes aren’t made by machines somewhere in china where each design is just stamped on, but rather they are hand painted by artists pouring their soul and culture into every piece. I laughed and asked her if that’s the case, why does every single booth in the city sell the exact same souvenirs. I guess at that point she realized I wasn’t going to buy anything, and just started talking with me as she packed up. She said that obviously everything there is for tourists; why would a Russian want nesting dolls or pictures of the Russian presidents or things like that, and that for whatever reason foreigners go crazy for that stuff, so of course everyone will have the same products. She said the majority of the stuff is made by either students or retirees looking to make some extra money, and they will rent space from the owner of the market who will then give them a percentage of the revenue. When we got on the topic of quoting foreign currency, she told me that she doesn’t see any reason why there’s a problem with her accepting foreign currency. I told her that her own government threatens foreigners, telling us that its illegal for us to participate in any transaction with our own currency, and that everything has to be in rubles. She said that it was nonsense, and told me that there’s no difference if I go to a currency exchange and buy from her or if I buy from her with dollars and she makes the exchange herself. At this point I had already told her I was an American (the whole conversation started talking about dollars) and she told me that it was evident that I’m American; supposedly my mannerisms, my eyes, my face…everything just screams American. For fun, I told her Brittany (who hadn’t said a word) was from Hungary. She said she’s worked there a long time, and she can tell things like that. She said it was clear that Brittany was Hungarian, but she wasn’t sure at first and could have guessed Slovenian. She said its this ability to guess nationalities that makes her so good at selling junk to foreigners. I didn’t bother telling her she had no idea what she was talking about. It was really interesting to me…I think I would be willing to buy some overpriced junk from her if I could just spend a few hours watching and listening to how she does her business.
For our last dinner in the city, we went to a café near the hotel and each had Russian salads with chicken Kiev (I know... Ukrainian food for the last night in Russia) with some Russian Standard to wash it down. We hadn’t had any vodka the whole time she was here, and she didn’t want to leave without trying some. 50ml each was enough, though.
Today was rough. Got up at three am to go to the airport. The taxi came at four am, and despite expecting an hour minimum, it took about twenty minutes to get to the airport. Brittany couldn’t check in until five twenty, so we sat until then. Around five thirty, a line started forming, so we got up, said our goodbyes, and Brittany went through security. I sat around for another twenty minutes or so until public transportation started, and went home. it took me a little over an hour to get back to the dorm, where I slept for about three hours, then got up and started the trip back to the airport. I had told Kristina that I would meet her when she arrived, but the timing didn’t quite end up working out as I had hoped.
Fortunately, I was able to pick out Dr. Lehrman’s friend who had also agreed to meet Kristina (I saw a sign he had made for her while I was waiting for her to make it through the entry procedures) and he had a car waiting. We all went back to the dorm, and I took Kristina to a currency exchange and for groceries. Tonight she came with me to a party for my friend Mirella. She is going back to Italy tomorrow, so she had a going-away party. It was a lot of fun, but I didn’t stay too long because I need to get back to work tomorrow after a week of English. I’m really glad Brittany came. We really had an incredible week. I couldn’t have imagined a better time.
Friday, April 3, 2009
2 April 2009
Just got home. This has been a busy few days. Tonight Brittany and I met with Sasha and Max for dinner. It was a really nice time. On the way, Brittany and I picked up a bottle of vodka and a box of truffles. They had pastries with potatoes, mushrooms, and chicken and Sasha made blini, which she served with caramel they had bought in Finland. They said that they are considering going to Belarus in the next few months, and perhaps I can go with them. That would be great, because while I have been saying for a while that I would like to go to Minsk…I really don’t know anything about the city, nor do I know anyone or anything there. It would be good to have friends with me. Also, I don’t really know much about American/Belorussian relations, and I think it would be much better to be there with Russians.
When Brittany and I went to the hermitage Monday, we found that they are closed Mondays, so we instead decided to tour some of the local churches. We went to St. Isaac’s Cathedral as well as the Church on Spilled Blood. After the church on spilled blood, we hopped on the metro to go to the Church of St. Sampson…but after getting all the way there we found the building covered in plastic, closed for renovations.
Tuesday was a busy day. I had a lot of administrative work to do with the university, which meant unfortunately Brittany had to tag along and sit while I filled out paperwork. First we went to the administrative office for the dorms, because I still had yet to pay my rent for the upcoming month. The cashier has apparently been sick, and it seems that there is only one and when she is not available no business can take place. Well, it turned out she was still sick, so the woman told me to go to the main administrative building. So Brittany and I had a quick lunch at the café next to the dorm, and then hopped on a bus back to the university. We found the building, and when we went in there was a girl sitting waiting. She told me the office was locked, and we sat down. She heard us speaking English, and joined in our conversation. She was Norwegian, and kept complaining to us about the inefficiency of Russian bureaucracy. The room we were sitting in had a cashier, and as we sat listening to the girl complain I thought about how every Scandinavian I’ve met at the university has been incredibly timid, and I got up and walked over to the cashier and asked if I could pay my rent through her. She said if I had the forms already from the dorm, why not. I did, and I paid. I think if I had just listened to the Norwegian girl, we would have been sitting there a long time. No wonder she’s having problems.
After paying my rent, I had to go take care of my visa renewal. We went to the visa office, and I filled out the application for my new multi-entry visa (twice, of course because they have a way of finding mistakes on everyone’s paperwork). When I turned everything in, the woman told me that she couldn’t accept my documents, because when I photocopied them I combined multiple documents (e.g. passport, migration card and visa registration). So, we had to run to the next building where I made new photocopies of every one of my documents on a separate sheet of paper in duplicates. When I came back and waited in line again, she approved everything (and half the documents she only needed to see, didn’t even have to collect) and told me I could pick up my passport in a week. She said the visa itself wouldn’t arrive until the end of May, however. I told her I needed it in a few weeks because I had plans to travel abroad, and she said I could present my case downstairs Thursday and request an expedited visa (the woman in the office at the building where I study said all I had to do in order to receive an expedited visa was make the request and pay an additional fee…).
After we finished with the university, it was too late to go to any museums, so Brittany and I went souvenir shopping. We went to the market next to the Church on Spilled Blood (the booths across from St. Isaac’s aren’t there…perhaps they are only open during the summer). Beforehand, I told Brittany to only speak English away from the booths (and let me do the talking in Russian with any merchants), and that we would walk by each booth first where she could decide what she liked, and we would come back to haggle and buy later. She found something she liked at one of the booths, and we came up with a number of what it should be worth (it was marked 950 rubles, and our aim was 600-650). I know I can’t speak like a native yet, but I think I spend enough time with other foreigners that I was able to present an accent that didn’t sound just American, but rather I tried to put in different sounds I hear from other students in the university, thereby making it difficult for the woman to place me. We went back and forth looking at different items, and finally when she came to the one we had already decided on, Brittany would lean into my ear and whisper to me, and I would speak to the woman. She kept repeating things to me and Brittany, and every now and then would repeat her explanations and say words here and there in other languages. When she tried to start speaking to Brittany in English (speaking English more or less guarantees higher prices), I interrupted her in Russian and said “She doesn’t understand anything you’re saying to her,” to which she responded “oh what language does she speak? We can do this in English, Russian, Chinese…” and thinking quickly I said “She’s from Hungary.” I learned last week that Hungarian is one of if not the hardest language in Europe to learn. The woman said she didn’t know any Hungarian, so she would let me speak with her. I told her to give us a minute, and we whispered back and forth. Finally I told the woman that Brittany had agreed, and I talked her down to 630 rubles. I even got her to take some plastic and cushion Brittany’s souvenir inside a box.
After that we decided we would come back to buy anything else, but I wanted to have some fun. When I was in the city two years ago, I made a game out of arguing with merchants just to practice my Russian, and I was in the mood for it. We went to two more booths, and I’m not sure which I enjoyed more. At the first, I found a metal flask with “Stainless Steel 5oz” printed on the bottom. Now, aside from the English print, I know that the United States is the only country in the world that uses ounces, so right from the start I know that he’s not selling me Russian-made products. For fun, I asked him what the text meant. He said that stainless steel meant that it’s easily cared for and durable, and then went on to tell me that 5oz refers to the make of the metal. He said that similar to how gold purity is measured in karats, steel purity is measured in ounces, and that five ounces meant that it was a very strong material, and even asked me to test the durability by squeezing different spots. I told him it looked like it was great quality, but that I would have to come back tomorrow to purchase it.
I still wanted one more, so we walked around and happened upon a booth selling nesting dolls that had one with Barack Obama, spelled “O’Bama” as if he were an Irishman. I asked the woman what was inside, and she said “American presidents, of course,” and proceeded to open the dolls to show me each one. In this order, the dolls went Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, and JFK. I asked her why these presidents, and her answer was that “these are the most famous presidents in American history.” I laughed and asked her if she was sure about that, and asked her if she knew anything about Jimmy Carter. She told me that while I might not be familiar with American history, Carter is considered one of the most famous and loved presidents in the country’s history. I didn’t know what to do with that, so I asked her about Lyndon Johnson. She said that back in the USSR, Johnson was the first view of America for many soviets, and that he could be considered the most well known and well liked American president by the Russian people. That’s news to me, considering that we were on opposite sides of the Vietnam War during his presidency. I asked her what happened to the rest of the presidents, such as Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes. Her response was “do you want the Bushes? Let me find you another one that has them.” I told her I didn’t really need them, and she said that nesting dolls aren’t made by a machine; someone has to sit down and paint them by hand, so the artist must have had his reasons for choosing these presidents. I certainly hope so…
Later that night we met Sasha and Max for dinner. The restaurant Sasha chose is aimed at foreigners looking to experience Russian food (a perfect choice I suppose). I can add a new food to the strange things I’ve eaten here: Beef Jell-O. They boil bones for about eight hours until they have a jelly like consistency, and then add spices and meat and let it cool. Unlike the sweet dessert we have in the United States, this has a very salty, fatty taste and while I understand it is a delicacy prepared for holidays…I think once was enough for me. Brittany wouldn’t try it.
Yesterday Brittany and I finally made it to the hermitage. We spent several hours there, and then decided to head to the Smolny Cathedral. It was nice out and we had heavy traffic on the bus, so we decided to walk about a large part of the way, once we were able to get off the bus. It took us almost two hours to get there. When we finally got to the church, there was a sign on the front door that said that they were on a break, and another that said that the church was closed on Wednesdays. I didn’t think churches took days off…
That night Brittany wanted to try the Russian view of American food, so we went to McDonalds. I think that the food tastes better here than in the US. I’m sure they use the same recipes, but it doesn’t taste quite as greasy or salty. Also, they have a much shorter menu, with nothing larger than a “royale” (quarter pounder). Following dinner, we had a craving for something sweet so we went to a Кофе Хаус (the Petersburg version of Starbucks) and bought a slice of chocolate truffle cake. It was really, really good.
Today Brittany and I had plans to go to Yusopov’s Palace and the section of the Russian Museum focused on the Tsars on Nevskii, but it didn’t quite work out. When I looked at the map, I saw Yusopov’s palace, and without thinking twice we set off. Because it was a nice day, we walked almost the entire way. When we finally got there, we saw dozens of students walking around with notebooks. Next to the door was a sign stating that it was a University for the study of Economics, Social Studies, and a few other fields. The guard inside asked us our business, and when I asked him about the museum he took my map and showed us that there were two locations marked “Yusopov’s Palace,” and that we wanted the other one. Well, we have very little time if we were going to make it there and then back to the university to plead for my expedited visa. We made it there surprisingly quickly, but it was already 3pm (the visa office is only open 3-5) and the museum was only open until five. So, we decided to just go all the way back to the university. We were both upset that we weren’t able to see anything today, but at least we were able to walk around the city on the first sunny day all week.
At the university, I was instructed to write a formal statement requesting expedition of my visa. I think it isn’t just a separate option where you pay more and they speed things up, but rather everyone goes through the same process, and you can make a formal request to have your paperwork expedited. I wrote a letter saying that I had already made arrangements with a student group to travel to Poland at the end of April, and that as a temporary student in the country it would be impossible for me to expand my study of Slavic culture if I had to wait until May 29th to receive a multi-entry visa. I added a few more reasons why I needed the visa (I had to write two letters; the woman inside the office told me that my first wasn’t strong enough) and submitted it. She said I can call on Monday, and they will let me know whether or not my request has been approved. From her response to my letter, it seems like I have a pretty good shot at getting the visa. I hope so, because I would really like to go to Poland- it seems to be a great opportunity that likely won’t present itself again.
Following more business in the university, Brittany and I returned to Nevskii, where she bought some more things to bring back to the United States, and we hopped on a subway to go meet Sasha and Max.
Tomorrow we are either going to Pushkin to tour the Palace/museum located there or going to local museums, depending on how the timing looks like it will work out. We bought tickets to the Mikhailovskii Theatre for tomorrow night to see the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, so if it looks like we won’t be able to get back in time we are going to just stay in the city…
When Brittany and I went to the hermitage Monday, we found that they are closed Mondays, so we instead decided to tour some of the local churches. We went to St. Isaac’s Cathedral as well as the Church on Spilled Blood. After the church on spilled blood, we hopped on the metro to go to the Church of St. Sampson…but after getting all the way there we found the building covered in plastic, closed for renovations.
Tuesday was a busy day. I had a lot of administrative work to do with the university, which meant unfortunately Brittany had to tag along and sit while I filled out paperwork. First we went to the administrative office for the dorms, because I still had yet to pay my rent for the upcoming month. The cashier has apparently been sick, and it seems that there is only one and when she is not available no business can take place. Well, it turned out she was still sick, so the woman told me to go to the main administrative building. So Brittany and I had a quick lunch at the café next to the dorm, and then hopped on a bus back to the university. We found the building, and when we went in there was a girl sitting waiting. She told me the office was locked, and we sat down. She heard us speaking English, and joined in our conversation. She was Norwegian, and kept complaining to us about the inefficiency of Russian bureaucracy. The room we were sitting in had a cashier, and as we sat listening to the girl complain I thought about how every Scandinavian I’ve met at the university has been incredibly timid, and I got up and walked over to the cashier and asked if I could pay my rent through her. She said if I had the forms already from the dorm, why not. I did, and I paid. I think if I had just listened to the Norwegian girl, we would have been sitting there a long time. No wonder she’s having problems.
After paying my rent, I had to go take care of my visa renewal. We went to the visa office, and I filled out the application for my new multi-entry visa (twice, of course because they have a way of finding mistakes on everyone’s paperwork). When I turned everything in, the woman told me that she couldn’t accept my documents, because when I photocopied them I combined multiple documents (e.g. passport, migration card and visa registration). So, we had to run to the next building where I made new photocopies of every one of my documents on a separate sheet of paper in duplicates. When I came back and waited in line again, she approved everything (and half the documents she only needed to see, didn’t even have to collect) and told me I could pick up my passport in a week. She said the visa itself wouldn’t arrive until the end of May, however. I told her I needed it in a few weeks because I had plans to travel abroad, and she said I could present my case downstairs Thursday and request an expedited visa (the woman in the office at the building where I study said all I had to do in order to receive an expedited visa was make the request and pay an additional fee…).
After we finished with the university, it was too late to go to any museums, so Brittany and I went souvenir shopping. We went to the market next to the Church on Spilled Blood (the booths across from St. Isaac’s aren’t there…perhaps they are only open during the summer). Beforehand, I told Brittany to only speak English away from the booths (and let me do the talking in Russian with any merchants), and that we would walk by each booth first where she could decide what she liked, and we would come back to haggle and buy later. She found something she liked at one of the booths, and we came up with a number of what it should be worth (it was marked 950 rubles, and our aim was 600-650). I know I can’t speak like a native yet, but I think I spend enough time with other foreigners that I was able to present an accent that didn’t sound just American, but rather I tried to put in different sounds I hear from other students in the university, thereby making it difficult for the woman to place me. We went back and forth looking at different items, and finally when she came to the one we had already decided on, Brittany would lean into my ear and whisper to me, and I would speak to the woman. She kept repeating things to me and Brittany, and every now and then would repeat her explanations and say words here and there in other languages. When she tried to start speaking to Brittany in English (speaking English more or less guarantees higher prices), I interrupted her in Russian and said “She doesn’t understand anything you’re saying to her,” to which she responded “oh what language does she speak? We can do this in English, Russian, Chinese…” and thinking quickly I said “She’s from Hungary.” I learned last week that Hungarian is one of if not the hardest language in Europe to learn. The woman said she didn’t know any Hungarian, so she would let me speak with her. I told her to give us a minute, and we whispered back and forth. Finally I told the woman that Brittany had agreed, and I talked her down to 630 rubles. I even got her to take some plastic and cushion Brittany’s souvenir inside a box.
After that we decided we would come back to buy anything else, but I wanted to have some fun. When I was in the city two years ago, I made a game out of arguing with merchants just to practice my Russian, and I was in the mood for it. We went to two more booths, and I’m not sure which I enjoyed more. At the first, I found a metal flask with “Stainless Steel 5oz” printed on the bottom. Now, aside from the English print, I know that the United States is the only country in the world that uses ounces, so right from the start I know that he’s not selling me Russian-made products. For fun, I asked him what the text meant. He said that stainless steel meant that it’s easily cared for and durable, and then went on to tell me that 5oz refers to the make of the metal. He said that similar to how gold purity is measured in karats, steel purity is measured in ounces, and that five ounces meant that it was a very strong material, and even asked me to test the durability by squeezing different spots. I told him it looked like it was great quality, but that I would have to come back tomorrow to purchase it.
I still wanted one more, so we walked around and happened upon a booth selling nesting dolls that had one with Barack Obama, spelled “O’Bama” as if he were an Irishman. I asked the woman what was inside, and she said “American presidents, of course,” and proceeded to open the dolls to show me each one. In this order, the dolls went Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, and JFK. I asked her why these presidents, and her answer was that “these are the most famous presidents in American history.” I laughed and asked her if she was sure about that, and asked her if she knew anything about Jimmy Carter. She told me that while I might not be familiar with American history, Carter is considered one of the most famous and loved presidents in the country’s history. I didn’t know what to do with that, so I asked her about Lyndon Johnson. She said that back in the USSR, Johnson was the first view of America for many soviets, and that he could be considered the most well known and well liked American president by the Russian people. That’s news to me, considering that we were on opposite sides of the Vietnam War during his presidency. I asked her what happened to the rest of the presidents, such as Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes. Her response was “do you want the Bushes? Let me find you another one that has them.” I told her I didn’t really need them, and she said that nesting dolls aren’t made by a machine; someone has to sit down and paint them by hand, so the artist must have had his reasons for choosing these presidents. I certainly hope so…
Later that night we met Sasha and Max for dinner. The restaurant Sasha chose is aimed at foreigners looking to experience Russian food (a perfect choice I suppose). I can add a new food to the strange things I’ve eaten here: Beef Jell-O. They boil bones for about eight hours until they have a jelly like consistency, and then add spices and meat and let it cool. Unlike the sweet dessert we have in the United States, this has a very salty, fatty taste and while I understand it is a delicacy prepared for holidays…I think once was enough for me. Brittany wouldn’t try it.
Yesterday Brittany and I finally made it to the hermitage. We spent several hours there, and then decided to head to the Smolny Cathedral. It was nice out and we had heavy traffic on the bus, so we decided to walk about a large part of the way, once we were able to get off the bus. It took us almost two hours to get there. When we finally got to the church, there was a sign on the front door that said that they were on a break, and another that said that the church was closed on Wednesdays. I didn’t think churches took days off…
That night Brittany wanted to try the Russian view of American food, so we went to McDonalds. I think that the food tastes better here than in the US. I’m sure they use the same recipes, but it doesn’t taste quite as greasy or salty. Also, they have a much shorter menu, with nothing larger than a “royale” (quarter pounder). Following dinner, we had a craving for something sweet so we went to a Кофе Хаус (the Petersburg version of Starbucks) and bought a slice of chocolate truffle cake. It was really, really good.
Today Brittany and I had plans to go to Yusopov’s Palace and the section of the Russian Museum focused on the Tsars on Nevskii, but it didn’t quite work out. When I looked at the map, I saw Yusopov’s palace, and without thinking twice we set off. Because it was a nice day, we walked almost the entire way. When we finally got there, we saw dozens of students walking around with notebooks. Next to the door was a sign stating that it was a University for the study of Economics, Social Studies, and a few other fields. The guard inside asked us our business, and when I asked him about the museum he took my map and showed us that there were two locations marked “Yusopov’s Palace,” and that we wanted the other one. Well, we have very little time if we were going to make it there and then back to the university to plead for my expedited visa. We made it there surprisingly quickly, but it was already 3pm (the visa office is only open 3-5) and the museum was only open until five. So, we decided to just go all the way back to the university. We were both upset that we weren’t able to see anything today, but at least we were able to walk around the city on the first sunny day all week.
At the university, I was instructed to write a formal statement requesting expedition of my visa. I think it isn’t just a separate option where you pay more and they speed things up, but rather everyone goes through the same process, and you can make a formal request to have your paperwork expedited. I wrote a letter saying that I had already made arrangements with a student group to travel to Poland at the end of April, and that as a temporary student in the country it would be impossible for me to expand my study of Slavic culture if I had to wait until May 29th to receive a multi-entry visa. I added a few more reasons why I needed the visa (I had to write two letters; the woman inside the office told me that my first wasn’t strong enough) and submitted it. She said I can call on Monday, and they will let me know whether or not my request has been approved. From her response to my letter, it seems like I have a pretty good shot at getting the visa. I hope so, because I would really like to go to Poland- it seems to be a great opportunity that likely won’t present itself again.
Following more business in the university, Brittany and I returned to Nevskii, where she bought some more things to bring back to the United States, and we hopped on a subway to go meet Sasha and Max.
Tomorrow we are either going to Pushkin to tour the Palace/museum located there or going to local museums, depending on how the timing looks like it will work out. We bought tickets to the Mikhailovskii Theatre for tomorrow night to see the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, so if it looks like we won’t be able to get back in time we are going to just stay in the city…
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