Coming home

I am… home.  And it’s like I barely left at all.  People, places, what really changes?  Petersburg certainly hasn’t changed much over 300 years.  I’m sure if I were to return to that city in 20 years there would be some various changes, but overall it would be exactly the same.  Or, I guess I’m hoping it won’t change much.  A place that becomes a home to you, it’s a saddening thought that one day it might change or disappear before you can see it again.  A scary, frightening thought.  But I suppose that’s also just life.  Places and people change to some degree, sometimes obvious, other times imperceptible.  And everyone keeps on living.

 

The most premeditated city on earth

 

culture catchup

So, I haven’t really mentioned any of the new and exciting discoveries I’ve made concerning popular culture icons from the Soviet period, which is hardly permissible considering the wealth of cutely strange and strangely cute things like чебурашка (cheburashka) over here.  According to Wikipedia, “Cheburashka is a funny little creature, unknown to science, who lives in the tropical forest. He accidentally gets into a crate of oranges, eats his fill, and falls asleep.”

Funny little creature, indeed, and incredibly popular.  He’s also got a friend Gena the Crocodile who accompanies him on adventures.  I haven’t seen any of the episodes myself, but I can only guess from pictures that they’re terrific.  What’s more, he’s super popular over in Japan, which makes yet another unexpected cultural connection I’ve discovered since coming here (the other being the amount of sushi restaurants); though having also been to Japan, it’s not at all surprising that this tropical animal previously unknown to science would resonate with the かわいい (cute) craving country.

The style of the drawings in his first book appearance even look rather Japanese, but maybe that’s just me.  Anyway, I’ve really taken to this little guy since a friend of mine (also studying here in Russia) first found him and also became mildly obsessed.  I think the plan is to make him as wildly popular in the states when we get back so people don’t think we’ve gone mad.

 

november, november, remember november

I’ve neglected the month of November in this little account of mine, and, surprisingly, it hasn’t been for lack of activity.  If anything, I’ve been perhaps more occupied recently with assignments and general appreciation of the whole Russian experience.  Though, I’m really still quite vague on what that’s even supposed to mean.  I think on some level it involves reading works of famous Russian writers, seeing various types of performances at the theaters, eating pastries at the café, and, uh, buying snazzy boots.

To do a little catch up, November involved a bit of snow, some chatting with Russian medical students, a full cleaning of my flat, my host sister’s birthday party, the return of my important documents (though I didn’t know they were gone in the first place), seeing the sun one weekend afternoon, watching some Russian films, and getting a new instructor for my Russian language class.

That’s really quite a bit of excitement for just 4 weeks.  I also saw a spectacular performance of Dostoevsky’s Dream of a Ridiculous Man staged in the main room of an old apartment, so all of us were crammed right in with the actor.  Despite having little comprehension of the language, I was captivated for the whole 40 minutes of the play.  I did read the story beforehand so I could have a little sense of what was going on, but in the end I mostly just enjoyed watching the actor’s movements.

Well, I have barely a week left in Petersburg… Not sure how I really feel about that.  On the one hand I’m happy to be going home for the holidays, but then I’m also feeling a little regret for various things I’ve left undone and probably won’t quite manage to accomplish before leaving.  Though, leaving a place with “unfinished business,” so to speak, just increases the likelihood of my returning sometime in the future.  I probably should buy some matryoshkas.  That would border on criminal, having lived in Russia for 4 months and not coming back with cutely painted little nesting dolls.

 

Let’s get soviet!

So, this time last week I was in Moscow, having taken the overnight train from Petersburg.  That in itself was an adventure, but one that probably can stand to remain at the moment without further explanation.  Instead I’ll talk a little about what I did in Moscow, which considering the rather short duration of the visit was really quite a bit.  Immediately after disembarking our train and leaving the station we herded onto a tour bus and were shown various points of interest in the city.  Unfortunately I slept through most of this tour, but I do recall seeing some very gothic, soviet-style buildings through the foggy, rainy skyline.  I do remember very clearly our breakfast, which was at some buffet-style “cafe” called My-My (pronounced moo-moo) where I had the best jell-o fruit cup ever.  Or it seemed to be at the time.  I’m pretty sure this restaurant/cafe would be super popular in the states, fitting right in with the likes of Golden Corral.

After our meal we headed to our hotel.  Three stars of pure modern comfort.  And I also commend the place on its water pressure; it actually hurt my ears to turn the faucet on in the sink.

Thursday evening we saw the opera adaptation of Eugene Onegin, which definitely ranks up there with best shows I’ve seen in Russia (the other being Swan Lake, the only other show I have seen).  The set for this production was amazing, the singing was good, and I liked the ending.  Definitely worth the ticket provided to me by the Bates College Extra Funds for Random Study Abroad Programs (I’m almost 100% positive on the name).

Other highlights from Moscow include seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, Church of Christ the Savior, St Basil’s in Red Square, aaaaaaaaaaaand… Lenin.  Going inside his mausoleum felt like what I imagine going inside one of the Great Pyramids would be like.  There’s a guard at every turn, and when you finally get into the room it’s all dark except for the glass case with the man himself inside.  I suppose it’s a little strange, but I found the whole experience incredibly fascinating. And they do keep him looking impeccable.

I also saw countless amazing works of art at a gallery the actual name of which escapes me. Russian artists seriously knew what they were doing.  It makes all those other European artists just seem like infants with paintbrushes.  Just compare Vrubel to, like, anybody else.  No contest.

So, yeah, all in all Moscow’s a pretty swell city.

 

cultural/genetic superiority exists read Мариинский театр

Last Thursday evening I attended the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet Company’s performance of Swan Lake, and if someone were to ask me what I thought about it I would say: “It was amazing, and if you see it and don’t think so too then you’re obviously a bonehead.”  I mean, I’m no connoisseur of ballet, but these people obviously have a handle on what the stuff is about.  Firstly, the theatre itself is absolutely breathtaking, outside and in.  My seat was in a box to the back, which I quite liked because it afforded a view of the whole stage and all the dancers at once without making me feel too completely overwhelmed.  Though I teared up within seconds of the curtain pulling back on the first act anyway.

Ballet is wonderful too because it doesn’t require any foreign knowledge to be appreciated.  Next to me were a family from Mexico, as well as an older Italian woman, and of course a whole lot of Russians; and I can say that all of us admired with great pleasure the athleticism and sheer talent these dancers possessed.  Seriously, words fail me when it comes to describing how amazing these dancers were.  Those most prominent in my memory are the jester and Odette.  The former when he leapt through the air, it just looked like he was floating.  Odette, too, was simply outstanding.  The control and strength she had to make the dances look so effortless… I was just in awe.

As my father would say, “These are people who when God made them he thought to himself, ‘No, I’m making this one special.’”

You wish you could hate them, but you know you never will because it’s so wonderful to watch.

 

one of my class assignments

Visiting an orthodox church on a Monday afternoon:

Headscarves and long coats to keep out the wet, autumn chill.  Two women on a bench have quiet conversation, to their right the holy Son.  The ceiling opens into a dome above the altar, through the high windows a glimpse into the eternal.  I stand before the face of a saint, his hand poised in an offering of benevolence.  Beside me another woman finishes a prayer and gently kisses the face of the Madonna—tender expiation for human misdeeds.  Among the icons and absolving, I also feel a sense of release from those minor worries and concerns that accumulate and loom in the back of my mind.  Turning to the exit I catch what is just barely a scent—a suggestion of calm that triggers memories of leaving my own church after Sunday service.  I am contented.

 

all my titles have been related to interesting foodstuffs

I just have to quickly talk about сало, which as far as I can tell is straight pig fat.  In other words, it’s the stuff you’re really wanting to eat when you have some American bacon but you know people will think you’re absolutely disgusting if you said so.  Then you get sorta pissed because you know they just want to eat the pork fat, too.  Anyway, here in Russia, they like to buy pig fat in slabs and slice it off into more manageable pieces for eating.  I had some tonight with bread and grated garlic–absolutely amazing.

 

october comes with clouds and rain

I think Dostoevsky’s Petersburg is coming ’round, bringing with it the sort of weather that sends me to my cozy bed for hours and hours. On the one hand I’m perfectly content to hole up all day in my room, but on the other I feel I should be taking advantage of the fact that I’m in this city with so many things to see and do.

I did visit the mega mall yesterday. There was even this really cool art display made out of discarded computer chips and other trashed hardware. So, that’s something I guess.

 

Chocolate covered cheesecake bar for breakfast?

A month already in Russia–it’s hard for me to believe.  I’ve settled in and Petersburg just gets more interesting every day.  It would take me a lot of time to cover everything I’ve experienced, so I’ll just hit some of the high points for now.

I went to Siberia.  Lake Baikal to be specific.  It was absolutely gorgeous and a nice little break from the city, though it possesses its own beauty and charm that I enjoy.  Just to clarify, Lake Baikal is enormous: its the largest freshwater source in the world (or very nearly), and on certain days when the far shore is obscured by fog it feels like you’re on the ocean sans the salty breezes.  Our group spent nearly two weeks living at a biological center, which was essentially like a summer camp, and every day I stared at the water for at least half an hour.  There’s not much to the place as far as civilization goes (it is Siberia) but the people who we did meet were extraordinarily nice and accommodating.  Though I may be biased because these particular people also made delicious jam.

In short, I really hope that I’ll be able to go back to Siberia.