I dunno..I'm not really feeling the blog right now...or anything at all really...just trying to get back into the swing of things I guess...overslept today...gotta go on a run later.
Kyiv was a fun trip; I enjoyed getting out into the sun again, dropping the computer and internets, and just wandering about. It was relaxing. I bought my tickets the day before I left so I didn't get optimal seats or times - I got into Kyiv at 6am on monday - just as the metro opened and sun was rising. I cluelessly searched about the terminal for the exit to the metro station and picked up a poppy roll for breakfast. Having found the metro, I hopped on and headed straight for the river, figuring I could catch the remainder of the sunrise, which I did and I took silly pictures in the park for a few hours.
The Park near the WWII museum is cool - they had some over-the-top monuments and lots of old material lying around...also at this early hour many young hooligans were playing on the material...which entertained me greatly. The big silver woman statue is pretty in that rough soviet sort of way. I wandered back down to the rear entrance of the Lavra - a complex that is part catacombs/caves, seminary, monastery and who knows what else. It had lots of beautiful churches, but on the whole was run down...I was also moderately uncomfortable because I was pretty much the only tourist there at that early hour...which exacerbated my normal aversion to touring churches and other holy monuments. The pictures are many. At this point, I continued my stroll around the riverbank parks while protesters in blue constantly impeded me...it would have been kinda fun to join with them and meet some folk...but i was preoccupied with my touring. So my wandering continued through parks, punctuated by awful politically charged music, a unkrainian version of we will rock you, many other awful covers, and populist political speeches. I finally wound up at the main drag...Kershchatik...where everything you might expect to be on a mainstreet would be found, but there were many a pretty building. I didn't exactly concern myself with anything here immediately and headed to the opera house to pick up tickets for Friday and Saturday night - Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet and Lisyenko's Taras Bulba...I got some pretty amazing seats for both shows at about $12 a ticket...approximately the cost of a night at my hostel. I decided that it was hot and I wanted to drop my bag off at the hostel (by now it was open) so I hunted it down and planned out the rest of my day. I ate a really nasty fast food lunch of cold borscht and meat covered in potatoes with a really foul ukrainian beer and saw all the central church's - Michael, Sofia, Andre and Vladimir as well as some architectural monuments - Rytsarski Dom, Sorotkin's(?) house, and several other things...many were pretty.
Eventually I tired of this madness and sought sustenance in the form of a coke and sat in the park with a beer and read a few chapters in Moscow - Petushki. Time came for the performance and I naturally checked my coat at the garderobe and took my seat...although poorly dressed I was not the scruffiest of the audience...yay! I'm still getting used to ballet...it's not exactly my thing but I like it better and better each time I see it, but sometimes the formalism and abstraction gets to me...at the ballet in P-burg there was a more contemporary and...flashier? style of dance while this was more graceful and muted. The music was good, but I certain audience practices really bother me...like clapping after a solo or part of a scene while the orchestra is still playing...it just seems...eh. The cellphone problem was big there too. Anyway, after the performance I went home to the hostel and at this point I was feeling the onset of a cold or summat so I bough 3 candy bars, a liter of water, and a liter of pinapple juice...mmmm. The next day I felt better. The guys in my room at the hostel were alright...one was an austrian girl who was in town for a chekhov conference...I couldn't tell what she was studying...she didn't seem enthused about chekhov. The other guy was some sort of Jordanian student-expat-hostel-rat who works only enough so that he can travel; he was a nice guy and trying to learn russian...but he was a bit of a wimp, afraid to go out alone in kiev (so much less threatening than moscow or irkutsk). I dunno, not much else remarkable. I slept.
Woke up, showered, bought some more poppy rolls, and began my touring/wandering again. I don't really know what I did...I wandered all about and saw many things that are all in my pictures and at this bizarre hotdog thing covered in dough and deepfried...mmmm...it's not like a corndog...but like a hotdog in a doughnut...without the sugary goodness. The line was really long which got my attention...so that was cool. I wandered in and out of a monastery...and decided i was sick of churches. Taras Bulba was entertaining, but I thought the story was weak (then again I don't understand ukrainian) and the ballet was sloppy...afterwards I was starving and got a double shoarma on my way home :-D Soooooo tasty...I went to sleep.
Next day I woke up, wandered around more, hit the art museum, the other bank of the river and a few buildings that I had early passed. I slept a while in the Botanical gardens and had a big lunch. Sundown on the beach was nice. On my way out there was a silly band playing decent music (they covered zombie, then the ya svoboden song...it was strange) they had a three piece line up no drums and two people in the background singing along without mikes...it was really silly. And the female backup who WAS miked was completely inaudible. Then I went to the vokzal...bought some pirozhki and rolls for breakfast and headed home. I have lots of silly stories to tell...but I'm not up to it right now.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The 10 hour long play or how I became a Russian major
It's a little bit strange the way I became a Russian major. A lot of seemingly unrelated variables converged and kept pushing me in that direction - Luke suggested the language to me, a major part of my freshman seminar was dedicated to the Russian intelligentsia, etc. The seminar was about Tom Stoppard and the largest unit was on his Coast of Utopia trilogy, which I finally managed to watch in full today...in Russian. It was actually a stroke of luck - the series ran as a part of the season in 2007 and was brought back for two engagements in the Golden Mask Festival. On my side of the equation, I was slow getting my break plans together and managed to buy tickets yesterday.
The series was an altogether curious experience - first, because I've never had the pleasure of enduring a 10 hour long marathon of theater (everyone should try it sometime) and second, because the text had been translated into Russian. This second effect deserves some discussion. I've seen a fair amount of awful Russian translations of English works of literature and pop culture - Quantam of Solace, Babylon 5, Stargate, Law & Order, etc. This translation was good...or at least good by my recollection of what I studied two years ago, especially considering the context - an analytical critique of Russian history - being produced in Russia. The series was immensely popular in New York and in London - and apparently somewhat of a success in Moscow too although, much of the audience wasn't terribly enthusiastic - every act brought a reduction of 2% of the audience and most comments I overheard were of the "goddamn socialism" or "ugh - art" type; admittedly the better part of the audience was enthused. But addressing the Russian intelligentsia in Russia, presents some interesting challenges - namely, not offending the intelligence of any Russian educated enough to care (by being cornily/condescendingly translated) and not offending anyone else. It speaks to the play's strength (and Stoppard's talent) that it succeeded on both counts.
Watching a play or movie in which you are expected to accept that the vernacular is a language other than the vernacular (what terrible sentence construction) - especially when the characters are supposedly multilingual. Typically, this sets up a bit of a corny preachiness in the dialogues of the characters - especially when the characters recognize the languages they speak. However, in this instance that tone is summat abated. Moreover, as a native English speaker I found a lot of the play funny when the Russians didn't and vice versa. Language is a silly thing. I also should have brought lunch and dinner...I sunk like $15 on bad food.
The play was very well done. The scene changes were interesting with thematic music and well costumed techies. The music was tasteful and not overbearing (sometimes a bit loud). The stage was immense and sparsely furnished with chairs and tables, drop down chandeliers/masts to identify indoor/outdoor/at-sea and some strange panels. The acting was solid (I particularly like Belinsky he was crazy).
All in all it was a good play...a bit long, but good. It was much more pleasant that reading the scripts. I also noticed a lot Chekhovian elements (the arrival of guests, little actually happening, rural settings, doctors, etc.) and lot more that in my readings I missed.
Anywho, last night I saw the Seagull (Chekhov) at the Maliy Theater. My seat was awful...I had to crane my neck to see and 60% of the action took place on the side of the stage that my box was on - it was impossible to get a decent view even by standing. I now understand why theater was more of a social event for those in boxes. There were some excellent effects and deliveries (a rotating stage to showcase the different rooms of the estate), but on the whole it was choppy and without cohesion - Masha's initial remarks were severely understated and Kostya's suicide...eh...it seemed like they were overacting - especially Kostya's mother (I know she's supposed to be an actress, but it seemed like some sort of diva-thing). I suppose that's what you get at a traditionalist theater.
Russian theaters are full of savages. Savages who don't turn their phones off - one guy's phone rang three times in 20 min at the end of CoU and more went off earlier and later. Savages who talk during the production. Savages who leave during the show. Savages who are at the theater to show off/appease their women. And so on.
On the whole though the audience at Stoppard was of a higher quality than of the Seagull. I think this has to do with it being a part of a respected theater festival, tickets being more expensive and the production being modern. At the Seagull it seemed like everyone was either some pronvincial/pensioner who happened to be in Moscow or a complete and unenthusiastic novice. I don't know whether this happens in the US too...and it probably does, but I dislike very much the habit of applauding after monologues or in the middle of scenes...it strikes me as coarse...and very Italian...it ruins much of the illusion...what's worse is that it seems that people are willing to engage in this behavior for a funny line, agreeable text or some other such triviality.
Anyway, today I'm going to try to grab tickets to see Ulysses (if I fail, maybe Revizor but I'll catch Ulysses in April). I expect it to be interesting and perhaps...a complete failure. We shall see...but I'm going to hit my goal of 18 hours of theater this weekend and maybe continue it into monday and tuesday if anything interesting is going on. I plan either spend next weekend in Kiev or head out on Tues or Weds and maybe get a day in in Odessa. It is fun just wandering about Moscow though.
The series was an altogether curious experience - first, because I've never had the pleasure of enduring a 10 hour long marathon of theater (everyone should try it sometime) and second, because the text had been translated into Russian. This second effect deserves some discussion. I've seen a fair amount of awful Russian translations of English works of literature and pop culture - Quantam of Solace, Babylon 5, Stargate, Law & Order, etc. This translation was good...or at least good by my recollection of what I studied two years ago, especially considering the context - an analytical critique of Russian history - being produced in Russia. The series was immensely popular in New York and in London - and apparently somewhat of a success in Moscow too although, much of the audience wasn't terribly enthusiastic - every act brought a reduction of 2% of the audience and most comments I overheard were of the "goddamn socialism" or "ugh - art" type; admittedly the better part of the audience was enthused. But addressing the Russian intelligentsia in Russia, presents some interesting challenges - namely, not offending the intelligence of any Russian educated enough to care (by being cornily/condescendingly translated) and not offending anyone else. It speaks to the play's strength (and Stoppard's talent) that it succeeded on both counts.
Watching a play or movie in which you are expected to accept that the vernacular is a language other than the vernacular (what terrible sentence construction) - especially when the characters are supposedly multilingual. Typically, this sets up a bit of a corny preachiness in the dialogues of the characters - especially when the characters recognize the languages they speak. However, in this instance that tone is summat abated. Moreover, as a native English speaker I found a lot of the play funny when the Russians didn't and vice versa. Language is a silly thing. I also should have brought lunch and dinner...I sunk like $15 on bad food.
The play was very well done. The scene changes were interesting with thematic music and well costumed techies. The music was tasteful and not overbearing (sometimes a bit loud). The stage was immense and sparsely furnished with chairs and tables, drop down chandeliers/masts to identify indoor/outdoor/at-sea and some strange panels. The acting was solid (I particularly like Belinsky he was crazy).
All in all it was a good play...a bit long, but good. It was much more pleasant that reading the scripts. I also noticed a lot Chekhovian elements (the arrival of guests, little actually happening, rural settings, doctors, etc.) and lot more that in my readings I missed.
Anywho, last night I saw the Seagull (Chekhov) at the Maliy Theater. My seat was awful...I had to crane my neck to see and 60% of the action took place on the side of the stage that my box was on - it was impossible to get a decent view even by standing. I now understand why theater was more of a social event for those in boxes. There were some excellent effects and deliveries (a rotating stage to showcase the different rooms of the estate), but on the whole it was choppy and without cohesion - Masha's initial remarks were severely understated and Kostya's suicide...eh...it seemed like they were overacting - especially Kostya's mother (I know she's supposed to be an actress, but it seemed like some sort of diva-thing). I suppose that's what you get at a traditionalist theater.
Russian theaters are full of savages. Savages who don't turn their phones off - one guy's phone rang three times in 20 min at the end of CoU and more went off earlier and later. Savages who talk during the production. Savages who leave during the show. Savages who are at the theater to show off/appease their women. And so on.
On the whole though the audience at Stoppard was of a higher quality than of the Seagull. I think this has to do with it being a part of a respected theater festival, tickets being more expensive and the production being modern. At the Seagull it seemed like everyone was either some pronvincial/pensioner who happened to be in Moscow or a complete and unenthusiastic novice. I don't know whether this happens in the US too...and it probably does, but I dislike very much the habit of applauding after monologues or in the middle of scenes...it strikes me as coarse...and very Italian...it ruins much of the illusion...what's worse is that it seems that people are willing to engage in this behavior for a funny line, agreeable text or some other such triviality.
Anyway, today I'm going to try to grab tickets to see Ulysses (if I fail, maybe Revizor but I'll catch Ulysses in April). I expect it to be interesting and perhaps...a complete failure. We shall see...but I'm going to hit my goal of 18 hours of theater this weekend and maybe continue it into monday and tuesday if anything interesting is going on. I plan either spend next weekend in Kiev or head out on Tues or Weds and maybe get a day in in Odessa. It is fun just wandering about Moscow though.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Today I saw things
I saw what must have been Medvedev's or Putin's motorcade.
I saw a bentley detailed in gold.
I saw three teenagers getting harassed by three cops...likely for drinking in public or grand theft auto.
I saw a bike come down a stationary escalator in the metro...and teen come after it (somehow he got in front of the bike and stopped its fall.
I saw a bentley detailed in gold.
I saw three teenagers getting harassed by three cops...likely for drinking in public or grand theft auto.
I saw a bike come down a stationary escalator in the metro...and teen come after it (somehow he got in front of the bike and stopped its fall.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wow...
So the Noise Complaint community blog got ahead of me...I really must have forgotten about this thing for a while. I'm going to keep this short-er. Last night, I finally made it to rugby practice and there's an off chance I'll be able to play tomorrow...despite barely having touched a ball. Our team is of the we are so much bigger than you that we don't have to play well property...they couldn't even play rugby basketball right...so many turnover...beyond that they have yet to understand that I speak better Russian than the typical English speaking expat. It's really funny because I am the only person of moderat size and strength on the team - there are two younger guys who look like sticks and likely weigh in in the 130-140 range, and the remainder are big guys...the lightest (and healthiest looking of which is likely 230lbs). Anyway...we'll see how that goes. Oh, and one of the skinny guys has friend who was an exchange student at Midd last year...small world.
Tonight I'm planning on hitting two concerts - some classical at the Conservatory and then Sergey Shnurov's new group, Rubl', - I have no idea how they will sound. Tomorrow rugby and maybe carousing...maybe a museum in the morning...I dunno.
We took a small trip to Petersburg last weekend that was entertaining, but at times infuriating. We took a late overnight train that was in reality too early - as a result we arrived at 6 AM - woot! Nothing...excepting the clubs that are closing and a few all night cafes...is open in Russia at that time (most women don't even wake up until after 1PM - exagerration but somewhat true). Later after wandering and having found our hostel we made our way to the Hermitage Museum, which is essentially the Russian Louvre...and it's about as good though many of its objects are of lesser notoriety. I ended up getting locked out of my room because my roommate had the key and decided to wander about...the catch was that after my nap I wasn't dressed to be out on the town and needed to change my clothes...so we waited...and waited...and waited somemore. Eventually, I got out with two others in tow and we sought sustenance and I found a pretty cool looking cafe and the food wasn't bad, though portions were small...they had a nice house white. We went to a club...I had some beers and a shot of tequila and went home...clubs aren't typically my thing. I feel like some antics of remark occurred at the club, but I don't feel like recalling them. The next day we breakfasted at the local bliny chain and then went our seperate ways - somehow we got into one of the churches without buying admission...but were soon kicked out. We attempted to tour a prison, but it seemed way sketchier when we got there seeing that most of the people around were visiting the inmates...we decided against it...maybe on a weekday. Then we made our way to the Petropavlovsky Krepost', but the metro stop we wanted was under "remont" so we had to walk about as far as we rode. We split up after buying tickets (I forgot my student ID, so I had to pay) and we toured the church where the emperors are buried and a museum regarding the history of Petersburg - we were soon interrupted by a phone call asking if we wanted to go to the ballet - we did and had to rush home to change and drop off our stuff...no time for dinner! By some miracle we made the ballet on time...they had delays and our bush was surprisingly fast...and it was entertaining...it's based on a RUssian fairy tale Konyok Gorbunok - which is something akin to the Humpbacked Colt, but it focuses on how Ivan the Idiot becomes tsar and gets the girl. The first half wasn't entirely understandable by context, but I got used to it and the dancing and music were satisfactory - I fell asleep for a bit do to lack of blood sugar. During intermission I bought some overpriced butterbrody - open faced sandwiches, and ran into numerous people from Midd summer school...frightening. Their whole contingent was there and one of the girls had taken first year RUssian with one the girls on our program...blah blah blah. The wanted us to go out with them, but we were more interested in grabbing some grub and they didn't seem to notice our exit. We found our way to The Idiot cafe, which was nice and comfy but overprices (catering to tourists I think) and then went home. On the last day I woke up late and missed breakfast replacing it with my personal breakfast of champions - a super snickers and a coke...mmmmm...love the calories. We hit a few more museums, toured the political prison and walked on the frozen Neva, where many Russian were sunning themselves in unseemly bathing suits and freezing weather...crazies. We then proceeded to the Admiralty and Decembrist's square w/ its enormous monument to Peter the great. It was cool. Then we went to the enormous and ornate Isaac Cathederal...which is pretty. After that we walked, rested and ate until our train...woot.
Now I'm planning my vacation...I'm leaning towards Ukraine or sticking in moscow right now...it's just too expensive to hit azerbaijan and you sorta have to stick there because of Armenia alongside with the Georgia and Russia situation...poor me.
That's it for now
Tonight I'm planning on hitting two concerts - some classical at the Conservatory and then Sergey Shnurov's new group, Rubl', - I have no idea how they will sound. Tomorrow rugby and maybe carousing...maybe a museum in the morning...I dunno.
We took a small trip to Petersburg last weekend that was entertaining, but at times infuriating. We took a late overnight train that was in reality too early - as a result we arrived at 6 AM - woot! Nothing...excepting the clubs that are closing and a few all night cafes...is open in Russia at that time (most women don't even wake up until after 1PM - exagerration but somewhat true). Later after wandering and having found our hostel we made our way to the Hermitage Museum, which is essentially the Russian Louvre...and it's about as good though many of its objects are of lesser notoriety. I ended up getting locked out of my room because my roommate had the key and decided to wander about...the catch was that after my nap I wasn't dressed to be out on the town and needed to change my clothes...so we waited...and waited...and waited somemore. Eventually, I got out with two others in tow and we sought sustenance and I found a pretty cool looking cafe and the food wasn't bad, though portions were small...they had a nice house white. We went to a club...I had some beers and a shot of tequila and went home...clubs aren't typically my thing. I feel like some antics of remark occurred at the club, but I don't feel like recalling them. The next day we breakfasted at the local bliny chain and then went our seperate ways - somehow we got into one of the churches without buying admission...but were soon kicked out. We attempted to tour a prison, but it seemed way sketchier when we got there seeing that most of the people around were visiting the inmates...we decided against it...maybe on a weekday. Then we made our way to the Petropavlovsky Krepost', but the metro stop we wanted was under "remont" so we had to walk about as far as we rode. We split up after buying tickets (I forgot my student ID, so I had to pay) and we toured the church where the emperors are buried and a museum regarding the history of Petersburg - we were soon interrupted by a phone call asking if we wanted to go to the ballet - we did and had to rush home to change and drop off our stuff...no time for dinner! By some miracle we made the ballet on time...they had delays and our bush was surprisingly fast...and it was entertaining...it's based on a RUssian fairy tale Konyok Gorbunok - which is something akin to the Humpbacked Colt, but it focuses on how Ivan the Idiot becomes tsar and gets the girl. The first half wasn't entirely understandable by context, but I got used to it and the dancing and music were satisfactory - I fell asleep for a bit do to lack of blood sugar. During intermission I bought some overpriced butterbrody - open faced sandwiches, and ran into numerous people from Midd summer school...frightening. Their whole contingent was there and one of the girls had taken first year RUssian with one the girls on our program...blah blah blah. The wanted us to go out with them, but we were more interested in grabbing some grub and they didn't seem to notice our exit. We found our way to The Idiot cafe, which was nice and comfy but overprices (catering to tourists I think) and then went home. On the last day I woke up late and missed breakfast replacing it with my personal breakfast of champions - a super snickers and a coke...mmmmm...love the calories. We hit a few more museums, toured the political prison and walked on the frozen Neva, where many Russian were sunning themselves in unseemly bathing suits and freezing weather...crazies. We then proceeded to the Admiralty and Decembrist's square w/ its enormous monument to Peter the great. It was cool. Then we went to the enormous and ornate Isaac Cathederal...which is pretty. After that we walked, rested and ate until our train...woot.
Now I'm planning my vacation...I'm leaning towards Ukraine or sticking in moscow right now...it's just too expensive to hit azerbaijan and you sorta have to stick there because of Armenia alongside with the Georgia and Russia situation...poor me.
That's it for now
Friday, March 6, 2009
What a liberal country!
Today at work we celebrated international women's day.
Festivities included vodka shots, beer and champagne! With fried chicken...mmmmmmmm. Such fun.
Update: I neglected to mention that all the women left within about an hour of the commencement of the event having received their cosmetics gift certificates and roses. The guys who stayed after started playing football variants in the conference room and generally enjoying themselves.
Festivities included vodka shots, beer and champagne! With fried chicken...mmmmmmmm. Such fun.
Update: I neglected to mention that all the women left within about an hour of the commencement of the event having received their cosmetics gift certificates and roses. The guys who stayed after started playing football variants in the conference room and generally enjoying themselves.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I'm wearing purple...
If you don't the reference look up Gogol Bordello - Purple on YouTube.
Anyway...Gogol Bordello in combination with these hellish Thursday schedules inspires my cooking skills - today's fun: Chicken and Rice...I guess if you want to be technical you might call it pilaf. It's pretty tasty and got a bit of a bite to it (the mushrooms are spicier than the chicken). The rice is just a normal brown and wild mix perhaps a little bit undercooked but fine to my taste...I don't like it mushy. I made a nice bed out of it. The actual food part of it was chicken doused with a little old red wine that's turning into vinegar (which I have been slowly depleting between portabello mushrooms, hamburger experiments and other insane recipes...I don't really like the wine hamburger thing...it just gets that really weak rusty dead wine taste) and rubbed with chili powder and salt. I then sauteed the mix in olive oil, garlic and those really basic mushrooms you buy at the grocery store (I didn't have enough because of my morning omelets). My progress was nearly waylaid by a misstep when I realized that I had failed to slice up my ~ 1kg of chicken breasts...no big deal...I just attacked them in the pan while cooking - it ended up looking sorta like fajita meat. Anyway, I laid it on the rice and topped it with some diced tomato. Glee!
Apart from that today has been pretty unbearable - I have 3 classes on Thursdays, which is more than any other day of the week (and it could become more soon *cringe*), but the killer is the breaks of 1.75 hours between each class. That means there's not enough time to go home 30-45 min each way or almost anywhere at all. So I crashed at coffee house for the second break - worked on my applications (which are going to be done this weekend that I can relax until I realize that summer has come and I don't know what I'm doing) until my computer's battery (the one I changed in DC) informed me that it is almost useless and died (hope you guys back home didn't throw away the old one :-P). I ordered a large coffee and a piece of cheesecake...which satisfied my craving...but it was really small and had a grainy texture too it...it also wasn't sour enough. I actually got a fair bit done. The first break I just wandered around trying to stay awake and got a coke from a kiosk - which brings me to the story of my morning and last night.
I knew today that I had a mainstream I couldn't miss first period, so, like a good boy I set my alarm clock for 6am - 1.25 hours between showering, dressing and omelet - with plenty of time to spare to get into a classroom by 8:15.
I proceeded to sleep until 7 or so. Got out of bed in a panic, booted up the email and facebook (I'm a little addicted), did a sloppy shave job, quickly (but effectively) showered and realized that I didn't have time to make another glorious omelet - settling for fried eggs and sausage (which I tasted until the cheesecake even after brushing my teeth) instead. I was still running late - leaving the house at 7:35 into morning traffic on the subway and spending my last card swipe in the process. After avoiding the babushki, boyfriends and other hooligans who decide that it's ok not to stand on the right side of the escalator and have no courtesy for those behind them, who may or more not be in a rush but a capable of moving faster than a two legged turtle, I somehow made it to the building and up to my classroom. There, outside the classroom was a group of very suspicious looking 17 year olds - you can tell they all look like the should still be in high school - sitting outside the classroom...that combined with the general dearth of lighting brought up the realization of my idiocy. Class didn't start until 8:45, which in Russia time is about 9:00.
Actually, I was feeling pretty good at this point - I got to rest for half an hour, wasn't late and was going to get some paperwork done. The class was interesting and moderately engaging, though not wholly understandable because I know next to nothing about literary history...which is to say much much more than most people, but not enough to be useful in most circumstances...regardless, I got my paperwork into the professor and he promised to do it. The rest of the day went as already said until immediately before my second literature class (after the Coffee House) when I collected the paperwork and discovered that I was indeed in Russia...again. The guy/his secretary didn't have the foresight to figure out that the front page was not the only page of the form nor that the podpis' (signature) that I needed was not anywhere on the front page...ugh it's worse than AZ high schoolers...just kidding.
So, I'll have to bring that back next week. Oh well, that sums up the day.
In additional news, I am going to the circus on Saturday, celebrating International Women's Day - it gets me a day off (that's what it's like to live in a liberal country), hopefully going museum hopping, planning a trip to Peter next weekend, planning a Spring Break trip (thinking of Kiev/Crimea/Odessa, Baku or Tashkent/Samarkand), maybe going to see Reel Big Fish next week, maybe planning a Caucuses ski trip for April, hopefully seeing the Watchmen, catching the end of a rugby game, and - if I'm really lucky, got my apps together and can find someone willing to come with me - might spoil myself with a restaurant for the holiday.
And so I'll leave you for now with...oh yay! I got tapped for an interview with a theater...cool! But I've got a hungry heart...maybe I'll have something to do in DC anyway...maybe even paid...w00t!
Anyway...Gogol Bordello in combination with these hellish Thursday schedules inspires my cooking skills - today's fun: Chicken and Rice...I guess if you want to be technical you might call it pilaf. It's pretty tasty and got a bit of a bite to it (the mushrooms are spicier than the chicken). The rice is just a normal brown and wild mix perhaps a little bit undercooked but fine to my taste...I don't like it mushy. I made a nice bed out of it. The actual food part of it was chicken doused with a little old red wine that's turning into vinegar (which I have been slowly depleting between portabello mushrooms, hamburger experiments and other insane recipes...I don't really like the wine hamburger thing...it just gets that really weak rusty dead wine taste) and rubbed with chili powder and salt. I then sauteed the mix in olive oil, garlic and those really basic mushrooms you buy at the grocery store (I didn't have enough because of my morning omelets). My progress was nearly waylaid by a misstep when I realized that I had failed to slice up my ~ 1kg of chicken breasts...no big deal...I just attacked them in the pan while cooking - it ended up looking sorta like fajita meat. Anyway, I laid it on the rice and topped it with some diced tomato. Glee!
Apart from that today has been pretty unbearable - I have 3 classes on Thursdays, which is more than any other day of the week (and it could become more soon *cringe*), but the killer is the breaks of 1.75 hours between each class. That means there's not enough time to go home 30-45 min each way or almost anywhere at all. So I crashed at coffee house for the second break - worked on my applications (which are going to be done this weekend that I can relax until I realize that summer has come and I don't know what I'm doing) until my computer's battery (the one I changed in DC) informed me that it is almost useless and died (hope you guys back home didn't throw away the old one :-P). I ordered a large coffee and a piece of cheesecake...which satisfied my craving...but it was really small and had a grainy texture too it...it also wasn't sour enough. I actually got a fair bit done. The first break I just wandered around trying to stay awake and got a coke from a kiosk - which brings me to the story of my morning and last night.
I knew today that I had a mainstream I couldn't miss first period, so, like a good boy I set my alarm clock for 6am - 1.25 hours between showering, dressing and omelet - with plenty of time to spare to get into a classroom by 8:15.
I proceeded to sleep until 7 or so. Got out of bed in a panic, booted up the email and facebook (I'm a little addicted), did a sloppy shave job, quickly (but effectively) showered and realized that I didn't have time to make another glorious omelet - settling for fried eggs and sausage (which I tasted until the cheesecake even after brushing my teeth) instead. I was still running late - leaving the house at 7:35 into morning traffic on the subway and spending my last card swipe in the process. After avoiding the babushki, boyfriends and other hooligans who decide that it's ok not to stand on the right side of the escalator and have no courtesy for those behind them, who may or more not be in a rush but a capable of moving faster than a two legged turtle, I somehow made it to the building and up to my classroom. There, outside the classroom was a group of very suspicious looking 17 year olds - you can tell they all look like the should still be in high school - sitting outside the classroom...that combined with the general dearth of lighting brought up the realization of my idiocy. Class didn't start until 8:45, which in Russia time is about 9:00.
Actually, I was feeling pretty good at this point - I got to rest for half an hour, wasn't late and was going to get some paperwork done. The class was interesting and moderately engaging, though not wholly understandable because I know next to nothing about literary history...which is to say much much more than most people, but not enough to be useful in most circumstances...regardless, I got my paperwork into the professor and he promised to do it. The rest of the day went as already said until immediately before my second literature class (after the Coffee House) when I collected the paperwork and discovered that I was indeed in Russia...again. The guy/his secretary didn't have the foresight to figure out that the front page was not the only page of the form nor that the podpis' (signature) that I needed was not anywhere on the front page...ugh it's worse than AZ high schoolers...just kidding.
So, I'll have to bring that back next week. Oh well, that sums up the day.
In additional news, I am going to the circus on Saturday, celebrating International Women's Day - it gets me a day off (that's what it's like to live in a liberal country), hopefully going museum hopping, planning a trip to Peter next weekend, planning a Spring Break trip (thinking of Kiev/Crimea/Odessa, Baku or Tashkent/Samarkand), maybe going to see Reel Big Fish next week, maybe planning a Caucuses ski trip for April, hopefully seeing the Watchmen, catching the end of a rugby game, and - if I'm really lucky, got my apps together and can find someone willing to come with me - might spoil myself with a restaurant for the holiday.
And so I'll leave you for now with...oh yay! I got tapped for an interview with a theater...cool! But I've got a hungry heart...maybe I'll have something to do in DC anyway...maybe even paid...w00t!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The first day of spring
It is sunny and above freezing almost everything is melting or melted and dry/ That is all
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Угар!
This is a word I ought to know and my Russian friends claim it means something like nirvana...I'll deal with that but it's imprecise. I met these two guys last week about 2am at the wonderful flat next Christ the Saviour and they were kind enough to invite me to a concert with them - a band called Landashyn. Pretty cool group like Mumiy Trol - a Petersburg sort of feel, but they were harder the played to the crowd and there was a nice pit that formed...best thing - free cd's with door entry! Yeah, I liked them very much some of their stuff was nice and poppy and it was all very catchy, humorous (from what I understood) and energetic. Naturally, in any group of young Russian males on a Friday night, much drinking will be involved, I somehow held out better than they did...likely because they all started long before I arrived, but they had me try a flavored vodka - Horseradish...it was pretty nasty...not smooth at all and the aftertaste is something awful though I did like the spice. We jabbered about many things mainly music...at one point about homosexuality (we had to agree to disagree) and I got a couple more invitations - to go skiing in the Caucasus with them in April to go see Reel Big Fish, and so on...hopefully some of this stuff will work out. For some reason we went to another club - zhest' - iron/harsh/metal something of that nature. It was a little boring there...there just wasn't anyone there. Anyway we went home, one of the guys had gotten too drunk and made an annoyance of himself - he sobered up when he punched his friend in the face. We found a taxi and they wanted me to come over to their place, but because of intern applications and our scheduled dacha trip i had to refuse.
So I have about a third of my apps done..and only a week or so left...woot. Incredibly i'm making progress.
Yesterday, we all went to the dacha (vacation house/country house) and had a good time - shish kebabs, bliny, and other tasty delights in celebration of russian carnival/maslenitsa, but we didn't have any of the traditional fighting or burning of scarecrows. It was mostly a success and I stayed up talking until about 6am - it was pleasant. I got back today did about half of what I wanted to on the computer and crashed, woke up, made myself some pasta and now am typing again...look at me I'm here this is real time! Anywho, classes and internship tomorrow, more applications tonight...hoping to knock out 2-6 and get some grammar homework done. Gotta do rugby and get to my mainstreams with paperwork this week...it'll be a good time. Either next weekend or the following will be Petersburg and I need to get myself hitting the touristy stuff in Moscow...upping my culture quotient.
That's it for today
So I have about a third of my apps done..and only a week or so left...woot. Incredibly i'm making progress.
Yesterday, we all went to the dacha (vacation house/country house) and had a good time - shish kebabs, bliny, and other tasty delights in celebration of russian carnival/maslenitsa, but we didn't have any of the traditional fighting or burning of scarecrows. It was mostly a success and I stayed up talking until about 6am - it was pleasant. I got back today did about half of what I wanted to on the computer and crashed, woke up, made myself some pasta and now am typing again...look at me I'm here this is real time! Anywho, classes and internship tomorrow, more applications tonight...hoping to knock out 2-6 and get some grammar homework done. Gotta do rugby and get to my mainstreams with paperwork this week...it'll be a good time. Either next weekend or the following will be Petersburg and I need to get myself hitting the touristy stuff in Moscow...upping my culture quotient.
That's it for today
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Pat's Cooking Hour Redux
After buying an unsatisfying cheap Sangiovese that was a little hot, what could I do? It was so fruity I couldn't imagine drinking it...it was like juice with cruddy alcohol in it in the wrong proportions.
The solution: Buying a four pack of portobellos using the wine with olive oil and garlic as a sauce. Oh yeah! Plus topped with gorgonzola...oh yeah!
The solution: Buying a four pack of portobellos using the wine with olive oil and garlic as a sauce. Oh yeah! Plus topped with gorgonzola...oh yeah!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Fireworks!
Woohoo! Outside the dvor they were launching fireworks over MGU...I can see from my window.
Weekend rundown
Today is Defenders of the Fatherland day, otherwise known as Men's Day...a completely arbitrary and artificial holiday originally intended to celebrate the Red Army...I haven't heard about any parades or protests so I've decided to stay in for the moment despite beautiful sunny -15 degree weather...a kakaya ona rossiya!
This weekend has been pleasant a tad boring, but such is often the case. Friday night...I must have stayed in...because I can't recall doing anything of note...Saturday was epic...and yesterday was...interesting. The only downside was that I couldn't get the motivation in to plan a menu and then a shopping list..so I'm still running low on products...an unintended consequence of this was eating at McDonalds a few times...and as disgusting as it is, it really can be kinda tasty...especially when you haven't eaten anything else all day...also managed to get to TGIF...where I had the worst burger ever...I need to stop making these stoopid choices.
But...Saturday night...I guess that makes it all right...tell me we what have I got to lose!
Originally we had intended to meet up with the Yaro students on Saturday, but their provincial ways left them unequipped to deal with the energetic demands of Moscow and they reneged on our date. Luckily, one of the students here invited me to a concert - it was kinda ska-like, a French band I think, which I managed to watch a bit of, took down a beer and some lamb stew, and met some of his buddies. After the show we decided to head out because one of the girls we had met didn't want to pay the cover charge for the club and so we set off wandering, but the guy who invited me left and so it became a night of meeting new folks. We went through a few bars, met up with some other journalism students and ended the night at a house party on the 16th floor of an apartment building right next to the Church of Chirst the Savior - ie. pretty damn close to the Kremlin and with a spectacular view. I met some rather friendly Russians, listened to them singing the well known standards, and got one of them to help me find a gypsy cab home...which was not nearly so bad as people try to get you to think. I got home at 3 and went to bed.
Yesterday I finally made it to the grocery store...but only picked up breakfast food (lots of eggs, cheese, tomatoes - they don't understand that you aren't supposed to refrigerate tomatoes!, omelet stuff), some chocolate and a bottle of wine that markets for 3 bucks in the us but 9 here...it's not bad but incredibly boring...it'll be good to cook with if I don't finish it. Anyhoo, I discovered the amazingness of the Charlie Rose Show (I never expected that I would be able to stream video in Russia - it's a miracle) and headed out to the Vanya where I dehydrated myself severely, but it's pleasant makes you feel nice. Lots of singing out of key...I noticed that I have a terrible time remembering words when I'm also trying to fit in the key of the guitar while it seems like the other voices are completely out of tune...it was unpleasant and made for a poor rendition of Lola. But it was funny...I do miss playing the guitar a wee bit, but if I were to start up again I need to take it seriously with a good teacher and frequent practice. But I have bigger fish to fry. So yeah...the banya was warm i didn't drink much other than a glass of wine before I left, but I was completely incapable of walking due to the temperature changes. And I couldn't get to sleep until 5am last night.
So now, I need to do my homework and right letters while clearing out my tabs.
Edit: The wine is actually a lot better than it was last night...I think I just didn't give an opportunity to breath and as such it was pretty flat, but now it's got the acidity and bite that makes me love syrah so much, but still it's pretty unremarkable...even with chocolate...eeee. Red wine chocolate and internship applications!
This weekend has been pleasant a tad boring, but such is often the case. Friday night...I must have stayed in...because I can't recall doing anything of note...Saturday was epic...and yesterday was...interesting. The only downside was that I couldn't get the motivation in to plan a menu and then a shopping list..so I'm still running low on products...an unintended consequence of this was eating at McDonalds a few times...and as disgusting as it is, it really can be kinda tasty...especially when you haven't eaten anything else all day...also managed to get to TGIF...where I had the worst burger ever...I need to stop making these stoopid choices.
But...Saturday night...I guess that makes it all right...tell me we what have I got to lose!
Originally we had intended to meet up with the Yaro students on Saturday, but their provincial ways left them unequipped to deal with the energetic demands of Moscow and they reneged on our date. Luckily, one of the students here invited me to a concert - it was kinda ska-like, a French band I think, which I managed to watch a bit of, took down a beer and some lamb stew, and met some of his buddies. After the show we decided to head out because one of the girls we had met didn't want to pay the cover charge for the club and so we set off wandering, but the guy who invited me left and so it became a night of meeting new folks. We went through a few bars, met up with some other journalism students and ended the night at a house party on the 16th floor of an apartment building right next to the Church of Chirst the Savior - ie. pretty damn close to the Kremlin and with a spectacular view. I met some rather friendly Russians, listened to them singing the well known standards, and got one of them to help me find a gypsy cab home...which was not nearly so bad as people try to get you to think. I got home at 3 and went to bed.
Yesterday I finally made it to the grocery store...but only picked up breakfast food (lots of eggs, cheese, tomatoes - they don't understand that you aren't supposed to refrigerate tomatoes!, omelet stuff), some chocolate and a bottle of wine that markets for 3 bucks in the us but 9 here...it's not bad but incredibly boring...it'll be good to cook with if I don't finish it. Anyhoo, I discovered the amazingness of the Charlie Rose Show (I never expected that I would be able to stream video in Russia - it's a miracle) and headed out to the Vanya where I dehydrated myself severely, but it's pleasant makes you feel nice. Lots of singing out of key...I noticed that I have a terrible time remembering words when I'm also trying to fit in the key of the guitar while it seems like the other voices are completely out of tune...it was unpleasant and made for a poor rendition of Lola. But it was funny...I do miss playing the guitar a wee bit, but if I were to start up again I need to take it seriously with a good teacher and frequent practice. But I have bigger fish to fry. So yeah...the banya was warm i didn't drink much other than a glass of wine before I left, but I was completely incapable of walking due to the temperature changes. And I couldn't get to sleep until 5am last night.
So now, I need to do my homework and right letters while clearing out my tabs.
Edit: The wine is actually a lot better than it was last night...I think I just didn't give an opportunity to breath and as such it was pretty flat, but now it's got the acidity and bite that makes me love syrah so much, but still it's pretty unremarkable...even with chocolate...eeee. Red wine chocolate and internship applications!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thoughts and Observations
Nothing really major has happened...I'm still not really settled - that would involve me getting off my tush and buying some cooking supplies, groceries, hangers, theater tickets, making it to rugby practice and finding some mainstreams (I'm also considering finding a Muay Thai or MMA club in place of a gym, which I have had no luck finding). So this post is just going to be a dump of silliness. Yay!
So in spite of not making it to a wild or exotic location (read: tropical) for study abroad - Russia is pretty wild...and kinda exotic...in a really trailer trash sort of way, but don't worry about that - the past few days have had their share of tropical delights. Most importantly the sun showed its lovely shining face again on Thursday and this morning. On Thursday I had set my alarm extra early to make it to a mainstream class at 8am (I woke up and went back to bed...that won't happen next week...honest), but when I woke up I noticed something special - the sky, normally glowing a rusty red was instead a dark blue...I knew that this could have but one meaning - hell had frozen over and Satan was too preoccupied to keep the clouds over Moscow. Today was different unfortunately, I woke up late and by the time I had gotten out of bed the haze returned, but I made up for it by finding the entrance (lord I hope so) to the rugby stadium where the Dragons practice and stopping by my favorite little coffee shop/bakery - Volkonsky not far off from the Mayakovskaya Metro station. On the other hand I didn't make it to the Dragons game today as I could not recall which bus to take from the metro station and was generally too disoriented to walk 1.5 miles to find it. In my wandering today I noticed something peculiar by my standards or at least curious - at all of the plazas from Red Square down Tverskaya there were regiments of militsioneriy, OMON, and some military...and nothing seemed to be going on. They weren't doing anything though...the were a few who formed a perimeter around the plazas (complete with metal detectors) but most were just idly sitting in trucks or old asian minibuses with the curtains drawn (I think this was only for OMON - largely considered the specops brute squad of the Kremlin). I wanted to ask an officer what was going on, but decided against it when I remembered that I hadn't renewed my spravka and still don't have my real passport yet...agh!
Yesterday, I had yet another tropical experience. I went to the Moscow Zoo in hopes of another hilariously depressing experience like Irkutsk's Nerpinariya (they have a delfinariya here David!) So, in my experience Zoo's are not typically open in the winter time...perhaps I'm a bit wrong, but I have very few memories of ever being at such a place during the winter, naturally many of the animals were not on display in the frozen landscape that is the incredible tacky Moscow Zoo, but enough were and were able to go indoors to see some others. Highlights include: Maxim magazine sponsorship of the wild boar exhibit, people throwing food to the animals in spite of signs insisting that they not feed them (right under signs that could be interpreted to mean that children are prohibited from dueling...or approaching the barriers...take it whichever way you want), tuskless walruses, interspecies relationships and the opportunity to feed and pet giraffes and tapirs (I have pictures - the tapir ones aren't so good though).
And now and ad hoc list of silliness:
1. Some little kid trying to emulate cartoon martial arts hit me pretty hard while walking to the metro...the rascal.
2. Yesterday the cold water in our apartment didn't work...the hot did, I can understand how this could happen, but it's very silly.
3. I bought a friend on Wednesday, he's kinda cool...I guess, he has decent taste in action movies if nothing else.
4. The internet has finally arrived for me now that I got some American-Russian power adapters and turned on the Beeline wifi. It works ok, but likes to boot me off whenever I start using lots of bandwidth...which is almost always.
Apart from all that not much else remains. Sunday we're going to the Banya. Monday is Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland...which from what I understand celebrates some sort of made up Soviet army stand near Pskov. I'll be celebrating by drinking myself silly and reading...or watching the telly. Next weekend is Maslenitsa or as the rest of the world that celebrates it on time calls it - Carnival, we're renting a cottage in the 'burbs and are going to barbecue and fight and make bliny and have a generally bizarre time. I'm still working on internship applications which I'm hoping to have completely finished by Tuesday...but I'll be happy if they're done by the weekend. Tuesday I have a meeting for my internship, which will force me to follow a normal sleep schedule.
Beyond that I just have to get my shopping done, get some theater tickets, and make some travel plans and I'll be set to go...oh and actually get my butt to rugby practice this week.
TTFN
I almost forgot, I have two theories:
1. Most males in Russia own PSP's based on the frequency I seem them on the Metro, but I have no idea why - seldom do I see a DS or some other such thing...is there one?
2. Women in Russia forget how to bend their knees after the age of thirty...why? I do not know, arthritis? All I know is that the majority of middle and old aged women shuffle and drag their feet, which is likely neither healthy nor efficient.
So in spite of not making it to a wild or exotic location (read: tropical) for study abroad - Russia is pretty wild...and kinda exotic...in a really trailer trash sort of way, but don't worry about that - the past few days have had their share of tropical delights. Most importantly the sun showed its lovely shining face again on Thursday and this morning. On Thursday I had set my alarm extra early to make it to a mainstream class at 8am (I woke up and went back to bed...that won't happen next week...honest), but when I woke up I noticed something special - the sky, normally glowing a rusty red was instead a dark blue...I knew that this could have but one meaning - hell had frozen over and Satan was too preoccupied to keep the clouds over Moscow. Today was different unfortunately, I woke up late and by the time I had gotten out of bed the haze returned, but I made up for it by finding the entrance (lord I hope so) to the rugby stadium where the Dragons practice and stopping by my favorite little coffee shop/bakery - Volkonsky not far off from the Mayakovskaya Metro station. On the other hand I didn't make it to the Dragons game today as I could not recall which bus to take from the metro station and was generally too disoriented to walk 1.5 miles to find it. In my wandering today I noticed something peculiar by my standards or at least curious - at all of the plazas from Red Square down Tverskaya there were regiments of militsioneriy, OMON, and some military...and nothing seemed to be going on. They weren't doing anything though...the were a few who formed a perimeter around the plazas (complete with metal detectors) but most were just idly sitting in trucks or old asian minibuses with the curtains drawn (I think this was only for OMON - largely considered the specops brute squad of the Kremlin). I wanted to ask an officer what was going on, but decided against it when I remembered that I hadn't renewed my spravka and still don't have my real passport yet...agh!
Yesterday, I had yet another tropical experience. I went to the Moscow Zoo in hopes of another hilariously depressing experience like Irkutsk's Nerpinariya (they have a delfinariya here David!) So, in my experience Zoo's are not typically open in the winter time...perhaps I'm a bit wrong, but I have very few memories of ever being at such a place during the winter, naturally many of the animals were not on display in the frozen landscape that is the incredible tacky Moscow Zoo, but enough were and were able to go indoors to see some others. Highlights include: Maxim magazine sponsorship of the wild boar exhibit, people throwing food to the animals in spite of signs insisting that they not feed them (right under signs that could be interpreted to mean that children are prohibited from dueling...or approaching the barriers...take it whichever way you want), tuskless walruses, interspecies relationships and the opportunity to feed and pet giraffes and tapirs (I have pictures - the tapir ones aren't so good though).
And now and ad hoc list of silliness:
1. Some little kid trying to emulate cartoon martial arts hit me pretty hard while walking to the metro...the rascal.
2. Yesterday the cold water in our apartment didn't work...the hot did, I can understand how this could happen, but it's very silly.
3. I bought a friend on Wednesday, he's kinda cool...I guess, he has decent taste in action movies if nothing else.
4. The internet has finally arrived for me now that I got some American-Russian power adapters and turned on the Beeline wifi. It works ok, but likes to boot me off whenever I start using lots of bandwidth...which is almost always.
Apart from all that not much else remains. Sunday we're going to the Banya. Monday is Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland...which from what I understand celebrates some sort of made up Soviet army stand near Pskov. I'll be celebrating by drinking myself silly and reading...or watching the telly. Next weekend is Maslenitsa or as the rest of the world that celebrates it on time calls it - Carnival, we're renting a cottage in the 'burbs and are going to barbecue and fight and make bliny and have a generally bizarre time. I'm still working on internship applications which I'm hoping to have completely finished by Tuesday...but I'll be happy if they're done by the weekend. Tuesday I have a meeting for my internship, which will force me to follow a normal sleep schedule.
Beyond that I just have to get my shopping done, get some theater tickets, and make some travel plans and I'll be set to go...oh and actually get my butt to rugby practice this week.
TTFN
I almost forgot, I have two theories:
1. Most males in Russia own PSP's based on the frequency I seem them on the Metro, but I have no idea why - seldom do I see a DS or some other such thing...is there one?
2. Women in Russia forget how to bend their knees after the age of thirty...why? I do not know, arthritis? All I know is that the majority of middle and old aged women shuffle and drag their feet, which is likely neither healthy nor efficient.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Recipe hour with Lil' Patty
Last week I was sitting around with a pot of cold cooked rice and knew that I wasn't going to finish it in that from at which point I decided to make rice pudding..weeeeee! Only thing is that I didn't really know how and had no measuring equipment. So after looking up a few recipes online I eyeballed the measurements and made up an egg beaten in honey and cinamon to replace vanilla...nothing that major. It came out well...it seems difficult to screw up, but it was a little sweet for my taste...so I bought some tvorog which is somewhere between cottage cheese and cream cheese...but at times reminds me of greek yogurt...and i mixed that in which gave it a nice sourish after taste and killed off the sickly sweetness.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A week in Moscow...
I've been in Russia for about a week now...perhaps a bit more and life isn't that bad. Actually, I've been living alone for the past week and think that will continue until Sunday or maybe Monday. My host is a film journalist, currently at the Berlin International Film Festival...pretty cool stuff. But what's cooler is the relatively enormous apartment I've been living in by myself...it even has internet and cable TV! Who'd have thought it possible in Russia? I've also been busying myself culinarily...and not to much success...but it's not a failure either...I just need to make something flavorful that doesn't rely on mustard. Of course, it would help if I had frying pan...I'm planning this weekend to acquire some much needed cooking equipment to make life tastier. Good news is that I haven't started drinking soda again. Bad news I haven't been able to buy wine (the stores are so freaking incomprehensible).
Tonight I tried to go to rugby practice, but unfortunately got lost in the middle of a sketchy dark park in Moscow and called it quits after a half hour of searching and an hour long metro commute...the funny thing is that I could probably walk there in an hour...but such is life. In other news, even in Moscow people can get what they deserve - case in point: jackass decides to try and catch the try by sticking his hand in to keep the door open, hand gets caught...really funny I was about 10 inches away inside the train. Eaxmple 2: Annoying couples penetrating each other with their tounges on the escalator get jolted when the dejournik decides it's time to switch which escalators are moving - REALLY funny. I'll scope rugby out again before next week if we aren't leaving on Thursday night for Kazan. Oh yeah that's right XC ski trip and banya next week...oh yeahs! It also looks like I'll be getting an internship with an engineering firm...that may or may not have something to do with weapons manufacture...even better than Phillip Morris!
Classes are better than they were in Irkutsk and I'm having a much easier time finding mainstreams. Current schedule: Grammar, Writing, 20th Century History, 20th Century Lit, and some other lit/film course. I'm not all that excited about this stuff...but if I'm going to get that Russian mahor I should probably up the literature a bit more...I've let it slide a bit too much and I know next to nothing about Soviet History or lit. The turf wars our profs have are entertaining...they argue for about 10% of our class with other professors about who is actually scheduled in the room. A couple of our classes don't even have rooms to meet in yet.
The kids so far are pretty cool, but the new kids (exemting heritage speakers) don't speak all that well, which is to be expected. The older kids are a pretty interesting bunch - we're having a double party on Saturday night, one of the girls on the program got married and another guy is turning 21...should be a messy affair...I really didn't intend for a pun but it's so silly I'll just have to leave it. I don't know what else...I plan to get settled this weekend, get my internship apps done and a menu laid out and then start frequenting the theater...hopefully with other people...eek!
Tonight I tried to go to rugby practice, but unfortunately got lost in the middle of a sketchy dark park in Moscow and called it quits after a half hour of searching and an hour long metro commute...the funny thing is that I could probably walk there in an hour...but such is life. In other news, even in Moscow people can get what they deserve - case in point: jackass decides to try and catch the try by sticking his hand in to keep the door open, hand gets caught...really funny I was about 10 inches away inside the train. Eaxmple 2: Annoying couples penetrating each other with their tounges on the escalator get jolted when the dejournik decides it's time to switch which escalators are moving - REALLY funny. I'll scope rugby out again before next week if we aren't leaving on Thursday night for Kazan. Oh yeah that's right XC ski trip and banya next week...oh yeahs! It also looks like I'll be getting an internship with an engineering firm...that may or may not have something to do with weapons manufacture...even better than Phillip Morris!
Classes are better than they were in Irkutsk and I'm having a much easier time finding mainstreams. Current schedule: Grammar, Writing, 20th Century History, 20th Century Lit, and some other lit/film course. I'm not all that excited about this stuff...but if I'm going to get that Russian mahor I should probably up the literature a bit more...I've let it slide a bit too much and I know next to nothing about Soviet History or lit. The turf wars our profs have are entertaining...they argue for about 10% of our class with other professors about who is actually scheduled in the room. A couple of our classes don't even have rooms to meet in yet.
The kids so far are pretty cool, but the new kids (exemting heritage speakers) don't speak all that well, which is to be expected. The older kids are a pretty interesting bunch - we're having a double party on Saturday night, one of the girls on the program got married and another guy is turning 21...should be a messy affair...I really didn't intend for a pun but it's so silly I'll just have to leave it. I don't know what else...I plan to get settled this weekend, get my internship apps done and a menu laid out and then start frequenting the theater...hopefully with other people...eek!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
On the road again...
So here I am again, sitting in the Atlanta airport with two hours until my flight to Moscow, and I don't really know how I'm feeling about it. I'm not terribly excited about going back, nor am I anxious. The thought of finding new mainstreams and friends is not exactly enjoyable, but I am enthusiastic about playing rugby again and starting and internships...and exploiting Moscow's assets. Oh and cooking for myself will be a good experiment.
Anyway, I'll keep updating this.
Anyway, I'll keep updating this.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Moscow II
I just returned from a ski race/concert in the middle of Moscow...actually it was right outside of MGU and one of the only and highest artificial hills in the world...it was really entertaining and I froze my a$$ off. The weather has been really nice for the past few days - New Year's didn't get to less than zero and last night the clouds broke, so today was sunny, but cold. And tonight it was -10 at the hill...pleasant...really.
Just a few notes from the event which was culturally significant in someways...but first to rebut David, who though it would actually be difficult to make it to the event - it was free, many people were there, and somehow I pushed my way to the front. The first thing I noticed, excepting of course the audacity of building a fake ski hill in the middle of a megapolis, was the two types of commentators that the Russians have...and they really do only fall into two categories. The first category constantly feels the need to make exceptionally mundane comments ranging from those that would make the most feel-good coach vomit and those that are unnecessarily cruel. Of course, the main themes of the comments is Russian victory (a rare rare happening), the significance and glory of the event that Russia/Moscow has the honor of hosting, and the incredible potential of Russian athletes. The second kind of commentator is bitter and political - today he felt the need to chastise the Olympic committee for choosing Sochi (and it being behind schedule) when Moscow already has all the facilities built...he's right...but the idea of a Winter Olympics in Moscow is also something rather laughable...especially if they decided to build a fake Super G course etc.
Second thing, Russian popstars suck at lipsynching. It's pretty well known that popstars tend to be genetically gifted dancers, who dance significantly better than they sing, and generally are incapable of holding pitch (all thanks to the miracles of modern record production). But Jeebus! Is it that hard to put the mike to your mouth and move your lips whilst dancing??? Moreover, why on earth actually permit the performers to sing when it's already obvious that it will sound awful!? Both of these idiocies occurred today.
Third, not surprising, but the anti-Americanism in the crowd was measurable...many boo-ed when Bodie Miller or Legetty(sp?) raced and they cheered heartily when Miller screwed up his semi-final run. I mean...I get it...they're badly informed because the government wants them to be while we're badly informed because we have atrocious journalism and misplaced bleeding heart sympathies...almost categorically. I dunno, I don't really get uncomfortable in those contexts simply because I speak Russian and think when people don't hear me speak I pass for a Russian...albeit a rather strange one.
Fourth, certain people don't seem to understand the way crowds work...that is you try and work your way to the best possible spot and people cluster together (especially when it's below freezing). This jerk/fool behind me vacated his spot because he was 5'2 and couldn't see over the heads of the 5'6 Russian (suffering from the malnutrition of a diet rooted in simple carbs and fat), and when I - freezing - stepped into the freshly empty space he informed me that he had "specially backed up and left that space for a better and my 6'1 height was ruining all of his master plans!" Now, I'm a bit of an unpleasant/inconsiderate person in these kind of situations and it seems like the moral thing to do would be to oblige him and his vertically challenged associates, but I can't avoid the conclusion that this guy was an idiot...or an idiotic holdout from the USSR. I mean crowds in Russia work a little differently than the US - it's frowned on here to push your way through at all costs - you're expected to respect the weak people who arrived several hours early and leave perforations in front of themselves. That is, they don't understand EFFICIENCY - you know...that thing we tried to help them with back in the 90's. Anyway, the reason I wasn't a jerk and rather this quasi midget was - he was occupying space that 8+ people might have occupied. In conclusion, the visibility is about the same from 70+m from the spot we were at, so please, suck it up and stop thinking like an egotistical communist or idealistic capitalist...this is Russia goddammit, the strong here survive. For this reason, I'm glad that I'm a fairly large male.
Actually, this wasn't my first experience with this idiotic communist/lemming attitude toward crowds and entitlement today. When I was coming home in the pedestrian underpass they had two-direction traffic that was wall to wall. I noticed that there was extra space where the directions merged and I quickly occupied this space and started moving about 5 times faster than those around me, a few Russian girls noticed the efficacy and followed in my wake, but like all things the space eroded away and I soon slowed to the normal pace, but exploiting opportunities as they came along. Eventually, some Russians started yelling at me because it's more fair/efficient if we all move at the same speed...but at the same time if I cease to take up space more quickly than the average person, then over the same amount of time isn't there generally more space over that time period and the group moves faster? This is sort of a weird egotistical argument that may be wrong, but there are precedents. In the book Traffic, the author describes the benefits of inconsiderate late merging compared with polite early merging, the basic idea is the employment of the wasted space increases the average speed of the group of the relevant distance (there's a few more ideas there but I'll leave them be). Anyway, Russians in general need to walk faster...especially the groups of 2 women who take up the majority of the sidewalk.
Finally, how on earth is it possible to lipsync badly...I mean Russian pop is bad enough, but there were moments during the concert when the singer forgot to put the mike to her mouth or...they thought...let's let them actually sing for a few measures - at which point they promptly lost pitch and created chords unpleasant enough to cause me pain...and my musical ear sucks.
Oh...the unexpected fireworks mid race were great...I don't know what happened but randomly they shot off a bunch from beneath the hill, it's new year's so it makes sense but i couldn't determine whether it was a prank or a technical malfunction (which there were many)
Just a few notes from the event which was culturally significant in someways...but first to rebut David, who though it would actually be difficult to make it to the event - it was free, many people were there, and somehow I pushed my way to the front. The first thing I noticed, excepting of course the audacity of building a fake ski hill in the middle of a megapolis, was the two types of commentators that the Russians have...and they really do only fall into two categories. The first category constantly feels the need to make exceptionally mundane comments ranging from those that would make the most feel-good coach vomit and those that are unnecessarily cruel. Of course, the main themes of the comments is Russian victory (a rare rare happening), the significance and glory of the event that Russia/Moscow has the honor of hosting, and the incredible potential of Russian athletes. The second kind of commentator is bitter and political - today he felt the need to chastise the Olympic committee for choosing Sochi (and it being behind schedule) when Moscow already has all the facilities built...he's right...but the idea of a Winter Olympics in Moscow is also something rather laughable...especially if they decided to build a fake Super G course etc.
Second thing, Russian popstars suck at lipsynching. It's pretty well known that popstars tend to be genetically gifted dancers, who dance significantly better than they sing, and generally are incapable of holding pitch (all thanks to the miracles of modern record production). But Jeebus! Is it that hard to put the mike to your mouth and move your lips whilst dancing??? Moreover, why on earth actually permit the performers to sing when it's already obvious that it will sound awful!? Both of these idiocies occurred today.
Third, not surprising, but the anti-Americanism in the crowd was measurable...many boo-ed when Bodie Miller or Legetty(sp?) raced and they cheered heartily when Miller screwed up his semi-final run. I mean...I get it...they're badly informed because the government wants them to be while we're badly informed because we have atrocious journalism and misplaced bleeding heart sympathies...almost categorically. I dunno, I don't really get uncomfortable in those contexts simply because I speak Russian and think when people don't hear me speak I pass for a Russian...albeit a rather strange one.
Fourth, certain people don't seem to understand the way crowds work...that is you try and work your way to the best possible spot and people cluster together (especially when it's below freezing). This jerk/fool behind me vacated his spot because he was 5'2 and couldn't see over the heads of the 5'6 Russian (suffering from the malnutrition of a diet rooted in simple carbs and fat), and when I - freezing - stepped into the freshly empty space he informed me that he had "specially backed up and left that space for a better and my 6'1 height was ruining all of his master plans!" Now, I'm a bit of an unpleasant/inconsiderate person in these kind of situations and it seems like the moral thing to do would be to oblige him and his vertically challenged associates, but I can't avoid the conclusion that this guy was an idiot...or an idiotic holdout from the USSR. I mean crowds in Russia work a little differently than the US - it's frowned on here to push your way through at all costs - you're expected to respect the weak people who arrived several hours early and leave perforations in front of themselves. That is, they don't understand EFFICIENCY - you know...that thing we tried to help them with back in the 90's. Anyway, the reason I wasn't a jerk and rather this quasi midget was - he was occupying space that 8+ people might have occupied. In conclusion, the visibility is about the same from 70+m from the spot we were at, so please, suck it up and stop thinking like an egotistical communist or idealistic capitalist...this is Russia goddammit, the strong here survive. For this reason, I'm glad that I'm a fairly large male.
Actually, this wasn't my first experience with this idiotic communist/lemming attitude toward crowds and entitlement today. When I was coming home in the pedestrian underpass they had two-direction traffic that was wall to wall. I noticed that there was extra space where the directions merged and I quickly occupied this space and started moving about 5 times faster than those around me, a few Russian girls noticed the efficacy and followed in my wake, but like all things the space eroded away and I soon slowed to the normal pace, but exploiting opportunities as they came along. Eventually, some Russians started yelling at me because it's more fair/efficient if we all move at the same speed...but at the same time if I cease to take up space more quickly than the average person, then over the same amount of time isn't there generally more space over that time period and the group moves faster? This is sort of a weird egotistical argument that may be wrong, but there are precedents. In the book Traffic, the author describes the benefits of inconsiderate late merging compared with polite early merging, the basic idea is the employment of the wasted space increases the average speed of the group of the relevant distance (there's a few more ideas there but I'll leave them be). Anyway, Russians in general need to walk faster...especially the groups of 2 women who take up the majority of the sidewalk.
Finally, how on earth is it possible to lipsync badly...I mean Russian pop is bad enough, but there were moments during the concert when the singer forgot to put the mike to her mouth or...they thought...let's let them actually sing for a few measures - at which point they promptly lost pitch and created chords unpleasant enough to cause me pain...and my musical ear sucks.
Oh...the unexpected fireworks mid race were great...I don't know what happened but randomly they shot off a bunch from beneath the hill, it's new year's so it makes sense but i couldn't determine whether it was a prank or a technical malfunction (which there were many)
Moscow
Now that David headed of to Finland, I'm on my own hanging out in Mocsow until Sunday...but it's sort of a strange city...I mean it makes me uncomfortable at times. First off on New Year's Eve David and I had some time to burn and went to this place called the All-Russia Exhibition Center(the metro stops have it as the All-Coyuz Economic Exhibition Center), it's on about the scale of...I dunno Frontierland in Disney (maybe a bit bigger) - it's got rides and fountains that presumable function in warmer weather and a bunch of over the top Soviet exhibition pavilions which are supposed to contain various types of exhibitions (one advertised live sharks!). But inside of all these quasi-beautiful buildings the exhibitions take up only 20% of the used space, rather cheesy strip malls dominate! We even found one selling cowboy boots and Confederate flags! In it's defense it has Gagarin's rocket...which is badass.
Other strange things involve Russians asking me for directions (which happened about 5 5 times today) and the Pushkin Museum - which has all the classics of Western art in it...in copied format. So I no longer need to go to Italy see Michelangelo's sculptures and such.
Moscow police are fun too! They stopped me for taking a picture of the US Embassy - apparently illegal - which in retrospect I ought to have expected...but so far they haven't demanded bribes (probably because I've got a nifty passport and am not effectively mute)...which saves me money. One of the guys in our hostel claims he has to bribe everybody...but he's short, badly shaven and doesn't speak Russian...so it's his fault entirely.
Anyway, Happy New Years' everybody!
Other strange things involve Russians asking me for directions (which happened about 5 5 times today) and the Pushkin Museum - which has all the classics of Western art in it...in copied format. So I no longer need to go to Italy see Michelangelo's sculptures and such.
Moscow police are fun too! They stopped me for taking a picture of the US Embassy - apparently illegal - which in retrospect I ought to have expected...but so far they haven't demanded bribes (probably because I've got a nifty passport and am not effectively mute)...which saves me money. One of the guys in our hostel claims he has to bribe everybody...but he's short, badly shaven and doesn't speak Russian...so it's his fault entirely.
Anyway, Happy New Years' everybody!
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