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.

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.

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

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.

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!

The first day of spring

It is sunny and above freezing almost everything is melting or melted and dry/ That is all

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