Have I mentioned how much I love the churches?

Here is a special little blog post in honor of the one month anniversary of my expatriation.  I’ve been here for a month.  Can you believe it???  I know, I can’t either!  I can’t tell you how much I absolutely love the moments where I’m just sitting here and I realize where I am and what I’m doing.  I’m in Russia!!!  Five thousand miles half way around the world!  How crazy is that?!?

In honor of this special occasion, I’ve decided to write absolute my absolute favorite thing in the city of Yaroslavl…the Churches.  I’ve never seen so many churches in one place.  Ever.  There is one on just about every street, and each is just as impressive as the next.  Almost all churches in Russia have the same design, but each is different in its own individual way.  I’ve never really been into architecture…a building is a building is a building.  But these churches are something else. 

These first four pictures are from Храм Илии пророка, the Temple of Elijah the Prophet.  I have been here twice in the past week.  The first was when I was walking around the city last weekend, and the second was while on a field trip with my Culture class on Thursday.  There is not a bare spot on the inside.  The walls and ceilings are all painted and where there are not pictures painted straight to the walls, there are icons hanging.  The icons are spectacular.  Actually, the word “spectacular” does not do them justice.  I don’t know if there is a word to describe just how amazing they are.

A little fun fact: the cupolas represent Jesus and the Apostles (the number of which varies).  For instance, the Temple of Elijah the Prophet has five main cupolas.  The dome in the center is for Jesus, and the four surrounding it are for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  I don’t know why, but I found this interesting when we were talking about it in class the other day.

Храм Илии пророка

Next is another amazing church located fairly close to the Temple of Elijah the Prophet.  I always forget what it is called.  It is huge!  They were burning incense and it smelled just like our church at Christmas time or Easter.  (I think they could have used a little bit more smoke, though, because they had a lot of space to fill inside!)

I have recently discovered my new favorite Russian word – колокол (kohlahkahl), which is the word for bell.  It just rolls right off the tongue…kind of like bungalow.  These bells are from the church above with the gold domes.  I don’t really know why they are outside in their own little area and not in the church, but none the less, they’re pretty neat.

I don’t know where this next church is.  We saw it when we were on our bus tour of the city’s architecture.  I hope I am able to find it again, though.

Here's to the next couple of months being as great as the first....

Exploration

This week I am feeling better, which makes everything a lot easier!  I am able to think clearly again.  What is reassuring is that it was not just me that was sick.  Every one of the students in our group has been sick within the past two weeks, and a couple are starting in on round two.  Tanya told me that this time of year, everyone gets sick.  I’m thinking it’s the weather, because it’s always damp and it’s starting to get colder.   (A note on the garlic remedy: part of me really hopes that it worked, because I can’t stand the thought of eating it (and still tasting it after brushing my teeth three times that night and twice the next morning) and having it not work.  But the other part of me doesn’t want it to be the remedy that worked because it was just gross!  None the less, I am better, so it doesn’t matter what did it.)

With Saturday came amazing fall weather!  The sun was out, the temperature was comfortable, and most importantly, it wasn’t raining!  This led to a small excursion around the city.  We wound up down by the river in a small park like area called “Naberezhnaya” (Набережная), which, in Russian, means “embankment”.  (I honestly think it sounds prettier if you don't know what the word means...."embankment" doesn't sound very awesome to me.)  When the city was first founded 1000 years ago, this was the spot; the place where the two rivers ran together.  It was amazing.  Words can’t really describe it.  It was just really really nice there.  And being right next to the two rivers was incredible.  In addition to the fountains and flowers, we saw many newlyweds, which isn’t really surprising, because this is an amazing place to take pictures.  The only thing that surprised us was the sheer number of couples that we saw.  We walked around for probably three hours and saw at least ten different sets of brides and grooms.

Yup, we creeped on their wedding photos.

Me with my friends Sasha and Masha.

On Sunday, I had my first taste of caviar.  (Before I go any further, I should mention that I’m not a fan of fish or seafood….not even a little bit.  I draw the line at tuna fish, which I will sometimes eat, but other than that no.  Not even fish sticks, and I don’t think you could consider them even really fish.)  I wish I could say this is an exaggeration, but I did actually gag a little bit.  And I gagged again over the next few days whenever I thought about the caviar.  Here’s the setup: Tanya had a little party at her house on Sunday following the Christening of her grandson, Mark (one of the cutest babies ever, but boy, does he have a set of lungs!), so part of her family was here for a late lunch.  Tanya handed me a plate of food (which was apparently only the first course/salad portion of the meal.  A stew was to follow, thank god, because it was really good and it got the fish taste out of my mouth!) and as I sat down to the table full of Russians, I realized what filled the little pastry on the plate.  I figured that I would at least try the caviar because a) I’m in Russia, and b) I’ve never tried it before, and I figured that if I didn’t try it, I would never know if I liked it or not.  (It ended up being the “or not,” but I’m still glad that I tried it.)  I have no idea if everyone else at the table saw me gag, but I’m kind of hoping that they didn’t.  I did consider eating it, just so that I wouldn’t offend Tanya, but I wasn’t even able to do that – just the thought of doing so sent a ripple of nausea through me, so I can’t even imagine what the actually doing so would have done!  (Good news, Tanya wasn’t offended.)  A side note about meals, and I don’t know if this pertains to all Russians or not, but when Tanya or Nastia fill a glass of wine, it is filled right to the brim of the glass.  This leaves no room for error as they move to clink glasses with you. 

I’ve decided that one thing I miss about the states is the ability to interact with people on the streets and sidewalks.  I like to smile.  (Smiling is my favorite.  I just love to smile!)  But here, that option does not really exist unless I am walking down the sidewalk with the other American students, in which case we are all talking an smiling.  I have found myself looking up when cars beep at each other (in road rage, of course) thinking that it may be someone that I know, and then I remember where I am.  I don’t wave, because, what is it that I’ve been trying to teach you Mom?  You don’t wave unless you know who they are, even if they do beep! haha  But I do look up.  And then I chuckle to myself – on the inside.

Russian Remedies

I fear that my last post may have sounded a little bit discouraged, and so today, I wanted to start off by saying it was a good day, as was yesterday.  Despite being sick (darn colds) and the weather being cold and rainy, the days were enjoyable.  They have only been getting better, which is encouraging, and I am starting to feel myself adjust to being here, which is a relief (there was a point where I wasn’t sure that was going to happen).

Before I mentioned that I was sick.  (Just a simple head cold.  Nothing too serious, not to worry.)  But Tanya noticed this morning that I was not well, and tonight she started in on making things better and trying to rid my system of the sickness.  It started off with ginger and honey, which I was completely ok with.  I like ginger.  It tastes good.  She gave me a whole bowl of honey, sliced up ginger, and put it in a pot with some tea and told me I had to drink a lot.  Not a problem, seeing as I’ve been drinking about five times the amount of tea that a normal person drinks.  [Also, a little side note on said tea, which I’m drinking as I write this, it tastes like I’m drinking a ginger snap.  Pretty tasty.]  The next thing she brought out was garlic.  A gigantic clove.  This scared me.  I should mention that I’m not a huge fan of garlic.  I do eat it (it’s great with pasta and other foods), but not in huge doses and especially not by itself.  I was slightly scared that the next words out of her mouth would tell me to put the clove in my mouth and chew.  The mere thought of doing this makes me gag.  Thank god she went back to the kitchen and came back with toast.  Relief rushed over me as she told me to simply rub the garlic on the toast and then eat the toast.  The entire time I did this, she was talking about how good garlic was for you and how you should eat it every day.  I didn’t say a thing…I just chewed and was thankful that it was bread and not just garlic that I was chewing on.  I also don’t foresee myself forgetting the word for garlic any time soon…

Being sick has also made me realize how awesome fresh country air is.  Walking through the city in the cold-ish air feels good, but it doesn’t really feel clean, if that makes sense.  In my opinion, Yaroslavl is definitely way cleaner than Moscow.  We were only in Moscow for two days, but on our way from the airport to the hotel, you could see and feel the smog and pollution.  (At least in the part we were driving through…I’m sure that the entire city was not like that.)  A few weeks before I left the states, I was talking with a friend about the pros and cons of living in a city and the air factor came into play.  It really is a fantastic thing to be able to step out your back door and step into fresh, clean air!

Yaroslavl is actually quite a clean city, especially since last year, when the city held celebrations for its 1000^th birthday.  (I hear the city was cleaned up quite a bit for that milestone.)  When I walk to university in the morning, I always pass people sweeping the sidewalks.  Everywhere.  I think they might be the equivalent of our village or state workers, or they may just be the people who own the businesses.  I’m not quite sure.  But, none the less, the sidewalks are mud and leaf free for at least the first part of the day.

While I don’t think it was quite as cold as at home, today was actually quite chilly here, too.  Yesterday I was able to see my breath in the air when I left for university, and today I was smart enough to bring a pair of gloves to wear.  I am thankful for my walk in the morning, though, because it gives me the chance to warm up, so that by the time I reach the university, I am no longer cold.  But I know that it is only going to get colder from here on out.

Last Friday, however, the weather was quite nice and a few of the other students and I found ourselves at the Planetarium across the street from the university.  We watched a show about the constellations and the creation of the planets (the kind of show that every Planetarium has).  It wasn’t that hard to understand what was going on and it was kind of relaxing to just look up at the starry ceiling.  And seeing as I have seen programs similar to this one in the past (and seeing as I paid attention during middle school science class), I knew what was going on.  Fun fact: they are celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in space this year.  (I think the exact date was earlier in the Spring, but I’m not sure.)

The Planetarium.

Billboard celebrating Yuri Gagarin.

While we were there, a wedding party came in (I’m assuming to take pictures in the museum).  It was actually the second wedding party that we had seen that day.  Earlier in the day, we also saw one right outside of the university, although I’m not entirely certain of why they were there.  There is one thing I’ve noticed about Russian weddings….they happen any time of day, any day of the week.  I passed a wedding procession of cars on my way back to my apartment at like 3:30pm on a Thursday afternoon.  Now, I’ve only been to a handful of weddings, but they have all been on the weekend, whether it be a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon.  We were at the Planetarium around 5pm on Friday.

I wasn't lying about the tractors...

Two Weeks In...

It looks like this is going to start being a once (or maybe twice) a week ordeal, rather than an everyday/every few days kind of thing.  Homework often takes longer than I think/plan for because it’s all in Russian (if it was in English, I could have it done in 30 minutes maximum, that’s how easy it is!)  And to be quite honest, at the end of the day, I’m thoroughly exhausted!  Thinking and living in Russian is way more tiring than I ever thought it would be.  No matter how much I sleep at night, I’m still usually in a sleepy haze for part of the next day.  My brain literally hurts!

One of my favorite churches.
It is right across the street from the University.

I can’t believe that I’ve been here for two weeks!!!  Some days it feels like I’ve been here for so much longer than that, and other days, I realize that I have three more months here, and that I actually haven’t been here that long at all.  It’s amazing how quickly the time has flown by, and I know that the next few months will go by just as fast, if not faster than these past two weeks!

A couple of days ago (maybe Monday-ish?) I broke out the knee socks.  I had been hoping to hold off for another few weeks, but I was a) cold, and b) out of low cut socks.  (Laundry will be tonight’s mission.)  I have found that dressing for the day is a game, and most days, I lose.  Although I am getting better.  The weather changes constantly.  For instance, this morning, when I woke up, the sun was shining and the weather was gorgeous!  (And as you know, for me, whether or not I see sunshine plays a huge role in my mood and outlook on the day.)  By mid-day, it was cloudy and kind of chilly outside.  But later in the day, when I left the university to return to my apartment, the sunshine was out again and the temperature was (relatively) warmer.  I am very grateful for the sunshine…it was much needed! 

I think I have figured out a solution to my trouble with doors.  You have to look and see what side the hinges are on….if you can see them, then you pull, and if you can’t see them, then you push.  Hopefully this will save me from further humiliation.

The city has been recovering from the devastating loss of the local hockey team “Yaroslavl Lokomotiv”.  It was a very difficult thing to stand by and observe because it was like a giant funeral.  It seemed as though everyone in the city was overcome with grief and sadness with this loss.  And rightfully so!  Many people can be seen wearing their Lokomotiv red and white scarves, and there are bumper stickers on cars and banners of remembrance hanging throughout the city.  It really heart wrenching to see just how much this team meant to the city.

Last weekend, we went on our first excursion, which was a bus tour of architectural sites in Yaroslavl.  It was quite interesting, but I don’t think it was quite what we all were expecting.  While we did see some great churches while we were on the bus, some of the places that we went were kind of random.  (One stop appeared to be just an apartment building.  Maybe I simply don’t think in the “architectural state of mind” but there was nothing spectacular about it.)  Even Anya, our Resident Coordinator, who has lived in Yaroslavl for her entire life, had not been to some of the places that we went, and even went so far as to advise us not to return, as they were slightly sketchy.  Fantastic!   None the less, it was still pretty neat and I caught my first glimpse of the Volga.

The Volga River

The past week has been kind of rough, I’m not going to lie.  I think I’m kind of over that first rush of excitement and exhilaration for the new and different.  Although every day (and some days more than others) I get excited when I remember where I am and what I’m doing.  It’s an amazing thing and I try my hardest never to forget that.  I have been going through periods of homesickness, most often propelled by stress, confusion, and isolation.  But I work my way through them and try to make things work out, simply because I have no other option than to do just that.  I also keep reminding myself that it will get easier, it just takes time.  And it is at these moments in time that I wish I was a more patient person!  Let me just tell you, “culture shock,” as they call it, is quite the roller coaster ride!!

But, to end on a good note…climbing the stairs to the fifth floor is no longer difficult.  J

Observations (con't.)

12.    Any word can be made into a verb by simply adding –ovat’.  Example: "parkovat'" as in "to park a car" or "photografirovat'" as in "to photograph."


13.   My Phonetics class is just like the scene in the Pink Panther where Steve Martin’s character goes to see the speech coach…almost exactly like it.


14.   There are some things shown on Russian TV that would potentially break the FCC censors if they were shown in America.

15.   That being said, a word on television.  Most of it is pretty interesting.  The other morning, I watched a show similar to a TLC show where they redo your house when you’re not there.  There seem to be a lot of shows modeled on American shows (I think I may have seen Russian “Jersey Shore” or “Big Brother” the other night).  I’ve tried to watch the news, too, but they talk really really fast and I don’t catch any of it.  Two nights ago, though, I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Russian and I was able to pick up on some of it.  I think that is because they were talking kind of slow and I knew what was happening and what was going to happen.  But still.  I also saw another American movie last week (I forget which one) and I could hear the English very quietly under the Russian, which was kind of good.


16.   I may be able to drive standard better than some of these Russian drivers (including the bus driver that we had on our Architecture excursion).


17.   Crossing the street (even at a cross walk) is like playing a big game of Frogger.


18.   As much as I would love to wear high heels every day just like most Russian women do (and because it is fun), the sidewalks suck.  And given my propensity for turning ankles, I feel that this may be a bad idea.


19.   I’ve seen multiple tractors (of the farm variety) driving through the center of the city.  I’m not really sure where they’re coming from, but they’re definitely there.

Observations

1.       When you buy something at a market and you want a bag for your goods, you have to buy the plastic bag to put it in.  It’s not like at stores in the United States, where they automatically put your food and stuff in a bag.  I think the other day when I bought shampoo and soap the other day, the bag was something like 1.5 rubles, which is like 5 cents US.  This leads to observation number two.

2.       Everyone carries a bag.  Little kids with backpacks, babushkas with reusable shopping bags, business men with briefcases, women with purses, and even men with purses/small bags (satchels, if you will.  Not quite like Indiana Jones, though. haha  Although, on a side note, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was playing at the cafe we went to last night).

3.       Doors open by pushing them, not pulling them.  Well, I guess it kind of depends on which way you are going.  But I’ve found that most doors to rooms or buildings open in, and I often forget and pull and pull on the door until I remember that I have to push.

4.       When Russians walk down the street or ride on public transportation, they either look straight ahead or down at the ground.  No expressions and no eye contact.  It is hard for me not to have a smile on my face or to look at people when I walk down the street.  I’m a genuinely happy person.  But I must say, my Russian face is coming along nicely.

5.       I’m getting pretty good at being observant while looking down at the ground or straight ahead.  Even when I walk around town at home, my head is on a swivel.  But here, I try not to do that as much because the Russians don’t do that, and luckily, I’m still able to be aware of what’s around me.  My 10+ years of basketball have done wonders for my peripheral vision!!

6.       Cars pretty much park wherever they want.  They pull off to the side of the road and then make it so that they go over the curb and are partly on the sidewalk.  It’s quite hilarious.

7.       I drink tea like it’s my job.  (Not that I didn’t drink tea when I was home, but here I have it a lot. I usually have it for breakfast and after dinner.  And maybe during the day if we go out to a café.)

8.       I eat things here that I didn’t eat at home and, believe it or not, I’m ok with my food touching.  (Bet you never thought you’d hear me say that, did you!)  One thing that I wouldn’t eat: garlic salad.  Tanya shredded Garlic and possibly beets (it was purple like beets) and onions and made a salad out of it.  I couldn’t bring myself to eat it.  But that’s the only thing so far that I haven’t tried.

Blinichki filled with chicken, mushrooms, and cheese (Kind of like ricotta).  Amazing, but I think my favorite part may have been the little plastic sword that held it closed.

9.       Russian grammar taught in English is hard.  Russian grammar taught in Russian is even harder.  The other day I was told by a friend of Tanya’s daughter that even for him, Russian grammar was hard, and he’s Russian!!

10.       On my mobile, I can make a “fake call”.  I don’t know why I found this funny.  Maybe because at first I thought it would make prank calls for you, but I think it just makes your phone light up.  I don’t really want to try, though, because if it really was for prank calls, and I accidentally pranked some Russian mob boss, it might not be good. Haha 

11.      The university reminds me more of high school than college.  There are bells for the start of each class and the building is set up like a high school.  We have classes only in one room, unlike at HWS where I had to go across campus in 10 minutes to make it to my next class.

Purple Hair and Platforms

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Tanya made me bliny today for breakfast and I was so happy!!  They were absolutely amazing and it was a great way to start the day!  She served them with cherries and also tvorog.  Eating tvorog is like eating the insides of a cheesecake….same consistency and taste.  Remember how before I said that the apples were my favorite thing that I’ve eaten since I arrived?  Well, this topped the apples, or at least tied them for first 

place.

Today was my first official day of school.  I had three classes from 10:15am to 4pm.  (It sometimes takes me a while to figure out the times here because they use a 24-hour clock, so I have to stop and think.)  I understood maybe 2-3 percent of what was said, which was really frustrating.  I had a hard enough time with Russian grammar in English, but Russian grammar in Russian?  Forget about it!  My teacher for phonetics was quite interesting and I think that it will be a better time than the grammar class.  I didn’t realize it at first, but I think she has purple hair.  I mean, not screaming purple, but you know the kind of blackish hair dye that gives your hair a purple tint?  This hair had a lot of purple tint!  The teacher for my politics class is also a lively lady.  She came stomping in wearing about 5 inch platform heels and when she wrote on the chalkboard, I thought it was going to fall off of the wall.  Luckily, when talking about politics, 

there are a lot of cognates, so I could kind of get the just of what was going on.

Also, I purposely walked back to my apartment from the train station today, unlike yesterday when I kind of had to.  The weather was the nicest that it has been since I got her….sunny and a comfortable temperature.  The perfect fall day, except for that it isn’t quite fall yet.  It took me about half an hour, and I was able to walk off dinner before Tanya even fed me. haha

The view out of my window on the sixth floor.

Accidents and Apples

Monday, September 5, 2011

Today, on my way back to my apartment from the center of the city I saw not one, but two car accidents on the same road!  I don’t know why this fascinated me so much, but I guess I was just surprised that I haven’t seen more given the way the Russians drive here.

I had a minor unplanned excursion on my way back today, as well.  I inadvertently took the wrong bus because I read the sign wrong.  It started going in the right direction, and then it turned off onto another major road, which I didn’t want.  Luckily, there are enough stops along the bus route that I was able to get off and thank god that after only being here a few days, I knew which road I needed to be on….it could have been slightly disastrous, especially since I have yet to buy a mobile phone.  But the whole time I could see the road that I wanted (since they run perpendicular to each other) and so I hopped off of the bus at the next stop and walked to my apartment.  It was a long walk, about a 20-25 minutes, but it was fairly nice out, so I didn’t mind.  And by “fairly nice,” I mean that it was not raining or snowing or incredibly cold.

The weather here is something else.  This morning, when I left for school, it was really cloudy and kind of chilly (think late September, early October temperature in New York).  But when I left the university, it was pretty sunny out and a little bit warmer (although not much).  A few other students and I walked around for a little bit looking for a store where we could buy shampoo and other such items, and when we came out, it was cloudy again.  It has at least sprinkled every day since I arrived here in Russia.  (Yesterday, it was a complete downpour while we were waiting for the trolleybus.)

I was so happy when I got back to my apartment and discovered that Tanya had gotten grapes when she was in the country visiting her daughter.  They were absolutely delicious!!  I had been thinking on the way back about how much I wanted a piece of fruit, and I had even contemplated stopping at one of the stands to get some.  I did get fruit juice, however, and was delighted to discover that it was a peach and apple mix.  (I didn’t specify what I wanted, I just said fruit juice.)  There has also been a huge plate of apples sitting on the table since I got here, but at first, I didn’t realize that was what they were.  They looked like giant cranberries or radishes, a little bit smaller than a golf ball, but they weren’t.  I did, however, learn the word for cranberry, which was good.  Tanya said that the apples weren’t very good to eat just alone, but she cooks them in syrup and then puts it in the refrigerator.  It is fantastic!!  I think it is my favorite thing that I’ve eaten here.

The apples that look like radishes or giant cranberries.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Today, for the first time, I can say that I was actually thinking in Russian.  I cannot tell you how good that feels!!  Well, I guess it is kind of Runglish or however you want to combine the two words (the equivalent of “Spanglish” for Spanish and English.)  My range of vocabulary is still very very small, so I have a difficult time communicating, but it’s working out, I guess….my pocket dictionary is my best friend!!

My host, Tanya and I are getting better at communicating with each other, although we still have a very long ways to go.  I still find myself nodding and smiling and saying yes often, even though I don’t always understand, but she can tell, I think, when I don’t really understand (I probably get this blank look on my face) and she will either put it a different way or speak slower.  She is also a fantastic cook!  And although she doesn’t always eat with me (I think for the five meals that I’ve been in the apartment for, we’ve eaten together once), she always leaves me food.  She always gives me so much food, too!  I’ve tried telling her that I don’t eat that much, but she still gives me a full plate of food, in addition to a full bowl of soup or something.  It is either the Babushka state of mind or the fact that she doesn’t understand me.  But tonight, I put my own food on my plate, and she jokingly gave me a hard time about not eating very much.

Just a random road in Yaroslavl.

Today we had a free day, we (the students) went wandering around the city center.  It feels big, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel so big, if that makes sense.  There are so many shops and restaurants to go to.  Little stands, too, selling anything from fruit to cigarettes.  It appears that most people here smoke.  Tanya doesn’t, which is a relief, but by the time I come home, I could possibly be a pack a day smoker, just because of the second-hand smoke!!  (I absolutely promise that I will not take up smoking.)  It’s weird because since smoking is perfectly acceptable, you can smoke pretty much wherever you want, including inside restaurants and such.  The cigarettes here are really cheap too.  I was talking to a guy in the program and he said that here, they were like a third of the price (at least) that they are in the states.

"Cigarettes"

I’m beginning to like the public transit system more and more each time I use it.  I’ve been walking to the university, but in the afternoon, I take the trolley and then a bus to a stop near my apartment.  It costs 12 rubles per ride, no matter which stop you are getting off at, which works out to probably 30 or 40 cents US.  Once I get my student ID card, I’ll buy a month pass and be able to ride as much as I want for that one fee, so it will be even cheaper.  I think taxis are pretty cheap, too, but I haven’t had to take one yet.

Holy Jet-lag, Batman!

Friday, September 2, 2011

[Yup, that title was just for you, Mom haha]

(A sign on the way to Yaroslavl from Moscow.  Yaroslavl is on the top, 136 km.  Moscow on the bottom, 115 km.)

We finally made it to Yaroslavl!!!  It was a few hours drive from Moscow and the scenery was filled with open fields, trees, dachas, and randomly placed churches all throughout.  I thought the driving here was just bad because we were in Moscow, but it appears that it may be the entire country that has crazy drivers.  They seriously have no fear….one car looked like it was playing leap-frog with the cars in front of it.  And there were cars coming towards it in the opposite direction, too!!  Needless to say, we had a few close calls where I thought we were going to run over a car or a car was going to bump us!

The ride through the city of Yaroslavl for the first time was exciting, but full of nerves for everybody.  We were all anxious to see where we would be living and with whom we’d be living for the next couple of months.  I was one of the last people to be dropped off.  Of the eleven of us in the group studying here in Yaroslavl, there were three people to left after me.  I’m just thankful I wasn’t the absolute first or last.  One thing about my host’s apartment is that it is on the fifth and sixth floors of the apartment building, and there is no elevator.  We had to carry my bags (including my quite large and quite heavy (Oh yeah! Just one pound below the limit!!  That’s what I call packing like a pro!  Thank you, Mother.  I have no idea how I’m going to pack to come home without you!!) suitcase) up all the flights of stairs.  It was quite the workout! 

I found out about my host before we left Moscow, however.  Her name is Tatiana Arkadievna Kutimova, or Tanya.  She owns her own small business and she lives in a really nice apartment.  It has two floors, which I think is pretty  uncommon in Russia and I have a fairly large room all to myself with a desk an end table, a smallish bed, and a closet built into the wall.  The walls are painted to look like the sky.  They’re light blue with clouds painted on them.  Also, the key that Tanya gave me for the apartment looks like it could open a castle!!  It’s huge!

According to Anya, our Coordinator, my apartment is the furthest away from the University.  The information I received says that it is a 30 minute commute via public transportation (I would have to take a bus and a trolley) or a walk that would probably take 40 minutes (clearly, they don’t know how I walk…I bet I could get there quicker by walking than I could by public transport, but that’s a theory to be tested later on in the semester).  Hopefully, I’ll be able to do both; walk to university on the nice days and take public transport on the days with bad weather.

I feel like I have so much free time since arriving in Moscow, but I’m sure that will change once classes and homework start, so I’m getting all of my blog entries written in anticipation of internet access.  Then, I can simply post them up.  Well, the free time and the fact that I’m still feeling the jet-lag a little bit.

Rugrats in Russian

Thursday, September 1, 2011

So, after an 11 hour plane ride, I’ve come to the decision that flying is not natural.  I mean, there is no way that something so big should be able to stay that high up in the air for that long.  Despite the death grip that I had on the armrests, my first ever experience on a plane was just fine.  It took a little less than one hour from Newark to Dulles and then another ten hours direct from Dulles to Moscow-Domodedovo.

I first realized how deeply in over my head I was when we were boarding the plane and more than half of the people were Russian and conversing rapidly in their native tongue.  The second pang of realization came when they made flight announcements in Russian and then in English.  And the third was on the shuttle bus/taxi that brought us from the airport to the hotel and all we saw was Cyrillic.  Three hours of Russian lecture a week does not give you any inkling of how intimidating it is to learn another language.  The intimidation of a language comes with full immersion.

The traffic in Moscow is ridiculous.  There are people weaving in and out of traffic and cutting in front of people like its their job.  Needless to say, we had a few close calls.  It’s worse than driving in New Jersey, if you can believe it (my apologies to all of the New Jerseyites reading this haha).   At one point, the road we were driving on was lined by fields of corn.  It felt just like home!  Well, not really, but close.

After we checked into our hotel, we were all so exhausted from the travel that we really just wanted to stretch out on our beds (which, by the way, felt amazing after sitting on a plane for so long!)  So, I picked up the remote control for the television and started flipping through the channels.  I came across Russian speaking channels (of course), some channels in English (mostly sports and news – lots of BBC), and, to my surprise, a Spanish and a French speaking channel!  I ended up stopping at Nickelodeon hoping that the language would be a bit simpler and easier to understand.  To my delight, Rugrats was playing!! How’s that for a good, old school television show?!?  It was quite different from what I remember from my childhood…this time, it was all in Russian, but oddly enough, I think I may remember that episode. Haha  This kind of made my day!