TravelStream™ news feed for member k_in_france on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/k_in_france en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:46:02 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248580802/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248580802/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248580802/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:46:02 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, North-West Russia, Russian Federation

So here I am with only 3 days left in this long trip. It is hard to believe that it is coming to an end. I have some museums visits and the like to write about here but today I just wanted to write a couple of lists...

Things I will miss about Russia:

1. Russian language - pretty self explanatory. I know that when I get back to the States it will be so strange to hear English around me in place of the swishing sounds of Russian and will be even stranger to read all signs, advertisements, menus, etc. in the latin alphabet in stead of the beautiful swirling Cyrillic alphabet.

2. Friends - I've made some great friends from all around the world and had all sorts of interesting experiences from the beautiful to the grotesque to the culinary. It will be strange to no longer have Friday night "vecherinkas" where we watch silly Russian television and eat chips or lasagna or macrons.

3. Museums, theaters, architecture - Especially I will miss the Mariinsky where I have seen the best ballet of my life and the Hermitage which provided a quite refuge early on in the trip. The architecture here has become a backdrop that I am now used to but still provides such an elegant and calming ambiance among the sometimes overwhelming pushing and shoving of city life.

4. Chudo bars (and other foods) - While my daily diet here has been somewhat bland there have been some exciting high points along the way. Mainly, chudo bars (lit. 'wonder' bars) which are sweet cream-cheese filled bars covered in chocolate - definitely not in the health food section if there was one here. Also, the usual blinis (the twin sister to the French crepe) and of course ice cream which is above and beyond any ice cream I have had in the US.

5. Always learning - I am going to miss the mental challenge of living in this country quite a bit. Every day I feel like I have to work to understand something new - to understand the people, the language, or simply the metro system- I am always using my brain here and definitely some of that challenge will be taken away when I am in the US.

Things I can't wait for in the US:

1. Rich - I can't wait to get back to spend some real time with Rich. Without a doubt being away from him has been the most difficult part of this trip. Skype (being able to video chat on the web) has provided relief but nothing really compares to being with him in person.

2. Comfortable bed- I never realized how important it is to have a comfortable bed. Since the beds here have been most likely in the same spot since the 60s when this building was constructed they are not the most comfortable. Consequently a good night sleep is hard to come by. Definitely a full nigh of sleep on a comfortable bed will be one of the best things coming back to the States.

3. American food - I mean not just the typical hamburger, french fries, grilled cheese American food. I mean corn and berries and watermelon and bbq and pizza and bagels and so much more. I never realized the exciting variety of food available in the States until I was away from it for more than a month. I can't wait to move from the repetitive grains + cabbage fare into a world of variety and choice!

4. Customer service/ smiles- I think this may actually be shocking at first but really I am excited to just see people smile in general. I am excited to go to a store and not get scowled at when I try to buy a $5 item with a $20 bill. (Here if you buy something for 200 rubles with 1000 ruble note almost always you will be asked for exact change and frowned at if you don't have it.)

5. Familiarity - Finally, I can't wait to be in a place where I am comfortable and that is familiar. Simply to be able to ask for things that I want or need without taking a lot of time to think about it beforehand will be wonderful. I know this contradicts what I said about how nice it is to have a mental challenge but I mean both. I am going to both enjoy having a break from the mental exercise and I will miss it at the same time.


Thats all for now folks! I'll be back soon with one or two more updates before I'm on my way.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248015021/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248015021/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1248015021/tpod.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:23:07 -0400 Russian Revival

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Novgorod, North-West Russia, Russian Federation

Only a week and a half left in St. Petersburg and I am filled with a strange feeling of excitement to finally be home and panic that I haven't see all the Petersburg museums on my list!

Thursday I finally got to the Nabokov museum here. Nabokov is a well-known Russian-American writer most famous for his controversial book, Lolita. I really love his style of writing perhaps because his multilingual background (French, English, German, and Russian) really comes through in his novels. The museum consists of a small section of Nabokov's childhood home. The house itself is immense and in one of the nicest neighborhoods in St. Petersburg. To say that he grew up in a privileged family would be an understatement.

Friday, I spent a large part of the day with Caroline trying desperately to figure out how to buy a Elektrichka ticket (regional train) to Novgorod. The train station is a bit confusing here with at least 3 different ticket offices that we saw and very very long lines. After waiting through lines at two different ticket offices, a task that cost us over an hour, we finally found the regional rail ticket counter where we were promptly informed that you cannot buy tickets in advance, only the day of the trip. Well, so at least we know now I guess!

In the evening on Friday I made hamburgers here for my friends. Everyone was very curious how a "real American" hamburger is made and it suddenly felt like summer as I was flipping burgers on the frying pan and offering friends food and drinks in my room. My old Russian suite-mate came by the apartment as well to pick up some last things to move out. I offered her a hamburger and she was simply elated. After everyone else left we ended up talking a bit and exchanging e-mails. It looks like I will have a new Russian pen pal!

Saturday, Caroline and I got up very early to catch the 8am train to Novgorod. By train it takes about 3.5 hours to get there and the entire trip is full of beautiful Russian countryside scenery. Novgorod is a medieval city which has been in and out of all sorts of Russian-Ukrainian drama for the past 1,000 years. Caroline and I spent a good amount of the time we had (about 4 hours) exploring the Kremlin there. Interestingly, the entire place was under renovation and there was actually an archeological dig going on right there in the middle of everything! The two highlights for me were visiting the 12th-century St. Sophia Cathedral and climbing to the top of Kokui tower which provided a beautiful view of Novgorod. After visiting the Kremlin we walked around town a while. The peaceful town and friendly people were a bit of a shock to me after coming from the busy St. Petersburg where I have been almost constantly for the past 4 months. All in all it was a very worth while trip!

This last week I am going to be running around doing the tourist thing and fortunately it looks like I am going to be met with some decent weather.

I'll be writing more soon after a couple days of cultural saturation!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1247416749/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1247416749/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1247416749/tpod.html Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:06:08 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #12: Shoes. Shoes here are serious business. Most women under the age of 50 or so wear heels. When I first arrived I was shocked that even in the cold, rainy weather women went out in stilettos as if they were going out for a nice dinner or dancing. Recently, I bought a new pair of shoes here and along with my shoes came a guarantee. If my shoes were unsatisfactory for some reason I could return them within 30 days and get my money back! Also, they came with extensive directions on how to care for my new shoes (how to break them in, how to take care of the leather, etc.). All I had to do here was find the shoe I wanted and ask if they had it in my size. Unfortunately my feet are big by European standards but the sales woman searched and found something almost my size and the shoes actually fit nicely. What a nice shoe shopping experience compared to the perusing of boxes required at most places in the US now! Also, another sign that Russians are serious about shoes is little shoe repair kiosks that are on virtually every corner. It is clear that at least when it comes to shoes Russians look for quality and longevity instead of quantity and cheap buys (though my new shoes were only $40).

Yet another bleated blog entry (yikes!). Since I've last written 4th of July has passed and I contrived to celebrate in my own way here. It was quite cold so I went to the local grocery and found myself ingredients for hamburgers that pretty closely resemble the ones that we use in the US. Yum yum! I also celebrated by watching fireworks on youtube (almost the same as hanging out watching them on TV).

This past week I went to the Baltika factory. Baltika is the Budwiser beer of Russia. I've never been to such a factory (I'm told its not actually called a factory but a "brewery" in the States but here they use the word for factory). It was fascinating to see how the beer was brewed and to see how they bottled and packaged the beer and kvas. After the tour we got to spend time tasting the many different beers produced at the factory. Here beer and kvas (a slightly fermented wheat drink) are treated almost like soda is in the US. Not one of us was asked to show identification to prove we were old enough to drink and we were allowed to drink as much as we wanted. Beyond that you can buy beer at almost any time and almost anywhere here. All fast food restaurants sell beer and drinking on the street is a normal activity for men especially. Also something common here is beer for breakfast. I am still surprised when I see an old man walking down the street at 8 or 9 am cracking open a fresh beer. This is, indeed, quite a different country at times.

Today, my friend Caroline and I went to look at the International Sailboat Regatta festival going on on the Neva right now. It was (finally!) a warm day and it was quite nice to just wander along the Neva looking at all the huge sailboats from around the world.

I have only a little over two weeks left here and still so much to see. Knowing that soon I'll be back in the States and able to rest and relax is giving me the extra motivation and energy to get my last tourist things in. Suddenly I feel like I have switched from student to tourist over night and in a lot of ways that is much more fun especially since I feel comfortable and well enough acquainted with the city.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1246456967/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1246456967/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1246456967/tpod.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:44:43 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #11: Lines. In the US people are pretty strict about keeping to a line. If you are waiting for something you better stand in your spot and wait like everyone else. Absolutely no cutting or any of that business and if you leave line you pretty much lose your spot especially if you leave for a long time. Well here lines are much more of a vague concept than a strict rule. I've learned this after waiting in long lines over the course of the past three days to get some unexpected bureaucracy taken care of (more on that later). The way lines work here are thus: First, when you arrive somewhere where people appear to be waiting you ask "Who is last?" Once you figure out who is last, you tell them that you are after them. Then you are at liberty to do whatever you want for the next amount of time until you think it is about your time. If you want to sit down you can, if you want to walk across the street to buy a drink you can, heck if you wanted to go to Hong Kong you could as long as you are back in time for your turn and the person in front of you knows that you are after them. As you can imagine this causes no small amount of chaos. Lines are always longer than they seem and often people don't know whose turn it is or where they fall in the "line." Also, if you are bold enough, lines may not apply to you. If you have no problem getting some dirty looks and arguing your case you can probably sneak in front of a few people especially if you think they're foreign. What a system!

After I submitted my visa prolongation forms at the start of May I was pretty much sure that I had finished the biggest part of my dealings with the extensive bureaucracy here. I found out on Monday that I was wrong in that assumption when I tried to pay this month's rent. The secretary in the payment office curtly informed me that I needed a spravka or a form of some sort (what kind she didn't specify) so I could pay. Rent was due on Tuesday and she told me I had until today to get it figured out or the implication was that I was going to be looking for a new place to live for a month (lovely). Of course this stressed me out a great deal. So as soon as the dean's office opened at 11 on Tuesday I began my new battle with bureaucracy. I got a form saying my stay in the dorm should be prolonged and waited 30 minutes or so to get a signature from the dean. Then I was told I had to get a stamp at a different school building. So off I went -an hour round trip to get a stamp that took a second to administer. At this point I was fairly certain I had everything that I needed to pay rent. After class I went to the office where I normally pay (there is less of a line there) only to find that the office has moved and I have to pay at the office in the dorm. So back to the dorm I went to wait in the aforementioned line-thing. After I put in my time in the line, I was informed by the very benevolent, understanding secretary that I still needed a signature from the kommandant (the director) of the dorms. I dutifully went to that office where I found an empty office and yet another long line. After waiting over an hour for her to return and to receive her signature, the payment office was closed. I was pretty peeved at this point but it was probably good that I had a break from the lines for the day. This afternoon I returned to the payment office and waited once again in the line-thing and even battled off some punk kids who thought they could cut me to finally pay for rent. The secretary printed a paper stating how long I was paying for and then I waited in a second line to pay the cashier. The final step was to get my keycard charged so I can get into the building. And now I am finally done!

I know that paying bills is a pain that we all have to deal with, but in comparison to what I had to go through these last couple of days just to give these people money for my living space I don't think I'm ever going to complain about pressing a couple of buttons to pay my credit card bill online or writing a check to my landlord for rent!!!

On the more positive side of life, I went to my last ballet at the Mariinsky on Monday. The ballet was a Soviet era ballet based on a Tartar folkloric character named Shurale. It was interesting to see what appeared to be the typical Soviet grandeur imposed on the art of ballet. There were many "applause now" moments when the orchestra ended a movement with a bang and the choreography was clearly meant to wow the audience. The lead ballerina was, in my not very professional opinion, a little weak for a Mariinsky lead, but the male dancer was amazing and probably the best I can ever recall seeing. It was sad walking out of the Mariinsky into the (still light) evening knowing that I probably won't return for a good while, but I am glad that I got to see one more ballet at the world-famous theatre.

Thats all for now! I am hoping that we get hot water tomorrow... Today is supposed to be the last day of the hiatus!

P.S The pictures posted are from a sort of "sunset" party we had on the bay of the Gulf of Finland on Friday. The sun was setting around 12:15-12:30. The days are getting shorter now after the solstice sadly, but nonetheless the sunsets are beautiful, and I'm glad to get the chance to see the moon on occasion.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1245686125/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1245686125/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1245686125/tpod.html Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:24:34 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #10: "Hot Water" Every year in St. Petersburg during the summer something very important that we all take for granted goes missing. Yup, hot water gets turned off every summer for between 2 weeks and a months time depending on which neighborhood you live in. The reason that we're given for the lack of hot water is simply "repairs." When we asked our instructor Andrei Andreevich what these repairs were he replied, "What repairs? The workers go on vacation!" It seems what actually happens is that the city water building has workers who are responsible for each different section of St. Petersburg and once a year each section gets at least two weeks vacation which means for the rest of us no hot water. I've been making it through so far though the showers are quite cold and even somewhat painful. Only a week left and we're supposed to get the hot water back!

Thursday this past week I went to the State Museum of Religious History which was really fascinating. There were sections dedicated to Islam, Christianity, Greek/Roman/Egyptian mythology, and Judaism. That evening I met up with Sarah at the Mariinsky to try and catch a ballet buying student rush tickets but they were sold out and holding only one ticket for 5,000 rubles (more than a months rent here!) so instead Sarah along with a couple of her friends and I went to a Russian restaurant and chatted for a bit.

Saturday night was a big night here. This week was the last week of the school year for Russian students and every year there is a big celebration at the end of the school year called Alie Parusa or "Scarlet/ Crimson sails." The holiday is based on a fairy tale about a toy maker's daughter. Her fairy godmother comes to her and tells her that one day a man will come, fall in love with her, and take here away in a ship with scarlet sails. Years later when she is a young woman a man comes across her napping in the woods. He instantly falls in love with her and learning of the prophesy of the crimson sails he builds a ship with crimson sails and takes her away. Thus the big event of this holiday is the sailing of a large ship with crimson sails down the Neva which is accompanied by a spectacular fireworks display.

Saturday night, Sarah and I went over to her finnish friend's apartment and spent the evening there. It was great to have a place to hang out with friends for the night since early on it was rainy and all night it was pretty cold. Around 12 we got a taxi downtown and arrived along the Neva just in time to see the entire show. The fireworks were amazing. I'd have to say they were better than most 4th of July shows I've seen. The crowds were also quite astonishing. All of the streets around center city were blocked off from traffic and filled with students. There is almost no one over the age of 30 out on the streets and one of my instructors told me that the police even send you home if they think you're too old to be out. After we watched the sailing of the ship we began a somewhat long search for a cafe or bar to hang out in while we waited for the dorms to open at 6am. We finally found a place on Nevsky Prospect where we were able to all sit down. After a cup of coffee or two and some good, though sleepy conversation it was time to go home.

The long night out of course left me quite tired but fortunately I had all of Sunday to recover. Now its back to the normal work week!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1244779200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1244779200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1244779200/tpod.html Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:10:13 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #9: Ice cream... that wonderfully cold treat that everyone loves to indulge in on a hot summer's afternoon. Who doesn't love ice cream? If you were to ask that question to a group of Russians here, you'd be hit with a wall of silence. Ice cream is seems to be more popular than any other form of edible indulgence in Russia. On every street corner there is a little cart where you can choose from a variety of ice cream delights. In the school buildings here as well as in the dorms you are much more likely to encounter an ice cream vending machine than any other sort of soda/snack machine. Even on the cold, rainy days that we've been encountering recently, I have seen at least one of two people enjoying (the not very quickly melting) luxury. 
My theory that Russians would do just about anything for some free ice cream was confirmed two weekends ago on "City day." Yet another celebration where the streets were filled with people and performers, city day was an interesting look into the Russian ice cream phenomenon. An entire block lined with ice cream carts was brimming with people and on a small stage an announcer called to those around to volunteer to perform and receive free ice cream. Once a small group was collected on stage the announcer asked them to dance in various ways to ridiculous music. As they finished making a spectacle of themselves each brave volunteer received free ice cream. Truly, Russians love their ice cream (and I don't blame them...it is delicious!!!). 

The past couple of weeks have been very rainy and cold. I am wondering where summer went at the moment. It feels like I'm stuck in the yucky part of spring perpetually though we did get a couple of nice days in late May. 

Mondays and Tuesdays I have class alone right now because the other students in my class decided to switch groups. I have been working as hard as possible to take advantage of this fortuitous situation. We've been going over what I consider to be some of the hardest grammar points in Russian and while class is quite the challenge I feel like I am getting a lot more out of it. I don't know how much longer I'll have this opportunity. Any day a new student could come in but for now I am really lucky. 

This week my favorite instructor, Andrei Andreevich, described an interesting happening that he chanced to see. He was driving down a one-way street earlier in the week when he saw a nice, new car driving in the wrong direction. A police officer stopped the car and walked up to the window to see what the deal was. Andrei Andreevich saw the driver pull out documentation and the police officer walked away quickly, looking ashamed. Apparently, an extreme hierarchy still exists here. Andrei Andreevich explained that those in power or those connected to power usually do not get harassed or even approached by the police. How do the police know who is regular and who is "special?" The privileged people here have special lettering on their license plates that mark them as "special" and apparently immune from the law. Fascinating that after all this time through the czars and czarinas, through the communist leaders, up to today there still exists those people who are immune from the rules governing the general public. I wonder how often this happens in the U.S but perhaps away from the public eye? 

Today is Russia day which is supposed to be the equivalent of our 4th of July but it seems that while there is some interest in the celebration, for most it does not hold as much importance as our Independence day. Russia day has been around for a little less than 15 years and was instituted as a national holiday even later than that. It marks the signing of the new constitution of Russia after the fall of Communism and it seems to be primarily a free day off from work and not much more. I walked around center city today a bit to see what the day was all about and found that it was quite similar to the other few holidays I've encountered here: crowds, a parade or two, and a concert set up in front of the Hermitage. 

The more exciting part of my venture out today was the discovery of... chocolate chip cookies (and goldfish like crackers)! I've been craving this American staple for the past month or so. Finding a grocery that sells it was like finding a pot of gold! I also picked up a copy of Harry Potter in Russian and I'm surprised that it is still the page turner that I found it to be in English. There are a few words here and there that I stumble on but for the most part it is comprehensible most likely because I've read the book before. 

That is all for now. I'll try to be a little more diligent about updating. Sorry for the long period of silence there! 
 

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1243520880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1243520880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1243520880/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 11:03:28 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #8: The public restroom. One luxury that we have in the US is the public bathroom. It is a lovely place actually. Mildly clean, usually fully supplied with all the modern conveniences like toilet paper, hand soap, and even toilet seats and locks on the doors! Here, a typical visit to a public restroom on the street or at certain museums will run between 15 and 20 rubles (about 50 cents) and there you can expect a fairly clean and well supplied experience. However, restrooms in places like the university or restaurants are an entirely different story. I've been playing a little game with myself lately. I like to see how many out of the "luxuries" I get each time I go into a bathroom. Usually 4 out of 5 is pretty good but there have been times where I get none. So, I've learned to always be armed with tissues and hand sanitizer just in case nature calls and paper and soap are lacking.

It has been almost two weeks since I've written. Last week was a pretty tough week. I came to the slow realization that I was suffering from a form of culture shock. It took me a while to recognize because as you may already know culture shock doesn't usually manifest itself as some sort of thunderbolt from the sky shock but rather it is more a feeling of being trapped and slightly depressed. I began to wish for simple things like a conversation in English, silly American movies, and popcorn or hamburgers. I am feeling better now thanks a lot to support and help from Rich. It was really invaluable to have someone to talk with about it who was open and understanding about it and who knows me so well. I also went to a little gathering at Giovanna's and Caroline's where we watched Forest Gump (in Russian) and at popcorn so that cheered me up a bit.

In the middle of last week Giovanna and I were the only two people to show up to our grammar class with my favorite instructor, Andrei Andreivich. Giovanna and I began talking jokingly about how we have been looking for a friend with a dacha (a summer home outside the city) so we could spend a day or two like Russians do during the summer. Andrei Andreivich told us that he had a sort of dacha and he could take us on an excursion to see it if we wanted. We said, "well of course," but didn't realize he was serious until he started packing up his things. So we walked to his apartment chatted over some tea and chocolate for a bit. He then drove outside of town to a nice park and a dacha neighborhood. It was very cool to get to see his garden where he and his wife grow fruits and vegetables that they pick and preserve for the winter. It was also a nice break having Russian class outside the classroom (he of course taught us grammar in the car on the way there and back).

On Saturday Giovanna, Marina (another Italian friend), and Julia (a Russian friend), and I went to Pushkin/ Tsarkoe Selo which is the location of one of the major palaces in the area. I have been into the palace before and I personally have already had my fill of palaces and Julia had already been to the palace a few times so while Giovanna and Marina visited inside Julia and I walked around the spring gardens. Everything is alive here and freshly green and with the flowers out come the brides and grooms to get their wedding pictures taken. The many couples getting wedding pictures sparked some interesting conversation between Julia and me about the differences between wedding traditions in the US and in Russia. One of the big traditions here is to get your picture taken in front of all the major memorials in St. Petersburg or Moscow which is why it looks like everyone in town is getting married in the spring and summer!

Yesterday my Japanese roommate returned home and when I came back from class I had a new roommate! Her name is Sarah and she is from Toronto! Yes. She is actually a senior at University of Toronto majoring in English/Semiotics with a minor in Russian. If I believed in fate or something of the sort I would say this is it. I'm really excited to finally have a roommate that I get along with! I've been trying to help her through the bureaucratic rigamarole of first getting here and it has been fun to get to discuss some of our Russian literary interests.

My last piece of news for the day is also very exciting...I have finally finished and handed in all the paperwork that I need to in order to extend my visa! The task of gathering all the documents and filling out forms has been weighing on me since the first day I got here and now I am finally free of this weight! I won't actually get my new visa until June 30 which is the exact day that my old visa expires but now it is their task to complete the visa work. What a great relief!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242658080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242658080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242658080/tpod.html Mon, 18 May 2009 13:14:14 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anectode #7 One thing that surprised me the first time that I was in Russia buying groceries was the question "do you need a bag?" It was very unexpected and I was a little flustered trying to figure out why exactly the lady at the checkout was asking me if I needed a bag. Of course I need a bag! I just bought a sack of potatoes, milk, eggs, cheese, pasta, and tomato sauce. What I realized later is that when they ask you if you want a bag it means "do you want to buy a bag?" In most grocery stores (as well as pharmacies and the like), grocery bags are not complimentary. They're about 2 to 5 cents a piece. So usually, if you plan on going grocery shopping it is best to bring your own bag. I think that in Russia they view it as another way to make money but it is also one of the few environmentally conscious things I've seen implemented here. In the US I know that the "green bag" movement is getting pretty popular. This is sort of the same idea only if you're suck without your green bag you have literally to pay the consequences.

I am in the middle of the (messy) process of making my first borscht. I have been trying to find a very simple recipe for borscht - one that does not require 100 different spices and meat- and finally I figured out a modification to an already simple recipe. Hopefully it will turn out alright. My hands are bright red from chopping up beets!

Starting on Thursday I began a marathon through the arts. Thursday evening the pace began fairly strenuously with the very intense Stravinsky ballet trio: Les Noces, Sacre du Printemps, and The Firebird. Stravinsky is known for breaking the ballet norms of "fluidity" and "grace." The first two ballets most definitely adhered to this characterization of the Russian composer. It was fascinating to see ballet in a way that I've never seen before, as an animalistic, tribal sort of ritual. The final piece, The Firebird was much more classical in style, full of flowing solos by one of the Mariinsky's prima ballerinas.

Friday night was a short break. Caroline, Giovanna, and I met up in their room and Giovanna made us pasta. So good! Maybe it is a psychological thing, but there is nothing like having your Italian friend make you pasta and Italian coffee!

Saturday night was a big night, a the long haul of the marathon. It was the second annual Museum Night here in St. Petersburg where 40 museums are open all night from 6pm to 6am. You pay admission once and can get into the majority of the museums for the price of one ticket. There are concerts and film showings and all sorts of events going on all night. Around 11pm Giovanna and I met her friend from Italy and wandered around town for a bit trying to find a museum (we didn't plan very much... unfortunately). Finally we ended up at the zoo and were able to buy our tickets. We spent quite a while at the zoo because another friend that we met up with really wanted to find the wolves. Around 3 am we got over the the Political History museum which I remembered from two years ago was very interesting. In the museum there are a lot of icons and exhibits that explore the methods used by Stalinist government to oppress Russians during the purges. It was extremely interesting to see how Russians today relate to and view such a difficult time in there not-so-distant history.

By the time we were done it was almost 5 am and we decided to head to the bus stop to get home. The most beautiful part of the entire night came then. The sun was beginning to rise as we walked next to Peter and Paul Fortress. Everything was so still and golden, bathed in the new sunlight. Although we were tired, we managed to get a few very breathtaking snapshots of St. Petersburg in a light that will be more and more difficult to capture with the inset of White Nights.

The home stretch of my arts marathon was very appropriately the art of all arts, the opera. I want to see Ruslan and Ludmila which is the first Russian opera based on Russian themes and not just a copy of Italian opera. It was a challenge to stay awake after my late night beforehand although the opera was one of the most spectacular performances of opera I have seen so far. The colors and music were just astounding and in the 3rd act there was a long ballet segment which was of course amazing. The thing I love about opera at the Mariinsky is that the ballet segments are always so beautiful (most likely thanks to the fact that the Mariinsky theatre possesses one of the best ballet theatres in the world). Ruslan and Ludmila is a very long opera (4 hours and 25 minutes!) and I was surprised to see quite a few children at the performance. All of them sat attentively and were actually better behaved than many of the adults!

I'm exhausted from all of the exertion of the weekend but it was definitely exciting and mentally stimulating! Now it is time to rest a bit, enjoy some borscht, and do some homework.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242058680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242058680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1242058680/tpod.html Mon, 11 May 2009 12:52:34 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #6 Russians love "tapochki." Tapochki are little very thin slippers that you slide on over your shoes usually in museums or if you're going into a home they are slippers that you put on instead of your street shoes. When you go into some museums (like the Gatchina Palace) they give you tapochki to put on so you don't scratch up the floor. Beyond the museum, I found this week that you also have to wear tapochki into the clinic here. But you have to pay for them. Before they'll even let you into the actually clinic you have to see a woman at the coat room and pay 5 rubles (about 15 cents) for disposable tapochki. Sometimes the Russian desire for cleanliness confuses me just because no matter how much they seem to clean things and ask you to remove your shoes things still seem dirty. Though the custom of putting on slippers makes sense especially for the winter months when your shoes are most likely wet and/or caked in mud.

Victory day! ypa (hooray)!
May 9th is Victory Day here, the celebration of the end of World War II. Early in the morning Giovanna, Caroline, and I left the dorms to get good spots to view the start of the day's festivities. All day long there are concerts, parades, and ceremonies and subsequently people everywhere! The last time I saw so many people in one place was at the Inauguration this January.

The first event of the morning was what they called a "parade" but was really more like a ceremony. Starting around 9am groups of soldiers were marching into the square in front of the Hermitage. Once everyone was assembled around 10, 45 minutes of speeches and cheers ensued along with music from the military band. One interesting thing that I noticed was that Giovanna, Caroline and I got there an hour early expecting it to be difficult to find a good spot but what we found was pretty much empty streets. Americans tend to get to events hours before it starts and guard their good spot with their lives (e.g Macy's Parade). In Russia, however, it seems that people show up 15 minutes beforehand and then just shove until they are where they want to be.

After the morning ceremony we had a long time until the afternoon parade. We met up with some other friends (a few from France and a friend from Israel). The group of us walked over to Peter and Paul Fortress where there was a free concert/ variety show going on. After watching a myriad of singers, dancers, and poetry recitations we departed for a quick jaunt through the Summer Gardens.

The next event for the day was the Veterans' parade down Nevsky Prospekt. The Veterans' Parade is a tradition I really like. All of the veterans march in a parade and people buy carnations or other flowers to hand to them as they walk by. It is such a nice, simple form of appreciation and recognition. One shocking thing from the parade was the amount of Soviet symbolism present throughout. Flags with stars and hammer and sickle symbols were everywhere. There were banners reading "CCCP" with Lenin's face on them and red was ubiquitous. It was a strong reminder that Soviet history is a huge part of Russia still.

Half-way through the parade disaster hit. The earlier blue, cheery skies had turned dark and ominous. Almost, without warning they opened up and a torrential downpour literally "rained on our parade." We ran for shelter in a nearby doorway where we were able to see the remainder of the parade and the poor parade-ers brave out the wet weather.

After the parade the streets were sheer chaos. It was wet, cold, and everyone was trying to find shelter or transportation. It took us over 2 hours to find a bus home since the subways were closed and the bus schedules were irregular, not to mention the fact that every means of transportation was spilling over with people. There was, in the evening, another ceremony with fireworks but by 8pm we were all worn out from the earlier festivities. We decided to return home to dry out and warm up!

Thursday I am going to see three short Stravinsky ballets: Les Noces, Le Sacre du Printemps, and The Firebird. I am really excited because these specific ballets are works that I've always wanted to see but they are rarely preformed in the U.S. But before that it is back to class and lots of homework!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1241618760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1241618760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/k_in_france/2/1241618760/tpod.html Wed, 06 May 2009 10:38:28 -0400 Russian Revival

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Anecdote #5: City-wide spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is a concept that they take very seriously here. As soon as the snow and rain stopped in mid-April there were workers in all the parks and green spaces raking and laying out new soil. As the month progressed I noticed more and more little repairs being done around the city: new plants, fresh coats of paint on fences and planters, street cleaning (as I mentioned before). A lot of the buildings get their facades sprayed down with power washer type machines which is sometimes a nuisance when you're trying to walk along the sidewalk in front of these buildings. I appreciate,though, that they are all clean. There is even a day on April 25 where citizens volunteer and clean up the city. (It translates to something like "Community day" but is a little more reminiscent of communist days when read in Russian.) All in all, it is exciting to see everything getting cleaned up and spring is clearly arriving here.

The start of the week was normal but Friday was Labor day here and we had off. On Friday Giovanna and I wandered around town and over to Peter and Paul Fortress. There were tons of people around! Because of the three day weekend and nice weather a lot of people came from out of town to be in St. Petersburg for the weekend. There were so many Russian tourists that Giovanna and I didn't feel self-conscious snapping pictures wherever we went. After walking along the Neva for a bit we ended up at Peter and Paul Fortress. Peter and Paul Fortress isn't my particular favorite place in St. Petersburg. There is a small cathedral where many of the previous Czars and Czarinas are buried and a dungeon. However, some of the views are very nice from the roof of the fortress and it was a nice place to amble in the warm weather.

Sunday Giovanna, her French roommate Caroline, and I went to Gatchina which was one of the places I went last time I was in Russia. It was interesting to re-visit this small town where I had some very strong memories. There is a "natural" park (as one of my professors put it) surrounding an old palace which used to belong to Count Orlov, one of Czarina Elizabeth's lovers. We walked around the park for a bit and then toured the palace. (We got in for free and got a free tour with our student IDs!) One thing I love about Gatchina is that it is not, yet, a huge tourist place. Mostly Russian tourists go there. There are so many palaces surrounding St. Petersburg and Gatchina Palace is probably the least impressive of them. Only about 1/3 of it has been renovated and a larger part of it remains unmaintained and somewhat in ruins from damage done during WWII. What is most appealing to me is that it seems like a real look into a palace, more so than an overly renovated palace. It feels like in a way that you're the first person to discover it after it has been left there for so many years.

This week is full of work and is actually my first full week of classes. Because of holidays and other things I've not had a full week of classes yet but finally I'll get a full week. Next week we have Monday off because it is Victory Day when Germany surrendered to the USSR during WWII. It is a huge holiday here and I'm looking forward to catching a glimpse of the festivities.

Hope all is well at home!
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