5 Months in Russia...

It’s almost the end of January, so I figured that I would write something. It’s still cold here, and there’s still ice and snow on the ground. It seems like this stretch of my exchange, from January into February, is going to be the longest of my exchange. It’s still cold, and I have nothing big planned until March, when I get to leave Blagoveshchensk for about a month to go to Vladivostok for some Rotary conferences, and then go to see Moscow and St. Petersburg on my first Rotary trip. This will be the first time that I will have left the city since I arrived back on September first. Even though it’s still over a month away, it is this excursion that I am looking forward to, and counting down the days until.

Right now, I am studying for exams (just like I did in America – it never changes, even if I go to Russia…). On Monday and Tuesday, I have exams in the Russian language. Even though I know Russian pretty well, it will still be difficult, as there is reading, listening, grammar, writing, and oral sections of the exam. But after that, we will have a break from university until February 24. However, since I will be gone for a month during March/April, my teacher has agreed to go ahead with me and cover the material during our February break, which I will miss while I am gone. So at least I’ll have that to help keep me busy. Another thing that I am finding that I really miss is playing the piano. As of right now, I probably haven’t even touched a keyboard for two or three months. I want to keep playing though, so maybe I will ask if I can take some piano lessons anywhere. The problem is that not many people here have a piano.
My language is still getting better and better. I would now describe myself as being conversational in Russian. As I have become more confident with the language, I have broken out of my old shell of being afraid of talking to random people. The other day, I went into a store, and ended up talking with the sales lady, whom I had never met before, for over an hour (in Russian). It was great. People cannot believe that I have only known Russian for 5 months. They even say my accent is not bad either, just that I don’t always get the stress on the words right.

Speaking of which, I have a funny story about when I talked to the random sales woman the other day. We started talking, and I told her that I was a foreigner. She immediately said “American!” I asked her how she knew that I was American. I thought she would say that it was my accent or the fact that I was wearing jeans or something. But she said “It’s because you have a big nose. You either look like an American, or a strange Russian.” So there you are. I guess Americans have big noses. That took me entirely by surprise, but was actually really funny. So that means that once I speak really good Russian, instead of thinking that I’m an American, they’ll just think I’m a strange-looking Russian. Great.

Now I want to talk about food. I’ve already told you before about Russian cuisine (and that it’s delicious), but now I just want to compare my diet in America, and here. It’s actually really funny, because all the Russians think that we Americans eat really unhealthily, but the truth is that I’m probably eating more unhealthy stuff here than in the US. Now let me explain. Here it’s not like they eat junk food all the time like chips and soda and stuff like that. It’s just that they eat really rich food. I’m eating so much fat here, that I don’t know how I haven’t gained a ton of weight. Every day, I’m eating sour cream with 10% fat content, 3.2% milk, a ton of meat, a lot of cheese and sausage, mayonnaise, chocolate, sweets, and Chinese food. But their diet musn't be too bad, because I havent really put on any weight while I have been here. Of course I have lost a lot of muscle mass, but that's just because I havent been excersizing like I had been in the US.
Also, They think it is unhealthy to drink something cold when eating something hot or warm (On a side note, it is required that you drink something hot when you eat something cold… how this is not dangerous to your stomach feng shui, I don’t know). They are also concerned about how certain foods mix in your stomach. For example, you shouldn’t eat something spicy or tomato-y and drink milk, because tomatoes and milk don’t go together. I don’t know, I love a nice cold glass of milk with a steaming plate of spaghetti, and I’ve never gotten sick from this before, but maybe it’s just in Russia. They also think that sandwiches are unhealthy to eat. I’m talking about just a regular sandwich – two slices of bread, some meat and cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mustard. They thought it was ridiculous if I ate a sandwich for lunch. They said a sandwich isn’t “real food”. Now I could understand if I told them that I downed a mountain dew and some chips and called that a lunch, but a sandwich in my opinion is pretty healthy. It has meat, dairy, grains, and vegetables. Maybe I’m just being too defensive of my good old American sandwiches. But I'm not complaining. I still love Russian food. It's very delicious. It's just interesting to observe the differences in attitudes about what we eat, and we we think is healthy and what is unhealthy.
It’s also funny that by living away from the US, I have actually learned so much about it. I have learned about the US though the eyes of foreigners. I have learned more about my feelings and patriotism for the US. I would even say that living abroad has made me appreciate the US even more, and has made me into a more patriotic person. I never really understood what it meant to live in the US, but now I really understand it.

I also have just recently been in contact with the travel agent back home. I will now officially be leaving Russia on July 2, and arriving back in Columbus on the morning of July 3, in time to see the fireworks on the fourth.

I keep going to the ice skating rink, and every time I get better and better. I actually really like ice skating, and I’m going to bring my skates back with me, so hopefully I can go ice-skating next winter somewhere in DC. I also am going to the swimming pool once a week with my host family.

This past Tuesday, January 19, I also decided to go dive in a hole in the ice of the Amur River again. My host dad wanted to try it, so I went with him. The air was colder this time, but that meant the water felt a little warmer maybe. January 19 is also a holiday in Russia called крещение or which means “baptism” and it’s known as the “twelfth day”. It is the twelfth day after the Russian orthodox Christmas on Jan 7. People thought I was crazy when I tried the “prorub” as they call it, the first time. Now that I have gone back and done it a second time, I can’t even imagine what people will think of me.

In all, this feels like the longest stretch of my exchange, as I wait for warmer weather, my birthday, and new and exciting travels coming in March. Even though this is the longest stretch, it is also going really smoothly. I am really starting to fit in and feel normal living here. I am taking a more active role in Russian life. I’m in a good mood, healthy, and still loving the experience. Honestly, the hardest thing for me right now is just the winter. I am already ready to be over, but I know that I still have another month or two. That’s what makes this the longest stretch, but it also allows me to understand how environment rally can shape culture and attitude, as I see how having to face winters like this year after year could really get to you after a while. But the good news is that they told me that it will only be cold for another month, and then it should start warming up again in March. Now the only thing I’m scared of is what will happen when it goes above freezing and all the layers of frozen ice, snow, dirt, and dog pee melt all at the same time…

It always feels like there is something I’m leaving out when I write these blogs. I try to explain to you my life, and I give you a pretty accurate picture of the events in my life, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many mental, psychological, and personal aspects of the exchange, which I just cannot simply describe to you. It will really only be something that you can understand by seeing me again, and seeing how my personality, my character, my thoughts and ideas have changed from this experience. But that’s something that is not ready to be unveiled yet, and will only become apparent in another five months when I have set foot on American soil once more.