Home away from home away from home (Vladivostok)

It seems like such a long time already since I stepped onto the train in Belogorsk, leaving behind Blagoveshchensk, and starting my journey to Vladivostok, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. It seems like even my life in Blagoveshchensk was a lifetime ago, even though in reality, I started my journey on March 11.

That morning, I awoke at 3:30 in the morning, and got in the mini-bus that would take me and our group of Rotarians to the train station in Belogorsk 2 hours away, in order to take the express train to Vladivostok. "Express", however, is a relative term, as it took 22 hours to reach Vladivostok, instead of the 32 hours that it took me to get to Blagoveshchensk from Vladivostok back in August. The train ride was pretty uneventful. I traveled with a group of local Rotarians, and one other Rotaract member, Anton, to go to Vladivostok. Our final destination would be a small seaside town called Nakhodka, where the Russian PETS (Presidential Elect Training Seminar) would be held. On the train, we slept, ate, played some cards, and watched some TV. About halfway in our journey, the train stopped in Khabarovsk for half an hour, and Anton and I walked out of the train to see the area around the train station and stretch our legs. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long in the city, but I am hoping to have a chance to come back to Khabarovsk to visit, as it is an interesting city, and I have several friends who live there and would love to have me come visit.

Our train arrived in Ugolnaya (outside of Vladivostok) early in the morning, and I stepped off the train into the cool morning air. It was cool, but not cold, the first time that I could walk around outside without needing a hat. We packed into a couple of mini-buses and began our 3 hour drive to Nakhodka. As the sky became lighter, the earth that I had left six months earlier revealed itself. I for the first time in six months saw mountains, saw the Pacific Ocean crashing wave by wave into Russia, and smelled the familiar scent of sea salt in the air. As we drove along the coast, the thought occurred to me that my home country, my rodina, was only just on the other side of this ocean, and then I felt the closest to home than I had been in six months.

We arrived in Nakhodka, and right away began our work at PETS. There were Rotarians from all over the east of Russia there, and even a couple Americans (the district governors on the Alaska side). And the funny thing was, all of these Rotarians who I had never met before, already knew me. "So you're the one from Blagoveshchensk". I already had a reputation with them, and they already knew everything about my life in Blagoveshchensk. There were also Retractors from different cities in Russia there. The PETS conference was actually interesting and useful, as I understood 90% of the information that they presented at the conference. One of the nights, I went with the other Retractors to Partizansk, a city an hour away. I met Laura Secor, another American exchange student there. We hung out with the Rotaract group all night. After the PETS conference was over, I helped make presentations about starting new Rotaract and Interact clubs in Nakhodka and in Partizansk. After our last presentation, we drove to Vladivostok, where I met my host family.

For my time in Vladivostok, I am living with the Rubtsov's in Artyom, which is a city about 45 minutes outside of Vladivostok. I am living with Vladimir and Lilia, and a host brother, Kolya, who is 14. They also have a daughter who was an exchange student to the US, and now lives and studies in Canada. They are really nice, and I really enjoyed living with them. They live in their own house there, and they have a German shepherd and a cat, and they keep chickens (which means we always have really fresh eggs).

In Vladivostok, I am going to the lyceum, which Eleonora Trubnikova (the head of the youth exchange program) directs. It is interesting for me, because it is the first time that I have attended an actual Russian "high school", taking different classes. In Vladivostok, I also got to meet up with Gabi, Torrey, Margeux, and Joao, the other exchange students. It was really nice to see them. While I was there, a new exchange student, Mauricio, from Columbia arrived. Everything there- the city, the students, and the new exchange student, reminded me of when I first arrived in Russia in August, knowing nothing. And now I am looking at the very same city, the very same people, through different eyes, with a new perspective, with a new understanding. Before I returned to Vladivostok, I thought that I would be super glad to see all the exchange students, whom I hadn't seen for over six months. But it was funny, when I first saw them, they only wanted to speak in English, and I felt myself gravitating toward the Russians than the Americans. I only wanted to speak Russian, and it took me a while to warm up to wanting to speak English again.

But I saw the city. And what a city it is! It is a bustling port city, the "San Francisco of Russia". There is going to be a big international conference in Vladivostok in 2012, so the city is going through a lot of reconstructions, new roads, bridges, and buildings. It is not a super clean city, but it is full of life and character. The people are more active, brighter in outlook, and more interesting.
During my two week stay in Vladivostok, there were two major blizzards. The first one happened on my first day there, and I was told that I was lucky that it happened, because it covered up all the dirt which had been there only one day earlier. Despite the fact that the blizzard shut down some of the buses and made the roads slick, I got to see the city covered in a clean white blanket of snow. And it was beautiful. I immediately fell in love with the city, the sights, the activity, the people.

In Vladivostok, I used the public bus system extensively. Even in Blagoveshchensk, I didn't use the real buses; I had always taken the marshrutki, like vans that drive around the city. So it was the first time that I really took the "real" bus system in my life. Vladivostok is a bigger city than Blagoveshchensk, and has more foreign brands and shops. They have a "Subway" there, and it was the first time that I had eaten at an American restaurant since I arrived in Russia.

I spent my days in Vlad split pretty evenly with both my Russian and foreign friends. They all wanted to show me the city and hang out with me, and they all gave me a little different view of the city, even though some of the points of interest that they all showed me sometimes intersected. Even though I was in Vladivostok for only two weeks in all, the friendships that I developed with the exchange students, but especially with the Russians, are stronger than most of the friendships that I developed in my six months in Blagoveshchensk. I can definitely say that I have good friends in Vladivostok, and I cannot wait to return to them in June before I leave for the US.

I also spent some time at the US consulate in Vladivostok while I was here. The first day I visited them, I got a small tour of the inside, and then I went to lunch with the consul general, and some of the other officers. The next day, I went to the consulate again to listen to a speech by a Russian-born citizen who immigrated to the US and eventually became an American citizen. Before she left the Soviet Union, she had earned a PhD, but when she arrived in the US, her diploma was not recognized, and she ended up re-earning her PhD in American universities. She arrived in the US with $200, and started working as a cleaning lady. She ended up re-earning her PhD, starting a family, and becoming a citizen. She told her amazing story in Russian, and I understood 99% of everything which she said. After the speech, I went out to eat with the Public Diplomacy Officer and one of the Russians who work at the consulate. Then, on Saturday, they invited me and the other American exchange students to a "Chili cook off" which they were having at their townhouses. There were 8 different chili recipes submitted, along with cornbread, tortilla chips and salsa, and brownies, all things that I hadn't even seen for almost seven months. It was all very delicious, and I enjoyed the company of all the Americans who were there. All of these Americans were there in Vladivostok for different reasons, but we all shared the commonality that we are all in Russia, and it was interesting hearing all the different stories and backgrounds which all ended up in the same place... Russia.

I also found out from the consulate that there is a new spaceport being built in the Amur Oblast, where Blagoveshchensk is, and that the mayor of my host city is actively searching for another city to take part in a "sister city" agreement, most likely with a sister city that has connections with the aerospace industry. I have been talking to some Rotarians and local politicians back home in Columbus to see if any one there would be interested in taking part in a sister city program with Blagoveshchensk, since there is already a tie with the Rotary clubs and through the exchange program.

The last few days of my stay in Vladivostok I spent at an outbound exchange student orientation at the "yunga" camp, the same place where I spent the first few days of my time in Russia back in August. The foreign exchange students in eastern Russia and the Russian outbounds for next year all came to Vladivostok for Orientation. It was really fun to see everyone. We made presentations about our countries, and the Americans told about our home states, held up an American flag, and sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was great. We also had a diskoteka on the last night and we all danced and had a lot of fun. That Sunday after the orientations, Russia moved its clocks forward one hour. But it was not only Russia's clocks that moved forward, but the country itself. The very same morning that Russia moved its clocks forward, Russian president Dmitri Medvedev announced that Russia would consolidate its 11 time zones down to 9 in an attempt to help better unify and connect the opposite ends of the country.

On Monday morning, we all gathered at the Vladivostok International Airport to leave on our Moscow/St. Petersburg trip. We got through security fine, and boarded the plane. We flew with Vladivostok Avia, and had a nine hour flight to Moscow. I slept a little, ate Russian airline food, and watched Russia beneath us, stretching out in all directions. We arrived at the Vnukovo airport outside of Moscow. When we landed and were in the terminal, we learned that there had been two suicide bombings in the Moscow metro while we had been in the air. So the bombings did not affect us, and we would be spending the first 5-6 days of our trip in St. Petersburg anyway. But the events of my trip will all be in my next post...

A quick brief before I start traveling Russia

Well I figured that I should give everyone a quick update about my life before I leave on my trip, because I don’t know if I will have time to update my blog until the middle of April when I return.

Last Monday, I went to go see another concert here in Blagoveshchensk. It was the concert of a Russian guitarist “Didyulya”. His style is similar to Spanish guitars, and he plays with a group including two drummers, a keyboardist, a saxophonist, and a bassist. He didn’t say a word the entire concert, but just came on stage and started playing. He and his whole group are very talented, and in short, it was one of the best concerts that I have seen in my whole life. If you ever have a chance to see Didyulya, definitely take it. After the concert, a reporter from one of the local radio stations came up to me and asked me a few questions about how I liked the concert. I answered in Russian, and he didn’t even know I was a foreigner.

Here in Blagoveshchensk, I have met a politician who works with the foreign policy matters of the Amur oblast, and will soon be going on a state-funded exchange program to the US in order to witness the political system and improve his English. He found out about me, and asked me to give him lessons about American politics, and to have conversations with him to help improve his English. He has already studied English for many years, so he has a good understanding, and I taught him in English. For the past week, we have met at his office. I researched and printed off information for him, and prepared a lesson for each day. I have taught him about the structure of the US government, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the election process, state and local government, political terminology, American political correctness, current political issues in the US, and about Denver and Washington DC, where he will be spending his time. This was a great experience for me, not only because I am interested in politics and government, but because I was able to share this knowledge and help foster understanding between our countries. Even though it wasn’t much, this was a very fulfilling experience for me. I also asked him questions about his job, about Russian politics and government, and about his thoughts on different political events. This was very interesting to hear as well. He said that when he returns from his month and a half long visit to the US, he would love to meet with me again to talk about his experience, and has said that if I ever have any questions about Russian politics or government while I in college, I should feel free to email him and ask. I am very glad that I got to make his acquaintance.

On March 6, I moved to my third and final host family. Packing up was difficult, mostly because I already have too much stuff, but I managed to fit it all into my bags. I will really miss my second host family, the Murzakovs, as I got really close to them and they are super nice and interesting people. However, it will also be interesting to move to a new family and get to know them well also. I only moved one block away from my second host family, so I am still pretty much in the center of the city. My third host family, Andrei Konushok and Irina Bakumenko (they keep their last name separate for business reasons), does not have any children who still live with them. Their two daughters (who were both Rotary exchange students) are both grown and live in Canada.

On March 7, I had my 19th birthday. Whenever I would tell people that my birthday is March 7, they kind of laugh, because March 8 is International Women’s day (which we don’t celebrate in the US), and they always say that I am lucky that I wasn’t born one day later. My birthday went well. For lunch, I ate at a Chinese restaurant with my new host parents, my host mom’s mother, and one of the Rotarians. It was really nice. Later, I also met with some friends, and in the evening, I went to the Banya with my second host family, and ate dinner at the restaurant there. For gifts, I got a “Russia” baseball hat and winter cap, I got some DVDs and CDs (classic Russian movies, some Russian music, and also a DVD of a Didyulya concert in Moscow. I also found out that on March 6, my first host mom gave birth to a son, her first child. I was so happy for her when I found out, and I can’t wait to see her new baby.

It's already starting to become warm (above -10), and things are slowly starting to melt, and cause the streets to become dirty. Despite this, Spring in Russia is one of the most glorious experiences ever, if not jsut for the fact that Russian spring directly follows the infamous Russian winter. The arrival of Spring brings so many good feelings, and makes me feel "proud" that I survived my first Russian winter.

I think that’s about all the news I have for now. I’ll be leaving for Vladivostok at 3:30 AM on Thursday. I can’t wait to experience everything that is before me in the next month. I’ll take a lot of pictures, and tell you all about my experiences in Vladivostok, Moscow, and St. Petersburg when I return in April.

As we say in Russian: «до встречи! » … “Until we meet again!”

The beginning of the end of winter

From my bedroom window on the ninth floor of my host family’s apartment, I can see everything. When I wake up in the morning, I can look down to the street below, and see all the people hurrying along in the morning cold before the sun has peaked over the top of the apartment buildings to start warming the street below. During the day, I see the bright sun reflected in the golden ornaments that adorn the sky-blue spires of the city’s cathedral a few blocks away. And in the evening, it is a spectacular. As I watch the sun slowly setting over the hills in China a few miles away, casting a golden glow over the many rooftops, I can see the silhouettes of cranes towering over far-off unfinished high rises. At night time, I see neon lights reflected in the window facades of neighboring apartment buildings. I see the white smoke bellowing out of the power plant to the north, and moving in a horizontal line over the city, in contrast to the dark night sky. I can see everything.

Just like the dynamic view out my window, my life here has been changing quickly as well. It is the end of February. That means that I have been now living in Russia for 6 months, half of a year. I am aware of this, but the significance of this milestone still hasn’t hit me. I have come so far since I arrived on a hot and sunny late-August day, knowing barely a word of Russian. Now the days are cold, but I am really starting to fit in as a “Russian” in language and in life.
We have started class again at the university, after an almost month long break for Chinese New Year. I am still actively involved in leading our Rotaract Club here in Blagoveshchensk. On February 14, Valentines Day, we carried out a small project in one of the shopping centers, celebrating Valentines Day, and also doing PR for our clubs and Rotary. Our club charters have been signed by Rotary International, and we are now just waiting for them in the mail. I designed a website for our clubs (in both Russian and English), and the website is now online at www.actamur.ru/en (this is the English part).

On Friday, February the 26th, an international conference on linguistics and foreign language was held at my university here. Participants in the conference arrived from all over Russia, Germany, France, China, Japan, and the United States. A team from the US consulate in Vladivostok also came. I met with the Consul General, Tom Armbruster, and several other Foreign Service officers. I ate several meals together with them at restaurants, and got to know them. I told them of my future plans of studying at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and they were all excited. They were all very interesting people, and promised to give me a tour of the consulate when I arrive in Vladivostok. The research paper that I wrote (titled “A comparison of foreign language education in Russia, the United States, and Europe”) was published in a book which includes the work of all the participants in the conference. I wrote my article in English, but at the conference, a presented a summary of my research in Russian. All were amazed that I had only been studying Russian for six months. The Public Affairs Officer from the US consulate was especially surprised, as she had met me back in August when I first arrived, not speaking any Russian. The conference was great, and I met many teachers from the university who would love to have me come to their classes.

Other things that have been going on in my life…
I cooked a pizza, for my host family, American style, with home-made sauce, parmesan, and sausage. It was delicious.
They have bee doing remodeling in one of the apartments below us, so sometimes, they will shut off all our water. When they turn it back on, the water is brown for the first twenty minutes, so we have to bleed out all the faucets.
I also went to the nature park again with friends of my host family. We went ice skating, tried playing a little hockey, and did a little sledding. On the way back we were stopped by the police, but we got out of it somehow…
February 23 was “Protector of the Fatherland day” (formerly “Soviet Army and Navy Day”). It is a day where they honor all those who serve in the armed forces, and also men in general, even if you haven’t served in the military.
On February 27, our Rotary club celebrated 105 years of Rotary and 14 years of the club. It was held at a Chinese restaurant, and all the food was delicious. It was a very fun and lively evening.
Recently, one of the pipes next to our apartment building burst, so we are now without running water. A water tanker truck is parked outside our building, so we have to go collect water from there in order to wash the dishes, flush the toilet, and take showers.
I have also started collecting Russian music discs and movies to enjoy when I return back home. I’ve been trying to collect some classic movies, and other good Russian films which have been recommended to me. And luckily music and DVDs here aren’t expensive at all. I can buy a CD with all the albums of an artist for $3, and I can buy a DVD, even a new one, for $5.

March is already starting tomorrow. With the end of February and the arrival of March, a new hope and anticipation for the warmer temperatures of spring has also arrived. I will be moving to my third and final host family on March 6th. My 19th birthday is a week from today, on March 7. Then on March 11, I will be leaving Blagoveshchensk for PETS (Presidential-Elect Training Seminar for rotary) in Nahodka. I will be traveling with several Rotarians, and my friend and president-elect of our Rotaract Club. There we will meet Rotarians and other Rotaract members from all over eastern Russia. Right after that, I will go to Vladivostok, where I will stay for two weeks before the start of their youth exchange outbound orientation. In Vladivostok, I will get to see all of the other exchange students who I haven’t seen since August, and those who I have never seen before. Right after the orientation, we will be leaving to our trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg. It will be a great trip, seeing the other exchange students and other parts of Russia. I won’t return to Blagoveshchensk until the middle of April sometime. By the time I return, I am hoping that it will already be warm here, and that I won’t have to look at snow again until next November.