Well, today, Saturday, the package that my parents sent to me five weeks ago arrived. Five weeks! But I was lucky. They said it usually takes about 2 months from the US. Here in Russia, they don't deliver the package to your door, but they deliver a notice to your mailbox that you have to go to the post office to pick it up. And it is a Russian tradition that whenever you receive one of these notices that you got a package from home, you have to dance to get it. So I did a little jig. Actually picking up the package was surprisingly easy though. We just went to the closest post office, gave them the notice, and signed a piece of paper. I havent opened the package yet, but I think it contains the much needed autumn warm clothes that I needed a month ago that will be very useful now that it is sub-zero and snowing. Haha. But I was really excited to receive the package. The reason that the government post is so slow here is that all mail that comes into and leaves the country has to be processed through Moscow, which is on the opposite side of Russia. DHL could have had it here in 2 weeks, but it would have cost about $400 I think. So it was worth waiting, and now that I know that my packages wont dissapear into a black hole or fall off the truck somewhere between Moscow and Blagoveshchensk on a deserted stretch of siberian highway, I wont have to worry for five weeks the next time my parents decide to send me something. Thanks parents! (PS if you send me another package now, it might arrive by the holidays...)
UPDATE: I opened the package and somehow my parents knew that it wouldnt arrive until winter so they sent me a lot of warm winter clothes. I really loved getting the package and thank you a bunch for sending it! All these warm clothes will really help.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thanks a lot, H1N1!
Quarantine. It's what all of out schools have been doing for the last 2 and a half weeks. There was a large breakout of the flu in Blagoveshchesnk, and therefore, all the schools in the city, including my university, closed on October 28, and will not reopen until the 16th of November. At first it was just the normal flu. Then ther were a few dozen confirmed cases of swine flu here in my city. So I have been without school for over two weeks now. But I havent gotten sick yet, so I guess the quarantine worked. It was just kind of strange to see everyone walking around in surgical masks everywhere. But then I found out that it was strange for the Russians too, as this is the first time that they have ever worn surgical masks in public too. But don't worry, it's quieting down now, and I'll be starting back at the university on Monday.
Meanwhile, I have been busy, still learning Russian, celebrating halloween (which still isnt really big in Russia-- when we walked around in the streets all dressed up, most people just looked at us funny), and working on starting a Rotaract club here in Blagoveshchesnk. So I've been staying busy.
Meanwhile, I have been busy, still learning Russian, celebrating halloween (which still isnt really big in Russia-- when we walked around in the streets all dressed up, most people just looked at us funny), and working on starting a Rotaract club here in Blagoveshchesnk. So I've been staying busy.
(The newspaper headline is "Swine or not Swine?")
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Hunt for Red October
Привет товарищи! It has been almost a full month since my last blog post, but don't worry-- they haven't sent me off to Siberia yet... wait a minute... scratch that last thought. And despite the title of this post, October hasn't been very red either. That is, except for the first week of the month. October 11 was Election Day in Russia, and for that first week, there were campaigners (including the communist party with all their red flags) all over the place. It seemed like everything centered on the election--- all the billboards, radio and TV ads, and just about anywhere there was space was covered with political ads. My host dad ran for the city duma (council) as an independent candidate, but did not win.
Despite "Red October" not quite living up to its namesake, the autumn here has been filled with the brilliant yellow, red and orange colors of the falling leaves. Autumn here was really beautiful, but even as I write now, autumn is already over, and old man winter is waking up. It has already dropped below 0 degrees Celsius, and we have already had snow that stuck to the ground. Needless to say, I have found out that our idea of "winter" clothes is a lot different from the Russians'. I have been told that in the winter, it will be in the -20s and 30s Celsius, and even occasionally dip into the -40s Celsius (-42 degrees is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet, so you can get an idea of how cold it will get). I thought that my wool pea coat that I brought with me would make a fine winter coat, but if you want to see something similar to what we will be wearing for coats in the winter, turn on the Discovery Channel and take note of what they are wearing when they show people on an expedition to the South Pole... So I have been slowly building my winter wardrobe. One thing that was really nice though, was that when I went to go buy some winter boots at a shoe store that one of the Rotarians here owns, he gave me a 3000 ruble ($100) pair of boots for free!! It was so nice and I was very grateful.
Also at the beginning of the month was the 60th anniversary of the Peoples' Republic of China. And since China is right across the river from us, we got to enjoy their beautiful fireworks display.
I have also now been to several Chinese restaurants here. The Chinese food here is so much better than the "Chinese" food we have back in the states. Delicious!
Some of the Rotarians also took me horseback riding last Sunday. It was the first time that I have ridden, but it was great... but the next day I was so sore from riding. There, when we were riding, I met Alexandr Sergeievich, a young talented musician who plays guitar and piano, sings, and writes his own songs. He also teaches a music "class" at BGPU (My university), and when he found out that I was interested in Music and also played the piano, he invited me to come. So I went. It is not really a "class" but more like a lot of students who are interested in music who come together to play and sing. So I am now kind of in a choir, and it also gives me a chance to play piano sometimes. We meet two nights a week, and so far, it has been really fun. Plus, I think that singing in Russian will help me improve my language skills. It’s also fun because sometimes we sing songs in English, and the other students get a kick out of when I belt out some Beatles or "Johnny B. Goode" in English. But it's great.
School: Well some of the Rotarians met with the rector of the university, and he said that I could continue to study at the University for free so that's good. Earlier, I had wanted to transfer to one of the local secondary schools, primarily I think because I just wanted to make a large group of Russian friends. But now I have realized that the University class will be best for me. I'm basically getting 25-30 hours a week of free Russian language class. So I think I will stick with the university.
The past few weeks, the flu has been going around the university, and a lot of students have been getting sick. Last week, it was so bad that one day, we only had three students in the class. Our teacher said that right now, the hostels are more like hospitals. But I have remained healthy and flu-free through it all. The only kind of medical issue I had was that I just yesterday started wearing my contacts again, after maybe three weeks without them. My eyes got really red for a while, and I thought that maybe there was an infection on my contacts. At home (in the US), every night after I would take out my contacts, I would rinse them under hot water before putting them in my contact case with solution. And when I got to Russia, I continued to do the same thing. However, the only thing is that they don't drink their tap water, and it didn’t connect that it probably wasn’t a good idea to rinse my contacts in that water either. But I have learned.
This past weekend, I also went on a small excursion with my Russian language class to a "nature base" 30 km outside the city. It was me, my Chinese classmates, my teacher, and her young son and niece. We cooked food, walked around a pond, hiked through the forest, and enjoyed the nature. It was really fun and beautiful there.
One cool thing was that I found Tabasco here in Russia! It may not sound like a big deal, but I really like Tobasco, and their pepper sauce here is not spicy compared to our standards of spicy (It is like that with their mouthwash too... while ours actually stings when you use it, theirs is like mint flavored water). I looked all over for tobasco, and I finally found it one day at a store, so I had to buy it. And the best part is, I don't think my host parents like it, so I get the whole bottle to myself!
Russian: My Russian has improved so much in the last month. I can now hold actual conversations with people (on familiar topics). I talk with my host parents all the time. I can even talk a little bit to strangers and salespeople now, so I'm not completely helpless. Russian grammar is hard, but it is like one of those 2000 piece puzzles that you spend several months putting together. At first it seems impossible, but then you start connecting pieces, recognizing patterns, and it starts coming together. You don't put it together on your own-- that's no fun-- you recruit friends and family to help you assemble it. And its not likely that you will get bored of it-- it will keep you busy for a while. And then when you have finally completed it, you see all those pieces in a new and beautiful way. That's kind of like how Russian is. But I have slowly been falling in love with the Russian language. It is a very intricate, descriptive, and interesting language. English can not even come close to the depth of the Russian language, and I look forward to mastering this language. For example, in English we have the verb "to go". But in Russian they have different descriptive motion verbs. There is "to go by foot" (идти), "to go by conveyance" (ехать), "to go somewhere and then return on foot" (ходить), "to go somewhere and return by conveyance" (ездить), "to go on foot on one specific occasion" (пойти), "to go by conveyance on one specific occasion" (поехать)... you get the idea. And there are verbs like that for flying, swimming, going by boat, and riding too. And then there are also the Russian words that describe actions and concepts that we don't have a single word for in English. Some of my favorites are: слепец (one who fails to notice the obvious, also "blind person"), замучивать (to torment the life out of, to bore to death), and my favorite: добивать (to deal the final blow, kill, finish off; completely smash). Russian is full of descriptive words like these. And then there are many words that have identical or almost identical dictionary meanings, but mean very different things in different contexts. As you can see, Russian is like a challenging but fun puzzle that I am putting together.
Until we meet again! До встречи!
(Check out my new pictures!)
Despite "Red October" not quite living up to its namesake, the autumn here has been filled with the brilliant yellow, red and orange colors of the falling leaves. Autumn here was really beautiful, but even as I write now, autumn is already over, and old man winter is waking up. It has already dropped below 0 degrees Celsius, and we have already had snow that stuck to the ground. Needless to say, I have found out that our idea of "winter" clothes is a lot different from the Russians'. I have been told that in the winter, it will be in the -20s and 30s Celsius, and even occasionally dip into the -40s Celsius (-42 degrees is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet, so you can get an idea of how cold it will get). I thought that my wool pea coat that I brought with me would make a fine winter coat, but if you want to see something similar to what we will be wearing for coats in the winter, turn on the Discovery Channel and take note of what they are wearing when they show people on an expedition to the South Pole... So I have been slowly building my winter wardrobe. One thing that was really nice though, was that when I went to go buy some winter boots at a shoe store that one of the Rotarians here owns, he gave me a 3000 ruble ($100) pair of boots for free!! It was so nice and I was very grateful.
Also at the beginning of the month was the 60th anniversary of the Peoples' Republic of China. And since China is right across the river from us, we got to enjoy their beautiful fireworks display.
I have also now been to several Chinese restaurants here. The Chinese food here is so much better than the "Chinese" food we have back in the states. Delicious!
Some of the Rotarians also took me horseback riding last Sunday. It was the first time that I have ridden, but it was great... but the next day I was so sore from riding. There, when we were riding, I met Alexandr Sergeievich, a young talented musician who plays guitar and piano, sings, and writes his own songs. He also teaches a music "class" at BGPU (My university), and when he found out that I was interested in Music and also played the piano, he invited me to come. So I went. It is not really a "class" but more like a lot of students who are interested in music who come together to play and sing. So I am now kind of in a choir, and it also gives me a chance to play piano sometimes. We meet two nights a week, and so far, it has been really fun. Plus, I think that singing in Russian will help me improve my language skills. It’s also fun because sometimes we sing songs in English, and the other students get a kick out of when I belt out some Beatles or "Johnny B. Goode" in English. But it's great.
School: Well some of the Rotarians met with the rector of the university, and he said that I could continue to study at the University for free so that's good. Earlier, I had wanted to transfer to one of the local secondary schools, primarily I think because I just wanted to make a large group of Russian friends. But now I have realized that the University class will be best for me. I'm basically getting 25-30 hours a week of free Russian language class. So I think I will stick with the university.
The past few weeks, the flu has been going around the university, and a lot of students have been getting sick. Last week, it was so bad that one day, we only had three students in the class. Our teacher said that right now, the hostels are more like hospitals. But I have remained healthy and flu-free through it all. The only kind of medical issue I had was that I just yesterday started wearing my contacts again, after maybe three weeks without them. My eyes got really red for a while, and I thought that maybe there was an infection on my contacts. At home (in the US), every night after I would take out my contacts, I would rinse them under hot water before putting them in my contact case with solution. And when I got to Russia, I continued to do the same thing. However, the only thing is that they don't drink their tap water, and it didn’t connect that it probably wasn’t a good idea to rinse my contacts in that water either. But I have learned.
This past weekend, I also went on a small excursion with my Russian language class to a "nature base" 30 km outside the city. It was me, my Chinese classmates, my teacher, and her young son and niece. We cooked food, walked around a pond, hiked through the forest, and enjoyed the nature. It was really fun and beautiful there.
One cool thing was that I found Tabasco here in Russia! It may not sound like a big deal, but I really like Tobasco, and their pepper sauce here is not spicy compared to our standards of spicy (It is like that with their mouthwash too... while ours actually stings when you use it, theirs is like mint flavored water). I looked all over for tobasco, and I finally found it one day at a store, so I had to buy it. And the best part is, I don't think my host parents like it, so I get the whole bottle to myself!
Russian: My Russian has improved so much in the last month. I can now hold actual conversations with people (on familiar topics). I talk with my host parents all the time. I can even talk a little bit to strangers and salespeople now, so I'm not completely helpless. Russian grammar is hard, but it is like one of those 2000 piece puzzles that you spend several months putting together. At first it seems impossible, but then you start connecting pieces, recognizing patterns, and it starts coming together. You don't put it together on your own-- that's no fun-- you recruit friends and family to help you assemble it. And its not likely that you will get bored of it-- it will keep you busy for a while. And then when you have finally completed it, you see all those pieces in a new and beautiful way. That's kind of like how Russian is. But I have slowly been falling in love with the Russian language. It is a very intricate, descriptive, and interesting language. English can not even come close to the depth of the Russian language, and I look forward to mastering this language. For example, in English we have the verb "to go". But in Russian they have different descriptive motion verbs. There is "to go by foot" (идти), "to go by conveyance" (ехать), "to go somewhere and then return on foot" (ходить), "to go somewhere and return by conveyance" (ездить), "to go on foot on one specific occasion" (пойти), "to go by conveyance on one specific occasion" (поехать)... you get the idea. And there are verbs like that for flying, swimming, going by boat, and riding too. And then there are also the Russian words that describe actions and concepts that we don't have a single word for in English. Some of my favorites are: слепец (one who fails to notice the obvious, also "blind person"), замучивать (to torment the life out of, to bore to death), and my favorite: добивать (to deal the final blow, kill, finish off; completely smash). Russian is full of descriptive words like these. And then there are many words that have identical or almost identical dictionary meanings, but mean very different things in different contexts. As you can see, Russian is like a challenging but fun puzzle that I am putting together.
Until we meet again! До встречи!
(Check out my new pictures!)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
New Photos
Check out my picasa web album on the right! I just uploaded a lot of new pictures. To view the whole album, just click on the slideshow on the right. Most of these are just everyday photos, but I also have some good artistic ones mixed in there. To view them, when looking at my album in picasa, click on the link for all of my albums, and there will be one with all the "cool" pictures in it, or at least the ones I like. Some of them I have edited a little. Please leave comments on my blog and on my pictures. I like to hear what you think of them. I'll give you another update in a week or two. Until then... до встречи!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Баня! (Russian baths)
So on Friday I was naked with a group of Rotarians. Hmm... maybe not the best phrasing. What I meant to say was that on Friday, I went to the Russian Banya with some rotarians, and it was awesome! Of course, when you go in, you are not wearing any clothes. This is probably the sole reason that we don't have bath houses in America... because Americans don't like to get naked in front of other people. But once you get past that, it is really great. We first sat in a hot steamroom for a while, then we went into the dry sauna, then we went into a warm pool and cooled of there for a while. We kept going back and forth between the warm pool and the hot sauna. Sometimes you would jump in a really cold pool really quickly, and then go back into the sauna. Also, in the sauna, someone would take branches with leaves soaked in hot water and beat you with them. It was all really nice, and after 2 hours of that, you feel really refreshed. Pictures soon! (Haha just kidding!)
What else did I do this week? Teachers' Day was this week, so there were a lot of presentations and concerts this week. We had our concert on Wednesday. As we were setting up, there was a grand piano (the Russians call it a рояль "royal") on the stage, and if you know me, you know that I can't resist stting down and playing when there is a beautiful piano sitting there. So I did. And then my teacher heard me play, and said that I would be performing a piao piece during the concert that was in 20 minutes. So I did. And everyone liked it. I think. In fact, they liked it so much that the next day, the dean of music (or something like that) came into our class and pulled me out so I could play piano for her. She listened, and then asked me some questions which I didn't understand. Unfortunately, I think she took my puzzled look as saying "no" to whatever she was asking, but I'm trying to figure out if maybe I can take some lessons.
Also, I might be changing schools soon. The university started asking for money (40,000 rubles) for my first semester of Russian language. I guess the classes I was taking were not the free ones, so I might be moving to study at Secondary School #5, which would be fine too, but just kind of unexpected. I will find out this next week what will happen.
On Friday, I also lived with my 3rd host family (Andrei and Irina Bakumenko) for a day, which was nice. So now, I only have not met my second host family, the Murzakovas.
Everything here is still going well. There is always something new happening, and things here tend to happen more unpredictably and spontaniously than in the US, which is kind of a nice change from the strict rigidity of the scheduled American life.
What else did I do this week? Teachers' Day was this week, so there were a lot of presentations and concerts this week. We had our concert on Wednesday. As we were setting up, there was a grand piano (the Russians call it a рояль "royal") on the stage, and if you know me, you know that I can't resist stting down and playing when there is a beautiful piano sitting there. So I did. And then my teacher heard me play, and said that I would be performing a piao piece during the concert that was in 20 minutes. So I did. And everyone liked it. I think. In fact, they liked it so much that the next day, the dean of music (or something like that) came into our class and pulled me out so I could play piano for her. She listened, and then asked me some questions which I didn't understand. Unfortunately, I think she took my puzzled look as saying "no" to whatever she was asking, but I'm trying to figure out if maybe I can take some lessons.
Also, I might be changing schools soon. The university started asking for money (40,000 rubles) for my first semester of Russian language. I guess the classes I was taking were not the free ones, so I might be moving to study at Secondary School #5, which would be fine too, but just kind of unexpected. I will find out this next week what will happen.
On Friday, I also lived with my 3rd host family (Andrei and Irina Bakumenko) for a day, which was nice. So now, I only have not met my second host family, the Murzakovas.
Everything here is still going well. There is always something new happening, and things here tend to happen more unpredictably and spontaniously than in the US, which is kind of a nice change from the strict rigidity of the scheduled American life.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Я приехал в России месяц назад (вчера)
So, I arrived in Russia a month ago (yesterday) (that's what the title says).The last few days have gone well. On thursday, I was a little sick, and had my first experience with traditional Russian remedies (which consisted of rasberry jam, pine extract, salty pre-chewed bread, and not being allowed to take a shower). But I felt better on friday, which is also when I went to a concert with my host parents. We went to go see Larisa Dolina, who is a very famous jazz singer in Russia. She sang well, but is more popular with the older crowd... but still it was fun. On saturday, I got my first haircut in Russia. I didnt really know how to tell her what I wanted in Russian, sho she just kind of cut my hair. It honestly is not bad, but the sides she cut just a little too short for my liking. On saturday night, we went to a Chinese restaurant with my host parents' nephew (who is currently in the army) and Nikolai Nikolaiovich, one of the other Rotarians who is a teacher at AMGU and a psychiatrist. The Chinese food here is "the real deal" as china is right across the river. It is so much better than our "American Chinese" food. They also gave us really вкусно (tasty) Israeli chicken. On sunday, I slept in and then at around 13:00 we got dressed up (suits) and went to Church. The orthodox churches here are different than other Christian churches in the US. We drove out into another town to a small wooden, but beautiful church. Inside, there are no pews or seats. You go in and buy some candles (there is a shop with religious icons, books, and candles) and then light them and pray at various icons. It is very beautiful inside with many candles and golden icons. Every person in Russia has their protector saint and has various icons in his home of this saint and of Jesus. Even people who are not "religious" (i.e. go to church often) are very serious about their faith and most people in Russia wear crosses or some sort of religious icon.
Tomorrow, at school, I will be visiting one of the english classes, meeting the students, and speaking to them in English. Next week, the english teacher will be gone, and I will be going to their class and "teaching" them so they don't forget anything. I think it will be fun. It is also very nice to have the language faculty all together at the university, because sometimes if there is a word that I want to know how to say in Russian, it is easier to ask the French or German teachers the corrosponding word in that language than it is to try to translate it from english, because sometimes the other languages have just one word for an idea that is several words in English. For example, the other day, I was flipping through my dictionary and came across the Russian verb "угорать" which in english means "to be poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes." Very descriptive... Also on wednesday, I will be doing a skit with some of the other students in my Russian classes about cheating. It is in Russian (канечно-of course) and in front of the whole school (Я думаю-I think).
A month into my exchange, the language is going well. I am now able to hold short conversations, understand sentences in conversation (words and phrases on TV and on the radio), and I feel mre comfortable speaking to strangers in Russian. I am starting to also learn some of the subtleties in inyonation and pronounciation. For example there are the Russian verbs писать and писать. They are spelled the same, but if you put the stress on the second syllable, it means "to write" and if you put it on the first syllable, it means "to piss." Needless to say, this verb can lead to some interesting conversations. Also, there is the russian letter "л" which is like our "L". If it is "hard" then it is formed jsut like we do in english. However, if it is a "soft" L (ль) then it is formed by making the "L" sound but with your tongue far back on the roof of your mouth, and if you do it the wrong way, you can form two different words. Even though Russian is a difficult language, it is nowhere as hard as Chinese, so I should feel lucky to be studying such an easy language. Or so says my Russian friend who also speaks Chinese.
Tomorrow, at school, I will be visiting one of the english classes, meeting the students, and speaking to them in English. Next week, the english teacher will be gone, and I will be going to their class and "teaching" them so they don't forget anything. I think it will be fun. It is also very nice to have the language faculty all together at the university, because sometimes if there is a word that I want to know how to say in Russian, it is easier to ask the French or German teachers the corrosponding word in that language than it is to try to translate it from english, because sometimes the other languages have just one word for an idea that is several words in English. For example, the other day, I was flipping through my dictionary and came across the Russian verb "угорать" which in english means "to be poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes." Very descriptive... Also on wednesday, I will be doing a skit with some of the other students in my Russian classes about cheating. It is in Russian (канечно-of course) and in front of the whole school (Я думаю-I think).
A month into my exchange, the language is going well. I am now able to hold short conversations, understand sentences in conversation (words and phrases on TV and on the radio), and I feel mre comfortable speaking to strangers in Russian. I am starting to also learn some of the subtleties in inyonation and pronounciation. For example there are the Russian verbs писать and писать. They are spelled the same, but if you put the stress on the second syllable, it means "to write" and if you put it on the first syllable, it means "to piss." Needless to say, this verb can lead to some interesting conversations. Also, there is the russian letter "л" which is like our "L". If it is "hard" then it is formed jsut like we do in english. However, if it is a "soft" L (ль) then it is formed by making the "L" sound but with your tongue far back on the roof of your mouth, and if you do it the wrong way, you can form two different words. Even though Russian is a difficult language, it is nowhere as hard as Chinese, so I should feel lucky to be studying such an easy language. Or so says my Russian friend who also speaks Chinese.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
RUSSIA!!!
When foreigners come to Russia and comment how majestic and interesting the Trans-Siberian Railway is, Russians reply: “Yes, it is – for the first 8 hours…” Indeed it is true. After 52 hours of flying, three days of orientation, and 32 hours on the Trans-Siberian Railway, I finally arrived in my host city of Blagoveshchensk on the morning of Tuesday, September 1, 2009. I was warmly greeted by my host Rotary club, and then I was taken to the home of my host counselor, where I promptly fell asleep and subsequently lived for the first two weeks of my life in Russia.
My journey to Russia was unproblematic but could be described as one of the longest experiences of my life- especially the 14 hour, trans-Pacific flight to South Korea. I left Columbus excited and eager to face the year-long journey that was ahead of me. When I arrived in Chicago, I happened to run into MC Bones, who I had previously met at the Otterbein Outbound Orientation in Westerville. She was on her way to Croatia and it was nice to have her to talk to during my several-hour layover there. Once in LA, I met up with Laura Secor from Oregon, who was also going to Russia. We flew the rest of the way to Vladivostok together.
My first experience landing was interesting, but very Russian. On the runway, there were people on bikes, and soldiers with machine guns. They had us get off the plane and all load into a bus, which took about 10 minutes to get everyone on. The bus then proceeded to make a right turn, drive 10 feet, and stop, where we all disembarked.
At the airport, we at first could not find anyone there to meet us. We stood there for maybe 20 minutes with no one there to meet us, while taxi drivers kept asking to take us into the city (in Russian)… finally we found someone there for us. They didn’t know what we looked like, but they didn’t seem to be trying very hard to find us either.
We had a three-day orientation at a day camp on the Russian coast in Vladivostok. The beaches and coastline there are beautiful. Several local Rotarians and past exchange students were there for the three days to help. We met each other, went over rules, and they talked about culture shock and cultural differences. We spent one day having a picnic on a Russian island, and the US Consulate General in Vladivostok also came to talk to us. There were 4 Americans, a Brazilian, and a French girl. None of us had previously studied Russian, except for the Brazilian, who had had a year of study in the language. I was the only one there who had chosen Russia as their top country.
The Thursday after I arrived in Blagoveshchensk, I started my studies at Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University. There, I am studying Russian as a foreign language with the Chinese students who have come to Russia to study. Language classes here are different than in the US, as they are only taught in the foreign language you are learning, so my Russian teacher speaks only Russian to us. The classes are going well, and they ar helping me learn the language very quickly. There are not that many people here who speak English, so am am picking up the language very fast. It is kind of funny though, because people always look at me weird when they walk into my classroom and se me sitting with all the Chinese students because they think I am Russian.
For the first two weeks, I lived with the Patlays. Larisa Patlay is my host counselor, so living with them for a couple weeks allowed me to get to know them well. Then on September 15, I moved in with the Nazuruks, my first host family. They live further outside the city, but they are very nice. They own an advertisement agency here in the city, and Alexander, my host father, is also running for the Duma, or city council. Election day is coming up on October 11, so there are a lot of political ads. Two of the major political parties here are the “Communist Party of the Russian Federation” and “United Russia”.
Here, I have been walking or taking the bus everywhere, as they have a very good bus system. On one of the weekends, the Rotary club took me on a canoe trip on the Zeya river. We spent all day canoeing, eating, and enjoying the beautiful Russian countryside. The Russian countryside and nature is like nothing we have in the US. It is so beautiful, and even just their normal countryside and forests are comparable to some of the best national parks we have in the US.
Russian food is different. They eat a lot of soup, potatoes, meat, and sour cream, but they also like a lot of fresh and natural foods. They like blini (dipped in sour cream), pelmini (dipped in sour cream), soup (with sour cream in it), and sometimes just sour cream. They also drink a lot of tea… and I mean a lot. I probably have at least 5 or 6 cups of tea a day, every day. But the tea here is really good and I have grown to love it.
When I first started at the university, I started taking French as well, but I found it too difficult to study a foreign language in a different foreign country… plus there are no English-French dictionaries here. I have Russian classes at the university 6 days a week, and I study Russian at the university about 30 hours a week, not including homework and my own self study. Needless to say, I have been learning very fast, as when I arrived I could speak almost no Russian and now I am able to hold short conversations with people and pick up phrases and sentences when others are speaking. I am fitting in here very well. All of my friends and family here are very interested in the US and in my English. I have been teaching them some English and they are teaching me Russian. So far, I have gone to the movies, played billiards, gone shopping, visited a museum, and walked around the city many times with friends. I have learned how to cook Blini (like thin pancakes). I feel kind of… American though when they ask me how long it takes to walk from one end of my city to the other, and I can only tell them how long it takes to drive…
Luckily, there is not one McDonalds or Starbucks here, but they still have brands (such as Cadillacs, Reebok, and Addidas) that we have in America. There are also many malls and shopping centers, and even a Chinese market where one can buy stuff directly from “Made in China”. It is strange as you walk along Lenin Street and across Lenin square (the two places that seem to be in every Russian city) and can see China across the river.
In the winter, the river will freeze, as temperatures reach -30 to -40 degrees Celsius (They laughed at me when they asked me how cold it was in Ohio in winter and I replied that -10 (Celsius, about 5 degrees F) is the lowest it gets. They laughed even harder when after they asked if we get a lot of snow and I said yes we do, I pointed to somewhere below my knee indicating how deep our idea of “a lot” of snow is. Right now at the end of September, it is already getting cold. In the mornings, it is in the 30s (Fahrenheit), and there is already front on the ground. The first day of autumn was just a few days ago, but it is already starting to feel like winter.
Russians do a lot of things differently. Everyone lives in apartments, most Russian women wear heels (and are very beautiful), they don’t wear shoes in the house, and they hang dry their clothes and don’t use dryers. Some things I found out the hard way—such as the hot water faucet is on the right side and not the left, whistling in the house means that you have no money, and sometimes, they shut off the hot water supply for the entire city for a week for “repairs.” (Each building does not have its own hot water heater like we have in the US, their hot water is piped throughout the city from the cooling towers of the local power plant, which means that you get hot water fast, but you don’t want to drink it…) In addition, I have also found out that bears do not indeed roam the streets in Russia…
I have only been here a month, but all I can say is that Russia is amazing! There are things and people that I miss in the US, but I do not feel homesick. Whenever I start to feel like I just want to go home, I just remind myself how cool it is that I am living in Russia, and everything is fine.
My journey to Russia was unproblematic but could be described as one of the longest experiences of my life- especially the 14 hour, trans-Pacific flight to South Korea. I left Columbus excited and eager to face the year-long journey that was ahead of me. When I arrived in Chicago, I happened to run into MC Bones, who I had previously met at the Otterbein Outbound Orientation in Westerville. She was on her way to Croatia and it was nice to have her to talk to during my several-hour layover there. Once in LA, I met up with Laura Secor from Oregon, who was also going to Russia. We flew the rest of the way to Vladivostok together.
My first experience landing was interesting, but very Russian. On the runway, there were people on bikes, and soldiers with machine guns. They had us get off the plane and all load into a bus, which took about 10 minutes to get everyone on. The bus then proceeded to make a right turn, drive 10 feet, and stop, where we all disembarked.
At the airport, we at first could not find anyone there to meet us. We stood there for maybe 20 minutes with no one there to meet us, while taxi drivers kept asking to take us into the city (in Russian)… finally we found someone there for us. They didn’t know what we looked like, but they didn’t seem to be trying very hard to find us either.
We had a three-day orientation at a day camp on the Russian coast in Vladivostok. The beaches and coastline there are beautiful. Several local Rotarians and past exchange students were there for the three days to help. We met each other, went over rules, and they talked about culture shock and cultural differences. We spent one day having a picnic on a Russian island, and the US Consulate General in Vladivostok also came to talk to us. There were 4 Americans, a Brazilian, and a French girl. None of us had previously studied Russian, except for the Brazilian, who had had a year of study in the language. I was the only one there who had chosen Russia as their top country.
The Thursday after I arrived in Blagoveshchensk, I started my studies at Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University. There, I am studying Russian as a foreign language with the Chinese students who have come to Russia to study. Language classes here are different than in the US, as they are only taught in the foreign language you are learning, so my Russian teacher speaks only Russian to us. The classes are going well, and they ar helping me learn the language very quickly. There are not that many people here who speak English, so am am picking up the language very fast. It is kind of funny though, because people always look at me weird when they walk into my classroom and se me sitting with all the Chinese students because they think I am Russian.
For the first two weeks, I lived with the Patlays. Larisa Patlay is my host counselor, so living with them for a couple weeks allowed me to get to know them well. Then on September 15, I moved in with the Nazuruks, my first host family. They live further outside the city, but they are very nice. They own an advertisement agency here in the city, and Alexander, my host father, is also running for the Duma, or city council. Election day is coming up on October 11, so there are a lot of political ads. Two of the major political parties here are the “Communist Party of the Russian Federation” and “United Russia”.
Here, I have been walking or taking the bus everywhere, as they have a very good bus system. On one of the weekends, the Rotary club took me on a canoe trip on the Zeya river. We spent all day canoeing, eating, and enjoying the beautiful Russian countryside. The Russian countryside and nature is like nothing we have in the US. It is so beautiful, and even just their normal countryside and forests are comparable to some of the best national parks we have in the US.
Russian food is different. They eat a lot of soup, potatoes, meat, and sour cream, but they also like a lot of fresh and natural foods. They like blini (dipped in sour cream), pelmini (dipped in sour cream), soup (with sour cream in it), and sometimes just sour cream. They also drink a lot of tea… and I mean a lot. I probably have at least 5 or 6 cups of tea a day, every day. But the tea here is really good and I have grown to love it.
When I first started at the university, I started taking French as well, but I found it too difficult to study a foreign language in a different foreign country… plus there are no English-French dictionaries here. I have Russian classes at the university 6 days a week, and I study Russian at the university about 30 hours a week, not including homework and my own self study. Needless to say, I have been learning very fast, as when I arrived I could speak almost no Russian and now I am able to hold short conversations with people and pick up phrases and sentences when others are speaking. I am fitting in here very well. All of my friends and family here are very interested in the US and in my English. I have been teaching them some English and they are teaching me Russian. So far, I have gone to the movies, played billiards, gone shopping, visited a museum, and walked around the city many times with friends. I have learned how to cook Blini (like thin pancakes). I feel kind of… American though when they ask me how long it takes to walk from one end of my city to the other, and I can only tell them how long it takes to drive…
Luckily, there is not one McDonalds or Starbucks here, but they still have brands (such as Cadillacs, Reebok, and Addidas) that we have in America. There are also many malls and shopping centers, and even a Chinese market where one can buy stuff directly from “Made in China”. It is strange as you walk along Lenin Street and across Lenin square (the two places that seem to be in every Russian city) and can see China across the river.
In the winter, the river will freeze, as temperatures reach -30 to -40 degrees Celsius (They laughed at me when they asked me how cold it was in Ohio in winter and I replied that -10 (Celsius, about 5 degrees F) is the lowest it gets. They laughed even harder when after they asked if we get a lot of snow and I said yes we do, I pointed to somewhere below my knee indicating how deep our idea of “a lot” of snow is. Right now at the end of September, it is already getting cold. In the mornings, it is in the 30s (Fahrenheit), and there is already front on the ground. The first day of autumn was just a few days ago, but it is already starting to feel like winter.
Russians do a lot of things differently. Everyone lives in apartments, most Russian women wear heels (and are very beautiful), they don’t wear shoes in the house, and they hang dry their clothes and don’t use dryers. Some things I found out the hard way—such as the hot water faucet is on the right side and not the left, whistling in the house means that you have no money, and sometimes, they shut off the hot water supply for the entire city for a week for “repairs.” (Each building does not have its own hot water heater like we have in the US, their hot water is piped throughout the city from the cooling towers of the local power plant, which means that you get hot water fast, but you don’t want to drink it…) In addition, I have also found out that bears do not indeed roam the streets in Russia…
I have only been here a month, but all I can say is that Russia is amazing! There are things and people that I miss in the US, but I do not feel homesick. Whenever I start to feel like I just want to go home, I just remind myself how cool it is that I am living in Russia, and everything is fine.
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