Superglue

          Expletives leave my lips like bullets from a machine gun. In one swift move, I rip off my pants, just in time for my host mom to come in to make sure everything is ok. Sure, I enjoy the freedom of panstlessness as much as the next person, but since I am living in someone else’s house I do my best to keep ‘em on.  It has been chilly enough that I sometimes even wear two pairs! However, in this particular instance I was lucky to be able to get them off. While using superglue to repair a pair of boots that should have lasted longer than they did, some dripped onto my jeans effectively gluing my pants on. It was a little embarrassing for my host mom to walk in on me with no pants on, but I was relieved not to have to send the text to my resident director asking for de-pantsing advice.

            In other news, I have been busy with classes and volunteering in two public schools. Working in the schools has offered me the most opportunities to make Russian friends, and aside from everything else I have going on, there is a never-ending flow of invitations keeping me busy. It is when I am in the schools or hanging out with other students that I feel like I fit in the most. It is then that I realize that we are all just people and that there are very few differences separating us. Russian students especially take interest in what American teens do in their free time, what kind of music we listen to, and how exactly “trick or treating” works.

            Recently, we visited the new Museum of Soviet Times. It was a very small museum hidden away on a side street, but it was filled with trinkets and toys from the Soviet Period. The owner happened to be there at the time of our visit and he was very eager to talk to us about the museum. He is especially interested in rock’n’roll music that was popular at the time, and on Sunday afternoons the museum becomes the venue of a jam session complete with fog machine and flashing lights. Famous musicians have donated various items to the museum. For example, all guests are welcome to play on Sting’s old guitar. After this fun visit to a kind of hole-in-the-wall place, we went out for Georgian food, which was absolutely delicious. Last weekend I went to see Swan Lake at the ballet and opera theater. The dancing was beautiful and the pit orchestra was quite good. The only disappointment was that the company chose to perform the “happy ending” version of the classic fairy tale.

Well, the weather has been getting pretty cold which I suppose is to be expected from Russia at this time of year. Walking home this evening, the sight of two youngsters trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues was almost enough to melt my emotionless “Russian face” into a smile. It was almost enough, but not quite enough. I’ve gotten quite good at the stone cold expression that Russians wear most of the time. I wasn’t quite prepared for how early it would get dark, so for now I try to stay out as late as I can and avoid taking naps. Coming up soon is a trip to Moscow, which I am very much looking forward to! Much love to everyone, and have a safe and happy Halloween! 

A Quick Read

A really interesting and well-written article about Kazan!

http://russiaprofile.org/politics/a1285148895.html

Over the River and Through the Woods, to Grandmother's House We Go!

Every day I spend approximately an hour traveling to and from the university. With Kazan currently preparing for the 2013 Universiade (a youth Olympics, of sorts), traffic is abundant and unpredictable. My trek to class every morning and home at night is worsened by the fact that I live on the opposite side of the Kazanka river from the university and the town center.

I know that's not really very exciting, but it's all I could think of for the "over the river" portion of this post. The past two weekends have been occupied with the "through the woods" part. While I now feel very at home in Kazan, visiting the small Tatar village of Rybnaya Sloboda was absolutely one of the highlights of my time in Russia so far. After class last Friday, we settled in for a two hour bus ride through the countryside to the town. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a group of teenagers and served the traditional welcoming tea, chak-chak, and bread with salt. To our surprise, they had turned their gymnasium into a "discotheque" and, after we introduced ourselves, we danced the night away. As it turns out, Russian boys aren't half bad at dancing! We were graced with a performance by the town's Tatar dance troupe which has won national competitions in Moscow. After the party, my host sister for the night took me home where a feast awaited us. Everything was delicious, but it brought me to the realization that perhaps competitive eating is the wrong career path for me. When I commented on a particularly flavorful sausage, my host family tried to explain to me that it was horse meat. I thought that they were mistaken and meant cow, but the only way I could think of to communicate that was to moo repeatedly. The response I received was "No! Giddyup!" Much to the chagrin of my staunchly vegan sister (love you, Kat!), I have indeed snacked on pony meat...and it was kind of delicious. After dinner number one, my host sister took me out to meet some of her friends. Most of them had never met an American before and took interest in everything from my education to McDonalds. My visit to Rybnaya Sloboda was my first exposure to the time-tried tradition of the Russian banya. The banya is a delightful combination of a bath and a sauna, but there is a distinctly Russian twist. Russians take turns whacking each other up and down their backs with a bunch of hot birch branches which is thought to open the pores in order to further the detoxifying benefits of the steam room. In winter time, a brisk roll-around in the snow is also common.

The next morning I was up early for a delicious breakfast of homemade ish pish mach and a short drive to the region's agricultural school where we spent most of the day meeting more students and learning about the school. The school was founded on the principles of independence and connection to the land that are so central to Russian culture. Of course, we were pleased to mingle with the students and answer more questions about America. Rybnaya Sloboda will forever remain in my heart as one of the most friendly, welcoming, and interesting places in the world.

While I should really be getting to the enormous mountain of homework that I have neglected all weekend, I will take a moment to write about the "to grandmother's house we go" part of all this. My Kazan host family took me this weekend to visit their babushka in the village. We spent a lot of time helping her in the garden, harvesting carrots and cabbage. I also had the unique opportunity to go mushroom hunting in the forest! Don't try this at home folks! Most of the ones we found were poisonous, but babushka got some good ones to preserve for winter.

Much love to my friends and family!
до свидания!
~abby~