Dan in Russia

2007-05-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

So this is it then.

The good byes have all been said, the last beers consumed. Souvenirs purchased.

This. Is. Wierd.

Everything I've done over the last few days has been the "last time I'll do that," or "the last time I do this." It's a very strange feeling knowing that such an adventure is rapidly ending. Of course there have been times I have hated this county and everyone who lives here, but who hasn't felt that way about America from time to time.

I leave Vladimir at midnight. I then fly to Frankfurt, followed by DC. From there, I will drive to SLC and rock out there for a few days. This all starts today, but it sure doesn't feel that way.

I think the feeling I have most right now is just one of total acceptance. If I have learned anything in Russia...besides Russian...it would definitely be humility in the face of that which we cannot control; be it some bitch who doesn't want to attempt to understand what I'm saying because I'm foreign, or be it having such an Odyssey come to a close so quickly. Of course I've been waiting for this day since sometime over Christmas break, but you know what? No matter how much it may bother me, I somehow really ended up loving this place. Even if mst of our time was spent bitching about it, it really is something else to live in Russia, like a Russian.

that being said...

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!!!

This is DanInRussia, signing off.

2007-05-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, as always, it's been a long long time since I posted here.
I figured I should update at least twice before I head home so here is the first of (at least) two postings.
Before I start talking about Sochi, where I spent last week, I'd like to briefly mention what's been going on. Not too much really, life before we left for Sochi was business as usual with one large exception. Our friend and compatriot Matt, one of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, had his visa cancelled before we went to Sochi for doing nothing but being in the the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not my place to give all of the details, but suffice it to say all he was doing was asking questions for a very in depth and impressive term paper he was writing (in Russian). We all saw first hand just how fucked up Russia can be as we watched helplessly how the situation unfolded. As far as I know he's back in 'Bama right now, kicking it, but Sochi just wasn't the same without him. Hope all is well Dude.

Now for Sochi. Well after a 36 hour train ride, we arrived and walked to the hotel. Most of our time was spent sitting out on the balcony of our hotel room in the sun, drinking beers and talking. It rained several days wile we were there, but it was still fun to sit around and watch movies. We also went to a place called the 33 Waterfalls, the name of which kind of tells all. However, to get there, we all had to pile into the back of what appeared to be an old Soviet troop transport (kind of like a big pickup truck with a bed that could have been covered in some kind of cloth, but wasn't). This thing was massive. We drove up into the mountains, then back down into the river valley, and then...into the river. This monster truck just barrelled up this river basin, I swear to god the driver was aiming for the water when he could have been driving on shore. So we get up to the waterfalls and climb up these sketchy wooden planks to get up to the top. I'm not sure if there really were 33 of them, no one counted, but there were many, and they were all spectacular. At the top one, some of us stripped down to our skivvies and jumped in. It was COLD. Those of you who will see me in America will get to see the pictures, there are many.

The other highlite of Sochi was, "The Baltika Challenge." (I hope you're reading this Tom)

In Russia there is a brand of beer called Baltika. They produce a series of beers, each named only by a number (0-9). The numbers do not really correspond to one another in any logical way except that 0 is non-alcoholic and 9 is very alcoholic (around 8% I think). Everything in between is pretty much just different types of beer, though several of them are very similar, different only in alcohol content. So the challenge is quite simple: 0-9 in an evening. 5 liters of beer (Russian beer usually comes in .5L bottles). Well, didn't seem so bad at first. We've all had that much to drink before, I alone drank about 5 liters of Baltika 3 on the train ride to Sochi, no problem right? Wrong.

Something went horribly, horribly wrong.

Aparently mixing 10 different types of beer in your stomach is a bad idea. It only took about 4 of them before people started to lose it. There were 6 gladiators in the ring that night, only one finished, and it was not me. I quit half way through my number 9, so close, but unable to complete it (9 tastes like ass anyway). The Whitmer finished his and passed out. Kush would have finished but was cut off after puking out of a window. My memory is grainy, but I was sane through all of it. Some of us walked to McDonalds for a late night snack before tackling the 9. I think this helped me, but in the end prevented me from finishing.

The next morning our room was a disaster area. 60 bottles littered the floor. A garbage can stood full of...well...you know. One bed had taken a pretty nasty gastro-intestinal beating, it's sheets and pillows tossed out on the balcony to prevent the smell from causing more problems. The cleaning ladies stopped by in the morning, but were thankfully prevented from entering the room. Andy just passed bags and bags of bottles through a crack in the door, the maids aghast and mildly amused.

One day I will face this monster again, but I was beaten this time. Readers who are familiar with Russia take heed: the Baltika Challenge is not for the timid and faint of heart, you will face your worst demons and end up with a video on your camera of some asshole whipping his penis out.

On that note, I prepare to face what is essentially my last week of classes. I will have exams of some sort I think, but I'm not too worried. I'm looking forward to going home, but I will do everything I can to make this last week count.

later.

2007-03-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Dude, what a miserable fucking week this has been.

Petersburg was great, but I think by walking around too much, drinking too much, and smoking too many cigarettes, I may have caused damage to my health. On the train ride back things really started to get sour. By Monday night I was running a 102 degree fever and wanting death, quick and painless. Spent the rest of the week in bed, feebley trying to fight off my host mother's home remedies, all of which tasted like ass. Watched a lot of TV though, which was nice. This week is going to be a real shit show, trying to catch up on all of the work I missed.

But in better news, went to the banya yesterday to sweat this shit out, and that was fun. Afterwords we went out for some terrible Chinese food.

The weather is getting warm, the snow is all gone, and there is almost no mud to be found anywhere. Life is good. Starting to have to think about housing lottery for next year which should be interesting form a zillion miles away. My return home gets closer and closer every day, and it's pretty wierd to think about. What an adventure this has been.

But it's not over yet, lot's to do, so I'm not going to get retrospective...yet.

All for now.

2007-03-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Man, got to update this thing more often.

Not too much earth shattering news to report, but I did have an amazing weekend, and am headed for another this week.

Thursday (International Women's Day) I went out and danced the night away at a club, which was mostly shitty, with a few really kick ass moments. Also, they had a ridiculous comedy show that was mostly gay jokes and fart jokes, so naturally, I was enthralled. Got home way later than the club was worth, but that's ok, I got to talk to a toothless drunk on the street trying to hail a cab. When Russians don't have teeth, which is often, they're much harder to understand. Especially when every word out of their mouth is a horrible slur. It was pretty awesome. He was drinking a beer called "Goat." Having tried "Goat myself," I can say that it's not bad, it just needs more goat flavor. Sadly, I know what goat flavor is now.

Ok that's enough on that tangent, Friday we went to the Banya, which went very much as usual, though was puncuated by a few class moments including Bren in his "asstastic" Speedo. As usual we sweat a lot, drank a lot, danced a lot, and sang a lot. I also played my first ever game of Beirut using beer, which was fun, even though I lost. So I've got that going for me now.

Saturday night Andy and I went to a concert, which was awesome. They plaнув some Russian songs, and a whole bunch of covers of American rock songs, it was pretty sweet. Again, ended up staying out way later than I should have, drinking way more than I should have (though not as much as Andy for once). I thought I had more to say about that, but that's really it.

Other than that, things are good. It's still pretty melty, I don't fall as much, but I do step in ankle deep puddles full of dog shit and motor-oil, which sucks. Going to St. Petersburg again this week, it's going to be сuh-RAZY!

As a punishment for his alcoholism, my host mother is preparing a "repression," which will include a removal of the computer from the apartment, so I'm going to be in communicado for a while. I hope all is well all around the world.

one of the cats just yacked on the floor. I miss Moe.

2007-02-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so seriously, I'm ready to stop falling on my ass every day. This is getting ri-goddamned-diculous. I don't know how the Russkies do it, particularly the women in stilettos.

Not too much to report from the Eastern Front. I got another ear piercing, much like the older one, just, you know, a little lower. I like it a lot, but I am super sketched out about having gotten a piercing in Russia, and have never wanted a blood test so bad in my life.

I also finished The Master and Margarita today, I'm a little ashamed that I hadn't read it earlier, frankly. I'm not going to write a book report on it or anything, but it was food for thought, especially given the topic of thought that I've been dwelling on a lot lately while on the toilet or trying to sleep...or both at the same time. The conclusions are few, but worthwhile. And, if nothing else, it has given me a reason to go back to Moscow in the spring. I have to see Patriarch's Pond now. If you've read it, you know what I mean.

Classes are chugging a long, it's hard to believe it's almost March. Really, once March ends, the program will sort of drift along until our trip to Sochi in April, followed by the best trip ever; the trip home. As for now, however, I can only look forward to the day the ice starts to thin, and I can walk surefooted once again. Russia in spring-time will be something else, I'm sure of it. After the mud and filth have gone away at least. There's something about spring anywhere that is just so wonderful, but I feel like I will greet this coming one with more cheer than usual. As long as I don't start falling in the mud, anyway.

2007-02-19T05:53:00.000-08:00

Soooooo.

We went to Moscow this weekend, and it went along rather smoothly I think. We went to the Pushkin Museum of art, which was...interesting. Almost the entirety of their sculpturecollection, whicwas vast, was made up of plaster copies of famous works (think David, The Winged Victory, ENTIRE SECTIONS OF THE PARTHEONON). It was interesting, but in the end pointless, though it was cool to see fake versions of things I've seen in Greece and New York.

The next day we went to the Kremlin Armory. It was wild. The armory contains all of the jewels, gold, and as the say in The Goonies, "the rich stuff." 100 carat emeralds and rubies set into big books, covered in diamonds and pearls. It was crazy. Kushner said it best, "those fuckers had it coming soooo bad." Suc unbelievable excess. It was sweet.

Next wasthe Museum of History. Pretty lame, the highlight was the severed head of a body found preserved in the Siberian permafrost. One of two severed heads I gawked at this weekend, the other at the Pushkin museum, which was thankfully real. They also had a mummified cat and bird now that I think about it.

Sweet.

As far as personal time, it carried on much as usual. A fair amount of beer, a few stupid actions, but nothing too insane. Con-Air was on TV friday night, and we boozed and watched that for a while. Things got a little wild (read: stupid) after that, but that's a story not fit for this forum.

I almost forgot, we ate like kings at a Georgian restaurant. It's difficult o describe what I ate, but it's probably better that way, I personally don't really want to know. But it was delicious. And plentiful. Lots of lamb and wonderful....uhhh green and pink stuff....yeah, it was that kind of meal.

But now I'm back in Vladimir. The snow is falling, the tummy is grumbling, and all is well in the universe. It's Andy's birthday today. We're going bowling later tonight. Sweet.
That's all for now. Stay warm.

2007-02-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

So, I finally beat Russia.

After I lost my phone on New Years, I went to go and buy another one. I found the same one I had before and loved, for not too much money, and a "better" one on sale for slightly more. I opted for the "better" one. Turns out it was a total piece of shit. Not only could I only write very small text messages, think 60 charaters, but the Russian letters on the keys were'nt in the right place. Being super lazy it took me about 20 days to gt around to attempting to return it. When I did I found out that I had only had 14 days to get a refund. I bitched about it as best I could but the man at the store said he was sorry, there was nothing he could do about it. Fuming, I bitched at him more, in poor Russian no doubt, and he finally cracked and gave me a piece of paper that would get the phone fixed for free at a service center. I caved at this point, better a shitty phone that at least works, than a shitty phone I can't use. So I hauled my cookies all the way to the service center, which was a terrifying place I hope I never have to return to, waited in line for about an hour or so, and then gave them my phone to fix. A few days later I went back to get the phone. The nice girl at the desk got it for me, said something really fast, and then gave me a piece of paper. I said thanks, and peaced. On the street I put my SIM card in the phone and tried it out. Fuckers hadn't done anything! Indignant I went back inside to give them a piece of my mind, when an old lady, who had been yelling at the service people, stopped and asked me why I was back, probably looking for some support. She explained that the piece of paper the girl had given me meant that the service people couldn't fix my phone, and that under the warranty I was entitled to a phone from the same store of equal value. I was ecstatic. I triumphantly marched back into the store I had bought the phone at, and demanded a new phone. This time I succeeded. Here's the kicker: I had bought the phone on sale, but the balance I had available at the store was te pre-sale price. So I got the phone I knew and loved from earlier, and used the rest of the balance to put more money on my SIM card, essentially getting a sale price on a phone which was way better, but also cheaper anyway.

Daniel:1 Russia: eight trillion.

So all's well that ends well. School is back in session, we've got a new crew, they're all pretty cool, and life is good. It's cold as a bitch, and everything is covered in slippery snow and ice. I fall daily, cursing loudy, sometimes in Russian, sometimes in English, and sometimes a mixture.
That's all for now, hope all is well to those at home, and abroad.

2007-01-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is why I hate putting pictures up here. I've been sitting here for 20 minutes waiting for them to upload, and if something goes wrong, I'll have to start all over again. Let's knock wood and hope that doesn't happen...
...........
...still waiting...
...................
...can't be too much longer now...
....
...god damn it...

OK now I'm pissed. Something went wrong and I just wasted half an hour. I'll try again later.

2007-01-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

Holy crap, it's been a while. My computer has been out for some time, and I haven't really had the desire to haul my ass all the way downtown just for an internet cafe. Life's going pretty well. I have short hair, I look way old, which is ironic cause the last time it was the short, I was way young, well, relatively. What else? Not too much really. I don't do much but sleep and eat and listen to my QUEEN MEGA-CD!!!!!! It seriously has the mp3 of almost every Queen album, including Live Killers, AND the Flash Gordon soundtrack! Holy Shit! Best 4 bucks I've ever spent, that's for damn sure. I also finally watched Pirates of the Carribbean 2, but it was in Russian, so some things didn't quite make all of the sense they could have.
I'm pretty much done (in my mind) with vacation, but whatever kind of funk I was in before has lifted and life is looking pretty swell. There's like 10 more days until people start coming back, I'm pretty sure I can stick it out. This semester won't be the same without Andrushka though.

Oh, and I can drink beers now. For real. It's surreal to, as they say, "have a beer or two." I just started small and worked my way up the beer food-chain. Is that feeling like your stomach is going to explode normal? Shit is Gasssss-Y! But yeah, beats the hell out of getting overly drunk on vodka.

I think that's it for now. I swear I'll put some pictures up soon, it's just kind of an ordeal to do it, and I need to be in the right mood.

For those of you stateside, keep on rockin' in the free-world. Good luck with the start of a new semester SLCers.

2007-01-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all.

Man, 2007 already where does the time go?

I rang in the new year at a raging house party here in Dobrey with friends of Jason's tutor Masha. It was pretty sick. Singing, dancing, and general merry making were done in large amounts. Everything was super, until we went out to "stroll," and I lost my keys and SECOND cellphone on a giant ice slide. I also lost my lighter, which shouldn't be a big deal, but I bought it over the summer in Vermont, it survived the notorious lighter thieves of Stowe, Vermont (you know who you are), and was still working fine. It was a good friend, and served me well. It shall be missed. If anyone from ACTR is reading this, in addition to American Spirits, if you wanted to bring me an American, Bic lighter, the good ol' fashioned kind, that'd be sweet.

So yeah, raging house party, with enough food (and drink) to kill a horse. It's a good thing I ate as much as I did, otherwise January the first would have been a pretty shitty day. So, losing those items aside, I had a great New Year's eve, and definately did America proud at the dinner table.

Living here without school is pretty wierd, and it definately makes me miss home a lot more. But spirits are high, life carries on, and I'll be home before I know it.
Also, I'm going to try and get my old phone number back, so don't go forgetting it.

That is all for now.
Pictures....well...sometime.

2006-12-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

So I said before I would post some pictures, and then post some more from my birthday party. It turns out, I don't really have any pictures that are worth posting at the moment, much to my chagrin. I only took about 7 at my party, and none of them are very good.

In any case, the party was fun, I'm 21, and still in Russia...for the forseeable future. My tutor gave me the DVDs of my favorite Russian TV show, which I'm super pumped about, and Matt's tutor gave me some rockin' banya-wear. Picture a wool hat not unlike the one Gilligan wore on "Gilligan's Island," and an over sized wool mitten, but just one. Oh yeah, it's as sexy as it sounds. We drank and sang and played backgammon to our hearts content. The place was lovely, and the sauna was as hot as ever. Of course the fact that we had school the next day made things a little harder on the old noggin, but I snapped out of it by the time the first class ended.

Monday was spent in horrible fear, however. In a drunken haze, at about 4am Monday morning, I had crawled out of bed and gone to the kitchen, pouring myself a big glass of tapwater. No problem, right? Well, they say the tapwater here is like the water in Mexico. I finished the water, then came to my senses. I returned to bed fearing for my guts. The next day was spent overanalyzing every little pop and gurgle my tummy made, though such noises aren't out of the ordinary for me here (fucking cabbage). I think everything is fine though, knock wood.

I finish my semester up next Monday, and not a day too soon. I really need to take it easy for a while. It's amazing how burnt out I am. It's hard to describe just how tiring life here is, speaking, and even listening to, Russian all day really takes it out of a guy. A month of hibernation sounds like just fine to me right now. Hopefully this strange weather will pass, and the temperature will drop below freezing again. December without snow just isn't December, especially when you're in fucking Russia.

So that's it for now. I look forward to the day where I can walk into an American bar and proudly use my now fully functional ID, but until then I shall have to make do.

2006-12-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say I've been busy for the last week or so, but the truth is I've just been lazy. I have a few pictures I want to throw on here, but again: lazy. I'll do it some other time.

The weather here has gotten unseasonably warm. Our 9 inches of snow have all but melted, and it's not even slushy on the streets anymore. It feels like late april in Vermont, when there are just a few patches of snow left in the shadows, and the ground is largely dry. Kind of sucks, I'm not going to lie. I was kind of looking forward to getting my ass kicked by the Russian winter. I suppose I still have plenty of time for that though. It is, however, seasonably cold in Siberia still; the last I heard it was -20 degrees Celsius in Irkutsk.

My birthday is this weekend. The realities of turning 21 in Russia have hit me and taken a fair amount of the wind out of my sails, but I shall do my best to overcome. A birthday is a birthday I suppose, though this one is somewhat more landmark than most. Such is life I suppose.

Other realities that have struck me recently include the fact that I won't be home for Christmas for the first time ever, and that I won't see America for a further 6 months. It's not an upsetting thought or anything, but it does give one pause. Still, I consider it a test of my own mental and emotional fortitude, one that I know I will pass, which gives me confidence for the rest of my time here. Or something.

My SLC friends are probably entering, what I would lovingly refer to as, "the shit." I'm not going to lie, I kind of miss pulling the all-nighter, busting out a conference paper, then sitting outside at about 8am drinking tea and smoking cigarettes with shaking hands from sleep deprivation and sore typing hands, watching the good people of Sadie Lou pass on their way to the gym or wherever the hell Sarah Lawrence students could possibly be going at that ungodly hour (Dance rehearsals?). Holy shit, that was a long sentence. Is it run-on? I hope not.

I guess that's it for now. I'll get some pictures up here tomorrow, I hope, and then probably some after my birthday. This is going to be a long weekend. I'm going to кутить a lot, and if you study Russian, look that word up, you will always make Russian people laugh if you use it, it's absurd.

My party will be at the banya, the very same one as last time. I'm making a concerted effort to remember it this time.

2006-11-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving was this week, and somehow turkey was eaten by all. It's a Thanksgiving miracle!
I guess Tom, our Resident Director, knows a guy, or something, and got his hands on a French turkey. So the whole gang piled into his apartment on Thursday and had a potluck Turkey-day. I came earlier in the day to help put the bird in, and to stuff it, but the Turkey wasn't fully gutted, and we were grossed out, so we didnt end up stuffing the damned thing. I just tossed and onion into the "cavity" (shudder), and called it a day. The stuffing came out pretty well, my cranberry sauce did not. Live and learn. Other food items included mashed potatos, some bitchin' carrots and beets, and a few pies...and like 6 bottles of wine. A good time was had by all, and once we were all fed and watered, we sat down to watch some South Park. God Bless America.

I am Thankful (in Russia) for:
-My host-mother
-Bowling
-Putinka
-The popularity of mashed potatos
-The cheapness of public transportation
-The Banya
-My backgammon board
-And of course, the great group of students I've had the pleasure of meeting here

Happy belated Thanksgiving to the readers...if they're still out there. I'm also thankful for internet access.

2006-11-18T12:13:00.001-08:00

Woof, what a day.
I've spent it trying vainly to recover from last night, while feebley defending myself from my host-mother's hangover cures. She still got me to take a shot of pickle brine after a shot of wine, but that was it. Not that it really mattered what I put into my stomach this morning, as it all came back up anyway.
Yesterday started innocent enough. We had a tour of a Russian Kindergarden, and after that we went to the Banya for Andrushka's birthday party. The banya was sick. It had three huge rooms, one with a pool table, another with a dining room and stereo, and then the sauna/pool room. We threw down pretty hard, I have no memory of leaving the place. My memory comes back into focus a few hours later, when we met up with some ACTR students from Moscow who were in town visiting. We assembled at the Shesh-Besh restaurant and then proceded to a bar. My memory slips back out of focus again at this point. All I can remember are random images...but not too many. I have no recollection of getting home, except that I fell out of the taxi, and I only remember that because of the big bruise on my arms and knees.
So, today, of course, was miserable. This marks the third alcohol related vomit session in my life. Dan Paggi veterens may recall my last episode following the Sleaze Ball freshman year. That time it was Tequila, this time my best friend and worst enemy, vodka, was to blame. It was terrible. But I'm feeling better now, just a little headache and a little weak. Maybe I'll take it a little easier on my birthday...

2006-11-15T04:44:00.000-08:00

So it's been snowing for like...a million days now. There's a good seven inches on the ground, though it melts and then comes back, so it's hard to keep track of how much as really fallen in all. The roads are surrounded by slush puddles so gross, it's hard to tell them apart from...well...icy poo I suppose.
Speaking of ice, I went ice skating a few days ago in the local rink. It was pretty cool. An open air arena filled (to the brim) with Russians in varying states of drunkeness. A good time was had by all.
It's amazing how fast winter set in here. One day it was raining, and the next, as if someone had flipped a switch, it just decided to turn to snow. I enjoy it though. It reminds me of home, walking into a snowy gale, eyes squinting out the melting water. Good times.
Life carries on as normal though. It will be strange staying here over winter break. I will be the only student remaining here, so I'm really going to get to know myself pretty well. Or, you know, die.

2006-11-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

For Moe:

I had a cat, his name was Moe,
And n'er shall I forget;
That fateful day in Burlington,
The day that we first met.

N'er before had I chance to see
Such dignity in a cat;
Humanity in every glance,
As on my lap he sat

Regarded each other, did he and I,
And it was then I knew.
Part of my life, this cat must be,
A boon companion too

We took him home, and from his box,
He burst forth like a gun;
Scaring me and mom half to death,
Wondering what we'd done.

And from that day, a friend we had,
A fat, black, furry creature.
His long, dark, shining, curly tail,
A most unique of features.

And though sometimes, he'd piss us off,
By howling through the night,
We couldn't help but love him,
Such a warm and friendly sight.

But now he's gone to greener fields,
To chase mice through the grass;
And no more shall I hold him,
And feel his bulking mass.

How I shall miss the way he'd sit,
And stare, his eyes agleam.
Then opening his toothless mouth,
To voice a silent scream.

And coming home, I'll never meet,
As through the door I'm heading,
A hungry little fellow there,
Irked, and sternly breading.

I hope that where he is today,
abounds in fish and cheese.
That when he wants, he goes outside,
To lay out in the breeze.

I'm sorry I couldn't be there,
upon that sad, sad day,
To stand right there beside you,
As they sent you on your way.

And so to me, there's nothing left,
It's time to drop the pen.
I'll miss you Moe, my little friend,
One day we'll meet again.

Rest in peace little buddy.

2006-11-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

So here are some pictures from St. Pete. Nothing too too exciting unless you really know what you're looking at, but they're pretty none the less.

So this first one is of the Hermitage Museum, which was formerly the Tzar's summer palace. An imposing building on a large square which has a big monument in the middle of it. I have a picture of the square, maybe I'll put it on facebook or something. The Palace/Museum itself is big, probably about the size of the Met in NY, but the collection, in my opinion, is not as good. That's not to say there wasn't a ton of great art, it just didn't really do it for me. Maybe I was too hungover to really appreciate it.

This shot is just a random canal in the city. I thought it would make a good picture, so I snapped it. Pretty picturesque. The city is filled with these kinds of canals, and lots of bridges of varying sizes, most of which are quite beautiful in their own right. You'll notice that the architechture here is a lot more like in a western-European city. You can thank Peter the Great for that one. Pity he didn't make it to Vladimir.

Here's me and some of the girls in front of the River Neva. It's big, it's cold, and it's pretty damn sweet. There are bridges that run across the river all the way through the city. They're draw bridges that go up a couple of times a night to let commercial traffic through on the river. In the summer, they have what is called the White Nights, where, due to the proximity to the arctic circle, it never really gets dark. Supposedly viewing the bridges raised at this time is something really special, but I couldn't tell you. They just looked like a bunch of bridges to me, not nearly as beautiful as the smaller ones on the canals.

Here, we're taking a plunge into the river. Nah, I can't pretend. I wanted it to look that way, but it didn't really come out the way I wanted it to. I still think it's a nice picture though.

Here's another Palace, this one was built originally by Catherine thr great, and each Tsar who followed, added a little something something. It is ginormous. The whole thing was completely ravaged by the Germans during the Second World War, but it has since, been restored to most of it's former glory. They have pictures all over the place of how terrible it looked after the Nazis had finished with it. It's really amazing how much work has been done to fix it up. The grounds were also quite impressive. Gardens and beautiful ponds and theaters and such abounded, though the theaters and small buildings out and about were not in such good shape, many boarded up and crumbling. Sorry about the slant in this shot. I was in motion.

So there's a taste of what I did in St. Petersburg. I have, of course, many other pictures, but I don't feel like posting them on here. That's it for now. It's snowing again, this time more than before.

2006-10-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Back from St. Pete. Wrote a whole big thing about it, but for some reason it didn't post and it's gone forever, so I'll keep this brief because I'm super pissed:

-Got my cellphone stolen (god damned pickpocketers)
-Saw freakishly deformed fetuses (fetae?) in glass jars, preserved in the 18th century. When I say freakish, I mean they're still haunting my nightmares, much like Max Neely-Cohen (doo-WOOP)
-Hung out with people from all over the world at an ex-pat bar while drinking...heavily
-Saw more than one bear on the street on leashes
-Saw all the pretty Tsar sights and all that crap
-Ate American food...it was glorious
And on and on.

I'll write more when I post pictures, which I'm not going to do yet because it's time consuming and irritating. I will however post one picture. I woke up this morning, got ready for school as normal, walked out the front door, and this is what I saw:

2006-10-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

OK, the day before I leave for Petersburg, I'm finally going to get this Shit up here. They're not even exciting pictures, except for one. [OK a goofed on the layout again, but it takes so long to fix I'm just going to roll with it.

This is the view from one of our balconies
Pretty yes? It's not all this bad, I swear.

This is some of our group and myself in Yaroslavl. A good time was had by all. Man, I look like shit though.

This is Misha the bear, mascot of Yaroslavl and definately the shit.

This is the view of another local monastery. The picture is from a smaller church, the one I mentioned that's on a flood plane. In the Spring, all of the green you see is covered in water, but the church always stays above the water line.

A Church in Yaroslavl. It had what were, in my opinion, the best frescos I've seen in Russia.

2006-10-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Man, I'm behind on this. I keep meaning to post the pictures I took a long time ago, but keep getting distracted. I'll do it this week, I swear.

In other news, we took a trip to Yaroslavl last weekend. I got into a spot of trouble. I won't write about what I did, it's quite silly, but if you want the story I'll tell it to you in an email. It's not even really worth telling at all, but there you have it. We had a lot of fun just throwing down at the hotel there for a couple of nights, but obviously a little too much.

Interesting side note: While sitting in the hallway of the fourth floor of our hotel talking, Lily (see photos belew), were approached by a wasted police officer who was staying in the hotel. He asked us if we were sleeping together. We said no. He then then broke into the biggest shit eating grin I've ever seen and said in terrible English "Ah, Masterbating, yes?" We were stunned. He then lifted four of his fingers proudly telling us how many times he did the deed a day...I had to shake his hand when he left, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Ummmmm also: Russian Saunas are the shit. We rented one out in Yaroslavl for a couple of hours. Pretty much you sweat your ass off in a tiny room with your friends, then jump into a pool of water so cold that almost lose bowel control when you jump into it, then repeat, with a smattering of drinking thrown in the mix. All in all, a wonderful experience which I believe will help the cold winter go by easier. Plus it left me feeling like a champion afterwords.

On Friday we had Russian arts and crafts time with this crazy old man. He's professional painter of Russian scenes on papier mache. His were beautiful, ours were shitty. I guess he takes what we did home and bakes and glazes them, after adding a few flourishes of his own so they don't suck so bad. When I get mine back I'll put a picture up. Mine was actually kind of cool, I think.

Let's see what else is new. Next week I'll be going to St. Petersburg for ten days, so I'll be MIA for a while. I'm sure lots of ridiculous things will happen there, I'll try and take a lot of pictures and get them up here. It turns out that Flickr really sucks as a site to upload photos to. I'm getting pretty sick of it. If anyone has any ideas for better sites to use, it'd be cool if you could tell me. I'm looking for something with a slightly faster upload time if at all possible. I don't need all of the bells and whistles that Flickr has. If it keeps going like this, I'm just going to start putting all of my pictures on Facebook, but I feel like if I do that, this blog will die pretty quickly.

OK, so more to come this week, bear with me, lots to see, beautiful sceneries and such. I'm trying to get more pictures of us actually doing stuff. I'm sure the pictures of churches over and over again are becoming as boring to you to see, as they are to me to visit.

Also, I can't tell if my English is making sense. I'm getting so used to writing Russian that I'm forgetting how to construct coherant English sentences. But I think this stuff is OK.

later.

2006-10-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

OK, a couple of things I'd like to add.
Sorry about that last post, I'm still messing around with Blogger, and its tough to get a good layout when it takes 20 minutes for the pictures to load.
I'm going to Yaroslavl this weekend. Thos of you who know me well will remember that this was the town that I had hoped to be studying in originally. I'm going to have to show it who's boss I guess.
Last weekend we went to this crazy old monastery with a church that sits out on a flood plain. I have pictures, I'll post them later on.
Other than that, Life progresses as normal. Homework sucks, just like in America, but spirits are high, and the vodka is always cold.

2006-10-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Man, it's getting cold.
It seems that fall just sort of happens here. One day everything is green, the next, everything is covered in leaves and it's freezing. We've only had two days of frost, but it was some pretty good frost.
I haven't been keeping this up as well as I'd like, the damned dial-up connection is a real downer, makes it hard to motivate myself. But today I thought I'd throw a few random pictures up here. They're mostly from the first Thursday I was here, when a bunch of us went to our now favorite cafe/bar for a drink or four. So here you go:

This is Amanda and me. She's from Pennsylvania. That fru-fru drink in front of us is hers, I swear. See that soccer ball? That means it's a football bar. Actually, it's owned by an English guy, so it feels like any pub in Yonkers.

The girls. left to right: Megan, Aubrey, Kendra, Lily. Really, besides Lily, everyone was pretty sober except for me.

Andrew (one of 3 Andrews in our group) is on the left, then Matt, and Megan and Aubrey on the right.

OK. I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Borsht. Take beets, potatoes, a whole shit load of cabbage, and some boiled pork, sprinkle in a little love, and you get this lovely result. Bonus points: It makes your pee turn pink if you eat enough of it. Actually it's not that bad.

2006-09-25T05:47:00.000-07:00

So last Friday our group made a trek out to the small village of Gorkavetz( I have no idea how to write it in English, that's as good as I could do). It was a nice little town, not much to do though. We looked at the scenery and a couple of churches and museums, then headed home. It definately didn't warrant getting up at 6 in the morning for, but it was a pleasant day nonetheless. Rounded out the weekend with a trip to some bars and clubs here in Vladimir. Good times were had by all. I saw a fight break out at the night club that left one guy laying in a pool of blood from his face, another wailing on the ground from kicks to the gut, women screaming, and bouncers standing around looking tough...after having kicked the crap out of the two guys, and their girlfriends, who had been brawling inside. The pool of blood was later washed away with a bucket of water, no one seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary. I've got some scenic pictures from the Friday trip though, I'll toss some up here. It's refreshing to see that there is at least some beautiful countryside to be found here, you just have to get out of the city:

A quaint little hamlet:
Who has two thumbs and is rockin' the Stowe pride in Russia? This guy:
A lovely view:
I think This is one of those, "Light of God," pictures:
Through here you'll find the potato and beet farm of this monastery. People eat too many beets and potatoes here (and cabbage too):

2006-09-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Dan In Russia:
This thing is not overrated, its probably the coolest thing I've ever seen:
Red Square...not too red, but an interesting place to stroll:
There's a dead man in a glass box in there. He looks like plastic

MAJESTIC HORSE!!!!1111:

2006-09-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend in Moscow, crazy place. While things are half as expensive in Vladimir than in the states, in Moscow they're twice as much. I saw Lenin's dead body in a glass box...it was unsettling to say the least. Also watched the Russian circus. If you're wondering what a bear and two dogs riding a three-wheeled motor bike looks like, I have video. Pretty much the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Of course my memory of the circus has been scrambled by the fact that I drank half a bottle of vodka afterwords. That's all for now, I will post pictures soon, it just takes for god-damned-ever with the shitty Russian dial-up I'm on.

2006-09-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

The View of Vladimir from my classroom:

Another view, this time from the top of the Old Vladimir tower:

Same place, nicer picture:

Daniel with Russian ladies, my Tutor (Left) made me do it, I swear:

Russian clowns are super sketchy, I don't know if you can see the look on my face, but it is one of pure discomfort. My tutor made me do this one too:

This monstrocity personifies what Americans refer to as Indian Summer. Look at those gigantic Russian breasts:
A lot of this pictures were from the city festival that took place on Saturday. It was Vladimir's 1600th anniversary, or somewhere around there. It was a crazy day.

2006-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Last night was a complete shit show.
We started drinking after school, I only had a couple shots of vodka. I then came home for dinner, before going back downtown to meet everyone else. Eight of us went first to a bar to pregame: 1 bottle of vodka was consumed between us, about two shots each. We then proceeded to the nightclub where two more bottles of vodka were consumed, this time by about 6 of us. Total count of drinks got lost in the haze, but probably 7 or so shots were taken by each of us. Things got a little harder to remember after that. I remember dancing...a lot. I remember falling down with Lily and almost getting kicked out because we were too drunk. I do not remember half of our party getting kicked out for the same reason. I do remember Matt hitting on the waitress from the bar we had gone to after school, who happened to be there that night. Pretty much, the night ended when Lily got sick and started puking. We managed to split a cab home between she, Matt, and Myself. I have now idea what happened to everyone else, but I saw (almost) all of them this morning, so everyone survived. Having the kind of hangover that ensued and having to walk around a museum all morning was not pleasant, but it could have been worse. I capped off my morning by going to МакГинг which is a play on BigMac and Burger King. It was decent, the grease was helpful.

2006-09-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

Andrew is pensive while viewing the church-

First day of school-

2006-09-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Day 5 in Russia has come to a close. It feels like I've been here for a month. A lot has happened already, but mostly just new cultural experiences. Classes have started, they're difficult, but rewarding nonetheless. My speaking skills are gradually getting better, but my reading needs work. Yesterday I busted my finger playing some Russian children's game and had to go to the local "Polyklinika (поликлиника)." It's only a bruised bone, but it hurts like a bitch and my finger is ginormous.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to point out a few "cultural differences" between home and here. Now let's see...

-Don't whistle. Ever. People will glare at you; you're bringing them bad luck....obviously.
-My Russian host mother won't let me outside with wet hair. "This isn't Africa," she says. I'm not really sure what that means.
- Russians LOVE the mullet. Everyone has one: men, women, and children. I'm talking mullets that would make Joe Dirt go, "Dang."
-Don't smile at people you don't know. They'll think you're crazy.
-If you go into a store you damned well better have exact change, or close to it. I'm not exactly sure what they say to me when I don't, but I know it isn't pleasant.
-Don't worry about that guy (Those guys) on the bus grinding up against you more than is necessary or decent. It's crowded...right?
-Eating food takes place whether you want it to or not. If it's time to eat, you're going to eat, come Hell or high water.
-It's totally cool for Russians to drink beer on the streets. In the morning on the way to work, or just strolling about town, they love it. This also goes for public urination.
-Shots of (decent) vodka are 30 rubles each, this is about $1.05. Just because it costs less does not mean you should have three shots after school....believe me. The Russians you are living with will know immediately that you've been drinking, and much hilarity will ensue.

That's it for now.

2006-09-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Russia at last.

Man things are strange here. It's like being in a first world contry that's been stagnating for a bout a century...oh wait, that's exactly what it is. It's actually quite nice. Though the streets may be littered with garbage, the people are friendly, and the countryside is stunning. In old Vladimir, the orthodox churches are all very impressive, though seem to be falling into disrepair every ay. Everywhere else in the city is old Soviet Style apartment complexes. I am in a big pink one. It looks like a demilitarized zone outside, but inside the apartment is warm, modern, and inviting. My host mother, Vera S. is very personable, and has been fairly patient with my shitty Russian. Her son, Petya, is pretty cool too. He's eighteen, plays drums in a ridiculous emo-core band, and is rocking the sickest mullet I've seen this side of 1987. Mad props Petya, mad props.

I actually bought a Russian cell phone topday as well. The phone plus the plan was about 50 bucks, but it's pay as you go. That'll be cool though. Also, a lot of stuff here is mad cheap. I saw a pack of cigarettes today that were selling for SEVEN rubles. For those of you who don't know, there are about 26.8 rubles to ONE dollar. You do the math. Of course those are probably the most filthy cigarettes on Earth, I'm not touching them.

Let's see, what else...
Oh, here are some pictures...

My Room:

The Kitchen:

One of the two cats:

That's all for now kids, more to come in a couple of days. Classes start on Monday. Wish me luck.

2006-08-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, this time, it's for keeps.
Tomorrow I leave for Russia, once and for all. The completion of a journey that began in Ms. Russell's 5th grade Russian unit so long ago. My stomach is doing cartwheels, though this isn't uncommon.

I had a great time in New York and would like to thank everyone I saw for being there and being awesome. Shit went down, but everyone came through it in one piece, and I learned a lot about who I am, and just what all of the people around me are made of.

Orientation has been exhausting. Who would have thought that sitting in a chair could take so much out of you, but when you're visualizing yourself in the countless situations they were talking about, it can really brin a guy down. I've learned all about how to deal with local customs, what to expect from my host family, and what to do when a cop shakes me down for cash. It's all happening so fast, but I'm ready for it now. At this point I've cut anchor; there's no stopping me now. I'm going to miss the comforts of home, the security of a network of great friends who care about me, and a whole bunch of other crap.

I guess that's all I have to say at this point. Wish me luck, my next post will be from the Russian Federation.

2006-08-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Last night in Stowe. Wierd thought. It hasn't really sunk in that I'm going to leave the country for nine months, but at least I'm moving things along. I went out for a last supper of sorts with my parents in Burlington tonight. It was pleasant, though my mind was elsewhere through most of the meal. I'm really looking forward to seeing my SLC friends before I leave. I think it will help ground me. I've been such a wreck for so long now, I'm really just looking forward to kicking back in New York and partying my way into my exhile. Perhaps that's a little dramatic.
In any case, farewell Stowe. You've been good to me this summer.

2006-08-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

Five days left. In five days I will leave Stowe and the world to which I am accustomed. When I say it like that it seems a whole lot heavier than it feels in my mind. I still have so much to do, so many things to buy, so many loose ends to tie up. It's hard to imagine that I won't see a familiar face for so long. I will leave Stowe on August 27th to spend a couple of days in New York, en route to DC, which I will be flying out of on the 31st. I have a lot of hopes for this blog, I hope it will accurately reflect my time in Russia, but I will just have to stay on top of posting for that to happen, I suppose. I'll also do my best to avoid direct references to people I know back home. I don't want this to become an LJ for me to spill my angst on, Lord knows I have plenty of that going on. So, if you're reading this, tell someone you know. The more I hear that people are reading this thing, the more likely I am to keep it up.