Part II: An Adventure in Washington

This January, I moved to Washington, DC to start an internship at a nonprofit, as part of an international professional service semester in the last term of grad school. It has been quite a while since the last time I wrote on this blog, and hence, in brief: after returning from Russia, I spent some time working in a pharmacy, moved to Spain for a few months to work as an au pair, got accepted to grad school, spent the summer in Vermont studying Russian language, started graduate school, and then moved here. I am a student of International Policy, of Russian, and now of the grand metropolis called DC. I will write here of my adventures at work, at home, and everywhere in between. 

Time Floats

Author's note: After resurrecting this blog after a few years, I found this old draft of a post that I never published. It's obviously not finished, but I will post it anyway, as is, in honor of the Olympics in Sochi and everything that I loved about Russia:


Today in my language lesson, my teacher introduced me to a new timal phrase, which means "during this time," but comes from the same word for "float." Which is a great word, and gave me a lot to think about as I wrap up my time here in Russia.

Though I may be quick to point out flaws that I see in the fabric of Russian culture, I must stress that they are only minor threads in a huge, beautiful, complex tapestry. It is easy to articulate things that are different or uncomfortable or displeasing, but not so easy to verbalize the abundance of good things that I come across every day- often without even taking a moment to be grateful for the kindness and generosity that I have been shown here.

Every culture has ups and downs, and that's what makes them so beautiful, so fascinating, and that's what's inspired my love of travel. I have trouble staying in one place too long, and soon want to experience somewhere new. But outside of the US, Russia


What I love and will miss about Russia:


the hospitality.
the genuiness of people (sure, they may try to take advantage of you, but they won't lie about it haha)
the strong women
the deep appreciation for nature- I've learned to really enjoy a walk in the woods, as a destination, not just a transit point
that they work as a supplement for life, not live for their jobs
they love to enjoy themselves
deep appreciation and respect for family- young adults will stay with their parents not becuase they can't move out, but because they want to live with their parents. Middle-aged children take care of their elderly parents. Families get together to celebrate, and they support one another. They also still have a deeply-engrained sense of the importance of the family in the traditional sense, and young people want to get married and start a family- it's seen as a natural and welcomed progression of life, not as a burden to be taken on later, once their partying days are over.
the sense of maturity of Russians my own age- who are graduating university, starting real jobs, making salaries so that they can start to give back to their parents -i.e., acting like the adults that the rest of the world sees them as (what?! you mean i have to grow up already?!)
the beauty- my mom loved that Russian women are often in flowy dresses or skirts- they are not afraid to embrace their femininity

Babies and Flowers and Shoes and Other Pretty Things for Women

I've started teaching in-company, as a substitute for one of the regular English teachers who is on vacation. It's pretty cool- I go out to the factory, have to go through security (the first time the red light confused me, and a metal gate sprang up blocking my entrance, but I soon learned), and then teach in the upstairs of a modern, well-equipped building. They tell me it's the nicest building in the complex. 

I teach 3 men- I was briefed before I went out (and I mean OUT- it is a long and dusty bus ride out to the edge of the lower part of the city) that they are "top managers" of this company, so they have the prerogative to cancel, come late, or not show up. But, I was told that I'll still be compensated, so it's vsyo ravno (all the same) to me. 

Today was my second class with them, and I was confident that this lesson would be a breeze, as I had prepared several pages and activities from the textbook, only to soon find out that they had already done those pages (and written the answers in the book). I traded my untarnished book with one of theirs and asked them to do it again, and wasn't so surprised when they didn't know the answers. 

It was difficult to command their attention, or more so their respect, I thought because I was younger than them. (One of the 3, however, is extremely bright and respectful.). Come to find out, it's really more about the fact that I'm wearing a dress and lipstick. 

Our first exercise was to read an article about women scientists in Britain, and the difficulties that they face. I'm sure that this exercise (to read, answer questions, and discuss) would have been stimulating for young people, and especially, women, but it was a joke in this context. They snickered while reading it, and when asked what were some difficulties that the author mentioned, they might have well just said, "because she's a woman, that's why." I was told, and this is exact reiteration, that women can't work as well as men, because they are always distracted by thoughts of their their family. I then prompted (really, I was trying to get a discussion going so that they could practice their English, but I was interested to see how far they would go), well, what if the woman is not married, and has no children. I was told (silly me!) that she is actively thinking about finding a husband, all the time. This interferes with her ability to do her job. He then said, although I do have to give some leeway here, for mistranslations happen and I am an English teacher so I understand our words don't always match our meanings, that women need to do "simple" work. 

At this point I was foaming at the mouth, so I knew that I needed to change the topic if I was to remain professional. I couldn't help thinking, though, as several alcohol-related jokes were told, that even if women do spend a lot of time thinking about their children, how is that worse than the amount of time men spend thinking about drinking and girls? There is a serious drinking problem here, and it's not generally the women that you see with a beer in hand on the bus, on the way to work in the morning. And it's not women who make crude remarks to men waiting at the bus stop, as if they are public property.

This article was written by a prestigious female English scientist, who wrote about how much more comfortable and easy women were able to work in laboratories in France than in comparison to England. Oh, if she had come to Russia...

There never was a feminist revolution here. Of course, there are pros and cons to this. They don't have rampant "feminists" who criticize women for having children, or deciding to be stay-at-home moms instead of pursuing careers. Women want to get married (in the traditional sense) and start a family, and create a loving home. This is great- it's every woman's choice to decide whether she wants to work inside or outside the home. 

But the truly sad reality is evident every where you look. America, and the West, is blamed for the sexually-provocative clothing that Russian women commonly wear. Before the infiltration of the "evil" West, there wasn't pornography, women were decently dressed, etc, etc. Yet when you walk the street in America, if you saw a woman dressed the way the average Russian woman is dressed, you would literally think that she is a prostitute. American women do not dress like this. European women do not dress like this.

So, yes, maybe some of the problems have come from the West, but they could not have taken hold if there was not a deep place for them. Russian girls are brought up to be pretty- you have to be beautiful, so that you can find a husband. If you are not married by your early 20's, there is something wrong with you, and your chances of ever getting married severely decrease. 

I'm not blaming either side for this problem- arguments can be made from both sides. Men treat women badly, but when a woman is dressed like a prostitute, isn't she receiving the attention she was seeking? And women, so desperate for a husband and solid future, think it normal to dress flashily and act similarly. It's a problem in the mass-culture, and the movies and TV shows are doing nothing to help. But as I am not blaming either side, I am likewise not making excuses for either side. If everyone allows it to go on, it will never change.

Maybe things are changing- and I truly believe this. I have many Russian female friends that are graduates of university, and from traditionally "male" faculties such as radiophysics and economics. The first step to be treated as fellow human beings, instead of as objects to be admired and then tossed away, is to give girls equal opportunities in education. I think, gradually, the mindset will change, but it will take much too long if women don't take the lead and start something. And I also know a handful of Russian women and young ladies who do not fit into this post- they are modest yet bright, quietly sophisticated yet can be the life of the party, and inside are very strong, intelligent and wise, solid women. These are the Russian women that great Russian literature refers to, not the Russian women referred to on websites selling Russian brides.

Why does a woman have to wear a short, tight dress and high heels to go to the grocery store? Why can't she leave the house without full makeup, and why does her hair need to be dyed and bleached beyond recognition? I was told, before I came to Russia, that, "American women dress to be comfortable. Russian women dress to be beautiful." It's true; it's nice to see women dressed up every once in a while, and it's nice when people take care in their appearance and try to look attractive. But, although Russia might have the most beautiful women, it is so hard to see their natural beauty behind the fake, sexually-provocative facade. It makes me sad, more than anything, especially when I see my 11-year-old host sister prancing around in her mom's heels and makeup. Not because that's not normal- lots of little girls like to play dress up. But because here, it's normal to play dress up your whole life.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

Yesterday the topic of Live English, the English discussion group that I lead, was technology. While researching for the class, I was surprised to find a majority of negative comments on the effects of technology on the human race. Well, thankfully, this morning, the New York Times restored my faith in useful technology, with an article about ATM's that may or may not be someday installed in some places in Russia that use voice detection software and lie detector tests. However, that's not the "useful" technology I'm referring to- this I found later in the article:

In the Russian national railway call station, they have a system that detects the anger level of the caller: “ "Within seconds, the computer can sort incoming calls into red, yellow, green and blue categories, based on the emotional state of the speaker. Red calls typically prompt a supervisor to listen in.

In a demonstration, technicians played a recording of an actual call that caused the program to illuminate a red dot next to a phone number displayed on the screen. It was the voice of a passenger who had just learned she could not take her small dog onto a first-class car.

“Do you know how much a ticket costs? Yes, it’s big money, and you are telling me I cannot bring a dog?” the woman said. “The dog, it’s no bigger than, I don’t know, a pack of cigarettes! What should I do, throw it out the window?” “

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/business/global/09atm.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=global-home

Novwi Zhizn

Congratulations to Hannah : ) поздравлаю и Бог благословит тебе и твоей новой семье!

One Flew Into the Cuckoo's Nest

A bird flew into my head yesterday. Yes, into my head. I was walking to School 48, just like every other Friday morning, when I suddenly felt a smack of feathers on the side of my head. Is this normal? Do I need a flashing red light on the top of my head, like high towers have so that airplanes don't run into them? Maybe it would be a good investment (or a nice Christmas present).

This was my last Friday at the school, since the school year has ended. It was a bit sad, knowing I'll never see these kids again, but I will be going back a few times in the summer to work in the English Language camp, so it wasn't my absolute last time in the halls of School 48, or talking with Galena Alexandrovna, one of the best teachers I have ever met. 

I, too, am wrapping up my time here in Russia, and preparing for the summer months ahead. My final exam is a little more than a week away, and then I will have some free time (I use the word "free" tentatively, as I will still be working) before I begin taking private lessons in July. Hopefully, my mother and sister will be able to visit in the end of June, and in the beginning of August, I am off to Spain for World Youth Day 2012!

The weather is nice here- the climate is similar to early spring in America (often in the 60s or low 70s). Lately it's been raining a lot, which has offered a nice relief from the mosquitoes- due to a massive failure in logical thinking, I spent a hot day next to a pond at a cookout, and came home covered in 30 mosquito bites! My legs looked diseased, but since it is common for Russian women to wear nylons under shorts, I was able to semi- hide my hideous half-eaten nogi (legs).

I am preparing to say my goodbyes to students and friends who are leaving after the exam- this will be by far the hardest thing I've had to do in Russia. Most of the students either go home or stay with relatives in Europe, India, etc. for the summer, in order to work (and get a break- Russia can be a bit overwhelming!). My friend Andra will leave on Wednesday night, so we will rent a marshrutka (a van-taxi of sorts) and take her to the train station, from which she will board a train to Mongolia. It will take her 4 days by train to get home- I am  envious; I dream of taking a train across eastern Russia, to see the majestic scenery and the infamous Lake Baikal. But, I figure that I have to return to Russia eventually (to keep up my Russian, of course), so this might be my next adventure!

Out With the New, in With the Old

Time change today! My iPod changed automatically; unfortunately, for once I used my not-so-technically-advanced cell phone's alarm instead of my iPod, and, hence, my tardiness to mass this morning (luckily we had a guest priest, who doesn't know me).

Even more interesting than my iPod's awesomeness, is the fact that President Medvedev has decreed that Russia will no longer have time changes, starting this autumn. Who does that?! I am president, and I decide the time. When I'm president, I'm subsidizing the price of chocolate. Let's do something that actually helps people. 

In other news, Little Women is still a fantastic movie, flannel procures greatness, and I overcooked my spaghetti, again. 

Galena Ivanovna, the English teacher at Schola 48, where Evan and I help out on Fridays, took us to two museums on Saturday. The first was the private gallery of an artist, who creates his art entirely from dried leaves. He collects the leaves in the spring, after their colors have faded, then glues them to a canvas. 

His art is extraordinary, and looks like it is painted with fine oils. It's only when you look closely that you notice the texture of the leaves, which makes it more interesting. He began creating his art after he became a pensioner. He needed more money, wanted to create art, and couldn't afford paints, so he thought creatively and came up with this solution. I've seen art made from Birch bark here, but never from dried leaves. 

I found his works to be soothing and amusing, as they are depictions of common Russian scenes, in natural browns, whites, and pale blues; all natural pigments of the leaves. He has the typical Russian sense of humor, as in one painting he titled "Old Goat," which depicts and actual goat, and an old babushka in the background. 

Galena also took us to a crafts museum, which displays the common handicrafts of the Nizhniy Region. I saw the beautiful carved wood moldings from the exteriors of houses, Russian lace, pottery, pastry molds, matroyshkas (nesting dolls- there's a huge one with 40 pieces!!), traditional clothing and shoes (of peasants and the wealthy), toys, carved furniture, tools, etc. Some of my favorite things were the painted tiles, and a pair of grand wooden chairs. The chairs appeared to have a pair of gloves lying on their seats, but the gloves were actually wooden and carved from the same piece. 

A lot of the handicrafts, especially the traditional lace and painted dinnerware (Khokhloma), are still made today. I'm hoping to take a day trip to a nearby village to see how they do it- I love seeing traditional artisanry still alive and flourishing!  

 After the museums I went to an All-Star basketball game at the local sports arena. They had compiled the best players in Russia- foreigners and Russians, and the result was quite impressive and entertaining. There were a few Americans playing, too, which I guess is pretty common in sports here. Also common, dancers in sparkly almost-non-existent spandex outfits (with hats and kneepads). I have to admit, though, they were pretty good- I especially liked their rendition of square dancing (and so did the men behind me). After the game, they had slam dunk competitions, and Artyom told me he was waiting for me to go show them my skills. I told him next time- I don't want to outshine the Russian All-Stars!