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.
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!
