Girl's Night In

Let me give you a taste of Vladivostok through a quick narrative of last night's activities:

Megan was sick, and didn't feel like going out. So Ithaca said, "Let's have a girls night in!"

"Ok!" said Megan. So they went to the store to purchase snacks.

They went down the escalator.

And out onto the street to the store.

Crossing the street in Russia can be quite scary.

As can going down the crumbling stairs.

But we were successful! We bought strange Russian food. Including bacon chips... which were delicious!

For a little bit, we were afraid we had broken Megans' roommate's computer. But it was just the battery! we plugged it in and watched part of an American film dubbed in Russian. It was a fabulous evening!

Also, late last night/early this morning there was a thunderstorm! It woke me up this morning at 5:00. There were sheets of rain and thunder and lightning. So of course, I opened up my window and sat and listened. I love thunderstorms! I didn't know they would have them here, so it was a lovely surprise.

The Coolest Shirt in Russia

Sneak Attack!

Megan's roommate Katya is a wonderful artist. A couple of days ago she invited us to come to a cafe downtown that her friend is the art curator at, where we understood her art would be displayed. Of course, we agreed! We basically agree to any invitation extended by a Russian.

Apparently though the purpose of our visit was lost in translation. As we rushed through the traffic-jammed streets, Katya was very concerned with getting there on time. So I asked if this was the opening night of her art. "Oh no," she said in Russian, her art wasn't up now, but it might be later. So what were we doing?

Slightly confused, we entered the cafe and went through a curtain into a room where...

There was an informal English lesson being held. Katya had brought the genuine Americans along to help! 

The lesson was all about English exclamations, centered around the phrase "D'oh!" We found this quite entertaining, since Homer Simpson is the only person who actually says d'oh... I like to envision lots of Russians running around America, forgetting their wallets in cafes and exclaiming "D'oh!"

It was an ok night even though we weren't really prepared for what we were getting ourselves into. We met a lot of enthusiastic Russians who were amazed by our English skills... for the first time in a while I didn't feel stupid in a class! ...And I'm still looking forward to seeing Katya's art up.

Futbolny Match

Hi loyal blog followers,

Sorry once again it's been so long since my last post. It is notoriously difficult to find working and dependable internet in Russia, and we have not yet gotten our dorm internet sorted out (though we were supposed to on Thursday). So, lots has happened! Read on and enjoy.

First: The Futbolny Match!

Or, in English, soccer game. Our starost (Russian RA) invited us to a soccer game in the city center. Of course, we said da. What we didn't know is that we were the only ones from the hall who wanted to go, so he had to take just Megan and Dylan and I along with him, which was a little awkward.

The soccer game was the single most ridiculous sporting match I have ever seen. Apparently it was the city administration playing another city. The team included quite a few fat bald men. There was a lot of falling that went on. At one point one player stopped to tie his shoe, and the other put the ball under his shirt and ran with it. I kid you not.

After the entertaining game, we met up with the Americans and wandered about. It was my first time being downtown at night, and it was beautiful. I do enjoy Vladivostok!

Ya Zabila!

In Russian that means, "I forgot."


The other night Megan, Miles, Josh, Dylan, and I climbed Eagle's Nest again to watch the sunset. We were a little late to see the grandest colors, but we still had a wonderful time. Megan and I brought out a bottle of wine, for which we quickly realized we had no corkscrew. But we were not to be deterred...!

(We figured keys are for opening things... right?)

SOOOOO happy! It might not have been the greatest wine, but it sure tasted good after chipping away at the cork for upwards of twenty minutes. Yrah!

Blustery Day

Another boring blog post today...

It's quite blustery out (keep in mind my use of lovely adjectives) and it feels like winter may be setting in. Which is made better by the fact that... OUR HOT WATER IS BACK!!! YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!! I'm so looking forward to taking a hot shower tomorrow morning. Also, tomorrow I'm going to take my laundry to the basement where a Chinese woman does it for you. It's fancy.

Anyways, today we had our first writing class. We learned about how to use figurative and factual adjectives... which was difficult, because of my complete lack of vocabulary (not because I don't understand how to use adjectives, which I do). Writing class was fun though, we got to describe a vase of oak leaves and then a stuffed animal. It reminded me how much I enjoy simple little writing exercises... even in Russian!

Tonight we Americans are heading downtown to check out a foreign film festival that is apparently going on. Until then, Megan and Dylan and I are sitting around playing cards as usual.

Weeeellll, that's all for today I guess. I hope this blog post finds you all happy, warm, and dry!

A Short Day...

Hello loyal blog followers,

Today I have not much to report. It was a typical and short day... Megan and I did our homework (short and pretty easy once we understood the instructions in Russian) before class, ate some breakfast, went to class, learned new words afterwards, then I read a book. But while I was reading...

My new roommate arrived!

Her name is Iuliia. She said she'll help me with my Russian and she speaks a little English! Better than I speak Russian, really. We sometimes have to look words up for each other, but we communicate very well!

That's all the news for today... I'm off to play some cards with the other Americans. No new picture for today... but here's one from a few days ago when Megan and I decided to wear dresses like the other Russian girls.

It actually is a little bit intimidating how nicely they dress... especially the heels! I haven't worn my one pair yet... I can't bring myself to wear anything other than Danskos and Birkenstocks. What an Alaskan.

As they say in Russia... "Poka!"

A Sad Day in Technologyville

Today was a typical Monday in Russia.

I slept in til 8 today (I've been waking up early since coming to Russia). Megan and I didn't have our classes til 11:50 so we went to get our water bottles refilled at the water place, had breakfast, and I finally bought some folders and paper before class.

Today we had grammar (our first grammar class) followed by culture, which we had had two classes of when Megan and I were still in Group 2, which was far beyond our comprehension level. It was awesome being able to understand what was going on in culture class.

Let me take a moment to talk about groups, because I don't think I've talked about that yet. On the first day we were divided into groups based on skill, which were assigned random-seeming numbers. Group 1 knew no Russian, Group 2 was basically fluent, and Group 3 was in between. Dylan was in Group 3 and Megan and I were in Group 2, which seemed wrong from the get-go since Dylan, Megan, and I had had all the same classes.

But, for whatever reason we decided to give it a shot. Megan broke down after class the first day. We decided after the second day we'd switch. I broke down during class the second day and almost walked out. It was slightly awful. But after class that day we talked to Elena Arnoldovna (our counselor in the international office who doesn't speak English, so that was a task in itself) who told us to come back tomorrow morning and we would be in a mythical group we had never heard of: Group 4.

As it turned out we were not in our own new group, but a group between Group 2 and Group 3 (because why wouldn't Group 4 be between Groups 2 and 3?) otherwise made up of Chinese girls. Group 4 has been a good fit so far, and also a different perspective because we're not always surrounded by Americans. And neither Megan nor I have had another breakdown... yet.

ANYWAYS... class today was good. Until I came home and realized that somehow yesterday my power converter and computer charger cord both got fried. My outlet adapter still works so I can charge my camera batteries and ipod, but my computer is without a charger. So for the rest of the semester I will be bumming charges off Dylan and other Mac-using Americans wherever I can. Bummer.

Now here we are again at the internet cafe, eating some delicious shrimp pasta (yeah... I needed yummy comforting food after the tragic loss of my charger...) and using the web. They'll probably get sick of us here soon. But Thursday we should be able to get set up with internet in the dorms. Which I would be more excited about if my computer battery would last more than a couple hours at a whack. Oh well.

I survived one more day!
As they say in Russia,

"Yrah!"

To the Beach! [and Beyond]

Alright, I'm finally just about caught up on the happenings here and writing about yesterday, like I should be. Wahoo!

Yesterday we Americans decided to go to the beach. But this was no small task... 

We hopped on a bus downtown, where we planned to catch a bus to the beach, which is about 45 min away. When we arrived at 11 we realized that the next bus to the beach didn't leave until 2:30. So we waited!

And by waited, I mean we walked by the shore where there was a carnival-esque area, rode the ferris wheel, wandered some more, ate some delicious blini (russian crepes) for lunch, found a second-hand store and bought some summer clothes, summited the mall, then headed back to the bus stop just in time to cram into the very full bus and endure the very long ride to the beach.

But we found it! The beach was lovely, the water was the perfect temperature, and much merriment was had by all.

(Megan and Micah became gods of their sand city, ShellLandia)

(The water was great!)

We may have gotten a little bit lost on the way back to campus, but we made it eventually. And anyways, life is about the journey not the destination.

Eagle's Nest

Earlier this week the boys went out for a hike and just happened to stumble upon the highest point in the city, known as Eagle’s Nest. After a lovely “family” dinner the other night, we hiked up to it to see the city lights. It was a treacherous climb (not really), but my headlight did come in handy.

(Like all good views should, the lights of Vladivostok fade off into the ocean)

(Megan and I practice our tiger poses)

Chinese Market

Although I don’t have a roommate, Danielle has a wonderful roommate, Lana, who speaks English (Danielle speaks no Russian). Yesterday, she took the three of us to the Chinese market to buy some things we needed for our rooms.

The Chinese market was about an hour and three buses away, but it was great fun. I bought some hangers and a pair of tennis shoes, since the university has courts and I hope to play while I’m here (and because they were cheap).

Afterwards, we went to “Oki Doki” for pizza. It was good, but couldn’t compare with the delicious pizzas we had at my going away/birthday party before I left! I miss cooking, and having people cook for me. The cafeteria is getting a little old already.

Vlad

On Wednesday we had a tour of downtown Vladivostok. I could tell you how beautiful it was, or you could just look at these pictures and it would save me thousands of words:

(Matroishka and the city. I am very happy with my choice of Vladivostok over St. Petersburg)

(Vlad is a strange mix of new-ish buildings and fallen-down forgotten structures)

(We went to a museum inside an old Soviet submarine. Behind is the bridge you can see in the first picture.)

(There's not a lot of diversity in Vladivostok, and going out with Jordan is always exciting. This day she got hijacked by a wedding party to be in their photos. She's such a good sport.)

(I'm a little bit obsessed with tigers. I WILL see one before I leave.)

(This is the newly constructed conference center for APEC, the political summit that delayed our travel. It's kind of a big deal, and we drove out to an island (the bridge was new for the summit too) just to gawk at it from the bus.)

The Saga of the Lights Guy

One day, Ithaca and Megan were sitting in Ithaca’s room looking out their favorite window, when a strange middle-aged man with a briefcase wandered in. “Previet,” said Ithaca and Megan, utterly confused.

The man wandered about the room, mumbling to himself in Russian. He measured nothing and took no notes. Then he left and went next door.

The man left, so Ithaca asked her neighbors what the man was doing. After a quick game of charades, Ithaca surmised that the man was going to install lights above the desks in the room. He would come back in twenty minutes, so Ithaca should not leave. 

Ithaca waited, but twenty minutes later the other Americans arrived. Ithaca locked the room and left. The lights man was never seen again.

Ithaca went to bed early that night. She was tired.

At 11:30, Ithaca was roused from slumber by a knock upon her door. Her neighbors were there, and all began talking animatedly in Russian. Ithaca wiped the slumber from her eyes, and learned that the neighbors were missing some money from their room. Had Ithaca let the lights guy back in? No.

The “dejurnaya” (Russian dorm overseer, like an AD) came, and from what Ithaca could gather there was never a lights guy, just an old dude with a briefcase conning some unsuspecting college students. Luckily, Ithaca was missing nothing. 

In Soviet Russia, you (or at least the girls next door to you) get conned.

At Least it has Four Walls...

Living in Russia is much different than in America…

Upon our arrival, our Russian RAs asked if we needed help making our beds. We replied that of course we didn’t. We were wrong. The mattresses were three inch foam pads rolled up. Upon unrolling them, we discovered that there was no fitted sheet. So Megan and I put our duvet covers over our foam mattresses… it was an ordeal. On top of that, the bedding is a random assortment of whatever the university collected from unwanted bedding somewhere. My sheets are the best, with sleeping teddy bears and ladybugs on them.

(My photos have been uploading with odd color schemes... I apologize.)

Since my arrival in Russia I’ve taken one hot shower… after the first day the university turned off the hot water for two weeks for maintenance. A cold shower sure gets your blood flowing in the morning. On the topic of my shower, a strange and unpleasant smell wafts from it day and night into my room. Ew.

Our rooms have a little entryway with four doors in it. Two doors are rooms. The room next to mine has four Russian girls. They all seem nice enough. I’m pretty sure their names are Elena, Lena, Lana, and the other one that I forgot. The next door is my room. It’s a double, but I have yet to get a roommate. Everyone else’s roommate has arrived, and I feel left out. The third door is the shower. It’s literally just a shower (the whole room is tiled) and a sink. Also, this room holds the only mirror in our entire unit. The fourth door is the toilet. And a sink. In Russia you can’t flush toilet paper and the dorm doesn’t supply it for you. Life is rough.

(Russia's next five star hotel. No joke.)

Quite often, the power goes out. For instance, as I write this from the small internet café near campus, I’m waiting for the power to come back on so I can post it. This is the second time today that the power’s gone out. Our first night, we blew out the power in the kitchen twice trying to boil some Russian potstickers. Luckily our Russian friend Dima was there to fix it for us.

But, despite the unreliability of amenities, roughing it in Vladivostok is pretty good. There are good people, decent food for the most part, beautiful weather, and the tea never stops flowing. Cheers!

Made it to Vlad!

Vladivostok at long last!

We made it! Not only did I make it, but all my bags did too. Yay! Russian migration card in hand, we were picked up by some students from the school and a van took us to the campus. We made it!

Vladivostok was very hot, but all the people are great so far. Later this day, more Americans appeared! Including Dylan (from LC of course), Jordan, and Cameron. Later we also meet Micah and Miles, two more Americans, and some other international students.

The Russians knew it was my birthday! Just kidding... this was a happy birthday note to someone else, but it warmed my heart when I noticed it outside my window.

My Russian Babushka

Holy cow, I'm in Moscow!

Well, I was five or so days ago. Not having had internet until now there's a lot to catch up on, so I'll break it into little chunks to make it more reader-friendly.

Firstly, in the airport at JFK I met four of my fellow SRAS-ers. Megan, of course, whom I study with at LC. I also managed to find Danielle, from Wyoming, and Jeff, from Virginia. Josh, from Florida, happened to sit behind me on the plane. Woohoo! Our team began to unite.

On the plane ride from JFK to Moscow I sat next to the nicest little old Russian lady, hereon referred to as my Ryskaya Babushka. My Ryskaya Babushka not only gave me her email within the first ten minutes of our meeting... she also gave me cold medicine and cough drops for my sniffles, forced me to eat cookies, and pulled some chocolate out of her purse for me. I miss my Ryskaya Babushka.

In Moscow I taught the crew to play set, we had our first experienced with the Russian water shortage, and made it on the next really long plane to Vladivostok!

Needless to say, it was an excellent introduction to Russian culture, and everything I could ever hope for in a Russian babushka. Since then, much has happened. Read on to find out!

We made it!!

(Sorry for the false alarm about having posted things that I put on facebook. Russian internet and power are very unreliable.)

JFK

Oh hey, JFK!

New York is hot, and even navigating my massive checked baggage from one terminal to the other I was reminded that I am not fond of it. I had to go through security again, and my bag got searched because I forgot to empty my water bottle. Whoops.

Now I am sitting at gate 6 of terminal 1 anxiously awaiting the appearance of Megan Dwyer and the rest of the people who are on my trip (there are five-ish of us meeting here, I believe). Theoretically they could be here already since I don't know what any of them look like. Weird.

Welp, I'm off to scrounge up some dinner! I may or may not see you in Moscow, dear blog followers, as who knows what will happen and whether there'll be free wifi once I make it to the Motherland. In a matter of hours I'll finally be able to see Russia... from my plane window.

SeaTac

Oh, hello SeaTac. It's been too long.

In an attempt to be a considerate traveler I have purchased more single-serving congestion relief pills so I don't sniffle all the way to New York. There's no better breakfast than beef jerky and an Advil at 5:30 in the morning...

Ted Stevens International

Leg one of my journey is complete: four hour drive to Anchorage was filled with stunning scenery and good company. I got to the airport, made it through security, picked up a coconut steamer, busted out my pillow, cracked the spine on my latest read, Red Square, and settled in at gate C5. Bring it on, 3 days of travel!

Moving Day

It's a beautiful sunny morning in Homer, AK. I can't believe the summer is finally over and it's time to head to Russia.

Wait, Russia?!

It still hasn't really sunk in that when I get in the car to drive 5 hours to the airport and hop on a plane (then another and another and another) I'll eventually end up in Russia (three days later).

As I dragged  my huge bag down the stairs this morning the only thing I was really thinking about was what I'm going to have for lunch. I'm excited, but Russia doesn't feel quite as real yet as my grumbling stomach. I guess the only way to remedy the situation is to dive in with both feet (I've never been a very graceful diver). It's time for lunch, then I'll hit the very long and dusty trail. Off we go!