Russia

Good morning, or rather happy day after St. Patrick’s Day! (That is, where you are!) It is not celebrated here. My friends went to a pub last night, called “The Liverpool Pub” to celebrate, but I haven’t yet heard how it went, I am battling an ongoing illness. This past weekend has been somewhat stressful but there are definite positives as well! Stacy came over to help cook, and I did in fact cook chili and cornbread as mentioned, all improvised, as I had no recipe, but  magically after we had, to our delight, discovered baking powder in the cupboard and chili powder at the market, it was a success! Friday, Stacy and I took our weekly test,  Alla sent us off early, and we wandered off to wait until the other class was done so that we could all hang out. I had a fever and felt pretty badly as we wandered down Karl Marx and Lenin Street. The two main streets in every city are almost always Karl Marx and Lenin! We soon found a bookstore with a couch and Stacy insisted we go in and sit. So, sit I did. Until, a police officer came up and began to talk to me. He was not angry or rude, just perplexed because he was trying to explain something to me. I explained in what little Russian I knew that I was sitting because I did not feel well and that I was waiting for my friend. I called Stacy at that moment, she was off looking at books, while a worker came over who spoke English and laughed saying they had a policy that bags were to go in lockers and coats on the hooks by the door. I knew this rule, I’d followed it before, but I was slightly terrified that I looked like a pauper off the streets trying to find a warm place to sit down! Stacy came back and found me immediately and she bought a notebook and we left. We headed towards our favorite place in Irkutsk, a Spanish coffee shop. Stacy is originally from Portugal and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Although the menu is in Russian, the coffee is definitely Spanish and the tiny little café is beautiful. Because of the Russian idea of inside and outside being separate worlds, café’s are even more secluded and private than anywhere else. Soon we returned to the center and picked up the rest of our group. Riley was off this week with a professor, climbing the mountains, visiting villages, and studying. She has been to Russia twice before and speaks Russian at a level far past the rest of us. So, the six of us headed off to the mini-football (indoor soccer) stadium, my father’s team was playing that night. It was a wonderful game even though they lost; none of us had ever seen football played this way. Wooden floors and a basketball court sized playing field. The nets were even smaller. The game however, seemed far more dangerous, fierce, and difficult than any of us had seen! We all returned the next day for the next game and my father’s team won! That evening we went to the Philharmonic Hall to hear a philharmonic orchestra play Bach. Much to my surprise the first few notes made it quite clear that in fact they were playing Mozart. The poster had not said this. The group was amazing and a female pianist played Mozart’s piano concerto no. 27 beautifully, while the first violist (also a female) conducted! The concertmistress and the three female cellos then all of a sudden broke out into Piazzola and I gasped as they continued with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3. I was in heaven! I am in a city of literally 300,000 people in the middle of Siberia, and the musicians here might as well be playing in a metropolis symphony! Sasha then showed us the Mongolian restaurant he had found, which was wonderful and we ate and headed off to a “Klub”. This one was not a night club, there was no security, and was simply a bowling alley with a dance floor, so much better than last weekend. Sunday morning I woke up with a fever and a cough, I’ve never had such a bad one. I stayed home, delirious all day and all that night. My host mother, a doctor, and a huge fan of alternative medications came into my room every hour on Sunday and then on Monday it was my host brothers who came in every hour with either fruit or salad, and some sort of herbal concoction. I have never ingested more vitamin c in my life. Tablets, packets, oranges, glasses upon glasses hot water and berries chock full of antioxidants (we don’t have these berries in the US), bitter tea, sweet tea, tea with herbs floating in it that I had to drink. Alla called me mid-day and I asked about going to see a doctor about my cough that still wouldn’t go away. She said she’d be by that evening and that we’d call an ambulance for a ride! “What!?, it’s not an emergency!” She laughed at me, I said “I can’t afford that!” She laughed even more. Apparently, all ambulance rides are free here. Haha! Also, it does not need to be an emergency at all; they provide everyone with a ride that needs one to get health care. I hate the United States healthcare system! (and it’s not going to change, because the one person who wants to actually reform it is not going to get nominated!) However, later on I realized that I felt a bit better and called her to tell her I did not need to go. Originally she was getting me antibiotics. However, my mother prescribed me some over the phone. Stas, my host brother, was to go down to the аптека, pharmacy, (two buildings away) to get it for me. It cost about $40. I now realize how much I trusted him, because I had to give him my check card and pin code in order to get cash, as both he and I did not have enough and no one else was home. Everything was fine, he even brought me a receipt and joked about it with Alla that evening when she and our host family coordinator came over anyway to see how I was doing. My host mother got into a car accident last night. She is perfectly fine, thank god! It also wasn’t her fault, she got hit from behind. I am not going to the first village this week. Instead I am staying with my host family and resting. I will join the group this weekend instead when they head to the second village. I am going to miss Irkutsk and my host family so much, it was been a wonderful experience. I am considering coming back here, via the Trans-Siberian Railroad, for my Independent Study and volunteering at the Baikal EcoWave Organization and staying with my family if it is alright with them.

As for today I still have a cough but am feeling better. My group has left for the town so I feel mildly abandoned! (of course its not their fault!)

I hope things are well…I keep seeing anti-american protests on tv, I wish I knew more of what was going on in American news, why is condoleeza rice on tv here every hour? haha, oh well!

Well, my two weeks in Irkutsk are about over. Tonight I am going to attempt to cook an “American” meal for my family. I am hoping to make chili and cornbread, because its difficult to find much besides cheeseburgers and french fries that make up the “American” diet. However, finding cornmeal and kidney beans could be an issue!

On Tuesday, we visited Baikal EcoWave, a non-profit organization in Irkutsk. They are struggling to fight for the preservation and protection of this incredible world wonder. Pulp and paper factories as well as toxic waste from other plants around the lake are ruining the supply of freshwater that in the next decade will become a coveted spot! The lady in charge, Jane Sommers, is from Britain, and is absolutely brilliant! She spoke with us for a few hours about these issues and what solutions the organization is focused on achieving. After my j-term class, it was fascinating to see how a non-profit works in Russia and to be able to compare the development of non-profits in the US to those here.

Yesterday, a local professor spoke to us about the issues of migration/immigration in Russia. The most fascinating concept for me was the idea that before the collapse of the Soviet Union, migration did not exist. Now however, trans-border migration occurs, because the now separate countries are still connected to Russia. The stereotypes and myths surrounding migrant workers, especially those from China are absurd, but they are so similar to those in the United States, that one must step back and realize that the absurd notions of the US towards immigration are not unique.  Yellow journalism frequently promotes fear here, just as it does in the states. The Russians are terrified that someone may sneak up in the middle of the night and steal Siberia away from them! 😉 They have feared this for hundreds of years however, and it has as of yet to happen.

I would love clarification/information on an idea I heard presented yesterday as well. Apparently there are Albanian politicians pushing for Kosovo to join Albania when the independence from Serbia is settled!! Is this true!!????!!! I couldn’t imagine, the very spot of the legendary battle that now verifies Serbia’s ethnicity and sustains Serbia’s nationalism would become part of Albania!? Once again, I’d love some information on this, is this true??

The language is becoming more and more familiar and the alphabet is slowly becoming second nature. Writing “N”‘s backwards is now entirely second nature. I was writing something in english last night and realized that I could no longer write an N and that I was assuming it was making the “E” sound that it does in Russian. Ack! I still can barely speak it though, reading is one thing, but actually forming thoughts in my head is so difficult. I have yet another test tomorrow, hopefully this will go better than the last!

I went to a night club this weekend, despite my host brothers’ protests, and it was as terrible as they promised.  I now have four bruises on my ribcage, just from trying to check-in my coat and get through security (this alone took two hours). Russians also simply cannot dance, so I fit in at least in that respect, but we also spent ungodly amounts of money to get into the club and then of course for shots of vodka (this at least calmed my nerves!) Never again!

I hope all is well back in the states! I would love an update on news/politics/life there! I try and read the news when I can, but of course that isn’t exactly the best source!

Well,  I have been in Irkutsk for over a week now. Today is International Women's Day. The morning began with my host father and brothers returning from the downtown, flowers in hand. For my mother there was the largest bouquet ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Ah! After a five hour time change and six hour flight, I am now in Siberia. We spent three days on Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. We took ... [Continue reading this entry]