Russia, Part IX: Do Svidaniia, Astrakhan

Dear Family, Loved Ones, Friends, and other people my email list:

Well, things wrapped up very quickly in good ol' Astrakhan. We meet at the airport at 12:30 tomorrow and we're off to Petersburg! Yes, that's right...the Astrakhan Airport is now open. No eight hour bus ride to Volgograd, thankfully. My host mom and little brother left on Tuesday for a neighboring town, so that I was the last time I will see them--I was really disappointed because I thought she said she was leaving on Thursday...or I thought that the word for Tuesday was the word for Thursday...whatever the case, it was surprising and sad to have them leave so soon.

On Thursday we had six exams and my results actually show vast improvement! There are rumors of inflated grades, but I like to think that I've learned a lot. I know that my ability to speak has greatly improved (pretty much went from zero to about 50%) and I understand a great deal of what people say. I'm well on my way to speaking Russian slightly better than completely awful. Go me!

On Thursday night we had our "graduation" evening which was a big dinner with entertainment and a short ceremony where we received our certificates from the rektor (president) of the university. I was terrified to find out that I was part of the entertainment. I thought that the dance club was just for fun, but apparently in Russia fun is defined as dancing in front of every person you've ever met in a foreign country. I had to wear the Russian national costume, which was fun and dance while people ate, which was not fun. Natasha came and took pictures and a video of the dance (which no one will ever see). It was a fun evening and a perfect finale to the previous seven weeks...and then we had six hours of class the next day.

A lot of people in the program are really excited to leave Astrakhan, but I'm pretty sad. I've learned a lot here--not just the Russian language and about life in Russia, but also about myself. When I first got here I was too afraid to speak because I didn't want to make mistakes--pretty ridiculous, because if I kept that mentality I would never ever speak Russian. Even Russians speak Russian wrong; it's a hard language! Also, I've never really fancied myself as much of an outdoors person, but Russians love being outdoors and I've grown to like it as well. Beats sitting in class all day. Maybe I'll even go camping someday in the very distant future. I've tried a lot of things and done a lot things that I would have been too self-conscious to try in America and I realize now more than ever that life's too short to wait for second chances.

Much of my life here has definitely been an "America Appreciation Tour." When I ran out of contact solution I was shocked to find out that there was exactly one store in the entire Astrakhan Oblast' (500,000 people) that sold it. One! In America, I can walk across the street to the grocery store and buy pretty much anything I'd like! Also...the whole toilet paper thing...seriously. We asked our teacher why none of the bathrooms have toilet paper or hand soap and she assured us that they do in the rest of Russia, just not Astrakhan. Whatever, I've been in Petersburg. It's not true.

There are definitely things about Russia that I will miss. I'll miss having my bus stop two or three times on the way to an excursion or lecture because of cows crossing (or just standing) in the middle of the road. And I really wish I could bring the Marshrukta system to America--if only Seattle bus drivers would cut into oncoming traffic in order to bypass long lines at a stop light (or through parking lots or drive on the sidewalk)! Then I wouldn't complain about how long it takes to get somewhere--at least I'd know they were making an effort!

I'll miss the dramatic flair of the Russian people I've met. Last night I went "pogulyating" with Natasha (an americanization of the Russian term pogulyat': to walk), which is the Russian term for Russian nightlife. It basically involves walking around the city to different cafes or clubs or just around a specific area of the city and talking with people (or for some groups, drinking lots of vodka). I met three of the whitest gangsta-wannabes I've ever seen in my life. One of them spoke a little English and proceeded to profess (in a mixture of Russian and English) his undying love for the Russian author Bulgakov and promised to give me a beautiful copy of it...all while flashing his bling (a HUGE diamond bracelet and belt buckle). Talk about paradox! The other one's English was limited to quoting American rap lyrics and kept asking me if I liked various rap artists and became really sad when I kept saying said nyet. The third one asked me to teach him more American swear words because he, sadly, only knew three.

I'll also miss the Russian ideas about health and what can make you sick. I really don't understand it but it's been a constant source of amusement. Maria Leonedovna, our reading teacher, told us on our last day of class that she just didn't understand why we all drank so much water: "You all come from different states and you didn't know each other before this, but you all drink a lot of water. Cold water, too!" We tried to explain that it's good to drink a lot of water and asked her what was wrong with cold water...she proceeded to explain that if you drink cold water, your throat will get very sick. We replied that we always drank cold water in America. "And your throats aren't sick?!" she gasped.

Everyday has been pretty amazing--even if it was hard or frustrating or simply awful--and I am very grateful for everything I've experienced and learned about myself and life in general. One of my teachers (in America) told me that going to Russia either cures or worsens your love for it; at this point I know that I really want to continue learning Russian and get back here somehow. But I also know that I cannot wait to sleep in a real bed or eat good, non-Russian food. Laura, stock up on guacamole!!!

I might have time to write a letter in Petersburg, but we have absolutely no idea about what we're doing there or where we're staying; you know, anything that might be useful. But don't miss me too much; I'm coming home in less than five days. Ura!

Yours truly,
Maria Adelina Mammina

PS: You know, I've taken over 2000 photos. По-моэму, that's quite a bit.

Russia, Part VIII: Last Week in Astrakhan!

Good Morning America!

This morning I woke up and realized that I simply could not go to class, so I skipped grammar and reading and went to this little French Cafe in the center of town. I finally had time to write in my Russian journal and am proud to say that I've written all but five entries since I've been in Astrakhan. It's new for me, okay? I sat at the park while waiting for my marshrutka and met a belorussian guy who stopped talking to me once he figured out that I didn't speak Russian very well. Another older man sat next to me and offered me an apricot, which I declined, but then he put it in my hand and put three more in my bag. It was really sweet (the gesture, not the apricot), but we've been told not to eat fresh fruit and vegetables (you know, the healthy stuff) unless it comes from a restaurant or our families. I made it to school in time for a scintillating lecture on human rights--I am not entirely sure why our lectures have to be about things that none of us can actually talk about in Russian. We got a handout with a list of the rights ensured by the UN (?) and my friend and I had look up almost every single word.

Yesterday, my family and I went to this dacha place that had a small pond with lotuses and hung out there for most of the day. I fell asleep in the sun and have a very painful sunburn to prove it. After that, Natasha and I went out with her boyfriend and some of his friends. His friends were enamoured with me--the Amerikanka--and asked me ever pressing questions, such as: "Do you like 'negroes'?" and "Do Americans love sex?" It took awhile--and many hypothetical situations--to explain that. I found out that my sister can't (or doesn't want) to tell Valya that her boyfriend is her boyfriend because he is Chechnyan and Valya wouldn't approve (I have been instructed to refer to him as her "friend"). It's sad; he's a really nice guy.

Friday we met with famous authors from Astrakhan--all three of them--during dinner. The author (forgot his name) sitting at my table wrote a book called "Pirates of the Caspian Sea." He asked us if we planned to use Russian in our careers and on of my classmates said: "Well, I'd like to but I want to work on creating robots and I'm not sure how to fit Russian into that." The author turned to him and said: "It's very simple!! Just teach the robot to speak Russian!" He was cute (the author, not my classmate).

Saturday was by far my favorite day in Astrakhan. It all started at about 1:30 am on Saturday morning. I was sitting in the kitchen with Natasha and Valya and talking to them about various things. Natasha always makes fun of me because whenever she asks me how I am doing or if I want to go out with her (on a school night), I always answer "I'm so tired." I usually just say that because I don't know how to say "I am mentally exhausted from listening to every single word that every single person says to me and frustrated because sometimes I just don't ever understand them" po-russki. Anyway, while we were talking, Natasha suddenly yawned and said "oy! I am tired, I want to sleep." I answered "What's that? You're tired? I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning and I'm not tired..." She didn't get it at first, but Valya started laughing and saying "She's making fun of you!!" It was great to finally be at least slightly sarcastic in Russian...I don't think I could have held out for much longer.

On Saturday proper, I went to the bazaar which is basically an outlet mall...outdoors. You can buy really cheap clothes and purses and shoes (I've done all three!) and basically anything else you'd need. I had fun wandering around and talked to a lot of the shopkeepers. One even told me that my Russian was very good for a foreigner, although I'm pretty sure she was only being polite. I met some of my American friends downtown and we set out to find a book of poems by this famous and revered Astrakhan author, Velmir Khlebnikov (we went to his museum last week--I finally learned his first name). Though evidently it is impossible to find a book of his poetry. The lady at the bookstore showed us about three biographies about him, but said that we probably wouldn't find one that actually had his poetry in it. We also asked about Russian authors we had read in English and they didn't sell books by them either! Not even Dostoevskii. She kept showing us the modern Russian lit, like detective novels and romance novels and saying that they were good and we should by them--she finally asked, in frustration, "why do you only want to buy books by authors you've heard of?!?!" I bought a book of poetry/songs by the Russian Bob Dylan (seriously can't remember names) and she opened the book and started singing her 'favorite song.' She and the other bookseller talked to me about how they want to go to Canada, about their children, about the weather in Seattle...it was great. :)

This weekend we're going to the "tourist base" which is the Russian term for a resort. I highly doubt that Russia's perception of a resort is the same as my perception, so I am trying to lower my expectations. I only hope that we have actual bathrooms and not outhouses. We'll get to see the lotuses on the Caspian Sea, go boating, go to the banya (not sure how I feel about that!), and maybe I'll be able to even out my tan! (okay, so my priorities are a little off these days...).

Anyway, I'm, yet again, late for my club. Off to dance, russki style!

Cheerio,

Maria

Russia, Part VII: Actually, I really want to live in Petersburg

Dearest Fans,
Only in Russia will you find a Buddhist Republic that has claimed itself to be the "International City of Chess." Chess City comes complete with a place where people can get married, several rows of houses, a large museum and this marshmallow-topped structure which I think is the place where people actually play chess. A regular Las Vegas! That was our excursion on Saturday...very tiring (it was a eight hour bus ride round trip), but very interesting.

When we first got to Respublika Kalmykia, we walked around the area and saw various statues, fountains, and gazebos decorated with Buddha and other Buddhist symbols. We walked to a bazaar which was really nothing special and then pretty much everyone got lost so our director, Timothy (pronounced "tim-o-tee" in Russian), spent most of his time running around finding stranded students. After that, we went to the large temple. And by large, I mean gigantic (my English is rather limited now). And red. And there was a huge Buddha in the middle of the temple. And lots of little Buddhas and other gods surrounding it. After exploring the temple, we went to the Museum below. There we met a lady who had been worshipping in the temple; she said to us "Where are you from? You speak Russian so poorly." We told her that we were from America and she then started taking us around to various exhibits in the museum and explaining how Buddhism traveled to that area of Russia. She was so cute!

The lunch wasn't as good as the Kazakh one (mostly because it wasn't free), but much better than the Fish Museum! I'm sooo glad that I'm in an area of Russia where I can escape eating Russian food. :) We had fried bread (vkysno!), pelmeni (kind of like pot stickers), tea with butter in it (why!!!???), and I ordered apples with sour cream. My host dad, Koyla, gave me a weird look when I told him about it, but it was actually really good! It was kind of like apple sauce with semi-sweet sour cream. And come to think of it--that's kind of weird. We went to the chess city and then homeward. Since we got back so late, I had to take a taxi home and my taxi driver asked me "Where are you from? You speak Russian so poorly!" But hey, at least he was nice about it!

On Sunday, I just about to go to the holiday/festival "Day of Fishermen" (Russians have an incredible amount of holidays...) when Valya asked me "Um...where do you think you're going?" I told her that I had to go to the festival because we were assigned to write an essay entitled "My First and Last Day of Fishermen." She then informed me that I was not going to the festival, but to the beach with the family and their friends in order to celebrate the holiday. She told me that it was much better than actually going to the festival. I met (for a second time), her friend Marina, Marina's husband Sasha, and their daughter, Nasten'ka. When I first met Nastenka at the dacha, she immediately grabbed my hand and said "Let's be friends!" So she's my russkaya podruchka. Sasha was really nice and someone must have told him that I was Italian because he kept saying "Mamma Mia!" and during our vodka toasts he said "Chin Chin." (It's an Italian toast). We had shashlik, which is still my favorite food here, and grilled fish, which definitely isn't, and pickles! Gotta get that dill in somehow. Then I went swimming in the Volga with the kids, which was a lot of fun.

Classes are fine, grammar class sucks, and our lectures are simply unbelievable. Yesterday, we had a lecture on tolerance; they wanted to know the "American opinion about immigration." Uh...do you have a few days and perhaps a hospital nearby? It was really funny to listen to my classmates yelling at each other in broken Russian. Today, we continued the lecture on tolerance; they started by asking us to give our opinion about the following hypothetical situation: there is a hypothetical place in European Union (hypothetically France) with a hypothetical group of non indigenous people that are hypothetically 80% of the population...should they (hypothetically) be allowed to secede and form their own state? What?! Have they never heard of a little place called Chechnya? I spent the period looking up how to say "Let them eat cake!" in case our teacher called on me. After that, we had more hypothetical role playing, in which I starred as the "jobless neighbor" who thought that immigrants should only be allowed in "our" country as tourists. We soon found out that the entire lecture was based on the fact that Astrakhan is "multinational" oblast' and yet, everyone lives in complete peace and harmony. Except for feral cats and dogs, that is.

This is for Emily! Today our excursion was to one of the Mosques in the region. We went inside and the most adorable old man started talking to us (about the mosque/religion) in heavily accented English (Arabic accent). Then Timothy told him that he should talk in Russian, so he started talking in heavily accented Russian and translated everything into English. Then Timothy said "no, no, it's okay, they'll understand Russian." So he started speaking in half-Russian, half-English (called Russlish), which went something like "Tак...thirty years назад, когда был Soviet Union, наш..." He told us that he spoke Arabic, Tartar, Russian, English, and German...I wonder if he has the accent in all languages! He was so excited about everything; it was fun to listen to him. After the mosque, we went to to a house across the street and they served us a Tartar afternoon tea, which is quite unlike a British one. British babushkii probably don't offer food three times and after you've denied it, put it on your plate anyway and say EAT EAT EAT! They also don't pack a table so full of food that it's impossible to put your tea down. Since the Imams were eating with us, we had to keep on our scarves and sweaters and there were about thirty of us in a small room without an open window or air conditioning and we were drinking hot tea...whew! I thought I was going to pass out. They all were very kind and hospitable and the food was scrumptious.

Tomorrow we're going to the house museum of an (apparently) world famous author from Astrakhan, Something Something Khlebnikov (he's so famous I've forgotten his name...). I convinced our reading teacher to let us read his poetry instead of the boring biographical text she had planned, so I'm actually excited to learn more about him. I have to recite one of his poems, but when my teacher gave it to me she said "Loudly please, if you speak normally, no one will be able to hear you..." We'll see! I've refused to go on the last excursion this weekend, as it includes camping, so I'm going to have a free weekend again. Ura!

Well, that's all folks.

До next неделя!

Maria

PS: Oh! My subject title! I am really excited at the moment because I found out that we get to go on excursions when we go back to St. Petersburg (I thought there were only 30 days in July, so I didn't realized we would be there for three nights...thus proving, once again, that I am unable to count). I signed up for the Hermitage (the big art museum) and Petergoff (the place where the Czars lived). It'll be awesome!

PPS: Here's a video of a lake we drove through...(I think Astrakhan' will be heavenly once they get a drainage system).

Russia, Part VI: Oh, Russia

Hey People,

Well, we're on week five (I think?) and I've been in Astrakhan for a whole, long month. Our schedule has slowed down a lot but we still have to do weird things. For example, on Monday we went and toured the science/engineering laboratories at their other campus in the center of town. I would say that I've never done anything more interesting in my life, but of course I have. After the tour, we had a 15 minute presentation on the ecological system of Astrakhan and what animals inhabit this area (aside from the million stray cats and dogs). Yesterday, we spoke with students in the foreign languages department. My group was really nice and the girls told me about russkii rock bands that I should check out. I bought a CD today and it's awesome!

This week has been really annoying because they didn't give us any free time or time to be on the Internet and we had a very full, long schedule. Also, we wait around all the time: for the bus, for our teachers, for our lunch, basically for everything. I think I'm going to take up smoking just so I have something to do while we wait. Yesterday, I thought that I would have some time to write this letter, but our lecture/excursion to the very off campus science/engineering labs (which are different from the off campus labs that are still within city limits) went over the allotted time as usual and they drove us back to a theater instead of school! Since I didn't sign up to see the movie, I had to find my way own way home.

I improved in all sections on the last test, but my test scores (excluding writing, apparently I write well in all languages) aren't as high as I'd like. My participation points doubled (from 20% to 40%!!). It's kind of funny though because we never really get the opportunity to participate in class...in grammar, we just read exercises for an hour and half; three hours on Wednesdays. Morale for everyone is pretty low because we're all stressed out, still. I had some more problems with my family which resulted in a meeting with them and the American and Russian directors, Timothy and Evgenny. It was very embarrassing and discouraging because I had to talk in English and have Timothy translate it into Russian. I can't really do everything that we're supposed to do; between talking with my family or the problems I have with them, doing homework, going on all the excursions and activities, and trying to explore the city myself while also studying on my own and being in class all day...well, I'm either behind or not doing well in everything.

Last Wednesday, we went to the Governer's mansion/administrative building. They told us we were going to meet with the actual Governor, but we ended up getting a two hour governmental presentation by his minions on the present educatonal, economical and ecological problems facing Astrakhan. After this scintillating presentation, we had a question and answer period. One of my classmates asked about the feral cat and dog problem in Astrakhan. The governmental official answered: "Problem? What problem?" Harry replied, slightly confused: "Well...the thousands of cats and dogs that roam the area." The government offical replied, after laughing: "Oh! That's not a problem! We have that under alll control." Harry asked if they considered sterlization and they didn't really reply. It's actually very sad because most of the animals have open wounds or are clearly starving. It's like a animal fight club outside my window every night, you can hear the dogs fighting and the cats shrieking.

After the presentation, we went back to school, to the cafeteria we lunch at everyday, and had a big, Russian dinner with singing and dancing. It was actually really fun, but about 1/2 hour after the meal, I started feeling really sick and was sick for the rest of the night. When I told my host mom that I was sick, she asked me what I ate for dinner and I said fish appetizers and pork shashlik. She then asked if it was hot or cold (it was both) and then if I drank cold water. I said it wasn't really cold, but she gave me a disapproving look and said that the water was the precise reason why I was feeling ill. Natasha's friend, Tanya, solemnly explained to me (in English; she spent a year in Texas) that when you drink cold (or apparently even room temperature water) with shashlik, the greasy oil from the shashlik and cold water cannot mix and that is why I had such a horrible stomach ache. I was in pain for most of the night but I wanted to go to school because we had a writing test that day. However, my host mom called Evgenny and told him that I was incredibly ill and was not able to go to school under any circumstances, so I stayed at home. Since I was "so ill," I was only allowed to eat hot soup and drink hot tea. Water was out of the question. It was an interesting day!

This Sunday I was finally able to go to Church service at one of the Kharms. I went to the Kremil' and it was just awesome. The singing was beautiful and it was interesting to watch the priest performing the service (and believe me, it's definitely a performance! And two hours long. And you stand--or bow--the whole time). After that, there was a festival in the center of town. I guess it's like Valentines day, but more interesting because people in America don't dress up as if they're getting married and dance in the middle of the square. There was Russian national dancing and singing and kvass, which I was excited to taste. I read about it in a Russian folktale It's a slightly alcoholic drink (but really not at all, kids here drink it....though I guess that's not saying much) made out of black bread, water and sugar. It really doesn't taste good. But it was hot outside and like my director said "better than drinking vodka."

This weekend we're going on a long excursion to a Buddhist city that is located in Russia but I guess it's own sovereign state. We'll get to tour the temples and see other interesting things. Timothy promised us that it is interesting, but that's what he said about the Fish museums and laboratories....we'll see.

Well, I have to go. Natasha is going to Moscow tonight, so everything is crazy here right now.

Hope all is well!

Do Svidaniia,

Maria

Russia, Part V: The Soviet Fishermen

Privet Comrades!

Today we had our middle-of-the-quarter exams and I think I did okay...at least better than the three previous tests. It's raining outside right now which is nice because it reminds me of home, but sucks because I don't have an umbrella or practical shoes. This weekend we have a free weekend (for the first time since I left Seattle) and we (the Americans) are going to the beach to celebrate the fourth of July! I love America!

Our American Program director came to Astrakhan last Thursday and Friday to have a consultation with us in hopes of smoothing out all the kinks in our program. It took about an hour to explain to him all the problems we've been having. The most important thing was that we were all exhausted. I leave my apartment at 8:30 every morning (earlier on Saturday mornings) but wasn't getting back home until 7 to 9 o'clock at night. And I still had to do homework! Sometimes we would have days where we'd have a lecture until 4 or 5 and then an excursion to a museum or the theatre.

The teachers also didn't give us the opportunity to speak during class, or with other Russian students. Any time we had Russian students in our lecture, we would have highly mediated discussions with the American students sitting on one side of the room and the Russian students sitting on the other. Our Russian teachers would tell us what we thought and usually correct the Russian students or answer for them. One day we had "discussions" in different disciplines: math, journalism and history. I wanted to stay in the auditorium for the History discussion but the head teacher, Lidia, informed me that I was, in fact, interested in Journalism and needed to go to the library. Yay democracy! We worked out a schedule where we have a shorter lunch, the lectures are shorter and the excursions are not obligatory (although they make us sign up like a month in advance...I already know what I'm doing on July 22nd at 3:00 pm).

Another annoying thing is the vocabulary we're supposed to learn--it's all technical or geographical terms. If I really want to talk to people about tributaries or the arches on the Astrakhanski sobors, I'm well prepared! On Friday, things immediately became better--our classes were more interesting, they cancelled our five million excursions for that day and even the lecture wasn't boring...I think. I wasn't really listening.

This past Saturday we had an excursion to the Irkanoe village, which is named after caviar. From what they told us on Friday, we thought that we were going to go to a museum and have a big, delicious Russian lunch. However, that's not exactly what happened. After spending about an hour on the bus, our bus driver suddenly pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and our tour guide announced that we were going on a hike. Since I thought we were going to a museum, I was wearing a skirt and nice flats. After 15 minutes on the hike, our tour guide pointed to a small mountain and said that it would be much easier to climb it than walk around. So we did that. I was expecting a building of some kind...or something....but it was just a wooden, Russian crucifix and a small sign that I couldn't read. The view was gorgeous, however, so I wasn't upset like everyone else. Then we went to this museum; it was interesting, I guess. The most interesting part where the three communist rooms that contained memorabilia from the Soviet Union. There were pictures of soldiers who fought in WWII and their medals, but there were also a lot of pictures, books, and awards given to the fishermen and people that worked in the fish factory. It seemed to be a big part of their lives, even now.

After this museum they told us that we were going to go to our Russian lunch...but then our bus driver pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere... This hike was much longer than the other one, but didn't include mountain climbing. Our tour guide told us that we were going to see something ancient that was interesting but not delicious or delicious, but not interesting--it ended up not really being either. I mean, I like holes in the ground; they're pretty interesting. But walking 30 minutes to see a few? I was proud of myself because I understood a lot of what the tour guide said...he told us that there is a legend in the area: at night, people see the devil appear. He then told us that the people that saw the devil were actually drunk. So much for the legend! The whole thing was just funny, but again, the views were gorgeous. I really miss seeing green. Astrakhan is kinda brown. Then...we went to another fishing museum which was even more boring than the first because included all of the same things, including fish and soviet memorabilia...and finally we had our authentic Russian dinner. I should have known better; it was absolutely disgusting. We had watery fish noodle soup with a special ingredient: fish bones! The other option was huge chunks of fish that had been cooked without any form of seasoning at all. Just fish. We all left to buy ice cream.

Saturday was Natasha's 20th birthday so I went with her and her friends to a night club. It was really funny. Her friends are nice and are patient when I don't understand what they're saying or recognize the words quickly and ask me to hang out with them....although, one of them has called or texted me about 10 times in the last two days. Her boyfriend is Armenian (I don't remember his name), but he is really nice and helped me get home when I left the club earlier than everyone else.

One of Natasha's friends, Tanya, is visiting from a neighboring town; she has been really nice and taught me some idiomatic phrases. I've also been doing more with my host family--I went to the cafe with them last night, and Sunday spent the afternoon at their dacha. It's located in the outskirts of Astrakhan and it was so nice to just relax! Except at first I didn't relax because they have a plentiful garden with nearly every type of fruit imaginable and I was put to work picking berries and apricots. Natasha's grandpa showed me all the different fruits, told me their names, and made me try each one and then make me pose for pictures holding the fruit. He was so cute! While we were picking berries, he made shashlik, or shishkabobs--best meal I've had in Russia. They kept telling me "eat! eat!" and said that they wanted to send me back to the US looking like a "real Russian woman." (Honestly, I don't know what they were talking about...the Russian girls my age are soo skinny!) After lunch I laid out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. It was so relaxing.

Valya, my host mom, has really been helping me as far as conversation goes. She asks me everyday to tell her what I did at school and asks me questions about America; we've had some heart to heart chats. She told me on Sunday that my Russian has gotten much better and that I just need to talk more. I'm glad that our class schedule has slowed down because I've been trying to do more on my own, while still having enough time to talk to my family (in Russia and America), do all my homework, and not be completely stressed out.

Yesterday we had a discussion with students from Iran. It was really interesting...I was in a group with one of the two women in their group and asked her what life was like for women in Iran. Tomorrow we're meeting with the "Gubernator" (Governor?) of the Astrakhan region and having dinner with him and other officials. That should be interesting. I am so excited because Natasha and I went to a movie rental store and I got my favorite movie (Everything is Illuminated) in Russian!

Well, that's about all for now. I've finally uploaded all my pictures! They're here: www.picasaweb.com/mmammina.

Hope all is well in the US! Stars and Stripes forever!

Ciao ciao,

Maria

Russia, Part IV: I really want pasta

Hello!!

Well, things are moving right a long in Astrakhan. I finally found out how it was possible to have extremely hot weather, torrential rain and hail in one afternoon...and believe me, it was not a very fun!

On Thursday, we had an excursion instead of a lecture (hurray!); we went to a publishing house that publishes both books, boxes (?), and a newspaper. It was very interesting to meet the editors and journalists of the newspaper and talk with them. One of my classmates asked if there was a problem with free speech in Russia and they said "no...of course not!" Then another students said that she heard that if a Russian journalist wrote something contrary to the government's position that it was hard for them to find work. The editor replied that it was just a misrepresentation and that it definitely isn't the case in Russia. Maybe it's not a problem this far south. When we viewed the actual place where they publish books and the newspaper, one of the tour guides gave me a book about Astrakhan. It's basically handmade, we saw a lady gluing the binding together. Maybe someday I'll be able to read it.

On the way back to school, it started to rain but our teachers didn't want to close the sunroofs of the bus, so we all got a little wet. Then it started raining even harder; we had a small mutiny and shut the windows and sunroofs. By the time we approached the school, our bus was driving in about a six inches of water and it had begun to hail golf-ball sized pieces of hail. By the time we got to school, we had to wade through the rather deep puddles into the main building on campus. I didn't know that it was going to rain, so I was wearing a sundress and flats (which are ruined) and didn't have an umbrella. I thought I could just use the computer lab and wait out the storm, but unfortunately the computer lab was full of large puddles and they had shut the server down. So, I decided to go home...which ended up being more difficult than I thought. I was determined to get there by myself, though, so I didn't call my family. I was completely drenched by the time I got to the Marshrutka stop and had to stand out in the rain waiting for one to come. The first two didn't stop, but 30 minutes later I finally got on one. Most of the streets were flooded and there was a lot of traffic due to cars that were stuck, so I was on the marshrukta for almost two hours...most of the time I had no recognition of where I was because the van was taking different roads in order to avoid all the flooding. When I finally got to the apartment complex, I had to wade through small rivers of water to my building...only to find out that our power was out! Luckily my host family has a gas stove, so I still got a warm dinner.

This weekend, we boarded a train headed for Volgograd at 9:30 pm and arrived in Volgograd at about 9 am. I wasn't sure how well I would sleep on the train, but it actually wasn't that bad. After getting over the dirtiness, unsanitary bathrooms (seats, beds, mattresses, floor, tables, hallways...well, just Russia in general), and the noise of my fellow students, I managed to sleep pretty well. The funny part was that we only got electricity for about 5 hours and the bathroom only operated at certain hours. The attendants would walk past our rooms and tell us "tyalet zakrit" or "tyalet okrit." I asked our director why...his answer for everything is: "Well...we're in Russia."

After getting off the train, we got breakfast at a cafe. Here, they weighed the food they gave me...you only get a certain amount and they make sure that you definitely only get that amount. I had a blini and potatoes, which were cold. A cute old couple were our tour guides...he drove the bus and she talked to us (in Russian) about every single thing that we passed. Volgograd was named "Stalingrad" during WWII and was an important battle for the Russians--which you can see by the five hundred monuments and statues around the area. My favorite was the "Rodina Mat'" or Mother of the Homeland. It is an enormous statue of a woman wielding a sword. We also saw a statue of Lenin (yawn..there's one in Seattle), many memorials to the soldiers who fought in the battle, and a lot of Soviet monuments.

For lunch we went to a restaurant called Stalingrad, which was decorated in a very communist style, complete with pictures of Lenin and Stalin and waitresses/waiters dressed like the Pioneeri (the Soviet boy scouts). We were all excited because from far away it looked like they were serving us mashed potatoes and steak! Finally, a meal that I could eat. Imagine our horror when we realized that it was, in fact, huge hunks of fried, greasy liver. I tried one piece but couldn't actually swallow it. The potatoes and parsley were pretty good, though. That's a good representation of my diet thus far.

After lunch we went to this amazing museum called "Musey-Panorama," which has a circular, panoramic painting of how the battle of Stalingrad was fought. The picture kind of comes out onto the ground, where there are actual pieces of shrapnel, ammunition and other supplies in dirt. It was amazing. The museum also has weapons that were used and huge maps that show the tactics of each side, uniforms, and virtually everything has to do with the battle. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the gifts that other countries gave the city after they won the battle--France gave a plaque, the Czech Republic gave a doll, the US gave a sword, Japan--a bell. There was an entire wall full of these presents.

We also went to a planetarium which gave a very cheesy presentation of the planets and then sun. It was really dark, so I took a nap. :) We also went to the Volga River and walked a long the pier. The river is just amazing; it's so vast and blue. The weather was great too--in the morning it was cloudy and rained (I kinda miss Seattle) but by the afternoon it was warm and sunny. I'm pretty sure I want to move there since Scotland didn't work out.

I really love being in Russia but there are just somethings that I don't understand and could never get used to. First of all, I don't know how a country can survive without toilet paper and soap in the bathroom. And if you think about how there's no toilet paper, no soap, and the people making my food don't wear gloves and wash the dishes by hand (without soap)...well, I try not to think about it. The university gave us girls a key to a bathroom on campus that has everything that should be in a restroom, but the Russian girls aren't allowed to use it. It's a little weird to be segregated from them.

Second, the food sucks. Last week for lunch they served us this meatloaf textured ball of grease, which ended up being beef the first three days, chicken the second, and fish the last day. Our "salat" is sliced ham, egg, cucumber with a huge scoop of mayonnaise and cheese sprinkled on top.

The other day I went to the store to buy some things and while I shopped, four of the store keepers were following me around to each aisle and stared at me while I looked for things. Everywhere I went, there was someone watching me! I almost started laughing. I tried to ask one of them where I could find contact solution, but I didn't know how to say solution, so she ended up showing me five different types of eye makeup remover. I found out later that they were following me because I didn't leave my bag at the front.

There's also a lot of miscommunication: Natasha (my host sister) talks a lot about cars, so I asked her if she wanted one. In Russian, the word for car is машина (mashina). She started talking for a couple of minutes about how people in Russia don't usually get married until their late 20s, but that she'd really like to date someone...but what I thought she was saying was that she wanted a guy with a car instead of a car (all I could think to say was...uh...me too?). It took us a couple of minutes to figure out that she thought I said мужчина (myshchina--man) and was answering that question instead. We had a good laugh.

Anyway, it's getting late so I need to go to the store and buy (edible) food. Until next week!

Cheers,

Maria

Russia, Part III: Astrakhan State University

Dear People:

Well, I've been in Astrakhan for a week now and there have been some ups, a lot of downs, but things are mostly calm at this point. My first few days here were pretty hard; I had some communication (and food) problems with my host family; the fact that I was extremely tired and stressed out didn't help a lot. But things are much, much better now, so thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

I am slowly beginning to understand more of what people say, but it's hard because Russians speak so fast! If I don't hear my host family (or anyone, really) the first time, then they automatically assume that I don't know what they're saying and start speaking in English, which is precisely what they're not supposed to do--that's the whole point of being in Russia! The friends that I made in DC and St. Petersburg still speak in English a lot, so it's been really difficult to switch back and forth and I usually give up after awhile.

School started on Monday; we were greeted with five different tests--listening, speaking, reading comprehension, grammar, and something else. Or maybe it was just four tests. Anyway, they were really hard because the instructions were in Russian, which ended up being harder to understand than the actual test! Needless to say, I am in Group Number One--one being last, not first. We had a five course lunch (every course but dessert had meat in it) and then the most horrifically boring lecture I have ever listened to. The teacher speaks really slowly and enunciates every single word, so it takes her about five minutes to finish one sentence--and she was talking about linguistic theories of history and culture. I wrote down most of the words I didn't understand but then I ran out of both paper and patience. Tuesday we started our actual classes, which are Reading, Listening (Phonetics), Writing, and Grammar, with an afternoon lecture. Our phonetics teacher is very kind and gave us a song to learn for our homework. Our grammar teacher is also really nice, but she makes us read (so it's like our reading class) and then we just read and answer the exercises in the book. However, on our first day, she gave us 8 pages of homework and we had an excursion to the symphony that night! It's hard to go home and do homework when you've been out for 14 hours. In our writing class we also read (we read a lot, but I still sound horrible!) and we're learning about official and non-official speech. In reading, we (surprise) read essays about the Astrakhan and the Volga river, so I'm not only learning a lot of Russian vocabulary, but also a lot of geographical diction in English. What fun.
I have to take the marshrutki to class, which are little vans which have 10 seats in the back and two in the front (excluding the driver). It costs 9 rubles each way and the drivers make money off of how many passengers they have, so some of the drivers just pack people in and they have to slouch (it's too low to stand) and they also drive really fast. You have to hail it like a taxi and they don't stop at every stop, so you're supposed to yell "Ostanovka ostanovite, pozhalyusta! (stop at this stop, please)" The only problem is that I've had a hard time recognizing my stops (everything kind of looks the same), so I am in a constant state of fear for most of the trip. My host mother rode it with my on the first day of class, but I've taken it myself each time after that.

Some things here are just crazy. On our first week, after about 24 hours of travel (total) and adjusting to various time zones and life in Russia, our Russian program leaders made us go on a cultural activity almost every single day! We got here on a Saturday, had a tour of the city on Sunday, had classes, lectures, and a meeting all day Monday, went to the symphony Tuesday evening, went to the movies on Wednesday, and they had two more activities planned Thursday and Friday but our group leader, Tim, told them that we were too tired! This week they're making us play sports (seriously, are we in elementary school?). They kept asking us what sports we play, so I quickly looked up how to say "I generally abstain from physical exertion." Now I just have to figure out how it's pronounced.

This past Saturday we had the best excursion so far--we took a bus to the border of Russia and Kazakhstan (we were about 19 km away) and met the consul of Kazakhstan and toured a tomb of a famous Kazakh poet and writer, toured a museum of Kazakh culture and history, and then were served a 5 course meal of Kazakh food and drink in a tent-like structure while they played music, sang, and danced for us. The food was delicious and I especially liked the tea. Sunday was our first free day since I left Seattle; it was nice to relax and not be on a schedule.
It's funny when I realize that Russians are also nervous about the language barrier--we are supposed to join clubs with other Russian students, so one guy was explaining the point of his club (I guess it was like Russian jeopardy), but he got so nervous that no one understood him that he started rambling about the differences between Russian hockey and the NHL. Definitely not something that was in our area of knowledge, even in English! I decided to join the Russian Cooking, Dancing and Singing club...not sure if we're supposed to do it all at the same time, though. :)

It's pretty hard not knowing how to say things. One of my friends wanted me to go over to her family's house on Sunday, so we had to have our host sisters talk to each other, because neither of us could communicate precisely what we wanted to say. Sometimes I feel like I'm about five years old--even my little host brother, Dima, intimidates me! We played cards on Sunday (the game 'war') and aces, jacks, queens, kings and jokers were high only when he played the card, so he kept winning the game...and I couldn't even protest. :) It was funny.

The women in Russia primarily wear skirts, dresses and high heels, so I feel very under dressed most of the time (before we left, they told us to pack light and that we'd only need one nice outfit...that was totally wrong). I had to explain to my host sister that in Seattle, women rarely wear dresses unless it's a special occasion; but that I love dresses. We went shopping on Sunday: the 'big store' we went to was just a large area with room dividers which made up the stores and most of them were packed with dresses and shoes. It was amazing! I always knew I loved Russia. I bought a really pretty black and white dress; when I got home, my host mother, Valya, and sister, Natasha, made me put it on with my black heels and then put red jewelry on me and took a bunch of photos. Dima also wanted to take pictures and I have to admit--I like his the best! They wanted me to wear it to class today so that I could "walk around like a princess" and "look Russian," but we've had another long day..it's the theater tonight. Maybe next week.
This weekend we are going on a whirlwind tour of Volgograd--we leave Friday night on an over night train, will be there all day Saturday, leave Saturday night to come back to Astrakhan and yes, are supposed to go to the theater on Sunday night. We'll see how that goes! I am excited to take the train; it will be quite an experience.

In other news, I was accepted to the University of Glasgow (in Scotland) for an International Masters program in Russian, Central and Eastern European studies. However, I don't think I got the scholarship that I applied for, so I can't go. But it was an honor to be accepted.
Oh, and I am currently uploading photos, but unfortunately, I can only upload five at a time and it is painfully slow...so they will be posted sometime before I leave, haha.

Well...that's all for now. Have a great week!

Cheerio,

Maria