Everyday I walk out of my door, I’m wearing my one coat, and my one pair of boots. I smile at the simplicity of it all, I almost don’t even think of what I’m putting on underneath so long as I’m wearing something. But inevitably I’m always passed up on the sidewalk as I dawdle by someone, and about half of the time that person is followed by a persistent clickety clack of, dare I say it? High HEELS. If your eyes just got big at the thought of someone wearing high heels in ice and snow and grit, then you know just how I feel every time I see a “muscovite” of the feminine persuasion. It’s almost as if they defy physics, although it is amusing to see them carefully toe their way down slippery steps, which could trip up the average person in boots. Oh, and these are always topped off by a luxurious fur coat (needless to say that most animal right activists against fur would probably faint if they ever went to Moscow in winter).
I think what amazes me the most is how they have this almost mystical immunity to feeling cold. A lot of these top notch women don’t feel the need to wear a hat or scarf, which I’m assuming is because it detracts from the overall outfit. As goofy as I look in my hat, I couldn’t imagine a day without it here, especially when it’s already dropped below 28 degrees Celsius. Fortunately I’m not completely alone, there seems to be a younger generation that has although still stylish, at least a more practical outlook on what to wear. To explain how many different fashions, hair styles, or hats I’ve seen on the street would take weeks, and I’m too fashion stupid to really say. I’m not abandoning my hat at any rate, for the sake of my ears.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Comfort level?
"What's your comfort level here?" my new friend Iulia from Romania asked me, with a mischievous grin, as if she already knew the answer. Not quite. So I drew it out for her on a cline (pardon me for those of you who don't understand English teacher speak, think of it as a line on a graph). I used my arms, at the top of the cline is where I feel most comfortable, say a dinner with my family. At the bottom, is where I've felt say, the most vulnerable or out of place, like Madagascar. So let's put Moscow below Italy and Budapest, but above anywhere in Africa.
I've come to the conclusion that as much as someone can travel, it's not what I would call "easy" to adjust to every new place you go to. Of course the food is different, the music can be odd, and the people may not randomly smile on the metro. You're likely to get lost, get off at the wrong stop on the metro, or fumble with the money. But all of these things are manageable, in fact they are part of the adventure that make life fun, exhilarating, new.
I think what has made Moscow a little lower on the cline is due to the language. Not only have I never learned Russian (aside from my friend Jamie's crash course before I left), but the alphabet is completely new, and for someone who loves reading roadsigns, menus, etc, this is another speed bump. Talking to my mother about this before leaving, she told me how much she hates not being able to speak the language of the land when overseas. I shrugged it off, figuring I would just learn. And admittedly my Russian has improved exponentially. Each day I seem to double my vocabulary - from one word to two, four, 8.....! So if you want to know my comfort level, it's rising everyday, everytime I have a new verbal interaction with someone: the first time I asked for 2 oranges from my favorite fruit stand lady, or the first time I ordered something from a menu. At least I blend in enough it seems. As usual I'm always the person people ask on the street for directions, or on the metro for which stop to take. Who would have thought, an American that can blend in?
In Desperate Search of Green
Today I decided it was time to go adventuring on my own. My mission: to find at least one green place in this somewhat overwhelming city, a place to relax, be at peace, and maybe even go jogging, if I could handle it without falling and breaking something. As I looked through the guidebook, I discovered a botanical garden, right next to the VVT, or the “All-Russa Exhibit Centre” according to the book. Aha, a quick stroll between metro stops, it seemed.
Unlike many places in the world, such as San Francisco where it seems pitiful that they should have so many stops on a metro line, when you can walk between them in less than a few minutes, Moscow’s stops are more serious. Admittedly I got a little lost towards the end, but we’re still talking a 2 hour walk.
Anyways, back to the VVT. It’s probably one of those places that is lovely to visit in the summer, but in the winter it’s a little bleak, and rather drab. The VVT as far as I can tell consists of many memorials, buildings, museums, including a pretty cool looking space museum with an awesome spacey –looking tower. There are fountains, sculptures, all soviet style, elaborate and overbearing. Don’t forget the ferris wheel and amusement park, which take up the first part of the VVT. And of course, intercoms, blaring what I hope are commercials and Russian pop music.
The park seemed to stretch on forever, until I crossed the river into the Botanical Gardens, 82 acres that seriously contrast the VVT. There if you covered your ears against the sounds of traffic, you could almost believe that you were in a snow covered forest besides a river, with hardly anyone to distract you. The park must absolutely be beautiful in the summer, at least from the photos that were shown on the map. It was beautiful now, with the little bit of snow left over from the weekend. My new jogging place.
As I attempted to find the Metro stop, I asked a random woman walking down the street. “Metro?” She looked at me, and motioned for me to follow her. As we walked she asked first in Russian, and then resorted to broken English: “Country?” “American,” I replied. Her eyes widened a little in interest. We stepped onto the same train, and she pointed to herself, “Babushka, grandmother.” In the end I gathered that she had 3 children, (she showed me a photo of one of her daughters) and she was 64. For a lady who didn’t speak English, she sure knew her English words enough for me to understand. Not too shabby. Although Russians seem serious as they walk down the street, they do stop when you ask them a question, and most try to help, even if they don’t speak English.
The Red Square
Before I made it Moscow, I knew the one thing I had to see before anything else: the infamous Red Square. My friends swore by it, my grandparents praised it, I knew it would be amazing. As my roommate guided me out of the metro to the café where we’d meet her friends for lunch, she casually turned around and pointed. “Oh, and there’s the Red Square.”
Turns out that although the name is appropriate (it is a square after all), what I expected ended up being confused by the number of sights of interest. There’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Tomb, Gum Mall, not to mention the Kremlin, which stretches out in all directions, it’s difficult to know quite where it begins or ends. Oddly enough this time of year there’s an ice skating rink in the middle, that seems somewhat artificial and bizarre in the middle of such impressive buildings. Next to it there’s a very artificial Christmas tree, that seems very dwarfed in such a huge space. Like everywhere else I have been in the past few days, loud Russian music is played all day long from some intercom hidden somewhere.
I think it’s going to take me years to discover this place! As Kirsten walked me around we managed to arrive just in time to see the changing of the guards for the Kremlin. Although they have thick coats and those awesome fur coats, I really can’t imagine a more difficult job than standing still, outside, in Moscow for any period of time. It didn’t take us long to run indoors again, to the GUM, which is one of the more elaborate shopping centers I’ve seen. Even though it’s a shopping mall, and I hate shopping, at least it’s warm.
A friend of mine and I discovered a beautiful chapel in the square as well, to make up for the fact that St Basil’s was closed for renovation. We had good timing too, as they had just started an evening mass. Never having been in a Russian Orthodox church before, I realize now that my grandmother was right: they don’t sit! What’s more, attendees must bow and perform hail Mary’s every few seconds. And yet, as the priest chanted, and the four part choir sang, as I inhaled the incense I was awed by the beauty of the church walls, and music that was reaching my ears. It’s not every day you hear musicians in perfect tune, with perfect harmony, nor do you get to see such beautiful murals on the walls. As we walked back into the bitter cold, I felt a little warmer, inspired by this new home of mine.
Turns out that although the name is appropriate (it is a square after all), what I expected ended up being confused by the number of sights of interest. There’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Tomb, Gum Mall, not to mention the Kremlin, which stretches out in all directions, it’s difficult to know quite where it begins or ends. Oddly enough this time of year there’s an ice skating rink in the middle, that seems somewhat artificial and bizarre in the middle of such impressive buildings. Next to it there’s a very artificial Christmas tree, that seems very dwarfed in such a huge space. Like everywhere else I have been in the past few days, loud Russian music is played all day long from some intercom hidden somewhere.
I think it’s going to take me years to discover this place! As Kirsten walked me around we managed to arrive just in time to see the changing of the guards for the Kremlin. Although they have thick coats and those awesome fur coats, I really can’t imagine a more difficult job than standing still, outside, in Moscow for any period of time. It didn’t take us long to run indoors again, to the GUM, which is one of the more elaborate shopping centers I’ve seen. Even though it’s a shopping mall, and I hate shopping, at least it’s warm.
A friend of mine and I discovered a beautiful chapel in the square as well, to make up for the fact that St Basil’s was closed for renovation. We had good timing too, as they had just started an evening mass. Never having been in a Russian Orthodox church before, I realize now that my grandmother was right: they don’t sit! What’s more, attendees must bow and perform hail Mary’s every few seconds. And yet, as the priest chanted, and the four part choir sang, as I inhaled the incense I was awed by the beauty of the church walls, and music that was reaching my ears. It’s not every day you hear musicians in perfect tune, with perfect harmony, nor do you get to see such beautiful murals on the walls. As we walked back into the bitter cold, I felt a little warmer, inspired by this new home of mine.
My first traffic jam!
It was Saturday afternoon, and I had just made it through customs, grabbed my bag, and out the door. Through the throng of taxi drivers, there it was, a sign: “Laura Preston.” “Sasha” (as I later discovered, that was his name) waved it back and forth, nonchalantly until he saw my eyes meet his. As if by magic, he suddenly became animated, grabbed my bag, and off we went. Through the “das” and “nyets,” I was able to get my first tour of Moscow.
And my first traffic jam. I know they say the city is large, but I never thought it would be a web of confusing roads, packed with cars of all sizes and styles, zigzagging and driving on parts of the road I didn’t even know were driveable. As we listened to Russian pop music Sasha groaned as we waited in stopped traffic for half an hour. An hour later and we were still driving towards the city center, as Sasha pointed and most likely swore about the hundreds of stopped cars on the other side of the freeway; his route home. As he smoked what was probably his 8th cigarette, I pointed to some sky scrapers and asked, “Moscova?” Nyet, further ahead.
As long as it took to get to my flat, somewhere on the opposite side of town, I decided I would never feel the urge to drive through this town, as we turned and continued onto to large road after large road. Who knows where we were????
Later on I discovered that there is a solution to this congestion problem, which is ultimately doomed to happen with 10 million people in one place: the metro. They aren’t lying when they say it is one of the most lavish and beautiful undergrounds in Europe. Believe me, the best part of the metro is waiting for the train as you stare at the tiled ceilings, or marbled halls adorned by crystal chandeliers. Too bad the longest wait time is 3 minutes. The metro seems to go wherever I need to go, and faster than anything else. The trick is to read the signs and know the stops. Time to practice my Cyrillic reading!
And my first traffic jam. I know they say the city is large, but I never thought it would be a web of confusing roads, packed with cars of all sizes and styles, zigzagging and driving on parts of the road I didn’t even know were driveable. As we listened to Russian pop music Sasha groaned as we waited in stopped traffic for half an hour. An hour later and we were still driving towards the city center, as Sasha pointed and most likely swore about the hundreds of stopped cars on the other side of the freeway; his route home. As he smoked what was probably his 8th cigarette, I pointed to some sky scrapers and asked, “Moscova?” Nyet, further ahead.
As long as it took to get to my flat, somewhere on the opposite side of town, I decided I would never feel the urge to drive through this town, as we turned and continued onto to large road after large road. Who knows where we were????
Later on I discovered that there is a solution to this congestion problem, which is ultimately doomed to happen with 10 million people in one place: the metro. They aren’t lying when they say it is one of the most lavish and beautiful undergrounds in Europe. Believe me, the best part of the metro is waiting for the train as you stare at the tiled ceilings, or marbled halls adorned by crystal chandeliers. Too bad the longest wait time is 3 minutes. The metro seems to go wherever I need to go, and faster than anything else. The trick is to read the signs and know the stops. Time to practice my Cyrillic reading!
Round two - Moscow
So for those of you who haven't talked to me in a while, it's time for a new adventure overseas. After a lovely summer in Europe, it was time to run back home in California for a while, to spend some time with my family, recharge the batteries, and of course the inevitable, look for a job. Which I found - the perfect change, something to contrast my last year on a tropical island, surfing - somewhere with a different climate, attitude, language. A completely new experience.
I decided to go to Moscow, Russia for the following reasons:
A – It’s a new country that I have never been to, and if I add it to my “Where I’ve been” map, it will look like I’ve seen the whole world.
B- Russian is a new language with a new alphabet, which I think will be fun to learn, and might even be useful someday.
And C – SNOW. After a year of summer, as much fun as it is, I am more than ready for a little chilly weather and finally, I can live in a place where it snows a LOT. Well, I hope so at least.
But the truth is more subtle than all of these things combined. More than anything, after all of the gossip, myths, and legends of what has been, what is, and what will be, I want to find the truth. People tend to have very strong opinions about Russia. I can’t count the number of times someone has asked me, “Why on earth do you want to go there? Of all places!!!” And yet, my curiosity gets the best of me. I am out to discover what was, what is, and what may be considered Russia…to finally put the records straight in my mind.
That's how I stumbled on Russia. Or rather, it stumbled on me. Why not? A new language, a new location, and definitely a different climate? After waiting for a visa, and a lovely Thanksgiving with the family and Agnes, it was time. Time for a new adventure, teaching English in Moscow, Russia. What's the worst that could happen?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A year to reflect on
Written from the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, September 4th, 2010.
As my travels come to an end, and I slowly make my way back to the place I call home, I feel like I should make some sort of reflection on this year. And my, how this year has gone by so fast! I feel like I have seen and learned so much, I only hope that I never forget. And so, what have I learned?
I have completely changed how I feel about Africa. A lot of times it’s easy to make assumptions and assume that after having read all those books on African politics that I knew what Africa really IS. But I think I was wrong on some things, and I think the situation is in some ways more complicated than I thought, but in some ways simpler.
I’ve come to realize how important and crucial it is for people to give, and help those in need. Especially around the world where people are starving, have no access to health care or education, they need help from those that do. I’ve always felt unsure about helping in other countries where I don’t understand the culture or really belong, but I’ve come to realize that in many of these places people need all the help they can get, no matter where you are from. It’s not their fault that they have nothing, just as much as it’s not our fault that we do. Instead of feeling guilty, I’ve decided that something needs to be done, and I want to do it.
Most importantly I have learned how incredible human beings can be. I met so many people who have done amazing things with less money, education, and help than we could ever imagine. There are some brilliant minds that I never knew existed, some of the smartest people I met came from the most humble and simple beginnings, and perhaps will always be that way. Just imagine if they could study at Harvard or Stanford!
I know people can be cruel, they can be selfish, of course, but I saw so many examples of people who were so selfless and gave without thought, without even having much to give, that I’ve realized that people can be good. You can’t always trust people straight away, but there have been so many people that have helped me as well as other strangers, that have shown that sometimes you can have faith in someone you may not know.
I think I have changed a lot as an individual. Perhaps I have gained some self confidence, or at least some sort of independence and inner strength that I didn’t have before. There are some situations that I came across that weren’t always easy, but somehow I survived, and even managed at times to come up with some sort of solution. I can’t say I’ve always succeeded in what I set out to do, but at least these days I seem to be trying harder to put myself out there and take some healthy risks. And now, I think it’s time to continue the journey, to see what lies ahead. I think I’ll take a nap first.
As my travels come to an end, and I slowly make my way back to the place I call home, I feel like I should make some sort of reflection on this year. And my, how this year has gone by so fast! I feel like I have seen and learned so much, I only hope that I never forget. And so, what have I learned?
I have completely changed how I feel about Africa. A lot of times it’s easy to make assumptions and assume that after having read all those books on African politics that I knew what Africa really IS. But I think I was wrong on some things, and I think the situation is in some ways more complicated than I thought, but in some ways simpler.
I’ve come to realize how important and crucial it is for people to give, and help those in need. Especially around the world where people are starving, have no access to health care or education, they need help from those that do. I’ve always felt unsure about helping in other countries where I don’t understand the culture or really belong, but I’ve come to realize that in many of these places people need all the help they can get, no matter where you are from. It’s not their fault that they have nothing, just as much as it’s not our fault that we do. Instead of feeling guilty, I’ve decided that something needs to be done, and I want to do it.
Most importantly I have learned how incredible human beings can be. I met so many people who have done amazing things with less money, education, and help than we could ever imagine. There are some brilliant minds that I never knew existed, some of the smartest people I met came from the most humble and simple beginnings, and perhaps will always be that way. Just imagine if they could study at Harvard or Stanford!
I know people can be cruel, they can be selfish, of course, but I saw so many examples of people who were so selfless and gave without thought, without even having much to give, that I’ve realized that people can be good. You can’t always trust people straight away, but there have been so many people that have helped me as well as other strangers, that have shown that sometimes you can have faith in someone you may not know.
I think I have changed a lot as an individual. Perhaps I have gained some self confidence, or at least some sort of independence and inner strength that I didn’t have before. There are some situations that I came across that weren’t always easy, but somehow I survived, and even managed at times to come up with some sort of solution. I can’t say I’ve always succeeded in what I set out to do, but at least these days I seem to be trying harder to put myself out there and take some healthy risks. And now, I think it’s time to continue the journey, to see what lies ahead. I think I’ll take a nap first.
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