Lenin and beer: two Russian icons?

Yesterday we were out and about for about an hour after lunch at a restaurant in the center of Vladimir. I went wandering with Warner (of Mr. Potato Head fame) and another teacher in the group, Stacie from Detroit. The picture below was taken in front of a big statue of Lenin which Stacie pointed out to be somewhat ironic because it's in front of a huge bank (capitalism). It's also ironic in two other ways-- there is a big Russian Federation seal on top of the bank, behind Lenin's head (same seal as the one used in tsarist Russia) and the spelling of "bank" is five letters long, rather than the usual four (the word bank has the old hard sign letter on it; this letter was one of the ones removed-- it's use on the end of words, actually-- as a result of Lenin's spelling reform). Anyway, it's so east-meets-west-y that we had to take the picture.

Then there was the beer break on the way back to the American Home for the next excursion...

The Eddie Van Halen of the balalaika...

Last night we had a potluck dinner for the folks in the group and the host families. There was an improvised horeshoes pit and, of course, vodka. But the cherry on top of the sundae was this guy who played the balalaika like Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar (though he looks more like the father on "Married with Children") . He was really good! In the second picture is my host(ess), Katya, in the audience...

Swiiiiiii-ing it!

One of our excursions yesterday was to "The Lenin Palace of Culture and Technology," the arts center in Vladimir. While we were being shown around, we happened upon this Russian woman instructing these two kids who were cuttin' a rug, let me tell you... It was amazing! There was also this young Russian lady who was brought along to translate for the director who was showing us around... She was cute as can be as she tried to keep up with him-- he kept talking and talking and talking in Russian. She did a great job. Consecutive translation is hard, especially in front of a large group of foreigners.

Haunting?

There are these mannequins in the museum complex in Vladimir that just defy description... This one is standing facing a door (as if to exit) in a corner display that looks pretty real at first glance. This tableau made me stop and wonder who? what? when? where? etc. Not only that, there was a very moving poem by the Russian poet Nikolay Gumilyov affixed to a little stand by the window of the museum to the left of this display. (Maybe you had to be there to get the full effect...)

And they can dance, too!

While we were visiting the museum complex situated between the St. Dimitrius and Assumption cathedrals, we had the opportunity to see a few young ladies in period costumes. This group shown here actually performed a folk dance for us (while another young lady played the the balalaika). They were great! The museums here in Vladimir really do have a lot to offer (by comparison to the larger cities in Russia). I really enjoyed our visit!

Which one is Mr. Potato Head?

This is one of our teachers, Warner, who is, coincidentally, from Champaign, IL (our starting point for this journey, if you've been keeping score at home). He has been tasked by some entity to get pictures of Mr. Potato Head as we move through Russia. This photo was taken yesterday in front of St. Dimitrius Cathedral... I'll let you decided who's who. ;)

St. Dimitrius

Yesterday we toured St. Dimitrius Cathedral (shown here), which was built in 1197, as well as a museum complex and the Assumption Cathedral (built in 1160). (More about these places here.) A teacher friend of mine in Mansfield (where I teach in Texas) is a member St. Seraphim Russian Orthodox congregation in Dallas and their church building is a smaller scale replica of St. Dimitrius in Vladimir. (I have taken my Russian students on a field trip to St. Seraphim the last two years.)

Golden Gates, et al

This is a picture I took yesterday of the famous Golden Gates in Vladimir. We went on a walking tour of it and the history museum in Vladimir, escorted by an English-speaking Russian guide. Yesterday was a pretty full and really interesting day... Besides the walking tour (during which we were rained on), we had lunch in the tavern next door, and they have set up some special one-on-one Russian classes for me. The Russian practice here is great-- and, as my newly-appointed tutors would probably tell you, I need the speaking practice! Katya lives about 2 miles from the AH, so I walk to and fro each day. I will try to get some shots of the sites on my route soon. Vladimir is a typical Russian city, of course, but very different from Moscow in many ways. It's a very interesting place. Talk to you again tomorrow... Пока!

Will Stefan ever learn to speak?

These are two of my very hospitable hosts, Katya and Stefan the Cat (along with a protruding 4/5 of me). Stefan is the only seemingly mute feline I've ever met. He'll open his mouth to say something, but there's no audio...

Pic Post Test

Here's a test post from my digital camera... This is my room in Katya's apartment. Uploading photos from AH is kind of slow, but I'll see what else I can post when I get the chance.

Live (okay, not really) from Vladimir! It's...

...me again! :)

Well, now. It's amazing what a hot shower and a few hours of sleep can do for the weary (and I mean WEARY) traveller. We got into Vladimir at about 5:30pm yesterday, at which point I had been up for +/- 30 hours. We were all dragging... I have tried to upload a picture of our Russian hosts waiting for us in front of the American Home when the bus pulled up (I felt like a GI returning home from war), but the cell service here isn't cooperating (I can text and call, but can't send an email). It worked fine from Moscow (different provider there, though). So you'll have to wait on pictures until I can find a computer that I can hook up a digital camera to... Here at the AH, the Internet service is metered, so sending pictures would be costly. Perhaps I can find an Internet cafe...

We left Champaign, Illinois, at 3:30am on Monday (most of us were up around 2) for the Bloomington airport on a bus and hit fog that delayed our take-off 45 minutes. Then, in Atlanta, we arrived late, so there wasn't an available gate-- we sat on the tarmac for 30 more minutes. After the 5-hour layover in Atlanta, we had to sit on the runway for 30 minutes because of bad weather. The 11-hour flight to Moscow wasn't too bad... As you can see by the picture below, Mike (teacher from Maine) and I made friends with Katya the Russian-speaking stewardess. Let's just say that SOME folks may have gotten a little free wine on the trip. ;)

It was noon when we arrived in Moscow, and by 1pm we were on the way to Vladimir by bus. The traffic getting out of Moscow was horrible, so it took us 2 hours to get to our lunch place, a very Russian-y (in the traditional sense) restaurant named Сказка (Skazka, which means "fairy tale"). The food was good, but the ambience was a little tarnished by the American rap blaring as our meal began (imagine hearing the N-word over and over as you try to eat your first meal in a foreign country). I think the restaurant folks thought we would appreciate it...

My host's name is Katya. She lives within a 15-minute walk of the AH (I walked here this morning), in a typical Russian apartment (on the fourth floor of a typical Russian apartment building-- if I can negotiate the technolgy here, I'll show you pictures). We took a taxi back to her apartment and I lugged my 60-lb. suitcase up 8 flights of stairs. She gave me a cold beer and I took a hot shower (thankfully, she has her own hot water heater and even a small washing machine), then we chatted some (in Russian-- she knows 5 words of English) and I crashed about 9pm. I felt bad because a couple showed up right about then and I think she thought I might be eating; I was just too tired. Anyway, Katya is very nice. And she mothers an energetic year-old cat named Stefan and a 4-year old Dachsund mix named Mike. I think my accomodations for the next couple of weeks will be okay. (Assuming nothing gets lost in the translation!)

As it is summer here, the sun doesn't set until late in the evening-- it was still light when I went to bed and when I woke up around 3am, it was starting to get light again. There's not much to do in a stranger's apartment that early in the morning... So I exchanged a couple of text messages with my wife, took another shower, then watched tv for a bit. She has cable, which is a far cry from the 6-channel Soviet-era set the lady I lived with in Moscow in 2004 had!

So, here I am at the AH waiting for today's activities to begin. So far, so good. (However, I discovered a major urban difference between Vladimir and Moscow or St. Pete-- you can't break a 500 ruble note early in the morning here...and I only wanted a bottle of water.)

Oh, yeah. There is a group picture of us taken the day before we left the U. of Illinois posted to the REEEC site at http://www.reec.uiuc.edu/outreach/fulbright07/photo_diary.htm .

That's it for now. Пока!

Well, we finally made it!

Here we are in the Moscow airport. More later when I'm not so tired. It's been a long day...

This photo needs context, yes...

Later, though, when I regain the use of my faculties after this long journey... (The woman's name is Katya and she was our Russian-speaking stewardess...)

Atlanta airport...at last!

We left Bloomington at 7:30am, rather than 6am, because of fog... We actually taxied out to the runway, but needed more gas to lift off, so we taxied back to the gate... The flight was only an hour and a half, but once we landed, we were stranded on the tarmac without a gate for 30 minutes... But we made it, finally. At least our 11-hour jaunt to Moscow won't be on a puddle-jumper.

While here in Atlanta, Dr. Pope is "interviewing" us... The picture above is of us shortly after mine.

Talk to you again from Russia!

Poshli my!

Well, it's 2:30am Champaign time... In an hour, we're off to the airport; before tomorrow is over, we'll be in Vladimir. This will be my last post here in the US, with the exception of a possible cellphone pic or two along the route.

Talk to you again from The Motherland!

Poka!

Blog Demo

This is our last briefing... The next one will be in Vladimir, Russia. I was showing the class how this cellphone photo-to-blog process works.

Mafia Laundry Operation

And I mean laundry laundry, not money laundry...

I got up this morning early to do a load or two of clothes to make sure I'm leaving for Russia with practically all clean stuff... What a process. First, you have to buy a "smart card" for $5 (or $10 or $20), which gets you $3 of laundry time. I ran two loads and it cost me $2.70 (the smart card isn't smart enough to give change). Then I realized I needed drying time, but I didn't have another $5 (only a $20 bill), so I woke up the deeply sleeping woman at the front desk who looked irritated and said she had only twenties... So I walked a few blocks to the nearest convenience store, got a cup of coffee and a newspaper, got one five in change, came back and added $5 to that smart card, so now I have $3.30 to spend on drying one load. What a racket! I feel sorry for the hapless college kids who are exploited by the laundry mafia...

The government needs to know about this. If I disappear, please tell my story...