The Institute

This is Murom U. where our lectures are.

Sofa bed is better than no bed...

I'm living in a living room. My Murom hosts speak only Russian and are very nice!

My new host family...

Here are my host parents in Murom, Vladimir and Tanya. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto...

We made the 6 O'clock News...

...or the 6:05 or the 7:19 or the 9:43 news-- for the life of me, I cannot figure out when tv programs start in this country (you'd think mostly on the hour, but...).

Anyway. We had a "press conference" with a couple of local media outlets, Channel 6 in Vladimir and the Vladimir Information Agency (radio). We sort of roundtabled about this and that, our impressions of the country, Why are you here?, What do you do?, etc. We were in the backyard of the American Home. The guy sitting next to me is Oleg from Channel 6. He was actually an emcee at the 4th of July shindig... He lived in the U.S. and attended the U. of Missouri for a year, so his English is pretty good!

A unique event occurred as we were wrapping things up before lunch. Oleg grapped this big microphone, put it in my face and asked me to answer a question or two IN RUSSIAN. Then the other guy (I can't remember his name) put HIS mike in my face... So. To all of my fellow countrymen and countrywomen, I apologize for any reaction to comments, should they be broadcast publically and set U.S.-Russia relations back 20 years! ;)

(Actually, I secretly approached Aleksei to ask him if I sounded like a blithering idiot and he said my Russian was good... It's most definitely a weird feeling to speak to another country's press in their language, ESPECIALLY in front of Americans. How ironic that in my own country, few people who know me would turn me loose in front of a live mike!) :)

Talk to you from Murom, hopefully... We leave in an hour (3pm).

Пока!

The OTHER Russian icon...

(Seems like we have a bit more free time before Murom, so I'm going to add a post or two!) You cannot truly appreciate this picture unless you've been on the business end of Aleksei's peals, meaning it's time to start a lecture or activity... (There were plots to steal or hide his bell, but that would be like taking a bell away from a Salvation Army volunteer...

Grilled cheese sandwiches, post office, et al

Well, I actually have a little time this morning (it's 8:30am on Wednesday) before we begin the next step of our journey (to Murom) to blog...

First, the three pictures are of (1) the group listening to Professor Gurvitch, (2) Stacie sitting proudly after making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (Karen is next to her), and (3) the entrance to the Moscow Street Cafe and Bar (taken to show examples of cognates)...more explanation below.















Yesterday began with my last Russian language session with Tanya (sniff!); today is my last with Nellie (sniff!). These two women are just great! I am so appreciative for all the Russian language practice I've been getting here. Dr. Pope and the staff here at the American Home have gone out of their way to give me ample opportunity to conjugate verbs and decline endings to my heart's content. I really have become a disciple of this unique institution that is the American Home here in Vladimir.

After the language session, we visited a dentist's office, a photography studio, and the old city (open) market. Around 11:30am, we broke into 5 groups and began a scavenger hunt, which included having to get back to the American Home by bus from where we were on the other side of town, find ingredients for "an American sandwich," find a travel agency and get the cost of a ticket to American cities (ours was New York), take 5 pictures of signs that contain cognates of English words, buy drinks, and get one small souvenir that is representative of Vladimir (we bought a small, cheap Vladimir city flag). When we returned (Stacie and Karen were in my group) with ham, cheese, bread, and mustard, Stacie decided to make our sandwiches grilled cheese. They were pretty good. A grilled chesse sandwich-- as Americans know it-- just doesn't exist here. All the groups returned and we (along with the Russian folks here) ate our "American sandwiches" together. It was an interesting experience...

...But not quite as interesting as a trip to a Russian post office. Perhaps "interesting" is the wrong word. I went with Stacie and Terry, both of whom had post cards to mail back to the States, to help them communicate. First of all, just finding the post office takes some minor detective work. Secondly, once you get inside, there's no easy way to discern where to go next. Thirdly, once you pick a large room with one long counter, there are no well-documented instructions as to what woman at what place behind the counter does what. I guess Russians just know the ropes. So I walked up to the one woman I saw with out a line in front of her and asked about buying postage for postcards. She said that wasn't her job, but the lady next to her (who was away from her post) could help me when she returned. After a minute or so, the woman came back, didn't say anything to me until I said "Excuse me..." to which she replied (word-for-word quote here) "What do you want?" After a short discussion of how much it REALLY costs to send one postcard to America (19 rubles, apparently, but the rounded up to 20 for convenience-- less stamps to stick, which for the postcard mailer IS convenience), the woman asked whether they wanted to mail them airmail or regular (regular means maybe they'll get there before you die, maybe not). I said airmail, so she had to go find a sheet of what looked like Avery ink-jet labels that said airmail (in Russian). Each one had to be individually cut off the page (with scissors, which she was about to do) and peeled off the backing and then stuck on the postcard... Thankfully, she decided to just give us the sheet. Then she had to go get stamps. So, after all of that, Stacie and Terry had to come BACK to the American Home, assemble the postage and airmail stickers, then find somewhere (again) to mail the postcards. I know our U.S. post offices often have long lines and slow service, but at least once you get to a counter, you can do everything at once (the idea being to mail your letter/postcard WHILE you're there)... In some ways, like the post office, it's very hard to believe that this country was ever a superpower.

The last act of the afternoon was Professor Gurvitch (redux). He really is a fascinating character... If there's a book out there by him about his life, I'm sure it would be interesting reading!

I said goodbye to Katya (and Tsar Stefan) this morning... She really was incredibly hospitable! On Sunday, when we wagon train through again to get to the Vladimir station (for a 10pm night train to St. Petersburg), we'll be having a farewell dinner with the host families, so I'll see Katya again. Tonight we will be parcelled out to new host families for four nights. I think I'm being assigned to a woman who has a 14-year old daughter... However, we're not really sure who our families are, as there have been some changes.

If I can get to a computer while I'm in Murom, then you'll see this next step of our journey in living color... So, stay tuned!

Дождь идёт...

It started raining yesterday (Monday) evening and hasn't stopped (it's after 8am Russia time)... I walked from the American Home to Katya's last night and back again this morning in a light rain. Every Russian has an umbrella. Only silly Americans walk around in the rain, apparently.

Yesterday's docket wasn't all about women, as I had mentioned earlier. After some one-on-one practice with Nellie (I have to say my Russian has been better than during that session-- that woman has the patience of Job), Aleksei told us a few anecdotes about his life under Soviet rule. It's so hard to believe that the Soviet Union really existed, even with the few vestiges that remain. After lunch at a restaurant in town, our first presenter of the afternoon was a gentleman named Percy Gurvitch, who is a professor of foreign languages at Vladimir State Pedagogical University. He is 80+ years old and shared pretty much an hour and a half's worth of contemporay Russian history as he lived it, including 3 years in a Nazi camp and 4 years in one of Stalin's camps. His take on Krushchev and Gorbachev (and even Putin) as three great men was curious, but understandable, given the first couple of Communist leaders. I think he's coming back this afternoon to continue... This is the kind of thing you just can't get from a book or a movie!

The afternoon ended with a discussion about women in Russia-- I have to tell you, the cultural and gender stereotypes in this country are, indeed, speed bumps on the road to any kind of equality as we understand it in America... This topic was interesting, but as I'm far from an expert on women or their roles (in any country), my level of competence on the subject kind of dampened my enthusiasm for participating in the discussion.

Today I think I have another language session, then we have some sort of "scavenger hunt." I don't know exactly what we're looking for, but in my experience here, so far, I don't find things...they tend to find me. Not one day goes by without a surprise... Some days the compass shows the correct heading, other days it just spins out of control... Some days you just have to dead reckon (if I may wax nautical) or flow where the current takes you...

So tonight we pack for Murom. I don't know how frequently I'll be able to touch this blog, so if I'm out of sight for any length of time, I hope I won't be out of mind! :)

Until next time... Всего хорошего!

Home is where you hang your shapka.

This is the Krushev-era building where I live, on the fourth floor. The balcony just to the right and up a little from the center of the picture is Katya's apartment and Stefan's lookout perch (it's the only balcony with wood framing). Though Katya's apartment is modest, you really can't tell what the inside of any building in Russia looks like from the outside.

Today (Monday for me already) we will be delving into the issue(s) of women in Russia, after a 9:30 language class (my one-on-one "torture" session). No bus rides-- woo hoo!

There is an optional soccer game tonight, but I'm going to pass. The local team here is named Torpedo (and I think they're playing a team from St. Petersburg)... It's just too much drinking and yelling for me after a day of lectures!

So that's it for now. As usual, more later...

Krolik. The other white meat.

Mmm... Rabbit! Tastes like chicken. (Really.) But, seriously, when you can get all you need from the countryside, your grocery bills are pretty low. Katya's father raises rabbits-- and processes them-- for consumption...

30 minutes or it's free?

Pizza delivery. Unheard of not too long ago...

Stefan

Tsar of the apartment, His Highness Stefan (I didn't have permission to take his picture, thus the look).

The last Sunday in Vladimir...

Time sure is moving quickly here in Russia! Today I got up around 6am (Katya got in after I went to bed around 9:30, so I left her a note last night to not bother getting up so early) and headed here to the American Home to do some blog maintenance (and get some coffee) around 7. Sundays are free days for us, so it's a great time to get some uninhibited blogging out of the way.

Katya is going to see her father in the country (outside of town) and so I won't see her until about 3pm. After a call home around 4, she and I will probably go wander, eat, etc. I really haven't seen her since yesterday morning... And she's no doubt worried to death that I'm not getting enough to eat!

Our time here in Vladimir is winding down. Wednesday around noontime we head off to the city of Murom, where we'll be for 4 nights with other host families. Next Sunday we depart for St. Petersburg by train.

So far, in my opinion, this "seminar" is aptly named ("Experiencing Russia Through Everyday Life")! While I know that the intercultural experience may be more or less favorable per each one of us participating, I have to say that I'm getting a lot out of it-- especially the Russian language experience!

Guess that's it for today. I finally feel caught up... As usual, more later!

Пока!!

P.S. A quick note about the date and time on posts-- each post is stamped with U.S. central (Texas) time. So as I'm writing here, it may be today still (or even odder, your tomorrow) when I write "yesterday," you'll just have to do the math. (That's kind of why I put a clock on this blog.)

For my Russian students in Texas...

This is a picture of a sign in front of a place we visited yesterday (Saturday). On the first day of school, I will offer you the opportunity to start off the school year with an extra credit quiz on the five items on the sign (the largest of which is the name of the place).

See if you can figure out what the place is, what it would be called in English, and what's available to those who visit...

Two meals in two hours!

Another place to eat! After visiting and eating with Sergei and Nina's family yesterday (Saturday), we had a stop at one of the newer hotels in the area, then we were at this restaurant for lunch, which had been arranged ahead of time. No one knew that there would be so much food at the Russian family's house (apparently it was supposed to be tea and a light snack). Here we are eating in a typical-looking traktir (tavern-style restaurant)-- yes, a full course lunch (salad, bread, some sort of warm potatoes in a bowl, soup, a fish dish, and coffee/tea). After this we went to...

Nope, not to another place for food (thank God). We visited another hotel, a relatively swanky one by Russian (and even maybe Western) standards. Since yesterday was 07-07-07 on the calendar, we saw a few couples getting married. At this second hotel, we walked past a couple about to release a pair of white doves; however, oddly enough, I didn't hear anyone yelling "Gorka!" at the couples (maybe I just missed it). Gorka means bitter and it's a tradition for well-wishers to yell this at the bride and groom-- then they kiss, changing the bitter to sweet by tradition.

After the hotel, we visited a ceramics place (where pottery is made; actually a few in our group made an small item while there)... It was quite an eventful day, considering we started with cow poop and all...

Russian Hospitality

We had more food at the next stop yesterday (Saturday)... And I mean MORE food.

A family in/near/just ouside (I'm not sure-- maybe "boondocks" is the best reference) Suzdal opened their home to us. This had to have been one of THE best excursions we've made, by far! As you can see in the first picture, our all-terrain bus is parked on a dirt road in the middle of Nowhere (well, it's really in the middle of Somewhere, if you're a Russian), in front of the house where Sergei (husband) and Nina (wife) live with a son, daughter, son-in-law, two grandsons, and a whole lot of flora and fauna (pigs, turkeys, geese, chickens, dogs, at least one cat, and rows and rows of things growing).

To the apparent surprise of our Russian ekskursovody (guides), this family was more than ready for us. Man, they put out a spread like you wouldn't believe! The pictures below don't do the experience justice. In the close-up picture, there is sliced cheese (some with dill in it), bliny (traditional-- and scrumptious-- Russian pancakes), a samovar with hot water in it for tea, homemade jam, a bottle of mead (lightly alcoholic honey drink), plus other things, such as fresh cucumbers, bread with fruit in it, Russian-style boiled potatoes, etc. In the same picture, there is a pitcher with a cloth on top-- this was warmed, unpasteurized milk (I passed). Also, the host, Sergei, brought out some locally produced Russian white lightning called samogon (lit. homemade fire)... We did the obligatory one shot during a toast and all of a sudden my cataracts were gone (okay, not really, but you get the point). Since Sergei works for the one factory that produces hard liquor in the region, he had more than a few bottles of samogon and mead on hand, so he parceled out a few as gifts. When we were done eating, we got to take a look inside their house-- it was really interesting to see how a typical Russian family lives beyond the apartments of the city.

The last picture is of the family (minus the older grandson). It was true Russian hospitality! And so much food. After chowing down with Sergei and Nina, we headed off to visit a relatively new, but traditional style resort-type hotel (where the beer bath thing is available-- I just don't get it, but I'm simple, so...), and then we went to... (see next post)

The source of the problem...

Yes, Virginia, there really ARE cows in Russia...

Yesterday (Saturday) was another interesting dayinthelife kind of day here in the metropolitan Vladimir-Suzdal area! Our first stop on the journey was to a collective farm operation, the nuts and bolts of which escape me... I can tell you that, after our initial introduction to the director, we were led to a large (1/3 football field-size) pool of cow poo. From what my sensors indicated, Russian cow poo and American cow poo are pretty much the same. Again, though, the nuts and bolts escape me...

Then, after putting on protective clothing (which, it turned out, was not 100% protective) in a stiff wind (I think the cows were laughing at us), we were herded (pun intended) through the the cow stalls, the floors of which the cows may have thought were clean enough to eat on...

Afterward, the collective folks put out some freebies for us of the stuff they produce. For many in the group, this may have been their first encounter (judging by the looks on some of the faces) with Russian items such as kefir (a yogurt-like substance) and tvorog (mistakenly referred to by many as Russian cottage cheese-- it is really pressed curds, kind of like tofu). The lady who set up the display put out what looked like cheese (little nibbles with toothpicks), but was, in fact, tvorog. You either like it or you don't. I'm not too enamored with it (or kefir), even when it has sour cream on it (they way Russians eat it); Katya put out a brick of it with fruit in it one morning and I ate some (with sour cream on it)...I can take it or leave it, really. They also put out some "drinkable" yogurt (a little looser consistency than a smoothie), which was pretty good. Actually, I had one this morning here at the American Home.

So, we had food... And then... (see next post)

Дрянь

I'll have to explain this in better detail later... We wore hospital gowns to wander through dairy cow operation. At first I wondered why... Then it quickly became clear: Mucho mucko!

Medal of Honor (Ron-style!)

Check out the medal Ron pinned on the collective's director as a souvenir and token of our appreciation... It's kind of hard to see in this cellphone picture, but it's a red-white-and-blue flag medal (awarded for unparalleled courage and heroism in the face of more than two dozen Americans!).

Collective Farm in Suzdal

This was our first stop today... We are meeting the director... Standard procedure.

Zhukovsky Museum

Our last stop yesterday, after the appliance factory, blimp works, and brick factory, was the "mansion" once belonging to the "father of Russian aviation," Nikolai (I think) Zhukovsky. It was like a Twilight Zone episode... I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow. The lady who directs the place and who showed us around was happy, peppy, and bursting with love...way too much so for that late in the day. Another woman there and the director's daughter wore turn-of-the-century clothing and treated us with the hospitality of that time. While we were inside, we were offered a shot glass full of what tasted like cough medicine-- it turned out to be ashberry cognac. It went down kind of rough and spread through me like this stuff I used to take for asthma as a kid. (In fact, it cured my lazy eye and I no longer have a tic when I stand up too quickly.) (Okay, it didn't do all that, but some of use were sure we saw ol' Nikolai on the premises after partaking...) We were also offered tea and chocolates (that were melted into the box-- it was hot) and shown a place in the garden where we could make a wish that the director said would be sure to come true (and I think only one of us-- not me-- took her up on it).

Anyway. The word of the day today is agriculture. We're off to Suzdal (again) to visit some more rural areas, then to the village of Pavlovskoe for lunch... Another all day excursion.

One last thought/observation to share before I sign off for now. I find that I understand just about 100% of the Russian I hear (if I hear a word I don't know, I ask about it, and sometimes the context escapes me...), which is good, but all of our visits and lectures are usually given in Russian and then translated into English. Listening to everything twice, first in Russian, then in English (or vice versa) is like watching a movie in which the language and subtitles keep changing... I'm not complaining-- the practice I'm getting is GREAT. When the situation allows, I try to ask our Russian lecturers and guides questions in Russian, even in front of the other Americans (because I know someone will translate it), just for the practice. This is most definitely a unique experience for me!!

(Okay this is the last thought...) The local paper has a write-up today (Molva, issue number 75) of the 4th party and a picture of Ron (Dr. Pope to you) dancing... Only Terry is mentioned (as "a teacher from Seattle).

What they lack in coffee, they make up for in beer...

Here we are having a Siberian Corona (beer) at 7pm at the little beer place next to the American Home. It was a long day, but another interesting and enjoyable one!

A little R&R after today's excursion(s)...

Dr. Pope checking up on his American ambassadors just before 7pm. We were, of course, on our best behavior. :) Terry (from Seattle, not pictured) and I actually logged some time chatting in Russian with the curious locals.

Back of the bus.

On the way home at 6pm...

Another Carol

This is Carol from Indiana, who was next to me on the other side (Galina is on my right)... We spent about 5 hours of quality time bouncing up and down as we chugged along Russia's highways and by-ways... (She's another Carol because I'm married to a Carole.) Not a great photo of me, but that bus was beboppin' while I was trying to take this picture...

Mmm, coffee!

Unbelieveably, we were two-for-two on coffee offers during our first two visits, the first to a Turkish appliance factory (Beko is the company name), then to the blimphouse. At Beko, we were offered REALLY good Turkish coffee and at AeroScan we were, again, offered coffee! This cup wasn't all that great, but when coffee appears seemingly out of nowhere in Russia, you just have to act.

Still doin' the blimp thing...

The big hangar we were in contained two blimps about half the size (I think) of a typical Goodyear-ish sized one in America. They are used in Russia to do geographical research (infrared and laser scans).

How do you say blimp in Russian?

This is Yours Truly at the AeroScan blimp works, our second stop. (Actually, the Russian word for blimp is a cognate of the English word dirigible. Though I think Aleksei may have heard blimp for the first time when I said it...)

Purloined Fruit

This is Galina of the Aleksei-and-Galina husband and wife pair (and two of THE nicest people in Russia-- or any country, for that matter) that run the show at the American Home. She was sitting next to me on the bus, and she extracted this huge bag from her purse-- it was fruit from the table in the restaurant where we stopped for lunch. "It's not stolen," she said after I accused her, "we paid for it." Galya is a hoot!

Sleepless in Vladimir

The night before last I got about 2 or 3 hours of real sleep. The bedroom I'm in faces the alley/courtyard between apartment buildings, and through the open window, I could hear young people sitting on the playground equipment laughing and singing (in fact, the girls-- teenagers, I'm sure-- were singing a song, the lyrics and subject of which would have made their mothers blush) and, inevitably, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. This was from about 12:30am until almost 2:30am (why no one else in the building I live in complained, I don't know). To make matters worse, Katya had changed the bedding and when I came home that afternoon, the curtains were pulled back. So I had to deal with the one mosquito that got in that I could hear, but could never see...

The next morning, Katya set out a breakfast for me that could have been for a family of four: 3 types of kolbasa-like sausage, 2 types of bread, kasha (hot barley cereal), 2 hot dogs, small croissants with chocolate inside, 2 containers of yogurt, unrefrigerated juice (Russians don't drink cold juice), and boiled coffee (I'm used to it...when I get to where I can see the silt in the bottom of the cup, I stop drinking it). So there I sat, half-awake from the night before, looking at all of this food; Katya was looking at it, too, because she watches me eat (not unlike a hawk, but more like a server in a restaurant)... Oh, but I DID catch sight of that mosquito on the wall before breakfast. Problem solved.

By the time we were released from prison (sidebar... When we returned to the American Home yesterday, I sent the following text message to my wife: "We were just released from prison." The quick response was "What?") and sat through the last lecture, I was dog-tired by the time I go back to Katya's apartment-- hot, sweaty, and about ready for the rack (as we used to say in the Navy). But the rack would have to wait.

Katya is a lawyer of some sort at a big bank down the street. Her boss took us to dinner last night (which was really good and VERY nice of him). His name is Sergei and we met him at 7pm in front of Katya's building, then we got on a bus to go to the popular Azerbaizhanski restaurant in town (where we had already eaten as a group a few days before). Russian meals are a social event and last much longer than American meals. Russians, as a rule, aren't very expediant (however, after being disgorged from whatever mode of public transportaion they were on, they tend to move pretty quickly to whereever it is they go). By the time Sergei finished arguing with the hostess about his reservation, it was 7:45pm by the time we were seated. Through the various courses, I had more than enough opportunity to practice Russian! But around 9pm, some guy named Igor showed up (they told me he had just returned from a business trip) and for an hour the three of them talked about business while I nursed a beer and tried to keep from lapsing into a sleep-deprived coma. (A quick aside-- Katya and Sergei, and Igor, are Russian business people not unlike those in America who have cellphones that go off every 5 minutes.)

We finally finished up around 10:30pm. When we hit the street, Sergei asked if we wanted to go for a walk. I didn't, but when in Rome... So, we meandered back to Katya's (about 3 miles or so), chatting about this and that, though I was so tired I'm not sure what we were talking about, really-- it was mostly smalltalk). 11:30pm now. I finally got into bed and at 2am two cats outside were fighting for what seemed like an hour. But I did get some sleep... Amen.

Today we're off to (I'm not making any of this up): "a Turkish-built factory that produces household appliances, a dirigible-producer, and a brick-producer in the small town of Kirzach..." Of course, I should have the pictures to prove it. :)

Yesterday's journey...

Yesterday's docket included two trips, first to the Vladimir Juridical Institute (sort of a bureau of prisons, but something gets lost in translation and there's not enough time or space here to get into it), where we schmoozed with the staff and a few cadets. (The lady in the white business attire next to the standing officer in the next to the last picture had made a law enforcement exchange program trip to the University of Illinois.) We ate lunch there and then moved on to "Vladimir Central," the (in)famous federal prison where, among others, Gary Powers was imprisoned after his U-2 was shot down in 1960. It was kind of interesting in a God-loves-you-soccerball sort of way (see previous post); VERY cultural-- Paris Hilton has no idea how good she had it!
The first and last photos are of us waiting for the bus in the morning and then on a tramvai (trolley) on the way back in the afternoon... The ride back was crowded and hot, but, I suppose, easier than walking...

In the middle photos, you can see me sitting under an A/C unit blowing a gale upon me (it's either feast or famine) and Audrey (to my right; to her right is Stacie and to my left are Tom, Matt, and Warner). The Russians in the other photo were at the table opposite us.

Hands-free evangelism...

You never know what you're going to find in this country. Yesterday, we were at a juridical (look it up) institute here in Vladimir and I spotted this soccerball in a glass case. It had been given to the institute in 2002 by a soccer team from Liverpool, England. On it is printed in Russian "God loves you." Why, I'm not sure... (I have cogitated over the whole God-is-The-Refree thing some and have a theory...)

Мои (м)учительницы...

Don't let their smiles fool you. ;)

These two ladies are my one-on-one conversation tutors, Nellie (r.) and Tanya (l.). Dr. Pope arranged special pull-out sessions for me while the others are in basic language/culture lectures. It has been GREAT practice! These two women are very patient with me and keep telling me how good my Russian is, but I think they're trying to lull me into a false sense of security. But they won't break me. :)

By the way, the "(м)учительницы" in the title is a tongue-in-cheek stab at them... the word without the letter in parentheses simply means teachers; with the "м" it means torturers...

More of yesterday...

This first picture is of our trip to the Gus-Khrustalny Chrystal and Glass Works. The first stop was the museum in the building, a one-room display through which we were led by a very nice woman who herself had to be in her 80s (and, therefore, probably part of the very exhibit she was showing us!). She spoke with pride about the history of the place and the objets d'art on display. Honestly, to me everything looked like props from the old 60s Star Trek television series... However, to each his or her own.

The second picture is of most of us-- the Americans on hand for the 4th of July fete-- getting ready to sing "America, the Beautiful" for our Russian guests. It was a very good time, with LOTS of food and music, though the magic of the evening was dampened a bit when I got an earful from Katya for showing up at 9:30pm. Most of the Russian host families expected us to be done right at 7pm per the printed schedule. It was a good time, all in all. I remain amazed at this American Home institution here in Vladimir, Russia.

A quick footnoote about yesterday. A new American student (here to study Russian) at the American Home was introduced-- she had just arrived yesterday, before the party-- and we got to chatting... A 20-year old Missouri-Synod Lutheran from Michigan... I used to know a 20-year old Missouri Synod Lutheran from Michigan... ;)

The Russian Bathroom

My Russian students often have difficulty, at first, with the English-Russian cognate "toilet." In American English, bathrooms are everywhere, though in public places without showers or bathtubs, we would say "restroom." In Russia, the toilet is the device, as well as the place where it is located. In public places, it's more euphamistically (and European-ly) called a "water closet." In an apartment, the toilet may be in its own little tiny (and I mean tiny) room, separate from the bathroom. In Katya's apartment, there is an actual bathroom (lexically, I mean)... The picture below doesn't quite to the dimensions justice, but in one room there is a bathtub, water heater, toilet, and small washing machine (and plenty of other odds and ends); in fact, it is so small that I can stand in the center and just about touch all four walls.

Next time you get in your shower and turn on the hot water that you take for granted, be grateful. Not everybody has it so good...

American Independence Day in Vladimir, Russia

Hello, or Привет, from Vladimir, where it is presently 5:45pm (8:45am in Texas). When we returned from Gus around 3:45 this afternoon, a carnival-like atmosphere was building in the backyard of the American Home (see first picture-- the guy in the black shirt and jeans is a reporter who's talking to Terry from Seattle in the picture, but who interviewed us both for a story he said would be out in a local paper on Saturday). Luminaries from the local area were among the 80 or so Russians invited to mark the American celebration of Independence Day, as well as the 15th anniversary of the American Home, established to foster intercultural relations among both Russians and Americans. It is truly a unique and unbelievably worthwhile endeavor! I've benefitted from being here only a week; I can only imagine what they can do in a year here! And Dr. Pope is the keystone... He's unique and unbelievable, too. ;) (I know you're keeping tabs on me and my blog, Ron!) In the second picture, Dr. Pope is addressing the crowd in Russian. The third picture is of a musical group that sang and danced for us-- they were really great! And the last picture is of five of us-- Stacie from Detroit, Deidre from Kansas, Guess Who, Mark from Maryland, and Tom from South Dakota. (Just after this picture was taken, Tom sat down in his chair which had sunk into the ground-- it rained pretty hard as festivities began-- and tipped over backward... His recovery was 10 out of 10, but I was laughing so hard I almost burst a blood vessel!) Anyway. That's it for today. Happy 4th to you all!!

Rebirth

This display is called "Rebirth" in Russian. I'm not sure why, but it caught my eye in the china and glass museum... It looks sort of churchy; however, if you click on the picture, you can see a larger shot and form your own opinion.

P.S. We are back at the American Home now, about to be put on display for about 80 Russian guests for our 4th of July celebration... I will try to post a picture or two just as soon as possible!

The Great Hall of China

This is the inside of what used to be a large cathedral. Now it's a crystal and glass museum... And we spent all day (it seemed) getting there.

Statue-esque...

They named a restaurant after this guy (I know, because we ate there after a very anticlimactic visit to the crystal and glass works-- pictures tomorrow)... As it turns out, this guy, whose name I can't recall (Malzkov, perhaps), and whose head is missing (just mentally transfer mine to his body-- we look alike anyway!), is the guy who started the whole famous (in Russia, anyway) Gus crystal and glass works. This statue was in front of a museum that used to be a church before the commies got ahold of it. It's now the Gus Museum of Crystal.

Still life through a bus window.

I took this picture as we were travelling through Vladimir to the orphanage on Monday. The girl in the red car was having an animated conversation with the woman in the back seat... Besides that, it's kind of a mini-vista. Russian drivers rival Italians in their observance of traffic practices, rather than of traffic laws (including lines on the road, which to Russians are simply suggestions).

I meant to mention a few days ago that the wind blowing through birch trees sounds like rushing water. We walked through a small grove on the way to a small cathedral a mile off the road and the sound was so serene... Another one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, I guess!

And to all you Americans out there, Happy 4th of July! We well be celebrating the 4th here at the American Home tonight after we return from the town of Gus (where we'll be touring a crystal works factory and museum).

С праздником!