Update

Just a few things:

I wish I could convey properly how incredible Wednesday night was. I could say that it was one of the best times I’ve had here but that would be a horribly trite phrase. I could carefully detail out every action so the only thing that would be missing would be the feeling, the unspoken subtleties of comfortability and ease. I could say a lot of things, in either English or Russian but none could fully describe just how fun it was. Therefore I will just say I spent Wednesday night celebrating Valentines day with three wonderful people and we talked and ate and laughed for about seven hours.

Oh, and Аня (the girl whose house we were at) had a cat.

Who I spoke Russian to.

And then she promptly ran away.

The cat.

Not Аня.

Other things of note:

-Tomorrow is Friday (but most likely today since that is when I’ll be posting this)

-There is a week long celebration going on currently in Ярославль called Маслоница so every night there are festivities like music concerts, film marathons, etc. Anyways I just found out that Saturday and Sunday morning a bunch of hot air balloons are going up in the air (obviously…) above the Волга River. I’m crossing my fingers that anyone can ride in them if they pay money, but either way I will go to see them.

-I just got the name today of someone who teaches lessons on the Балалайка (a Russian stringed instrument spelled like Balalaika?). I’ve found a few people who teach guitar here but the Balalaika would be very cool to learn if I have time.

-Saturday I’m going with people from the Имка to a big event in the park we’re doing for the kids. There will be games, etc.

-One thing I really enjoy noticing in Russia is the similiarities between cultures. I don’t mean the normal similarities like people’s opinions or ideas or sense of humor (though those are all interesting). I mean things like the easy release of breath and the sudden lightening of tension and cooling of temperature that ripples through a concert audience that second right after the last note of a classical music piece goes silent. Small things like that which are so inherently human that perhaps its foolish even to notice them.

-On Wednesday I bought a ticket and went to see Syranno De Berjerak (the spelling is ужасный but it’s the French play about the poet with the giant nose who loves the girl and ends up writing letters to her for someone else). AND its probably one of my favorite stories ever AND I sat in the first row. Anyways, it was incredible and after seeing the performance I was struck with such a powerful feeling of remembering why I love art and how important writing is to me and everything was just целый. The following paragraph in Russian I originally only wrote to show to one person but I’m including it here because I think it captures (or attempts to capture) the feeling I had leaving the theater and walking out into a new snow:

Сегодня после того, как я посмотрел спектакл, я вышел из театра и увидел что снег уже начнел идтй. Но, надо понимать что это снег был совсем другим чем какой-нибудь снег я видел здесь раньще...был новым и белым, был спокойным и молчаливым. И, идя домой под коричневым небом, в темной аллее ночи, и с снегом который шел мягко и молча, молча и мягко...казался мне что все люди спят сейчас и я единственный человек бодрый в мире...один на большой улице, в молчаливом стране, и под небом, снежным, коричевым.

-A week from this Sunday our group of American students is going on a 5 day trip to АрхангелскArkhangelsk) which should be beautiful and cold. I believe its located on the black sea but I’m not совсем уверен of that. (

-I don’t want people to get the impression that everything here is always wonderful and easy and incredible, that would be an unfair simplification of the experience, the country, and myself. There are definitely times when things are difficult and annoying and when I don’t feel like speaking Russian or seeing snow or being cold. But all of these are always balanced out by something good. According to the sheet they gave us on Culture Shock I am still in the first phase where everything is new and exciting and incredible. The next phase is one of disillusion and annoyance and overreaction etc so it will be interesting to see when and if that hits. And then the final stage is a reconciliation between the two. Though I honestly feel like I came into this with a preset idea of reconciliation which makes each small annoyance easier to handle and I wonder occasionally if I’m more prone to a quicker path to stage 3 but, then again its still only the first month. If in a few months I’m submitting angry pictures with the entire country of Russia inside of a giant red circle with a cross through it, don’t worry, it’s just stage II!

But yes, things are good here, I should go get work done now. Спокойни ночи!

-ALSO: There is a very good chance I will be in Moscow a week from tomorrow to see a concert. Yes, a Russian Rock Concert. Of one of my favorite Russian groups no less. Their name is Сплин (Spleen is the English spelling I guess).

-Гриша