RUSLAN Alternative Spring Break

RUSLAN ASB Video Part 3

2011-04-18T05:40:00.000-04:00

The third and final installment of the "Spring Break in the Motherland" series. I covered The Vytegra Schools, the village, making friends with the Russian youth and personal wrap-ups of the trip. Due to time constraints on the video, I was not able to cover the submarine trip or some of the other places I didn't visit personally. Even so, I hope you guys enjoy this one. ^_^

ASB Video Part 2

2011-03-16T21:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I've finally completed the second part of my RUSLAN ASB video series. This part includes our trip to the monastery, the first day in the Vytegra museum and our trip to the music school. Thank you to Sally, Isabella and Vasya for letting me use your cameras while mine was out of commission. <3

Day 7: Village and Lake Onega

2011-03-10T22:41:00.003-05:00

Today we not only got to experience true, Russian provincial life, but also true, Russian weather. Today was dedicated to exploring a nearby village where the poet Klyuev spent a good part of his life. Actually, for the first half of the day we had the bluest and clearest skies of the trip. But after leaving the village, we went to Lake Onega where МЧС, or the emergency rescue center is located. It was snowing when we got to the lake and the skyline was just a gradient of grays, darkened a bit at the horizon. All of us got the real feel for a Russian winter when we walked across the complex to the museum in the middle of a white out. After a tour of the emergency rescue center, we returned to Vytegra to a huge and wonderful meal filled with many happy toasts but also sadness because it was our last night in Vytegra.

In the morning, we all got on a Vytegra bus and headed out into the country. About forty-five minutes later, we stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere where a woman and a six-year-old girl were standing in the middle of the road. From this point in the road, the only man made thing we could see was a small, wooden shrine with the orthodox cross on top where Klyuev parents are burried. The woman who met us in the road was our guide for our day in the village. She told us she meets all tourists at this point in the road to show them the small shrine before heading down to the tiny center of the village. She showed us the tiny town library before introducing us to a few of the local babushkas. About ten tiny women with colorful headscarves asked us question after question about our lives, but not the usual questions of the school children. They wanted to know things like how big our families are, how we got to their town and how much it cost, how we paid for our trip, how we pay for our education, and how much the government helps out with families. It was interesting to not only hear their questions but also hear their stories of their lives, children and grand children. Most of these women had lived there their whole lives and would never dream of living anywhere else, simply because this village is there home and nowhere else will be. They are all so proud of their tiny village, with no cell service and no plumbing. One of the women has a daughter in Vytegra, the “big town” nearby, and will occasionally go to visit her on holidays, but can’t stay away more than about three days because she misses her village too much. During our stay in the village, we were treated to a ride in a horse and sleigh, whichis the most efficient way to transport people and things around town because the roads are so poorly kept. This horse and sleigh were like none other I have seen before. It was almost the exact same kind of horse and sleigh as depicted in the Heartland art of Georgii Popov. A flat platform only about two feet off the ground, strewn with hay and without sides is attached with long wooden poles to the harness which is arched above the horse’s withers. The rider plus four to six others rode behind a strong, grey horse as it trotted us down a narrow road to a house only about five minutes from the center of town. While on our little excursion, it became clear why this form of transportation is superior to vehicles in the villages – the roads are way too narrow for two cars to pass each other and the roads are only cleared, not plowed. A car could easily get stuck in the deep snow, but our sleigh had no difficulties at all gliding across the top. Another focal point of Popov’s painting Joyful Day is the men chopping wood and the clothes hanging outside to dry. In this village, neighboring every house is a huge stack of wood, covered with snow, which is used to heat the house for the whole winter. During our tea with a few of the babushkas, they told us about how they have a giant central oven in the middle of the house that is attached to all of the four rooms of the house. This central oven isused for heating water for bathing, washing clothes and dishes, heating the house, and cooking. The painting also features a woman hanging her clothes up to dry on a line outside. I remember being surprised at this at first, because I would assume the wet clothes would freeze outside. Even though I didn’t see this in the village, I often saw clothes hung out on the balconies of apartment buildings in Vytegra, and I was still surprised. The poverty is evident in both of the town of Vytegra and especially in the village but nobody seems to be disappointed with their towns, they are all so happy to have visitors.

Lake Onega

Leaving the Motherland to visit the Fatherland to return to the Homeland

2011-03-07T18:09:00.001-05:00

We left Vytegra around 9 am for Petersburg. It was a long bus ride, but I was able to get most of my school work done, and then some. Unfortunately, when we reached Petersburg our drivers got lost for a good 2 hours-never trust small-town drivers who have never been to the big city to not get lost. After situating ourselves in the sports complex on Vasilievsky island, we decided to split up to spend our last few hours in Russia. Some went to a well-known Georgian restaurant, others went to the Moscow train station to see its architecture, and Monica and I went to Nevsky Prospekt to do all the book shopping for our group.

Navigating the bookstore was a ton of fun. There was so much great literature and interesting books! I wanted to buy the entire Iconography section of the store. Tolstoy and Pushkin both had entire shelves reserved for their books. So, after buying 4 copies of Ann Karenina, a book by Pushkin, another by Kropotkin, and Peter the First by Alexei Tolstoy, all in Russian. We didn't want to walk all the way back to the hotel from Nevsky Prospekt, so we decided to take the metro trains. Using the metro was an exercise in impromptu Russian, but we were successful and got back to the hotel safely.

After leaving for the airport at 3:30 am to catch a 6am flight to Frankfurt, we had a layover of six hours before our flight to Detroit-which we used to explore scenic downtown Frankfurt-am-Main. Having lived in Germany, I was extremely excited to return. Strolling down the Main riverbank, early Sunday morning in Frankfurt is an extremely peaceful and relaxing experience, just what we needed after 8 action-packed days in Russia. Finally, it was time to return to the airport and to leave for Detroit. The flight returning home was very pleasant, especially as the Lufthansa stewardesses were very interested in Americans that were learning Russian and (in my case) knew some German.

2011-03-07T01:37:00.007-05:00

While in Vytegra, the Music School invited us to a private show and the youth folk ensemble taught us a favorite children's game. The game is fanty, known to the English-speaking world as Forfeits. The children go around in circles, holding hands, singing a song about a beatiful young deer who sits in the center. As they go around, one by one they place a piece of jewely or any kind of found object in the deer's box. Next, the deer picks out each object at random, asking, "Chto delat' etomu fantu?" / "what to do for this forfeit?"

Russian Fant comes from the German Pfand 'pledge, security,' which, unsurprisingly, is the word Germans use for this game. In terms of Russian, though, fant is still a nonce word; it isn't used outside of this game. (Obviously you can use it outside of this game, but then it is kind of like saying Go fish! in English when, for example, you don't know the answer to a given question.)

Andrew and Will were lucky enough to have had their turns.

Go play with your friends! Happy Fanting!

(the music school building)

(part of the concert that preceded the children's folk song & dance; note the huge bass balalaika!)

Highlights from the Trip

2011-03-06T22:14:00.021-05:00

(Allow me to preface this post by stating that 20-something-hours of wakeful traveling may have gotten the best of me. While it is great to be back in [still snowy] Ann Arbor, I insist it is still better to reflect on the trip and internalize the feelings that will last in us even as every tiny detail seeks recluse from our recollections.)

Last Thursday morning, our well-clad group headed out of Vytegra and deeper into the heartland. The reason for our journey was a certain poet by the name of Nikolai Klyuev; his birthplace is none other than the unannounced village of Makachevo. Klyuev's home, large by the standards of its time and place, now acts as the cultural center for the villagers. (I think we determined that the baby blue exterior was not the original color of the home.)

The village library boasts over 220 registered users (an impressive percentage of the total population of 380). Although it is small and cozy, the library indeed offers a wide variety of works. Much to my surprise, Sergei found a publication featuring an essay by one of the University of Michigan's own professors: Omry Ronen in the 2011/1 edition of Petersburg's literary monthly, "Zvezda." It was great to see something familiar and recent in a place that was as of yet unknown to me.

But we soon grew to know Makachevo in its details. The earliest date of the village's mention comes from 1654 merchant records; in the early 20th century, it held 6000 average inhabitants. In the following decades, though, over four hundred villages perished indefinitely due to war. Today, a cluster of only nine remain home to a total of 380 persons. Tan clay, birch-lumber, and roof-tiles provide for the village's main industry. Among the farm homes and wooden fences, there are two stores, one post office, a school, a childrens' playground, and an out-of-place apartment complex. Since the nearest church is 10km away, people often view religious services on television broadcast--virtually every household has a TV, and some a computer as well. Consider this against the lack of running water or plumbing systems! The town is not modernly sustainable--and as we are told, "young people almost never stay." The statistics speak for themselves: there are only nine children in school, and only across grades 1-3; there will be only three children starting grade 1 in the coming school year. Young adults most often move to Vytegra or Vologda, of course.

Yet this is not to determine a sketch of a surrendering village. Makachevo is visibly lasting. The women to whom we spoke--the local babushkas and future babushkas (and those future babushkas of even farther-off babushkas…)--expressed an enduring devotion to their Makachevo. A voice from our curious group asked what a favorite part of life in this village was: "Bce!" answered an aged woman in a fast breath. Many of the older residents visit their relocated children/grandchildren and, while doing so, swear to grow homesick for Makachevo by their first or second night away!

Based on our afternoon stay alone, I easily and eagerly trust this sentiment. It is an incredible place to be; it offers a coveted quietude. The frost covering the hay and the snow along the wood deposit nature across the congruous cabins. During our visit to Babushka Tania's, the warmth of her hospitality and of her stove (equally tangible), emitted a naturally contagious feeling of at-home-ness. It didn't hurt that the tea and food--like the atmosphere--were absolutely worth holding onto forever.

This trip has again and again been occasioning realizations about Russia and about ourselves. Andrew and I were discussing it over a lunch a few days ago--mainly, a sort of existential bafflement that underscores each moment of the trip. First, we zoom out of bodies and briefly imagine ourselves as points on a map; next, we invite in the hows, the whats, the whys for questioning (rather, they all come without explicit invitation and startle us); finally, we find no answers. Spring break in provincial Russia challenges the popular search for recognizable meaning in all that we do. Case and point: there is no rhyme or reason to how we all found ourselves on a spontaneous horse-and-sleigh ride through the village. But we sure did and we enjoyed it!

On the drive home from the airport earlier today, popular consensus suggested the visit to Makachevo as one of the best moments of the trip :)

Vytegra Day 5: Makachyevo, and МЧС

2011-03-05T12:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we left Vytegra for Makachyevo, the village in which Klyuev's parents are buried and a shrine is dedicated to them, and by extension Klyuev himself. After the shrine, we met the villagers of Makachyevo, who recited for us some of Klyuev's poetry, and then engaged us in a Q & A session. Leaving Makachyevo, we visited the Department of Emergencies (МЧС) station on Lake Onega, where we experienced the full of fury of the Russian North with the lake effect and snowstorms streaming off of the second largest freshwater lake in Europe.

When we arrived at the shrine outside of Makachyevo, Tamara Pavlovna and Alina Vladimirovna gave us a rendition of the history of the site, how it was an old cemetery containing Nikolai Klyuev's parents, how the chapel that was residing next to it was blown up by the Young Pioneers in the 1960s ,and the stones of the Church's rubble were used to create an large sign on a nearby hilltop saying “Lenin”. Having spent much of my time interviewing Russians about the Orthodox Church in Russia, I was more saddened than surprised to witness this desecration with mine own eyes. The villagers in Makachyevo gave a similarly soviet-influenced story of the state of religion in their village, how there was no church for the 380 villagers, that the nearest house of worship was Vytegra, km away. They mentioned how a church-television channel was very popular in he village-those that are unable to participate in the services because of distance or illness can watch on television the divine liturgy. Going to Miki we finally experienced the famous stereotype of Russia: that it is a barren winter landscape of bitter cold and strong winds. Trying to walk from the school to the station museum was an exercise in stoicism as Onegan winds tried to cut us to pieces. To end our tour of the facility, the МЧС showed us their impressive display of emergency rescue vehicle hardware. They had everything from snowmobiles to airfoils to enormous trucks and even small military-grade patrol craft. I couldn't help but think that this tour of government property would not have been possible for Americans under the Soviet Union or the Russian early years.

Makachyevo had some astonishing contrasts. The village was extremely poor, there was no running water, out houses were the norm, and 100 rubles bought almost a kilo of candy. At the same time, the villagers told us how all of them have televisions, satellite dishes, and most had computers with modem internet connections. The village was proud of the collective farm that remains the largest employer in the village with 18 employees, While the village looks to have walked strait out the 19^th and even 18^th Century, the television present for teat time was giving the latest details about Libya's ongoing civil strife and how NASA had lost the surface-to-space missile, Glory. It is very interesting the Russians concentrate their resources into, allowing sophisticated technology like satellite dishes to exist along side a one-horse open sleigh (which we did have a ride on, and we did in fact sing Jingle Bells). These contrasts show how the poor infrastructure that was developed under the Soviet Union and 1990s and 2000s Russia has not kept people from striving for the the latest modern advancements in technology.

Day 6: Vocational school, Submarine Museum, Craft Museum, Klyuev Museum, Ice Skating

2011-03-05T07:37:00.002-05:00

We started off our day attending a meeting with a few students from the vocational school, which specializes in forestry work. We heard a very different story from them because many will not go to university and are practically forced to stay in Vytegra. The student who led the discussion, Danilla, had huge aspirations to move to New York after graduation. I think every other question he asked about the climate, size, and people of New York. Otherwise, the student’s questions were the same as those of the other schools – how school works in the United States, popular movies, and popular music. Next we stopped by the Submarine Museum. Vytegra is on the Baltic waterway canal and a submarine from the 1970s, which was never used in battle, was moved to Vytegra because it used to be part of the Lake Onega Fleet. After another hearty lunch, we walked to the top of the bell tower and got a great overview of the town before heading over to the Craft Museum where traditional Vologda lace is made. Lastly before dinner, we stopped by the museum of the famous poet Klyuev. We learned a lot about this poet in class, so what the lecturer told us was a bit of a review, but nonetheless, it was nice to see his original photos, books, and documents. We rested and ate dinner before four girls from the local school came to the hotel to ask us to go ice-skating with them. Unfortunately our night with them was cut a little short because we had to part at eleven, because there is a curfew for those under sixteen and they had to rush to get home.

During the tour of the submarine museum, the tour guide, a former worker on an atomic submarine, showed us two deep-sea diving suits from the 1970s. He told us that deep-sea divers actually use many of the exact same suits from the 1970s and at least use the same design. I was shocked that they hadn’t updated the design in such a long time, especially because deep-sea diving is such a dangerous thing to do. It’s so important to have a stable supply of oxygen and it’s so surprising to me that they wouldn’t update something so life threatening. Like we learned in class, those who live in the Russian Heartland often get stuck in their old ways and don’t see any reason or have any motivation to change things from the past. This reflects the aspect of timelessness that came up in many, if not almost every, short story that we read in class.

Our second to last night in Vytegra was probably one of my favorites. Right after dinner, four high school girls came to the hotel and begged us to go ice-skating with them. Of course, we obliged and they took us to the frozen over basketball rink across the river. They all ushered us inside this small hut where we could rent skates for fifty rubles. We all gave the woman in charge a fifty-ruble note, but because we were “the Americans” she refused to take our money and let us skate for free. It was clear that this rink was the place to be, if you’re going to be out on a Thursday night in Vytegra. Half the people on the ice didn’t even have skates on. There was the classic group of six teenaged boys in the middle, smoking and trying to look cool as they talked to each other about the girls who skated around them. More girls joined us on the ice later and we ended up just standing in a circle in the corning taking pictures of each other and talking about movies and music in a broken mixture of Russian and English. Actually, most of the conversation consisted of just someone in the circle saying the name of a movie, singer, or actor who they liked and everyone else commenting either “Да, мне нравится...” or “Yes, I love …” The ultimate goal of the evening was just finding similarities between us. All of us liked Lady Gaga, Johnny Depp, and Top Model. We were “kicked” off the ice at ten o’clock and we asked the girls to show us a store where we could go to buy some last minute souvenirs and candies. A group of us practically slid all the way to the other side of town to the “good store” and along the way, I am happy to say that no Americans fell, but three Russian girls fell. That’s a first. We laughed all the way back to the hotel trying to use our broken English and Russian to communicate, and failed utterly, but had a good time nonetheless. I know I was ambivalent about this before leaving, but after this evening, it is clear to me that a language barrier is not something that can keep you from having a good time with interesting people.

Vytegra Day 4: Sretinsky Cathedral, Submarine B-440, and Ice skating

2011-03-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was an action-packed day. I started the day off by going to Sretinsky (Candlemas or The Presentation of Christ in the Temple) Cathedral originally to speak with Fr. Matthew, but because he was sick I spoke with Reader Michael. After the interview we visited the Soviet/Russian submarine B-440, which was turned into a museum in Vytegra after its retirement in 2005, the lace store, which produces by hand the most beautiful lace I have ever seen, and then the Klyuev museum. To round off the day, we saw off the Vologdans and went ice skating with the Integrands.

It was interesting to discover the differences between the situation of the Church in Vytegra (according to Reader Michael) and the situation of the Church at Svirsky Monastery (according to the monks). While almost everyone in Vytegra calls themselves Orthodox, very few actually attended the services. On any given Sunday, 10-15 people show up and on holidays such as Christmas or Easter, only 40-50. Being an Orthodox Christian in America, where Christmas and Easter services are usually attended by the majority of people who call themselves Orthodox, I was shocked that so few people actually attended church. The submarine was of special interest to me, as I had spent most of my volunteering time at the museum translating its diving protocols and components. Having seen a captured WWII German submarine in Chicago, B-440 was very large and comfortable. Having spent a large amount of time trying to find the English equivalent of “гидро-акустика» «SONAR” at the museum, I took over translation from Sergei on what exactly it is and how it works. Our excursion to the lace shop impressed me immensely on the care and precision that is put into each piece of Vologda-style lace. Hand-made, it is extremely time consuming (our guide said it took 4-500 man hours to create a table cloth). I noticed that the only boys even in the same building as the lace shop were those on the Ruslan ASB trip. I guess that lace making is seen as women's work here.

The stereotype of everyone in the provinces identifying themselves as Orthodox, but never practicing their faith was confirmed for me. The financial lists from the Church back in the 1990s only served for me as additional proof that the vast majority of people see the Church as a positive institution and consider themselves to be members, but are not actively involved. The emphasis of tradition that is true to any heartland was shown to me through the continuance of hand-made lace through venerable techniques. While the Vologdans broke down many stereotypes about the provinces that I had confirmed were true, yesterday only strengthened the provincial stereotypes of honoring tradition and passive support for religion.

Vytegra surprised me in many ways, but it was the little differences between my life in America and life in Vytegra that struck me the most. While the Vytegrans have satellite dishes, modern cars, and all the women dress extremely well in fashions any Parisian, Berliner, or New Yorker would be proud of, the Vytegran skyline of grey brick apartment buildings, off-white stores, private houses in disrepair and the Sretinsky Cathedral with its peeling paint seemed to have dropped out of the late Soviet Union. The separation between public and private space is impressive, the same person who had a cold professional demeanor while speaking with us on the museum tour was an open book of information once we started our volunteer work. The police also made their presence known, with regular car patrols and a public presence on the main roads, something both assuring and disconcerting for a Detroiter used to rarely seeing police at all. Perhaps the greatest difference was the lack of active support for the Church in Vytegra. In America, if you say you belong to a certain denomination or faith, it is understood that you support it financially and probably go to services at least on holy days. Here in Vytegra, everyone I met calls themselves Orthodox, but from my interviews and what I have seen only a handful participate. Vytegra has changed my understanding of the Russian heartland, highlighting the minor differences that flavor life, and confirming the expectations that my pre-trip research had given me on the religious activity in post-communist Russia.

ASB Video, Part 1

2011-03-03T18:12:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a long time coming, but I've finally finished editing and putting together the footage I captured on the way to Russia and in St. Petersburg. My goal is to make an informal, personal documentary of the ASB trip. Here's the introduction, flight and first day:
NOTE: Most names used here are (per request) pseudonyms and Russian nicknames, not real names.

Vytegra Day 3: Research and Vologda

2011-03-03T17:06:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we split off into small groups immediately after breakfast to our various work sites. For my research project, I went off to the museum to take a look at the archives, lists, and photographs that the museum staff had prepared for me. Later in the day we met with 5 students from the University of Vologda, who drove 7 hours to Vytegra to meet us (the time of journeys here in Russia are extremely long not just because of the distances involved, but because the average speed of most vehicles on the iced-over roads here in Russia is only 40-55 mph).

When I reached the museum, I was impressed with the large amount of documents that the staff had in store for me. I spent most of an hour translating for myself a soviet essay on vytegran iconography from the 1970s. It was tough going as I don't know that much Russian theological or artistic vocabulary. They had the old Vytegra Sredinsky Cathedral donation lists, which gave me a wealth of information on the financial status of people in the provinces, and how finanicially supportive they are of the Church. For most people, it seems that most people gave between 15 and 50 rubles a year, or in terms of the contemporary exchange rate, the equivalent of between 3 ½ and 12 cents. Interestingly though, there were several donations of 5,000 rubles and one for 6,400 rubles. Some people apparently had serious amounts of cash available to spend on a church whose average donation was 19.4 rubles in the 1990s, a time of national financial trouble. Meeting the university students from Vologda was an eye opening experience in itself. Here were students exactly our age, studying english. It was like meeting our Russian doppelgangers. I had enough Russian and they had enough English that communication was trying, but fun exchange. The biggest surprise that I had from that encounter was that we were expected to know all about poetry and write poetry ourselves. The Russians seemed similarly surprised that there actually are Americans (like myself) who willingly enter the military. The Russian military's reputation must be even worse than I thought it was.

The Vologdans completely changed my perceptions of Russians. In our conversations, they were very open with us, and willingly talked about anything and everything, even what russian slang we needed to know, some of it vulgar. Their politics were very progressive as well, stating that they opposed the Russian government's refusal to permit gay pride parades in Moscow. They tore down the stereotypes that I had previously seen in Vytegra, of the provinces being staunchly conservative and reserved with foreigners. They also ended my perceptions of Russians as being very quiet and introverted people. In sizable numbers, Russians are actually far noisier and rowdier than I could see an American be.

Our conversations with the university students from Vologda reflected their own interests, which were more literary and international than those of the primary and secondary education students in Vytegra. The subject of the best Russian prose and poetry writer came up (common consensus was Tolstoy and Pushkin respectively, but Chekhov had a strong following) as well as American and Russian security concerns (we said that Iran and North Kora were dangerous for their interest in nuclear weapons, the Russians said they weren't worried about Iran but were always concerned with Chechnya, very odd for a region that was supposed to have been won by the Russian Army in 2000 and pacified by 2009). The Vologdans were very interested in America's image of Russia, and what individual Americans knew of Russia. Their questions about violence in Americans schools, how higher education and scholarships work in America and what jobs Americans are interested in doing seems to me that international (or maybe just Russian) media portrays America as a nation in a negative, violent and economically-hurting light. Still, the Vologdans curiosity told me that they questioned what they had heard about America and genuinly wanted to learn the truth.

Day 5: School Number 1

2011-03-03T15:49:00.000-05:00

Our day at Vytegra School Number One was vastly different from that of the previous day. First of all, only four of us went to the school, Clark, Katie, Kaitlin, and myself. We arrived and were brought into a small classroom where elementary school children presented with a cultural song and dance performance by similar to the one the night before. Next, one of the older elementary school children, in full traditional clothing, came up to the table in the back where we were sitting and presented us with a large loaf of bread and a basket of salt for us to munch on during the presentations. After the administration told us about the school, we were broken up into two groups, so Clark and I went into a neighboring classroom of third and fourth graders where we were presented with a performance, in English, of the play “The Turnip.” Next we had a little question answer session before they all ran up to Clark and me presenting us with candy and papers for us to sign our autographs. Next we had a “round table” meeting with the high school students in which we were able to ask each other questions about high school and college life in our respective countries. In the evening, we met a few of the same people at the town’s learning and community service center. After a few interesting icebreakers, we talked about how people serve their respective communities. For dinner, we met us with six college students from the nearby city of Vologda and had open discussions in groups of four about anything we wanted. Even at the college level, many of the students were struggling with English, although not as much as the high school students.

After having observed two Vytegra schools, I can conclude that they are very similar to those in the United States. School Number Two, built as an all girls school before the Soviet regime, has gorgeous high ceilings and full length mirrors everywhere, but still feels like a school because the student’s posters cover many of the walls. School Number One was a bit more disappointing. Not only did it have ugly Soviet architecture, but it also smelled horrible and was very cold. The students are just like American students, especially the younger ones. They easily get distracted and are often scolded for whispering to each other while the teachers are talking. During our question and answer session with the younger children, they asked us what are favorite foods are. I replied chocolate and I expected the children to say something along the same lines when I asked them. But to my surprise, many of the elementary aged children replied that cabbage was their favorite food. Others said meat or eggs but not one said candy, chocolate, or any other kind of junk or dessert food like American children often say. I wonder if these children are often allowed to have sweets, and if so, if it is considered some kind of expensive luxury for them. The tastes of children is very different in the United States and Russia and it is clear that food that is filling is valued more to children in Russia than it is in the United States. Nonetheless, Russian school children eat very well. As guests, we were served a three-course meal, but the students also receive soup, a main course, pirozhki, and tea all on real dishes.

During the round table discussion, we talked about the student’s future plans after graduation. Most want to go to university, but that is not saying most students their age want to go to university. From my understanding, when they are in either eighth or ninth grade, all students are required to take a test determining what school they will attend for high school. If they do well, they can continue their studies at either School Number One or Two, whichever they have been attending their whole lives. However, if they do poorly, they must attend the vocational school for four years. Many of those who plan on attending university, plan on going to school in Vologda, although I met a few who want to go to either Moscow or Saint Petersburg, but that is uncommon. Their aspirations range anywhere from being a doctor to a translator. I was surprised to hear that many wanted to be English-Russian translators because that is not a job that many people aspire to in the United States, but I’m sure in Russia, where not many people speak English, it is a very well paying job. We also asked a few of the students if they plan on coming back to Vytegra after graduating from university. I was surprised at how many said they plan on getting a job and having a family in Vytegra and that they wouldn’t think of going anywhere else. However, I was happy to hear from some with huge goals in life and said they would love to go to Saint Petersburg, Moscow, or even England or New York. I would like to find out how the parents of these students feel about their children wanting to go so far away. I know in many small towns in the United States, families want the children to stay close by to help with a farm, store, or just to keep an eye on them. I can only hope that we inspired these students to strive to do well in their university of choice and follow their dreams to travel to wherever they choose.

Video: The Drive from Petersburg to Vytegra

2011-03-03T02:42:00.000-05:00

The contradictory elements of St. Petersburg were forgotten on the drive to Vytegra. As compared to America, the drive revealed a more swift and abrupt shift from the urban sprawl to rural setting. The scenery was homogenous--there were fields of snow and forests of white with occasional, modest houses in between. After leaving the urban sprawl, we drove on one long, straight road--it looked as if there were nothing around for miles. In a sense, it reminded me of America’s West. Driving endlessly through Arizona’s desert highway draws parallel to yesterday’s snow-bordered linear route. We drove past a most pleasant park, where scattered persons were seen enjoying their stroll through the nature. I remember being so surprised at seeing a bus stop much further down the road with a handful of people at/ nearby it! The landscape was so dominant that the sight of people came as an sudden reminder of the Heartland's human element.

Aleksandro-Svirsky Monastery Choir

2011-03-03T02:06:00.000-05:00

During the 12 hour drive to Vytegra, our group stopped for a visit to the Aleksander-Svirsky Monastery. We had the great honor and pleasure of being the private guests of their male choir. It may have been the coldest I've felt all trip, but the experience was warm and welcoming! The harmonious voices of the choir sang softly against the loud silence of the surrounding landscape. A very special visit it was indeed!

Day Four: School Number 2 (Школе № 2)

2011-03-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

Like always, we woke up to a warm and wonderful breakfast at the hotel before we headed out to Vytegra School Number Two. Almost immediately upon arrival, we were designated guides to show us to various classrooms across the rather large school where we gave presentations about American culture or were broken up into small conversation groups. We were also presented with a three-course meal at the school during which we were surrounded with elementary school aged children wanting to get our autographs. I can’t even begin to imagine how many times I signed my name during that half hour. A few people invited some of the Russian students, including the four guides, to come to the hotel after classes. We all met in the hotel café for a wonderful hour or so of English and Russian conversation over tea and cookies. In the evening, the town’s music school presented us with an amazing musical presentation from both the adult group and the children’s choir. The five-person adult group consisted of an accordion, a singer, and three different sizes of Balalaikas, the biggest reaching to the floor and propped up with an in-pen like a cello. The music reminded me of Doctor Zhivago and I know when I return to the US that is the first movie I’m going to watch. The children’s group, of about eight girls in traditional Russian dress, sang Russian folksongs and taught us Russian children’s games. A few of these children also attended the school we visited earlier that day, and were happy to see us again.

At School Number Two, I went to two classes, a fifth grade and a fourth grade class, both taught by the same teacher. I’m so glad that Sergei, our assistant and translator accompanied us because the three of us, myself, Ian, and Isabelle, had huge difficulties conveying our presentations to the children. The first class we went to was the fifth grade class. We were all unaware of their English proficiency level, but all assumed they were at much higher than they were. We all did our presentations mostly in English and Isabelle and I tried to insert a few Russian words as well to help convey our message. I have no idea how much they understood, but I’m pretty sure it was less than fifteen percent, maybe even less than ten. We talked to the teacher a bit in English and she even had a few grammar mistakes, not to mention her heavy Russian accent. In between the two classes we went to, Sergei informed us that we were speaking way too fast and using way too many big words, so for our next class, fourth grade, we made a point to speak in as much Russian as possible, saying each sentence twice, once in English and once in Russian.

During the hour or so of small group conversation, Isabelle and I talked to three girls in the tenth grade (out of eleven) who want to pursue English classes at the university level. Isabelle and I started our conversations in English but it was clear after only a few sentences that their English was not even close to being proficient enough to understand, and answer, such simple phrases as “How old are you?” Luckily Isabelle and I both have a bit of Russian under our belt and were able to converse with them mostly in Russian, which was a bit disappointing, considering the purpose of our visit was to improve their English. But Isabelle and I were able to improve our Russian, so at least a couple of us were able to improve our language-speaking skills. The conversation would have been nearly nonexistent if it weren't for the English-Russian dictionary I brought with me. Regardless of their English proficiency, they were all very eager to learn about us and learn new words. I hope that if anything, I at least was able to inspire them to continue studying English in the future.

Towards the end of the day, the school’s headmaster gave us a presentation about the school in which she talked about the awards it had won and the achievements of the students. Like many of the characters of the short stories we discussed in class, the headmaster and the teachers of this school are extremely proud of their work. During the presentation I was surprised to learn that students attended English classes anywhere from once to three times a week, depending on their grade. The school starts teaching English in the second grade, and to be able to teach all 600 students with only four teachers, they can only offer the students a limited number of classes a week. To me, it seems like it would be more efficient to start teaching students English later in their lives, more towards their teenaged years, and teach them more times a week. I started taking French in ninth grade, but five days a week, and by twelfth grade, my French was much more proficient than their Russian, after ten years of classes.

Day Three: Museum Work

2011-03-02T15:04:00.002-05:00

This morning we started our day with a wonderful breakfast at the hotel before heading off to the town administration offices to meet with the town mayor and a city representative. We quickly discussed the town’s history, economy, and schools before walking across the river, towards the town museum, only a ten-minute walk away. Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by the hotel staff before getting a very thorough guided tour of the museum – five or six rooms about the local environment, culture, and history. Then we were given a hardy snack of belinis, biscuits, tea, and candy before setting to work.

My job for the afternoon was to photograph old Russian coins. I worked with Tatiana and a huge drawer of coins dating back from 1710 and covering about a century and a half. I started off photographing Denga, a coin no longer in use but worth about half a ruble. The museum has a specimen of Dengas from almost every year between 1707 and the mid 1850s. I photographed both sides of over one hundred Dengas, next to their labels, while Tatiana catalogued them by hand on a sheet of printer paper. I got the impression that the museum is trying to be more technologically inclined, hence why we were there to help digitize their archives, so I was very surprised to see Tatiana cataloguing by hand rather than typing it on a computer.

After a short break for lunch, I returned to the small desk where I joined Tatiana and continued to photograph the coins. As the years progressed, I noticed how not only did the design of the coins change depending on the Tsar, but also the quality of the coin and the amount of detail increased considerably throughout the years due to the improved technology. The first coin, from 1707, was established under Tsar Peter I and it was very hard to make out the design. The next coin in their collection is from 1730 and had the Russian symbol, the two-headed eagle on the back, but it is hardly recognizable due to years of use and rubbing down. By 1749, the eagle is not only recognizable, but also displays detail in individual feathers on its wings. 1767 is the first coin they have with the emblem of Catherine the Great represented by a large, script E with a crown above it. This year, the Denga changed the front of the coin from the usual “ДЕНГА” to a horse and rider. In 1797 the coin changed for the last time to have a cursive П with a royal crown for Emperor Paul on it on one side and “1 ДЕНГA” written on the other. Next I worked with one, two, and five Kopeck coins from as early as 1710 that grew in size as they grew in value. The last coin I worked with, which must be rare since the museum only had four of them, was the Polushka, worth about a quarter of a ruble, were introduced in 1700 by Peter the Great and were used until 1917.

The museum, although rather small, has a plethora of information about all aspects of life in and around Vytegra. First we learned about Russian holiday of Maclentsya through a cultural presentation by one of the people who works at the museum. Then we toured the two rooms with displays of many animals that live in and around Vytegra – swans, owls, a boar, a moose, and a Russian wolverine, just to name a few. We also learned about the rocks and kinds of stone found around the area, including limestone, which is prevelent in my hometown of Austin. Many houses, including my own, is made out of limestone and it was interesting to see that Vytegra and Austin, although having very differing landscapes, have soemthing in common. The three rooms about the history of Vytegra were my personal favorites. Like we learned in class, the citizens of provincial Russia are very proud of their culture and history, and it showed in the history displays. The exhibit was in chronological order, so we stared with learning about the role of the church and religion in the area, the fashion, the money, the culture, and the economy of the time. Next was the soviet era where we reviewed from what we learned in class about how the Nazis never were able to reach Vytegra, but did reach a nearby town in the same province.

From the extremely detailed displays in the museum and the welcoming women who work there, it is obvious that the people from Vytegra are very proud of their history and culture. For such a small town, Vytegra has four museums, which is more that most American cities of that size have. It is reassuring to see that the people of Vytegra put so much effort into preserving their culture and history and I can only hope that Americans can strive for the same.

Day Two: Saint Petersburg to Vytegra

2011-03-02T15:04:00.001-05:00

Today, Sunday, we traveled from St. Petersburg to Vytegra with a stop at the Alexander Svirsky Monastery. Most of the day was spent on a Soviet-era bus, or in below zero temperatures. The whole journey started at about 9:30 am, and ended about twelve hours later, but the trip included lunch at a café near the monastery and a tour of the churches. My favorite part of the day was the quartet of four monks who sang traditional Russian choir tunes with the most perfect pitch I have ever heard.

On the trip from St. Petersburg to Vytegra, the thing that stood out to me the most was the bus itself. Our ride was a Soviet-Era bus, probably from the seventies, painted pale blue and adorned with hot pink curtains that covered half of the window. Two men took turns driving the bus and one of the men’s seven-year-old son joined us on the trip as well. Upon boarding the bus, I chose a seat a little less than half way back. Less than an hour into the ride, I had to move, along with Katie, sitting in front of me, because our feet felt like they had been placed into an oven, but in reality, there was just a heater under my seat. No one else felt that way; in fact, the rest of the bus was still wrapped up in their winter coats. Katie and I moved all of our stuff into the two rows at the back of the bus, and of course we had to sit on the right side because extra luggage was piled up on the left side of the last row and the seat in front of that was broken, completely fallen through. Needless to say, the back of the bus was much colder, a pile of snow stayed at Katie’s feet the entire ride, from where the last group of people had entered the bus from the door in the back. Katie also had to struggle with a large pipe that stuck out into the last row. At about noon, we stopped at a small rest station along the road where two other tourist busses were stopped at the same time. One was a modern, sleek, white bus, not more than six years old. The other was white as well, and not more than fifteen years old. Our bus clearly stood out from the rest as it gave off, what I would call, the impression of a “hippy van.” Amazingly enough, this bus was able to make it to Vytegra without a hitch, unlike last year, when the group supposedly had a “real bus”, but that one broke down. The bus, which came from Vytegra, clearly shows the lack of money of the locals of Vytegra. This is probably the best van this driver could afford, and driving this bus is probably his living. Where as the other buses in the rest stop parking lot were clearly from other, wealthier places, perhaps St. Petersburg or Moscow, where money for a new bus is easily at a driver’s disposal.

The Alexander Svirsky Monastery has played a huge role in the history of the Russian Orthodox religion. As the holiest place in Russia and the only place the trinity has appeared outside of the Holy Land, the monastery first served as a monastery and transfiguration center for a couple hundred years until Catherine the Great secularized it, even though it remained as a transformation center and local seminary. After the Russian Revolution, all of the brethren were either killed or exiled and many relics were destroyed. In 1953, the monastery served as an asylum until restoration began in the 1970s and it was reverted back to its original purpose, a monastery. The monastery is funded completely from personal donations and is not at all in poor condition. This shows the rediscovery of religion from the Russian people post Soviet rule and their desire to return to their former traditions.

Vytegra Day 2: School No. 2

2011-03-02T14:15:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we went to School No. 2 where we met the Russian schoolchildren and give our presentations on America. After a long day at school we met with some of the Russian students in the cafe at our hotel. To finish the day we watched a concert put on for us by the musical school.

The trip to School No. 2 has to be my favorite activity for the day. Having lived in Germany, I have experienced both American and German classrooms, which helped me see the differences that the schools in Russia have with those of America and Germany. School No. 2 was built in the late 1800s, and reflects the architecture of the time. Even the principal looks as if she just walked out of 19^th Century Russia. The students were very friendly, and we had good Q & A sessions with them. Everyone wanted to meet us, and we spent a lot of time just signing autographs and giving out our email dresses whenever we entered the hallways. The female students seemed especially keen on getting Clark, Andrew, Ian, and my contact information. While I met a lot of people, I didn't get to know in much depth anyone except for the 4 students that I was paired off with for the small group sessions. When I spoke with the Russian students later on at the cafe, I became better acquainted with several more.

Some of the students said that Vytegra was boring and that they wanted to move to Moscow, St. Petersburg, or Vologda to escape, many students said that they would be willing to return to Vytegra after graduation but could not, because there were no job opportunities. This migration to the cities and exit from hometowns is very familiar to me, as I do not expect to return to Detroit or even stay in Michigan after graduation, because there are too few jobs available in my concentration. Even though Detroit is still a major city, it seems to share many characteristics of the Russian provinces, of being in economic decline and experiencing a “brain drain” of university graduates.

After two days in Vytegra, I've noticed quite a few differences between Vytegra and St. Petersburg. While both Petersburg and Vytegra are known for shipbuilding, Petersburg has a more diversified economy and tourism to boot. Vytegra is suffering from an economic slump, which can be seen in the condition of the local buildings and the financial condition of the Vytegra museum. On an individual level, Petersburgers are much more loud and outgoing in public than Vytegrans, and are much more willing to speak with strangers on the street. So far, the stereotypes of provincial Russia that we learned in class are holding up, but we have a few more days to test them.

Day One: Saint Petersburg

2011-03-02T07:17:00.000-05:00

Our first day in Russia was spent in the northern capital of St. Petersburg. We first visited the Hermitage Museum in the Winter Palace, had lunch at Shtolle, a restaurant with a specialty of traditional Russian pies, visited Peter and Paul Fortress, then were given a few hours of free time to explore the center of the city along Nevski Prospect.

One only needs to walk along the river in St. Petersburg to notice a few of the 1,500 palaces that make up what natives refer to as the “city of museums,” according to our tour guide, Yulia. The Winter Palace is the grandest of them all and houses only a part of Catherine the Great’s massive art collection. The Baroque style of architecture reveals the Czar’s massive amount of wealth that was used to hire foreign architects and collect enough art to cover fourteen miles of corridors. Catherine expressed her power with her money and her art collection. She accumulated about 300 pieces a day for thirty-four years and had to expand the Winter Palace to include an additional four more buildings to use as “storage” for all of her art. However these storage buildings are unlike any other. They are decorated just as extravagantly as the Winter Palace and show off the royalty’s Imperial power over the country.

The town of St. Petersburg was started on Peter-and-Paul Island with a church and a fortress. The architecture on this island is very contradictory to that of the island that houses the Winter Palace. As opposed to the extravagant rooms, emphasis on detail, and bright colors, the buildings on Peter-and-Paul Island are much more conservative, with an exception of the church, the central focus. The church was instructed to be the tallest point in the city by Peter the Great and remains so to this day. It is unlike any other Russian Orthodox Church with its lack of domed spires, gold leafed ornaments, huge windows, and pastel colors. The fortress on the other hand was painted only in grey scale and the small windows offer little light. Unlike the Winter Palace, no ornaments adorn the rooms, which are very unimpressive with their low, arched ceilings. These differences can be attributed to the time it took from when Peter the Great first decided to build a city in this location to when Catherine the Great decided to make it into an Imperial city and spend all of her money on its extravagance.

Unlike I expected, Saint Petersburg is very different from other Western European cities I have visited. It has the rich history like that of the rest of Europe, but what surprised me the most was the lack of emphasis on the service industry. Russians do not tip, so wait staff has little reason to make their customers happy. After having ordered, we would have to wait sometimes up to ten minutes for the first drink order. The next person’s drink would not arrive at the table until five minutes after that, and the next person would receive their order another five minutes after that and this continued so that in the end, by the time the last person received their order, the first person would have already finished.

The same lack of service goes for the cleanliness of restrooms. Often restrooms had no toilet paper or paper towels and often toilets did not have toilet seats. Also nearly every restroom had a sign to not throw anything, including toilet paper, into the toilet, so if a restroom does offer toilet paper and paper towels, it would have two buckets, one for toilet paper and one for paper towels.

Also the streets, especially the sidewalks, of Saint Petersburg are in horrible conditions in the winter. The sidewalks all have an indefinite number of inches of ice on them, which makes walking extremely difficult. I would have thought that after so many years of treacherous winters, they would have come up with a practical system to keep the sidewalks clear of hazards, but that is not the case. Even so, nearly every Russian woman wears high heel boots around all parts of the city, but often has her arm tightly wrapped around a man’s, presumably their only form of support. I think at least half of us slipped on the ice walking around Saint Petersburg, and I slipped and fell twice. Amazingly, I never saw a Russian even come close to falling.

While in St. Petersburg, I would have done a few things differently. First of all, I would have liked to walk around and explore the center of the city in more depth. This includes further exploring destinations such as Church of our Savior on the Spilled Blood, a gorgeous church of typical Russian architecture, which we walked around many times but never went in to. Also, next time I visit a foreign city, I won’t be as hesitant to ask for directions. My group wondered around the center of the city for almost an hour looking for the metro station, but all of us were too scared to ask for directions, in Russian. Finally we asked a young couple who not only spoke English, but also walked us to the Metro station while talking to us about Russia.

I believe Russians who have grown up with these customs do not even bother to question the lack of services and do not expect the same kinds of services we consider standard in the United States. While roaming the streets of St. Petersburg, I noticed as early as eight in the evening, drunkenness already seemed to abound. In class, we reviewed drunkenness as an aspect of Provincial life, but this is the case in the cities as well, although perhaps to a lesser degree. After eight in the evening, it was hard to walk more than a few steps without seeing an empty bottle of alcohol dropped in the snow.

Church of Spilled Blood, near the center of St. Petersburg.

Vytegra: Day 1

2011-03-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

On Monday, having spent the night in Vytegra we went to the local museum. Despite the day being a work holiday, the museum workers were present to give us a tour of the exhibits. After the tour, we had a snack and then got to work assisting the museum with various tasks, mine being translation of a portion of their history of Vytegra booklet. After a long day of museum work, we finally had time to catch up on our reflection essays.

I was impressed by the comprehensive exhibits that the Vytegra museum had, and by the tour through the museum. They had many taxidermy animals including a wolverine, which was of great interest to us for obvious reasons. They also had several exhibits that were of great personal interest and will be valuable to my research project; the medieval Vytegra exhibit with its many icons and religious artifacts, the 1800s Vytegra room with its pictures of the churches in Vytegra and its religious cartoon, and the Soviet exhibit and its many propaganda pieces. The translation work that I did for the museum was of personal interest to me, as it was on the World War II soviet submarine B-440 that is on display in Vytegra. But, this work was also extremely difficult. It took me the whole day to finish translating all the naval terms describing the components of the submarine and its diving protocols. We still are unsure what exactly the English equivalent is to “hydro acoustics”, though we think it might be SONAR.

The Vytegra museum gave us a great rendition of the local history, and how the local Vytegrans view their own history. They are very proud of how the German offensive was stopped in the region, of how Vytegra gave Russia 5 admirals, how the graduating class of 1941 was sent to the front, and none returned, and of the mine-clearing battalions that sustained 3 local losses when they removed everything that the Germans had left behind when they retreated. In a small provincial town like Vytegra the major events of the past have an ongoing role in the lives of contemporary Vytegrans.

The museum devoted as large a portion of its space to the World War II exhibit as it did for the medieval exhibit, I guess this just shows how central the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is called in Russia) is to Vytegra. They had photos of those who died in the minefields laid around Oshta, the southernmost part of the Vytegra district, along with actual unexploded German ordinance, soviet uniforms, and photographs of the soldiers . In this focus on WWII, Vytegra is in no way different from the rest of the former Soviet Union. The USSR suffered 30 million casualties from the war, and I found it amazing that the Germans were able to advance this far into Russia. Oshta is about 400 km east of St. Petersburg, the fact that a Lake Onega flotilla was needed just shows how dire the situation of the USSR was in during Operation Barbarossa in 1941-1942. Learning the Vytegran WWII story helped me find a personal connection with the area, as my family had similar experiences in WWII, with a great uncle of mine being the only survivor out of his Marine artillery battalion on Iwo Jima in the Pacific, and my grandfather being a navy radio operator also serving in the Pacific Theater.

St. Alexander Svirsky and his monastery

2011-03-01T17:03:00.001-05:00

On Sunday we left St. Petersburg for Vytegra. I felt some regret when we left St. Petersburg, though all the good memories we had in the last 48 ours kept me occupied for most of the 12 hour trip to Vytegra. On the way, we stopped stopped at the Svirsky Monastery, the holiest site in Russia. I was extremely excited to see the monastery, being an Orthodox Christian.

As a Reader in the Orthodox Church, I was very extremely interested in everything that our tour guide told us. The monastery is sited on the only location outside of the Holy Land where the Trinity manifested itself to a human being (in the form of three angels). The waters at the well that St. Alexander dug are said to have special healing powers, and the sand above his grave likewise. St. Alexander is also known for blessing infertile couples, especially with sons. As part of our tour, we visited the unheated summer church, where the monastic choir chanted for us. The acoustics of the church and professionalism of the singers made the experience unearthly beautiful. We did not know if we were in heaven or on earth. I spoke with the monk on guard at St. Alexander's tomb. He gave me all sorts of information on monastic life in Russia, on the religious revival that has been ongoing since the fall of the Soviet Union, and of the miracles of St. Alexander. When we went to the grave to venerate St. Alexander, he even opened the glass case containing the incorrupt body (the body remains very well preserved, despite St. Alexander dying 478 years ago) to venerate the body. After our discussion, he even presented me with a chotki (prayer beads like a rosary) that he had received from a person who had been to the Holy Land! Sergei, one of the Ruslan leaders, and I were shocked, and very grateful for the monk's generosity.

The monastery appeared to be well kept, with the 30 monks living only on donations. The monks had a beautifully restored monastery, having been destroyed under the Soviet Union , and our tour guide told us how the soviet era mental hospital housed in the monk's dormitories had only been closed down last year. Despite its recent past, the monastery was very quiet and had a meditative atmosphere. Inside the complex I felt at peace, living only in the present, in a state of timelessness. This sense of timelessness has been an ongoing theme that the preparatory class that we had to take for the trip repeatedly emphasized. I could feel this in the Svirsky monastery.

I was very impressed by the size and the recovery of the monastery. With its near physical destruction under the Soviet Union, it is very impressive to see how beautiful the summer church was and how new the active winter church is. It was also noticeable that many of the monks were very young, one looked in his mid-twenties. The only old monk was the one whom I spoke, and he said that he had only been in the monastery for 8 years. It was an interesting contrast-the ancient buildings, location, and St. Alexander versus the newly refurnished church interiors, closed mental hospital, and the young and newly entered monks. This contrast I think speaks greatly of how modern Russia operates, as both an old, traditional nation and a new emerging post-communist society. In the monks' own words, “Russia is a strange country”.

St. Petersburg in all its splendor

2011-03-01T15:59:00.000-05:00

It was the best of times, it was the best of times. St. Petersburg has been one adventure after another. Our first morning in Petersburg we visited the Winter Palace and the adjoining Hermitage. With the temperature a steady -8 C and snowing, the Winter Palace was blanketed in snow. The Tsars certainly built to impress, the grand staircase was a dazzling display of wealth, but this paled in comparison to the Golden Room, which lived up to its name and had been used to receive the King of Spain by President Dmitri Medvedev only the day before our tour. The vast amount of art in the Hermitage was staggering, our tour guide told us that if we were to spend 1 minute in front of eve piece of art in the Hermitage collection, we would need 9 years to see all 3 million pieces. The collection includes many originals from artists like Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, Michaelangelo and Monet. The odd thing about the collection was that it held much French, Dutch, and Italian art and next to no Russian, perhaps speaking about the Western tastes of the Tsars of St. Petersburg.

After our Hermitage excursion, we had lunch at one of the Stolle Cafe chain restaurants, which specialize in traditional Russian cuisine. Our meal included kapustiye pirogi (russian savory pastries with cabbage), borscht with plenty of sour cream, pelmeni (russian dumplings similar to ravioli), and a salad consisting of apple shavings and shredded cabbage. Petersburgers seem to be very fond of smoking, especially indoors, something that as an American I'm not used to.

After lunch, we had some free time to wander about in downtown St. Petersburg around the Church on the Spilled Blood, to buy souvenirs or just sight-see. I used this opportunity to speak privately with out tour guide, who was very willing to give her opinions on life in St. Pertersburg, contemporary and in Soviet times, and even what she thought of the Russian Orthodox Church. She gave me plenty of information on the Church on the Spilled Blood, how it had only been completed in 1907 and was closed in 1917, destroyed in WWII, reconstructed by the Soviet government over a period of 40 years, and now a museum.

The next item on our itinerary was the Sts. Peter and Paul fortress, the very heart of Peter I's St. Petersburg. Even though the fortress has never seen combat, it has housedd the Trubetskoye Prison, a maximum securitycomplexx used for the violent or political criminals. We saw the former cells of Russian dissidents like Krapotkin, Alexander Ulyanov (Lenin's Brother), and Lev Trotsky. We saw the cell named “the punishment cell” where inmates who broke the rules of the prison were kept in solitary confinement. Though closed now, Trubetskoye has never had a successful escape attempt.

St. Paul Cathedral is also in Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress, and its spire is said to be the highest point in St. Petersburg, as Peter I commanded it so, a law that is still on the books today. This is perhaps the most unorthodox church I have ever seen belonging to the Orthodox Church. Without the Cyrillic lettering, I would have guessed that we had entered a classic Baroque Cathedral in France or Italy. It has classical frescoes on the ceilings, western-style depictions of Jesus, the Theotokos (Mary, the Mother of God), and the Saints in the iconostas, the wall of icons that separates the altar from the nave and symbolizes how humanity's sins isolate it from God, was unlike anything I have seen anywhere else in the world. The cathedral, though, is the burial place of every Tsar since Peter I.

After all this sightseeing, we were given the late afternoon and evening as free time. My group of Monica and Andrew navigated several stores and a Subway only using Russian. The architecture in downtown Petersburg is remarkably old, being of 18^th and 19^th century styles, unlike the Stalinist buildings that we saw on the trip from Pulkovo airport on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. The pastel colours of the city center contrasted very nicely with the overcast sky that we had throughout our stay in Petersburg. This was different to the Stalin-era drab grey blockish buildings that make a ring around downtown, but even later buildings built in Petersburg, such as the 1907 Church on the Spilled Blood.

St. Petersburg has been a lot of fun, and if we had stayed longer I'm sure that we would have had even more adventures, but we came for Vytegra. Tommorrow promises to be an interesting day, I'm looking forward to the Svirstroy Monastery that we'll be vising on the way to Vytegra.

Past and Present in Provincial Vytegra

2011-03-01T15:12:00.001-05:00

After exploring Petersburg and the surrounding countryside, we finally arrived in Vytegra, and spent the day getting a quick introduction to the history and current state of this rural town. It took a while for me to get my bearings, but after a few hours of exploring, the modern-style grid-like city center was easy to navigate. We navigated down the sidewalks to the mayor’s office, where renovation construction and ambitious sports center plans were juxtaposed against other dilapidated features of the town, which I will explain in further detail below. Nonetheless, after meeting with the mayor and the town administration, we headed down the road to the museum.

The museum seemed very well maintained and seemed that it was constructed with much attention paid to every detail. A new museum employee, Olga, took us through the museum’s exhibits, explaining local flora and fauna as well as centuries of local history.

Compared to the previous readings and films I have seen, the city of Vytegra is much more open about their Soviet past than I would have expected. The main street in town is still called Ленинский Проспект, Lenin Prospect.

However, it seems that to a large degree Vytegra considers its Soviet past as just that: a historic context in which their town took its current form. In the museum, equal note was given to the Soviet period, and several representations of Lenin and Soviet "Мать"-esque propaganda posters were on display. I definitely plan on paying attention to the post-Soviet perspective more closely in the following days.

In contrast, many aspects of the town after leaving the museum reminded me that Vytegra – unlike the museum – could not be mistaken as being from anywhere in the United States. Much of the town’s infrastructure is seriously lacking in funding due to a variety of reasons, and such economic hardships were evident as we walked through the town. I was (and am) most impressed by the amount of snow accumulated. In some places the snow has reached a height rivaling my own, and to walk around it looks like they have cut into the snow and formed makeshift ice- and snow-covered sidewalks where they might be located in the few summer months. If we have complained this winter in Ann Arbor about lack of road maintenance, we have nothing to complain about in comparison to Vytegra residents, whose cars have all but disappeared in the buildup of snow on the side of the street. In addition, the large church in town, though appearing as if it were magnificent in its heyday, is allegedly falling into disrepair due to lack of funding and donations.

These developments do make me wonder whether the troubles are due to economic hardships or the priorities of government spending, but it’s likely that it is in fact a mix of the two.

I am told that Vytegra School No. 2 may not have electricity and heating tomorrow, as the government is struggling to afford such “luxuries” in many state-maintained buildings. Perhaps then I can see first-hand the effects of the economy and culture on the Vytegra youth and education in the provinces.

Journey to the Heartland

2011-02-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

On day 2 of our tour of Russia, we experienced first-hand the other extreme of Russian life. Several hours out of St. Petersburg and we had clearly entered the provinces. Expanses of endless untamed forests and remote wooden houses went on for the entire 11-hour drive to Vytegra, and this same format is sure to continue as we explore the surrounding regions of the Vologda oblast.

From the moment we boarded our Vytegra bus, we knew that conditions in the small town were different than in lavish St. Petersburg. As we drove along the long road we encountered many modern tour buses full of Russian visitors to the region, yet ours was the middle bus pictured on the right, due to a lack of funding to fix their more modern bus that had recently broken down. Unfortunately, this theme is prevalent throughout Vytegra, as I will likely explain tomorrow, but in the meantime we made do with what we had and set off on our journey.

Unfortunately, as with most long trips, I spent most of the day sleeping, but the gem of our journey was found at the Alexander-Svirsky monastery. This was the holiest site in Russia, as the only place outside of Jerusalem where the Holy Trinity has appeared to a human, and its special place in Orthodox hearts was obvious from its meticulous upkeep. As we entered the buildings, carefully preserved icons and iconostases adorned the walls, inspiring awe amongst our group members. After receiving a brief introduction to the centuries-old history of the monastery, we were unexpectedly met by a choir of clergymen who sang booming hymns in the resonant center of the cathedral. As we toured the complex of buildings and viewed Alexander Svirsky himself (his body was found to be miraculously intact when exhumed 100 years after his death, and is still preserved today), it was obvious that the monastery was well funded, even if only funded by visitors to the region.

It initially seemed quite strange to me that amidst a region of economic hardship a religious center could be so prosperous, but then after some reflection I realized that this seemed like just the place to experience such a contrast. I have often experienced the tendency of those in rural areas and impoverished regions to have stronger religious affiliations and convictions, likely due to a greater desire (and perhaps need) for help from a higher power. As we discussed during our group reflections of the day, it was very possible that organizations and individuals donate generously in the hopes that their prayers will be answered.

As we get to know Vytegra better, I cannot wait to explore the connection between the church and the people, and see how economic circumstances affect this relationship. As we pull in to Vytegra late at night and finish reflecting, I cannot wait to see what is in store tomorrow from this already fascinating provincial town.

St. Petersburg: A Cold/Warm Welcome to Russia

2011-02-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

As soon as I left the Paris airport for St. Petersburg on a small Россия Airline flight, my immersion experience into Russian culture began. Sitting in worn chairs and eating a surprisingly lavish meal covered in Syran wrap, I did my best to communicate wit h the Russian-speaking flight attendants and absorb the dichotomies of the vast expanse of the Russian way of life. Welcome to Ruslan Alternative Spring Break 2011!

Our whirlwind day in St. Petersburg began at the pinnacle of bygone Russian extravagance and opulence: The Hermitage.

This collection of three million pieces of European artwork collected over the ages was a perfect introduction of the overwhelmingly polarized elements of Russian society. In this museum, many works of the world’s most famous artists are displayed, mostly collected by Catherine the Great at the expense of her citizens. It was simply amazing imagining the functions that

would have been hosted in this Winter Palace, while at the same

time thinking of the masses of

impoverished Russian citizens in the rest of the country that would never see such splendor in their lives.

From the Gold Room, to the Throne Room, to the main staircase, it was hard to ignore the vast amounts of wealth denied the citizens of this country while the upper elite enjoyed every luxury imaginable. Yet in a very selfish way, after touring the small portion of the entire complex that we could cover in a few hours, I’m very glad that Catherine did so!

After finishing our tour, we had a delicious many-course lunch at a local restaurant, Shtolle, experiencing the wide variety of delicious Russian cuisine that I’m sure we will miss dearly when we return to Ann Arbor. I’m sure that I will be able to give a better summary of the ins and outs of Russian food after our stay in Вытегра, and so I will leave that for another time.

The next part of our day involved sight-seeing many of the 1500 palaces in the city and stopping at cathedrals such as the Church on the Spilled Blood, the site of Alexander II’s assassination pictured on the left.

We then moved to Hare Island to explore the Peter and Paul Fortress, the historic focus of the city. It was amazing to see generations of Russian history represented in such a small area.

The Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral is on the island. This ornate cathedral houses the bodies of all of the Russian czars, including Nicholas II and his entire family, who were murdered after the Bolshevik revolution. This revisiting of my many history classes reminded me of the incredible uniqueness of Russian history, and the fact that you can always learn more. For instance, I learned that Catherine the Great was handpicked from a small German village to become the Tsarina, but unexpectedly had an unquenchable thirst for power that led to her arrangement of her husband’s murder and her unprecedented ascension to the throne.

In the theme of cultural dichotomies, we visited the adjacent prison that just happened to house prominent political prisoners like Gorky and Trotsky, who were housed in the cell pictured to the left. It was barren and cold, yet was located right next to arguably one of the most sacred places in the Tsarist era. Surely as our trip goes on – and especially when we experience rural life in Vytegra - these dichotomies will become more evident and more numerous.

Exhausted and jetlagged, we headed home for some food and to prepare for an evening exploring the city, but as we navigated the Russian metro system in broken Russian (and Spanish, French and Polish among others of us), I couldn’t help but consider that the St. Petersburg of today is the equivalent of the aristocracy of past centuries, and that we would soon experience the other side of the socioeconomic dichotomy when we travel to Vytegra tomorrow.

Memories

2010-03-10T17:08:00.001-05:00

We've been back in the States for a few days, and life has finally slowed down enough for me to assemble some thoughts on what I've taken away from my experience in Vytegra. I was unable to make time to blog during the trip, but it seems fitting to reflect on my memories now, considering how persistent this word "memory" was during the trip. At every site we visited, the people implored us to remember them and loaded us down with tokens and gifts "на память"—for memory. My favorite such keepsake was given me by a student from the 6th grade Russian grammar class I attended at School #2. Her name was Sasha. She chased me down as we were leaving and gave me a heart-shaped trinket with the words "To Bryn from Sasha" written on the back, insisting that I remember her. Don't worry, Sasha, I remember.

Another face from School #2 that I'll remember is Katya, my Katya (standing, on the right), who was my guide around the school. That day I was lucky enough to sit in on two Russian grammar classes, 11th and 6th grade. The 11th grade class was about complex sentences, and the 6th grade class was about different types of pronouns. I was able to understand the lessons well enough to want to take notes on them (and I learned a lot!), and Katya patiently helped me when I fell behind, corrected my spelling, and explained technical terms in simple Russian so that I could understand. Thanks, Katya!

Another unforgettable experience was dinner and dancing with the faculty at School #2. I was reluctant to dance at first, especially after eating so much food, but everyone was so carefree and energetic. The mood was infectious, and we learned some cool Russian dance moves from Darya Sergeyevna (I might have misremembered her patronymic), who was the teacher of my 6th grade grammar class (3rd from left) and the economics teacher (leftmost) whose name I never learned.

I'm already running out of time again, and I've barely scratched the surface of all the interesting people we met and the incredible experiences we had. But before wrapping up, I have to mention Marina (on the left), whom we met at School #1 and again at the DDT. She had such a warm personality. I wish we had gotten to talk more. I think we would have become friends.

So those are just a few of the lasting impressions of this trip. Every day I find myself suddenly remembering different things I had forgotten before. I wonder what memories the people in Vytegra will have of us.

Videos from Rus

2010-03-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

In many cases, the snow removers had to use bulky equipment, like this bulldozer. Difficult to use a machine that isn't meant for the job specifically.

Outside the historic Art Museum in St. Pete. Video was taken from the walkway leading to the frozen Neva river.

Video taken at a famous pedestrian walkway late at night in St. Pete. The walkway was the best cleared area during the whole trip to Rus.

Provincial Russia was a winter wonderland. Here, our group is visiting the birthplace of influential poet N. Klyuev.

Couldn't help but take a video of this tractor. It kept moving back and forth outside a historic building we visited. Only a towel covered the engine.

We couldn't take the bus over this small log-bridge, so we moved into an old VW truck. If any of us were scared, the driver told us to close our eyes.

last day

2010-03-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Day 8

This was our last day in Vytegra and it’s easy to see that we are all exhausted after such a busy, exciting, and draining week, and today was no exception. We still had another school to visit today, but this one was the technical/vocational school for the kids who didn’t really make it into high school. The school was really neat to see, and I know that despite how tired we all were, we still found it interesting because the students were a little older and the atmosphere was slightly different.

The students there seemed much more involved with us and less shy than the other students we’ve met who were about the same age (the younger kids everywhere were never shy about anything); they asked a lot more questions than the others and it really seemed like they asked better/more intelligent questions. And I think that’s a little surprising because these are the kids who didn’t quite make it, yet they still seemed so ambitious; many of the ones I chatted with were still planning on going to a university. And even though they didn’t show the same respect to their teachers that all the other schools have, they still paid a lot of attention and respect to us. Plus they gave us this amazingly beautiful pastry/cake and one boy serenaded us, so this school was pretty cool as far as I’m concerned.

In the afternoon we went to the children’s house place (not an actual child’s house but a place for the youth in town), which was a really cool stop. We were so burnt out, but we still managed to do crafts and watch dances. We all thought the dances were really good, and they were kind of a mix between traditional Russian and modern. The really neat thing was though, at the end of the dances we were again presented with the same welcoming bread and salt as the first couple of days. Traditions run strong.

I really enjoyed learning how to make things with yarn and sticks, even though it was a huge struggle and mine isn’t exactly pretty. And the same goes for making the large lucky breasted Russian dolls. It’s hard to compete with these kids because they are so talented with theses arts and crafts! There were entire 3D pirate ships and large palm trees made out of the yarn, and then there was the incredibly beautiful (and expensive) hand made Vytegra lace. It’s so hard to believe that the students do these things, and they start so young! No matter how much I painted, drew, colored, stitched, or sang when I was younger, it never got any better; clearly I wouldn’t have made it in Russia. And I think the really shocking thing is that this isn’t the only thing they do. In addition to school and clubs and crafts, they do also play sports. I was really surprised to talk to so many basketball players and fans, and I was also really sad when some girls invited me to come watch them play on Sunday, but we won’t be here anymore then. These students are just so warm and friendly, and they have accomplished so much at such a young age with such a tough curriculum and so many great hobbies. They are truly very impressive and very helpful. Every time we run into one of the students on the street they just start walking with us and talking and helping us find the places and things we want; it’s such a great experience!

The students we’ve met really make me think about my own life and what I do and what I have accomplished or what my skills/talents/passions are, and I just feel like even with everything I’ve done and everything I’ve seen and visited, in so many ways I pale in comparison to the Russian youth. And despite all the things they do, they are so interested in us and our lives because we are so different to them, but I really feel like we are much more similar than I first imagined. And sometimes I feel like if they came to America they might be slightly disappointed, because they wouldn’t be treated in the same way as we were treated by the Russians here, and they would see the differences in the cultures, superstitions and beliefs. Of course they would like to see the cities, monuments, people, cars, and hear our accents, but when it comes down to the culture and our history, I really feel like it might be a disappointment for them, because of the incredibly rich and cultured society they come from. But then again Ethan is in the US, and that would be MORE than enough for anyone of these students to be happy anywhere!

The soviet submarine we saw today was really neat and the nice dinner we had tonight was really enjoyable. A BIG thank you to Alina and Tamara Pavlovna for everything you’ve done and everything you’ve worked so hard to put together for us!!!!! This has been such an amazing learning experience and I know that none of us will ever forget anything that happened here. This trip was so great and I know it will only get better in the years to come, so thank you for everything! And anyone who’s going next year, I want my pottery!!!

My favorite discussion: the one we had last night at the cafe about the zero or max thing in Russia

“creepiness, zero or max . . .” Awesome.

Connor_Last Day in Vytegra :_(

2010-03-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Quick blog post before our farewell dinner. We visited not one, but two vocational schools AND a Soviet-era submarine today. The schools were a good change because we got to meet students who are closer to us in age - about 18-19 years old. After 11th grade, students can attend a vocational school to either prepare for a career or university. At the school, I recognized two of the rock musicians from the concert our first night in town. Similarly, my fellow ASB'ers have noticed students from our school visits walking around town. Getting to know the young people in this way shows how thoroughly we've been immersed in Vytegra life.

Parting Words from Vytegra

2010-03-05T16:28:00.000-05:00

A couple last words about the trip....

Although it will be great to get back to the real world of Ann Arbor, we will certainly miss Tamara Pavlavna (who practically runs Vytegra), the loads of food that is pushed on you, the бабушки, strange things that happen for no reason, Ethan's 12-year-old groupies, slipping on the pure ice they call sidewalks, the strong culture present throughout the town, and of course the posse of children that follow you around the town when they get a chance.

This has been a great trip and an eye-opening experience. If I came to Russia by myself, I know I would certainly not have the privilege of meeting the people of Vytegra and taking part in some of the culture that tourists do not see. This trip has been about taking the road less traveled by, and I certainly am happy that I had the chance to take part in this great trip to the small town of Vytegra.

The Great Town of Vytegra

2010-03-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

Well, another night in Vytegra, and a great one at that. We began the morning with our third and final school. I must say that even though these students were considered the "troubled youth" of Vytegra, they seemed to really have a blast there. This is the first time that we didn't hear the administrators praise not only their students, but also their teachers. We were able to hear what the school does for the children and then show us a little bit about what school is really like for them and that was refreshing. Don't get me wrong, with how little the town has, it is very impressive what kind of education these kids get in Vytegra.

It was a very laid back environment and it reminded me very much of some of my classes in high school. I feel like the kids at this school were not afraid to make a mistake or ask a "stupid question" in front of their teachers where as some of the other classes that we have visited in the other two schools were a little like that.

After answering questions from the kids like, "Do you have drug problems at the university," "What do you do in your free time," "How do you like American politics," "What are your classes like," "What do you want to be in life," and so on, we were able to talk to them a little bit and of course...take millions of pictures. It is funny how all the kids want to do is get a look at you or take a pictuer of just you or most often take pictures with you without saying a word to you. It doesn't bother us at all, but it definitely is a different experience to be the one that everyone want to see. Sometimes it is like we are in a zoo or we're some really big celebrity. I don't know how people constantly in the spot light do it.

Then we moved on to the next hot spot in Vytegra, ДДТ, which was a great place. It was like a community center for kids in town to learn how to make traditional crafts like beautiful lace, dolls, cross stitching, weaving, and so on. They also had dance and exercise classes. While we were there, we were taught how to make a traditional doll, which was funny, because the bigger the bosoms you made, the better luck it was, and the bigger wishes you could make. Not being so talented, I made one bigger than the other, which was funny, because the woman who was so patiently helping us out came by and quickly pointed out that they were not the same size, saying, "Oh, you have a little wish and a big wish." We also we able to see one of the girls in the town make lace. Wow was that talent and great patience. The teacher told us that it takes about 1 year to learn how to make lace and, depending on the pattern you want to make and what you want to make, it takes about 25-30 hours to complete. I could not believe that when I heard it. And looking over the girl's shoulder making that lace, I just don't know if I would be dedicated enough to sit there uncomfortably for 30 hours carefully braiding the lace together.

After the crafts, it was time for dinner. As it was our farewell dinner, we all dressed up nice and went to our normal spot, Bistro. It was another great three course meal with appetizers of cabbage salad, marinated cucumbers, a plate of salami, cheese, and ham, and bread with butter and salmon laid on top. Then dinner and dessert came. It was chicken and potatoes, ice cream, special berry tort, and, of course, tea. Dinner was accompanied with many toasts and laughs.

Finally, as a night caper, we decided to go to the local club for one last night on the town. With nothing else to do but pack, we figured, "Why not?" We had been invited by some of the students at the school today. Come to find out, as we awkwardly walk in to the club, tonight was for younger kids. Needless to say, we were kicked out of the club because we were too old! A great way to end the trip.

Thursday with the babushki

2010-03-05T02:53:00.000-05:00

Our babushka in the village of Zamosh'e who prepared quite a feast for us, including blini, the best fresh pickles, and tea from a samovar.

I've had long day…so keep that in mind. I'm attempting to digitally archive yet another interview that is mostly static but also a Russian woman singing her interview - a very common approach to interviewing, apparently. The hotel toilet is running, and Bryn is attempting to sleep with me typing, the toilet running, and archival electronic equipment whirring. She is brave. She has also had a long day. I missed most of the vyecherinka that happened tonight at the Bistro, including the $50 check. Word to the wise - while in the motherland.

Just had a mostly one-way gmail chat with Leanna, who is busy amidst the protests at UCLA. It's a crazy world out there - protests over public education and a world away…a crazy babushka and her friends who share their village, their lives, and food and culture with us Americans, wondering if we still view them, the Russians, as enemies.

Our definitive answer was no. No one would be enemies if they experienced the amazingly gracious hospitality that we were so lucky to receive.

RUSLAN's next project...

historic preservation?

Connor_Today(realtime!)

2010-03-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

Where do I start? No intensive work in Russian schools, but some equally intensive eating, exploring, and merrymaking. We moved from Vytegra - town, to Makachevo - village. My first impression? Beautiful. Who else would have an opportunity to experience this side of Russian life? So far I've been a tourist in Petersburg, a volunteering professional in Vytegra, and now a cultural guest in a remote Russian village. Like in Vytegra, the students here are learning English. It turns out they have no choice in foreign language learning - English is the only one offered. Makachevo is the birthplace of influential poet Klyuev, and the children at the local school recited his poetry for us. Perhaps I've never listened to foreign poetry, but it struck me that I could still pick up the metre and rhyme in a foreign language.

School 2

2010-03-04T01:00:00.000-05:00

Day 6

Today was another very long and tiring day, but we had a lot of fun! After a delicious breakfast, we visited school #2, where we stayed all day. We went to their first couple of classes, answered questions, gave presentations, met with all the incredibly excited students, teachers, and staff, and took a countless amount of pictures. I would be willing to say that if you added up most of the pictures I had taken in my life it would be close to the number of pictures we were in today. My first thought after the first class stood in a line to take pictures with me was that I felt like Santa Clause, or another other famous person, I guess. Everyone else had the same story; all the students wanted so many pictures with us and they were so excited to be so close to us! It really does feel like being a foreign diplomat or a movie star; we attract so much attention from everyone at every age! The nice ladies who work in the cafeteria at the school and who made our delicious lunch today even wanted a few pictures with us. I knew that the city was looking forward to our arrival, but don’t think I could have ever comprehended the level of their excitement and mystification. We are the first group of foreigners (with the exception of Professor Makin of course) to come to this city and visit, so in a small way I can try to understand their emotions, but I can’t help but think about it inversely; if a group of students from another nation came to America, we would of course be very welcoming, but it would not be anything like this! The schools have done so very much for us, and the students and staff have treated us so well, they deserve so many thanks and such praise!

School #2 was built in 1913, and it was originally the home of very wealthy merchant, so it was very large and very beautiful. I really enjoyed it. One thing that really struck me (other than all the constant attention paid to us) was that almost every time I entered a room, the teacher or principal apologized for something about the school (the age, the lack of decorations, the deterioration, the old desks, the chalkboards, etc.). I realize that the school is not in the best shape, but I really thought that the school was beautiful in its own way, and it has more history and culture in its walls than any school I have known in my lifetime. It is really clear that they are trying their absolute hardest to impress us and show us/give us their best; in some ways they seem to almost show off their best talents and their work for us, and we very much appreciate it! We know that they have gone to great lengths to do for us the things that they are doing. It is so amazing to see.

We discussed today many of the differences between the two schools and between these schools and the schools in America, but I think the thing that stuck out the most to me today was the pride that these people have in their school, in their accomplishments, and in their work, and I hope that they never lose that sense of pride, because they deserve it. Today they did presentations about their city, region, history, and culture for us, preformed a little play about the history of the scarf, involved us in traditional games, performed traditional dances for us, taught us to do these dances, and held a singing/poetry session which displayed the talent in both Russian and English of a large age range of students. They were so happy to share their culture with us, and it was easy for me to see how proud they are of who they are and where they come from. I think it is interesting that they are so fascinated by us and our nation while we are even more fascinated by them and theirs; they are sharing more of their culture with us than we can with them, but I really think that is a major part of this project and of the work we are doing here. Bryn put the idea into words really well when we were talking tonight. She said that part of our work here seems to be just giving them someone to tell their stories to and giving them someone who will listen to their history and see their culture. I think that this is perfectly said. We are here to experience them and give them someone to share with; we will be able to always remember their stories and their culture, and we will take it home with us and share it with others. They really do have so much to be proud of, and they have such a rich and deep culture that I only want to learn more and more about.

The presentation about the Russian scarves today was very enjoyable, because they put on a fashion show for us and then they asked us to play some games with them which involved scarves. I don’t think Pat/Joseph and I expected the game we had volunteered for, but we had a lot of fun! J Learning the dances was also a great time, even though we were all timid at first (all the kids in the school were in the hall where the school girls were dressed up and doing their dance, so we would have to dance around in front of all of them), but it all worked out in the end and we had a good time, whether or not we made fools of ourselves. These sorts of things are truly fascinating, because it is hard for an American to fathom the depths of their culture here. We are learning bits and pieces of their traditions and their history as we go, but I know it is only the tip of the iceberg.

To recap the rest of the day: we took a little break after school and some people slept, but Danielle and I went shopping/exploring around town. We ran into three of the students from the school who were so excited to see us and talk to us, and they ended up being our tour guides and helping us find places in town. After the break, we went back to the school for a very nice dinner with the teachers and the principal. The dinner they put together for us was so incredible! We really felt like royalty, because the table was set so eloquently and with so much food and wine, that no matter how much we all ate, we couldn’t possibly put a dent in it. After we ate and talked for a while we ended up dancing, which was both a lot of fun and really funny. But by the end of the night, we were exhausted! So it’s definitely time for bed in order to get some rest for tomorrow.

Vytegra Moments

2010-03-03T08:37:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Vytegra!

Just wanted to share some funny moments, quotes, etc:

The Group: We designate Patrick Murphy and Joseph (Pat) collectively as "the Pats."

Emily: We should have pooled our money to buy one of those sleds instead of mobile phones.

Bryn: The dogs around here walk with purpose, like they're on a mission. These are the busiest dogs in the world.

Ethan: I could make a living here signing autographs.

A traditional welcome by the Vytegra local history museum on Monday:

Attempting to set up equipment to digitize oral histories of local veterans:

Step 5: School No.1 and the Disco Fever

2010-03-03T02:30:00.000-05:00

This is the day that we visit our first school. It was constructed in 1933. The halls had a funky smell, but nevertheless, it was a nice, solid building. It is a small school but there is a multitude of them spread over the Vytegra area; all the grades of the area are in one building. A bunch of schoolboys saw our approach and went inside before us. We entered the principal’s office to stow our coats and were met on our reemergence by the school’s cultural club in a song. They performed a similar tradition as the woman at the museum. I wished that I got a picture of this, as it was well-performed, but alas. We were then introduced to our chaperone’s for the day (of them I remember Marina, Masha, Vlada and Ludmila).

We then went to the second grade English class. These kids have been learning English for a semester. They’re in the same boat as I am, as I had only learned Russian for one semester. They performed a kid’s play for us in English about a bunch of animals that find a house one after another and keep introducing themselves to one another. For their age and how long they had to learn English, their performance was quite good. Over the course of the week, Pat-Joseph and I kept referring to this play and its contents as a meme, often quoting “Who lives in the house?” and “I am a (insert animal name)”.

After we watched the play, Joseph, Jill, Emily and I went to observe one of the cadet classes. The cadets are basically pre-military (similar, I think to our JROTC), and place a high importance on physical education. The class we were observing, however, was drawing. The subject was to draw a guard tower, after viewing the various guard towers of the Kremlin hill Fortress in Moscow. The drawings were quite good. The cadets then took guesses of which one of us four were cadets their first guess was Joseph, then me, but they were surprised to learn that it was Jill and Emily who are cadets in Air Force ROTC.

Alina and I (and others, I remember) then went to observe the English class; different class than that did the play. Before class started I noticed some of the school kids taking pictures of me with a digital camera, and I clapped them with a shot from my own camera. The theme of the class was family members, and the children brought in photos of their family to present to the class. The presentations were simple, as to their age, but they pulled it off. Another of our group, Jill I think, showed the class pictures of her family. While she was talking we had just managed to get our internet thumb drive to work (which we had been wrestling with since yesterday), and I was scrambling through Facebook to gather my own family photos. I managed to scrape together pictures of my nuclear family, and showed them off to the class.

After a brief lunch, we saw another presentation of Olonia (the school's ethnography research group) as they did traditional dances from the Vytegra area. One song that I got a picture of one meant for when a woman becomes engaged, and has to leave her friends. The songs were intermixed with recitations of poems by Klyuev, the famous poet of the Vytegra region (d.1937). After the presentation, we were taken into the Olonia’s ethnographic museum, which was inside the space of a class room. The club went to travel around the region and collect these artifacts. The leader of the group, a teacher, also dressed traditionally, explained portions of the traditional dress (she's in the right margin of this photo) and gave us an explanation of the layout of the peasant house. The basic layout of a peasant house is that there were two important corners. The first is the red corner, where religious icons are displayed on shelves and the most important guest was seated. Diagonally opposite of the red corner is the stove, which is constructed in a fashion that had a clear flat space that is moderately heated by the fires of the stove. The Olonia group also gave us bread that was knotted to resemble larks, and we got a cook book of traditional Vytegran dishes (in Russian, unfortunately).

We next visited the home-economics room, where we were instructed in making ribbon flowers. I think that our hosts were amused by our bumblings with needle and thread. After this amusing endeavor, we visited the school Museum of Military Glory (…cool thing, for a k-12 School). It is also evident that the town, and even the school students, values their military history, they displayed a section about their class of ’41, which left as a group for the front line with their teacher. None of them returned. I didn’t get a picture of this display, but there is a monument to them and to the losses in the Chechen war in the front of the school.

We visited the school's geological club, which is called Globus. They showed a brief presentation of what they do, which I sadly do not have pictures of this period, as while the classroom was full of students, only a smaller portion were members of the club. Bryn and Jill gave their presentations. We also answered several questions from the student body, including questions on the culture of the middle-name, and what we though of our president. We were told to expect this last one, but it was still hard to answer. Danielle explained it well, though.

Later we had a small sort of tea-session with the teachers and our chaperones. Two were not at this session, which is why I am still having trouble with their names. During the tea session, Masha demonstrated her singing, which was nice. I learned that she intends to become a customs officer. Remembering my experience earlier (see Step 1), I joked that Customs Officers in Russia were all scary. General laughs all around. Masha's response was that she'll be the exception.

We left the school and headed home. We had only a few hours break, as we were invited to a gathering of the towns alternative youth organization. This gathering consisted of a mini concert of student music groups, and then a discotheque. I tried to play the usual wall hanger, but eventually Masha managed to drag me (almost quite literally) to the dancing group.. One thing led to another, and I ended up leading a Congo line. Ethan and Jill would later keep reminding about how I was “tearing up the dance floor”. At 10pm there was an announcement and almost immediately the dance hall emptied. I learned that there is a strict curfew in Vytegra and everybody under 18 has to be at home before eleven or face a steep fine. Unfortunately, this age bracket includes almost all of the students from the school. Thus, without a socialization crowd, we went back to the hotel, accompanied by our ever-present chaperones. I stuck with Pat-Joseph, and two chaperones that I did not name above (I am really sorry for forgetting, if you are reading this). We left them outside the hotel and retired to our rooms.

BONUS TIME!!
Listening to Alina's translation of the Olonia leader's explanation.

Us checking out the Olonia club's artifact collection. Pat-Joseph, Emily & Chelsey.

Working in the Home-Economics room, under the watch of the older students.

Chelsey taking a picture of the concert hall to grasp in vastness.

Dance-party circles. our mass is on the left.

Pat-Joseph avoiding dancing.

Jill and a dance partner at the end of the night.

School 1

2010-03-02T14:59:00.000-05:00

Day 5
Today has been an incredibly long and exciting day. We have done, seen, and experienced so much today that it is hard to think about everything or really reflect on just a couple things. We had breakfast at 8:30, then another interview with the local news paper at 9:00, and then it was off to school. We visited our first school today, which had 615 students and grades K-12 all in one school. After school, we had dinner, and then the local youth (many of the kids which we met at the school) set up a program/dance for us at the cultural center in town. So, our day was very busy and tiring, but incredibly interesting.

The traditions and the culture of this town continue to astound me. When we entered the school this morning, which was in excited chaos due to our arrival, we were greeted with the warmest faces and the nicest “hellos”. Also, we were welcomed with the same traditional ceremony as yesterday with the bread and the salt. The cultural group at the school, which consisted of about twenty girls of various ages, was dressed in traditional dress and they sang a traditional welcoming song for us before presenting us with the bread.

The story behind the tradition: salt is supposed to be very expensive and there were times when it was very difficult to afford salt, so people went without, but when they had guests over, they would bake them special bread and put salt out on the table for them, despite the hard times.

The excitement in the school from the second graders all the way up to the principal was amazing to see. I have never felt like such a celebrity; they were in awe of us; we were so foreign to them, and they had so many questions for us.

The entire school seemed to stop and revolve around us for the entire day. They prepared plays, songs, dances, shows, crafts, exhibits, tour guides, special lunches, tea, movies, slide shows, and gifts for us! We received so many gifts from all the students, teachers, and school groups, and we were of course invited to tea and snacks and given more and more food. I felt very welcomed, and many of the girls took a strong liking to me for some reason (of course no one was even remotely as popular as Ethan, who they all fell in love with instantly!). The students were so outgoing and brave; they seemed so comfortable with talking to us, spending time with us, and sharing their lives with us. Meeting this school was truly amazing.

The dance after the school with all the youth of the town was also very interesting. Three of the girls who were always around me at school really wanted to sit with me, so the four of us all shared two chairs, and needless to say, it was very uncomfortable, but they were so happy! It seemed like the entire town was there to welcome us and show off their talents for us. There were films and slideshows of the town and the students, and there was a big concert with many of the local bands followed by a dance/rave. Very interesting.

Today was the first day when I got to really use my Russian a lot, and even though it was really tough at some times, it was really exciting and beneficial, and I know they were very happy to see me try to speak with them in their language. Other than the deeply rooted cultural ties which we have experienced, I think the most interesting/amazing thing that I noticed today was again the hospitality. The entire school welcomed us so warmly, and the students/staff liked us so much and became so attached to us. It was so hard for my three new friends to leave me at the end of the night, because they just wanted to hang out longer and talk more. I couldn’t believe the level of excitement that there was for us. I don’t think they really get too much contact from the outside world or travel very much, so it was like we were bring a part of the world to them; we shared our stories and our lives with them, so they could see a snapshot of what American life is like. We showed them pictures of our travels around the US, our home towns, the University of Michigan, our families, our friends and our lives; we described Ann Arbor and life on campus, and told them what it is like to be a student in America. By doing this I think we helped to broaden their horizons and learn more about the world which they don’t get to see (at least not yet), and I love that we could do that for them.

But I think the really amazing part is that they are doing the same for us. We would not have the same cultural experiences if we were merely tourists for a week in St. Petersburg; the students (and others in the town) shared their culture with us as they dance/sing for us, show us their traditional costumes, teach us their crafts, offer us their traditional foods and explain their traditional beliefs to us; they are opening up their world to us and showing us what life in Russia is really about and how it really is. We are amazed by each other, and we both have the opportunity to grow and learn because of each other.

Also, I think they have a fear that we will forget them, and the gifts are just as much a way for us to remember them as they are a way to welcome us, even though we could never forget our experiences here. When Katya was giving me gift this afternoon she said, “just so you think of us and don’t forget about us when you’re home”. I appreciated the gift, but I did not need it in order to not forget her and the rest of the school; these are important memories that will stay with me forever, and I hope that they know that.

Last thing: dinner tonight was very good! Crepes filled with the local farmers’ cheese with sour cream and homemade jam. Delicious.

1:00 am, time for bed.

Step 4: Handshakes and Work

2010-03-02T01:28:00.000-05:00

Today, we got up early to meet the local administration. The government building was not even a stone's throw away from the hotel, on Lenin Prospekt. It’s still named such because they don’t have the disposable funds to change the street name. The Mayor of Vytegra, Treasurer, et al. essentially welcomed our delegation to the town. Accompanying us to this meeting was a reporter for the local newspaper, which is covering our visit. The newspaper is called “The Red Banner”, which is also holdover from the Soviet Period. We also took pictures with the local dignitaries, one of which was used for our introductory article. The pictures below are not the ones.

After the meeting our next stop on our trip was the museum that we’d be doing our first bit of volunteer work during the course of our stay. On the way, we passed a church, which I learned was the original location of the local museum during the Soviet era, but has moved now that the property returned to the church. We were greeted at the museum, which is now partially housed in the ground floor of an apartment complex, by an old woman who was dressed in local traditional dress and carrying a round loaf of bread and a dish of salt. This was part of a tradition of welcome and hospitality. The guest tears off a bit of bread, dips it in salt and eats it. Our host commented on how we Americans take such small pieces.

We then toured the museum, which included geographical, zoological, and anthropological histories of the Vytegra area.

The Vytegra town was originally consolidated by the will of Peter the Great, who wished to use the area’s rivers for ship building. Other than monarchical will, the Vytegra area was built up by mercantilism. Also displayed in the museum was a collection of artifacts through the ages. The town of Oshta, near Vytegra, is proud that it was a front line area in World War II, the only one out of its entire region. There was a display under the twentieth century section for the female students who searched for landmines following the German retreat, many of whom were killed in their work.

We left the museum before we started our work and drifted towards another café. However, we decided to stop by the partially restored church. I didn’t get any pictures of the interior, save for a large icon, which apparently was rare, as it depicted in the center Christ at his Crucifixion, with the thieves and murderers (that’s how it was explained) around him. This large icon was painted blue and used as a sign by the Soviets, but is now restored.

We then climbed the bell tower for the church, which is still under the jurisdiction of the museum. It was so cold in the tower that there was an enormous amount of frost on the railings. Once we reached the top, I saw a fantastic view of the town.

After exiting the cathedral, I managed to get a picture of a militsiya jeep, which had been in front of the church since we'd got to the cathedral. I still a bit paranoid about police forces (I'm Irish, what can I say...). We ate lunch in a cafe, which was fantastic.

We returned to the Museum. Joanna and I were to start digitizing audio sources that the museum had. However, the digital recorders that we had brought with us from Michigan came without audio wires, even though Alina had apparently requested them specifically. So, while Alina and Joanna trekked out to go find some audio cables, I mulled about a bit, checking up on the other teams, and your all-basic-thumb-twiddling. Once we got audio cables (I regret not going out to get them, I was bored out of my skull) Joanna and I got to work. Over the time that we had left, we managed to record a tape of a Russian music performance, and recorded memoir of a commander from the First World War who’d met Lenin. This last source was odd; as it had been updated from whatever it was originally recorded onto a 70’s era audio cassette. The problem with this that it was recorded at a different speed than the conventional audio player, and the audio was played back at high speed (think “Chipmunk”).

We eventually packed up and went back to the hotel. I don’t remember anything fantastic about the evening. By the way apparently the phones we bought to use out here are bollocks. We are using a different phone plan than the area we’re in (Saint Petersburg, instead of North West region). Basically, it cost many more rubles to make a call than in Saint Peters. Another note about today: we tried to get an internet card so we could work on our presentations and make our blogs, but for some reason the money that Alina posted to the card hasn't shown up. Ah, Woe.

Bonus time! More pictures from the top of the tower.

Really old bell.

Emily a-laughing while taking a picture. I can't remember who she was taking a picture of, though....

Chelsey, Danielle, Pat-Joseph, and Bryn.

Pat-Joseph making the victory hand pose and joking with me about the cold.

First day in Vytegra

2010-03-02T01:07:00.000-05:00

Day 4

Today was our first day in Vytegra! We started with an early morning with an 8:30 breakfast at the «Бистро». Before coming to Russia, I was very skeptical of the food, and I wasn’t sure if I would really like it, but I must admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the majority of our meals! And breakfast this morning was no exception. We had farmers’ cheese patties (which looked like potato pancakes) with sour cream, Russian salads, cheese sandwiches, salami sandwiches, jam, and tea.

If it sounds like a lot of food, it is. I enjoy trying everything, even the things which I have not liked so much, but it is very difficult to make it through a whole meal, even with the foods which I really like. There is just so much food for every meal! I really find this aspect of the Russian culture interesting and foreign. A host must offer food to the guests or else they will be considered (or consider themselves, for that matter) very rude, just as a guest would be rude not to accept the food offered. This is just very different from in America, I think. Hosts and restaurants go to such extents to please guests even when they may not have the means to, and food is very important! This is why I’m trying my best to eat as much of everything that is offered to me as possible, though it is getting harder and harder because I am still so full from the day before, and each meal just keeps adding to the fullness! But I don’t want to look like a rude guest, even if I’m not so fond of what I am eating, so I do my best to eat a lot.

Even in the Museum today while we were working, the ladies working there were so hospitable and welcoming to us, and they continued to offer food to us in order to make us feel truly welcomed. The first thing they did when we entered was offer us a traditional Russian bread, which is dipped in salt, while the woman was smiling and wearing a very traditional Russian dress. The bread was very good, and she just kept insisting us to take more; she said that we were too bashful and reserved because we did not take as much bread as possible; I suppose that’s a big cultural difference. We don’t want to take too much and seem rude for overindulging, but the Russians see it as rude if we are reserved. It is a cultural difference which we are quickly learning to overcome. Later in the afternoon, after lunch, the very nice ladies of the library prepared delicious tea, cookies, lemons, and candies for us! They were very good, even though we were far from hungry!

I think that this aspect of the culture more than anything else that I have experienced so far really demonstrates the Russian hospitality that we have encountered. They want so much to welcome us and open up their culture to us and show us who they are and what they do. It is amazing to be here as an American and be so welcomed; it seems like most of the world isn’t quite so welcoming of us all the time. It is really neat and interesting to see that the schools and the students are going out of their way to prepare things for us and make plays and set up tours for a whole day; the city council set up a meeting with us just to welcome us to the city and introduce themselves to us; the press has set up meetings with us to get to know us better and introduce us to the town and welcome us; the museums have set up tours for us and welcomed us very warmly! The amount of kindness and welcomeness here has really surprised me and makes me feel more comfortable about being in a place which sometimes seems so foreign to me.

I really find it amazing that so many people have so much to offer us in terms of tea and food even when we know very well that budgets are tight and it is not easy for them to do so. I think that says a lot about the culture and about what is truly important to these people who have a great deal of pride in both their city and what it is they do. We seem to be stirring things up quite a bit despite the short length of our stay here.

So today, as I said earlier, we had breakfast at the bistro, and then we went to meet with the city officials and the local press. Next we visited the museum for the first time, toured it, and had an orientation to our jobs there. Jill, Ethan, and I were supposed to translate some of the labels on the history exhibit into English. After our orientation we went for a walk and saw the local cathedral, which was just amazing to see. We got to climb up to the top of the bell tower for a splendid (but very frigid) view of the entire city! Then we went to a little café and had a good and filling lunch (every borshch which I have had has been exquisite!). Then we got to work in the library. We had dinner at the bistro and then a reflection session, which got us very excited for tomorrow when we will visit our first school!

Step 3: The Road to Vytegra

2010-03-01T02:15:00.000-05:00

We got up and packed in a rush, as breakfast was at 9am, and we were to load up at 9:30am and hit the road by ten. This is probably the part of the journey in which I am supposed to make notes of the difference between the metropolitan sphere of Saint Petersburg and the provincial realm of Svirstoy and Vytegra. Anyway, we loaded into a tour bus, with two older drivers and a younger boy. It apparently took them ten hours to get to Saint Petersburg. We drove for a bit, took a quick break at a bus stop (also to charge up phone cards), and hit the road again. At about 3:00pm we reached the town of Svirstoy and had lunch in a small café (borshch, corn, buckwheat, and fish patties). We then tried to visit the monastery, and, when we approached what we believed to be it, we were confronted by a Russian Orthodox nun, who told us that it was close. We had gotten to a nunnery and the male monastery was further down the road. There seemed to be a little confusion about which monastery we were heading to. It turns out that the town has/had two. We then trekked to the newer-looking one (“looking”, as the newest building was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century), and tried to find a guide. Another point of confusion, the guide had already gone out with another group, and we had past each other on the road. We caught up to the guide and secured a partial tour, as Alina had to translate the guide for us. The older-looking monastery was built by the brethren following of the Saint Alekandr, who lived in a hut, which is inside what is now the other monastery. The older monastery is out of shape, as it was claimed by the communists during the Soviet era and used as a mental hospital. We went inside the cathedral, and saw the wall paintings, including one depicting the trinity, and another mirror to it depicting judgment day. The variety of icons on the sacristy gate was astounding. I didn’t say this at the time, but I was pretty sure that I saw one move out of the corner of my eye. The various buildings of this particular monastery were built during different centuries, primarily the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. We then migrated over to the other monastery, the one that houses most of the areas important to the mythos of Saint Aleksandr of Svir'. As we crossed the gateway, the bell of the monastery started to sound its call to the faithful, a dreary tone for the season of lent. Our first stop was to visit this tiny little building that houses the spot on which the Saint received his vision from God, which links them to Abraham, who was the first one to receive a visitation from God (Aleksandr being the second). I have some sand from this location, which I am embarrassed to write that I have sealed in a common shopping bag. Ah, woe. By the time that we stepped out of the hut, the bell tower, which was the final addition to this particular monastery, had begun to ring a different tune. I managed to get a video recording of the bell tower about halfway through this tune, which I will attach. The next part of our journey through the monastery took us into the proper religious building in which we walked into a Russian Orthodox mass. I was a bit uneasy about our intrusion into this religious setting, probably because my own religion is practically the twin brother of the Eastern Orthodox Church, from which the Russian Church descended. In side this temple, we saw the relics (full body; first class relic) of Saint Aleksandr, who, despite his remains being captured by the Soviets and housed in a government military lab until perestroika, remained primarily uncorrupt. I thought that this was amazing, as the Saint died in the 16th century. As we were in the relic chamber, a babushka approached us and said something that I did not catch. Alina simply asked us not to pay her any mind, as the babushka was apparently not in her right mind (note: I should ask Alina what the woman actually said, just for information sake, although I have a faint idea).

After that, we visited the monastery shop and it was probably after 5:30 that we boarded the bus to continue on to Vytegra. By the end of the tour the weather began to turn afoul. I fell asleep on the bus after trying to press through the reading for my already late midterm paper, but we reached Vytegra at 10pm. We then checked into our hotel which had dorm-like rooms, and we trekked across the village to the café in which we were to have dinner. The place was also a bar and had no shortage of drinking Russians. A male patron actually came (almost burst) got toin to our separate dinning area and asked (as I later found out) where we were from. He was dispatched rather quickly and we continued with our meal.

The meal consisted of some vegetables, mashed potatoes and a meat patty. We then left the bar, as it was almost past closing. I am not sure how near on which side of closing it was as we arrived later than expected and by the time we left the other patrons were hanging out in the foyer of the restaurant. We were planning to have a group party tonight as celebration for surviving the long bus ride (which actually took longer in getting from Saint Petersburg to Vytegra by bus than it did getting from DTW to Saint Petersburg by airplane). We briefly stopped at the grocers to pick up supplies that consisted of chocolates and other groceries. The grocers was also home to this adorable tawny cat which I have a few pictures of, as we as a video of it becoming most attentive of Chelsey’s boot tassels. We left the grocers heading back to the hotel. Unfortunately this took us through the crown of post-drinking patrons of the Russian restaurant that we dined at. We picked up a few shouts of something that I didn’t understand, and two tails that I was nervous about and tried my best to keep an eye on. We made it bgot toack to the hotel, tails included, and we tried to get up to our rooms as fast as we could (note: I am not sure how much the entire group was aware of the two men following us), and the men tailing us were, more-or-less, stopped in the lobby (I heard that they were still there when Joanna went down to the lobby for something-or-other, but were chased off by the woman who worked at the reception, who knew them by name). We apparently attract so much attention because we are new faces to the county. Joseph and I, who now share a room, as Ethan volunteered himself to take the single (odd number of males, as the rooms are apparently in doubles or singles), moped about for a bit until midnight, when we all gathered in Alina’s front room (she had a suite) and watched the Olympic Hockey between Canada and the USA game. We also went over the events that will make up our stay in Vytegra. Apparently our visit attracted a bit of media attention, as we will be covered by the local media when we meet the local government administration tomorrow morning.

After a while, the party began to part ways, and Joseph and I retired to our room. My work at the museum will involve the digitization of the museums audio collection. My major thoughts for the day involve the idea that provincial Russia is pretty inaccessible to tourists during the winter (which is when I believe the best time to see “Russia” ), the religion in Russia is pretty grounded in hagiographical tradition, and that the religious traditions of Russia are making a sure recovery after the Soviet period. Notes from {Party of Hats/Café Silent} --I STILL need to find a cookbook that contains the stuff from this trip, it is absolutely delicious and I think it would fit in well at the co-op. As for folk-music for Chekhov, I have noticed a stark difference between the metropolis of Saint Petersburg, where Serebryakov is thought to be from, and the provincial portions of Russia, which isn’t identical but similar to the region that the estate is said to be located in. Michael Makin notified me before the trip that northern provincial Russia wasn’t populated by landed gentry as much as the south was. The north was mainly controlled by the merchant “bourgeois” class, but, meh, it is all the same to me, according to the environmental and living conditions that the characters would have been subjected to year after year.

BONUS TIME!
Video of the Chelsea and the Vytegra Cat.

day 3- ten hour trip

2010-03-01T02:00:00.001-05:00

Day 3

Trip to Vytegra: long trip- 12 hours

We stopped at a very beautiful monastery on the way, which helped to break up the trip. This stop was great, because we got the opportunity to see what a real Russian church looks like in the Russian style, rather than the European style of the cathedral we saw in St. Petersburg. There was a big difference between the two alters and the way the two were set up! And we also got blessed sand, so all in all it was a very good stop. It was very late when we made it into town, but I was very impressed with the hotel when we got here! Danielle and I actually have outlets in our room and a mirror! The rooms are clean and have two beds, bathrooms, closets, tvs, desks, and storage (everyone else has a fridge, but somehow we missed out on that one, ha). It's much more than I was expecting; pleasant surprise :)

Connor-Day 3

2010-02-28T21:30:00.000-05:00

I had wanted to wake up early this morning and explore Vasilievsky Island before breakfast at 8:30am. However, I had chosen to stay up late hanging out with the guys from my group instead. Of course, I’d have liked to see even more of St. Petersburg, but I’m satisfied with the exploring I was able to do. I’d love to return during the summer months, when the days are longer and the streets are more navigable.
As I write these notes, twilight is dimming and the wintry Northern Russia is growing dark. We have about three more hours until we meet our destination, but secretly I wish the bus ride would never end. I enjoy traveling in this manner – my own space and plenty of reading material and sightseeing to keep me occupied.

Perhaps I’m also nervous about beginning service in Vytegra. Unlike my fellow students, I speak no Russian. In the museums, I may be alright, but I’m especially uneasy about interacting with the school-aged children. Unlike in St. Petersburg where I could leave the group and adventure on my own, in provincial Russia I will need to call on the support of my peers more than since we arrived in the country.

We visited a cathedral first built in the early 16th century this afternoon. I feel more artistically inspired than ever in the provinces, however I preferred to stay with the group than commence work on my thesis project. The cathedral was great – it fulfilled a similar expectation that I had of Russia as St. Petersburg did. In coming here, I wanted to see images that I considered Russian – first the Europeon-like splendor of St. Petersburg, followed by the onion shaped domes of Orthodox cathedrals. Although we have an entire week remaining of the program, I already feel like I’ve experienced enough to satisfy me for an entire semester abroad.

The provinces are beautiful. The bridges spanning the wide rivers are quite frightening – totally uneven road make you feel like you’ll sink right through to the water beneath. And they’re high. Like the escalators down to the metro in SP, the bridges seem extra tall, perhaps a thousand meters above the river.

It’s colder here as well. In SP this morning it had started to rain and the ground became even more hazardous. But the area around the monastery, about 4 hours north east of the city was still a winter wonderland. It’s quieter here – something that the book Skunk: A Life prepared me for. It’s peaceful in the snow.

Step 2: Petrograd, the Metropolis of the North

2010-02-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

We woke up before we were due, around 8:15. We did our various routines, and had breakfast in the café again (oatmeal, drinkable yogurt, juice, and coffee). We once again boarded our bus with Anatoly once again at the wheel. We also had with us a tour guide for the day. We took a brief break of about five minutes or so in St. Isaac’s square, which is in front of the St. Isaac’s cathedral, which was damaged heavily during the Second World War. Pat-Joseph and I drifted over to a bridge with a pillar that marked the water level for the worst flood in the city’s history (4m I believe the pillar noted). In front of the cathedral there was an equestrian monument of Nicholas I, this Czarist statue survived the Soviet era on the marvel of its design (only two of the horses legs touch the pillar).

Our first stop was the Hermitage Museum complex, which is made up from several interconnected buildings, a palace, an actual museum, and other such royal buildings. The interior of the Hermitage although some of it is undergoing restoration…

I think “wow” just doesn’t cut it... The Hermitage is filled with paintings and statues bearing the origins from all over Europe. It has over three million pieces, making it the largest art museum in the world.
I took many pictures of the paintings that I could; I especially like the religious paintings in the Hermitage.

The paintings had come from all over the powers of Europe of the time: Holland, Italy, England. There was, in fact, a gallery in which we were prohibited from taking pictures in. I believe the reason was that the paintings were lifted from the Soviet occupied Nazi territory (the Nazis probably lifted it from the territory that they took). The Soviet government didn’t admit to having these works of art until after the perestroika, so the exhibition of the paints was slightly controversial.

After the Hermitage, we went back on the bus. One of our next leg-stretcher was at the Cathedral of the Savior of the Spilled blood, which was built by a Czar on the spot of the assassination of the previous Czar, his father. It is supposedly on the exact spot, and stretches slightly out into the canal, as the Czars, blood flowed onto the cobble-stones of the canal wall. I did my first amount of souvenir shopping at some street shops just across the street from the Cathedral. I bought a lacquer box for my youngest sister which had a design painted by artists of a former icon painting school and a music box shaped like the cathedral for Emma-Riley (my young niece I hope she’ll enjoy it when she grows older).

We ate luch an this lovely little restaurant, I ate the Pelmeni dumplings (a Siberian food). It was fantastic; I should learn later how to cook this. Our next stop was the Peter-Paul Fortress, which was built on an island in the middle of the river Neva, and essentially helped sprout the city. The complex was meant to be a fortress against Sweden, but wasn’t used because a second one was built closer to Sweden.

Because of that, the complex was partially converted into a prison for political prisoners (it held the Decembrists after their failed revolution). We visited another cathedral, which houses the graves of the Romanov Czars, including Peter, Chatherine I, and II. Off to the side, there was the Chapel to St. Catherine the Martyr. This chapel also housed the remains of Czar Nicholas II, the last Czar, and his family.

My camera started to run out of batteries, but I managed to get a picture of the vessel that sounded the start of the Soviet assault on the Winter Palace by cannon.

Bonus Time! Various Pictures of us in the Hermitage and Around St. Peters.
Chelsey, Alina, and Jill

The group contemplating a floor mosiac.

Ethan playing the goof and Joanna checking here picture.

Emily standing in a hallway that was painted to rival the vatican.

Same hallway; Joanna taking Ethan picture, as seen by mirror.

Group listening to guide in the Dutch collection.

Group under the watch of angels.

Political egg-dolls at a street shop outside of the Savior of Stained Blood.

Academy cadets on snow-shoveling duty (or so we joked).

Us in the Cathedral in the Peter-Paul fortress.

Connor-Day2

2010-02-28T02:40:00.000-05:00

I’m actually able to pick up a bit of the Cyrillic alphabet. On the way home from extensive touring, we navigated the Metro system problem-free. I could look at the schedule and pick out our Island’s name – Vasilievsky. It did help knowing that the island is North-West of the heart of the city. ”KoΦe” is personally very important to remember. Of course, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m only beginning learning Cyrillic, and my knowledge of Russian language is abysmal. I totally underestimated the difficulty I’d have getting by in the country. For instance, my jont through the city was free and easy until I wanted to buy a cup of coffee. I simply paged though my guidebook until an employee began speaking to me in English.

Stereotypes Galour

2010-02-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Traveling has always been a love/hate relationship for me. I love to travel, whether it's to another city of state. There's something invigorating about the unknown which presents itself during a travel. At the same time however, traveling always seems to remind me of the warm Texas city of San Antonio that I come from. It makes me quite aware of how different each of us are, hailing from different cities in the US. Being in Russia only heightened this realization because of the stark contrasts of this country which has such a rich cultural history.

Landing in the St. Petersburg airport was simply surreal. We were all exhausted from a long day of traveling and after having so much excitement built up for months prior to our trip, we were all just overwhelemed by finally being in Russia. After retrieving our bags we went through passport control which merely reinforced stereotypes associated with Russian people- that they are quite cold. The woman who handled my documents was stone faced, and only changed her expression to roll her eyes at me and "shoo" me away after she had finished shuffling through my passport and papers. I, in turn, merely smiled at her and waved goodbye, reinforcing the stereotype of Americans- that we all smile too much.

Once we were on the bus which was to take us to the Sports Complex where we were to be staying, the smile which I had given the young Russian woman, remained plastered to my face. Architecturally St. Petersburg is absolutely fascinating and so detailed, even at night when the only things making the buildings visible are the dim lights which line the large streets. On our first night, traveling through the city established by Tsar Peter I, it was easy to see that St. Petersburg had had a great European influence in the setup of the city which has rivers running through it, seperating it into islands. It was almost as if you weren't in Russia, but rather in a much larger, and more pleasant smelling Venice. In fact, our tour guide on the second day in St. petersburg mentioned that many thought that St. Petersburg was not Russian at all, but rather resembled a German man, whereas Moscow resembled a Russian maiden of the country. Touring through the city, it became obvious that her statement was relatively accurate.

Overall, my first impression of Russia and Russians coincided with what I was expecting. The stereotypes that were formed were accurate thus far, and I realized that the stereotypes foreigners have of Americans have some accuracy as well. But nonetheless, we have yet to travel to the small town of Vytegra where I'm sure we will all have a real taste of what and who Russian and Russians really are.

Connor - Day 1

2010-02-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Flying to St. Petersburg was a breeze. I walked to the MLB at U of M, Bryn’s-boyfriend’s-Mom drove us to the airport, and we flew directly from Detroit to Germany to Russia. We flew Lufthansa, a German airline, and it was great. The plane left right on time, we had three meals between the two flights, and I was able to sleep overnight to wake up on German time. Browsing the in-flight magazine was a great chance to appreciate innovative German design (e.g. a wristwatch that displays binary code). The business–class seats were unlike any I had seen before – they fully recline without invading the rear passenger’s space.

Arriving in Frankfurt, I was immediately struck by the pleasant climate – a mere 40 degrees. Although we had a 4-hour layover, we didn’t venture out of the airport. I was able to check my e-mail, as Joanna was nice enough to pay the hefty price for Wi-Fi.

Step 1: Getting to Russia

2010-02-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

We lifted off from DTW, at approximately 7:20pm, and landed in Frankfurt between 9am and 10am. Our flight didn’t board until the afternoon. During the interim, I went off on my own to explore the airport. So, smack dap in the middle of the terminal was this café, the Goethe-Café. I sat down at the bar and in under a minute, the bar-maid hands me my order and says something to me in German. I don’t speak German and I thought she was asking me if the beer was mine. No. apparently she was asking me if I wanted it, and answered me in fantastic English when I awkwardly said that I didn’t think that the drink was mine. A cup of coffee and a plate of bratwurst later, I was ready to go. However it was nowhere near time to board the plane. So I returned to our group meeting point and fished out the book that I am supposed to be writing my midterm paper on (Future note: It’s late, but there’s no readily available Wi-Fi or internet like there is in the states).
I read for a bit until it was time to board the smaller plane to get from Frankfurt to the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg's still abbreviated LED, after the Soviet-era name for the city). After we landed we had to go through customs. I was the last one through the migration check point, but only after I stood there for a bit looking confused (until an immigration officer-woman, who was leaving her desk yelled at me to go through). After we got through the check-point we made a brief stop to exchange money to rubles (at approximately 30 rubles to 1 dollar). We were picked up at the airport by a bus (a extended white van with a tall roof) from the Pulkovo, driven by Anatoly (check spelling later). We were driven to the Centr Sporta. This facility is a sports training center with an attached dorm complex for visiting athletes. Some people from the group were planning to go ice skating, but after the wonderful dinner in the café (which was in the sports center) we were just too tuckered out from jetlag to go for it, and we retired to our respective dorm rooms. I roomed with Ethan and Pat-Joseph (another Pat, wow), and for of the girls lived next door (Jill, Emily, Bryn, and Joanna), and two girls lived down stairs (Chelsey and Danielle (Chelsey showed up before we did, as she took a different string of flights to get to Saint Petersburg). I regretfully didn’t have my camera in a convenient bag for the trip, so I have no pictures of this day. We turned in eventually, and I fell asleep trying to push through my midterm book.

Day 1 -- v puti...

2010-02-26T05:08:00.000-05:00

(This entry was started in Frankfurt on Feb 26 but not posted because we ran out of minutes at the airport. With no access to the internet for 4 days, it gets to be posted retroactively only today, March 2, 2010).

Guten Tag (almost) aus Deutschland,

Just when I thought I could kick back and enjoy the fruits of my 6-month long program preparation period, I got the full red carpet treatment at Detroit Metro. After paying overweight fees on my carry-on luggage (sic!) (this was the first time anyone ever wanted to weigh my carry-on in my life and I was caught completely unprepared), I also got a full body search, apparently because those scanning gates didn't like a metal fastener on my pants... And those TSA officers definitely try to do their best to treat you like cattle. I have gone through security in a few countries but American TSA ranks at the top of my book for the rudest, meanest and the grumpiest employees. No wonder they are the lowest paid government workers out there!

After a bumpy start, we had a very uneventful and comfortable flight on a brand new airbus, with decent food and service. What a shame I can never sleep on those long transatlantic flights, always arriving completely exhausted. I was amazed and envious to see that Danielle, who sat next to me, could finish her polisci paper during the flight and even post it from Frankfurt, while Jill just slept like a baby.

Everyone in the group seems excited already, despite us being forced to sit and even nap on the floor -- there are few chairs outside of gate lounges here and gate lounges open only 1.5 hours before the flight! I keep wondering what the reason behind that brilliant idea is -- perhaps trying to force travellers spend money in duty free shops and overpriced coffee bars (3 euros for a small cup of tea!)?.

*** after about 4 hours ****

Although our flight to Pulkovo 2 is delayed by an hour, we still manage to get to Russia dead on the origianally scheduled time which means that the Germans are just being very generous with their flight durations. I am very impressed at how empty and easy the passport control is this time, not a single line anywhere and our luggage is waiting for us. The airport is absolutely empty by 7 p.m. on a Thursday night - this is what global financial crisis does to travel industry, I guess. We don't have any problems with anything and are on the way to the hotel in a nice large minivan shortly afterwards.

All my friends told me how much snow they had this winter in SPb and that it was the largest recorded snowfall since 1893 but I am not prepared for how much snow there is on the sidewalks and roads. Still it's nice to see a wintery sight of the Russian Northern Capital at night(I've been to St. Petersburg only in the summer, spring or fall before). When we get to our hotel/hostel at the Centr Sporta, however, the bus driver cannot get through all the snow and close enough to the entrance we need. Actually he can, be he is afraid that he won't be able to turn around or back out once he is there. So, we have to struggle with our luggage through immense snow banks (compacted and slippery by now) and drag our suitcases for about 100 meters and up four flights of stairs.

Everyone is exhausted, and after eating our dinner half-heartedly at the Shtolletka cafe and figuring out cell phone use for everyone (except for me), everyone settles down in their rooms for the night. Very busy day sightseeing tomorrow but I still have lots of things to do tonight (calls and payments to make, as well as trying to figure out why my phone is still not working).

One great thing is that we are in Russia, the trip, amazingly, has started and it seems that we have a great group of students -- fun, upbeat, curious, enthusiastic and prepared. My biggest fear is to disappoint them somewhere. So, keep your fingers crossed for us!

Frankfurt

2010-02-26T04:40:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update from the Frankfurt Airport, where it costs 8 euros to get online for an hour. We've got a few hours to kill here before our flight to St. Petersburg. We had a hard time finding a place to camp out. Some of us are doing homework, others eating, practicing our German...whatever it is that people do to pass the time at airports...oh yeah -- duty free!

Lufthansa has been a decent experience so far. The food blows any U.S. carrier out of the water, and the Bailey's to finish off our dinner was a nice touch. The movie/tv selection was entertaining. I watched the indie film, An Education. It left me with mixed feelings...what else is new :) Then I was forced to turn to more serious reading -- Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom for my ICT4D lit review.

We will hopefully check in again from St. Petersburg, where it's 25 degrees F as we speak.

Before your flight, don't forget to check reality

2010-02-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today began a strike of some 4,000 pilots at Lufthansa—the airline where most of us spring breakers booked our trip—grounding all flights until midnight on Thursday—our day of departure.

To say the least, the news struck me as an inconvenient surprise. To say the most, it seemed as though I had become the victim of an international conspiracy to trap me in the same three claustrophobic cities in Michigan. I mean, come on: this is my first trip abroad, my first opportunity to wield a passport with a shiny new visa stamped inside, and frankly, the most interesting excursion I will have gone on since family vacation at the Wisconsin Dells in '98. And just when I finally get the opportunity to leave the country and taste a little culture, 4,000 German pilots strike me down. Only the airline I'm flying on, only the week that I'm flying.

Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. Lufthansa has already guaranteed to reroute international travelers through other airlines during the strike. UNISEL is already hammering the kinks out for our group's trip. And I was even contacted this weekend by the online booking site I used, ensuring that I would have a seat on some flight some time this Thursday. So what's the big deal?

Basically, it's a much-needed reality check for a novice traveler like me. Because I bought my ticket online in much the same way that I buy—well—everything else online, I expected the process to be foolproof. I pay the money, I go to Russia. But surprise! International travel is subject to the same political and economic pressures as anything else. A labor union in Germany agreed quite naturally that its members deserve job security, and suddenly my $900 plane ticket reverts to so much paper and ink (or so many bytes on a web server, as it were).

All of us will certainly find a way to Petersburg on Thursday, but not because international travel is invincible. It's a fragile system that works only when all parties agree to cooperate, and there is necessarily some risk involved. But notwithstanding labor conditions, weather, and a whole host of other factors, I'll be in a Russia by the end of the week. Woah.