A true Muscovite
I was walking down the street and talking to my friend Evan, not entirely watching where I was going, when I suddenly collided with a woman coming from the other direction. But instead of stepping aside, excusing herself and walking around me, she continued to plow through, letting the cart she was dragging behind her roll directly over my feet. As I regained my balance and checked to make sure I still had my toes, I could only think one thing: it's time to get out of this place.
As I hurry through the metro on a daily basis, my arms bump into others', people push me out of their way, and I push them out of mine. I no longer expect an apology or even recognition when it's another's fault, and I no longer give one when it's mine. I sigh loudly and scoot around slow walkers, and I get annoyed when there's a hold-up because someone has to consult a sign to figure out which way to go. Let's face it - I've become a true Muscovite.
Which brings me back to the first point of it being time to get out of here. I'm worried I'm going to go home and forget to say excuse me, or slam a door in someone's face without realizing it. I'm ready to see smiles again, and people who reach out to others, or at least just utter the words "I'm sorry". I think I've given Moscow a fair chance, and I truly have enjoyed it at times, but when it comes down to it, I'm really just ready to go home.
Metro Observations
Today on the metro, I saw...
...a boy who looked exactly like Mark Barber. Seriously. Not quite as tall, but still very tall, and the splitting image. So if anyone sees Mark, tell him his long lost twin is running around Moscow somewhere.
...a woman sitting and reading what seemed to be a prayer book of some kind. Every few minutes, she'd close the book, cross herself, and then open the book and continue reading.
...a man put out his foot to hold the doors from closing on a woman who was running to catch the train. After she got on, she looked at him like he was insane, said "You didn't have to do that" and then went and sat down.
...a girl riding up the escalator, staring at the ceiling, and just smiling to herself. This is quite possibly the rarest site on the Moscow metro, and made me smile for the rest of the day.
Солнце и семья
Today is Monday. We have not seen the sun since last Sunday, at 9 am, for a total of about 2 hours. And we can't remember when we last saw it before then...
Not that any of that matters, of course, because MY FAMILY IS HERE!! And we're going up to St. Petersburg tomorrow. And they brought Oreos and peanut butter. And I'm really happy.
:)
Stage 3 Sanity
During Orientation, we had a presentation given to us about culture shock. They told us there are generally three stages of culture shock. In the first stage, everything is new and exciting and you just want to take it all in. When something goes right it’s the most wonderful thing in the world, and when something goes wrong, it’s ok because it’s all a “cultural experience”. Stage 2, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of Stage 1. You’re sick of Russia, you want to go back to America. You can’t understand why they do anything the way they do it, and when even just a little thing goes bad, it goes really bad. I believe they said this stage was characterized by “unexplained fits of crying”, to which we all nervously laughed… Then, Stage 3 is the sane stage, so to speak. You understand why they do things they way they do things here, whether or not you like it. You may even start to think some things are done better here than they are done back home. And you begin to think of things you’re going to miss about Russia when you leave. Each person experiences the stages differently, of course, and it's possible, especially if we're only here for a semester, that we only hit Stages 1 and 2. Or even that we stay in 1 the whole time. Or that we skip 1 and go straight to 2. Anything is possible, as they say.
What has been the most interesting for me, though, is that I feel like I've hit all three, right on the button. For the first few weeks that I was here, there was a lot of jumping back and forth between 1 and 2. I'd have an awful day, and then a wonderful day. I'd feel like I couldn't speak a single word of Russian, and then I'd feel like I was going to become fluent by the time I left. And then there was definitely a period of solid Stage 2. There's really no way to explain it, and I must say I'm more than glad it's done with, but it mostly consisted of a lot of (unexpressable) frustration.
And now, almost three months since I arrived, I believe I have finally entered Stage 3. There are still Stage 1 and 2 moments, of course, but I think those moments exist in everyday life, no matter where you are. The Stage 3 realization came while I was traveling in Finland, actually. I can't say that I missed Moscow, because I didn't. I didn't miss the city, or the language, or the metro, or the people. But somehow, I missed Russia. I missed the feeling of the country, and the culture. I missed having tea waiting for me at every meal. I missed the way they're always wishing you things - Bon appetit, Have a good trip, Have a good day. I missed the food. It's not that I love Russian food, but there's a feeling in food that just reminds you of a place. A hot dog is just about as American as you get, just like potatoes and borscht are as Russian as you get.
I have yet to really fall in love with Russia, and I doubt whether I actually will. But I think I finally understand, and sometimes even enjoy, the feeling of Russia. That doesn't say anything to whether or not I'd like to return for an extended period of time, cause I still am not sure (although I know that if I do return, it will be to a different city than Moscow...). All it means is that I understand, which I guess is really the point of studying abroad anyway. I came to Russia to get to know the culture and, regardless of what I like and what I don't, I know it. It makes my time here feel like a success, even when I'm homesick and wishing for just one night at Proctor at 5:45.
Простая картошка
This post in no way makes up for the almost month-long lag in posting, but someday, if you want to hear about Petersburg or Helsinki or how many pills Irina Ivanovna will give you when you get sick, ask me and I shall tell. But for now, I've just got a short story that must be told.
All around Moscow, they have a chain of kiosks that sells baked potatoes. So one day, on my way to a dance class, I stopped at one of these kiosks because I hadn't had lunch and thought I should eat something before I danced. So I walked up to the lady and asked for a plain potato (clearly, a "plain" potato actually means with butter and cheese. plain just doesn't mean plain in russia. ever.)
The lady made up my potato and then asked me "Какые салаты?" "Which salads?" The toppings that they have for you to put on your potato are meat/vegetable/mayonnaise salad-y things.
I simply responded that I didn't want any salads, at which point she looked down at me and said, "Девушка. У нас написано 'картошка с наполнителем'." "Miss. It is written on our sign that we have 'potato with fillers'."
"Знаю, но не хочу." "Yes, I know. But I don't want any."
At this point, I got an eye roll, a sharp stare, and the words "Следующий раз что вы хотите
простую картошку, не проходите." "Next time that you want a
plain potato, don't come by."
Marshall Field could have taught these Russians a few things. Namely, about the customer and how he or she is always right.
Apologies
Ok, I admit it, I've been lagging on the whole blog thing. I hope you will all forgive me.
I promise that I have good stories to make up for it, because I've been doing lots of traveling. I've been to Yaroslavl, St. Petersburg and Helsinki, and plan to go to Vladimir over the next weekend. The more I travel around Russia, the more I like Russia, and that makes me happy.
I promise to write a long post soon, full of juicy details, but for now I hope you'll all be satisified with pictures from the past 10 days of adventure, and a few new ones from before that too. The link's over there, on the right side, and I promise to get a good post up soon!
