Russia- The Middle

It's Friday night, I'm at work and the two things left on my "to-do" list are laundry and start my Humanities essay....So instead I'm writing a blog. I know you've all been waiting anyway... ;)

Today, I'd like to make my story a little more interesting. Instead of posting a list of observances at the bottom like last time, it's YOUR turn to find these words below within the text. Then you can make your own observances :)

KEY WORDS:

-indifferent

-English

-classic

-pickled

-serious

-embrace

Soooo, the rest of my time in Moscow went by pretty fast, (don't worry, I come back!). We went to a nice dinner and spent the night with some friends and then in the morning we wandered around the grocery store for 20 minutes trying to get two indifferent people to decide what they wanted to eat on the train, packed and finally walked to the train station to head to Tolyatti, Dima's home town.

Though I wasn't quite looking forward to being on a train for 18 hours, it was actually quite exciting and went by very quickly. We shared a cabin with two other people who didn't speak English, so I actually felt pretty comfortable with my privacy! After a few hours of trying to learn some Russian, drinking crappy train coffee and staring at snow out of the window, we went to bed around 10 and I didn't wake up till 8:00! I guess that's what earplugs and an eye mask do.

Once I woke up, I was very awake and ready to get off the train. Fortunately, in a few more hours we arrive to Tolyatti! Dima's dad and his brother came to pick us up and after a short drive we arrived HOME. It was SO great to finally meet his parents (I met his brother this summer). I received the warmest welcome immediately fell in love with his family. It was New Years eve already, so the festivities began soon after I arrived. Essentially, the New Year celebration in Russia is like our Christmas in the United States. Thus, classic movies and special programs are on TV, food is abundant and presents are exchanged! (I might add that I was spoiled by my man with some beautiful crystal earrings!) It was a great night as we got to shout "С новым годом" three times--once for his mom's home town, once for Tolyatti and once for Moscow. Unfortunately, we didn't stay up quite long enough to celebrate it in New York and Texas! Or maybe I should say "fortunately"....

The rest of my time in Tolyatti was truly relaxing and full of joyful celebration as we spent part of almost every day visiting the homes of different relatives. Each meal was several hours in the afternoon at a table full of fresh fruit and juices, homemade pickled vegetables, traditional salads and specially prepared meats. There were usually multiple toasts throughout the meal, which often made me blush as they celebrated the "amerikanka" in "Rossiya".

I feel very blessed to have been able to be in the company of such wonderful people. (At least, I think they are wonderful by what Dima told me they were saying...Maybe he just falsely translated everything to be nice ;) I really fell in love with the rich culture and traditions that the Russian people hold dearly. (One of my favorites: after your shower, everybody tells you "s lohkim parom!") I think a common preconception about Russians is that they are very serious people. It is true, but not in a somber sense, for laughter was always abundant. They are very earnest in the things that they do, sincere in what they say and loyal to their commitments, such as family.

I was really super to be surrounded by these people as they gave to me not just a place to stay, but a home and a new culture to embrace. And they even invited me back any time! Yay! :)

Love,

Marie

Russia: the beginning

Well I guess it really was about time that I said a little bit more about Russia! I don't want this to be one of those blogs where I just blab about my life, but there are a few personal details that I would like to include for my loving family members who do care ;)

So I will start from the beginning:

Monday afternoon at 5:00, my mom decided to check me in for my flight. All the sudden I heard this scream "MARIE!!!!!!!". Knowing how nervous my mom already was about the trip, I calmly walk into the room to inquire what is wrong and find that my flight from Houston to JFK has been cancelled. Oh boy Delta...I was obviously able to find another way to get to JFK, but now I had to be at the airport at 5am and have two stops on the way to Russia. Yes, it was a long day of travel, but I was going to RUSSIA! And I think waking up at 3:30 am actually helped me sleep well on the plane and become easily adjusted to the new time zone (9 hrs different from TX) when I arrived in Moscow at 10am.

I made the mistake of going to the first restroom I saw and when I came out the passport inspection line was incredibly long and only one station was open for foreigners. Fortunately, they opened up more lines soon, and even though I was one of the last to go through, our bags still weren't at the baggage claim when I got there. So a little more waiting...I started to feel bad because it was already 11:15 and I knew Dima had been there since 10, but finally my bags came! I was actually quite nervous, I must confess, that there were a few minutes where I just kinda stood outside customs, trying to decide how I could just walk through and find Dima!

Nevertheless, I finally did it! I turned the corner and there was a big glass wall and a whole crowd of people....and....there he was, standing right at my exit wearing a big smile and holding a rose. I actually can't even describe how the first few minutes were. I gave him a huge, but I myself didn't even believe it was real. It was too real! I guess this is what Skype does to you...

Ok, enough mushy stuff. We had to wait about an hour for the next train to Moscow, but I didn't mind because my coffee-eye spotted a Starbucks just inside the station :) I was also pleasantly surprised at the large variety of foods and desserts available. But an Americano is still an Americano and it was wonderful!

I really should be more succinct. Here are a few more things in Moscow that were really cool:

-The train from the airport to Moscow was really new and had these green LED lit buttons that you had to touch to open up the doors

-The metro is very very deep (sometimes). The underground stations are quite clean and very elegant with nice light fixtures and marble decor in the walls.

-The people in the metro and train stations walk really fast. Even I found a hard time keeping up! (and if you know me at all, you know I can walk fast)

-Need a parking spot? Forget parallel parking- just pull up your car onto the sidewalk!

-If you order a coffee at any restaurant or cafe, expect it to be about 1/3 the size of a typical American restaurant coffee. It tastes good- it's just a little too small for me :D

Love,

Violamad

Toilet Paper (aka- туалетная бумага)

Ok, so yes, I went to Russia this winter break and spent the New Years holiday there and I have a LOT to tell you about my experience. I learned so much and it was a really beautiful, fantastic time. However, before I write that longer blog, I wanted to publish just a quick one tonight before I go to bed.

When people ask me about how my vacation was, I usually give a general "wonderful!" remark. If we have a lot of time to talk, I can delve into more detail and talk about culture, etc. I have, however, been noticing that I tend to spend a significant amount of time talking about toilet paper.

Funny, I know, but it's true! I can't claim that this is truly an "all" or "only" Russian thing, but when I was there, I found toilet paper to be very different from what I was used to.

1. Colored toilet paper. YEP- pink, blue, yellow, green. You name it, they have it!
2. Scented toilet paper. Flowers, fruit, borsh (ok, maybe not the last one)
3. The size of the little perforated sections that tear off are rectangular, longer than the "squares" that I'm used to. This did pose a big problem- one was not enough, but two was just too much!
4. Toilet paper without a hole in the roll. Maybe I can't describe this well, but basically there is no cardboard center role. Sometimes the roll would just be toilet paper rolled all the way to the center.
5. Unfortunately, in a few places, you have to provide your own toilet paper. This can pose a big problem when you happen to be a little sick after eating too much blini and trips to the bathroom become frequent and...very unpleasant, ehm. (*note: luckily I did find some :)

(*Inside joke to Dima: TOILET PAPER MONSTER!!!)

You can guess what that is supposed to mean...

Ciao for now! More to come!

Love,

Violamad