Ah, the joys of procrastination...actually, I've been quite productive this morning - got up and went to the shop and cleaned the kitchen - halfway. Then I got ready to go to work and just found out that my first class has been cancelled, so I have a whole extra hour. Theoretically I should use it to clean the kitchen, but...I'd much rather blog instead.
MY DAD GOT A JOB!!! That's the biggest and best news of this blog! And hopefully it will be one he will really like. So thanks so much to everyone who was praying. :) :) :) :) :)
Spring has arrived in Moscow - the birds are singing, the sun is shining, the snow is falling gently...yup, it's still snowing here. And that is an actual sign of spring - in the dead cold of winter, the sky was most often clear/slate grey, with no precipitation whatsoever. But now even the quality of the light has changed...and the temperatures are just a few degrees below zero, so it almost feels like our coldest days in NC. I'm actually glad the snow hasn't started to melt yet - I still haven't had a chance to go sledding! Not to mention that when all that snow does melt Moscow is going to turn into one gigantic mud puddle...it'll be back to washing my pant legs out in the bathtub every day again.
I treated myself to some crocuses - can't wait to see them bloom! :) I'm definitely glad spring is coming. It will be so lovely to only have to put on one layer of clothing to go outside! But winter hasn't been as bad as I thought it might be. Even though it was crazy intense cold here, and I can't imagine winter in Siberia, I really loved having so much snow. Granted, it was a bit much for my taste, but I could see living somewhere with a winter that's just a bit milder and really enjoying it.
But anyway, enough about the weather and on to more important things, like politics! Actually, considering all the furor about politics that's been going on in Moscow this year, I really haven't experienced much of the uproar. Part of the reason is that I live in Mitino, way outside the city centre, but another part is that I really don't want to get involved in the political rallying. It's safer and calmer to stay out of it, and since I can't vote anyway I'd pretty much be just a spectator. And though I can see how it might be interesting - history in the making and so forth - I'm kind of a wimp and would prefer not to see a protest firsthand! Despite my best intentions of staying away, though, I did see the beginning of one of the protests a couple of weeks ago. Lena and I met to go ice skating in the centre - they set up a huge outdoor ice rink on the site of the soccer field at the old Olympics stadium in winter - and we didn't realize that there was a pro-Putin demonstration set to start pretty much right at the gates of the ice rink! So after being sent back and forth through a maze of security gates and past any number of guards, all of whom had different ideas about the best way to get to the ice rink, we finally realized that the rink was simply inaccessible - there were masses of people clustered at the entrances, with flags and balloons and signs, and more people pulling up in big buses with "We're for Putin!" written across the side. So Lena and I hightailed it out of there, and instead we went to a smaller outdoor rink at Park Pobyedi. It was so much fun to ice skate outdoors, with the snow falling! I think I've really turned into an ice skating addict - I'm definitely planning to keep it up when I get home!
We went ice skating Thursday before last - it was a holiday, Men's Day, or, to use the proper name, "Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland." Most people were sleeping in, so the rink wasn't too crowded. And I didn't even fall down once! (Which is a major improvement over the last time.) That evening, I had the neighbor kids over and we attempted to make chocolate chip cookies - I say attempted, because, even though they turned out fine and Lilya and Timur really liked them, they didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped they would - which is what I get for stealing the recipe off the internet before checking with my mom! Now I've checked, and here is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world: weeeellll, I would've shared the recipe, but the site isn't working. Anyway, if you look up Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe, you can probably find it.
That Sunday was probably one of the coolest days I've had since coming to Russia - my dance group was hosting their annual festival/dance competition in honor of their founder, Faina Nikolayevna Hachaturian, who died just last year. It was held at the Central House of Artist-Workers (you really can't beat the U.S.S.R. for names!), which was a neat old Soviet building with a cozy theatre. Apparently, Stalin even attended performances there. Anyway, since we were in charge of organizing, our group had to get there at about 8:30 in the morning to set up for the performers and the judges. The first half of the morning, before the rehearsing and the festival started, was not too enjoyable for me. I really wanted to help, but sometimes my not-so-great command of the Russian language is a real handicap. Whereas the director could just fire a quick sentence at one of the other girls and she would understand immediately, with me she had to speak a bit slower, and if it was a complicated task, she had to sometimes demonstrate to make sure I understood. It's not that anyone else gave me a hard time about it - but I was giving myself a hard time. Of course, I didn't totally lose my sense of humor - probably the 'best' part of the morning was when I was told to organize the programs for the directors. I excused myself for one moment to run to the bathroom, but then I got locked in the stall. I yanked at the lock so hard that when it finally snapped open, my thumb got caught and the latch tore a chunk out of the top of my thumb. It immediately started bleeding generously, and for the next ten minutes it refused to stop. Having a bloody thumb is not conducive to sorting papers. Aaaaaand I didn't know the word for "bandaid" in Russian, so my scheme was basically to ask, "Does anyone have something...?" and hold up my thumb. Then nobody had a bandaid, though I did learn the word for the bandaid in the process, so I had to sit uselessly in the corner for about ten minutes until my thumb finally dried up. It was frustrating but humorous at the same time. And then there was the time when the director sent a bunch of us to bring extra chairs upstairs, and after the main group left she sent me as an afterthought. But I couldn't find anybody else, so after wandering up and down the stairs a couple of times, I finally ran into the other director, who asked me why I was smiling. I told him, "I'm laughing because I have no idea where I'm going!" at which point he gave me directions.
However, the rest of the day was wonderful and straightforward - once the dancing started and no one was talking directly to me I could relax! A number of amateur groups - mostly kids but some adults - came to present their pieces. There was the usual range for an amateur competition - a few really good numbers, a large number of mediocre ones, and a few that were painfully bad. But the panel of judges was really unusual, at least for the U.S. - There were three Honored Artists of Russia on the board, AND several current/past soloists with the Moiseyev! Of course, this was like a dream-come-true for me - here were people I'd watched on film for years, and I was getting to see them in person!
And it gets even better - after the competition ended, the judges adjourned to the room we'd prepared to discuss the results. It was also the room where our group had all of our things, and I got to sit and listen to the judges deliberate! That was so amazing - all of these really smart artists dissecting the dancing they'd just seen and arguing and analyzing. They caught every point I'd noticed and more, and they were really thorough in their going-over. It was so exciting to hear how they thought and how they took apart each piece, from costumes to choreography.
But the most amazing part happened next. Usually, in the States, at an amateur dance competition, the dancers dance, the judges adjourn to discuss, and then they award the prizes, with maybe a few comments, usually praise, directed at the performers. But at this competition, after they discussed the results, the judges sat for two hours with the teachers and choreographers of the pieces and discussed each one with them. AND I GOT TO HEAR THAT TOO! It was absolutely fascinating - they touched on everything, from noting that a student in a white costume shouldn't wear black dance underwear, to asking straight out, "What was the point behind that choreography?" And they were honest, dead-honest. If a dance was great, they said so. But if it wasn't, they said that too, and they went into detail as to what was wrong with it. You would hardly EVER see that kind of thing in the States - criticism like that is taboo. But really, we could use it - after all, if you honestly want to improve your art form, then wouldn't you want to hear professionals from your field tell you how you could improve it? I wish we had this tradition in the States - my former dance teacher, also a Russian, was honest like that, and a lot of people gave her a hard time about it. But really, there are things we need to hear.
Anyway, it was all fascinating - so fascinating that I forgot to eat! I was so eager not to miss anything that I didn't want to leave the theater for the whole day - needless to say, I was exhausted and famished when I got home that night! But it was so cool - and I got the autographs of all the judges, too, which was neat. :)
However, the excitement and exhaustion might have helped to get me really sick this past weekend. That, and the change in the weather, and the fact that I teach kids - I'm pretty sure that with all of that working against me, I was doomed. It started on Thursday with a slight sore throat, but by Saturday I was so groggy-headed I couldn't see straight. And I made the mistake Friday night of taking Niquil, when I never take Niquil, so it completely knocked me out and helped turn me into a zombie all the next day. But I skyped with the family a lot (after all, that's when you miss your mommy the most - when you're sick!), and in the end I think it was good that I got sick because it forced me to sleep. I think, even if I hadn't gotten sick, I had hit a wall in terms of exhaustion. But after this weekend, surprisingly, I feel a lot more refreshed - it's made me resolve to get more sleep more often! When you've had rest, it's surprising how you can actually notice things like how beautiful the snow is, or how much your flat needs cleaning, or how cool it is that you can actually give directions on the street now in Russian without having to think about it.
Speaking of the flat, I really like our new flatmate - her name is Melanie, and she's a French teacher at the Central School. It makes me wish I'd kept up my high school French so I could practice with her! Anyway, she's really sweet, so that's good. And hopefully NO ONE ELSE will leave before time so we won't have any more flatmate changes! Her arrival makes me realize how lucky we are, once again, with our flat - apparently hers was infested with bedbugs!
Teaching is going well - I've got what I feel like is a good routine with most of my classes, which makes it enjoyable. Though I've got a new student in my upper-intermediate class who's quite an oddball - at least in appearance, she kind of looks like a female Johnny Depp with short bright orange hair - she came to class in a silk top hat last night. She's only in her early twenties, whereas my other three students are middle-aged, so it makes for some interesting chemistry in the classroom, particularly since she likes to cut up just a bit. But she seems nice enough, so I think I can work with her. Thank goodness she didn't come around when I'd first started teaching, though - she might have scared me away from the class!
Anyway, I've now dawdled away about an hour, so I'd better sign off and actually go to work tomorrow. Tomorrow's a holiday - Women's Day! - which I plan to spend visiting with a friend and dancing. So it ought to be fun.
MY DAD GOT A JOB!!! That's the biggest and best news of this blog! And hopefully it will be one he will really like. So thanks so much to everyone who was praying. :) :) :) :) :)
Spring has arrived in Moscow - the birds are singing, the sun is shining, the snow is falling gently...yup, it's still snowing here. And that is an actual sign of spring - in the dead cold of winter, the sky was most often clear/slate grey, with no precipitation whatsoever. But now even the quality of the light has changed...and the temperatures are just a few degrees below zero, so it almost feels like our coldest days in NC. I'm actually glad the snow hasn't started to melt yet - I still haven't had a chance to go sledding! Not to mention that when all that snow does melt Moscow is going to turn into one gigantic mud puddle...it'll be back to washing my pant legs out in the bathtub every day again.
I treated myself to some crocuses - can't wait to see them bloom! :)
But anyway, enough about the weather and on to more important things, like politics! Actually, considering all the furor about politics that's been going on in Moscow this year, I really haven't experienced much of the uproar. Part of the reason is that I live in Mitino, way outside the city centre, but another part is that I really don't want to get involved in the political rallying. It's safer and calmer to stay out of it, and since I can't vote anyway I'd pretty much be just a spectator. And though I can see how it might be interesting - history in the making and so forth - I'm kind of a wimp and would prefer not to see a protest firsthand! Despite my best intentions of staying away, though, I did see the beginning of one of the protests a couple of weeks ago. Lena and I met to go ice skating in the centre - they set up a huge outdoor ice rink on the site of the soccer field at the old Olympics stadium in winter - and we didn't realize that there was a pro-Putin demonstration set to start pretty much right at the gates of the ice rink! So after being sent back and forth through a maze of security gates and past any number of guards, all of whom had different ideas about the best way to get to the ice rink, we finally realized that the rink was simply inaccessible - there were masses of people clustered at the entrances, with flags and balloons and signs, and more people pulling up in big buses with "We're for Putin!" written across the side. So Lena and I hightailed it out of there, and instead we went to a smaller outdoor rink at Park Pobyedi. It was so much fun to ice skate outdoors, with the snow falling! I think I've really turned into an ice skating addict - I'm definitely planning to keep it up when I get home!
We went ice skating Thursday before last - it was a holiday, Men's Day, or, to use the proper name, "Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland." Most people were sleeping in, so the rink wasn't too crowded. And I didn't even fall down once! (Which is a major improvement over the last time.) That evening, I had the neighbor kids over and we attempted to make chocolate chip cookies - I say attempted, because, even though they turned out fine and Lilya and Timur really liked them, they didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped they would - which is what I get for stealing the recipe off the internet before checking with my mom! Now I've checked, and here is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world: weeeellll, I would've shared the recipe, but the site isn't working. Anyway, if you look up Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe, you can probably find it.
That Sunday was probably one of the coolest days I've had since coming to Russia - my dance group was hosting their annual festival/dance competition in honor of their founder, Faina Nikolayevna Hachaturian, who died just last year. It was held at the Central House of Artist-Workers (you really can't beat the U.S.S.R. for names!), which was a neat old Soviet building with a cozy theatre. Apparently, Stalin even attended performances there. Anyway, since we were in charge of organizing, our group had to get there at about 8:30 in the morning to set up for the performers and the judges. The first half of the morning, before the rehearsing and the festival started, was not too enjoyable for me. I really wanted to help, but sometimes my not-so-great command of the Russian language is a real handicap. Whereas the director could just fire a quick sentence at one of the other girls and she would understand immediately, with me she had to speak a bit slower, and if it was a complicated task, she had to sometimes demonstrate to make sure I understood. It's not that anyone else gave me a hard time about it - but I was giving myself a hard time. Of course, I didn't totally lose my sense of humor - probably the 'best' part of the morning was when I was told to organize the programs for the directors. I excused myself for one moment to run to the bathroom, but then I got locked in the stall. I yanked at the lock so hard that when it finally snapped open, my thumb got caught and the latch tore a chunk out of the top of my thumb. It immediately started bleeding generously, and for the next ten minutes it refused to stop. Having a bloody thumb is not conducive to sorting papers. Aaaaaand I didn't know the word for "bandaid" in Russian, so my scheme was basically to ask, "Does anyone have something...?" and hold up my thumb. Then nobody had a bandaid, though I did learn the word for the bandaid in the process, so I had to sit uselessly in the corner for about ten minutes until my thumb finally dried up. It was frustrating but humorous at the same time. And then there was the time when the director sent a bunch of us to bring extra chairs upstairs, and after the main group left she sent me as an afterthought. But I couldn't find anybody else, so after wandering up and down the stairs a couple of times, I finally ran into the other director, who asked me why I was smiling. I told him, "I'm laughing because I have no idea where I'm going!" at which point he gave me directions.
a bad picture of the Central House of Artist-Workers
And it gets even better - after the competition ended, the judges adjourned to the room we'd prepared to discuss the results. It was also the room where our group had all of our things, and I got to sit and listen to the judges deliberate! That was so amazing - all of these really smart artists dissecting the dancing they'd just seen and arguing and analyzing. They caught every point I'd noticed and more, and they were really thorough in their going-over. It was so exciting to hear how they thought and how they took apart each piece, from costumes to choreography.
But the most amazing part happened next. Usually, in the States, at an amateur dance competition, the dancers dance, the judges adjourn to discuss, and then they award the prizes, with maybe a few comments, usually praise, directed at the performers. But at this competition, after they discussed the results, the judges sat for two hours with the teachers and choreographers of the pieces and discussed each one with them. AND I GOT TO HEAR THAT TOO! It was absolutely fascinating - they touched on everything, from noting that a student in a white costume shouldn't wear black dance underwear, to asking straight out, "What was the point behind that choreography?" And they were honest, dead-honest. If a dance was great, they said so. But if it wasn't, they said that too, and they went into detail as to what was wrong with it. You would hardly EVER see that kind of thing in the States - criticism like that is taboo. But really, we could use it - after all, if you honestly want to improve your art form, then wouldn't you want to hear professionals from your field tell you how you could improve it? I wish we had this tradition in the States - my former dance teacher, also a Russian, was honest like that, and a lot of people gave her a hard time about it. But really, there are things we need to hear.
Anyway, it was all fascinating - so fascinating that I forgot to eat! I was so eager not to miss anything that I didn't want to leave the theater for the whole day - needless to say, I was exhausted and famished when I got home that night! But it was so cool - and I got the autographs of all the judges, too, which was neat. :)
so cool!!! :) :)
Speaking of the flat, I really like our new flatmate - her name is Melanie, and she's a French teacher at the Central School. It makes me wish I'd kept up my high school French so I could practice with her! Anyway, she's really sweet, so that's good. And hopefully NO ONE ELSE will leave before time so we won't have any more flatmate changes! Her arrival makes me realize how lucky we are, once again, with our flat - apparently hers was infested with bedbugs!
Teaching is going well - I've got what I feel like is a good routine with most of my classes, which makes it enjoyable. Though I've got a new student in my upper-intermediate class who's quite an oddball - at least in appearance, she kind of looks like a female Johnny Depp with short bright orange hair - she came to class in a silk top hat last night. She's only in her early twenties, whereas my other three students are middle-aged, so it makes for some interesting chemistry in the classroom, particularly since she likes to cut up just a bit. But she seems nice enough, so I think I can work with her. Thank goodness she didn't come around when I'd first started teaching, though - she might have scared me away from the class!
Anyway, I've now dawdled away about an hour, so I'd better sign off and actually go to work tomorrow. Tomorrow's a holiday - Women's Day! - which I plan to spend visiting with a friend and dancing. So it ought to be fun.
a funny card a friend of mine sent me - she knew it wasn't my birthday, but we have a Tennyson connection :)
Anyway, I had to share it because I think it's hilarious :)
Aww shucks - Here I was, reading away and loving your blog post when what do I see but a card sent from North Carolina :) Thanks for including it. Loved reading your newsy blog and hope you have a great Women's Day holiday day off!! :)
ReplyDeleteHow could I not include it? It's so funny, and it was so sweet of you to send it! :)Happy Women's Day to you too!
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