Irkutsk times!

Today is my second full day in the beautiful city of Irkutsk. I really love it here - the city has a character unmatched by the other places in Russia that I have visited. It is a dynamic city with a diverse population of people from all around the world; small enough to be easily travelled by foot, and with a striking architecture and cultural district that reflects a long and intricate history.

Yesterday I walked along the River Angara (accent the final a), which was a stunning sight to behold - as the only river flowing out of Baikal, you can feel its powerful flow as you walk past. I saw a lot of monuments, including the Lenin bridge, technically the largest momument to Lenin in the world! (I have witnessed a great many since my arrival two weeks ago. I'm glad that perhaps with this crowning jewel of Lenin memorials, this trend is over and I can move on to a new theme in monuments.) I also hung out with the 'chairenas,' which I have liberally translated as 'tea gulls,' as the first three letters in their name spell 'chai,' the Russian word for tea.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the multicultural feel of Irkutsk, and today I walked through the Chinese marketplace not two blocks from the hostel. A man sitting in a hat stand asked his coworker in Chinese whether I was a boy or a girl, assuming that I spoke Russian only - it was a funny moment, since if he had asked in Russian, I probably wouldn't have heard him at all. I've found that despite growing out my hair, painting my toenails, making my own jewelry, and routinely wearing what I would call patriarchy-approved feminine clothing, it's still impossible to know how I'll present. Part A, should have known all along, Part B, not really affecting my trip in the foreseeable future.

Here's some more photos from my adventures in Irkutsk:


Here is the sun setting over the city, again taken from the flat in Penguin Hostel - the whole city seemed purple and blue from here.


This is the resident bunny rabbit, aforementioned, in his beauty.


Today my bank card finally worked, so I treated myself to a nice hot lunch! These are "posies," a traditional Siberian steamed dumpling.


Here is some of the typical architecture for the city - wooden buildings with bright, interesting colors and strong geometric designs in the windows and trim. Truly a beautiful and integrated architecture.

Tomorrow is my first day on the trail. We're headed to Tanhoi, a small village on the other shore of the lake that is surrounded by a temperate rainforest. The workers here have said that it's their favorite part of the Baikal region. Wish me luck!

In Irkutsk, finally

Hello, everyone, and my warmest regards from Irkutsk, the capital of Siberia! It has been a long time since I last posted, so I'll try to explain the events of the past five days (really, it's only been five days?) as well as I can at this hour.

I was in Yekaterinburg for three days sort of, two full days in reality, with these two lovely people: Ksenia on the left (my right) and Nastya on the right (the tall one - 6 centimeters taller than me!). This is a picture we took at the train station, right before I stepped on to the worst experience of my whole life - ah, but that comes later.


I stayed at Nastya's house for four nights, where I recieved generosity and hospitality unmatched by anyone I've ever stayed with before. She lives there with her mother, a dog named Daisy (say it with a Russian accent), and a cat named Basia, which makes two animals named Basia that I've met here so far. Nastya was an incredible person, full of energy and good will, and really easy to talk to, despite the language barrier. I felt toally comfortable being her guest, and found that I could understand what she was saying - and respond in a meaningful, comprehensible way - about 85-90% of the time. The gratitude I have for her is beyond explanation. Below is a picture of us on my last night in Yekaterinburg, wearing matching hats. Ksenia had bought one in America and one in Russia, but they really were the same hat. She claims that they were from the same factory in China.


The picture itself was taken at Ksenia's flat, my true host, my Russian TA from Oberlin. It was incredible to be shown around her home town, chatting in Russian and English, and becoming true friends. Below is a picture of me and Quentin, Ksenia's cat, probably the sweetest cat in the entire world.

Ksenia served an incredible dinner the last night I was there, which featured authentic Russian salatiy, an incredible cheese pie, and planbir, the traditional Russian ice cream. We also watched Cheburashka, an old Russian cartoon, in English, which was abolutely hilarious. I had seen them all before in Russian, which was much more comprehensible and cute - the English was truly entertaining, though. It was a fantastic night.


Then came the train ride. I was forced to buy second class cupe tickets after all, because the platscart tickets were all sold out, and I ended up in a four-bunk cabin with three Russians, Vladimir featured above. The knife is mine; he is preparing to cut the block of fat sitting on the table next to him - see it, the one that looks like a loaf of bread? It was probably the worst 53 hours of my life, but they're over.

Now I'm in the Penguin Hostel in Irkutsk, enjoying the company of some very kind volunteers from both Russia and America, and a giant white rabbit named Kroshk. (Picture to come.) Below is a picture of the city that I took at dusk from the balcony of our 10th-story flat near the central market of the city.

Irkutsk is a beautiful and distinctive city, with a lot of old wooden architecture and a complicated sprawl that doesn't resemble the other cities that I've visited. I'm eager to learn more about the city and its history in the next few days. My first project begins on July 9th, in three days, and will feature the temperate rainforest on the other bank of the Lake. I've already met one other member of the team, a professor from New York, and the leader of the project, who seems quite lovely herself. I'm excited to be here and looking forward to visa registration, encephalitis vaccination, and attempting to cash traveller's cheques tomorrow.

All the best from the Wild, Wild East, and happy to finally be on solid ground!

OH MY GOD

 I survived the train and now I'm in Ekaterinburg, communicating effectively in Russian, coughing violently, and refusing to sleep.   It's really magical to be able to talk only in a second language (with the help of a dictionary, of course.)  I don't really know if I want to get back on the train in three days, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

This is a picture of the train that I took in Perm.  I was on the platskart wagon of a Firmennaya train, meaning that I was on the cheapest nice train there is.  I think it was named "Yamal." I was definitely the only person on the train who spoke a word of English.  When I took this picture, I asked my bunkmate how long we would be here, and he told me about forty minutes.  As it turns out, the train was only in the station for about 10 minutes and almost left without me - I was super embarrassed, and of course scared out of my wits. 

This is the boy who caused all of my trouble, but of course, also all of my joy - a Ukrainian kid named Vasilly.  He was traveling with his mother to Siberia and slept in the bunk underneath me.  He told me, after taking several nonconsensual photographs, that I was the first American he had ever seen.  I gave him an American flag and a whole lot of distance.  He really was a nice kid, although I certainly had trouble understanding his habits - listening to loud Ukrainian rap music set to the theme of the X-files while I tried to sleep, giving me grossly false information about stops at various stations, and of course, wanting only to talk about marijuana, vodka, and whether or not Tchaikovsky was gay.  He also drank at least 6 beers in the course of one day, starting at 9:00 Moscow time this morning.

At the end of the trip, though, as we were pulling into Sverdlovsk, he played really loudly for me a remix of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend."  This got him a lot of bonus points.

Here's the view out of the window, close to Sverdlovsk.  There were a lot of birch and pine trees, and a lot of villages, filled with brown wooden hutches and birghtly colored summer homes, or "dachas."  I figure if I lived in a country like Russia, I would paint my house bright purple and turquoise, too.  Maybe I would no matter where I lived...

My adopted Ukrainian family - Vasilly's mother was really a good friend to me.  She fed me cheese and sausage while discussing comparative literature through extremely broken Russian.  She painstakingly repeated every phrase about four times until I understood what she was talking about, and when I didn't, I just smiled and said "Da."  You can see what close quarters we were in - my bed was about 5'6" long and had very little headroom.  You sit on the lower berths during the day.

Everyone told me to expect wild parties on the train, but I found people to be relatively boring.  Almost everyone was asleep by 9:00 pm Moscow time - it was just me and my headlamp after that, reading and writing letters.

This is the drunk man from the Ukraine who apparently lived less than 500 kilometers from Chernobyl when it exploded.  That may explain why he talked so slowly and incomprehensibly...

And now I'm in Ekaterinburg, staying at the house of my teacher's best friend from university.  I really love it here, especially the conversation and the sense of adventure.  Or whatever.  I gave her some maple syrup as a gift, and I had a really hard time explaining what it was for in Russian - I'm not sure if she'll ever use it (it's on the bookshelf now) but she did seem pleased when I brought it out to light.  Tomorrow, sightseeing in the town and buying more train tickets.  And right now, I should definitely sleep.

Споконой ночи!  Good night!

Hello, all! I am writing to you from a rushed encounter with an Интернет-Кафе near Yaroslavsky station, less than one hour from departure to Yekaterinburg on the second leg of my Russian journey. Here is my beautiful, long-labored after train ticket that I bought successfully in Russian:


I am riding platscart, which means that I will share a cabin with 51 other wagonmates for the next 26 hours. I've heard it's more fun, and more safe for people traveling alone. (Also it's about ten times cheaper than cupe.)


Yesterday I went to the Moscow "White House," the central Russian government building. This is a picture of a townspeople-created memorial to those who died during an attack on the White House in 1993, when the Soviet Union fell. The government refuses to acknowledge formally what went on, or create an official memorial for the 100 or so people, many of them bystanders, who died during the event. Standing next to the wall of faces is my friend Marina, who I stayed with for two nights near Arbat.


Here is another memorial created by the people of Moscow - this one for Michael Jackson. There were tons of people there crying yesterday. Incredible.



This is the "Fountain of the People's Friendship," located in an old Soviet exposition-turned-mall in the northern area of the city where I spent the last two nights. The women around the fountain are each wearing the national dress of a Soviet state, which they represent.


And, of course, here is a picture I took of myself during the final hour of my 20th birthday, which was yesterday. Thanks to all who sent me good wishes yesterday, and lookig forward to being home and celebrating when I'm back.

Lots of love to you all, and missing you from the train!

Moscow, Part 1

I've been living the past 3 days in a beautiful apartment near Arbat street in downtown Moscow. My adventures here have been absolutely wonderful, ranging from sightseeing in Red Square, walking around pretty much all of the inner city, and enjoying the life-endangering feel of the Moscow subway.

My host here has a fabulous pair of animals - a dog that loves everyone and everything, and a cat that is very calm but definitely is not interested in playing with you whatsoever. Here are some photo snippets from the past few days' time:


Michael Jackson died the morning I left from Sweden. The headline reads: "Dead in the night." I think he actually died in the afternoon... in the night in Sweden. I couldn't believe that this could happen while I wasn't in the States! I'm super grateful that I am spared the incessant playing of "Thriller" by being here in Russia...


This sign in the metro says: "Every minute, three more children are born in Russia. The country needs your support!" (i.e. Have more kids!) There's a payoff for mothers with many children, because it isn't a popular venture and the Russian population is declining rapidly. My solution: make visas cheaper!

(According to Wikianswers, there are about 8 children born every minute in the U.S., which is lower than the global average.)


Here is a sideways picture of me looking sexy in front of the Kremlin. (Edits soon.)

Here is a tree that people put locks on when they get married for luck. Yesterday I must have seen about 15 tacky weddings going on in Red Square. I like this tradition of the lock, though, I think it's very cute.

Anyways, I have to run off to meet my next host in the northern part of the city - thinking lots of everyone I love back home, practicing my cute Russian lots, and wishing you all all of the best from the world's supposedly most unfriendly city!

Hej då, Stockholm!

I've had a fantastic three days in Stockholm, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I've had a great time hanging with my good friend Emma, staying with a group of friends in a nearby suburb of the city, travelling in the extremely clean (and extremely quiet) metro, visiting places that have ben important in my family's history, and enjoying time spent with good friends, new and old.


This is Emma and my mother's friend Sonja, outside of her Finnish church in the Old City. Not long after, we had a fantastic lunch while listening to a daily organ concert held in the afternoons there. The performer was a 23-year-old from Russia, who was apparently the Nordic organ champion this year. Really great.



Early in the day, Emma dn I went to visit the small suburb she lived in while she was studying in Stockholm University, Sundyberg - she was willing to indulge me in some bird watching down in the local park. Here is a picture of an extremely common bird in the city, the magpie, which I am absolutely infatuated with.

After the park, we went to IKEA together to have bro time. Here's the lunch I got there for less than $10 - 15 meatballs, potatoes, lingonberry sauce, a salad, coffee, some juice, and a "princess cake" made of marzipan. Really good - very filling.

Finally, here's me and a friend I made in IKEA - not an excellent representation of all the amazing people and places I've become familiar with in these three days, but it'll have to do for now.

Best wishes, and see you in Moscow tomorrow night!

Change of plans, and a new outlook from... Sweden!

Hello everyone! It seems like ages ago that I was on the ground in Chicago, but in reality it wasn't even 24 hours ago - it is currently 6:30 here in Stockholm, where I am staying with my friend Emma and her friend Emelie, who shares a beautiful apartment on the south side of the city.

Despite having slept minimally in the last 72 hours, I'm feling pretty good. Stockholm is strikingly beautiful, and I've found that being here with a friend makes it that much more rewarding (and maneuverable). I'll be sure to post more later on, especially once I've seen more of the city, but I wanted to let you avid readers know some good and bad news. My plans have changed because on eof the programs that I was scheduled to do was cancelled, and so I will have similar projects, but in a closer time frame - meaning that I will have less internet/leisure time in the Irkutsk area, but it does mean that I'll be heading home earlier than originally planned, now on August 18th.

So great! The sun is shining (as it will until... well, autumn), the kids are playing out in the community yard, and the magpies are singing and being beautiful here in the suburbs of Stockholm. More to come, and thanks for following!