folklore

There is an old Russian fable, with different versions in other countries, about two poor peasants, Ivan and Boris. The only difference between them was that Boris had a goat and Ivan didn’t. One day, Ivan came upon a strange-looking lamp and, when he rubbed it, a genie appeared. She told him that she could grant him just one wish, but it could be anything in the world.

Ivan said, “I want Boris’s goat to die.”

found here.

most expensive photos ever

I was on my way somewhere and happened to be a little early, so, as I sometimes do, I stayed on the metro and rode to the end of the line before turning around and going back to where I was supposed to be. I got off at the last stop and saw some nice mosaics on the wall. I have been wanting pics of the metro, so I stopped and took some.
Picture #1:

After this one I think, I should turn my flash on, they would be better. So I turned it on and took two and then thought, you know, I should probably turn it off so I don't attract attention.

I look over and a security guard is heading towards me. Oops. I start putting the camera away, and figured he would yell at me and that would be it.

He comes over and starts rattling off rule #4, no cameras in the metro, etc etc.
I'm sorry, I didn't know, I'll put it away.

Then. Well, he says, there are signs posted at the door and the escalator [I swear I've never seen them] that forbid photography. So not knowing is no excuse. The fine is 100 roubles.

!!!
I reluctantly handed over the $4, got on the next train, and went back to the stop I needed. I should have known better than to pull out the forbidden camera on the last stop of the line, where there are security people around to make sure everyone gets off the train. But still. I was still annoyed.

So, I thought I would share the photos. Please enjoy, cause they cost $1.33 each.

scenes from Moscow

Over the weekend Megan an I went to Moscow. Overnight trains there and back, a couple nights with acquaintances of hers, some sight-seeing and souvenir-buying, and many complaints at the cold and earliness of the sunset. Proof we were there:
Disappointing Novodevichy Monastery/Cemetery:
cool tree:
graffiti:
river at night. You can see a ski-jump to the right of one of the Moscow State U buildings:
Lenin Mausoleum. We saw Lenin's body. Not something I will soon forget. We waited in line, checked our bags, went through a metal detector, were hustled through the room, yelled at to keep hands out of pockets, and then dumped outside on the other side to look at the graves of the rest of the Soviet leaders. Lenin looked waxy and fake. I'm so glad we got to see him!
The sun rises on St. Basil's Cathedral in the Red Square:
and on the Kremlin:
this stray dog was striking the most ridiculously regal pose outside St Basil's that I had to take a picture. He stayed still for at least three:
looking SO happy to see St. Basil's:
tomb of the Unknown Soldier:
poorly-photographed tribute to the Odessa ancestors:
one of the several cool cathedrals inside the Kremlin walls:
Red Square, considerably busier at 1pm than at 9 am:
Vyatcheslav Borisovich. He sells birch-bark souvenirs and was an unexpected mine of ancient Slavic history, folklore and etymology. Fascinating. He kept talking and talking, I kept saying "uh-huh" and Megan kept freezing and not understanding. One of the best half-hours in Moscow:
then we came back to the apartment and couldn't get in. Waiting for many minutes in the snow:

depressed

Russia.
Moscow.
Red Square.
9 am sunrise.
Nothing opens til 10.
Cold.
Her camera is not working.
"Hey Megan, look over here"
the result:

quick pics

Catherine Palace in the village of Pushkin/Tsarskoye Selo:
Griboyedov Canal at night:
First real snow!! I bundled up and went for a walk. This snow actually stuck and now the sidewalks are all icy:
Ballerinas receive applause at the Marinsky Theater:
more to come on some of these later....

etiquette

Let's talk a little about cell phones. Now, in the States we have a somewhat-debated, not-always-followed, idea known as "cell phone etiquette." The underlying premise is that it is not polite to talk on your phone around other people, or even to let it ring. That can be debated, and there are exceptions. But in class, in church, at public performances, etc, you are supposed to turn off your phone, but if you don't and it should ring, you are required to silence it as quickly as possible. The ringing alone is enough to prompt dirty looks at the least, and comments or expulsion from the room at the most.

This, however, does not apparently hold up in Russia. They seem to have no discernable cell phone etiquette, except perhaps what I would call "be sure to answer your phone whatever the circumstances."

Cell phones ring all the time in class.
Students usually answer them.
It is typical for the student to bend over double at the desk, hoping to hide behind other classmates, and say in a low voice, "I'm in class now, I'll call you back."
Other times the conversation lasts longer.
At least two of my professors have answered their phones during class. "Sveta, I'm lecturing right now, I'll call you back." One professor's phone rings every week.
One time, a girl came into class at least twenty minutes late, while the professor was lecturing, walked down the middle of the room to the front and plugged her phone and charger into the wall near the professor. Audacious.
Texting during class is nothing. I do that.
Some students get up and leave the room to answer their phone. I guess that is okay.
A phone rang in church and the same thing happened - the person ANSWERED to say they would call back. Oh my. I suppose that a reason for this could be that people here don't have voice mail. But it seems to me that they could just text the caller and say they can't talk at the moment. That's what I do.

I just don't understand.

gulf of finland

We had Monday off so a group of church people went to the gulf of Finland. A metro ride, train ride, walk through the woods, and then there was the gulf. Cold and windy. Here are pictures.
on the way to the beach:
they wanted a picture of me with the trees. My hair is crazy. It was worse in the wind near the gulf:
weird tree:
marshy:
the beach, from the forest:
the forest, from the beach:
we got there around 2 and it already looked like sunset:
I didn't test it, but i'm sure the water was freezing:
driftwood:
more beach:
more forest:

animals

The other day I went along with my friend from church to buy her parrot a girlfriend. She found a parrot-breeder who lives near her work and my house. So she asked if I wanted to come along and pick out Violetta, Kesha's new girlfriend. I love animals so I said yes. Plus I was curious to meet a parrot-breeder.

We met up after Nadya got out of work at pitch-black 5:45. When we rang the doorbell we could distantly hear chirping coming from the apartment, which increased in volume after the door was opened and we went in. Olga the Parrot Breeder is a tall woman with short blond hair, wearing only a small housedress and slippers. The apartment is very old: pre-Soviet style, with high ceilings. This one is falling apart, with parts of the walls uncovered and crumbling in the corners. It is crowded with stuff in some places and weirdly bare in others. Two fat, long-haired cats were slinking around when we left, and Olga says they are used to the parrots, having grown up with them, and have never bothered them.

The parrots are kept in one medium/small room and an attached balcony. Both sides of the rooms are lined with two levels of bird cages, and there are 2-8 birds in each cage. I very roughly estimated that she must have about 70 birds in there, and their chirping was deafening. At one point Olga closed the balcony door and the noise was instantly cut in half. I guess it's a soundproof door. There were yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, purplish, tealish, white parrots. (I just realized I guess they're parakeets. Whatever.) There were big ones and little ones, pretty ones and plain ones. Most of the cages had wooden boxes attached to them - where the nests were built for the new babies. Nadya and Olga discussed for a while what sort of bird would be suitable for Kesha, and finally chose a 3-month-old green parrot whose head will apparently be bright yellow later. Olga reached in with a parrot-net (like a butterfly net you know, but for birds), caught the bird, held it against her body while she arranged the milk carton, and then slipped Violetta in and taped it up. I noticed her housedress was rather frayed and scratched-looking, probably from lots of bird-catching. Nadya paid, took the milk carton, arranged it inside her jacket to keep Violetta warm, and we took off. The word a few days later is that after a day of shock and shyness, Violetta is well-adjusted and Kesha is happy and no longer lonely.

I came home to my second animal experience in the space of an hour. I was eating dinner and Nora the Psychotic Spaniel was watching me. I got up to get something and she started trying to climb to the table to get my food. I am running very low on patience for Nora, and I commanded her to stop and go away. Then I moved my stool out of the way so she couldn't climb it. Nora is on principle opposed to stools being dragged with one's feet, and she will bark and attack anyone who does so. Meaning, she ran for my foot and bit it. I was wearing moccasin slippers, so I didn't feel it, but this is the third or fourth time that she has attacked me, and it is getting old. My host mom ran in to see what the problem was, and after I said I had just moved the stool, she gave Nora a token scolding and said off-handedly, oh yeah, she doesn't like that. After she left I started crying.

Friends, I have had it with this animal. I know I can be vocal about my dislike for dogs, but it's more than just a deliberate dislike. I am fundamentally afraid of animals and don't know what to do about it. Believe me, this does not make my life easier and I wouldn't be this way if I could help it. I am trying to get over this, but I can't just force myself to love animals (did you catch my bold-faced lie earlier in the post?) and Nora is not helping. It seems like it should be a little thing, but she is turning into a big deal for me and my life in this apartment. I feel like we are in a psychological battle that I am losing. I have been contemplating a whole blog post devoted to Nora because I am convinced she is psychologically disturbed and Megan agrees with me. She is desperate, needy, and completely devoid of affection and normal dog traits. She doesn't wag her tail or accept petting. Her excitement is a sort of desperate, forceful frenzy with no apparent happiness involved. So anyway, I try to avoid her but the situation is tense and her attack snapped something in me. I don't know what to do. I am discouraged. Help.