Remember that quote, from Narnia? I thought of it today when I checked the weather in Nizhni--twenty-four degrees below zero!! Wow, just wow. Last week, during the freakish cold snap here, I was barely able to stumble to my 7:40am class and it was only three below, though it was windy and still dark. Anyway, I imagined I was in Russia and I inhaled the fresh, snowy morning air sharply in anticipation--before I was overcome by a fit of wheezing. Russia is going to make a man out of me (so to speak), even if I will be wearing skirts and shawls.
Tomorrow night at this time I will have completed this semester and will be packing and cleaning in preparation for a trip to the Stuvland homestead! After what I hope is a break filled with reading, baking, snowboarding and (extreme) sledding, I will be departing for DC on January 6, where I will get to see my darling nephews. Then it's NYC on the 10th (I will turn 21!) and finally St. Petersburg on the 12th.
Eek! I have a lot of reading and language preparation to do before then...
Happy holidays everyone, I'll post probably right before I leave, or maybe soon after I arrive in St. Petersburg.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
russia > homework
Lately I've been neglecting my homework in favor of reading, thinking, planning, and daydreaming about Russia. I found out earlier this week that I can use my student loans that I didn't accept this semester to go toward next semester, AND I got a small scholarship and a tuition-reduction. This puts me WAY closer to reaching the total cost and with a little help from my parents (I hope?) I should definitely be able to go!
I got a packet in the mail all about what we are going to do in Russia and how we need to prepare. I'm working on relearning the Cyrillic alphabet and reading a book called From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians. I have a pile of about twenty books with titles like Lenin's Tomb, Russian Women's Studies, The Icon and the Axe, etc. It's looking at me right now, laughing at me, taunting me...
I habitually check the weather in Nizhni and have been reading all sorts of interesting things about Russian women and women in Russia. I learned that it is required for me to wear a head covering and long skirt in some of the Russian Orthodox churches that we will be visiting and I'm guessing that my square nose ring will need to be replaced by something a little less ostentatious. I read that "American women dress for comfort, Russian women dress to impress." Well bring it on, Mother Russia, I'll show you comfort in the shape of adult-sized footy pajamas! Just kidding, I fully intend to use this occasion to make a few adult-like purchases for my wardrobe, since some day I might have to get rid of my sarcastic tee shirts.
Also, I will have to do laundry by hand. And I will be relying on public transportation, which probably means I won't be getting too far away from campus until I learn a few more vocab words...
Anyway, I'm getting so excited. It's very hard to focus on these last few weeks of school, even though my next paper (which I have yet to start, though it's due Monday) is going to be about the Russian novel, Doctor Zhivago and (somewhat predictably) Pasternak's rendering of female characters within it.
Welp, that's all for now, folks. I'll keep you updated. I still have a few things I have to get done and sent in so that I can get my Visa but so far, so good.
До свидания! ( pronounced "doe svidaniya") (goodbye)
I got a packet in the mail all about what we are going to do in Russia and how we need to prepare. I'm working on relearning the Cyrillic alphabet and reading a book called From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians. I have a pile of about twenty books with titles like Lenin's Tomb, Russian Women's Studies, The Icon and the Axe, etc. It's looking at me right now, laughing at me, taunting me...
I habitually check the weather in Nizhni and have been reading all sorts of interesting things about Russian women and women in Russia. I learned that it is required for me to wear a head covering and long skirt in some of the Russian Orthodox churches that we will be visiting and I'm guessing that my square nose ring will need to be replaced by something a little less ostentatious. I read that "American women dress for comfort, Russian women dress to impress." Well bring it on, Mother Russia, I'll show you comfort in the shape of adult-sized footy pajamas! Just kidding, I fully intend to use this occasion to make a few adult-like purchases for my wardrobe, since some day I might have to get rid of my sarcastic tee shirts.
Also, I will have to do laundry by hand. And I will be relying on public transportation, which probably means I won't be getting too far away from campus until I learn a few more vocab words...
Anyway, I'm getting so excited. It's very hard to focus on these last few weeks of school, even though my next paper (which I have yet to start, though it's due Monday) is going to be about the Russian novel, Doctor Zhivago and (somewhat predictably) Pasternak's rendering of female characters within it.
Welp, that's all for now, folks. I'll keep you updated. I still have a few things I have to get done and sent in so that I can get my Visa but so far, so good.
До свидания! ( pronounced "doe svidaniya") (goodbye)
Sunday, November 22, 2009
For Starters
Hello all.
In less than two months, I plan on embarking on a semester-long journey into Russia's heartland: Nizhni Novgorod (formerly known as Gorky in honor of the author, who was born there). I will be taking classes at Nizhni Novgorod University and for about half of the time I will be living in a dorm, the other half in the home of a Russian family. I am beginning this blog now because I have time and I want to. I currently have about half of the money that I need but I'm fairly determined to go and will do my best to find a way (most likely more loans).
Anyway, bookmark this page and stop by every now and again. Your comments will be appreciated. I can only have the posts emailed to ten people, so that might leave a lot of you out, but that does not mean I don't want to hear from you!
I plan on posting an update about once a week while I'm in Russia, though I may begin now, seeing as it could help give me incentive to prepare and brush up on the (very little) Russian I know.
Attached is a map of Russia, on which you will notice the city Nizhni Novgorod, on the banks of the Volga, fairly close to Moscow. The spelling in English varies. I have seen Nizhni most, but apparently on this map it's Nizhniy...
The weather, I hear, is fairly cold (fancy that). I plan on purchasing long underwear and thermals, boots, scarves, etc. You can help if you want!
In less than two months, I plan on embarking on a semester-long journey into Russia's heartland: Nizhni Novgorod (formerly known as Gorky in honor of the author, who was born there). I will be taking classes at Nizhni Novgorod University and for about half of the time I will be living in a dorm, the other half in the home of a Russian family. I am beginning this blog now because I have time and I want to. I currently have about half of the money that I need but I'm fairly determined to go and will do my best to find a way (most likely more loans).
Anyway, bookmark this page and stop by every now and again. Your comments will be appreciated. I can only have the posts emailed to ten people, so that might leave a lot of you out, but that does not mean I don't want to hear from you!
I plan on posting an update about once a week while I'm in Russia, though I may begin now, seeing as it could help give me incentive to prepare and brush up on the (very little) Russian I know.
Attached is a map of Russia, on which you will notice the city Nizhni Novgorod, on the banks of the Volga, fairly close to Moscow. The spelling in English varies. I have seen Nizhni most, but apparently on this map it's Nizhniy...
The weather, I hear, is fairly cold (fancy that). I plan on purchasing long underwear and thermals, boots, scarves, etc. You can help if you want!
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