Неделя Четыре

As it is late already and I need to shower, do homework, maybe eat a bit, and sleep, I'm going to keep it to just a summary of the week.

-16/07/2012- Classes were fine. Conversation practice probably went the best. This week we started going to a different restaurant for lunch. It's got more Central/Eastern Asian food. It's better than the other restaurant for the most part, except for the salads. After classes we went to a language camp about 20 minutes from the school. Our guide/translator from the university, Оксана, had a rough day when she was with us(as usual). First she was late and recieved lots of "Не молодец" and "Вы хулиганка" from us, then she couldn't find the camp, then she lost one of her high-heels going into the camp, and then she got a phone call during the presentations. We saw three groups of students; one of 13-14 year-olds, one of 10-11 year-olds, and one of 7-8 year-olds. One of the girls in the first group was an amazing piano player; she played some classical piece. After the camp most of the group went to кафе МЕ100. I had blinie with apples and cinnamon; it was very good.

-17/07/2012- Classes were, as usual, fine. We had art class in the afternoon. We started painting spoons in traditional Russian colors and patterns. The class is very funny because of the way the teacher and some of the students interact. The teacher is very pushy and exact when it comes to our projects and doesn't allow for much if any artistic license. It's her way or the highway, and she and some students argue about how the projects should be done. The soup we had at the new restaurant was the best I've had here, possibly ever. It was amazing, especially with the bread they have. My friend Dasha Samsonova from Vyazniki arrived today at around 5-6a.m. and met up with me at 5p.m. in Red Square. I met her friend, Ксюша, who she's staying with. We walked along the Volga and around a few parks and talked for a few hours.

-18/07/2012- Classes were, surprise surprise, normal and uneventful. After classes we went to a printing factory that also rents out space to companies that are looking to get started in Russia. The guy who talked to us was German and hilarious. He was full of little bits of wisdom. The presentation itself was actually fairly interesting. On our way back to the city center we stopped by a bakery. It was very cheap and super good. I walked more with Даша along the Volga, and we sat and talked for a while too. Ксюша decided to go off roller-blading on her own since she doesn't speak English. When I got home Елена had already gone to work for the night.

-19/07/2012- Nothing to report on classes besides that grammar was actually ok this day. This was the first day in a while that I didn't get ice cream at the Продукты after lunch. After lunch Ruth, a couple other students, and I went to the market to make some quick purchases. I bought a ЦСКА Москва jersey and shorts for 650 roubles. We had art again. We finished our spoons amidst much drama and excitement; it was difficult to paint at times because I was laughing so hard. After art I went to a honey store and a souvenir shop with a couple of other students. When I was going home I saw a convoy of huge police prision trucks/troop transports roll by while I was waiting for the bus.In the evening I met Zoё and her host sister Sonya to go to the concert on Кирова street, which ended up not happening, so we just sat at a cafe for a while. It had good ice cream.

-20/07/2012- It rained most of the day. Classes were normal. Хор was actually not very fun, unfortunately. After classes I went to МЕ100 with Даша and we talked with Zoё and Laura for a while. After an hour or so we left and waited for the bus with Ксюша. Since she left the next day, we said good-bye at their stop. It was nice seeing her again. Елена worked late again; I didn't see her when I got home.

-21/07/2012- Got to sleep in a bit this day, which was nice. For our excursion we went to a village about 45 minutes from Yaroslavl. It was very enjoyable. We went to 4-5 small museums and to a small park. Overall it was one of the better weekend excursions we've had. AFter we got back most of the group went to the market; I purchased my Russian man-purse for 480 roubles and went home. Елена had some really good sausage prepared for dinner; I had that, potatoes, and cake for dinner. After dinner I went to the tennis club banya and saw the kittens.

 -22/07/2012- Got to sleep in this day as well. I got up at 10 and did some homework, ate, and then headed downtown. I bought some gifts at a souvenir shop and went to the "kremlin," where I met Саша, a friend from Moscow. We walked around the city center and along the Volga for a few hours and went to МЕ100. After that we went and met up with her family at a different cafe, where we talked for a bit. They then took me home and loaded me up with gifts. For just visiting for two days, they gave me a ton of stuff; it was very nice of them. I just hung out at the house, doing homework and relaxing, for the rest of the evening.

Неделя Три

This weekend is the half-way point of the program. We have three more weeks of living in Yaroslavl, and then it's time to head to Moscow and fly home. It's really weird...the past three weeks have gone by so fast, and we've only been here for three weeks, but it seems like a lot longer than that. Anyway, it's the halfway point. This week I didn't do the greatest job of recording what I did each day, so in addition to the summary of my week, I'll try and include a bit extra about some insights and such about Russia and Russians.

-09/07/2012- This day we went to a different restaurant than usual for lunch, since our usual one was closed for some reason. We spent 20+ minutes walking around trying to figure out which one we were supposed to go to, but we eventually got it figured out. Classes were normal. We also had Хор(choir). It was marginally better than the last time we had it. The teacher is very nice and funny and very talented.

-10/07/2012- We had Театр. We spent the entire time  practicing the opening dance thing, since noone could remember how it went. It wasn't too bad. I'm still really not looking forward to performing it for our host families. That's going to be extremely embarrassing. Classes were yet again nothing special. After classes a few students from Group 2 and I went to the Traveler's Coffee that was having an opening day special of a free dessert. It wasn't all that great, and the service was terrible, even by Russian standards. It took me over an hour to get the bottle of Coke I ordered.

-11/07/2012- We had an excursion to a museum just outside of Yaroslavl devoted to the first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova. It was very interesting and enjoyable. The orignial capsule that she went up to space and came back down in was there, which was cool. There was also information and exhibits about the development of Soviet space travel and its history. The museum had it's own cat that lived there, which joined us for part of our tour. Classes were yet again(suprise!) nothing all that crazy or new. After I got home Nikita and I went and played football in the drive in front of our building. We passed the ball for a while, then played some one-on-one. It was fun.

-12/07/2012- Class was fine today, except for Грамматика, which just killed me. We had a double period of it, and it was the longest two hours of class the entire time I've been here. It had been fairly hot all this week, but there was a storm in the afternoon and it cooled down considerably, which was nice. After classes we went to the theater to get wigs and stuff for the play. I'm playing a Tsar, so I've got a beard. Got some great photos of some of the others with their wigs on.

-13/07/2012- Classes went back to being just fine. We had "mid-terms," which weren't too difficult. We had Хор, which was fairly fun. After classes I went to the cafe МЕ100 with a couple of other students for the first time and enjoyed it. It has good prices and fairly good service, and the cafe itself is nice. I had a Coke(cold!) and blinie filled with bananas and covered in chocolate. It was delicious. We spent about two hours there eating and having deep discussions on a variety of topics.

-14/07/2012- We had an excursion to a famous poet's estate. It was interesting and the estate was very beautiful. The poet(his name escapes me at the moment) was friends with Tolstoy and Dovstyevsky, as well as anyone who liked to hunt. He was "a poet of the people" because he wrote in normal, everyday language about normal people, but he also was incredibly rich. He gave his hunting dogs a pension and crystal water bowls. After the tour we spent some time playing Russian outdoor games. It was very fun. After we got back we went to a Tatar celebration for a bit, then went to see Spider Man in 3d in Russian. It was a good movie, and there was a little kid who started making comments and jokes towards the end of the film that were funny to listen to. I went to МЕ100 after the movie with most of Group 2. Nikita left for Greece in afternoon. He's going to be there about a week with his performing troupe.

-15/07/2012- I had an amazing day. I slept in until 10, then got up and fixed myself some breakfast. After eating I studied for a bit then went downtown to meet friends from Moscow, Lena and Natasha, and Lena's mother. We met at Red Square around 12:10 and then Lena, Natasha, and I walked for about 3 hours and went to МЕ100. We then went to Дом Книги to meet with some of the other American students and Ruth. I introduced everyone who was there, Ruth talked some with Lena and Natasha, then we left them and went to visit Elena. We spent around two hours at the flat talking and looking at photos and then Lena and Natasha left for Moscow. After that Elena left for work and I spent some time studying and typing this up.

Now I'll try and write about some things that have stood out to me here and why they did, and Russians attitudes about certain subjects.

• Smoking- There are many, many more people here who smoke than in the United States. It is much cheaper(less than a dollar per pack at most places) and is socially acceptable. The only place I've seen a "no smoking" sign is on the bus. There are cigarrette butts almost everywhere on the ground when you are in public areas, especially if they are not maintained well. It is very easy to get them, even if you are not of age, because most vendors will not ask you for identification to verify your age.
• Drinking- It is not uncommon to see a Russians(usually men) carrying a bottle of alcohol(usually beer, at least in my experience) on the bus or on the street. Alcohol is much more available here than in the US and it is much more common to see in public. Althought the drinking age is 18 (21 for hard liquor), as with cigarrettes, most vendors will not ask you to verify your age before selling you anything. According to our resident director, Ruth, often if you're tall enough to see over the edge of the counter, most vendors will sell you whatever you want.There is also more public drunkeness.
• Dress- Russians often dress in tight clothes that show a fair amount of skin. 
• Men wear: Jeans, tight jeans, polos, t-shirts(often with nonsense English), dress shirts, spandex tank-tops, tennis shoes, "Russian" or "European" shoes, swim trunks, short shorts, man-pries, and go shirtless(if it's hot)
• Women wear: Dresses, skirts of varying length(usually short), blouses(often semi-transparent), t-shirts(often with nonsense English), tops of varying types(often semi-transparent), high heels(very common), sandals, "Russian" or "European" shoes. Clothing is, especially for women in their late teens and 20s,  is generally fairly tight and there often isn't a lot of it.
• Driving/Vehicles- Driving here is, for the most part, a free-for-all. While there are often lanes and traffic signs, they are rarely followed. Most intersections don't have stoplights and stop signs don't exist, so crossing the street can be hazardous at times, although most drivers will stop for pedestrians. Almost all drivers are very aggressive and will tailgate or pass if the vehicle in front of them isn't going fast enough. Traffic laws also don't seem to be enforced very well.
• Gays- Many, probably the majority, of Russians are very anti-gay. One student said her host mother went on a rant about them and about terrible they are and how there are only five of them in Saint Petersburg, althought there are certainly more.
• Minorities- Ethic minorities are not uncommon. There are a fair number of people who look like they are of Tatar descent or from the Caucuses. There are very few blacks. I've seen maybe 4-5 black men since I arrived. Unfortunately, many Russians are also racist and see minorities as second-class citizens and not true Russians.
• Homelessness- I've seen a decent number of homeless people in Yaroslavl. Most of them are ethnic minorities, and the few that aren't were wearing army uniforms. Ruth explained this, saying that they were either involved in fighting in Chechnya or Afganistan or another warzone or that they were victims of extreme hazing that often occurs during training and ended up with PTSD, which makes it difficult for them to get and hold a job.
• Infrastructure- Many buildings aren't up-kept very well and aren't in very good shape. There are also skeletons of apartments and factories scattered around, mostly on the outskirts of the city. These are primarily Soviet-era buildings that have fallen out of use and just sit there.

Well, I've been at this for about an hour and a half to two hours, so I'm going to wrap it up. If there 's another subject you'd like me to touch on regarding Russia and Russian attitudes, just leave a comment telling me what you're interested in. Thanks for reading, and until next week, пока!

Week Два

Week two is now over and yet again I am too lazy to do anything other than recount the events of the past week. One of these weeks I'll try and think of something insightful and interesting to say about my stay and my experiences.

-01/07/2012- My first full day off. I got to wake up later that usual which was really nice. I helped out cleaning the fish tank and my room and then went downtown with Nikita and walked along the Volga. We were there for a few hours. After we got back we went to the магазин to do some grocery shopping. For dinner we had a cookout down by the creek near our apartment. A stray cat watched us the entire time, hoping to get some food. I got to use the banya at the tennis club Elena works at. It was nice, although I don't think I stayed in it for long enough. I watched the first half of the Euro Cup finals and then went to sleep.

-02/07/2012- A pretty good day. Class went well except for grammar. Our teacher skipped around a lot and went way to fast, and we didn't cover everything very well.We had theater practice as well....meh. I'm really not looking forward to that.

-03/07/2012- An ok day. I was really tired all day. Classes were all fine, nothing spectacular or terrible. We had art class and made little birds out of cloth, cotton padding, and string. It was fairly fun. We had the same teacher as last week; she's really funny at times, and nice. After classes me and a few other students from my class went to a souvenier shop and Дом Книги. I bought a few gifts.

-04/07/2012- Classes were fine today, again nothing spectacular or terrible. We had choir practice for the first time....can already tell that's going to be a blast. The teacher is very nice but it's just not a very enjoyable class. Don't really remember anything else from this day.

-05/07/2012- After classes we had an excursion to a meeting at the city hall about preserving and supporting Tatar cultural heritage and pride in Yaroslavl. On my way home I was actually show courtesy by a driver; he waved me across a driveway before he pulled in. The bus that I rode also sounded like it was going to snap in half everytime it started moving; it would make a giant groaning/creaking noise whenever it accelerated away from a stop. Ruth, a few other students, and I went to a free outdoor concert. Lots of '60s rock covers. While we were talking, Ruth told me that if I went looking, I'd easily be able to find a Russian wife in the 6 weeks I was here because I'm an American and the right age, and that would make me very sought after. She has lots of interesting information and insights about Russian mindsets and culture.

-06/07/2012- We had a test at school; I thought it went fairly well. After classes we went to the Yaroslavl history museum, which was interesting. After I got home, I gave Elena the American cities book I brought and we spent some time looking over it. On our way to the shower we saw a guy get pulled of a bus by the police. The kittens at the tennis club can move around on their own now and they're starting to explore. The dog hid under my bed when I was about to go to sleep and took a bit to come out. Supposedly the hot water is back on too!

-07/07/2012- Our group went to the Rostov Kremlin and ceramics factory. The kremlin was very beautiful; I really enjoyed seeing it. The factory was also interesting. The artwork that is produced there is very good and it was fun to see how they make it. It is very similar to the way they make the lacqured boxes in Suzdal. When we got back I went to the market with a few others and bought a pair of shoes for 1000 rubles. They look pretty awesome. When I got home I had the flat to myself. Nikita had to work until 3 am and Elena was helping with a wedding until very late.

-08/07/2012- Got to sleep in again, which was super nice. Elena brought back a few pieces of cake from the wedding. I got an 8 inch long, 4 inch wide, 3 inch tall piece for breakfast, as well as chocolate cereal and other sweets. After breakfast I did some homework and then Elena and I went downtown to meet Ruth and a few other students to go to a concert. It was part of the Day of Family, Love, and Fidelity. There were a variety of groups, some of which were quite good and some of which were a bit ehh. The Бабушки, a group of grandmothers who got 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place at Eurovision last year, performed. Their oldest member is in her mid-90s. At the concert I was mistaken for a Russian according to Ruth, who said a few women behind us were wondering what I was doing with foreigners. After the concert we went to the 1000 year anniversary park and cooled off in one of the fountains. Next weekend we're going to wear better clothes and actually go swimming in one.

Week One

It's now the first full weekend of my stay in Russia over the summer of 2012. It's been a great first week and now that I'm getting settled in though, everything is going fairly well. I'll start of this post with a brief summary of the week.

-24/06/12- We arrived in the airport in Moscow around 10-11am, and took a bus to Yaroslavl. The ride took 6ish hours. I met my host family outside Demidov University where classes take place, and we went to their flat. I gave a few gifts and we looked through some photos of theirs.

-25/06/12- The first day of school; it was primarily orientation by the program director at the University, and then one class, which was entirely in Russian(maybe 15 words of English spoken by the teacher the entire class.) Afterwards we walked around the downtown city on a sort of scavenger hung with a few university students.

-26/06/12- The first full day of classes. It was slightly less intimindating, and I was able to pick out a few words and phrases here and there. We had several teachers. After lunch we visited the Yaroslavl Kremlin. There were some beautiful churches inside and around it, and it overlooks the Volga river on one side. After the Kremlin we went to a park downtown and then saw the 1002th Anniversary of Yaroslavl monument/park

- 27/06/12- We went to a valenki factory in Yaroslavl. To get there we walked along the Volga and saw a run-down church. The machinery at the factory looked like it could've been from Soviet times, and it probably was. It made so much noise and shook so much I'm suprised it didn't fall apart. We also got sim cards for our phones so we could finally use them.

-28/06/12- The first day taking the bus to and from the university by myself. After class we went to a theater and got costumes for a short play that we're supposed to put on in Russian as a end-of-program project. Not really looking forward to that. I also had Russian ice cream for the first time today; it was amazing. We tried to organize a game of football, but it didn't really work out. Had an actual conversation with my host mother, in Russian. We talked about my family and Wisconsin, and I gave her a map of the state. She gave me some office supplies, a book, and a Yaroslavl magnet.

-29/06/12- We had a quiz in school today. It was open-notes which was nice, but I think it would've been ok even if it wasn't. We also had art class today, which was interesting. The teacher is very insistent on us doing everything exactly one way, but she's nice about it. It's kind of funny. My host mom and I went for a walk with the dog and she showed me some places she went when she was a kid. My brother also arrived back from Moscow. He was working as an extra in a television serial for a few days.

-30/06/12- The first day of no school! I got to wake up a little later, which was nice. We had an excursion to a nunnery outside of Yaroslavl. The inside was very beautiful. There were gardens and a pond and several churches. After the nunnery we went down to the Volga and had a picnic, and then all the Russian and American guys played a game of football on a dirt road/clearing in a forested area. Americans won 6-5. My host brother is very athletic and agile, and has fairly good footskills; we balanced each other out nicely in the game. It was very enjoyable. When we got back to Yaroslavl a group of us went to the marketplace and took a look around.

Overall, the program has been a very enjoyable experience so far. I would highly reccomend it to anyone interested in learning another language and who likes to travel. It's getting late and I can't really think of anything else to write beyond this summary, so until next weekend or so, пока!

3 Weeks Out

This is just a brief update of what's going on. In a little less than three weeks I'll be in Washington DC getting orientated and prepping for the trip. In exactly three weeks time I'll be Russia, either in Moscow or on my way to Yaroslavl. It's really starting to sink in that I'm going back and I'm really looking forward to seeing Russia and (hopefully) my friends again. I've started getting together gifts, including a school yearbook and several copies of the Driftwood. Other ideas I've had are clothing and other items from UW Madision, and other Wisconsin-related gifts(eg. Packers and Brewers gear, anything else Wisconsin related I can find).
There isn't much else going on Russia-wise right now. A few friends and I are going today to write up something about our 2011 trip to send to the American House in Vladimir,  and we also have to start making plans for when our friends from Moscow come to visit us in August. I have also been keeping in contact with my friends from Vyazniki and Moscow.
That's all for now. One week until the end of school, and then just two weeks until Russia! I'll try to continue writing updates while I'm in DC and Yaroslavl.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Jacob Aehl, and I am a senior in high school. I will be attending UW Madison starting in the fall of 2012 and will major in Russian language and either history, political science, or international relations. I've started this blog because I am interested in everything involving Russia and Russians, and I thought it would be fun to write down my thoughts and experiences dealing with these topics. I've already visited Russia once for ten days over the summer of 2011; I spent five days in Mosocow and five in Vladimir and the surrounding area. I will be traveling to Russia again during the summer of 2012 as a part of the NSLI-Y Russian program; I will stay in the city of Yaroslavl for six weeks, from June 24th to August 6th. That's pretty much it for now; I'll try to continue writing as I have more Russia-related experiences as a part of my trip, communications with my Russian friends, or at UW Madison. I hope you enjoy something I've written and find it interesting/informative/etc.!