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We've had snow the last couple days. Not a lot though, at least not in the city. Today was warmer so it has melted off of most of the road-ways.
I am glad that the weather is warmer, the bus is less packed when the weather is nicer. I 'm starting to feel like an old hand at this public transit thing. I am probably more confident using various forms of public transit to get around St. Petersburg than I am getting around Seattle. I've learned which spots you want to jump for on the bus, the metro and what seats to avoid in a marshrutka. I think the Russian spirit of patience when it comes to deplorable traffic is setting in. I stand in the snow and wait for the bus. There isn't the tension of wondering why the bus is late. The bus is always late. It will show up when it does. I will wait for it. Today I snagged a good seat on the way into school, and was quite content during the 40 minute commute. Often close to 20 minutes of this commute is getting from the stop at the Gorkovskaya Metro over the Troitsky Bridge. A rather short distance, but with horrible traffic back-log. Troitsky is one of only two bridges from Petrogradkaya Stora, where I live, into the "main" land of St. Petersburg, which is where my school is.
Last night we had pelmeni for dinner. I was happy, and I think my host-parents were surprised that pelmeni was a Russian food that I already knew and that I had prepared it for my family at home. I think they were also surprised that I like "grota" or buckwheat. The food may not have much in the way of spice here, but at the same time I've had it surpass my expectations after hearing of how "ick" Russian cuisine is.
After dinner, Seryosha expressed concern over the Tornadoes that swept though the Southern States. Russia's channel 1 had an anchor in Tennessee reporting on the devastation. I didn't realize that my host family, and that others here in Russia would care so much about a natural disaster in the U.S. I have come to find that there is an attitude here that people are people no matter what. Some good and some bad, but we are all human. Tanya definitely wanted me to communicate that idea to my friends and family in the United States after I'd told her that my parents grew up during the cold war. Russia is not bad. There are problems, but it a good country to live in. People are people. Not all Russians are bad, not all Russians are good. Not all Americans are bad, not all Americans are good. We are all human and we live in this same world, our world has problems but that does not make it a bad world.
I've been busy with classes this week. I even had a quiz yesterday. I don't know how I did. I didn't think that I did horribly on it, though I'm sure I could have done better. I think much of my language learning is coming just from being here in Russia. Trying to talk to my host family, and trying to interact with people.
Today we had a discussion about Russian mentality and Russian national spirit. It shed a little light on the issue of Putin's popularity in Russian. Russia has the attitude that they need a strong leader. Russia needs a strong hand. Putin, being former KGB has a strong hand and a long hand in the leadership of this country. Thus while the policies of the administration can be disagreed with his strength in an of itself lends to him being a "good" president. Russia is a circle. I guess you could think of it as a spoked wheel. The leader is the central hub that holds the spokes and thus the wheel together making it stronger. A central theme in mentality is this circle, circle of history, of family, and most importantly of community. Even the word “Mir” or “Earth/World” has a sense of this circle to it.
I don’t understand all this thought. I doubt that it is possible to do so. But I do feel as though I have gained a tiny peek via these discussion and lectures into Russia.
If any of you have questions about Russia feel free to e-mail them to me. Both my host family and my teachers are willing to discuss, and hold dialogue.
I am glad that the weather is warmer, the bus is less packed when the weather is nicer. I 'm starting to feel like an old hand at this public transit thing. I am probably more confident using various forms of public transit to get around St. Petersburg than I am getting around Seattle. I've learned which spots you want to jump for on the bus, the metro and what seats to avoid in a marshrutka. I think the Russian spirit of patience when it comes to deplorable traffic is setting in. I stand in the snow and wait for the bus. There isn't the tension of wondering why the bus is late. The bus is always late. It will show up when it does. I will wait for it. Today I snagged a good seat on the way into school, and was quite content during the 40 minute commute. Often close to 20 minutes of this commute is getting from the stop at the Gorkovskaya Metro over the Troitsky Bridge. A rather short distance, but with horrible traffic back-log. Troitsky is one of only two bridges from Petrogradkaya Stora, where I live, into the "main" land of St. Petersburg, which is where my school is.
Last night we had pelmeni for dinner. I was happy, and I think my host-parents were surprised that pelmeni was a Russian food that I already knew and that I had prepared it for my family at home. I think they were also surprised that I like "grota" or buckwheat. The food may not have much in the way of spice here, but at the same time I've had it surpass my expectations after hearing of how "ick" Russian cuisine is.
After dinner, Seryosha expressed concern over the Tornadoes that swept though the Southern States. Russia's channel 1 had an anchor in Tennessee reporting on the devastation. I didn't realize that my host family, and that others here in Russia would care so much about a natural disaster in the U.S. I have come to find that there is an attitude here that people are people no matter what. Some good and some bad, but we are all human. Tanya definitely wanted me to communicate that idea to my friends and family in the United States after I'd told her that my parents grew up during the cold war. Russia is not bad. There are problems, but it a good country to live in. People are people. Not all Russians are bad, not all Russians are good. Not all Americans are bad, not all Americans are good. We are all human and we live in this same world, our world has problems but that does not make it a bad world.
I've been busy with classes this week. I even had a quiz yesterday. I don't know how I did. I didn't think that I did horribly on it, though I'm sure I could have done better. I think much of my language learning is coming just from being here in Russia. Trying to talk to my host family, and trying to interact with people.
Today we had a discussion about Russian mentality and Russian national spirit. It shed a little light on the issue of Putin's popularity in Russian. Russia has the attitude that they need a strong leader. Russia needs a strong hand. Putin, being former KGB has a strong hand and a long hand in the leadership of this country. Thus while the policies of the administration can be disagreed with his strength in an of itself lends to him being a "good" president. Russia is a circle. I guess you could think of it as a spoked wheel. The leader is the central hub that holds the spokes and thus the wheel together making it stronger. A central theme in mentality is this circle, circle of history, of family, and most importantly of community. Even the word “Mir” or “Earth/World” has a sense of this circle to it.
I don’t understand all this thought. I doubt that it is possible to do so. But I do feel as though I have gained a tiny peek via these discussion and lectures into Russia.
If any of you have questions about Russia feel free to e-mail them to me. Both my host family and my teachers are willing to discuss, and hold dialogue.
posted by gewreinn at 1:41 PM (St Petersburg time)
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