Siberia

Siberia. The huge blank spot on the map. The land of Genghis Khan and Russian prison camps. Where I've always wanted to go. And it was everything I expected it to be and very few trips I ever go on will top this one.
So we left at around 9 Wednesday night, and we flew on Siberian 7 airlines (never heard of em before, but it was on a Boeing 737 and the flight was excellent). We arrived in Ulan-Ude at 8 am, after flying over Baikal and some beautiful steppe. Upon our embarking, we were greeted by traditional Buryatian singing, a gift of goat's milk, and Diane got a haddok, which is a scarf that is a traditional Buryatian greeting gift, I think she got about 5 of them on this trip and has a total of around 30.

The singer ended up being the lead singer of Uragsha, a group of young Buryatian singers/musicians who perform both traditonal music and modern pop and rock, whom we spent a good amount of time with (read: drinking and clubbing with fantastically hot girls). The organizers of everything were Rada and Erzhena, who are both leaders of Buryatia's intellectual "aristocracy." It seemed as if they knew everyone, and the trip went absolutely perfectly.
So after arriving at the airport (which was very very tiny, but very interesting as well), we went to meet our homestays. Kevin and I stayed with Seger, her husband, and their 2 daughters. One of the daughters is taking English lessons but was very quiet, all she really said to us was "Good Morning." They had a nice apartment with an LCD TV and other amenities. But it was also very Soviet era and had hammer and sickles on the facade. Seger's husband was a police officer. They fed us a LOT.
After resting up a bit, we all gathered together and went to an orphanage. The children were VERY excited to see us and put on a show for us at the beginning. Then we split up into groups. I was with Ben with several children, most of whom were about 2, but some were much older. I was called "Mama" by several kids, and one immediately attached herself to me and wouldn't let go of my hands.

Although it was sad to see the kids so lonely, they were all well taken care of. We also had our first run-in with the Amazons at the orphanage: the Amazons are a women's group of car enthusiasts who also have a thing for environmentalism (?). They were quite interesting, and we ran into them one other time in Ulan-Ude (Erzhena gave our schedules out to very groups hoping to make an impression on us). After the orphanage, we went to meet Uragsha and have a meal and listen to some traditional Buryatian music. We had a delicious meal of meat dumplings (which are very popular in Mongolia) and listened to Uragsha play various traditional pieces, which sounded very similar to bluegrass, actually. The chord structure and instrumentation were all very similar. After dinner we went home and then to bed.

The next morning we got up bright and early and set off for the Ivolkonsky Datsan, the largest datsan in Russia and one of the only ones allowed to operate during the Soviet era (datsans are Buddhist monasteries). On the way, we were stopped by the militia for speeding, which was the first time I've ever been in a vehicle that's been pulled over. So now I can say that the first time I was pulled over, I was in Siberia!

We made a few stops at Shamanist holy places, which had very gorgeous views of the steppe.

Next we went to an Old Believer village, visited a church and a museum, and then went to another village to eat a meal. We ate at a family's house, and they owned a museum in honor of one of the first Old Believer's to bring traditional music to St. Petersburg. First they fed us a huge meal that was very delicious (they even gave us samogon, which is homemade vodka. It was obviously watered down, but interesting nonetheless). After getting a tour of the museum, we packed into the van and headed back to Ulan-Ude. On our way back, the van overheated and we stopped by a river to get water to cool the engine down.

That night we went out on the town with Uragsha. We all went to a park at first, which involved crossing the most rickety bridge I've ever been on, and then we were going to go to a club but the one we went to was packed so I decided that it would be best just to go to bed at that point. Here is an example of how hot the girls were:

The next morning we set off very early to go to Horinsk, where we would have our Buryatian culture day. First, we went to the Horinsk history museum, and then we went to a small Buryatian village. When we arrived we greeted with singing and dancing and Diane got another haddok (another reason for the singing and dancing was the desire for the children finishing high school to have a chance to join Uragsha, as Erzhena is the leader and was with us that day).

We ate a delicious meal of goat, homemade cheese, blood sausage (exactly what it sounds like), and various other interesting dishes. We also witnessed a tradition of presenting guests with the goat's head, so Diane got to have fun with that one. After that we went to the Aninsky Datsan, which was originally one of the largest complexes in Russia but was destroyed by the Soviets (with cannons). Now all that remains is a crumbling brick skeleton and a small temple that was recently built there.

They begin reconstruction next month, however, so we were some of the last people to see it in the state that the Soviets left it in. On the way home, one of our tires blew, so we got to go climbing around the step. That night we went straight home and to bed.

The next day we stayed in Ulan-Ude, and went to the historical museum, and then the ethnographic museum. After that we went to a theater and met with its director, who is also an environmentalist who runs an organization that cleans up trash on the shore of Baikal. He was very animated and eccentric, and in general a very interesting character. That night we went to a restaurant with Uragsha, ate a meal, and then they performed 2 concerts for us, a rock concert and a pop concert. After that, we went to the train station and got on a train from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk.
We arrived in Irkutsk at around 7, and went immediately to meet with a representative from the Baikal Wave, one of the major environmental groups involved with Baikal. She gave us a lot of information regarding the current situation with Baikal (we read a book earlier that informed us of the situation in 2004). After that we went to our hotel, which was on possibly the worst street I've ever seen, and then went to Baikal. First we went to the Baikal Museum, which had an aquarium and models of the lake. Then we went to the MChS base, which is Russia's version of FIMA. They showed us all of their equipment and boats, and even gave us a first aid lesson! We ate a very good meal there, and then went to the ethnographic museum, at which I made a clay ocarina. Then we went back to Irkutsk and to our hotel.
We got up very early the next morning to drive out to Olkhon. The drive to the ferry took us about 5 hours, and then we took about another half hour to get to Huzhir, the village that our "base" was in. We were in very primitive, but also comfortable, lodgings. We we kept warm by a traditional Russian stove (and we needed it, we had snow twice). There was no running water, but my room had a tiny, suitcase-like porta-potty. That evening, after dinner, we went to the beach and jumped in the lake. We were in for about 5 seconds. It was around 4 degrees celcius. But the water was unbelievably clear and clean.

The next day we had a day long excursion to the cape at the north end of Olkhon. We made several stops along the way, mostly at old villages, shamanist holy spots, and an old GULAG (really), and then we had a traditional lunch over a fire. We ate fish soup, which was potatoes and a whole fish (gutted) boiled together. It was delicious. The most common edible fish in Baikal is called omul, which does not live anywhere else, and it is a delicious fish. I will certainly miss it, even though I had omul at every meal for 4 straight days. After lunch we went to the cape, made a few stops on the way back, and finally arrived back at the base.

The next day we went to the other side of the island width-wise, which was interesting because there were several lakes we drove by. I went to the banya that night, which is the Russian bath house. It's very strange, but amazing. They spent several hours heating up stones in a hut with 3 rooms: an entry room to leave clothes, a room with a bucket of freezing cold water, and the heating room. You strip, douse yourself with cold water, and then go and lay in the heating room for about 15 minutes, pouring water on the stones to release heat and humidity (we poured beer on the stones too, which made the room smell like freshly baked bread). After 15 minutes, you leave and douse yourself with cold water again, and then wait a couple minutes before going back in. The next time you go in, you start hitting each other on the back with branches with leaves on them. Go out, rinse in cold water, and repeat for about an hour. Then you dry off, and that's it. It's very relaxing, I had an excellent night's sleep that night.
We also met with a shaman on Olkhon, but he spoke Russian very poorly and mixed Russian and Buryatian up a lot.

After Olkhon, we returned to Irkutsk, went to a Decemberists museum, spent a night there, and then flew back to Moscow.
So I'm done with classes and finals now, and I'm all packed and I leave my home stay in about an hour. My train leaves for Solovki tonight around one in the morning. I'm totally psyched and am very glad that I chose to continue traveling around Russia instead of going home. I should have internet again in about a week, so I'll send something out to confirm that I survived my trip to Solovki, and then I head off to travel 'round the Golden Ring!

To Address Some Issues...

So first, I haven't posted on Petersburg yet. I'll keep it short.
I got drunk every night in Petersburg, except one. But I did drink every night. It was wonderful. I could buy a half liter of Smirnoff quality vodka for 3 bucks, and a bottle of decent wine for 5. Life was good. I also got to see many of the buildings that I've wanted to see since I was first learning about Russia in high school. Most importantly, this one:

This is the Church of Christ on Spilled Blood, and it was built on, you guessed it, spilled blood. But not just any spilled blood, no, that wouldn't be good enough for Jesus. You see, Jesus only accepts churches that are built on the blood of Tsars. Tsars that have been grenaded by anarchists. So when Tsar Alexander II was blown up by anarchists, his son Nicholas I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to build a church. And he did, even leaving the exact stones upon which Alexander II met his demise so that they could be seen by coming generations. So here they are:

I also got to wander around the Winter Palace, the largest palace in Europe, which is now occupied by the Hermitage, which is one of the best art museums in the world. It's got pieces by Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, and countless others. Also wandered around the Summer Palace (in which is the famous Amber Room) and Paul's Palace.
Saw just about every major monument in St. Petersburg. Also ate at Subway, which was actually quite different than in the US. It doesn't have real lettuce, the pepperonis are tiny, and it was just more Russian. Also ate at a Georgian restaurant (the country) and drank Russian wine, which was surprisingly good. Had a very busy but very pleasant weekend.
Saturday was Victory Day. Saw Russian tanks, ICBM launchers, SCUD missiles, etc., plus all of their latest copies of our aircraft (the AWACs was especially funny to see fly overhead).
We go to Siberia in a week. I can't believe I'm so close.
As to posting pics of my Russian friends, we'll see. First I have to take some.

Day 3 - Moscow State

Today was nothing short of exhausting. I slept very well last night, and when I woke up I felt great, but now it’s 8:00 PM and I’m ready for bed. Today I met Galina’s son, Leonid; he ate breakfast with us and walked me to the Metro station. I met Laura and her host mom there, and we took the Metro to the University.
The Moscow subway system is amazing. I haven’t taken pictures yet, but each station has its own theme and aesthetic. Kievskii Station is the one closest to my apartment, and it also happens to be one of the oldest stations in Moscow. It was made of white marble with paintings on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There were thousands of people in the station; it was quite chaotic. To get to the university I have to take the Koltsonay Lineya (Ring Line) to Cultural Park station, and then I switch to the Red Line to get to the Universitetskii Vokzal (University Station). Laura’s host mom told us that the Cultural Park station is the oldest in Moscow, but it was very loud in the station and she was speaking Russian so I’m not sure. It was also white marble with chandeliers. The stations are all very warm, even standing several yards away from the door of a station is enough to stay warm in the Moscow cold. We all met outside the University station, exchanged travel stories, and set off for the University.
First, we got our student IDs, which allow is to get into any building. There are guards everywhere, it’s very disconcerting to know that you are always being watched (well, they’re supposed to watch you but from what I’ve seen so far they don’t really pay that much attention). Once we had our IDs we went to a classroom, in which Diane laid out the plan for the day. There are a few students at Moscow State who are going to be going along with our group excursions and sitting in on class because they are learning how to teach Russian. We met them, and then divided into groups. We had two of them with my group, Yulya (I guess the Russian form of Julia) and Varvara (Barbara?).
Now, let me say this: Russian girls are ridiculously hot. Especially at Moscow State. Nearly 90% of the girls I saw at the University were head turners, and I saw maybe 5 girls that made my "Hottest Girls I've Ever Seen" list. Just saying. I didn't get a picture of Yulya, but she'd be a good example of the average hotness at the University. I could go on, but there are more important things to discuss.

We had met in 1 GUM, or Humanities Building 1, and our group left to go explore the main Moscow State building. Pictures cannot do this building justice, it is by far the largest building I have ever seen. Not only is it tall, it is probably 150 meters wide as well. The inside of the building is as impressive of the outside. There are marble columns and staircases, golden railings, and there are 3 different rows of elevators, each with a specific grouping of floors that they go to. We, of course, went to the very top floor, the 28th. The geology department is located on the 28th floor. Once we got up there, we were able to look out on the entire city. Moscow is designed so that Moscow State, the Olympic Stadium, and the Kremlin are all in a straight line, so I was able to see part of the Kremlin from the University. Moscow is unbelievably huge, from the 28th floor it stretched as far as the eye can see. After the professors who were hanging around the geology department showed us the various buildings that can be seen, we went back downstairs and outside.

We walked on the square that leads to the stadium, up until it reaches a giant hill that offers a grand view of the city. One thing that I noticed is that all the trees are planted in straight lines, while the rest of the city is very chaotic and unplanned. My guess is that the trees were planned in the Soviet era as an example of planning and symmetry that is the basis of Soviet philosophy. Or maybe that’s reading into it too much. There were vendors selling Matryoshka dolls and Soviet propaganda all along the edge of the hill, and there were tall structures that serve as slides to go skiing or sledding down. The Moscow River is a very important part of the cityscape. To the left of a hill was a church, I don't know the English name but it was very beautiful on the inside.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take picture, so I didn’t, but it was filled with icons, candles, and many of the walls were covered with gold. After we left, we walked back to the University to see even more of the huge buildings there. The philosophy building is very big.

And so is the library. I was actually unable to find a good spot to get it all in frame, I'll wander around sometime and try to get a better picture, but here's what I have now.

The exam wasn't too bad, basically what I expected. I had a short interview with the professors, which consisted of them asking me to tell me about myself, which I've gotten to be quite good at. They seemed very friendly, so I'm very excited to take classes at Moscow State.
Moscow State is like Hogwarts, if Stalin had been in charge. The main building is huge and looks like a castle, the professors are stict but open, and the students there are very bright. Attending Moscow State will also give me a good idea of what life at a huge university is like, even though all of my classes will be with 3 other students from Carleton. Yes, that's right, 4 of us with a Moscow State professor. Oy. My group consists of Me, Travis, Nikki, and Charlie. Travis has been in my Russian classes forever, probably since 101, but he's also the weirdest person I have met at Carleton. He is a CS geek with a very odd sense of humor, so seeing him interact with Russian professors will be interesting, to say the least. I think that I got placed in the "can't speak Russian" group, except I don't understand why Nikki and Charlie got placed with me as well, because they're both 3rd year Russian students who speak very well. Class starts Tuesday, so we'll see how it goes.
After we finished at the University, we all went back to the University Metro station to meet our host families again, and Laura and I rode the bus back with Galina. Galina pointed out many buildings to us, such as a beautiful monastery that Laura and I plan to visit tomorrow. She also pointed out how to get to the Arbat, which is the main artisan street in Moscow.
If you have ever read about modern Moscow, you will know that a new swathe of buildings are being build called New Moscow. I live about half a mile from New Moscow. Last night it was too dark to see when I was walking, but today they were a very prominent presence in the skyline. I also live very close to the Evropeitsa square, which is now dominated by a huge shopping mall. Galina doesn't like the mall and wishes it were still a square, but it is a very modern building that could be the focal point of any American city. It's right across the street from the Kievskii station. Laura lives right next to the Evropeiska mall, and about 5 blocks from me.
When we got home, Leonid and his son, Maksim, were waiting for us. Maksim, Galina's grandson, is 4 years old and one of the cutest kids I have ever met. While Galina was making my dinner, Maksim made me play with him, he especially enjoyed climbing on top of a couch and jumping down so I could catch him. He had legos that he made into a robot, a dinosaur, and he went around pretending that Galina was a lion and he was a tiger.
So here I am now, sitting on my bed, and I was just interrupted by Maksim, who wanted to give me his dinosaur, robot, chair, lawnmower, and shovels. He's very cute, and it's interesting to listen to his Russian. It's difficult when I don't understand him because telling him that I don't understand doesn't really work. They were reading him books, and he was watching something while I was eating. Galina is a wonderful host mom, living here is really going to help me learn Russian.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting Laura at 11 to make our way to Cherry Towers, where about half of the group is meeting to buy Russian cell phones. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, but we'll see.
Oh, I forgot to mention my surprise at seeing a power plant in the center of the city. Smoke stacks are a very strange sight, at least coming from Wichita, where our power plant is like 100 miles away.
Also, you know how advertisements on the internet are like: "Free PS3!" or "Free iPhone!"? Well, on the Russian internet, advertisements are for a life-long green card in the US. Nice.
Another thing I forgot: last night I was reading a book about Moscow's history and it mentioned a monument that I drove by when entering the city that caught my attention but didn't understand. It looked like some very large jacks (as in the kids game) sitting on the side of the road. Turns out, they were a World War 2 memorial, marking how far the Nazi tanks got. We were about 15 miles from the center of Moscow. The jacks were actually tank traps. Crazy.
I also forgot to mention that on the streets, vendors sell all sorts of foods. Including bottles of beer that make 40s look like the children's size cup at a restaurant. Those bottles are huge! Ok. That's enough for this post.