LizaInMoscow

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Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

St. Petersburg

I took a small trip to St. Petersburg for a long weekend. There I spent some time with the family I lived with last year, the social worker that I met through working with the street kids, and my great aunt. I roamed around the city in a daze, as if in a permanent state of deja vu: my trip here just 1 1/2 years ago seemed like a passed life. I walked around metro stations looking for the kids that I worked with, but was disappointed to find out that they had split up and some of them had moved on to more serious drugs while others had a warrant out for their arrest.

I have to say that although St. Petersburg is beautiful, it is no place to be in the winter: it was freezing!!! I hung out with Arseniy there (he was in town for school) and basically we spent our time moving from one cafe to the next, because being outside was unbearable! For some reason, I can't get all of my pictures from up, but here are the ones that attached.

The half-frozen Neva River.




Arseniy and I doing what we do best: Eating blintzes at Teremok.


Self-portrait (Arseniy and I bottom left) on the Anichkov Bridge.

Medniy Vsadnik (statue of Peter the Great on horseback) and the Isaakov Cathedral .


Isaakov Cathedral


My grandma (Baba Gala's) cousin Ina. At 18, Ina was left alone in St. Petersburg to live through the German blockade. Even having lived through a complete nightmare, and having lost almost all of her family, Ina is one of the most cheerful and optimistic people I have ever met.


The Neva River


Statue of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in front of The Russian Museum.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Kolomenskoe

March 8
Since International Women's Day is a major holiday here, we got the day off, and Arseniy and I decided to go to Kalomenskoe, a beautiful park with old churches, hills and cafes bordering the Moscow River. This park has historical significance as it was home to Peter the Great for some time, and it was the site of the coronation of Catherine the Great and several emperors/empresses after her. Weather-wise, we picked a great day, but as soon as we arrived it became clear that we were not alone in this great idea. The park was packed with sleders and snowboarders galore!


Mama...these birch trees are for you!!!

Ducks are pretty much all that the frozen Moscow River can hold in some places.
Ice Fishing...

By George, he caught a man!

View of Moscow


Random March

March 6
Arseniy, Denis and I: out for a quiet night on the Red Square...

Кофэ Хауз
(Coffee House)
March 7th
International Women's Day Party at Work

The Harm Reduction Project (and Me!)
Arseniy, Liza, Olga, Kalya, Olga, Sergey and I

Vlad: Need I say more?

Olesya, Katya and Kseniya

All of the women in the office got incredible lilies and stuffed animals.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Things I Like

I officially have a new favorite author: He is Norwegian writer Yerlend Loe. He wrote--among many other books--'Naive. Super', an autobiographical book about a young man trying to find his way in life. It is naive, amuzing and touching in a way that few things are, and it has earned him a cult-like following here in Moscow. In his book, Yerlend (yes, I believe that after 2 books, we can officially progress to a first-name basis) randomly inserts lists on different topics (i.e. what animals he has seen, what he liked as a kid, what he does/doesn't have in life, etc., etc.) After reading the book, I realized just how therapeutic listing could be and so, my friend Arseniy and I took to writing lists of our own.

Unfortunately, since Americans--for the most part--do not recognize the legitimacy of foreign literature, it is virtually impossible to find the book in English. I did find the Russian text online, so for those of you who can, please read it when you have the opportunity!

http://www.fictionbook.ru/author/lu_yerlend/naivno_super/lu_naivno_super.html#TOC_id2780442

Below are my first two lists: 'Animals I Have Seen' & 'Things I Like'.

ANIMALS I HAVE SEEN:

  1. Whales (кит)
  2. Sea lions (морской лев)
  3. Bears (медведь)
  4. Wolves (волк)
  5. Deer (олень)
  6. Moose (лось)
  7. Skunks (скунс)
  8. Opossums (опоссум/сумчатая крыса)
  9. Iguanas (игуана)
  10. Bats (летучая мыш)
  11. Prairie dog (лугавая собачка)
  12. Raccoon (енот)
  13. Jellyfish (медуза)
  14. Barracuda (щюка)
  15. Squirrels (белки)
  16. Rabbits (зайцы)
  17. Snake (змея)
  18. Frogs/Toads (лягушки/головастики/жабы)
  19. Peacocks (павлин)
  20. Puffins (топорик)
  21. Seals (тюлень)
  22. Sea otters (морская выдра)
  23. Scorpion (скорпион)
  24. Turtles (черепахи)
  25. Vultures (гриф)
  26. Alligators (аллигатор)
  27. Cats, dogs (кошки, собаки)
  28. Hamster (хомяк)
  29. Guinea pig (морская свинка)
  30. Ferret (хорёк)
  31. Cows(коровы)
  32. Goats (козы)
  33. Pigs (свиней)
    _________________________________________________________________

Note: The list below leaves out things like 'family and friends' as I decided not to boggle it down with the obvious. (English below.)

Я люблю:

  1. большое количество маленьких, одинаковых штучек, особенно, когда они разных цветов (закрепки, блокнотики, ручки, бусинки, коробочки...)
  2. аккуратные стопочки чего-либо
  3. интересный дизайн упаковок для продуктов и т.д.
  4. когда люди действительно восхищаются своими детьми
  5. детей
  6. помогать незнакомому человеку
  7. помогать знакомому
  8. встречяться взгядом с нищими -- так они чувствуют себя членами обшества
  9. когда я читаю хорошую книгу и до конца её ещё далеко
  10. ходить по улицам ночью (особенно когда холодно) и смотреть на зажжёные окна многоэтажных домов
  11. чи-хуа-хуа и других крошечных собак
  12. когда волосы хорошо лежат
  13. шоколад
  14. читать или писать ночью с одной тусклой лампой около себя и что-бы ещё где-то в комнате горели свечки
  15. свечки и подсвечники (свечки с запахом дыни)
  16. оффисные принадлежности (папки, ручки...)
  17. начинать новый блокнот
  18. представлять себе, что моя жизнь--это фильм, и всё, что я слышу--это саундтрек
  19. писaть
  20. праевление силы воли в людях и в себе
  21. уют
  22. искать новые слова в словаре и потом их учить
  23. прочитать или услышать слово, которое я недавно выучила
  24. изучать новые языки
  25. всё, что блестит или светится
  26. когда достаточно холодно, чтобы надо было потеплей отдеться, но не так холодно, чтобы надевать пальто
  27. танцы (особенно чечётку и меренге)--самой танцевать или смотреть
  28. кататься на роликах
  29. старую или этническую музыку
  30. делать генеральную уборку и просыпаться на следующее утро в чистой комнате
  31. когда, проснувшись, думаю, что уже пора вставать на работу, и обнаруживаю, что ещё середина ночи
  32. худеть
  33. кушать
  34. яркие цвета
  35. стены комнат, покрашенные яркими цветами
  36. когда дарят цветы
  37. пожилых людей
  38. дождливую погоду
  39. находить что-то, что давно потеряла
  40. поступать правильно
  41. наблюдать за парами в ресторанах или кафэ и делать выводы о том как долго они встречяються
  42. честность
  43. стабильность
  44. доверие
  45. искренность
  46. Эрленда Лу
  47. когда мышцы болят после зарядки
  48. мужиков

I like:

  1. large quantities of small, identical things (paperclips, post-it-note pads, pens, beads, small boxes...)
  2. orderly stacks of things
  3. clever packaging/marketing
  4. seeing people genuinely happy with their children
  5. children
  6. helping a stranger
  7. helping a friend
  8. making eye-contact with homeless people, thereby making them feel like part of society*
  9. being in the middle of a really good book and knowing that there is still a lot to go
  10. walking outside at night (especially when it's cold) and looking at the myriad of lit windows of tall apartment buildings
  11. chihuahuas and other really tiny dogs
  12. good hair days
  13. chocolate
  14. reading/writing in a room at night with one dim light and candles burning somewhere else in the room
  15. candles/candleholders (melon-scented candles)
  16. office supplies
  17. starting a new notebook
  18. picturing my life as a movie and everything I hear as the soundtrack
  19. writing
  20. seeing willpower in myself and others
  21. coziness
  22. looking up words in the dictionary and learning them
  23. reading or hearing a word that I just learned
  24. learning new languages
  25. everything that shines or sparkles
  26. when it's cold enough to have to dress warmly but not so cold that you need to wear a coat
  27. dancing/watching (esp. tap and salsa)
  28. roller skating on quads
  29. Old/cultural/ethnic music
  30. Cleaning out my room/apartment and waking up to it the next morning
  31. waking up and thinking that it is time to get up and get ready for work and then realizing that it is still the middle of the night
  32. losing weight
  33. eating
  34. bright colors
  35. bright colored walls
  36. getting flowers
  37. elderly people
  38. rainy weather
  39. finding something I lost
  40. doing the right thing
  41. watching couples in restaurants or cafes and trying to figure out how long they have been dating
  42. honesty
  43. stability
  44. trust
  45. genuineness
  46. Erlend Loe
  47. when my body hurts after a good workout
  48. men