There are a couple of things that I forgot to mention about my first few days here in Irkutsk.
One is the babuska in charge at the dorm. She is the complete opposite of the "dorm nazi" in St. Petersburg - always smiling and making me stop to chat with her when I go out for something. Yesterday as I was leaving to go to the university, she stopped me in the hallway and asked me if I had met the American boy. "Which one?" I asked. "The tall, handsome one" was her reply. I have yet to meet this guy but the babushka is pulling out all the stops to play the matchmaker. It's really kind of funny. As I was leaving for the market this morning, she pulled me into her office and made me right down when I was going to be back at the dorm so he can visit. Oh my. I hope he's as good looking as she says he is - or at least nice. I could use some friends at the moment.
While my neighbors are nice, if I had wanted to live with a middle-aged couple I would have done homestay. And they keep all their kitchenware in their room, so it's kind of hard to share. I just went to the "mall" and bought a couple of plates and bowls and forks and stuff. Now I just need one good pot. I think I'll go to the "chinese market" (the street market, where the less materialistic locals go to buy stuff).
Irkutsk isn't quite the middle of nowhere that I imagined it to be. In fact, it's such a booming metropolis that they have a sushi restaurant. Though it looks upscale, the name is rather dubious - "SushiEd's". Hmmm. Maybe I stick with blini for now.
After I managed to screw myself over at the university, I headed home to spend the night lounging around and watching a couple of movies. I bought a copy of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," but the cover lied and it was only in Russian. It was sort of fun. All in all though, I would have rather read a good book.
I had to change my phone number. Leave it to the Russians to have SIM cards that only work in one city at a time. Anyway, the new number is +79149224298, but thanks to Chris, you can still reach me by calling 254-230-1818 - the call forwarding has been updated.
Okay, I think that's enough for now.
It's going to be difficult for me to load too many new pictures. All the internet cafes that I've found so far have a limit of 6 Mb per hour and you have to pay a lot if you transfer more than that. I'll see if I can find a way around that though.
Toodles.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
Hello from Irkutsk
My, how time flies when you’re having fun. So much has happened in the last few days, and I’ve been dying to write about it. But being confined to a train for 3 days, 4 hours, and 36 minutes, it was a bit difficult for me not only to update the blog as usual, but to type anything at all. Power outlets are scarce on Russian trains and you have to pay for the luxury. Therefore I was limited to the battery life of my computer and what my memory and notes can recall.
Let me start from the beginning…
Sunday
After a very peaceful night’s rest (in a real bed for once – the hostel was completely furnished with stuff from IKEA), I proceeded to spend pretty much the entire day roaming about the city. I left my bags at the hostel and took off for Alexander Garden (it’s outside the Kremlin and a good starting point for any walking trip around the city center). I ate some street meat (just enough to tide me over until lunch without making me throw up) and sat on a bench to people watch. Sitting on the bench by myself in Alexander Garden made me think of one of my recent reads – Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. Margarita was sitting on a bench in the very same garden when she was approached by one of the devil’s henchmen with a proposition – to help him host a great ball in return for her lost love. This got me to thinking more about the book and all the places in Moscow that Bulgakov wrote about. So I decided to visit Patriach Pond later that day as well. It was kind of cool roaming about in one of the lesser-known areas of the city (at least for tourists – there were tons of locals sitting around enjoying the nice evening). Afterwards I wandered back to Red Square. Well, tried to anyway. Apparently they’ve got a lot of security there at the moment – you have to go through a metal detector to go on the square! What the heck! Seeing as how I had been there recently, I decided to go back to Old Arbat and eat dinner. (Not before I got Frog to take a picture with one of the Lenin’s posing in front of the History Museum).
I ended up eating at the Hard Rock Café that night. I figured it was my last night to get a good old American-style burger (as expensive as it is). And it was right across the street from the hostel, so an easy choice. After eating there (where I got a free beer from the waiter for no particular reason), I went wandering down the street again – and this time one of the street musicians was playing a bunch of Eric Clapton covers. I stood there for quite awhile just listening to him – he was quite good. I wish I had been able to make it down to Moscow for Clapton’s show on Red Square – that would have been unbelievable. But we can’t have everything in life I guess.
My train was scheduled to leave Moscow at 23.25 on the dot, so I got to the train station a bit early, to make sure I had everything and could handle carrying everything. All totaled, I had 5 bags to carry. Lord knows how much they weigh altogether – I really don’t want to know. I was able to handle them though, with an occasional nice man helping to lift something here and there (for some reason the Russians don’t find it necessary to install escalators or lifts in certain key areas of the train station – like to go in and out of the luggage room (which is in the basement). I now have some bruises in very weird places (like all over my knees) from carrying it all. But I managed somehow.
I think my big backpack has made its last leg of the trip. Not only has the waist buckle broken (which I fixed with duck tape before Chris was kind enough to bring me a new buckle from REI), but the lining on the inside has ripped in several places, and now the shoulder straps are being held on literally by a few threads. It served its purpose for the time I needed it too. I had already decided that I’m going to have to buy a big suitcase before I leave anyway in order to be able to fly easily. When I get back to the States maybe I’ll go to REI and get fitted for a nice pack this time, one that will last a bit longer and for a few more excursions.
So anyway, back to the trip.
I had reserved a berth in a 4-person cabin. It ended up being just me and this couple from Paris in the cabin though, so it was nice and comfortable – we used the extra bed to store all my junk that I was dragging along for the ride. The bed was already made and turned down when I got there, so I basically didn’t do much that night except crash. After a cup of tea, of course (I ended up drinking a lot of tea on the trip – one of those sub conscience habits I’ve picked up I guess. Nothing to do? I’ll make some tea…). And going to sleep was no problem – the rhythm of the train gently rocking the car was wonderful. Even when we stopped a couple of times during the night it didn’t disturb my slumber.
Monday
It turns out that I was well prepared for the trip. All you really need is some rubles and a good book or two (or some other forms of solitary entertainment, in case the people you’re with aren’t aren’t the stereotypical Russian drinkers of vodka). I stocked up on a bunch of books before the trip, not only for the train ride but also because I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to find English-language books in Irkutsk (I did see a large bookshop this afternoon though – maybe they’ll have some). I also brought along some tea of my own, some bread and jam, some almonds to munch on, and a bunch of Swiss chocolate (thanks once again my meeting with Chris in Amsterdam). I talked a bit in the morning with the French roomies (who spoke English very well), about this and that and the weather and such. You know, just random getting-to-know-you-because-we’re-together-for-three-days sort of chit-chat. Then I settled into reading until the first daytime stop. I was about halfway through Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera when we boarded the train – just about at that point where you can’t put the damn book down and you must finish it.
I did put it down about midmorning though, as we pulled into Kirov for a 20-minute stop. At most of the stops along the line, there are tons of locals out on the platform selling everything from freshly baked piroshki to ramen noodles (“lapsha” in Russian) to cold beer and kvas. Some stops are better than others, but you can always count on being able to buy some kind of food to last you til the next stop. And it’s wonderful to get out and stretch you’re legs. I bought some cabbage piroshki and orange juice for breakfast, then walked around until it was time to reboard the train. I was overly cautious with my belongings this time. Each bag was double locked when I got off and chained together to one of the metal bed supports. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Even with this precaution, I doubt I would have had much trouble. Each car has two ladies in charge, who switch of duties such as cleaning and passing out laundry and guarding the entrance to the car at each stop. Still, after my stint on the night train from Prague to Budapest, I wasn’t relying on anybody to take care of my stuff for me.
The rest of the day was spent mostly reading, though I did take advantage of each long stop (there are several each day that are about 15-25 minutes) to get out and buy some snacks or something more substantial. The scenery was nice – tons of birch trees (as in most of Russia) with little village scattered about.
By the end of the day, it didn’t really feel like we had been on board for that long. I think part of this had to do with the fact that we were asleep for the first 9 hours of the ride. The 2nd class is a lot more relaxed than the 3rd class “platzcard” cars (where everyone is in one big common car – as someone put it, it’s a lot like the train ride in Some Like it Hot).
I finished my book sometime in the evening and sat down to the most un-French French dinner ever – while I at my lapsha the couple from Paris enjoyed some alphabet soup from their teacups. And we all had more piroshki of course. But alas, no wine to was it down. I’ll have to go visit my new friends in Paris some time soon, so that I can have a real French dinner.
We also stopped one more time before bed, and I found one babushka selling “blini c tvoragom” (crepes with cream cheese). Soooo good. It hit the spot and was just the thing I needed to put me to sleep again.
Right before turning out the lights, I couldn’t help but laugh at the group of mischievous seven-year-olds roaming about the corridor of the car. One of them found out how to say “I love you” in English and giggled as he said it too me. I’m pretty sure it was all in jest, the result of a dare from one of his friends, but it was cute none the less.
Tuesday
For some reason I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday morning. I was afraid I was getting sick from all the moving around and living in tight quarters, but it went away by the afternoon. Vanessa (the lady in the cabin) gave me some herbal lozenge and they worked quite well.
When we stopped in Ishim I found another reason why I might have gotten the sore throat. It was so cold outside! Cold and drizzling and miserable. But in the car it was nice and warm, and once we bought some more baked goods from the ladies outside, it was just right for another lazy day of reading and chatting about nothing in particular. At one point someone said, “It’s Tuesday, right?” My reply was, “REALLY?!” I had completely lost track of time. Even so, I think that traveling by train is a better way to change time zones. You get to ease into the new schedule, go by what the sky says rather than your watch. It’s a lot better than flying across the continent, where suddenly you get off the plane and BAM! You have to force your body to adjust in a single day. The only bad part about this is that the schedule is all on Moscow-time (to avoid confusion in the railway system, I guess), so when it says you’re stopping at 9 at night, it’s actually quite late, and the pickings as far as baked goods are concerned are pretty slim.
At about this time, a bunch of ladies started walking the corridors selling lots of warm stuff – scarves, shawls, hats, all those things you need to keep warm in the Siberian winter. I decided to wait a bit longer and go shopping at the local market in Irkutsk – I think it’ll probably be a lot cheaper.
Also, when we stopped in Omsk, my phone miraculously started working again. Tele2 has weird coverage – it works in St. Petersburg and in random regions of Siberia, but not in Moscow. Oh well. That means you can call me again – just use the same 254-230-1818 as always (or call me directly at +79500035886 if you want to be really nice). I've been having issues with it lately, but it should be working again soon.
After a failed attempt to get some good snacks in Omsk, I resorted to the restaurant car, which was conveniently located just two cars down from me. I had some really good beef stroganoff with rice, though the portion was a bit small and the staff was a bit rude.
By this time I was getting into the second book I had chosen for the adventure – One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It took me awhile to get into it, but by the time I finished it on Wednesday night, I was glad that I had read it. It just latched on to me and wouldn’t let me put it down all the next day. Now I want to see the movie (I know, it’s weird that I haven’t, when I’ve seen everything else), to see if they do it justice.
Wednesday
I finally decided that I had had enough of this dirtiness and decided to cough up the 126 rubles it costs to take a shower. While it was more like a dribble of water, it did get me to feeling clean again and it was nice and warm. And the shower was surprisingly large for a train. I was expecting something a lot more cramped, like the shower on the ferry boat to Finland that I took earlier in the summer.
Wednesday was also a day of “Faulknerian moments”, as our dear Dr. Towner would put it. There was a reference to “Barn Burning” in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which made me really want to read the story again. Unfortunately my Portable Faulkner doesn’t include that story. I’m realizing in retrospect that it would have been better to bring the Collected Stories rather than the Portable Faulkner, seeing as how it was more short stories I wanted to read after this last semester, and I’ve read most of the ones in the PF. But c’est la vie (my roomies laughed when they heard me say this, not knowing that its one of my favorite little phrases). Also, as night fell and I could no longer see anything out the window, I couldn’t help but think of the “spyglass theory.” I can’t remember which novel it’s from (Light in August?), but it goes something along the lines that it is easier to look out from darkness into the light than to look at the dark from the light. I almost which I had taken a lot more time for the rail trip, so that I could be on the train only during the day and be able to see all the changes in the landscape. But we can’t have everything, and time was running out.
Sometimes on the train I felt like I was in a time warp. There were so many seemingly anachronistic things about it. And I’m not just talking about the 80’s (and earlier) music on the radio (that’s everywhere in Russia). The employees all wore uniforms that reminded me of 60’s-era airline stewardess – skirt-suits with nylons and pumps. Except of course when we stopped at night – then they would don these outrageously huge trench coats and hold up these ancient lanterns so the we could see as we got off and the workers checking the stability of the wheels would be able to see as well. Also, everyone was smoking like chimneys everywhere (also another trans-Russia thing, I think, not just a unique quality of the train). It all struck me as very cool – I can’t think of any way I could have the same experience in America, even if I decided to take an Amtrac train all the way across the country. But anyway, I’m digressing again.
We stopped in Ilanskaya for awhile and found some of the best food of all the stops. Not only were the babushkas very well organized here, but they had a much wider range of foods. Aside from the usual piroshki and such, they also had boiled eggs, salads and sauerkraut, cooked potatoes, and (get this) crawfish (at least that’s what they resembled and how they were cooked – I’m not exactly sure what they were).
I got some snacks, but also left a bit of room for a farewell-to-the-train meal in the restaurant car. I had a beefsteak with egg and rice (mmmm, tasty) and enjoyed a couple of beers with the other single diners. Then I went back to the cabin and finished up the book. After that I was entirely too pensive, and had a lot of trouble going to sleep. But I think that’s a good sign for a book – if it doesn’t disturb you, make you cry, or at least get you to thinking, what was the point? When I finally did get to sleep, I had the thought on my mind that when I got up in the morning, we would be arriving in Irkutsk (finally).
Thursday
Just like with all my other arrivals in recent months, it was raining when we pulled into Irkutsk. Svetlana met me at the car and took me by taxi to the dorm. From the outside, it looks a lot worse than the one in St. Petersburg (if that’s possible) but once we got upstairs to the room, I could see that it was a lot better. The rooms had recently been redone (and redone well, not slapped together like the “redone” rooms were in St. Pete’s). And instead of kitchenettes, there’s a full-fledged kitchen for every four rooms. Since there is only one other girl in my block at the moment, that means we have the kitchen to ourselves. Of course, now I need to go buy some plates and cutlery and such, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
After a shower and a nap, I headed to the university with Svetlana to get started on my registration. The whole process was a lot quicker and smoother than in St. Petersburg. Not only did all the ladies in the office speak English well (it IS a linguistic university, after all), but one of them even showed me around and told me where to show up in the morning for orientation and a meeting with the dean. Wow. So much better than the two hectic weeks I spent trying to sort things out in St. Petersburg. Of course, we’ll have to see if this stands the test of time. I think it will – it seems like a good place.
I have to extend my visa anyway, so I’m looking into possibly making it into a multi-entry visa. If that happens, I’m going to try to take a side trip to either Ulan Bator (Mongolia) or to visit the boys (Liam and James) in China. Maybe they could meet me halfway? I don’t know – we’ll see. It all depends on the coming weeks.
Friday
I had to sit through a bunch of meetings this morning for all the foreign students. It was nice to have an orientation, even if I didn't comprehend a lot of what the people were saying. Apparently September 1st is the first day of school for ALL students in Russia, not just at the university. So all the little girls were walking to school with bows and their hair and flowers for the teacher. It was so cute! It definitely had the Harry Potter feel to it.
I did manage to screw up royally this afternoon. After all the meetings the morning, the dean was talking to me and apparently set a time for a meeting - which I didn't understand and therefore missed. Only I could manage to piss off the dean in a day's time. I hope she'll understand - I just didn't know what she was saying. I have to go see her on Monday morning. I won't know my schedule until then. I'm so sick of not knowing what's going on.
Just one more little side note – I am now 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time, so if you do feel inclined to contact me, do so with a little discretion as far as the time of day. I’ll wake up for you, of course, but it might be a bit hard for me to do so at 4 in the morning.
Okay, I think I have sufficiently bored you all to tears for now. If I think of anything else, you know me – I’ll post it. There’ll be new pictures on flickr in a day or two, as soon as I can find a place that will let me load them.
Ciao for now.
Let me start from the beginning…
Sunday
After a very peaceful night’s rest (in a real bed for once – the hostel was completely furnished with stuff from IKEA), I proceeded to spend pretty much the entire day roaming about the city. I left my bags at the hostel and took off for Alexander Garden (it’s outside the Kremlin and a good starting point for any walking trip around the city center). I ate some street meat (just enough to tide me over until lunch without making me throw up) and sat on a bench to people watch. Sitting on the bench by myself in Alexander Garden made me think of one of my recent reads – Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. Margarita was sitting on a bench in the very same garden when she was approached by one of the devil’s henchmen with a proposition – to help him host a great ball in return for her lost love. This got me to thinking more about the book and all the places in Moscow that Bulgakov wrote about. So I decided to visit Patriach Pond later that day as well. It was kind of cool roaming about in one of the lesser-known areas of the city (at least for tourists – there were tons of locals sitting around enjoying the nice evening). Afterwards I wandered back to Red Square. Well, tried to anyway. Apparently they’ve got a lot of security there at the moment – you have to go through a metal detector to go on the square! What the heck! Seeing as how I had been there recently, I decided to go back to Old Arbat and eat dinner. (Not before I got Frog to take a picture with one of the Lenin’s posing in front of the History Museum).
I ended up eating at the Hard Rock Café that night. I figured it was my last night to get a good old American-style burger (as expensive as it is). And it was right across the street from the hostel, so an easy choice. After eating there (where I got a free beer from the waiter for no particular reason), I went wandering down the street again – and this time one of the street musicians was playing a bunch of Eric Clapton covers. I stood there for quite awhile just listening to him – he was quite good. I wish I had been able to make it down to Moscow for Clapton’s show on Red Square – that would have been unbelievable. But we can’t have everything in life I guess.
My train was scheduled to leave Moscow at 23.25 on the dot, so I got to the train station a bit early, to make sure I had everything and could handle carrying everything. All totaled, I had 5 bags to carry. Lord knows how much they weigh altogether – I really don’t want to know. I was able to handle them though, with an occasional nice man helping to lift something here and there (for some reason the Russians don’t find it necessary to install escalators or lifts in certain key areas of the train station – like to go in and out of the luggage room (which is in the basement). I now have some bruises in very weird places (like all over my knees) from carrying it all. But I managed somehow.
I think my big backpack has made its last leg of the trip. Not only has the waist buckle broken (which I fixed with duck tape before Chris was kind enough to bring me a new buckle from REI), but the lining on the inside has ripped in several places, and now the shoulder straps are being held on literally by a few threads. It served its purpose for the time I needed it too. I had already decided that I’m going to have to buy a big suitcase before I leave anyway in order to be able to fly easily. When I get back to the States maybe I’ll go to REI and get fitted for a nice pack this time, one that will last a bit longer and for a few more excursions.
So anyway, back to the trip.
I had reserved a berth in a 4-person cabin. It ended up being just me and this couple from Paris in the cabin though, so it was nice and comfortable – we used the extra bed to store all my junk that I was dragging along for the ride. The bed was already made and turned down when I got there, so I basically didn’t do much that night except crash. After a cup of tea, of course (I ended up drinking a lot of tea on the trip – one of those sub conscience habits I’ve picked up I guess. Nothing to do? I’ll make some tea…). And going to sleep was no problem – the rhythm of the train gently rocking the car was wonderful. Even when we stopped a couple of times during the night it didn’t disturb my slumber.
Monday
It turns out that I was well prepared for the trip. All you really need is some rubles and a good book or two (or some other forms of solitary entertainment, in case the people you’re with aren’t aren’t the stereotypical Russian drinkers of vodka). I stocked up on a bunch of books before the trip, not only for the train ride but also because I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to find English-language books in Irkutsk (I did see a large bookshop this afternoon though – maybe they’ll have some). I also brought along some tea of my own, some bread and jam, some almonds to munch on, and a bunch of Swiss chocolate (thanks once again my meeting with Chris in Amsterdam). I talked a bit in the morning with the French roomies (who spoke English very well), about this and that and the weather and such. You know, just random getting-to-know-you-because-we’re-together-for-three-days sort of chit-chat. Then I settled into reading until the first daytime stop. I was about halfway through Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera when we boarded the train – just about at that point where you can’t put the damn book down and you must finish it.
I did put it down about midmorning though, as we pulled into Kirov for a 20-minute stop. At most of the stops along the line, there are tons of locals out on the platform selling everything from freshly baked piroshki to ramen noodles (“lapsha” in Russian) to cold beer and kvas. Some stops are better than others, but you can always count on being able to buy some kind of food to last you til the next stop. And it’s wonderful to get out and stretch you’re legs. I bought some cabbage piroshki and orange juice for breakfast, then walked around until it was time to reboard the train. I was overly cautious with my belongings this time. Each bag was double locked when I got off and chained together to one of the metal bed supports. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Even with this precaution, I doubt I would have had much trouble. Each car has two ladies in charge, who switch of duties such as cleaning and passing out laundry and guarding the entrance to the car at each stop. Still, after my stint on the night train from Prague to Budapest, I wasn’t relying on anybody to take care of my stuff for me.
The rest of the day was spent mostly reading, though I did take advantage of each long stop (there are several each day that are about 15-25 minutes) to get out and buy some snacks or something more substantial. The scenery was nice – tons of birch trees (as in most of Russia) with little village scattered about.
By the end of the day, it didn’t really feel like we had been on board for that long. I think part of this had to do with the fact that we were asleep for the first 9 hours of the ride. The 2nd class is a lot more relaxed than the 3rd class “platzcard” cars (where everyone is in one big common car – as someone put it, it’s a lot like the train ride in Some Like it Hot).
I finished my book sometime in the evening and sat down to the most un-French French dinner ever – while I at my lapsha the couple from Paris enjoyed some alphabet soup from their teacups. And we all had more piroshki of course. But alas, no wine to was it down. I’ll have to go visit my new friends in Paris some time soon, so that I can have a real French dinner.
We also stopped one more time before bed, and I found one babushka selling “blini c tvoragom” (crepes with cream cheese). Soooo good. It hit the spot and was just the thing I needed to put me to sleep again.
Right before turning out the lights, I couldn’t help but laugh at the group of mischievous seven-year-olds roaming about the corridor of the car. One of them found out how to say “I love you” in English and giggled as he said it too me. I’m pretty sure it was all in jest, the result of a dare from one of his friends, but it was cute none the less.
Tuesday
For some reason I woke up with a sore throat on Tuesday morning. I was afraid I was getting sick from all the moving around and living in tight quarters, but it went away by the afternoon. Vanessa (the lady in the cabin) gave me some herbal lozenge and they worked quite well.
When we stopped in Ishim I found another reason why I might have gotten the sore throat. It was so cold outside! Cold and drizzling and miserable. But in the car it was nice and warm, and once we bought some more baked goods from the ladies outside, it was just right for another lazy day of reading and chatting about nothing in particular. At one point someone said, “It’s Tuesday, right?” My reply was, “REALLY?!” I had completely lost track of time. Even so, I think that traveling by train is a better way to change time zones. You get to ease into the new schedule, go by what the sky says rather than your watch. It’s a lot better than flying across the continent, where suddenly you get off the plane and BAM! You have to force your body to adjust in a single day. The only bad part about this is that the schedule is all on Moscow-time (to avoid confusion in the railway system, I guess), so when it says you’re stopping at 9 at night, it’s actually quite late, and the pickings as far as baked goods are concerned are pretty slim.
At about this time, a bunch of ladies started walking the corridors selling lots of warm stuff – scarves, shawls, hats, all those things you need to keep warm in the Siberian winter. I decided to wait a bit longer and go shopping at the local market in Irkutsk – I think it’ll probably be a lot cheaper.
Also, when we stopped in Omsk, my phone miraculously started working again. Tele2 has weird coverage – it works in St. Petersburg and in random regions of Siberia, but not in Moscow. Oh well. That means you can call me again – just use the same 254-230-1818 as always (or call me directly at +79500035886 if you want to be really nice). I've been having issues with it lately, but it should be working again soon.
After a failed attempt to get some good snacks in Omsk, I resorted to the restaurant car, which was conveniently located just two cars down from me. I had some really good beef stroganoff with rice, though the portion was a bit small and the staff was a bit rude.
By this time I was getting into the second book I had chosen for the adventure – One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It took me awhile to get into it, but by the time I finished it on Wednesday night, I was glad that I had read it. It just latched on to me and wouldn’t let me put it down all the next day. Now I want to see the movie (I know, it’s weird that I haven’t, when I’ve seen everything else), to see if they do it justice.
Wednesday
I finally decided that I had had enough of this dirtiness and decided to cough up the 126 rubles it costs to take a shower. While it was more like a dribble of water, it did get me to feeling clean again and it was nice and warm. And the shower was surprisingly large for a train. I was expecting something a lot more cramped, like the shower on the ferry boat to Finland that I took earlier in the summer.
Wednesday was also a day of “Faulknerian moments”, as our dear Dr. Towner would put it. There was a reference to “Barn Burning” in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which made me really want to read the story again. Unfortunately my Portable Faulkner doesn’t include that story. I’m realizing in retrospect that it would have been better to bring the Collected Stories rather than the Portable Faulkner, seeing as how it was more short stories I wanted to read after this last semester, and I’ve read most of the ones in the PF. But c’est la vie (my roomies laughed when they heard me say this, not knowing that its one of my favorite little phrases). Also, as night fell and I could no longer see anything out the window, I couldn’t help but think of the “spyglass theory.” I can’t remember which novel it’s from (Light in August?), but it goes something along the lines that it is easier to look out from darkness into the light than to look at the dark from the light. I almost which I had taken a lot more time for the rail trip, so that I could be on the train only during the day and be able to see all the changes in the landscape. But we can’t have everything, and time was running out.
Sometimes on the train I felt like I was in a time warp. There were so many seemingly anachronistic things about it. And I’m not just talking about the 80’s (and earlier) music on the radio (that’s everywhere in Russia). The employees all wore uniforms that reminded me of 60’s-era airline stewardess – skirt-suits with nylons and pumps. Except of course when we stopped at night – then they would don these outrageously huge trench coats and hold up these ancient lanterns so the we could see as we got off and the workers checking the stability of the wheels would be able to see as well. Also, everyone was smoking like chimneys everywhere (also another trans-Russia thing, I think, not just a unique quality of the train). It all struck me as very cool – I can’t think of any way I could have the same experience in America, even if I decided to take an Amtrac train all the way across the country. But anyway, I’m digressing again.
We stopped in Ilanskaya for awhile and found some of the best food of all the stops. Not only were the babushkas very well organized here, but they had a much wider range of foods. Aside from the usual piroshki and such, they also had boiled eggs, salads and sauerkraut, cooked potatoes, and (get this) crawfish (at least that’s what they resembled and how they were cooked – I’m not exactly sure what they were).
I got some snacks, but also left a bit of room for a farewell-to-the-train meal in the restaurant car. I had a beefsteak with egg and rice (mmmm, tasty) and enjoyed a couple of beers with the other single diners. Then I went back to the cabin and finished up the book. After that I was entirely too pensive, and had a lot of trouble going to sleep. But I think that’s a good sign for a book – if it doesn’t disturb you, make you cry, or at least get you to thinking, what was the point? When I finally did get to sleep, I had the thought on my mind that when I got up in the morning, we would be arriving in Irkutsk (finally).
Thursday
Just like with all my other arrivals in recent months, it was raining when we pulled into Irkutsk. Svetlana met me at the car and took me by taxi to the dorm. From the outside, it looks a lot worse than the one in St. Petersburg (if that’s possible) but once we got upstairs to the room, I could see that it was a lot better. The rooms had recently been redone (and redone well, not slapped together like the “redone” rooms were in St. Pete’s). And instead of kitchenettes, there’s a full-fledged kitchen for every four rooms. Since there is only one other girl in my block at the moment, that means we have the kitchen to ourselves. Of course, now I need to go buy some plates and cutlery and such, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
After a shower and a nap, I headed to the university with Svetlana to get started on my registration. The whole process was a lot quicker and smoother than in St. Petersburg. Not only did all the ladies in the office speak English well (it IS a linguistic university, after all), but one of them even showed me around and told me where to show up in the morning for orientation and a meeting with the dean. Wow. So much better than the two hectic weeks I spent trying to sort things out in St. Petersburg. Of course, we’ll have to see if this stands the test of time. I think it will – it seems like a good place.
I have to extend my visa anyway, so I’m looking into possibly making it into a multi-entry visa. If that happens, I’m going to try to take a side trip to either Ulan Bator (Mongolia) or to visit the boys (Liam and James) in China. Maybe they could meet me halfway? I don’t know – we’ll see. It all depends on the coming weeks.
Friday
I had to sit through a bunch of meetings this morning for all the foreign students. It was nice to have an orientation, even if I didn't comprehend a lot of what the people were saying. Apparently September 1st is the first day of school for ALL students in Russia, not just at the university. So all the little girls were walking to school with bows and their hair and flowers for the teacher. It was so cute! It definitely had the Harry Potter feel to it.
I did manage to screw up royally this afternoon. After all the meetings the morning, the dean was talking to me and apparently set a time for a meeting - which I didn't understand and therefore missed. Only I could manage to piss off the dean in a day's time. I hope she'll understand - I just didn't know what she was saying. I have to go see her on Monday morning. I won't know my schedule until then. I'm so sick of not knowing what's going on.
Just one more little side note – I am now 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time, so if you do feel inclined to contact me, do so with a little discretion as far as the time of day. I’ll wake up for you, of course, but it might be a bit hard for me to do so at 4 in the morning.
Okay, I think I have sufficiently bored you all to tears for now. If I think of anything else, you know me – I’ll post it. There’ll be new pictures on flickr in a day or two, as soon as I can find a place that will let me load them.
Ciao for now.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Okay, I guess I should make one last detailed blog entry before heading off to the wilds of Central Russia . Obviously I made it back into Russia Irkutsk
When I was waiting in line at the Russian Embassy in
But I digress, as always. I got in touch with Charles (my neighbor at the dorm, with whom I had left my big bags) and went by to collect my things. After a bit of rearranging (and one last blini at “Nyam Nyam”), I worked out a why to handle all my baggage. In total I five bags – the big backpack, camera bag and rolling carryon that I left home with, and the little backpack and duffle bag that I managed to fill along the way. Somehow I made it to my bunk on the train, causes a number of odd looks and a few angry scowls. I even found a place for all of my things near my “platscard” (place) on the train.
I took the cheapo train to
I wasn’t able to check into the hostel into 1 pm, so I spent all morning roaming about. The place I’m staying is right on
This hostel, by the way, is awesome. It’s almost identical to the Aboriginal, the place I stayed in
I’m trying to get in touch with Ben, one of my friends from class in
Well, I need to get back to writing my paper for Elena. It’s horribly overdue. I feel bad about it. And I need to put together something for the SRAS people, who are using some of my
Friday, August 25, 2006
Semi-pointless post
I'm just posting a little note here to say I made it to Moscow, and will be leaving on the train to Irkutsk on Sunday night. I'll post something far more exciting to read later on - it's time for a nap.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The end-times
Well, maybe not. But I'm a bit bummed that today was my last day in Helsinki. I've had a good time, especially in the last few days.
Yesterday I made a rather serendipitous discovery. I had a craving for a turkey sandwich from Subway (I had seen Subway the day before). It's an dd thing to CRAVE, I know, but when these things happen all you can do is obey your stomach. I ended up missing the tram stop because I didn't know exactly where Subway was, so I had to walk about a quarter of a mile to get there. Thank goodness for that quarter-mile. On the way, I passed by this overgrown fench with an open gate that said "Botanical Garden and Natural History Museum." Hmmm - sounds interesting, I thought to myself. After my (delicious) sandwich, having no concrete plans for the afternoon, I wandered back to the little gate. I think in doing so I may have found my favorite place in Helsinki. I can only imagine what this place looks like when all the flowers are in bloom. Even now, with autumn just on the horizon, the gardens are gorgeous - green all around, with all sorts of neat little niches to sit and read or have a picnic. And the glasshouses were awesome. Frog just about flipped out when we walked into the Waterlily Room. My favorite was the African Violet room. All in all, we had a great time wandering about in this little hidden place. I didn't have time to go back today but I really wanted to - I have a feeling it's a good hunting ground for Ents.
Afterwards, being the good little Lutheran girl that I am, I decided to pay a visit to the National Cathedral. It's big and white and stands out pretty distinctly, especially when it's sunny like it was yesterday. They have a really cool organ too. I wish I had know the schedule beforehand - I apparently missed a recital by about an hour. That would have been really awesome.
Having successfully spent a day wandering about the city, I headed back to the hostel with a frozen pizza, the first in two and a half months, since we didn't have an oven at the dorm in St. Petes. It was fantastic - lots of greasy goodness. While I was waiting for my pizza to cook, there was another girl in the kitchen making dinner who was from New Zealand and about a third of the way through a round-the-world adventure by herself. Pretty awesome - I want to do that eventually. We talked to the girl at the front desk and she circled some streets on the map to go for good (and very cheap) local bars, and we had a great time hanging out, wandering to different places around the neighborhood. It was a lot more interesting than just going to the city center, where we would have paid five euros for a beer and been with a bunch of other foreigners. And we could walk home - a plus when the trams stop running at midnight.
This morning was even more relaxing than yesterday. I finally got to sleep in, since I didn't have to go to the Russian Embassy again, and there was no line for the shower when I finally did get out of bed. Woohoo! I feel so clean.
Then I went a rode the elevator up to the top of the Olympic Tower - you can see the whole city from there. At that point the weather was still great - nice and sunny and blue skies. A bit later it got really cloudy and they haven't gone away yet. It just enhances the dreary feeling I have at the moment. I wanted to rent a bike and go riding around in the parks this afternoon, but I didn't want to get caught in the rain, which would have begun right as I started pedaling if my luck hasn't changed. So I just came back and got everything packed and ready to go, so that I can have a nice relaxing evening before leaving for the train station early tomorrow morning. Sigh. Trains. It's a good thing I like them, because we got several days together this week.
If you want to get in touch with me in the coming months, I'll still have my skype account forwarded to my cell, so that's the best way. There is no guarantee that I'll have regular internet access in Irkutsk. I only know of one internet cafe there and they don't have wireless.
Wish me luck.
Yesterday I made a rather serendipitous discovery. I had a craving for a turkey sandwich from Subway (I had seen Subway the day before). It's an dd thing to CRAVE, I know, but when these things happen all you can do is obey your stomach. I ended up missing the tram stop because I didn't know exactly where Subway was, so I had to walk about a quarter of a mile to get there. Thank goodness for that quarter-mile. On the way, I passed by this overgrown fench with an open gate that said "Botanical Garden and Natural History Museum." Hmmm - sounds interesting, I thought to myself. After my (delicious) sandwich, having no concrete plans for the afternoon, I wandered back to the little gate. I think in doing so I may have found my favorite place in Helsinki. I can only imagine what this place looks like when all the flowers are in bloom. Even now, with autumn just on the horizon, the gardens are gorgeous - green all around, with all sorts of neat little niches to sit and read or have a picnic. And the glasshouses were awesome. Frog just about flipped out when we walked into the Waterlily Room. My favorite was the African Violet room. All in all, we had a great time wandering about in this little hidden place. I didn't have time to go back today but I really wanted to - I have a feeling it's a good hunting ground for Ents.
Afterwards, being the good little Lutheran girl that I am, I decided to pay a visit to the National Cathedral. It's big and white and stands out pretty distinctly, especially when it's sunny like it was yesterday. They have a really cool organ too. I wish I had know the schedule beforehand - I apparently missed a recital by about an hour. That would have been really awesome.
Having successfully spent a day wandering about the city, I headed back to the hostel with a frozen pizza, the first in two and a half months, since we didn't have an oven at the dorm in St. Petes. It was fantastic - lots of greasy goodness. While I was waiting for my pizza to cook, there was another girl in the kitchen making dinner who was from New Zealand and about a third of the way through a round-the-world adventure by herself. Pretty awesome - I want to do that eventually. We talked to the girl at the front desk and she circled some streets on the map to go for good (and very cheap) local bars, and we had a great time hanging out, wandering to different places around the neighborhood. It was a lot more interesting than just going to the city center, where we would have paid five euros for a beer and been with a bunch of other foreigners. And we could walk home - a plus when the trams stop running at midnight.
This morning was even more relaxing than yesterday. I finally got to sleep in, since I didn't have to go to the Russian Embassy again, and there was no line for the shower when I finally did get out of bed. Woohoo! I feel so clean.
Then I went a rode the elevator up to the top of the Olympic Tower - you can see the whole city from there. At that point the weather was still great - nice and sunny and blue skies. A bit later it got really cloudy and they haven't gone away yet. It just enhances the dreary feeling I have at the moment. I wanted to rent a bike and go riding around in the parks this afternoon, but I didn't want to get caught in the rain, which would have begun right as I started pedaling if my luck hasn't changed. So I just came back and got everything packed and ready to go, so that I can have a nice relaxing evening before leaving for the train station early tomorrow morning. Sigh. Trains. It's a good thing I like them, because we got several days together this week.
If you want to get in touch with me in the coming months, I'll still have my skype account forwarded to my cell, so that's the best way. There is no guarantee that I'll have regular internet access in Irkutsk. I only know of one internet cafe there and they don't have wireless.
Wish me luck.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Chillin in Hel(sinki)
Today was one of those really long days, where nothing particularly BAD happened, but I still find myself completely worn out by early evening. I did get a lot done today, even if I had to skip my nap. I woke up really early to take a shower before going to the embassy, only to find a line for the two female showers. At 7 in the morning. What the heck! Change of plans. I ended up just getting dressed and heading to the Russian Embassy a little early, so that I would be at the head of the line.
The Russian Embassy in Helsinki is quite a bit different from the one in Berlin. And, if I may say so, a much more plenty place to process a visa. For one thing, everyone there speaks English (if I had to speculate, I would guess that that is due to the extreme difficulty of learning Finnish, even compared to learning Russian). Also, it's a bit smaller and less busy. Instead of a massive, impressive-looking building taking up an entire city block, the embassy here is surrounded by an overgrown, English-style garden. And they only let a few people in at a time, so there isn't the same mass of screaming old ladies to deal with. Everyone lines up nice and neat in their respective lines - one for Russian citizens, one for those applying for visas, and one for those picking theirs up. It all worked very smoothly. I think I was only there for about 1 hour. Then I hot-tailed it over to the transport office to get a new tram card before mine expired. Afterwards, I FINALLY got my much-needed shower.
I really wanted to take a nap, but the hostel has "lock-out" time from noon til 4 pm for cleaning, so I had to change plans again. I decided to bite the bullet and make the purchases I needed to make for the upcoming train trips, with a little assistance from Mr. CitiCard. I found a little sleeping bag on sale, so I won't get scabies on the ride, and a some new locks to replace those that were lost on the flight to Amsterdam. And then there was H&M. I love it. I wish we had one in Texas. It is everywhere here. And so cheap. I didn't bring a whole lot of clothes with me, and they are all getting really threadbare. I had to get some shirts. It is getting a bit ridiculous to keep wearing these ones I brought. They're really gross.
The upside of the shopping excursion was that I got to visit the "largest shopping center in the Nordic countries." It was huge - like the galleria on crack. They even had a Mexican restaurant (it sucked). I saw two things that just cracked me up. 1). A store called "KKK Supermarket" - it's not like it sounds, just a regular food store. I don't think they're aware of the association. 2). A group of Muslim women vegging out in some massage chairs that were on display. I looked like an anachronism if I've ever seen one.
It was weird being in a place so much like home. I had shopping, especially for clothes, but sometimes it must be done. And it helps when everything is where you'd expect it to be. And unlike the cash-only Russian society, everything is on cards here. Most people even use the smart cards. Even the tourist tickets for the transportation system are smart cards! Maybe that's why they're so expensive...
Anyway, I need to get some sleep. No nap today and I have to wake up really early tomorrow to go collect my passport (with new visa) from the Russians. I foresee another really long day.
The Russian Embassy in Helsinki is quite a bit different from the one in Berlin. And, if I may say so, a much more plenty place to process a visa. For one thing, everyone there speaks English (if I had to speculate, I would guess that that is due to the extreme difficulty of learning Finnish, even compared to learning Russian). Also, it's a bit smaller and less busy. Instead of a massive, impressive-looking building taking up an entire city block, the embassy here is surrounded by an overgrown, English-style garden. And they only let a few people in at a time, so there isn't the same mass of screaming old ladies to deal with. Everyone lines up nice and neat in their respective lines - one for Russian citizens, one for those applying for visas, and one for those picking theirs up. It all worked very smoothly. I think I was only there for about 1 hour. Then I hot-tailed it over to the transport office to get a new tram card before mine expired. Afterwards, I FINALLY got my much-needed shower.
I really wanted to take a nap, but the hostel has "lock-out" time from noon til 4 pm for cleaning, so I had to change plans again. I decided to bite the bullet and make the purchases I needed to make for the upcoming train trips, with a little assistance from Mr. CitiCard. I found a little sleeping bag on sale, so I won't get scabies on the ride, and a some new locks to replace those that were lost on the flight to Amsterdam. And then there was H&M. I love it. I wish we had one in Texas. It is everywhere here. And so cheap. I didn't bring a whole lot of clothes with me, and they are all getting really threadbare. I had to get some shirts. It is getting a bit ridiculous to keep wearing these ones I brought. They're really gross.
The upside of the shopping excursion was that I got to visit the "largest shopping center in the Nordic countries." It was huge - like the galleria on crack. They even had a Mexican restaurant (it sucked). I saw two things that just cracked me up. 1). A store called "KKK Supermarket" - it's not like it sounds, just a regular food store. I don't think they're aware of the association. 2). A group of Muslim women vegging out in some massage chairs that were on display. I looked like an anachronism if I've ever seen one.
It was weird being in a place so much like home. I had shopping, especially for clothes, but sometimes it must be done. And it helps when everything is where you'd expect it to be. And unlike the cash-only Russian society, everything is on cards here. Most people even use the smart cards. Even the tourist tickets for the transportation system are smart cards! Maybe that's why they're so expensive...
Anyway, I need to get some sleep. No nap today and I have to wake up really early tomorrow to go collect my passport (with new visa) from the Russians. I foresee another really long day.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Amsterdam
As all great adventures do, the weekend in
Since I had been awake for nearly 36 hours (sleeping on a bus is hard, especially when a very talkative old Russian lady is sitting next to you and taking up half of your seat as well), it was no problem for me to get to bed at a decent hour that night. I fell asleep (as the game was reaching its climax, judging from the sounds) at about 10:30 – plenty early to get a good night’s sleep before jet-setting to
When I got there, I realized that I had been worried for nothing. In less than 10 minutes, I was checked in, through security and at my departure gate. It was the quickest check-in I’ve ever been through. 10 MINUTES!!! And that’s even including having to go through security twice, because bike locks are apparently dangerous items, so I had to go and check mine that was attached to my backpack. Of course, I’m not going to complain. It was awesome. I had plenty of time for an espresso and a muffin before the flight (which I wouldn’t have splurged for if I had known ahead of time that breakfast was going to be served on the flight – a mistake I did not repeat when I flew back). These are just more reasons why I really like FinnAir. It all started because they had student discounts, and things just kept getting better from there.
As the plane landed and we were taxiing to the gate, I tried to calculate how long it had been since I had seen Chris. I believe the last time was at our annual spring luncheon with everyone’s favorite benefactor, Mrs. McDermott. That would make it about five months since the last time we hung out. And it had been over three months since I’ve seen any of my friends at all (with the exception of John Keese, who I ran into randomly in
It was at this point that I realized that I had forgotten to write down directions to the hostel that we may or may not have had a reservation for (another long story). So where do we go? Well, we hopped on the train to the central station, figuring that would be a good starting point for the search. We were right on. There are loads of hotel-booking places and tourist information spots surrounding the train station, and we were able to get our hands on a list of ALL the hostels (with addresses and phone numbers) in the center of
On a side note, I love the houses that line the canals – they are really tall (several stories) and deep, but very narrow. And all the staircases seem to be the same – really, REALLY steep. It saves a lot of space. Of course, getting up these steps late in the evening can be an adventure all on its own.
After we made it up the stairs to the dorm room, we realized just how close we were to the center of things. I knew we were in the red-light district, but didn’t know that the hostel backed up to the alley behind the
Of course, we didn’t spend all our time in the red-light district. There is a lot more to
We also went to a really cool museum that was just down the street from the hostel. Apparently a few hundred years ago it was illegal to practice Catholicism, but the authorities were willing to turn a blind eye if the place of worship in no way resembled a church from the outside. Therefore, there were a bunch of hidden churches throughout the city, one of which is still intact and has been restored to what it would have looked like then. It’s called Our Lord in the Attic and really worth the visit if you’re ever in
We also felt it was necessarily to rent bicycles for at least one of the days. Bikes are everywhere in
And being there with a biologist, we had to go to the flower market. Chris bought a bunch of tulip bulbs (that mostly what they have at this time of year). I would have bought some too, but don’t really have room in my bags – I’ve got enough stuff already. And I definitely didn’t have room for any wooden shoes, another of Chris’ purchases. I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to take home many souvenirs for people – for me, my pictures are my souvenirs. I have bought a patch for my camera bag for every country – it’s going to look awesome!
One thing that Chris and I agree on is that French fries with mayonnaise is one of the best things EVER! We had sooooo many. I don’t know what kind of oil they’re cooked in, or if that’s even the reason why they’re different, but they are sooooooo good. My favorite was the Mannekin Pis (yeah, you read that right, even if I didn’t spell it quite right) frites stand – conveniently located just a few blocks from home.
Overall, I think the trip was a great success. We got to hang out and have a good time, just relaxing and seeing the sites. I have to say that there isn’t much else in this world that can surprise me after some parts of the city, but I think that’s part of the charm. I hope that I can go back, soon and often. And know I have a friend there, so I have a great excuse.
Now that I’m back in
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