This Russian Life

Fall is… dampening. The colors, while still bright, are becoming more muted- I think they might be falling off the trees and draining into the ground along with the intermittent rain. The weather is still mostly beautiful, though, rain mainly at night and beautifully sunny during the day, although colder. I think my favorite part of the day is walking home when its ‘golden hour’ as my father would say, and all the colors on the trees look especially glorious, while even the plainest buildings are shown off in warm tones. It makes me so glad that I live in a residential district instead of downtown; it feels real to live out here, surrounded by real people going home, and there are many more trees. I think my walks home might be one of the best parts of my day.
A plus side to the small amount of rain that we’ve been getting is the puddles. There’s a lot that seems magical about reflections, a small fragment of a larger world contained within the puddle’s edges. Especially, again, at golden hour, when the puddles make jeweled tones shine up from the pavement to mirror the surroundings.

I am truly, truly glad that I’m living in a homestay. The benefits to my Russian are obvious; I can’t speak well, and I don’t understand everything that is said, but I’ve realized that my comprehension is better than people in my class who chose to stay in the dorms. More importantly than the language, though, is that I adore my host mother, who had people over for her daughter’s birthday today and as soon as I came in the door I was immediately taken into the kitchen and fed. A lot. Then again, the feeding is pretty standard, but I was made to feel welcome, even though of course I am not an actual member of their family, and that means a lot. Tanya is more generous than she has to be, and I really appreciate it. Additionally, while I was staying in the dorm I felt like I was seeing Russia through a big, protective and isolating bubble. It was probably a little warmer and safer, but sanitized and a little fake. Now I am living more of ‘la vida ‘Russian’’, and I love it. After all, this is what Anthropology is about.

Tanya’s also amazing because, as a tour guide, she got my friend and I a free tour through the water ways of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday. Tanya led the tour, and I realized while she was talking about the city that perhaps that’s why her Russian is so clear; as a tour guide, clarity is essential, and she has a lovely voice. It was also a completely gorgeous day for it; we started off on one side of the Neva at the Peter and Paul Fortress, then crossed over and entered the canals that run through the city. Jane and I were sitting on the top of the boat, and we at times feared for our lives as the boat passed under low bridge after low bridge, coming terrifying close to knocking our heads off our necks. But the driver had his job for a reason and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such skillful boat maneuvering. Even though the tour was only an hour long, I saw parts of city that I hadn’t before. And even the parts that I had, its really a different view. I got to see the undersides of bridges, and the stones that make up the embankments; the water of the canals churned up, empty- or full- places to moor boats, people gazing down from bridges. The boat tour was really one of the best things I’ve done in S.P., getting a view of the city from –literally- another angle, from under rather than through. Even if the weather hadn’t been completely perfect, it would have still been magical; I think some of the buildings must have been designed with a water tour in mind, the was they majestically line the embankments, their paint simultaneously coloring the water and the facades themselves. Their arresting presence is really best felt by being in the middle of the two sides, and thus of course in the middle of the canals. It was simply fantastic, and it was also in Russian, which meant that anything of what Tanya was saying about the city that I understood (not a lot, but some) was vastly more satisfying.

Other than the boat tour and subsequent walk around the downtown, I haven’t been terribly active this last couple of days. I spent some time enjoying the solitude of my room before my roommate came back late last night from Japan, where she was attending her cousin’s wedding. I realized last week that I hadn’t been along for a significant amount of time for probably months, certainly since before leaving Berkeley, and it was quite refreshing. I’ve been doing a little bit of drawing, which is in no way artistically brilliant but makes a nice change from the normal reading/studying/talking, because its just looking and then attempting to put on paper what I see, which is relaxing.

Today we went to the ‘gypsy’ market near Sennaya Ploshad, which is fairly illegal I think, and which the city is apparently trying to either clean up or shut down, but which got its original license from Peter the Great or some similar historical and famous figure and is thus hard to remove. One of the charms of so old a city, really, and a capitol at that. One of the wonderful things about S.P. is its history, and its residents appreciate that as well. There’s a new building going up downtown that will – according to one of my professors – ruin the ancient skyline of the city, and people are not happy. I’m not particularly impressed either; the graceful façade lining the embankment of the Neva will not be complimented by a metal and glass behemoth towering behind it.

But I digress. At the gypsy market I discovered that my feet happen to just be too large for this country. Every shoe that I like they didn’t happen to have in my size; discouraging, to say the least. I really would love a pair truly Russian, shiny pleather shoes. I’ve come to the conclusion that Russian women judge you by your foot wear, and mine come up short. Luckily, we ended the afternoon at the two second-hand stores near my house and with some successes. One of these is quite like stores back home, clothes neatly hung and complete with 80’s tragedies waiting to be loved again. The other has clothes piled on tables and priced by type, and is really probably the better of the two. Of course, I would write about second hand stores in other countries. And enjoy it.

In two days we leave for Moscow, and then our break begins. I’m getting more and more excited to see an older, windier, probably stranger city than S. P. I’m also very intrigued to see how Moscow compares; it seems that generally you love one or the other, not both. Then its off to Berlin, with my friends Will and Brandon who decided to join me at the last moment so that I wouldn’t have to enjoy German beer and bratwurst all alone. I’m very excited.