i went away for the weekend to vienna. it was marvelous. i knew a bit about vienna, about it's historic importance in the austro-hungarian empire, and it's musical significance. (mozart did live there). but otherwise, i didn't know much. my friend sibi who lives in rome, and i, wanted to meet up. she chose vienna, and i agreed! but more on that later.
the point of this blog tonight is to talk about missing russia. it's about missing it on a couple different levels...one, just the fact that i will miss it when i leave. but the other is a bit more subtle... hopefully i can explain. i feel as though i need to apologize for comments i made last post about my hike. i worry that i was a bit harsh, making fun of the russian way too much. yes, it is absurd to me sometimes. yes, the hike was hard, and i completely disagreed with my guide's abilities to guide. BUT. the point here is to learn about other people. and to take that in. and let them be who they are, as crazy sometimes as they appear to be. there is just a different reality here, and i am only starting to chip away at learning about that. russia is the toughest country i've ever been to. the people have just been through so much. they are tough physically, mentally, and emotionally. we see it at work every day. you will never meet anyone more bullheaded than a russian. there is something to take away from that...learning to stand up for yourself, to believe you are right. sometimes, yes, it is taken to an extreme, at least in our eyes. but there is something to learn here, i think. i keep remembering a quote from a russian friend of ours...one night when my colleague jason was asking why something was the way it was here, our new russian friend luba said, totally seriously, "it's russia. you aren't living in a fairy tale anymore." we nearly died laughing. but really, there is an honesty to that statement that is so raw, it kind of hurts. yes, america has it's problems. but it truly is a land of fairy tales...and most of which could come true if we could get it together and govern the way we should. we could feed our whole country and most of the world if we wanted to. we could lead in cutting greenhouse gasses. we could be the smartest, most educated, open-minded, ambitious group of people in the world. we kind of are, but we've gotten lazy. and we've left a lot of our own behind. that is sad. so we have a hard time holding our heads up high out in the rest of the world. despite all of our issues, for the most part, most of us have SUCH an easy life compared to many parts of the world, including russia. we should appreciate that more, and be a better force of good. a better example.
anyway, back to russia. so when i was in vienna this weekend, it was easy. i know a bit of german, which helped. but it was so much like the US. i remarked to my friends that i felt as though i had been let out of jail! every store had oranges. there was microwave popcorn! people smiled! i wasn't terrified of the police! people waited in lines instead of shoving and cutting in front of everyone else. however, i found that when i landed back in russia, i had missed it. if this job were in vienna, that would have been gorgeous. but i would not have learned as much about myself and the world. i would not have been tested and challenged as i have been here. it just would not have been as profound an experience as i'm having here.
so i think i need to take a moment and recognize that despite the crazy, russia has a lot to teach me. i could be tougher. physically for sure. and emotionally as well. life is not always a fairy tale. there's a lot of hardship here. but there is also a lot of love, and respect for the past. a russian colleague recently taught us that 1 October is teacher's day in Russia. of course, there is likely some kind of propaganda attached, but still, the principle is fantastic. students bring gifts for their teachers, and in a role reversal, the students teach, and the teachers get to be students, often-times being the rowdiest and most badly-behaved in the class, to prove a point to their students about good behavior. older people often visit their old schools, or more often call their old teachers to thank them. it is a day of celebration for some of the most important people in the community. we would do well to learn from that in the US.
so yeah, there's a lot i won't miss (food, cars on the sidewalks, crazy russian drivers, the amount of paperwork and stamps it takes to do anything, the politics and social views of homosexuality and freedom of speech most of all), but the list of what i will miss is growing. there is a strong sense of tradition here. some of it is out of fear, or based in a way to control the populace, but it perhaps is founded on some good principles. honor your elders, love your family more than anything else, and don't let anyone stand in your way (if you can help it...). some good things in a country that has more to teach me than i ever thought it could.
the point of this blog tonight is to talk about missing russia. it's about missing it on a couple different levels...one, just the fact that i will miss it when i leave. but the other is a bit more subtle... hopefully i can explain. i feel as though i need to apologize for comments i made last post about my hike. i worry that i was a bit harsh, making fun of the russian way too much. yes, it is absurd to me sometimes. yes, the hike was hard, and i completely disagreed with my guide's abilities to guide. BUT. the point here is to learn about other people. and to take that in. and let them be who they are, as crazy sometimes as they appear to be. there is just a different reality here, and i am only starting to chip away at learning about that. russia is the toughest country i've ever been to. the people have just been through so much. they are tough physically, mentally, and emotionally. we see it at work every day. you will never meet anyone more bullheaded than a russian. there is something to take away from that...learning to stand up for yourself, to believe you are right. sometimes, yes, it is taken to an extreme, at least in our eyes. but there is something to learn here, i think. i keep remembering a quote from a russian friend of ours...one night when my colleague jason was asking why something was the way it was here, our new russian friend luba said, totally seriously, "it's russia. you aren't living in a fairy tale anymore." we nearly died laughing. but really, there is an honesty to that statement that is so raw, it kind of hurts. yes, america has it's problems. but it truly is a land of fairy tales...and most of which could come true if we could get it together and govern the way we should. we could feed our whole country and most of the world if we wanted to. we could lead in cutting greenhouse gasses. we could be the smartest, most educated, open-minded, ambitious group of people in the world. we kind of are, but we've gotten lazy. and we've left a lot of our own behind. that is sad. so we have a hard time holding our heads up high out in the rest of the world. despite all of our issues, for the most part, most of us have SUCH an easy life compared to many parts of the world, including russia. we should appreciate that more, and be a better force of good. a better example.
anyway, back to russia. so when i was in vienna this weekend, it was easy. i know a bit of german, which helped. but it was so much like the US. i remarked to my friends that i felt as though i had been let out of jail! every store had oranges. there was microwave popcorn! people smiled! i wasn't terrified of the police! people waited in lines instead of shoving and cutting in front of everyone else. however, i found that when i landed back in russia, i had missed it. if this job were in vienna, that would have been gorgeous. but i would not have learned as much about myself and the world. i would not have been tested and challenged as i have been here. it just would not have been as profound an experience as i'm having here.
so i think i need to take a moment and recognize that despite the crazy, russia has a lot to teach me. i could be tougher. physically for sure. and emotionally as well. life is not always a fairy tale. there's a lot of hardship here. but there is also a lot of love, and respect for the past. a russian colleague recently taught us that 1 October is teacher's day in Russia. of course, there is likely some kind of propaganda attached, but still, the principle is fantastic. students bring gifts for their teachers, and in a role reversal, the students teach, and the teachers get to be students, often-times being the rowdiest and most badly-behaved in the class, to prove a point to their students about good behavior. older people often visit their old schools, or more often call their old teachers to thank them. it is a day of celebration for some of the most important people in the community. we would do well to learn from that in the US.
so yeah, there's a lot i won't miss (food, cars on the sidewalks, crazy russian drivers, the amount of paperwork and stamps it takes to do anything, the politics and social views of homosexuality and freedom of speech most of all), but the list of what i will miss is growing. there is a strong sense of tradition here. some of it is out of fear, or based in a way to control the populace, but it perhaps is founded on some good principles. honor your elders, love your family more than anything else, and don't let anyone stand in your way (if you can help it...). some good things in a country that has more to teach me than i ever thought it could.
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