Smack Dab in the Middle

And so begins the second half of my second semester in Russia (and therefore the second half of my entire time abroad)…

It’s difficult to say that the dust has settled after being here for two and a half months, seeing as every time I start to feel a routine something new comes up and disorients me a bit, be it a change in my living situation (I’ve couchsurfed for two weeks and moved twice since I arrived in Moscow in the beginning of February), a new job, or the end of our concert band’s season. Beginnings and ends don’t seem to fall into the “right” places here (that is, I didn’t start doing everything I do at the beginning of my semester, and I’m not going to stop everything when I leave, if that makes sense); for example, our band’s final concert comes but a few days after my first day as an English teacher, and I only solidified my living situation at the beginning of this month, whereas most students on the program have been where they are since the start of the semester…

That being said, I think this halfway point marks the beginning of the better half of the semester, and my very successful housewarming party last Friday was an excellent start (pictures coming soon).

At my housewarming party with some cuties

Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, my prize for doing the best among five
Italians, two Tanzanians and a Chinese girl on a "Knowledge of the
Russian language" test at a party last night. Interesting choice for
an activity at a dinner party, I know.

С переездом!* (to me... again)

* Russian for "happy moving!"

Now living in central Moscow with the wonderful Miss Tanya.

Voilà my new address:

Nelson Navarro
Moskva 127030
Sadovaya-Karetnaya ulitsa 10, kv. 224
RUSSIA

Or if you're feeling adventurous:

Наварро, Нельсон
РОССИЯ, г. Москва 127030
Садовая-Каретная ул. 10, кв. 224

CAN'T WAIT TO RECEIVE YOUR LETTERS :)


ALSO, I got a job! Now working with the Accent Language Center, teaching English to a group of business-oriented Russians. More info on that later...

Можно ли это назвать рутиной?

Journal entry for 10 March 2011 (translated from Russian)

I don’t know if you can call this a routine, but ever since I moved, things have become a bit calmer. I finally have a set schedule, I’ve attended two rehearsals of the Gnessin Musical College’s concert band, etc. But I don’t know if I’ve reached the point of “routine”. I still feel lost in this huge city, and I can’t say I think Muscovites are the best people (or, should I say, people living in Moscow, since most people in Moscow aren’t actually Muscovites). But I still think every day is a tiny bit better than the last, which I also felt when I was in Irkutsk, the rate was just a lot faster there…

12 March 2011

I just thought of something. Yesterday, when I was in the supermarket Perekryostok (“crossroad”), I think I saw a few different facets of the Russian personality, or soul if you will, within the span of ten minutes.

I walked into the store wearing my backpack (which I apparently was supposed to wrap in plastic on my way in, or leave in a locker or something, oops!) and within five minutes I knocked over a little glass bottle of an unknown liquid, causing it to shatter. This item cost 31 rubles (a little more than a buck). Almost immediately a guy, an employee I’m guessing, approached me and started questioning me about how this all happened, making sure to make me feel like a criminal. After I tried to explain to him that it was a complete accident and that I was just walking and sluchayno knocked it over with my backpack, another guy, a customer, jumped into the conversation at the scene of the crime and blurted out that if it was a complete accident I’m not liable to pay anything, and that I could call the police if anyone tried to make me pay for anything.

After the second guy left, the employee tried a little longer to make me pay, saying we could spend 10.000 rubles trying to figure this out with the police if I wanted to. Eventually he just walked away, frustrated. Keep in mind this was all about something that cost 31 rubles.

When I was in line to pay for my müsli and deodorant, there was a lady next to me who I wanted to cut in front of, seeing as I only had two items. While I was in line, David called, and I took this as an opportunity to let her know I was a nice foreigner who meant her no harm. I told David I was near Yolki-Palki and to wait for me near there. After hanging up I decided to ask the lady in front of me what kind of restaurant Yolki-Palki was (this was all for small-talk; I had been to Yolki-Palki before and knew perfectly well what kind of restaurant it was, and either way I had no intention of eating there with David). After our little chit-chat, the lady told me I could go in front of her, seeing as I only had two items.

Why did she let me go ahead of her? I don’t think it’s because she hadn’t seen me before David's call. It’s because I was no longer a neznakomyj chelovek, an “unfamiliar” or “unknown” person, much-feared above almost all people by Russians. Or maybe she simply hadn’t noticed me before. But I like to think I’m starting to figure out how to act around Russians, and how to “give them what they want”, in this case letting the lady know I wasn't this dangerous man trying to steal her groceries. But why this inexplicable fear? Why try to avoid any contact whatsoever with all “unknown” people? These are just a few of the many questions that frequently go through my head in Russia. You’d think by know I would have learned to be comfortable with confusion. Guess not.

Comments, advice, thoughts appreciated.