Nostalgia

Hard at work last summer doing the journalism thing.

Cheburashka tribute. the Graffiti next to him says "who is president" "а кто президент"

that's funny if you understand Russian politics.

Last summer was interesting. I lived with my parents back in Huntsville, Texas and worked as a writer/photographer for the Huntsville Item (local newspaper). I miss my old job at the Item. I had my own desk and I got to write a lot of really interesting stories. One of my favorite stories was the one I did on my mom when she was awarded her High School Principal of the Year Award (2nd time) by The Texas Association of High School Principals. I got to ride to Austin with her and we got to bond and I had an overall good experience with her at the Principals conference.

My second favorite assignment(s) was covering the Women's Olympic Gymnastics training and trails at their training facilities down the road from my house. Russian relevance! One of the girls on the team is Russian. Настиа Лиукин.

What I wouldn't give for some REAL Mexican food or a sandwich/burger without cucumbers right now.

I'm currently working on Russian grammar homework and listening to DJ Screw. And I'm instantly reminded of the hours on end I'd spend at the barbershop waiting on Tim to get to me. And of my Uncle Alex who played this music when I was growing up 6-11. And almost everyone else I knew older than me listened to DJ Screw Mix tapes. Freshman year I survived homesickness by adding about a quarter of Tim's DJ Screw collection to my iTunes and studying to that. I digress. Back to Russia.

I know it's early to be formulating my opinions of Russians seeing as how I've got two weeks left here but I've pretty much dismissed my original theory that racism in Russia is out of control. I've been really sheltered since I've been but I had envisioned myself always having to out run skinheads and other extremist groups. So far (knock on wood) there's been none of that. It's been the exact opposite.

A lot of people are intrigued by me and want to be my friend. Countless Russians have bought me drinks and then there are always the ones that want to have their picture taken with me. When they find out I'm American they become even more excited. I went to a corner store next to my house today and the guy that works there asked me if I wanted something to eat. I told him that I already had dinner. We had met on Saturday but I didn't know he worked there. I like it here and I would like to come back for a year on a Fulbright Fellowship. E-mailed a Dean about it and other fellowships today. Thanks for the tip Christian. She really helped.

Peter thought it was strange that I was wearing a green shirt with anime characters on it. I'm pretty sure he expects me to wear some incredibly hood get up. Complete with a basketball jersey and a tall tee? I don't even know what gangster or hip-hop apparel is anymore these days. At any rate, I find Peter expecting me to dress like a "gangster" to be funny. I can't wear a nice shirt that I got in London cause it doesn't fit his image of what a Black person in America looks like. Ok. I'm done with race. Sorry to those of you that felt uncomfortable reading that.

The coffee here is not good at all. I hate it. I'm not a heavy coffee drinker by any means but whenever I need to jump start my brain I really like it. I hate starbucks but love the hazelnut coffee the libraries at Brown have. I usually put more sugar/cream in the coffee than coffee but it helps me get the job done. Here I've switched to red bull. Not the same thing at all.

The taboo topic is still under review. I'm hoping everything works out. And as soon as the taboo on it is lifted I'll fill everyone in on some incredibly great news.

I've seen and done a lot since I've been here. And these last couple of weeks I'll see and do a lot more. So I'll continue to write about my day to day but I'm interested in knowing what all 3 of y'all that read this want to know about Russia. Question away. I'm a genius. I'll have the answer. There's a segment that comes on the evening news that I call the "Vladmir Putin Show". That's something that's interesting. So just think about what you've always wanted to know about Russia or Europe and I'll give you more info on it that wikipedia and provide you with more references than google.

Stay Tuned.

Always Keep an Umbrella/Snacks

I think my host sister is trying to kill me! She cooked rice and chicken and of course the tomatoes and cucumbers and it all tastes awful! My host grandma when she was here cooked the best. Her daughter/my host mom Анастасия Михайловна (Anastasia Mikhailovna) cooks okay but the middle of my eggs in the morning are runny. I usually just eat the bread for breakfast with butter and I had some oatmeal bars my mom packed me but I finished those Wednesday. I take the eggs with school with me and have them with lunch. I usually don't even eat all of them. And I've just learned that the granddaughter/daughter Таня (Tania) cannot cook to save her life! I'm sitting here now with a plate of food in front of me that is disgusting.

Speaking of bad cooking I've devised an antidote! I made oatmeal this morning! And it was so good! I'm just going to tell her that I'll make my own breakfast every morning.

I saw a homeless person pick up a half smoked cigaret off the street today and start to smoke it. This country is just so (you insert a word here).

And it's cold! I've worn a jacket everyday! I know I'm in Russia but come on! Jackets in the middle of June?! It's preposterous!

Let's continue to talk cuisine. Two Restaurants this week. We first went to this baller Japanese Sushi Restaurant with the most Americanized name ever. "Oh! Sushi!" (it was wri But the sushi was fantastic! They even served filet mignon for only $12. I didn't order but I plan on going back and trying some. And I already mentioned the Georgian one. The pics I posted are of Georgian Foods. The lamb and chicken were crack! Although, I've had better prepared lamb before. Chicken was on point. And that bread! Was so delicious! I had like two plates of it!

We went to the Restaurant for this girl in our groups birthday. I should be a professional toaster. After I raised my glass to her and a few other things you could tell that she was feeling extra special. What can I say? I words have way with.

Still not sure what I should do with this plate of food next to me...

I almost brought my umbrella today but decided against it. Dumb idea. I get to the gym go to the school. Pick up my homework Do all these normal things and the weather is beautiful. I go down to the metro. And when I come back up at my stop it's pouring. And I'm just like "Why God?" So I sprint from the metro to my apartment building and I get in and the smell that hits you when you walk in was worse than usual. And the elevator was acting strange so I had to go up a bizillion flights of crooked stairs in a building that smells like urine and cigarets and that I was afraid of running into someone in the building cause they'd think I was robbing the place.

I think I'm just going to scoff this stuff down and then go run and meet up with Sif at the Hooka bar he works at. The cucumbers taste like dirt dude! She just cut them and didn't even wash them! I can't tell if she hates me or if she's just anti-social. I'm really nice around the house! I swear! I help them move heavy stuff. Carry groceries in! I use вы (formal) instead of ты (informal) (like vous and tu in French) even with the animals! Having a big strong southern gentleman around the house is the best thing that ever happened to this family!

My theory is she loathes men because her father left her mom or maybe it's cause I'm Black. Or maybe she just doesn't like me living here. Who knows. She can be cool at sometimes and other times not so cool. I'm slightly overreacting. We mostly just don't interact that much. That's all.

Anyway, got to eat this Russian culinary calamity then make moves.

Stay tuned.

Healthy and On Schedule

The picture with the sunshine was taken roughly 30 minutes before the picture with the rain from the bus was taken.

I have cucumbers and tomatoes with EVERY dinner. And I'm starting to get on a better schedule in terms of studying, working out, and free time. I got an A on my first assignment!

I'm studying harder and really trying to devote more time to focusing on grammar. I'm happy the Lakers won. Kobe is the best basketball player in the world.

The Russian news report here today said that the Laker fans in LA partied like "gangsters" and showed clips of LA fans in the streets going crazy.

I was called 50 Cent Sunday on the Metro. I still get looks from lots of people. Especially kids. They're not hateful looks or looks of disapproval it's like "elephant in the room" kind of look.

But my diet here is ridiculously healthier than I've ever been in my life. Plus joining the gym? I'm going to come back looking like Dwight Howard... Not how he was looking last night but how they'll depict him on the cover of NBA LIVE 2010! Can't wait for that to come out! I'll be first in line to purchase it for my PS3.

I have my first exam on Wednesday. I'm so ready for it.

The weather here is schizophrenic. I woke up with all cloudy skies and light showers. Got to school and it was sunny and too hot for the jacket I was wearing. About halfway through the tour we were on it started getting cloudy and dark again. It started to rain and we (the group) voted on just driving around the rest of the tour and not walking.

I got to get some sleep. Gym at 8:00am!