Blogs from Urals, Russia, Europe - page 7

Monday was “Men’s Day.” This is an important Russian holiday, so I didn’t work. Leading up to and following my day, women would approach me and say “I’d like to congratulate you on this Men’s Day." They had previously congratulated me on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, as if it had been me who had fed the Pilgrims or lay in the manger. Anyway, for my first Men’s day, my colleagues gave me a pack of vitamins. DYNAMISM brand. Then midway through my Tuesday night class, the students left. This wasn’t unexpected. We normally take a break. But they returned with a cake, coffee, and a bottle of champagne. Like that guy in “Lola,” I was glad I’m a man. Officially Men’s Day is “Defenders of the Fatherland Day,” and it used to be Red Army Day. ... read more

I spent three whole days in Yekaterinburg at the end of February, 2009. I remember how very sad I was waiting for the night train. Russia is a very large country, and traveling by train could take whole days and days, but the trip to Yekaterinburg took only seven hours or so, you know, it is very close to my homeland. Lately, I began to dislike the time before train. By now, 100% of my travels were fulfilled alone, except some cases when I spent a little time with people, for example, I met with a girl in Sochi. But usually I walk and travel alone. So, I listened to music while waiting for the train; it came some 30 minutes late. One more thing - there were seats, and it is rather uncomfortable to sleep ... read more

To close out 2008, I lost my wallet. This is the same one that survived a night on a Utah ski slope and an afternoon stranded at the corner of 11th and M streets. Four times I lost and recovered it on the UNL campus. One of those times a couple students of mine found it outside the Union and brought to my office giggling. "It was always running away," Sveta explained. This time, it appears to have made a successful escape. But even more than is usual, the lost wallet in Russia led to too much time being spent trying to contact credit card companies. Ultimately the folks back home were put in charge of that. While Sveta made last minute, year-end trips to the dentist, I prepared nachos and chili for the Vorontsov New ... read more

We returned from Moscow yesterday evening and fetched the cat. Rosie’s grown big; she ate well at the Vorontsov’s. They fed her milk and tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce her to pelmeni (a Russian-style ravioli) and sausage. I hope the experience has broadened the cat’s horizons. Maybe she’ll hiss at strangers less frequently. Before we dropped her off there was lots of running around "Have you seen her dinosaur?" I had not. The dinosaur was found and the cat deposited. I made my first trip to the capital to participate in Moscow State University’s American Studies Conference. I presented a paper on American Golden Age radio, a short synopsis of the first chapter of my dissertation. I read my paper in English. I think I was the only one. Needless to say, the mostly-Russian proceedings left me ... read more

On the train I am in a Cabin with 4 beds there is just me and a French girl in there, she is living in French Guiana (South America) working as a social worker although she is originally from Paris. In my Wagon there is me, my French roommate, 1 American, 2 French, 2 Swedish, 1 from Norway and 8 Chinese Girls. The train is not very full and most people have space in their cabins this is probably due to the time of the year….alot of people in Moscow and on my way there said it was crazy to do this trip in the winter. Every few hours the train stops and people can get off and buy things from the station, there are small shops on the platform or sometimes there are local people ... read more