Hello all! Privet vseh!
Time really flies – we are already halfway through our time here in Russia. Classes are going really well. It’s interesting to look back over the past few weeks and notice how I’ve grown more comfortable and confident in my classes. I feel much more confident speaking up or asking questions in class, and much less worried about making mistakes. Sometimes, I still feel a bit of imposter syndrome that I was placed in too advanced of a group. I think that’s a normal part of language study, and I just remind myself that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning language.
I particularly enjoy phonetics class and speech development class. One of my language goals this summer is to improve my conversational Russian, and in these classes I have the most opportunity to engage and speak in Russian. Plus, the teachers are very engaging and interesting. In general, the academics here are pretty different than in America. The biggest differences are in the interactions between the students and the professors. The relationship between a student and a teacher is more professional, in that the hierarchy feels more pronounced. At the same time, the relationships feel more personal, because the class sizes are very small (4-6 people), and the professors make strong efforts to get to know each student individually. Russian teachers also tend to go on tangents. We might start class discussing Russian migration, and end up learning how different prefixes change the nuanced meanings of the verb “to sew.” At first, it was tough to see the benefit of such tangents, but I’ve come to find them very interesting and a great vocabulary-building and culturally-enlightening exercise. In this sense, Russian classes are less organized or structured than American classes. There is no such thing as a “syllabus” in Russian classes- the professor will tailor the class along the way to suite the needs, interests, and learning of the students. Performance is judged not against an absolute scale, but in terms of progress and improvement.
Outside of class, I enjoy trying to blend in with the locals – not smiling at strangers, walking purposefully through the metro, and abstaining from taking pictures of everything I see! Each day, I feel more and more adjusted to Moscow life. I can now ride the metro without holding on to the handrails, and can pick out the tourists who stand still on the left hand side of the escalator, instead of the right.
But, sometimes, I still like to be a bit of a tourist! This weekend, I channeled my inner tourist at the Ismailovsky Market. Towards the outside of the Moscow ring, there is a huge market inside of a very stereotypical, traditional Russian-style “town.” There, you can find everything from cheesey themed matroshkya dolls, army surplus, old religious icons, Soviet antiques, and hand-made crafts. I think the most interesting thing I saw were hand-knit socks… made from dog wool! Supposedly, it’s even warmer than goat or yak wool. I tried my hand at haggling, but I’ve never been very successful at bartering, even in English. The market was absolutely packed with both Russian and international folks, and it felt a lot like organized chaos! I wandered through the stalls for several hours, and I didn’t even manage to see everything there.
After buying some souvenirs, I sat by Patriarch’s Pond to sketch and do some homework. One of my favorite pastimes is to sit in a park, read, sketch, study, or even just people-watch. It’s a great way to observe Russian culture and pick up conversational/colloquial Russian phrases. Patriarch’s Pond is an especially popular site with Russians. (If you are familiar with Russian literature, Patriarch’s Pond is the setting for part of Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita. I especially like to sit there because I feel like I’m stepping back into a historic piece of Russian culture!).
I also really liked exploring VDNKh, the huge fair/expo/museum in the north of Moscow, by the Museum of Cosmonautics. It reminds me of the Smithsonian in DC. I enjoyed some beautiful fountains, stumbled upon a Belorussian market, and, of course, managed to find some spacecraft!
This weekend, I also loved visiting two very different galleries: the famous state Tretyakov Gallery, and the GARAGE Museum of Contemporary Art. The Tretyakov Gallery was cool to see, but I must say that I preferred GARAGE. Tretyakov focused more on portraits and older art periods, and I find myself more interested in Impressionism. I found Levitan’s works beautiful- up close, they looked like paintings. But far away, they were as realistic as photographs. GARAGE’s current exhibition focused on ecology and protecting our Earth. I really liked one piece, that asked visitors to “vote” for the Russian water resource they thought most important to protect. Next week, I hope to visit the Museum of Russian Impressionism!
In th evenings, I love spending time with my host family. They have been so welcoming and good to me! My little host brother taught me some Russian card games, and I taught him Go Fish – he loves it! Most evenings when I come home, I’ll eat dinner and drink tea in the kitchen with my host family and talk. Then, sometimes we’ll help my host brother practice reading or memorizing multiplication tables, listen to Detskiy Radio (Children’s Radio), play 20 Questions with cities around the world, or just talk and drink more tea! Once, my host mom told my host brother to sit politely at the table because they had a guest (me). My host brother goofily responded, “She’s not a guest, she’s here every day!” It made me smile and feel right at home!
Do vstrecha, until next time,
Piper
Approaching Ismailovskiy Market. 
Inside the market (this was the calm part!) 
The grand fountain at VDNKh. 
I found a rocket at VDNKh! 
And Buran! (The Russian space shuttle) 
A peek inside the Tretyakov Gallery. 
A stunning mosaic in GARAGE. 
Some eco-inspired exhibits in GARAGE. 
A beautiful Moscow metro station. 
Outside the Tretyakov Gallery.
RLASP in Moscow 