The Breaking of the Fellowship (5/12/2002)

"The world has changed... I feel it in the water... I feel it in the earth... I smell it in the air..."

Hi Everyone,

Behold Mother Russia. The world's largest land mass and history's greatest identity crisis. What is she? Peter the Great wanted a European -- he built his own Venice and lived in a Northern Versailles. Catherine the Great imported French Enlightenment and all but pushed out her national tongue. Is Russia European? Hard to fathom if 80% is in Asia. Asiatic, then? Again, hard to swallow if 97% of its coffers are in Europe. Is it modern? Argue what you will -- it touts a functioning nuclear arsenal but counts most provincial cash purchases on abaci. It is a world power that can't pave its roads. Average women earn 150% of men's salaries, and the feminists scream bloody murder to get them back into the house. Russia is indeed simultaneously Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond -- young, ambitious, and ready for anything the world is going to throw at it, but simultaneously a dying, forgotten relic of yesteryear. (heh heh -- "I am big! It's the free market economy that got small!").

And yes, Russia is big. Our Pskov trip put somewhat into perspective the true Russia -- not the aristocratic St. Petersburg or the arrogant, sprawling Moscow. The detachment of many Russians to their capitals is astounding, and one glance at the countryside confirms this. Russia is its immense landscapes -- rolling valleys, endless steppes, pristine rivers and sweeping, misty mountains. Terrorized by Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin, the countryside nevertheless possesses an inexplicable timelessness: It carries on as it always has, seemingly unaware and apathetic to Moscow's concentrated ring of power. In a related story, a Siberian village was "found" in 1991 that had never heard of Lenin, the Revolution, or even electricity.

"Russia is a mystery inside a riddle inside an enigma," commented Winston Churchill. The chap couldn't have been more accurate. Almost each city's main street remains adorned with a statue of Comrade Lenin. Though Westerners equate him with Mephistopheles, Russia's jury is still out. Some call him a light shining in darkness that the world failed to see, while others mull over why of all vodka joints in all the world did he have to wander into this one. Did he fail them? Did he know his "historically inevitable" proletariat rise never could have worked? Or did the workers fail him and did their pure laziness prevent the development of his land of socialist Mitch Buchannons? Although dwindling, the opinion "we failed because we didn't do what Lenin said" remains with old-time hardliners. On that note, though, Russian sociologists claim that America is also slowly heading toward Leninism -- not by revolution (as Russia tried) but by evolution. Think about it, "The history of society is one of class struggles..." Not that I agree, but it'sfood for thought.

Despite the shadow of its past, though, Russia is slowly inching toward western standards. Still, they're going to carry that weight a long time: Economists estimate that it would take Russia 15 years to reach Portugal's current standards, the EU's lowest. Nonetheless, it is crawling back. And you have to admire entrepreneurs who market beer that tastes like Mountain Dew.
As for me, preparing for departure hasn't been as easy as I thought it would. From experience I know that an exchange is never about the setting, but the people. And wish as one might, it's never all going to be the way it was. Let's face it: my group hails from all across the country, and there is no way that all 17 of us are going to be in the same city, much less the same room, again.
Call me a cynic, but it doesn't happen. Of course we'll keep contact with the ones we're closest to, but we'll always associate them with St. Petersburg. But the chances that more than two of us would be here at once are very low.

In other words, not fun. And the goodbyes aren't easy. So though I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at home, eating American food and driving on streets that don't give you a hernia, "parting is such sweet sorrow," and this ending is very, very bittersweet.

As for what I've learned, I don't know. Sure, there's all the book-stuff: Yes, my Russian has improved, though is far from fluent. Yes, I picked up a whole lot of cultural and historical tidbits that you don't get growing up in the West. I learned that communism is far from the root of all evil and that even in democracies can dictators come to power, particularly in times of economic or political chaos (case in point, until the Reichstag fire Hitler's rise to power was completely legal.)

But hey, it's over now. Thanks to everyone for all the help throughout the semester. I'll be back home in Boston tomorrow night around 8 p.m., barring delays. I look forward to seeing most of you again and shooting the breeze.

Poka!
Matt

"Grab your ticket and your suitcase,
Thunder's rollin' down this track.
You don't know where you're going now,
But you know you won't be back.
Darling if you're weary,
Lay your head upon my chest.
We'll take what we can carry
And we'll leave the rest.
Now big wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams,
Meet me in the land of hope and dreams..."
- Bruce "The New Jersey Pushkin" Springsteen

"The Empire of Evil" (2/26/2002)

Hi Everyone,

Well, the Olympics have closed but it appears that the Russian complaining about them will last till doom cracks. Today's "Izvestia", a national newspaper, leads with the headline "Oh sport, you are war!" and continues to accuse the Americans of rigging everything for themselves and friendly nations. For example, it makes the blatant accusation that the U.S. set up Sara Hughes' victory in the women's figure skating (disregarding the fact that the Italian judge had ranked the Russian Svetlana Slutskaya fourth, but whatever...) as well as spearheading the movement to issue two pairs figure skating golds rather than the one. Ah well, let 'em complain, I guess.

As for the US-Russia hockey game, a few other crazy students and I stayed up to watch it live on Russian TV (it started at 2 a.m.). I had feared that being an American in an all-Russian environment would be akin to watching a Red Sox game in the South Bronx, but surprisingly, the locals were actually quite pleasant and hurled no moronic insults at the opposition (such as my favorite Yankee Stadium "insult": "Go back to Haaaaahvahd!"

Anyway, I'm getting cut off here. The Internet at the cafe is acting weirdly.

Gotta go.
Matt

"Tri - elfiiskim vkadykam v podzbednyi predyel;
Sem - dlya gnomov, tsaryashchikh v podgornom prosmore;
Devyat - smertnym, chey vyveren srok i udel,
I odno - blastelinu na chyornom prestolyeV Mordore, gdye vekobehnaya tma:
Chtoby vsekh otyckat, voedino sozvat
I edinoyu chyornoyu volyey skovat
V Mordore, gdye vekobehnaya tma"

Uncle Banya (2/7/2002)

Privyet Rebyata,

Greetings from the Great Empire of Slavdom. Things here have warmed up, meaning, of course, that the weather is far worse than it had been when temperatures were around -5 (pre-wind chill of course). Now that inches of snow and ice are melting, coupled with the horendous public sanitation system, the streets are filled with contaminated water and loads of muck and mire. Joy. This should last through this weekend, when all should freeze again and the whole process commences again.

Other than the weather, though, things are very well. School is simultaneously stimulating and frustrating; I feel like the average household pet, i.e. understand a good deal but can say nothing. Ah well. Language comes.

Novgorod, where my group spent this past weekend, was a lot of fun. It's a smaller city (250,000 people) and is far more typically Russian than the European St. Pete. We did the usual student group stuff (city tour, all the large churches, monestaries, etc.) but also had our share of free time as well. This, of course, we used to take pictures of ourselves with Lenin statues and such. We also ate what our advisors claim is the best example of old Russian food - a three-course, I-have-no-idea-what-this-is-supposed-to-be-but-I-love-it-anyway meal in a restaurant which seems to be a cross between a medevial dungeon and the Gryffindor dining hall in "Harry Potter". Quite the atmosphere, I must say. Then, of course, the power went out halfway through and we had to eat the rest of the meal by candlelight. Ah, Russia.One of the other things we did in Novgorod (as well as the previous week in St. Petersburg) was to visit a banya. For those unacquainted with them, they are basically saunas on steroids, where the heat and humidity are enough to make you sweat gallons within a few minutes. In addition to the heat, the banya trip involves hitting oneself with birch branches so as to (supposedly) bring all the blood to the surface and clean one's pores.

Finally, because we get cheap student tickets ($2-6) to the Mariinsky and other theaters in town, I have begun exploring their repertoire. Tuesday, a group of six of us headed to the Mariinsky to check out "Romeo and Juliet", Prokofiev's ballet version of the world's most overrated love story. I was floored. I've never seen a ballet or even a "regular" performance of R&J that powerful, emotional, and expressive. It was amazing - Boston Ballet, despite its worldwide reputation, doesn't come near it. As a result, I got more ballet tickets for "Don Quixote" in two weeks. Tomorrow I'm off to a performance of "The Cherry Orchard" by your favorite playwright and mine, Anton Chekhov.

Anyway, I am pretty sure I will be spending my spring break in Siberia (Irkutsk, Lake Baikal region) this year, but more on that when I find out the details.

Keep in touch. And let me know how things are in the town that is home to America's latest champions.

Matt

Yes, Virginia, there is a Sun! (1/28/2002)

Hi Everyone,

I understand that my last couple emails didn't come in their entirety, or at all, so I'm just going to assume that no one got anything and go from there.

Anyway, the biggest news in St. Petersburg is the appearance of the "sun," which I was beginning to believe to be a Russian fairy tale until (ironically enough) Sunday, the first time I saw it since I've been over here. Not to say that the presence of a sun positively influences temperatures, though: today it hovered at around 20-25 degrees (not factoring in the windchill) and the past weekend was even colder. So while enduring near sub-zero temperatures, I've been exploring the city and trying to improve my Russian. The latter, of course, is giving me the problems I'd expected. (And people say German is hard?!?!?!) To improve my reading, I picked up a copy of "Garry Potter i Taynaya Komnata" ("Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") and am already through the first chapter. Not to say it didn't take me forever, though...

School is good and completely in Russian. I take classes in grammar (3x a week), translation (2x), conversation (3x), newspaper (2x), civilization (1x) and literature (1x). The latter two are lecture classes with about 18 students in them, whereas the rest have about nine. Not bad for individual attention, and of course, the more you hear and speak Russian, the better it gets (At least I keep telling myself that.)Next weekend we (the group) are off to Novgorod for two days and a night, a trip that should be a lot of fun should barring ungodly temperatures (which, of course, we will get). More on that after we get back. As to how I'm going to stay up till 6 a.m. watching the Super Bowl I haven't figured out yet, but I'll figure something out. Granted that Boston teams get to play for a championship once every 57 years, this is a no-miss opportunity.

OK, I should go.

Keep in touch.
Matt

"tri - elfiiskim vkadykam v podzbednyi predyel;
sem - dlya gnomov, tsaryashchikh v podgornom prosmore;
devyat - smertnym, chey vyveren srok i udel,
i odno - blastelinu na chyornom prestolyev Mordore, gdye vekobehnaya tma:
Chtoby vsekh otyckat, voedino sozvatI edinoyu chyornoyu volyey skovat
V Mordore, gdye vekobehnaya tma."

From Russia with Love (1/19/2002)

Privyet, Tovarishchi! (Hi Everyone),

Greetings from St. Petersburg. Before I begin, here's my contact information for the coming four months. All mail can be sent to the exchange organization's office, rather than my home address. Also, PLEASE don't send packages. The reasons are twofold:

1) Russian customs officials open EVERYTHING they get. This means, if they like the contents, they're theirs.

2) If by chance they DO get to me, customs charges 100 percent duties on everything. Thus, anything sent has to be paid for twice (once when purchasing it, once when getting it from customs.) Therefore, please avoid packages. I'm only here four months anyway, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Anyway, mail can be sent to the following:

St. Petersburg State University
Matthew Burke
CIEE Russian Language Program
St. Petersburg State University
Universitetskaia Naberzhnaya 7-9
St. Petersburg 199034
Russia

Yes, it is long, but this is the way it was given to me, ergo it's the way I pass it on. My home address is

Ulitsa Nalichnaya
Dom 45, Apt. 398
St. Petersburg (Don't know the Zip.)
Telephone #: 011-7-356-78-29

I'm currently settling into (to say the least) quite the new experience. I'm living on Vasilevsky Island, the largest of St. Petersburg 42 islands, close to the city's westernmost point. My host family consists of just a host mother, Olga Petrovna Vishevetskaya. Her son, 23, recently married and moved out. I haven't met him yet, but she is quite pleasant and very eager to help me learn more and more Russian. I am her fourth exchange student, and coincidentally enough, last semester's was also a Bostonian.

Living conditions are, well, not western. The apartment is tiny, albeit quite cozy, and the neighboorhood isn't the greatest. Not that this fazes me much, though: I did want to integrate myself as much as possible and not be too separated from the city's ongoings. After all, I'm only here four months and then I have the rest of my life to enjoy the good ol' US.

School begins on Monday and our program is VERY full. It seems like almost every weekend there's something planned, such as trips to nearby cities of Pskov and Novgorod, as well as a mid-semester excursion to Moscow. I'll report on those as they come.

Anyway, I should get going. Keep in touch (Email is the best way), and I'll keep you updated.

Paka,
Matt