Well, yet another eventful week. Started My new class this week. I am supposed to start two other classes within the next week, so I asked for my hours to be cut down (I was doing around 22 hours a week of language study). I was moved to individual classes and started them last week. They are not nearly as useful as my last class. My old class was a group class with some expats who all know the language a lot better than I do, so it was very difficult (challenging, whatever), but very useful. It was literally 4 ½ hours a day of straight conversation (with some grammar and whatnot) which meant that I did a lot of speaking and a lot of listening. Basically, everything I should be doing at this point to survive. It was not a traditional class with tons of bookwork, but was more focused on actually surviving in Russia. My current class focuses a lot more on grammar, reading comprehension and repetition. My professor is very concerned with making sure everything I say is grammatically correct and has the best phrasing. Which is good in a way, but is not what I am really looking for at this point. Thus, I have started sitting in (when possible) with my other class. It kinda defeats the purposes of less hours, but I feel like I need it in order to learn as much as I can. We'll see how the new classes fit into it. Maybe I can even work out something with my old professor to attend her class, just with less hours. Hmmm.....
On another note, I started my translation internship this week. I have been doing some translations for a while, but I actually went into the office for the first time. It's about an 1½ commute each way, which is not great, but as I go in only once a week, it is manageable. Not a fan of walking back to the metro in the dark (it's not the best part of town and I almost got bitten by a dog, again...), but it's not too hard to fine due to the lovely McDonald's right next to the metro (go figure). Still not sure how going to the office is going to work out once I start my new classes, but we'll work it out. I'm basically going to throw everything out the window and start over once those classes start. I really, really need that political science credit...
Still haven't gotten my paperwork straightened out as the International Student Office is STILL not open, but hope to get it straightened out this week. So, mom, please, stop freaking out. I'm a perfectly fine. I am not getting evicted. I have not gotten arrested. Nor have I landed myself in a hospital. All is good. I repeat: all is good. :D
Susan and I did a monastery weekend. On Saturday we went to the Donskoy and Danilov Monasteries in the south of Moscow. The Donskoy Monastery is easily the most atmospheric of the two. Once you get off the metro, you head through a local market that sells eveything from ice cream to whole fish to underwear. In the distance you will see the large, brick red fence and large towers (erected for fear of Mongol invasion in the 14th century) that surround the monastery. Walk around the fence through a small patch of woods to an opening in the gates. Many Russians take their weekend stroll around the monastery so you will often find parents with young children or an elderly couple walking in the woods. Once through the gates, the first thing that will catch your eye is the large cathedral that stands in the center of the monastery. At a second look, you will see a row of Soviet tanks and an airplane commemorating an armed unit formed by the church during WWII. Past the church, thousands of gravestones litter the ground. If you can read Cyrillic, there are maps placed throughout the grounds that identify some of the more notable inhabitants of the Donskoy graveyard. At a glance, no one in particular stands out, but a few nondescript graves hold Tolstoy's grandmother and Pushkin's grandparents.
About a 20 minute walk east of the Donskoy Monastery is the Danilov Monastery, the official head of the Eastern Othodox Church. If you are confident in your directional-skills or have a great compass, go for the walk. If not, just head back to the metro you came from and take the metro to Danilov. Don't guess. You will get lost. Trust me...
The Danilov Monastery is much less majestic than Donskoy. It holds a couple of cathedrals (some of which are under construction) and a couple of offices run by the church. However, if you go on the weekends during the afternoon, stay for the bell ringing. Outside the main cathedral hang a number of massive bells that the monks play. Very cool. Also, if your there and up for a long evening, stay for the service. It's about two hours long and you must stand the entire time. In the far back, there are some benches designed for the foreigners, but don't do it. (Dr. Denner – I made it through the entire service! Woohoo! ) FYI, ladies, you need to cover your head to enter the cathedral – a hat or coat hood will do. The service starts with music from the all-men choir and alternates between singing and reading (chanting, really). There are lots of guys in dresses and Darth Vader coats that throw and incense ball around and walk on red carpets. And people do a lot of crossing and bowing. It's long and confusing (if you, like me, have no knowledge about Eastern Orthodox rituals) but something you need to do if you are going to stay any length of time in Moscow. I'll probably head back for the 8+ hour service on Easter...
If you are tired after the service and in need of a hot meal, right around the corner is Yalkie Polkie, an inexpensive chain that sells traditional, good quality Russian food. If you are in need of something a little more American, on your way back to the metro, stop by the mall for a Starbucks' coffee (one of the three Starsbucks that I know of in Moscow). They sell real Starbucks' coffee, which is heaven-sent after the terrible coffee you find most places around here.
After our day of monastery hopping, I left Susan to go meet up with Joe for dinner (at the lovely Scans). We ate and talked and drank. Tea...yummy... After a week of potatoes, mayonnaise salads, more potatoes, and sour cream, I was dying for some good American food. And I got lots of take-out to hold me over. Yea!
On Sunday, we completed our monastery weekend with a trip to the Novadevichiy Convent. Of course, nothing can be simple in Moscow, so our quite little trip turned out quite differently. Stay tuned for more information...
PS: Just got invited to watch Russian animation tonight by a bunch of guys. Um...
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so, wait, when i said "stick it out with the class that seems too hard, because you'll learn more, and you'll soon find that it's not hard enough" and you ignored me and dropped the class and NOW you are sitting in on the class saying basically that "this class was just what i needed"... i was right, wasn't i? ah, the music of those words... dr denner, you were right...
ReplyDeleteYou have a Starbucks?! You have THREE of them?
ReplyDeleteUh, so jealous. I tried to get a normal-ish coffee the other day, and I think I would up with something alcoholic that smelled of almonds. I don't understand it -I can order whatever kind of blini or pirogi I want in a Russian restaurant, but when I go to McDonalds (only been there once for the wifi, don't judge me) or to a coffee bar I wind up with the completely wrong order. Le sigh.
You are so much more hardcore than I am Hannah, it's ridiculous. My class is pretty basic stuff (no complaints though-once we do something in that class I know it permanently), and I could not be taking all the hours and working all the hours you are. I collapse exhausted as it is! (Dr Denner if you read this, I'm conversing with plenty of Russians and translating a book, so don't freak out-I'm in the right class).
Plus Hannah, the Russian men are clearly flocking to you. Just face facts and get a Russian boyfriend already -it's the best way to improve your Russian! Just teach him to shower and wear deodorant.,,no problem.