Can you imagine eating Thanksgiving dinner with Putin? You'd be eating a turkey that he obtained by swimming the black sea on the back of a dolphin to a forest full of tigers which he wrestled with his bare hands until he reached the one turkey to be found in Russia and killed it with his icy glare. You'd go around the table and say whatever you were thankful for: "Our wonderful and brave prime minister!", "The United Russia party and the greatness it has brought to Russia!", "My fearless leader Vladimir Vladimirovich!", "My cats and my family!" (Putin sends his death ray and *poof.* That person has nothing to be thankful anymore.)
Well, enough fantasizing about what a great time that would be. We had a pretty awesome Thanksgiving here in frozen Russia. We gathered at 10 am to begin prep and cooking. We made turkey, chicken, boiled beets with glaze, green bean casserole, corn, two kinds of stuffing, and apple crisp. Plus some sangria. All of it was DELICIOUS. Alton Brown has a very good recipe for homemade green bean casserole. We had to make quite a few substitutions and leave some things out that they don't have here. Like sage. We happened to buy some cloves that we didn't really need, so we boiled them with the beets. That was really good; not an overwhelming flavor, just a nice clove-y aroma. It smelled like Christmas while we were boiling those. We ended up having way more than we could ever eat, and we all had second helpings of everything. It felt just like Thanksgiving, being stuffed almost to vomit threat level. It was so nice to have that little slice of home here. And boy are we good cooks.
I wish I had brought my super warm boots. I don't know how I convinced myself to leave them; maybe because I wore the boots I have here in January in Russia, and I managed. I wore two pairs of socks today, including one thick wool pair, and my toes were still frozen. I'm considering buying some ridiculously cheap Ugg knock offs simply because they look super warm. It was -12 C today, and it's only going to get colder. Oh dilemmas.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Plague
Sickness has descended upon us! At least three of us have had something akin to tonsillitis. What's funny is that the Russian word for tonsillitis is "angina." So every time they say that, heart problems come to mind.
My understanding of the world has been shaken by two important events: 1. Apparently "chernika" and "chyornaya smorodina" are two DIFFERENT berries. I thought they were both black currants, and that chernika was just a diminutive name of the other one. NO. Chernika means blueberry. This throws me off because that name means little black thing. Don't Russians know that blueberries are BLUE?
2. All this time I've been thinking that my host sister in law is named Olya. Today I begin to doubt myself, because it sounds like they are saying Lolya every time. How am I supposed to know? Soft l's are really hard to hear. I can never tell if they say Alyosha or Lyosha in referring to Marina's husband. Oh well, I just won't refer to anyone by name.
Today was (L)Olya's birthday, so we went over to her apartment for dinner. I thought it was extremely unfair that she had to cook dinner and her own cake on her birthday, but it was good dinner. She made some great chicken. The cake was weird, like all Russian cakes. They seem to believe that a cake is not a cake unless there is some fruit flavor somewhere. That's perfectly fine with me, but sometimes you just want chocolate cake with chocolate icing, you know?
We went Thanksgiving produce procuring today. The store had four 8 pound turkeys amidst other strange meats like duck and goose. Turkey was 200 rubles a kg. So we had to pay 823 rubles for our modestly sized Turkey. That's about $25. But we're splitting the cost of the meal among 7 people, so it should turn out reasonably. The spice selection at the store is incredibly sad. They have black pepper, red pepper, garlic, dill, salt, cloves, and parsley. No sage, rosemary, or nutmeg. I'm going to attempt to make Alton Brown's green bean casserole for our Thanksgiving on Saturday, but it will have to be without the nutmeg.
We're going to celebrate Thanksgiving by going to see Harry Potter! Sarah already saw it and said it was good, maybe even better for being in Russian, because you don't have to listen to Daniel Radcliffe's voice.
IT SNOWED! AND IT'S STILL SNOWING! It's a winter wonderland out there! Russia is so much more pretty under a blanket of snow. All the Russians are breaking out their shubi(fur coats) and those great fur hats. My host Dad wore his fur hat today, and I sooo wanted to take a picture, because it makes him look like the stereotypical Russian guy. But he's not, because he's not drunk all the time.
My understanding of the world has been shaken by two important events: 1. Apparently "chernika" and "chyornaya smorodina" are two DIFFERENT berries. I thought they were both black currants, and that chernika was just a diminutive name of the other one. NO. Chernika means blueberry. This throws me off because that name means little black thing. Don't Russians know that blueberries are BLUE?
2. All this time I've been thinking that my host sister in law is named Olya. Today I begin to doubt myself, because it sounds like they are saying Lolya every time. How am I supposed to know? Soft l's are really hard to hear. I can never tell if they say Alyosha or Lyosha in referring to Marina's husband. Oh well, I just won't refer to anyone by name.
Today was (L)Olya's birthday, so we went over to her apartment for dinner. I thought it was extremely unfair that she had to cook dinner and her own cake on her birthday, but it was good dinner. She made some great chicken. The cake was weird, like all Russian cakes. They seem to believe that a cake is not a cake unless there is some fruit flavor somewhere. That's perfectly fine with me, but sometimes you just want chocolate cake with chocolate icing, you know?
We went Thanksgiving produce procuring today. The store had four 8 pound turkeys amidst other strange meats like duck and goose. Turkey was 200 rubles a kg. So we had to pay 823 rubles for our modestly sized Turkey. That's about $25. But we're splitting the cost of the meal among 7 people, so it should turn out reasonably. The spice selection at the store is incredibly sad. They have black pepper, red pepper, garlic, dill, salt, cloves, and parsley. No sage, rosemary, or nutmeg. I'm going to attempt to make Alton Brown's green bean casserole for our Thanksgiving on Saturday, but it will have to be without the nutmeg.
We're going to celebrate Thanksgiving by going to see Harry Potter! Sarah already saw it and said it was good, maybe even better for being in Russian, because you don't have to listen to Daniel Radcliffe's voice.
IT SNOWED! AND IT'S STILL SNOWING! It's a winter wonderland out there! Russia is so much more pretty under a blanket of snow. All the Russians are breaking out their shubi(fur coats) and those great fur hats. My host Dad wore his fur hat today, and I sooo wanted to take a picture, because it makes him look like the stereotypical Russian guy. But he's not, because he's not drunk all the time.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
How about them apples?
I found the perfect class to take for interim! It's something about Indonesian music, and involves playing in a gamelan ensemble. Finally! I can fulfill my requirements for my minor in Ethnic Instrument Playing! If anyone here remembers my old profile on Myspace, I said I was minoring in Ethnic Instrument Playing. Now my dream can come true! This whole thing came about because of the slideshow I saw at St. Olaf on Accepted Students Day, which consisted of a great many pictures of students playing ethnic instruments. It's unfortunate that St. Olaf does not have a major in this. I would LOVE to be a Nykelharpa (however that's spelled) major! Maybe even a double major in Bagpipe as well. I would be so rich!
Today I had an interesting array of breakfast choices: spaghetti, egg with hot dog, and prepackaged fried blinichki with meat and potatoes. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to eat, so I chose some of all of them.
We had a fire drill today! It was the silliest fire drill ever! We weren't supposed to know the time when the alarm would sound, but the teachers tend to gossip, and they told us it would be at 12. So instead of hanging around inside waiting for an annoying bell to ring, we went outside early. We knew the drill had started when everyone else joined us. We weren't allowed to actually walk away a safe distance from the building though, we had to stand right in front of the doors. We all would have died in the event of a real fire. And then it took us forever to get back inside, because the teacher with the key to our floor didn't go in first. What I thought was most amusing was how they were giving announcements that I assume were connected with the fire drill through a loudspeaker, or megaphone, to a huge group of foreign students. Have you noticed how hard it is to hear from a megaphone? All I heard was "Mwop, mwo, mwowo." Just like in Charlie Brown.
We're going to Peter again this weekend! I'm not sure how to write that in English. People here call St. Petersburg just "Peter" but spell it with an "i." Piter. Maybe Peter the Great should have named his city something his countrymen recognized better, like Pyoterberg, or even better, Petyaberg. This time we're going to the Russian Museum, which is full of Russian art. I sure have been to a lot of art museums in Russia. You'd think I really love them! I like the Russian Museum because it has some Aivazovsky paintings that are HUGE. Very nice. I wonder if they'll have any of my new favorite Russian artist Grabar?
Fun Fact: Fruit flies don't like grapefruit. Or pomegranate.
Today I had an interesting array of breakfast choices: spaghetti, egg with hot dog, and prepackaged fried blinichki with meat and potatoes. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to eat, so I chose some of all of them.
We had a fire drill today! It was the silliest fire drill ever! We weren't supposed to know the time when the alarm would sound, but the teachers tend to gossip, and they told us it would be at 12. So instead of hanging around inside waiting for an annoying bell to ring, we went outside early. We knew the drill had started when everyone else joined us. We weren't allowed to actually walk away a safe distance from the building though, we had to stand right in front of the doors. We all would have died in the event of a real fire. And then it took us forever to get back inside, because the teacher with the key to our floor didn't go in first. What I thought was most amusing was how they were giving announcements that I assume were connected with the fire drill through a loudspeaker, or megaphone, to a huge group of foreign students. Have you noticed how hard it is to hear from a megaphone? All I heard was "Mwop, mwo, mwowo." Just like in Charlie Brown.
We're going to Peter again this weekend! I'm not sure how to write that in English. People here call St. Petersburg just "Peter" but spell it with an "i." Piter. Maybe Peter the Great should have named his city something his countrymen recognized better, like Pyoterberg, or even better, Petyaberg. This time we're going to the Russian Museum, which is full of Russian art. I sure have been to a lot of art museums in Russia. You'd think I really love them! I like the Russian Museum because it has some Aivazovsky paintings that are HUGE. Very nice. I wonder if they'll have any of my new favorite Russian artist Grabar?
Fun Fact: Fruit flies don't like grapefruit. Or pomegranate.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Russia's not all that bad!
I realized after writing that last post (and after Sarah's decree), that lately in my blog I've been complaining a lot. This post is to reassure you that Russia is a nice country, and I actually am enjoying (most of) my time here. So, I've decided to make a list of the things I like about Russia.
I LIKE:
1. The cats- there are cats everywhere for me to exclaim about their cuteness.
2. The juice- they have such delicious juice here! Cherry and green apple are my favorites, but pumpkin, pineapple, and pear are also high on the list.
3. Cheap food- means cost of living here isn't too high unless you want to wear clothes. Makes for fun snacks too, exploring all the weird foods. Crab chips are addictive.
4. The hats- everyone has beautiful hats! Except the teenage hoodlums, of course. Now that it's colder everyone is breaking out their lovely шляпы (shlyapi). Fur-lined and fabulous.
5. Babushkas- The little old grandmas are so cute! They hobble everywhere in their giant rubber boots, aprons, head scarves, and giant coats, acting as if they own the place. "Here, young man, carry all my 14 bags onto the train. They are too heavy for me!" "Young man, give up your seat for me, I'm old!"
6. Hazelnut Snickers- These are soooo delicious. Way better than regular Snickers, and available everywhere here.
7. Everyone grows a lot of their own food- Have lots of fresh veggies and fruits to can and/or make juice out of.
8. Everyone loves ABBA- that's the sign of people with good taste.
9. Tiny little stores, right where you live- I live within 2 minutes walk of two grocery stores, and 3 shoe-fixing stands.
10. Convenient public transportation-It's not necessary to own a car in Russia at all.
11. The babies- Russian babies are way cute, especially all bundled up like marshmallows.
Ok. For now I'm going to stop and work on some homework. I might have to add more when I think of them.
I LIKE:
1. The cats- there are cats everywhere for me to exclaim about their cuteness.
2. The juice- they have such delicious juice here! Cherry and green apple are my favorites, but pumpkin, pineapple, and pear are also high on the list.
3. Cheap food- means cost of living here isn't too high unless you want to wear clothes. Makes for fun snacks too, exploring all the weird foods. Crab chips are addictive.
4. The hats- everyone has beautiful hats! Except the teenage hoodlums, of course. Now that it's colder everyone is breaking out their lovely шляпы (shlyapi). Fur-lined and fabulous.
5. Babushkas- The little old grandmas are so cute! They hobble everywhere in their giant rubber boots, aprons, head scarves, and giant coats, acting as if they own the place. "Here, young man, carry all my 14 bags onto the train. They are too heavy for me!" "Young man, give up your seat for me, I'm old!"
6. Hazelnut Snickers- These are soooo delicious. Way better than regular Snickers, and available everywhere here.
7. Everyone grows a lot of their own food- Have lots of fresh veggies and fruits to can and/or make juice out of.
8. Everyone loves ABBA- that's the sign of people with good taste.
9. Tiny little stores, right where you live- I live within 2 minutes walk of two grocery stores, and 3 shoe-fixing stands.
10. Convenient public transportation-It's not necessary to own a car in Russia at all.
11. The babies- Russian babies are way cute, especially all bundled up like marshmallows.
Ok. For now I'm going to stop and work on some homework. I might have to add more when I think of them.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Too much class
This week we've been having double classes- two of the same class in a row. It's horrible! The days seem to drag on and on. We have a new history class that I would like very much if it wasn't for 2 hours at a time and we did something other than sit and listen to the teacher talk at us. We never have to actually respond or anything in that class. It's a struggle to stay awake, even though I really like that teacher and she talks about interesting things.
I asked my host family for help on my homework the other day for our "Learn a few obscure words" class, and they were very surprised at the things we were being asked to learn. "What? These are very complicated words! No one uses these unless they are a translator for political people!" And here we are being asked to learn that a word that literally means "to puzzle, confound, take aback" is actually used to mean "give work" in political dealings. AND we're asked to figure out the idiomatic meaning from the context of one sentence. We aren't given direct translations. So much fun!!!
In other news, registration is not going my way. I thought I could take a purely fun class because I had an entirely open spot in my schedule. But NO! Every class I wanted to take either conflicted with a class I actually needed to take, or was so sought after that I couldn't get into it, even as a second semester senior. In the past, seniors could get into whatever class they wanted, but in the sake of fairness the powers that be changed the way that system works. It's not fair to ME! No King Arthur, Archery, Photography, or other interesting classes, mostly because I have to take Women's Studies. And I have to make THAT my first choice or else I won't get into it. So now I'm taking Teaching English Grammar, and Weight Training instead. I figure those will actually be useful. Plus the teaching one is only half of the semester!
Little Vanya my host nephew seems to have taken a liking to me. Today when he arrived the first thing he asked was where I was. Then he wanted to play with me in my room. He took my hand and led me to where his toys were. The most frustrating thing is that it's incredibly hard to understand anything he says, and he is constantly asking me questions. Everything anyone says to him he always asks, "What? Why? How? For whom? Which?" And each of these questions sounds the same when he says it. I had to try and explain my camera battery charger to him today. It was hard because I don't know any of those words. I just said, "Battery, like this, here. Then...here. Ta Da!" He just kept saying, "Чо?" which is the bumpkin way of asking , "what?" Luckily his grandpa arrived and he was distracted.
It's been raining a lot lately. Why won't it just SNOW!!!!!
I asked my host family for help on my homework the other day for our "Learn a few obscure words" class, and they were very surprised at the things we were being asked to learn. "What? These are very complicated words! No one uses these unless they are a translator for political people!" And here we are being asked to learn that a word that literally means "to puzzle, confound, take aback" is actually used to mean "give work" in political dealings. AND we're asked to figure out the idiomatic meaning from the context of one sentence. We aren't given direct translations. So much fun!!!
In other news, registration is not going my way. I thought I could take a purely fun class because I had an entirely open spot in my schedule. But NO! Every class I wanted to take either conflicted with a class I actually needed to take, or was so sought after that I couldn't get into it, even as a second semester senior. In the past, seniors could get into whatever class they wanted, but in the sake of fairness the powers that be changed the way that system works. It's not fair to ME! No King Arthur, Archery, Photography, or other interesting classes, mostly because I have to take Women's Studies. And I have to make THAT my first choice or else I won't get into it. So now I'm taking Teaching English Grammar, and Weight Training instead. I figure those will actually be useful. Plus the teaching one is only half of the semester!
Little Vanya my host nephew seems to have taken a liking to me. Today when he arrived the first thing he asked was where I was. Then he wanted to play with me in my room. He took my hand and led me to where his toys were. The most frustrating thing is that it's incredibly hard to understand anything he says, and he is constantly asking me questions. Everything anyone says to him he always asks, "What? Why? How? For whom? Which?" And each of these questions sounds the same when he says it. I had to try and explain my camera battery charger to him today. It was hard because I don't know any of those words. I just said, "Battery, like this, here. Then...here. Ta Da!" He just kept saying, "Чо?" which is the bumpkin way of asking , "what?" Luckily his grandpa arrived and he was distracted.
It's been raining a lot lately. Why won't it just SNOW!!!!!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Real Russian Recipe!
It's not really a recipe, you just kind of make it up as you go. Are you ready for some real Russian food?
Ok!
Ingredients:
1 or 2 boiled potatoes-peeled
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs
1 smallish cucumber
1 pickle
A couple hot dogs
1 can peas
mayonnaise
Chop all that up (except the peas, just drain those and plop in bowl) and slather it with mayonnaise! Mm-mm-mm!
I'm joking about the deliciousness. It's ok. It would be better with fresh peas and ham instead of mysterious "sausage" that tastes exactly like hot dogs.
Side note: I've learned that my host brother did not get new ceiling tiles, but new wallpaper. It's kind of hard to tell when all they say is "glue."
Ok!
Ingredients:
1 or 2 boiled potatoes-peeled
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs
1 smallish cucumber
1 pickle
A couple hot dogs
1 can peas
mayonnaise
Chop all that up (except the peas, just drain those and plop in bowl) and slather it with mayonnaise! Mm-mm-mm!
I'm joking about the deliciousness. It's ok. It would be better with fresh peas and ham instead of mysterious "sausage" that tastes exactly like hot dogs.
Side note: I've learned that my host brother did not get new ceiling tiles, but new wallpaper. It's kind of hard to tell when all they say is "glue."
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Smell of Snow...
...is in the air. I don't know if it's supposed to snow soon or not, it just smells like winter.
So, I'm beginning to think that I am funding home improvement for my host family. First they got new windows. Then their son got new ceiling tiles. Today they bought a new dining table and chairs. Hmmm.
I really don't have too much to report from this week, because I've mostly done nothing. On Wednesday I got sick with some strange stomach bug. Possibly food poisoning? I looked at the causes of food poisoning, and it seems that my family does EVERY ONE of those things. 1. They don't wash their hands. 2. They leave food sitting out on the counter for hours on end. And not just vegetables, cooked meals and raw meat too. 3. They have only one sharp knife which they use for everything in the kitchen, often without washing it in between. 4. They eat foods that have been sketchily processed- not that I'm blaming the pork they fed me that my host mom's sister's family butchered, it just isn't cleaned very well, probably. 5. All the veggies and fruits are washed in water that I'm not supposed to drink.
So I don't know if any of these things were suspect in my strange stomach sickness, but it's probable. My host mom blames the yogurt, which is probably the most innocent food product in their kitchen, being packaged and in the fridge. I'm mostly better now, at least my insides aren't trying to rearrange themselves anymore, but every time I eat my stomach seems to say, "what is this? I've had enough of this!" I could have eaten about 12 potato pancakes last night, but this morning I just couldn't bring myself to eat the kasha.
Today I went wandering around out of boredom and stir-craziness. I bought a new shirt because ALL of mine are dirty and my family just did laundry, so the hanging line is full. Also, I'm tired of wearing the same clothes over and over. I'd never noticed how nice it is to have clothing variety in your life. It's a gray shirt with a turquoise leopard face on it. Haha! But the leopard face is made up of dots, so it kind of looks just like an interesting pattern until you really stare at it. The tag said the shirt was gray and violet, which sure confused me. Green is in no way purple. The clothing sellers at the malls have gotten out all their winter coats! I think I need a bright teal down filled thigh length coat with teal dyed fur lining, don't you agree? I would be so STYLISH!
Ok, that's it for today!
45 days until I leave for home!
So, I'm beginning to think that I am funding home improvement for my host family. First they got new windows. Then their son got new ceiling tiles. Today they bought a new dining table and chairs. Hmmm.
I really don't have too much to report from this week, because I've mostly done nothing. On Wednesday I got sick with some strange stomach bug. Possibly food poisoning? I looked at the causes of food poisoning, and it seems that my family does EVERY ONE of those things. 1. They don't wash their hands. 2. They leave food sitting out on the counter for hours on end. And not just vegetables, cooked meals and raw meat too. 3. They have only one sharp knife which they use for everything in the kitchen, often without washing it in between. 4. They eat foods that have been sketchily processed- not that I'm blaming the pork they fed me that my host mom's sister's family butchered, it just isn't cleaned very well, probably. 5. All the veggies and fruits are washed in water that I'm not supposed to drink.
So I don't know if any of these things were suspect in my strange stomach sickness, but it's probable. My host mom blames the yogurt, which is probably the most innocent food product in their kitchen, being packaged and in the fridge. I'm mostly better now, at least my insides aren't trying to rearrange themselves anymore, but every time I eat my stomach seems to say, "what is this? I've had enough of this!" I could have eaten about 12 potato pancakes last night, but this morning I just couldn't bring myself to eat the kasha.
Today I went wandering around out of boredom and stir-craziness. I bought a new shirt because ALL of mine are dirty and my family just did laundry, so the hanging line is full. Also, I'm tired of wearing the same clothes over and over. I'd never noticed how nice it is to have clothing variety in your life. It's a gray shirt with a turquoise leopard face on it. Haha! But the leopard face is made up of dots, so it kind of looks just like an interesting pattern until you really stare at it. The tag said the shirt was gray and violet, which sure confused me. Green is in no way purple. The clothing sellers at the malls have gotten out all their winter coats! I think I need a bright teal down filled thigh length coat with teal dyed fur lining, don't you agree? I would be so STYLISH!
Ok, that's it for today!
45 days until I leave for home!
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