I got bit by a dog!

с праздником!

Hi Everybody!  So tomorrow (the 12th) is Day of Russia, kind of like Independence Day, and we have no school today or tomorrow, so I thought I'd update.  Yesterday I had two very different cultural experiences.  The first was the Tretyakov Art Gallery, which houses the work of Russia's greatest painters and sculptors.  It was pretty sweet, to say the least; it's one of those art galleries that you could spend days in and get lost in and have to eat the canvases of the Impressionists in order to stave off starvation.  Anyway, if you're ever in Moscow, go to the Tretyakov.

The second was that I got to go to a soccer game.  The stadium, sadly, was less than 1/3 full, and we learned that there were 8,000 people in attendance.  The game was pretty good, since we got to see two yellow cards, a penalty kick, and a red card.  And, in order to reinforce my stereotypes of soccer as a sport, the game ended in a 1-1 tie...I just don't understand.  The best part, however, was the routy fans there!  The two teams were both from Moscow (Moscow city was the home team, while Moscow Region was the visitors), and had a decent turnout, all things considered.  As we neared the metro station for the stadium we saw more and more police, some with Rotweilers, and even some National Guard type guys.  Once in the stadium, the National Guard guys were posted completely around the field, about one every 5 feet right in front of the first row.  Every time someone scored more police and soldiers would appear near the denser parts of the crowd, and later on, some special police with riot gear appeard and just stood in formation, like they were getting ready for something.  When we finally left the stadium after the tie game, there were lines of armed soldiers and riot police threading all the way from the gates to the entrance to the metro station, forming a lane for everyone to walk in.  Needless to say, it was really intimidating!

More stuff from Moscow

So today is the birthday of Russia's favorite writer and poet, Alexander Pushkin!  To celebrate we headed to the square bearing his name and the giant bronze statue of him, where people were laying flowers down for him and reading poetry all day...I've never really seen anything like it!  I've been able to see a lot of interesting things.  One of them has been exposure to Russian Orthodoxy.  We went to a rebuilt cathedral today that is a working place of worship as well as a tourist attraction.  The artwork is amazing, and I also got to watch some people praying.  There was a whole lot of bowing and people kissing pictures of Jesus Christ and Mary and others.  I really wish I understood more about the belief system.  In some ways it seems quite reverant, but it gives me the feeling of God being distant and largely uninterested.  I mean, God is worthy of everything we have, and so there is something right about how he is treated as royalty in how these cathedrals are built and decorated.  However he's a God who pursues me and wants me to know him, who turned himself into the lowest of servants.  That's what I think...by Devin Tressler.

Happy Birthday, Pushkin!

под Красной Площ

So the holiday I've chosen to commemorate with this update is National Children's Day here in Russia.  That's right, I'm in Moscow right now, at an Internet cafe literally almost underneath Red Square.  Things have been going pretty well.  We had our first week of classes, without complaints.  There are some cool people, especially those in my own class.  There are some others with whom I will probably spend less time, but that's ok, since our choices in pasttime activities are differing.  I'm getting plenty of Russian practice, with ups and downs, which can be kind of discouraging.  I know I'm learning a lot, though. 

Here's one amusing anecdote:  So Matt (Thiele, for those who don't know) and I were heading home from school (we live at the same place) and our bus never came.  So we decided to take a "marshrutka," a little yellow minivan with seats for 15 passengers in it.  If you've ever heard of an African matatu, it's just like that...just like it.  Anyway, so there we are.  We get in the marshrutka and pay 25 Rubles (about $1), tell the guy where we're headed, and sit down.  Then we took off, just to get stuck in some major Moscow traffic.  Our driver was getting more and more frustrated, and I was concentrating on looking out the windows to figure out where we were, since I didn't know where we would be dropped off.  Then I noticed we turned onto the shoulder and started to speed past everyone in the traffic jam--unorthodox, but "when in Rome...."  Then we turned sharply to the right, right onto a narrow, paved bike path that went off into the forest!  So there we were, speeding down this tiny bike path in the forest, (thankfully there were no bikes on it) with tree branches whipping in through the open windows, slapping our faces!  All the passengers were looking at each other in disbelief, and there was a great sense of community in that van.  It was something along the lines of realizing that these 14 other peopl may be the last people we ever ride in a car with this side of eternity.  Anyway, at the end of the bike path we flew off the curb and bottomed out--nay, we scraped the bottom of the van and almost lost most of the exhaust system--nearly missing the cross traffic.  Matt and I hurried out at the first stop, and decided that for the entertainment, that was the best 25 Rubles ever spent!

I think that's about it.  If'n you want to, shoot me an email (devinT@truman.edu, or whatever you use works).