2 new appearances yesterday have made me uneasy :
- A policeman holding a big automatic gun. Normally, there are about 10 policemen hanging out by the metro station. Yesterday, 9 of them were replaced by a gun. Sadly, their salaries probably cost less than the gun did.
- Cockroaches in our dorms. Eek! 2 of them! It’s the first time I have cockroaches. Deanna says I will grow to like them.
Since I’m way behing on my trip reporting, I will make it short :
Krasnoyarsk was fun times. I got to meet people from Yakutya (woot!), Buryatya (cute!) and Tuva (wah!). We got lost in the tick infested Siberian forests. Ticks there carry encephalitis, and encephalitis kills you. We seem to have made it out ok.
St. Petersburg was fun but sad, since we realized that our circle of friends from two years ago is completely gone. But we still got to hang out with Lyolya, Roma, Olya. Lyolya will be coming soon to Moscow. Yippee!
Astrakhan was very welcoming. During our 2-day-long train ride, we had the nicest traveling companions, a mother and her son, who was deaf and had a crush on D. They made sure we found the German-Russian house when we got there, helped us carry our many boxes and bags and were just all around good people. We got to meet up with our organization’s Dutch partner, who always has so many interesting stories to tell, but also we got to meet their Czech partner who was such a nice and entertaining man. The seminar was ok, but D got sick and my ear got completely clogged after playing water polo. It still is somewhat clogged, two weeks later.
The bus ride to Pyatigorsk was pure hell, we had a soviet bus from soviet times, my seat didn’t recline, there was no space, it was uncomfortable, we spilled food everywhere, our window kept opening on its own and people kept screaming at us to shut it. Oh, did I mention this was a 14 hour overnight ride?
Pyatigorsk however was like an oasis. It has manage to sprout underneath trees and in between mountains. Fields of flowers with butterflies, in the background the Caucasus and the Elbrus (the highest mountain of Europe). The name of the city means 5 mountains, but there are many many more than that around. Pushkin and Lermontov have written about it, and we got to visit’s Lermontov’s house and the place where he got killed in a duel. Our host was the Armenian organization and so we always had about 10 Armenian guys walking with us everywhere and making sure we were safe (every Russian thinks his or her own city is the most dangerous in the country and takes it upon him/herself to protect us). The group at the seminar was particularly interesting, since there were not only leaders from ethnic youth organizations, but also some from human rights organizations. I got to know one girl who works in the Youth Human Rights Movement in Voronezh and she has invited me there. I’m looking forward to that. I also was interviewed on tv. The next day, when I asked some people for directions, they actually recognized me from the interview! How nice is that. On the train ride back, we met a troup of soldiers coming back from Chechnya and had a nice train party.
And that’s that. We have less than a month left and it seems like such a short time!
- A policeman holding a big automatic gun. Normally, there are about 10 policemen hanging out by the metro station. Yesterday, 9 of them were replaced by a gun. Sadly, their salaries probably cost less than the gun did.
- Cockroaches in our dorms. Eek! 2 of them! It’s the first time I have cockroaches. Deanna says I will grow to like them.
Since I’m way behing on my trip reporting, I will make it short :
Krasnoyarsk was fun times. I got to meet people from Yakutya (woot!), Buryatya (cute!) and Tuva (wah!). We got lost in the tick infested Siberian forests. Ticks there carry encephalitis, and encephalitis kills you. We seem to have made it out ok.
St. Petersburg was fun but sad, since we realized that our circle of friends from two years ago is completely gone. But we still got to hang out with Lyolya, Roma, Olya. Lyolya will be coming soon to Moscow. Yippee!
Astrakhan was very welcoming. During our 2-day-long train ride, we had the nicest traveling companions, a mother and her son, who was deaf and had a crush on D. They made sure we found the German-Russian house when we got there, helped us carry our many boxes and bags and were just all around good people. We got to meet up with our organization’s Dutch partner, who always has so many interesting stories to tell, but also we got to meet their Czech partner who was such a nice and entertaining man. The seminar was ok, but D got sick and my ear got completely clogged after playing water polo. It still is somewhat clogged, two weeks later.
The bus ride to Pyatigorsk was pure hell, we had a soviet bus from soviet times, my seat didn’t recline, there was no space, it was uncomfortable, we spilled food everywhere, our window kept opening on its own and people kept screaming at us to shut it. Oh, did I mention this was a 14 hour overnight ride?
Pyatigorsk however was like an oasis. It has manage to sprout underneath trees and in between mountains. Fields of flowers with butterflies, in the background the Caucasus and the Elbrus (the highest mountain of Europe). The name of the city means 5 mountains, but there are many many more than that around. Pushkin and Lermontov have written about it, and we got to visit’s Lermontov’s house and the place where he got killed in a duel. Our host was the Armenian organization and so we always had about 10 Armenian guys walking with us everywhere and making sure we were safe (every Russian thinks his or her own city is the most dangerous in the country and takes it upon him/herself to protect us). The group at the seminar was particularly interesting, since there were not only leaders from ethnic youth organizations, but also some from human rights organizations. I got to know one girl who works in the Youth Human Rights Movement in Voronezh and she has invited me there. I’m looking forward to that. I also was interviewed on tv. The next day, when I asked some people for directions, they actually recognized me from the interview! How nice is that. On the train ride back, we met a troup of soldiers coming back from Chechnya and had a nice train party.
And that’s that. We have less than a month left and it seems like such a short time!
Hopefully this video posting should finally work...
Zhila byla devushka kotoraya na Baikal poekhala
0 Comments Published by mym(e) on 15.6.07 at 9:36 AM.
When I was reading up on traveling in Russia, I read that I was to specifically avoid an aviation company called “Siberian Airlines”. I read many stories about how airplanes keep falling on their way to or out of Siberia. I swore to myself to do everything to avoid taking a plane to Siberia.
And so what did I do a few weeks ago? I took the plane to Irkutsk, not on “Siberian Airlines” but on S7. Unfortunately, it turns out that S7 is just “Siberian Airlines” with a new name. I was a bit worried. Fortunately, apart from an intense burnt plastic smell at the beginning of the flight, nothing scary happened.
However, we didn’t get a second of sleep on the overnight flight, due to stupid neighbors who kicked seats, pulled hair, shouted and offered us vodka. And so, when we got off the plane, we were both intensely sleep deprived, not to mention jet-lagged and freezing. When we left Moscow, the weather had been hovering around 30 degrees for two weeks. We, as the good tourists we are, neglected to take into account 1) the weather forecast 2) the fact that we were indeed going to Siberia, which, I don’t know if you people are aware, is reputed for its cold climate. And so there we are at the airport, in our tank tops and sandals. Everybody else is wearing a winter jacket, some are even wearing boots. Keep in mind this was at the end of May.
Stubborn and unfazed, we decide to proceed with our plan to spend the day (and possibly the night) in the small village of Listvyanka, located on the shores of lake Baikal. An hour-long ride on a marshrutka (mini-bus) and we are there. It is cold. We decide to put socks in our sandals. Well-equipped backpackers on their way out of town laugh at us. I understand them. I would too if I was wearing long pants and a coat. We ate some overpriced French fries and then we decided it would be wiser to leave on the next marshrutka.
When we got back to Irtkutsk, the driver asked that we pay not for 2 spots, but for 3, since we had luggage with us. We refused, since he hadn’t mentioned anything about that when we got on. He then proceeded to insult us with very terrible mat (Russian swear words). A warm welcome that was.
We somehow managed to make our way to the hostel, plumped down on the only bed available and came back to life a few hours later. We took a walk around town. We were expecting a typical grey soviet city, but instead we found a pretty mix of old wooden houses and neo-classical architecture à la St. Petersburg.
The overall atmosphere in the city was radically different from Moscow: everyone was relaxed, and, dare I say it, even smiling. With a fun Frenchman, we saw a Mongolian traditional/rock band on their first tour outside of Mongolia. They were amazing. That was definitely one highlight of our trip. Throat singing over rock music!
Then it was time to go to our center’s seminar. The seminar was four hours away from Irkutsk, on the shore of lake Baikal, right across the mystical Olkhon Islands.
Highlights:
- Vasily Petrovich: one of the participants, Besheyn, brought in a seagull while we were eating breakfast. The seagull, named Vasily Petrovich, was quiet and friendly and soon became our friend. Unfortunately, he died at the end of the day.
- We went to the banya, jumped three times in the lake and were officially declared to be Siberians.
- If anyone wants info about the seminar itself, it will be posted eventually on the Center’s website :www.interethnic.org .
- We became friends with Akhmed, the nicest Dagestani in the world. After the seminar was over, he gave us a tour of Irkutsk, brought us to the mosque (my first time ever), gave us cds, entertained us… We were happy to learn that he would be going to the Krasnoyarsk seminar with us
And so what did I do a few weeks ago? I took the plane to Irkutsk, not on “Siberian Airlines” but on S7. Unfortunately, it turns out that S7 is just “Siberian Airlines” with a new name. I was a bit worried. Fortunately, apart from an intense burnt plastic smell at the beginning of the flight, nothing scary happened.
However, we didn’t get a second of sleep on the overnight flight, due to stupid neighbors who kicked seats, pulled hair, shouted and offered us vodka. And so, when we got off the plane, we were both intensely sleep deprived, not to mention jet-lagged and freezing. When we left Moscow, the weather had been hovering around 30 degrees for two weeks. We, as the good tourists we are, neglected to take into account 1) the weather forecast 2) the fact that we were indeed going to Siberia, which, I don’t know if you people are aware, is reputed for its cold climate. And so there we are at the airport, in our tank tops and sandals. Everybody else is wearing a winter jacket, some are even wearing boots. Keep in mind this was at the end of May.
Stubborn and unfazed, we decide to proceed with our plan to spend the day (and possibly the night) in the small village of Listvyanka, located on the shores of lake Baikal. An hour-long ride on a marshrutka (mini-bus) and we are there. It is cold. We decide to put socks in our sandals. Well-equipped backpackers on their way out of town laugh at us. I understand them. I would too if I was wearing long pants and a coat. We ate some overpriced French fries and then we decided it would be wiser to leave on the next marshrutka.
When we got back to Irtkutsk, the driver asked that we pay not for 2 spots, but for 3, since we had luggage with us. We refused, since he hadn’t mentioned anything about that when we got on. He then proceeded to insult us with very terrible mat (Russian swear words). A warm welcome that was.
We somehow managed to make our way to the hostel, plumped down on the only bed available and came back to life a few hours later. We took a walk around town. We were expecting a typical grey soviet city, but instead we found a pretty mix of old wooden houses and neo-classical architecture à la St. Petersburg.
The overall atmosphere in the city was radically different from Moscow: everyone was relaxed, and, dare I say it, even smiling. With a fun Frenchman, we saw a Mongolian traditional/rock band on their first tour outside of Mongolia. They were amazing. That was definitely one highlight of our trip. Throat singing over rock music!
Then it was time to go to our center’s seminar. The seminar was four hours away from Irkutsk, on the shore of lake Baikal, right across the mystical Olkhon Islands.
Highlights:
- Vasily Petrovich: one of the participants, Besheyn, brought in a seagull while we were eating breakfast. The seagull, named Vasily Petrovich, was quiet and friendly and soon became our friend. Unfortunately, he died at the end of the day.
- We went to the banya, jumped three times in the lake and were officially declared to be Siberians.
- If anyone wants info about the seminar itself, it will be posted eventually on the Center’s website :www.interethnic.org .
- We became friends with Akhmed, the nicest Dagestani in the world. After the seminar was over, he gave us a tour of Irkutsk, brought us to the mosque (my first time ever), gave us cds, entertained us… We were happy to learn that he would be going to the Krasnoyarsk seminar with us
Cold!
Loving it!
Beautiful!
Siberians are awesome!
-end of transmission.
Loving it!
Beautiful!
Siberians are awesome!
-end of transmission.
Pictures are on my flickr page. Videos will be uploaded when I have the time.
Petrozavodsk trip:
Train trip (23h each way) aka practice for the Transsiberian : mostly good, but ach, we need more things to read than the stupid provincial Komsomolskaya Pravda which sucks ass and only talks about celebrities.
We met some interesting boys from Petrozavodsk who were on their way to Murmansk for a break dancing competition.
When we arrived in Nadvoitsy, Sasha, our dear friend who was supposed to meet us, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we were greeted by his kind aunt Irena and her husband Dima who hosted us for the night. They were incredibly nice and we are very grateful to have had the chance to know them. Nadvoitsy is a small town of 20 000, where most everyone works at the aluminum factory. Irina works as a scientist, and Dima is a security guard. They have a son, Nikita, and an adorable dog, Vesta.
The next day, they accompanied us to the train station, where we took a minibus for what would be the bumpiest 5 hour (it was supposed to be 4…) ride in my life. We got to see a lot of the Karelian forest. Much more than we had ever wanted. During the whole 5 hour ride, we saw two tiny villages. The bus driver had been instructed to let us off at an intersection next to Vangozero, about 30 minutes before Kostomuksha (the final destination). A black desyatka (a car model) was supposed to meet us. What wasn’t my surprise, when I saw a sign indicating Vangozero, no car, and the bus driver just kept on driving. When I told him that we just passed Vangozero, he said “But there was no car waiting for you. Just come to Kostomuksha.” But we wouldn’t even know what to look for or what to do in Kostomuksha! We’re supposed to meet Sasha! We used the driver’s cell phone to call Sasha’s father. Irina had thankfully had the good idea of giving us his number, in case anything happened. First call: no answer. Second call: a woman answers, says that the car will be there in 10 minutes. So we get off the bus, and start waiting. Picture this: two foreign girls in the middle of the forest, on the side of the highway, with a lot of luggage, cell phones that do not work outside of Moscow, no clue if anyone will actually meet them. We were a little worried, so we had a shot of vodka.
Everything turned out alright, Sasha and his step-uncle Dima did meet us. We went to their dacha, where we met their whole family and went to their banya, where we proceeded to beat a naked babushka with branches, as she yelled “harder, harder”. It was fun.
Then we went to Kostomuksha, where we stayed at Sasha’s apartment. That’s the end of the good part of the trip. We knew it was all over when Sasha sat at the table and told us “I have found the truth”. Turns out he became a born again Christian. Apparently, when you live in Kostomuksha, it’s either that or becoming an alcoholic. At any rate, he spent our whole trip trying to convert us in sneaky ways and we both hated our trip. We came to see our friend, and it turned out he’s dead (he told us himself, and we couldn’t help but agree).
We walked around the city a lot, it’s also small (about 40 000 I think). There’s a lake and a lot of trees. Half the buildings are completely run down, half look brand new. They were all built at the same time, but half were built by Finns (in exchange for natural resources, which Kostomuksha has in abundance). And then there is the born again Church, which is the best looking building in the city. It has a ping pong table, probably the only entertainment option in the city. Can we say: foreign funds?
Apart from that, same old same old. Work is interesting. My boss had me do push-ups yesterday. I hang out with my awesome Moscow friends who are not (thank God) born again Cuckoos.
I had my birthday. My boss cooked a good Armenian dish. It’s what poor people eat over there (since it’s vegetarian). And my coworkers gave me a flower and a vegetarian cookbook. Then in the evening I went for a walk at Park Pobedy with D and Sasha. On Saturday we had a party at Sasha’s where my dear dear friends gave me so many sweets I will necessarily die in a diabetic coma, some much needed toiletries and a princess bow for my hair. D got me a succession of gifts: a scrunchie (much needed), a Kremlin Diet Book (mostly meat oriented, teehee), an Akunin book (yippee!), a Che Burashka t-shirt (with which I have been in love for quite some time) and Lingvo (a super dictionary program). I proceeded to get shit faced off absinth (someone should have told me it was 70%!) We went to a club, where I tried to dance for a while, but then decided it was much wiser to sit down and watch more skilled (and sober) people dance.
On Monday, D, Emily and I went with our boss to a seminar on the Italian Mafia in the US at the American Center. Then we met up with Bianca and a funny French-Canadian from PEI. It made us both a little home-sick to have what we both called “a normal evening”: a warm summer evening spent sitting, and talking and joking with fun people on a terrace.
And so that’s life. I’m going to Siberia tonight. See you in two weeks!
Petrozavodsk trip:
Train trip (23h each way) aka practice for the Transsiberian : mostly good, but ach, we need more things to read than the stupid provincial Komsomolskaya Pravda which sucks ass and only talks about celebrities.
We met some interesting boys from Petrozavodsk who were on their way to Murmansk for a break dancing competition.
When we arrived in Nadvoitsy, Sasha, our dear friend who was supposed to meet us, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we were greeted by his kind aunt Irena and her husband Dima who hosted us for the night. They were incredibly nice and we are very grateful to have had the chance to know them. Nadvoitsy is a small town of 20 000, where most everyone works at the aluminum factory. Irina works as a scientist, and Dima is a security guard. They have a son, Nikita, and an adorable dog, Vesta.
The next day, they accompanied us to the train station, where we took a minibus for what would be the bumpiest 5 hour (it was supposed to be 4…) ride in my life. We got to see a lot of the Karelian forest. Much more than we had ever wanted. During the whole 5 hour ride, we saw two tiny villages. The bus driver had been instructed to let us off at an intersection next to Vangozero, about 30 minutes before Kostomuksha (the final destination). A black desyatka (a car model) was supposed to meet us. What wasn’t my surprise, when I saw a sign indicating Vangozero, no car, and the bus driver just kept on driving. When I told him that we just passed Vangozero, he said “But there was no car waiting for you. Just come to Kostomuksha.” But we wouldn’t even know what to look for or what to do in Kostomuksha! We’re supposed to meet Sasha! We used the driver’s cell phone to call Sasha’s father. Irina had thankfully had the good idea of giving us his number, in case anything happened. First call: no answer. Second call: a woman answers, says that the car will be there in 10 minutes. So we get off the bus, and start waiting. Picture this: two foreign girls in the middle of the forest, on the side of the highway, with a lot of luggage, cell phones that do not work outside of Moscow, no clue if anyone will actually meet them. We were a little worried, so we had a shot of vodka.
Everything turned out alright, Sasha and his step-uncle Dima did meet us. We went to their dacha, where we met their whole family and went to their banya, where we proceeded to beat a naked babushka with branches, as she yelled “harder, harder”. It was fun.
Then we went to Kostomuksha, where we stayed at Sasha’s apartment. That’s the end of the good part of the trip. We knew it was all over when Sasha sat at the table and told us “I have found the truth”. Turns out he became a born again Christian. Apparently, when you live in Kostomuksha, it’s either that or becoming an alcoholic. At any rate, he spent our whole trip trying to convert us in sneaky ways and we both hated our trip. We came to see our friend, and it turned out he’s dead (he told us himself, and we couldn’t help but agree).
We walked around the city a lot, it’s also small (about 40 000 I think). There’s a lake and a lot of trees. Half the buildings are completely run down, half look brand new. They were all built at the same time, but half were built by Finns (in exchange for natural resources, which Kostomuksha has in abundance). And then there is the born again Church, which is the best looking building in the city. It has a ping pong table, probably the only entertainment option in the city. Can we say: foreign funds?
Apart from that, same old same old. Work is interesting. My boss had me do push-ups yesterday. I hang out with my awesome Moscow friends who are not (thank God) born again Cuckoos.
I had my birthday. My boss cooked a good Armenian dish. It’s what poor people eat over there (since it’s vegetarian). And my coworkers gave me a flower and a vegetarian cookbook. Then in the evening I went for a walk at Park Pobedy with D and Sasha. On Saturday we had a party at Sasha’s where my dear dear friends gave me so many sweets I will necessarily die in a diabetic coma, some much needed toiletries and a princess bow for my hair. D got me a succession of gifts: a scrunchie (much needed), a Kremlin Diet Book (mostly meat oriented, teehee), an Akunin book (yippee!), a Che Burashka t-shirt (with which I have been in love for quite some time) and Lingvo (a super dictionary program). I proceeded to get shit faced off absinth (someone should have told me it was 70%!) We went to a club, where I tried to dance for a while, but then decided it was much wiser to sit down and watch more skilled (and sober) people dance.
On Monday, D, Emily and I went with our boss to a seminar on the Italian Mafia in the US at the American Center. Then we met up with Bianca and a funny French-Canadian from PEI. It made us both a little home-sick to have what we both called “a normal evening”: a warm summer evening spent sitting, and talking and joking with fun people on a terrace.
And so that’s life. I’m going to Siberia tonight. See you in two weeks!
Guess which two lucky girls are going to Siberia at the end of May? If you guessed Mym and D, you are right!
This is so very exciting. Unfortunately, the center where we work doesn't have enough budget to pay for our train tickets, but this is so worth it. We're going to have a seminar in Irkutsk, and then in Krasnoyarsk, where there will apparently be some type of big celebration. Much excitement and hair pulling trying to figure out where to stop over, what to see, how to do it. We are really looking forward to this!
This is so very exciting. Unfortunately, the center where we work doesn't have enough budget to pay for our train tickets, but this is so worth it. We're going to have a seminar in Irkutsk, and then in Krasnoyarsk, where there will apparently be some type of big celebration. Much excitement and hair pulling trying to figure out where to stop over, what to see, how to do it. We are really looking forward to this!
Petrozavodsk was really good. My boss is a very funny man.
We were actually in the forest, one hour away from the city. The first day was warm and grey:
The second was cold and sunshiny:
And the third we had a snowstorm:
What a difference from Moscow, where there hadn't been a snowflake in weeks!
Also, we discovered where Russia gets its electricity from. Trees!
Of course, when we came back, we brought the snow back with us. The weather on Easter was schizophrenic, with the sun shining so much we didn't want to wear our coats, and the next second it was raining, and the next it was snowing.
Had a fun weekend. With Sasha and Vitya, we went to a Depeche Mode bar, where, as you can guess, the only music played is from Depeche Mode. Then to Krizis Zhanra, then back to Sasha's place where we put a sick D to bed and continued drinking until six thirty. Got up at nine, went to see a crapooey Imax movie (set in Alberta!!) with Kostya and Dima in the nice suburb of Khimki (also known as "Zhopa" (butt)). Then we finally went to the VDNKh with Anna and Zhanna, where we payed seven bucks to take the ferris wheel. Apparently, we were supposed to look at Moscow from the top, but were too busy making faces at each other. Hopefully Anna will post the pictures.
And, the best news in ages: D and I are going to Kostomuksha to visit our good friend Sasha!! We have to take the train in the direction of Murmansk, get off after 24 hours in the town of Nadvoitsy, where I think we might be staying with Sasha's (very nice) aunt, and then we'll go to Kostomuksha. Much joy. In two weeks. Am very much looking forward to it.
I have to go, the work day is most definitely over. Much love to everyone! Please do email me to tell me what's going on in your lives.
We were actually in the forest, one hour away from the city. The first day was warm and grey:
The second was cold and sunshiny:
And the third we had a snowstorm:
What a difference from Moscow, where there hadn't been a snowflake in weeks!
Also, we discovered where Russia gets its electricity from. Trees!
Of course, when we came back, we brought the snow back with us. The weather on Easter was schizophrenic, with the sun shining so much we didn't want to wear our coats, and the next second it was raining, and the next it was snowing.
Had a fun weekend. With Sasha and Vitya, we went to a Depeche Mode bar, where, as you can guess, the only music played is from Depeche Mode. Then to Krizis Zhanra, then back to Sasha's place where we put a sick D to bed and continued drinking until six thirty. Got up at nine, went to see a crapooey Imax movie (set in Alberta!!) with Kostya and Dima in the nice suburb of Khimki (also known as "Zhopa" (butt)). Then we finally went to the VDNKh with Anna and Zhanna, where we payed seven bucks to take the ferris wheel. Apparently, we were supposed to look at Moscow from the top, but were too busy making faces at each other. Hopefully Anna will post the pictures.
And, the best news in ages: D and I are going to Kostomuksha to visit our good friend Sasha!! We have to take the train in the direction of Murmansk, get off after 24 hours in the town of Nadvoitsy, where I think we might be staying with Sasha's (very nice) aunt, and then we'll go to Kostomuksha. Much joy. In two weeks. Am very much looking forward to it.
I have to go, the work day is most definitely over. Much love to everyone! Please do email me to tell me what's going on in your lives.
