mа́сленица!

i had planned a trip to trafalgar square to check out the olympic countdown clock (totally geeky, i know), but was pleasantly surprised to find that there was also a huge russian festival going on to celebrate maslenitsa (mасленица), a russian folk holiday. it was a lot of fun, especially after my trip in september... there was lots of singing and traditional dancing... and lots of russian flags and food. i was able to use a couple of the words i learned on my trip... and again, though there were hundreds and hundreds of people in attendance, i was the only black girl ;)

конфеты

halloween night i went to the 92nd st Y to see ilya and emilia kabakov speak. i thought it would be interesting, as they are very important in terms of art history... and, as you well know by now, i am obsessed with russia.

while there were bits and pieces of interest, as a whole, i would just say... no. while the kabakovs were sweet in demeanor, lecture does not seem to be their strong suit. ilya spoke solely in russian, quick and quiet, while emilia translated at the same time, equally quick and quiet. the result was a whir of sound, with one or two words revealing themselves at random intervals. additionally, the host, (sir) norman rosenthal, though having a rather impressive resume, was... arrogant. this is the first i have heard him speak, so perhaps i caught him on an off night... but... it was... unattractive. and the crowd was a bit snooty as well...

several people left before the end of the presentation... myself among them... (i stayed for as long as i could, but the girl next to me got up to leave, so i just rode her coattails.)

but i am glad i went... and since i left early, i still had time to trick-or-treat.

хорошо.

so. as you may have guessed, i. loved. moscow.

generally when the plane touches tarmac back in nyc after a far away trip, i am so happy to be back. for the first time, when i got back from russia, i was sad. i didn't want to be home. which is funny, because in the weeks leading up to my adventure, i was almost just wanting to get it over with. with everything i read about the racism and overall coldness, i just wanted to experience it to say that i had.

but despite the fact that i was looked at like a circus freak show wherever i went, i didn't speak the language, and most of the food made me nauseous, i still loved it.

...this may have a lot to do with the people i met, with whom i am still in touch with via e-mail, russian facebook (yes, i joined russian facebook), regular facebook, and skype... they are amazing and i can't wait to see them again soon, either here, or back there (i would like to go to back, adding st. petersburg to the itinerary, the beginning of next year).

but people aside, i still really loved it. the architecture... the energy (which was unlike any i have encountered in any city, and difficult to describe)... the little russian cars...

i loved that i made a routine for myself while i was there... in the mornings i would get up and use the hotel gym, in which most of the time i was the only one... then i would go down and eat the best breakfast on this earth... the breakfast at the hotel was totally awesome. every morning i was stoked to get down with some fried mushrooms, fried zucchini, buckwheat, and whatever else my breakfast heart desired... grape tea...

and this may sound silly, but the mirrors at the hotel were the same as the mirrors in my apartment... so i always felt a little bit like i was at home as i was getting ready each day... which resulted in my feeling comfortable with my appearance in a way i don't usually when traveling.

i loved that i started to get a handle on the cyrillic alphabet and it's sounds, and that i learned a few key words and phrases. i would like to take a class, or get a tutor, or something, so that i can go back with some language under my belt. i think that would heighten the travel experience.

anyway. i just really loved it there. and i can't wait to go back.

i am so happy i dove in with this trip... i am so glad didn't give up on the visa... and i am so thankful i got the opportunity to go.

when i first arrived i wrote this post in which i said that my goals were to prove that the russian visa is worth the trouble, and to prove that russians can be nice, even to black girls like me...

mission accomplished.

last day

my last day in moscow, i thought it would be a good idea to have one last breakfast with my russian friends, even though the car i had booked was leaving around the time breakfast started. figuring it would wait, i ate a rushed (but lovely) last meal and booked it to the hotel lobby. i ran outside with my friends and my stuff, looking wildly around for my car, only to find that it had already left. i called the service number and learned that it had been a group ride and had had to leave to make sure everyone else got to the airport on-time. remembering the traffic on the way to the hotel from the airport, i started to panic. i had visions of being trapped in russia... of getting into trouble for overstaying my visa and not being allowed back... of having to buy another plane ticket with money i didn't have... talking to the receptionist did nothing to assuage those fears, as she said she wouldn't be able to find me a taxi in time (the hotel was outside the city center). luckily, my knight in shining armour arrived in the form of a heavy, chain smoking (as many of them are), russian man who spoke little english, but frequented hotels looking for tourists just like myself, who were in a bind and needed to get to the airport no matter the price. after looking his papers and id over, i found he had a contract with the hotel and a sparkly new bmw, so i accepted the quoted price (which actually wasn't nearly as much as i would have paid at that point), and hopped in the car.

the morning traffic was terrible. TERRIBLE. and because he drove a nicer car, he wasn't as adventurous on the road as my earlier ride had been... i really didn't think we were going to make it, but he kept making reassuring noises when he saw me looking espesially concerned.
and he did get me there... and after a couple of final language barrier mishaps with airport staff, i made it to my gate 10 minutes before boarding.

on the ride to the airport every once and a while he would point to a building and give me a one or two word explanation like, "lenin sleep," or, "putin work." it was nice to get one last tour in, and it was very clear he was proud of his city. i was kind of glad i had missed my group ride to the airport in order to have this more private goodbye to moscow.

... and i was glad to get one last meal in with my friends.

бабушка

i love looking at old propaganda posters... the designs are often brilliant. russia's got a lot of them and this one was all over the place in moscow.

the verse on the poster, which was created by nina vatolina, reads:

keep your eyes open.
these days
even the walls have ears.
chatter and gossip
go hand in hand with
treason.

'nuff said.

Арба́т

the arbat is a short pedestrian street in the historical centre of moscow. it has existed since around the 15th century, making it possibly one of the oldest surviving streets in the city.

in the 18th century, the arbat came to be regarded by the russian nobility as the most prestigious living area in Moscow. the street was almost completely destroyed by the great fire during napoleon's occupation of woscow in 1812 and had to be rebuilt. in the 19th and early 20th centuries it became known as the a place where petty nobility, artists, and academics lived. In the Soviet period, it was the home of many high-ranking government officials. -source

zhenya took me up the arbat, where we saw this guy, and lots of touristy stores selling fabergé eggs.

tsaritsino park part ii.

this reminded me a bit of dublin.

russia's answer to manhattan... from the backseat of a little russian car.

christopher peter the great

i don't have a closer photo of the statue of peter the great that graces downtown moscow... but maybe that's for the better, as it was voted the tenth ugliest building in the world by virtual tourist in 2008. urban legend has it that the statue, made by georgian designer zurab tsereteli, was originally of christopher columbus, but after being rejected by the americans, its head was replaced, and it was sold to russia as a nautical statue of peter the great. i liked the yuri gagarin statue much, much better.

there was a very extensive honey intro at izmaylovo market... it was pretty, but i didn't try any.

the original black girl in russia.

as you may have noticed, one of the labels i have been using on my posts about my trip is 'black girl in russia.' out of curiousity, i googled this phrase and ended up finding this very fantasic blog actually called 'Black Girl in Russia,' blogged by the very entertaining J.B. Ross. i haven't gotten too far into her posts yet, but she has some interesting entries on race in russia among many, many other things. she also blogs on the beauty of nappiness, which always wins in my book... so check her out!

and on a side note, i actually e-mailed her last week and got a very sweet e-mail in return... just sayin'.

Мавзоле́й Ле́нина

lawn care for lenin's tomb. i never actually got to get inside to see his embalmed body, as the mausoleum is only open a couple of hours each day.

fun facts: since 1991 there has been talk of burying lenin's body; boris yeltsin intended to close the tomb and bury him next to his mother, but vladimir putin was having none of it.

earlier this year, the united russia party created a website to vote on the question of whether or not lenin's body should be buried...

i vote not until after my next visit... i'd kinda like to see it.

Могила Неизвестного Солдата

tomb of the unknown soldier.

old wall remains outside the newer wall.

i loved this spot, i loved this day, and i love this photo.

this lady had the best gold fronts i have ever seen... but in every single picture we took together, she would not open her mouth. so, know that behind those pursed lips is the baddest set of gold...

fancy some target practice?