sara + ronak = best day ever.

finally! the wedding! so much love and so much fun.

a year and a day.

in the window before the party started... photo by paul beresniewicz
those of you who know me know that i am a great, big, beastie boys fan. i know every word to every song on every album... when i was little my mom confiscated paul's boutique from my collection due to the profanity (i was like 6 or 7 when it came out, so perhaps she had cause)... when i graduated from elementary school, fight for you right was on repeat at the party afterwards (?!)... when hello nasty came out, i made my baby sister learn all the lyrics to intergalactic, because i thought it was funny when she sang it... in high school, i was excited, as a student for a free tibet, that MCA was for a free tibet too... when no one would come with me to the madison square garden show, (the one awesome; i fuckin' shot that was shot at), i went by myself, and shouted out every lyric in an otherwise (surprisingly) subdued section... when awesome i fuckin' shot that came out, i somehow got tickets to the screening, sang along to every song again, and got to meet them after the show. it was MCA who was most tolerant of my fawning (i swear i am not like that with celebrities, but it was THE BEASTIE BOYS), and allowed me to take a picture with him, after i professed my love. (no joke, sophia can confirm this, as she was the photographer). i have long since lost that picture (stolen laptop), but i remember it clearly... i am smiling out of my mind and he is almost completely deadpan. that was one of the best nights of my life and the first of a couple beastie encounters... i was so very lucky to witness firsthand what a beautiful, humble, awesome soul adam yauch was.

when the news popped up on my feed that he had died on friday i was stunned. someone likened it to my parent's generation losing a beatle.

friday night we gathered at 99 rivington... (paul's boutique, which is now a werewolf themed wrap restaurant... with surprisingly awesome wraps)... and we just poured it out for MCA. it was amazing to see how positively he touched so, so many people... through music... through film... through activism... it's like his energy was radiating through the city that night... so much light.

thank you adam yauch... you will be missed.

my first (solo) art battle.

put on by jwt and a.i. friedman. thank you paul for recommending me... and thank you to everyone who supported and everyone who came out... the love was awesomely overwhelming.xoxo
(some photos taken by manuela egidy)

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.

travel karma.

i have good travel karma. everywhere i go i luck into beautiful things and beautiful people... and this trip was no exception.

the first day i was there, i decided to take the metro to red square. the lady at the ticket window didn't speak english, and even when i held up ten fingers to show her i wanted ten rides, she didn't seem to understand. she slipped me a scrap of paper to write my request, on which i wrote 'десять' ... ten. she understood, gave me a ten ride card and i was off. i was proud of myself for clearing the first hurdle, but a little nervous about how it would be traveling around the city with minimal russian language ability.

so, i got on the train... everyone stared! i will say here, that during my entire trip, i did not see another black woman. i saw several black men, most of whom were students from nigeria... but no black women. none. so everywhere i went, everyone stared. the older generation glared, but many just looked on curiously. when it was particularly mean spirited, i got a little uncomfortable, but i tried to ignore it, or fight it with friendliness. there was a woman one day, who stared at me like i was responsible for every last one of her problems, for the duration of my 30 minute ride... when someone would stand in front of me, she would crane her neck so she could continue glaring. i had a school group of girls giggle after me through tsaritsyno park; i'm pretty sure they were laughing at my hair. a family in a mall parking lot rolled down their car windows to get a better look. they were actually pointing... i couldn't help myself and waved. they sheepishly waved back.

anyway, i could go on, but i won't. so... i was on the train, everyone was staring, particularly this one guy facing me by the door. i tried to ignore him, but when my stop came, i looked at him and he smiled, so i smiled back. i was off the train, toward the escalators when i felt a tap on my shoulder. i turned around and it was him! he started speaking excitedly in rapid fire russian, to which i responded in english. luckily, he spoke some english... long story short, he ended up being my guide that day, and every day after. Евгений... or zhenya. he took me to all over the city, explaining the stories and history around everything we saw. he introduced me to his friends and they took me out nights to see the city... which was nice, because i was worried i wouldn't be able to see night moscow, as it is dangerous to travel alone at night as a woman. he taught me useful russian words and phrases, and about russian culture... his english improved a lot over the course of a few days, but sometimes we were forced to converse on iphone google translate.

i asked another tourist to take our picture... we were standing side by side, and all of the sudden zhenya picked me up for the photo. turns out he does mixed martial arts and my considerable weight was not a challenge.

paying respect to viktor tsoi

night russia


eugene's friends, konstantine and lena. when i first met lena, she actually went 'pffft' and turned her back, refusing to speak to me. (i did not find the russian girls to be overly friendly) but i was so nice to her all night that by the end of it, she was smiling and speaking english with me!


one may think i am crazy for trusting a stranger on the metro in russia, and maybe i am, but his energy was so light and awesome... it felt like he was put in my path for a reason and that we were meant to be friends. (remember the woman i met on the plane to berlin?)

and speaking of planes, from nyc to paris, my seat mate (see below) ended up being a charming italian actor named lele gabellone... from lecce, italy. we laughed all the way to paris, and the flight flew by! again, good travel karma.


and i met friends of my nyc friends who live in moscow... all of whom were beautiful and gracious... i had more people than i had time to hang out with, and i was so thankful. they helped me feel more comfortable among the stares, and it helped to always have someone with me who spoke russian. i think i had a more positive, and definitely more authentic experience than i would have otherwise.

this is stephen, a friend of a couple friends of mine, traveling through afternoon traffic in konstantine's little, old russian car. stephen is from ireland and has lived in moscow for 4 years. he was able to offer me some interesting insight into the city. other quick note here, we went to the moscow musuem of modern art... they informed us AFTER we paid admission and were about to enter the exhibition space, that the entire permanent collection was closed, and all we were allowed to look at was a less than mediocre collection on loan from venice. no apologies... no warning when we paid... stephen said that is just how they roll over there.


so thank you to all the amazing new friends i met in moscow... i can't wait to see you all again.

lovely.

thank you miss mills for the most... lovely... evening. xoxo

ps. i want an apartment like this.

here's why i like getting older: i am always pleasantly surprised every day by the new stuff that comes my way. new music... new people... new design... new experiences... my interests grow daily and each is more awesome than the last (or at least as awesome). i can't wait to see what i will discover tomorrow. thank you to everyone who inspires me. i love you all!

a day at the beach.