Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Circus and Sickness

Hey everybody! Sorry this post is a bit late, but my internet wasn't exactly being cooperative last night. But now it's all good. Last week was a bit odd since I was out because I got sick with the flu(I know x_x).

We had our first official holiday off from school this past week. It was on Wednesday to celebrate Day of People's Unity(Dyen Narodnovo Edinstva). Nina and I went for a walk that day through Manezhnaya Ploshad and the surrounding area. At one point we found a huge line for something, we were curious so of course we asked one of the people waiting in line. It turned out to be something for the orthodox church. It amazed me how devoted people are. They will use one of their days off(I don't think it's many) and they will wait in a huge line in the cold to see some icons. So we continued on our stroll and guess what we found?! Stalin and Alexander I haha I of course could not miss the chance to take my picture with them simply for the ridiculousness of it. I'm definitely uploading that one to my flickr account. And later that night the group went to the circus!

So, the circus is something quite different than what we usually do here. We usually go to like ballets and plays. I think I've only been to the circus like one other time in my life haha But anyways, I had mixed feelings...It was a nice show and some of the tricks the acrobats and the people on the horses did were quite amazing. It just felt awkward at times because it felt like I was at happy hour at the playboy mansion rather then at an event for children. Women usually wore quite revealing outfits/costumes and did some dances. Also it just seemed a lot of the times the women in the shows had animal costumes while the men were running things. I wasn't really crazy about all of that. So yea, but I'm really glad I went and I'm excited for the events that we have planned for this month (especially Pskov).

Things at home are going well, except that homegurl Eleonora recently got really sick but I'm pretty sure I gave it to her when she was helping me out(oops...). I went to the doctor on Friday which went alright. His English was a little broken but he was quite helpful and I'm mostly better now, all I got is a cough. On another note, I can't believe the semester is almost over! I think we have about a month left. Overall I have enjoyed my stay in Moscow so far and I'm sure there's way more to experience and I definitely have time :)

Monday, November 2, 2009

Calling Out All My Single Ladies!

Hello Hello! I just got back from the Beyonce concert! I was so excited to go and it was a really great time. I went with one of my favorite single ladies here in Moscow, Kim. I'll discuss some thoughts that came up during the concert later in this post. But first I'll recap my life, as usual.

Unfortunately, the whole week was a bit uneventful. It's just one of those weeks you know? Plus, although it is not a secret to anybody here. I have been feeling pretty down lately. I think I have finally hit that depression stage in the study abroad year. Hopefully I will get back to feeling my normal self soon. Classes are going well, although I am starting to feel a bit tired of the routine. There was one little change in the routine last week though. Pat and I went to an art history class with other Russian students. It was a bit interesting to see real Russian students in a classroom setting. But I don't think Pat or I are going back anytime soon, it just wasn't our cup of tea. On the home front, homegurl Eleonora has been pretty great so far. We had a lovely conversation today about the pyramids and reincarnation haha She totally believes in it which I am all for. One of these days I am going to ask her what she was in a previous life.

My weekend was actually relaxing for a change. On Friday we went out to this place called Billingua. We were there before, but only as a cafe during the day. At night it turns into a pretty chill club. The music was pretty fun, it was all like 70s music and in English of course. We all had a really good time until the end. Some asshole decided to come up to our group and talk shit about me because I'm Mexican. But thankfully Nina was there to stand up for me(Gracias mi muñeca Griega). Halloween was a bit weird. Like back in the states I would of definitely been in a more celebratory mood. Here in Russia, Halloween isn't really celebrated all that much, I mean you see like a couple costumes and like you see clubs having some special DJ or w/e but it's not like the big event back home. So it's weird, I don't feel like I missed anything by just staying home on Saturday. Sunday I went shopping with Kim, I thought maybe the rush of consumerism would make me feel better. Don't get me wrong, it did, but it was only a quick fix.

So now the Beyonce concert. First, I got to say it was amazing. Beyonce is a great performer so it was quite a show. Now onto what I want to really talk about. One of the parts of the concert was her singing Etta James' "At Last" with a video backdrop of the civil rights movement and then some Obama clips. As soon as I saw it I thought about how weird it was. Here I am in Moscow, and at a concert there are clips of like a moment in American history. It also got me thinking about how Americanized other parts of the world have become or are becoming. Now I know it's Beyonce and she's an American celebrity, but still. It just makes me wonder sometimes...