Credit to our Holy Cross co-chairs of the class of 2oo7.
Twas the middle of Finals Week, when all through the Class,
Not a student was stirring, not even at the 10 PM Mass.
The purple stockings were hung along Easy Street with care,
In the hopes that vacation would soon be there.
The studious were gathered all studying in their beds,
While visions of straight-A's danced in their heads.
And Midnight Breakfast was hopping, the crowd two hundred strong,
While I knew that my paper would be due in not too long.
When out on the Quad there arose a loud clatter,
I jumped from the keyboard to see what was the matter.
Away to the Carlin bridge I flew like a bat,
Buttoned by jacket and put on my hat.
I tried not to slip on the freshly fallen snow,
Yet my mind was drawn to something. What? I did not know.
When I looked before me, I was immediately wowed.
I saw a glistening tree, and a merry HC crowd.
The group was huddled around the O'Kane clock tower.
I looked around; not one face was dour.
Hot chocolate was flowing; Holiday cookies one could not miss.
Wait a minute...Is that Kimball's very own "Sis?"
The Marching Band was playing; voices were singing.
I couldn't believe it; my ears were ringing.
While a little bit bare, the tree was still cheery,
Suddenly I didn't feel at all weary.
Professors and Chaplains all joined in on the fun.
The Deans were present too, as was Fr. McFarland.
Coaches and Trainers, TAs and Staff,
Everyone started to smile and laugh.
In the middle of Finals and instant sleep loss,
The season's true meaning had come to Holy Cross.
Despite all the stress and the angst and the fear,
It was nice to know that Christmas was here.
Though we may be removed from snowy Mt. St. James,
Please know that HC's traditions remain just the same.
If you ever get sad or feel kind of blue,
Remember: The Class of '07 will always be a part of Holy Cross, too.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Me thinks it's time for a blog...
Hello, everyone! I trust everyone is well-fed and content after Thanksgiving. Still enjoy leftovers, I hope? While I did not get a chance to partake of some mashies and stuffing, I shall more than make up for that at Christmas time. Most of you by now know that I am flying home for a few weeks. I will be home Dec. 20-Jan 7. Just a couple of weeks, but enough time to enjoy the Christmas and New Year's holidays, and actually go to church on Christmas Eve, hooray!
It's been an uneventful week, so to make up for it, here are some of Sergei's most recent gems. Most of these are directed at the sopranos, but other voice parts get their share as well. At any rate, it's Sergei, and those who know him will immediately understand where I"m coming from. :)
1. "Tell the story." A classic in its own right.
2. "Tenors, try not to sing like a xylophone."
3. "You sing so quiet. You're so fragile, somebody touches you, you fall over." (Sergei speaking to the second sopranos)
4. "Don't do it."
5. "Don't shoot men!" (Sergei telling the sopranos and altos not to stress the "men" of Amen in the Cum Sancto Spiritu movement from the Rossini).
6. "Illness...lose time." (Sergei lamenting the fact that the sopranos constantly enter later than they should have)
7. "Sing piano, but text fortissimo." (You work this one out for yourselves. :))
8. "It's not important." (The words for the tango)
9. "Spend your energy for accent, not for mmm!"
10. "Better if you will not breathe together."
11. "Don't cry."
12. "Don't breathe, it's the law." (In reference to breathing before Virgine in the first few measures of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus)
13."Sopranos, you have no emotion. You sing la la la, and then, oh, I'm supposed to sing, and it's too late..."
14. "Sopranos, don't make this balloon."
15. "Altos, do you want to sing?" (This isn't a Sergeism, this is my afterthought after the altos didn't come in to sing their Amen at the start of the fugue)
16. "Sopranos, you have panic in your eyes."
17. "Everything is perfect, but you make one big mistake."
18. "It must grow up."
19. "Sopranos, your piano works well here." (This was said during a song in which they were supposed to sing forte.)
20. "You're like an electric piano." (directed at tenors during "Il est ne le divin enfant"
21. "Is it possible to sing legato or will it not French?"
22."You're completely like mice!"
That is just a sampling of what MIC rehearsals are like. Today was more productive than usual because we actually sang probably the most difficult movement from the Petite Messe Solenelle, the Cum Sancto Spiritu, which contains a crazy fugue, which I had until today not sung with the choir, so it was very helpful to run through the movement a couple of times. Moscow friends, get ready, our concerts are fast approaching. Dec 10 and 14 at St. Andrew's, 19.30 start time, 450 rubles at the door. Hope to see you there! Also, St. Andrew's is having its lessons and carols service Dec. 12 (Sunday) at 18.30, with a reception at the Marriott to follow! Bring your friends, be amazed by the glorious harmonies of Rossini and the classic Christmas you all know and love.
Talk soon, and I hope to see you at the concert! :D
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
It's been an uneventful week, so to make up for it, here are some of Sergei's most recent gems. Most of these are directed at the sopranos, but other voice parts get their share as well. At any rate, it's Sergei, and those who know him will immediately understand where I"m coming from. :)
1. "Tell the story." A classic in its own right.
2. "Tenors, try not to sing like a xylophone."
3. "You sing so quiet. You're so fragile, somebody touches you, you fall over." (Sergei speaking to the second sopranos)
4. "Don't do it."
5. "Don't shoot men!" (Sergei telling the sopranos and altos not to stress the "men" of Amen in the Cum Sancto Spiritu movement from the Rossini).
6. "Illness...lose time." (Sergei lamenting the fact that the sopranos constantly enter later than they should have)
7. "Sing piano, but text fortissimo." (You work this one out for yourselves. :))
8. "It's not important." (The words for the tango)
9. "Spend your energy for accent, not for mmm!"
10. "Better if you will not breathe together."
11. "Don't cry."
12. "Don't breathe, it's the law." (In reference to breathing before Virgine in the first few measures of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus)
13."Sopranos, you have no emotion. You sing la la la, and then, oh, I'm supposed to sing, and it's too late..."
14. "Sopranos, don't make this balloon."
15. "Altos, do you want to sing?" (This isn't a Sergeism, this is my afterthought after the altos didn't come in to sing their Amen at the start of the fugue)
16. "Sopranos, you have panic in your eyes."
17. "Everything is perfect, but you make one big mistake."
18. "It must grow up."
19. "Sopranos, your piano works well here." (This was said during a song in which they were supposed to sing forte.)
20. "You're like an electric piano." (directed at tenors during "Il est ne le divin enfant"
21. "Is it possible to sing legato or will it not French?"
22."You're completely like mice!"
That is just a sampling of what MIC rehearsals are like. Today was more productive than usual because we actually sang probably the most difficult movement from the Petite Messe Solenelle, the Cum Sancto Spiritu, which contains a crazy fugue, which I had until today not sung with the choir, so it was very helpful to run through the movement a couple of times. Moscow friends, get ready, our concerts are fast approaching. Dec 10 and 14 at St. Andrew's, 19.30 start time, 450 rubles at the door. Hope to see you there! Also, St. Andrew's is having its lessons and carols service Dec. 12 (Sunday) at 18.30, with a reception at the Marriott to follow! Bring your friends, be amazed by the glorious harmonies of Rossini and the classic Christmas you all know and love.
Talk soon, and I hope to see you at the concert! :D
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Why I love Russian
Hello out there in Winthrop-land, in Cape Cod-land, in Rhode "I"-Land (sorry for the cheap pun), in Russia-land, in England-land, and elsewhere! How are you this fine Saturday? I have to say I am soooooo grateful for this four day weekend! As some of you know, Thursday was the day of unity in Russia, so we got a day off, and we got yesterday off as well, resulting in a fantastic four day weekend. Unfortunately, we have to work next Saturday to make it up, and because we'll be on a Friday schedule for that day, I'll be teaching from 3:30-9:35 in the evening. Boo. Oh well, Christmas is coming, and with Christmas...our choir concerts! :D
Before I expand upon why Sergei was in his element today, I want to share an example of why I love the Russian language. Some of you think may think me crazy for devoting my free time to reading books about punctuation, syntax and linguistics in Russian. Well, you would be right. But occasionally textbooks provide some really hilarious sentences. For example, to demonstrate the importance of logic in speech, and how an illogical sentence (or text) can have unintended humorous results, I will write an sentence in Russian from a textbook by professor И.В. Голуб.
Обешаю не жить. (There was a sentence preceding this, but I don't remember it, and besides, it lacks the ridiculousness of the sentiment implied here. I promise not to live. What the hell? Oh Russian. I really should write these down, just as I write down Sergei quotes, Sara Greene quotes from the infamous trip to NYC, Philly and D.C, and Maureen quotes, which will stand the test of time and live on for all eternity.
But now we move on to the choir. Sergei, as you know, is conductor of the Moscow International Choir. His directions are, well, unique, to say the least. He tells us to "be beautiful", to "not squeeze the juice", and to "not sing like mice". Today, however, was epic. In one song, he implored the sopranos not to yell, but instead of yelling, he said "Don't cry." I nearly cried from laughter. In "Carol of the Bells", Sergei implored the sopranos (he often gives these hilarious directions to the sopranos, LOL), to sing piano, but text fortissimo. :) At the end of rehearsal, he told us that we had panic in our eyes. One of my favorite moments, was when Sergei told us to sing either piano and then forte, or громко, а потом очень громко (this was during Joy to the World), and then after we sang "Небо и земля", во время которой Сергей сказал, что у сопрано хорошо получается пиано. ("Heaven and earth", during which Sergei said that the sopranos sang piano amazingly, even though they should have sang loud). :D Gotta love our Sergei. :)
I love this time of year. I won't love having to work an absurd amount of hours next week, but I love singing Christmas carols. We're even singing my favorite, O Holy Night, hooray! And I even got the French pronunciation down for "Il est ne le divin enfant", yay! One more French song to go...and I'm still confused has to how a tango (yes, Chris and Ester, we're doing the Tango..pa rum pum param piram) relates to the Christmas season, but Sergei has spoken. And so has my quill. ;) Have a lovely day, my friends! Further updates to come! For now, this is Comrade Jon, signing out! Peace and love to all!
Before I expand upon why Sergei was in his element today, I want to share an example of why I love the Russian language. Some of you think may think me crazy for devoting my free time to reading books about punctuation, syntax and linguistics in Russian. Well, you would be right. But occasionally textbooks provide some really hilarious sentences. For example, to demonstrate the importance of logic in speech, and how an illogical sentence (or text) can have unintended humorous results, I will write an sentence in Russian from a textbook by professor И.В. Голуб.
Обешаю не жить. (There was a sentence preceding this, but I don't remember it, and besides, it lacks the ridiculousness of the sentiment implied here. I promise not to live. What the hell? Oh Russian. I really should write these down, just as I write down Sergei quotes, Sara Greene quotes from the infamous trip to NYC, Philly and D.C, and Maureen quotes, which will stand the test of time and live on for all eternity.
But now we move on to the choir. Sergei, as you know, is conductor of the Moscow International Choir. His directions are, well, unique, to say the least. He tells us to "be beautiful", to "not squeeze the juice", and to "not sing like mice". Today, however, was epic. In one song, he implored the sopranos not to yell, but instead of yelling, he said "Don't cry." I nearly cried from laughter. In "Carol of the Bells", Sergei implored the sopranos (he often gives these hilarious directions to the sopranos, LOL), to sing piano, but text fortissimo. :) At the end of rehearsal, he told us that we had panic in our eyes. One of my favorite moments, was when Sergei told us to sing either piano and then forte, or громко, а потом очень громко (this was during Joy to the World), and then after we sang "Небо и земля", во время которой Сергей сказал, что у сопрано хорошо получается пиано. ("Heaven and earth", during which Sergei said that the sopranos sang piano amazingly, even though they should have sang loud). :D Gotta love our Sergei. :)
I love this time of year. I won't love having to work an absurd amount of hours next week, but I love singing Christmas carols. We're even singing my favorite, O Holy Night, hooray! And I even got the French pronunciation down for "Il est ne le divin enfant", yay! One more French song to go...and I'm still confused has to how a tango (yes, Chris and Ester, we're doing the Tango..pa rum pum param piram) relates to the Christmas season, but Sergei has spoken. And so has my quill. ;) Have a lovely day, my friends! Further updates to come! For now, this is Comrade Jon, signing out! Peace and love to all!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Moscow: The Final Frontier
So I can't honestly say this will be my last time in Russia. Nor can I say that I have any intention of moving here permanently, which I do not. For the moment I'm going to enjoy the ride. My flights out to London and Moscow were very smooth, I do love and will continue to support British Airways (they've always been very decent to me). I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the relative efficiency of passport control. I only had to wait about 15 minutes (SAY WHAT?!, you may think-I know, right?!). Of course, I knew afterwards that I had arrived in Russia when it took me about 4 hours to get to my new flat, having sat in traffic for pretty much the entire duration of my journey. That was the second worst traffic jam I've ever sat it, the first of course being the time it took us five hours to get to the Cape from Winthrop (we were in a blizzard at the time, but C'MON MAN!)
Anyways, after a weekend in which I got on one day two hours of sleep, the next day 11, the first week teaching went by pretty well. It was definitely an adjustment on many levels, but I think I did all right my first week. I have two groups on my own, two intermediate groups (one teenagers, one adults), plus a bunch of groups which I share with other Russian speakers. Lesson planning has never been an issue for me; I always allot a ton of time to planning my lesson; the more I plan, the better the lesson will be. I do have a few chatty children, but no real discipline issues...yet. I have survived my first week.
On the social front, I'm back singing in choir. We're singing Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle and Christmas Carols today. I listened it the mass a couple of times and it is FANTASTIC. There are a lot of fugal passages and beautiful harmonies, I look forward to singing the entire Mass (we rehearsed the Credo today). No major Sergeisms yet to report, other than him telling the tenors that we sound like an electric piano...should be another wonderful season. I'm also excited to be singing a solo at church during the Carols service on Dec. 14 (Sunday evening, 18:30 at St. Andrew's)...will send out dates and times for the International Choir concerts when I know then. In the meantime, stay tuned for further updates and incredible Russian adventures.
Funny ESL moment of the week: on Wednesday night, a lesson on irregular verbs/past participles turned into a story about Superman, Captain America and a pirate named Roger. I now no longer have any reason to hate participles in English.
Talk soon, stay warm (we've already seen our first snowfall of the season a couple of days ago!!!), and if you run into Roger the pirate, tell him Ilya says privyet. Peace out my friends!
Love and blessings to all,
Comrade Jon
Anyways, after a weekend in which I got on one day two hours of sleep, the next day 11, the first week teaching went by pretty well. It was definitely an adjustment on many levels, but I think I did all right my first week. I have two groups on my own, two intermediate groups (one teenagers, one adults), plus a bunch of groups which I share with other Russian speakers. Lesson planning has never been an issue for me; I always allot a ton of time to planning my lesson; the more I plan, the better the lesson will be. I do have a few chatty children, but no real discipline issues...yet. I have survived my first week.
On the social front, I'm back singing in choir. We're singing Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle and Christmas Carols today. I listened it the mass a couple of times and it is FANTASTIC. There are a lot of fugal passages and beautiful harmonies, I look forward to singing the entire Mass (we rehearsed the Credo today). No major Sergeisms yet to report, other than him telling the tenors that we sound like an electric piano...should be another wonderful season. I'm also excited to be singing a solo at church during the Carols service on Dec. 14 (Sunday evening, 18:30 at St. Andrew's)...will send out dates and times for the International Choir concerts when I know then. In the meantime, stay tuned for further updates and incredible Russian adventures.
Funny ESL moment of the week: on Wednesday night, a lesson on irregular verbs/past participles turned into a story about Superman, Captain America and a pirate named Roger. I now no longer have any reason to hate participles in English.
Talk soon, stay warm (we've already seen our first snowfall of the season a couple of days ago!!!), and if you run into Roger the pirate, tell him Ilya says privyet. Peace out my friends!
Love and blessings to all,
Comrade Jon
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Do you want to go to Borneo? No.
Do you know the old saying? Do you want to go to Borneo? No.
Context: Dad comparing the British penal system with Borneo at dinner at Jeveli's. Much hilarity ensued.
So yes, it's my last night in the U.S. Tomorrow I set off for Russia, where I shall be teaching ESL at the same place I was at before, Dolgoprudny. This time I shall hope to have Saturdays off so I can sing with the Moscow International Choir (too much to hope for having Tuesday evenings off, so I'll settle for Saturday mornings of telling the story and trying to not let my face have any problems while being beautiful. While I am not nearly as sad I was in 2006 when we celebrated my birthday three months early (just mom, dad, grandma, and me). I watched Finding Nemo that afternoon with mom and just started bawling, this time feels like routine. I've already spent nearly two and a half years on and off in Russia (St. Petersburg for a year and Moscow for a year and a half) and apart from a few annoying incidents, I've had lots of love and random laughs, and I"m sure I'll be having lots more. Looking forward to seeing all my crazy friends from LL and choir. Looking forward t0 walking along the Moscow River, traveling up to Dmitrov and bowling with the crew.
Today was spent doing every possible errand: dentist appointment at 8:00 am, haircut at 9:00, marathon at 10:00...LOL. Well, maybe not a marathon, but I did do lots of last minute errands. About to print off my boarding passes before I go to sleep, then pretty much just chillaxing tomorrow morning and afternoon. Mom and I usually watch a movie before I embark on such a journey, so we'll see. Maybe Nemo again? Maybe Up? Maybe a Choir marathon? :))) I love my wonderful family for all their support. I love all of you, my dear friends, for all your support. I will definitely stay in touch and I trust you will as well, whenever you can.
Will send a follow-up date with more details about living arrangements, my teaching schedule and plans for the year. For now, this is Comrade Jon signing off and wishing you a very happy Wednesday! Peace and love, Comrade Jon
Context: Dad comparing the British penal system with Borneo at dinner at Jeveli's. Much hilarity ensued.
So yes, it's my last night in the U.S. Tomorrow I set off for Russia, where I shall be teaching ESL at the same place I was at before, Dolgoprudny. This time I shall hope to have Saturdays off so I can sing with the Moscow International Choir (too much to hope for having Tuesday evenings off, so I'll settle for Saturday mornings of telling the story and trying to not let my face have any problems while being beautiful. While I am not nearly as sad I was in 2006 when we celebrated my birthday three months early (just mom, dad, grandma, and me). I watched Finding Nemo that afternoon with mom and just started bawling, this time feels like routine. I've already spent nearly two and a half years on and off in Russia (St. Petersburg for a year and Moscow for a year and a half) and apart from a few annoying incidents, I've had lots of love and random laughs, and I"m sure I'll be having lots more. Looking forward to seeing all my crazy friends from LL and choir. Looking forward t0 walking along the Moscow River, traveling up to Dmitrov and bowling with the crew.
Today was spent doing every possible errand: dentist appointment at 8:00 am, haircut at 9:00, marathon at 10:00...LOL. Well, maybe not a marathon, but I did do lots of last minute errands. About to print off my boarding passes before I go to sleep, then pretty much just chillaxing tomorrow morning and afternoon. Mom and I usually watch a movie before I embark on such a journey, so we'll see. Maybe Nemo again? Maybe Up? Maybe a Choir marathon? :))) I love my wonderful family for all their support. I love all of you, my dear friends, for all your support. I will definitely stay in touch and I trust you will as well, whenever you can.
Will send a follow-up date with more details about living arrangements, my teaching schedule and plans for the year. For now, this is Comrade Jon signing off and wishing you a very happy Wednesday! Peace and love, Comrade Jon
Monday, September 20, 2010
I love me some borshch
Hey guys, as promised I'm updating you on the next chapter in my crazy, beautiful life! As most of you know, I'm going back to Russia to teach English as a second language. As of today I have signed the contract, got all the necessary documents together and sent off the visa application! HOORAY!!! Filling out a visa application is about as fun as listening to Randy Moss whine about not being appreciated...and then not getting it done on the field. Good job, Randy, really living up to your last name, huh?
My rant about Moss aside, all is well. Very very much looking forward to lunch with a good friend tomorrow afternoon, the season premiere of Glee tomorrow night (woot woot!) I'm also going to Homecomung, so to any Crusaders who will be in Worcester on Oct. 2, let me know if you want to grab drinks or dinner after the game!
This may sound crazy, but I"m very excited to go back to Russia for the fourth time now. When you get beyond the bureaucracy, the inanity of visa procedures and the ridiculousness of passport control, it will truly be a blessing to see all my friends again, to sing Rossini (hopefully) and tell the story again.
I've bought my plane ticket today, I leave October 6 and arrive Oct. 7 sometime in the evening. I await a reunion with the guys, bowling it up and painting the town (I wholly refute SMASHING it up, Mr. Wood :p). Gonna be a fantastic year, I can tell. Who knows where 2011 may take me? It may take me back to Moscow, or perhaps to Toronto? We shall see.
As it is, I still have two weeks, during which I will be packing and just hanging out with friends and family. Give me a call or text if you want to hang out while I"m still in Boston or facebook me! To everyone else, скоро увидимся! Готовьтесь! :)
My rant about Moss aside, all is well. Very very much looking forward to lunch with a good friend tomorrow afternoon, the season premiere of Glee tomorrow night (woot woot!) I'm also going to Homecomung, so to any Crusaders who will be in Worcester on Oct. 2, let me know if you want to grab drinks or dinner after the game!
This may sound crazy, but I"m very excited to go back to Russia for the fourth time now. When you get beyond the bureaucracy, the inanity of visa procedures and the ridiculousness of passport control, it will truly be a blessing to see all my friends again, to sing Rossini (hopefully) and tell the story again.
I've bought my plane ticket today, I leave October 6 and arrive Oct. 7 sometime in the evening. I await a reunion with the guys, bowling it up and painting the town (I wholly refute SMASHING it up, Mr. Wood :p). Gonna be a fantastic year, I can tell. Who knows where 2011 may take me? It may take me back to Moscow, or perhaps to Toronto? We shall see.
As it is, I still have two weeks, during which I will be packing and just hanging out with friends and family. Give me a call or text if you want to hang out while I"m still in Boston or facebook me! To everyone else, скоро увидимся! Готовьтесь! :)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9/11: Prayers and Reflections
Hey guys! Yes, it's been a while since my last blog, but I have good news: for those who don't already know, I'm going to be returning to Russia to teach ESL. I'm actually leaving in a few weeks time (date still TBA, right now looking at early October) so I've still got lots to do. I promise to keep you updated on preparations and my year as an ESL teacher/eager bowler and choir member. Time to tell the story again! ;)
Today, however, I wanted to say a few words about what 9/11 means to me, especially in light of the recent controversy caused by Rev. Terry Jones' decision to burn the Quran, causing international outcry and protests. First of all, I have to say how relieved I am that he backed down, whatever his motivations may have been. It's unfortunate how public opinion can be shaped by the words of a few hatemongers. It's really unfortunate how quickly the seeds of hate can be sown and spread like wildfire. It's really, really unfortunate that ignorance and fear seem to be so prevalent in today's discourse.
I, and I'm sure many of you remember where you were when the planes hit the towers. I remember sitting in AP U.S. History, watching video and Odi trying to continue with the lesson, but there was no way we were going to concentrate. I remember Matt planning to walk out if classes weren't dismissed, which, thankfully, they were (sometime during 3rd period). That week I stayed with some family friends as my parents were in Bermuda celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. It was nice to be surrounded by friends who have over the years become family to me, but I really needed to be with mom and dad. I may not have personally known anyone who lost their lives on that day, but I remember being both tremendously sad and extremely proud of our country and of our potential.
Now, whatever faults we might have, wherever you may stand on such controversial issues as the mosque at ground zero controversy, gay marriage or the political spectrum, I am, always have been and always will be proud to be an American. I will defend my country to my dying breath. I will fight for social justice, equality, civil rights and, especially now, tolerance, compassion, love. We need not label Muslims as terrorists, because they're not, and every reasonably well-educated person knows that. We need not deny gays the right to marriage (or openly declare themselves in the military) because they're just as capable as loving another person and defending our freedoms as much as every other American. (I do apologize for preaching from my soapbox, so to speak, just bear with me). We need not tolerate such discriminating and hateful comments on the Internet just because someone feels the need to share a joke in very poor taste which is, more often than not, entirely irrelevant to the conversation or at least does nothing to stimulate open and productive dialogue. What we do need is to take a step back, (re)examine our definition of what it means to be American, and seek a more rational, less impassioned to the point of irrationality dialogue. What we need is to light a candle and say a prayer that we never, EVER give into to some of the insanity that we have been hearing about all to often in the news. Whenever we see or hear about intolerance of other cultures or a racial slur, instead of laughing about it or stereotyping, we should strive to call it out and change how we respond to such comments. Silence is not an option. Silence is ignorance's greatest ally. We all know what can happen when hatred, knowing no boundaries whatsoever, can lead to: just remember the Holocaust, apartheid, the genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur, ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia.
On this day, when 9 years ago a great nation came together to grieve, to rebuild, we need to a) never EVER forget, b) remember that we, while fighting illegal immigration, are and always have been a nation of immigrants. We also need to remember our own history of denying the Native Americans their land and driving them out; of slavery, ended only by one of the bloodiest wars in our nation's history; of anti-immigration sentiment (not only against the Irish but against others as well); of the KKK and hateful Jim Crow Laws and the fight of African-Americans to receive the same education as whites and eat in the same restaurants and some of the ugly beatings and race riots; of the fact that women were allowed to vote only from 1920 onwards; that gay marriage is still seen in some places not as a civil-rights issue but as a crime against God. The gap between haves and have-nots are ever growing. The growth of the Internet also means the spread of neo-Nazi and other hate speech to everyone, especially those most vulnerable or affected by poverty, illiteracy, hunger, etc. We are by no means a perfect nation, we certainly have been rather imperialist and intolerant of other nations. I, being a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, am not going to deny the history of our past. That being said, I want to, as always, finish on a positive note. As I said above, on September 11, 2001, we came together, not as Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Mexicans, Italians or French-Canadians, but as AMERICANS, putting our lives on the line to save our colleagues, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives and often complete strangers. We are capable of uniting again in a common fight against inequality, illiteracy and ignorance. We, living in am imperfect democracy, can freely express our opinion, but by doing so, we have an obligation to respect the opinions of others, whether or not we agree with them. We have an obligation to not simply use the First Amendment to justify hate speech or incite riots and spread misinformation. We have an obligation to decency, to good manners. We have an obligation to share what we have (gifts, talents, education) with others. Lastly, we have an obligation to remember. If we do not remember, history, as they say, repeats itself. WE WILL NEVER, EVER FORGET. God bless America and God bless all of you as we all in our own way commemorate the day and define what it means to be American.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0hXP5Vr08
Remember. Spread love, not hate. Pray. Reflect. Unite. Tolerate. Show compassion. LOVE.
Today, however, I wanted to say a few words about what 9/11 means to me, especially in light of the recent controversy caused by Rev. Terry Jones' decision to burn the Quran, causing international outcry and protests. First of all, I have to say how relieved I am that he backed down, whatever his motivations may have been. It's unfortunate how public opinion can be shaped by the words of a few hatemongers. It's really unfortunate how quickly the seeds of hate can be sown and spread like wildfire. It's really, really unfortunate that ignorance and fear seem to be so prevalent in today's discourse.
I, and I'm sure many of you remember where you were when the planes hit the towers. I remember sitting in AP U.S. History, watching video and Odi trying to continue with the lesson, but there was no way we were going to concentrate. I remember Matt planning to walk out if classes weren't dismissed, which, thankfully, they were (sometime during 3rd period). That week I stayed with some family friends as my parents were in Bermuda celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. It was nice to be surrounded by friends who have over the years become family to me, but I really needed to be with mom and dad. I may not have personally known anyone who lost their lives on that day, but I remember being both tremendously sad and extremely proud of our country and of our potential.
Now, whatever faults we might have, wherever you may stand on such controversial issues as the mosque at ground zero controversy, gay marriage or the political spectrum, I am, always have been and always will be proud to be an American. I will defend my country to my dying breath. I will fight for social justice, equality, civil rights and, especially now, tolerance, compassion, love. We need not label Muslims as terrorists, because they're not, and every reasonably well-educated person knows that. We need not deny gays the right to marriage (or openly declare themselves in the military) because they're just as capable as loving another person and defending our freedoms as much as every other American. (I do apologize for preaching from my soapbox, so to speak, just bear with me). We need not tolerate such discriminating and hateful comments on the Internet just because someone feels the need to share a joke in very poor taste which is, more often than not, entirely irrelevant to the conversation or at least does nothing to stimulate open and productive dialogue. What we do need is to take a step back, (re)examine our definition of what it means to be American, and seek a more rational, less impassioned to the point of irrationality dialogue. What we need is to light a candle and say a prayer that we never, EVER give into to some of the insanity that we have been hearing about all to often in the news. Whenever we see or hear about intolerance of other cultures or a racial slur, instead of laughing about it or stereotyping, we should strive to call it out and change how we respond to such comments. Silence is not an option. Silence is ignorance's greatest ally. We all know what can happen when hatred, knowing no boundaries whatsoever, can lead to: just remember the Holocaust, apartheid, the genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur, ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia.
On this day, when 9 years ago a great nation came together to grieve, to rebuild, we need to a) never EVER forget, b) remember that we, while fighting illegal immigration, are and always have been a nation of immigrants. We also need to remember our own history of denying the Native Americans their land and driving them out; of slavery, ended only by one of the bloodiest wars in our nation's history; of anti-immigration sentiment (not only against the Irish but against others as well); of the KKK and hateful Jim Crow Laws and the fight of African-Americans to receive the same education as whites and eat in the same restaurants and some of the ugly beatings and race riots; of the fact that women were allowed to vote only from 1920 onwards; that gay marriage is still seen in some places not as a civil-rights issue but as a crime against God. The gap between haves and have-nots are ever growing. The growth of the Internet also means the spread of neo-Nazi and other hate speech to everyone, especially those most vulnerable or affected by poverty, illiteracy, hunger, etc. We are by no means a perfect nation, we certainly have been rather imperialist and intolerant of other nations. I, being a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, am not going to deny the history of our past. That being said, I want to, as always, finish on a positive note. As I said above, on September 11, 2001, we came together, not as Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Mexicans, Italians or French-Canadians, but as AMERICANS, putting our lives on the line to save our colleagues, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives and often complete strangers. We are capable of uniting again in a common fight against inequality, illiteracy and ignorance. We, living in am imperfect democracy, can freely express our opinion, but by doing so, we have an obligation to respect the opinions of others, whether or not we agree with them. We have an obligation to not simply use the First Amendment to justify hate speech or incite riots and spread misinformation. We have an obligation to decency, to good manners. We have an obligation to share what we have (gifts, talents, education) with others. Lastly, we have an obligation to remember. If we do not remember, history, as they say, repeats itself. WE WILL NEVER, EVER FORGET. God bless America and God bless all of you as we all in our own way commemorate the day and define what it means to be American.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0hXP5Vr08
Remember. Spread love, not hate. Pray. Reflect. Unite. Tolerate. Show compassion. LOVE.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy...
There's something about Middlebury. What a great opportunity: to speak Russian every day, to say you're going to go to the gym and then actually follow through, to play piano every day, what more could I want? What I want is back in Moscow. A good friend once said: "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." He was certainly right about that. There will always be a place for me back in that wonderful city that tries to intimidate innocent people who just want to take a MODERN icon home. There will always be a place for me to tell the story. There will always be a place for me to spend many a lovely afternoon, walking around Kolomenskoye, beating Mike at bowling...but I digress. I'm back in the States and have enjoyed a lovely week at home in Winthrop and Boston, seeing some friends and watching the Sox.
Tomorrow, after long last, I move back into Middlebury for a final summer of singing with Sasha, Seryozha and Lena, of revising teh beast which is my thesis, and making new friends through offering help with those pesky cases. It should be a glorious summer. I'm truly looking forward to what is to come. It will be a bit of a pain to move in, but by the time most of you read this, I will have moved into Middlebury and already having dinner with my classmates. Considering I just returned from Russia, it won't be too much of a transition into speaking Russian. Reading it for me is no problem. I have to make a conscious effort to work on my vocabulary, keep a journal of words and phrases that will come in handy. I'm planning to take Anna Karenina and Russia 9-21st cent: Search for Identity. If I can, I wouldn't mind auditing Stylistics. Yes, I know I already took that class in Moscow, but I wouldn't mind getting another perspective, studying all the different styles of modern Russian. Oh well, I can always read up on it, I did buy and bring home about 40 books covering different aspects of Russian stylistics, grammar, linguistics, etc. My name is Jon and I'm a future linguistic (re: hapless nerd).
I don't know what awaits me come fall, but I will keep an open mind, and keep smiling. I am going to be challenged, exhausted, overwhelmed, delighted, occasionally down, often up, happy, nostalgic, sad, never indifferent, attentive, active, relaxed, loving, caring, compassionate, sympathetic and emphatic, devoted. In the meantime, I welcome these next six weeks as an opportunity to study my ass off, to socialize, to network, to compose a new piece, to sing, to play piano, to be merry, to go to church, to pray, to reflect, to be me.
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin my final summer at Middlebury! This summer, just like this past week, will go by far too quickly for my liking. Before I know it, I'll be sitting in Mead Chapel awaiting my diploma. Soon you all can call me MASTER Jonathan. In the meantime, Jon will do. Only one person can call me Jonchik, and she's waiting for me in Moscow. ;) Жди меня, и я вернусь...
Thanks to Dad for loading the car, and to Mom for coming up to Middlebury with me. I love you guys! It really is beautiful up here in the Green Mountains, and as tired as I am (still suffering from jet lag, but I'm better today than I was on Monday, when I took a nap at 6:30 p.m and woke up Tuesday at 5:30 in the morning.)
"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good." (Michael Buble)
"DUCKS CAN'T FLY!" (The erudition of Bobby...tell that to Emilio Estevez)
On that inspired note, I think I'm gonna call it a night. Peace out, comrades! Enjoy your summer! God speed and God bless. Love you all.
Poka,
Comrade Jon
Tomorrow, after long last, I move back into Middlebury for a final summer of singing with Sasha, Seryozha and Lena, of revising teh beast which is my thesis, and making new friends through offering help with those pesky cases. It should be a glorious summer. I'm truly looking forward to what is to come. It will be a bit of a pain to move in, but by the time most of you read this, I will have moved into Middlebury and already having dinner with my classmates. Considering I just returned from Russia, it won't be too much of a transition into speaking Russian. Reading it for me is no problem. I have to make a conscious effort to work on my vocabulary, keep a journal of words and phrases that will come in handy. I'm planning to take Anna Karenina and Russia 9-21st cent: Search for Identity. If I can, I wouldn't mind auditing Stylistics. Yes, I know I already took that class in Moscow, but I wouldn't mind getting another perspective, studying all the different styles of modern Russian. Oh well, I can always read up on it, I did buy and bring home about 40 books covering different aspects of Russian stylistics, grammar, linguistics, etc. My name is Jon and I'm a future linguistic (re: hapless nerd).
I don't know what awaits me come fall, but I will keep an open mind, and keep smiling. I am going to be challenged, exhausted, overwhelmed, delighted, occasionally down, often up, happy, nostalgic, sad, never indifferent, attentive, active, relaxed, loving, caring, compassionate, sympathetic and emphatic, devoted. In the meantime, I welcome these next six weeks as an opportunity to study my ass off, to socialize, to network, to compose a new piece, to sing, to play piano, to be merry, to go to church, to pray, to reflect, to be me.
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin my final summer at Middlebury! This summer, just like this past week, will go by far too quickly for my liking. Before I know it, I'll be sitting in Mead Chapel awaiting my diploma. Soon you all can call me MASTER Jonathan. In the meantime, Jon will do. Only one person can call me Jonchik, and she's waiting for me in Moscow. ;) Жди меня, и я вернусь...
Thanks to Dad for loading the car, and to Mom for coming up to Middlebury with me. I love you guys! It really is beautiful up here in the Green Mountains, and as tired as I am (still suffering from jet lag, but I'm better today than I was on Monday, when I took a nap at 6:30 p.m and woke up Tuesday at 5:30 in the morning.)
"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good." (Michael Buble)
"DUCKS CAN'T FLY!" (The erudition of Bobby...tell that to Emilio Estevez)
On that inspired note, I think I'm gonna call it a night. Peace out, comrades! Enjoy your summer! God speed and God bless. Love you all.
Poka,
Comrade Jon
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Пока, Москва!
5 more days. It seems so surreal. So wonderful and yet so terrifying. So refreshing to finally be at home with my family and friends and yet so morose about not going out for drinks with friends, not beating Mike at bowling or writing down the latest Sergeism.
So much to say, but where to begin? So much to be grateful for, but to whom and for what? So much to look forward to, but what to look back upon?
Умом Россию не понять...I would say, умом МЕНЯ не понять, lol. Think about it, this has been my third stint in Russia, second in Moscow. I keep thinking each time that when I leave, I'm not gonna come back. But everytime I return, despite the hard times, despite living in the most ghettotastic apartments ever designed, I keep coming back. Despite the rudeness, the weather, the ridiculousness of corruption and the inability to provide handicapped access, I keep coming back. Despite the impossible to understand visa rules, I keep coming back.
I must be сумашедший. I keep wanting more. And now, I have oh many reasons for returning to Moscow. I can't even begin to count them. Suffice it to say this: As Fr. Simon and Nicolette have said in their very thoughtful blessings, I will be back. I NEED to come back. I WANT to come back. People assume that I want to move to Russia. This may be a slight exaggeration of my love for the Motherland, but I can't deny that it isn't a possiblity, at least worth serious consideration.
Today was a momentous day. I turned in my grades and am temporarily done with academic obligations. The adverb temporarily is absolutely necessary here, because for one thing, a grad student is never done or free, simply on a "break". And my break will last literally one week, before I ship up to Lake Dunmore, the lovely Green Mountains for one final summer of davai, davai, davai, Anna Karenina and Kornei Chukovsky. As for my grades, I have once again received straight A's, thanks partly to the fact that I have less writing assignments and exams this semester (to compensate for writing the first draft of my thesis), thanks also to the fact that the one exam I was supposed to take, Linguistics, I didn't have to; my professor gave me an A because I always came to class prepared. Это называется автомат, и короче, это подарок студентам от Бога. :) Yay my life. :)))
While I still have loads of packing to do (give me some credit, I did start, LOL), I'm determined to make the most of my final few days, saying "poka" to all my friends (I will be back one day, so no need to прощаться навсегда). You can find me drinking tea, beating Mike one last time at bowling in my quest for another 200 (so happy I got 213! What? You're awesome, dude! Thanks, I know. :)))
It's been amazing. I really can't think of any profound thoughts or wise, inspirational quotes that could pinpoint exactly how I feel at this moment. It's been the most wonderful six months I've ever had. I'm looking forward to more unforgettable memories, more Sundays spent singing tenor in Church, more chances to beat Mike at bowling. ;) For now though, I sign off, ready to continue my Russian education back in the states, ready to say poka to Russia and hello to Boston, to my family and friends whom I love and miss terribly.
God speed and God bless, my dear, dear Russian friends (by which I mean, Russian, British and American). I love you всей моей душой, всем сердцем.
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
So much to say, but where to begin? So much to be grateful for, but to whom and for what? So much to look forward to, but what to look back upon?
Умом Россию не понять...I would say, умом МЕНЯ не понять, lol. Think about it, this has been my third stint in Russia, second in Moscow. I keep thinking each time that when I leave, I'm not gonna come back. But everytime I return, despite the hard times, despite living in the most ghettotastic apartments ever designed, I keep coming back. Despite the rudeness, the weather, the ridiculousness of corruption and the inability to provide handicapped access, I keep coming back. Despite the impossible to understand visa rules, I keep coming back.
I must be сумашедший. I keep wanting more. And now, I have oh many reasons for returning to Moscow. I can't even begin to count them. Suffice it to say this: As Fr. Simon and Nicolette have said in their very thoughtful blessings, I will be back. I NEED to come back. I WANT to come back. People assume that I want to move to Russia. This may be a slight exaggeration of my love for the Motherland, but I can't deny that it isn't a possiblity, at least worth serious consideration.
Today was a momentous day. I turned in my grades and am temporarily done with academic obligations. The adverb temporarily is absolutely necessary here, because for one thing, a grad student is never done or free, simply on a "break". And my break will last literally one week, before I ship up to Lake Dunmore, the lovely Green Mountains for one final summer of davai, davai, davai, Anna Karenina and Kornei Chukovsky. As for my grades, I have once again received straight A's, thanks partly to the fact that I have less writing assignments and exams this semester (to compensate for writing the first draft of my thesis), thanks also to the fact that the one exam I was supposed to take, Linguistics, I didn't have to; my professor gave me an A because I always came to class prepared. Это называется автомат, и короче, это подарок студентам от Бога. :) Yay my life. :)))
While I still have loads of packing to do (give me some credit, I did start, LOL), I'm determined to make the most of my final few days, saying "poka" to all my friends (I will be back one day, so no need to прощаться навсегда). You can find me drinking tea, beating Mike one last time at bowling in my quest for another 200 (so happy I got 213! What? You're awesome, dude! Thanks, I know. :)))
It's been amazing. I really can't think of any profound thoughts or wise, inspirational quotes that could pinpoint exactly how I feel at this moment. It's been the most wonderful six months I've ever had. I'm looking forward to more unforgettable memories, more Sundays spent singing tenor in Church, more chances to beat Mike at bowling. ;) For now though, I sign off, ready to continue my Russian education back in the states, ready to say poka to Russia and hello to Boston, to my family and friends whom I love and miss terribly.
God speed and God bless, my dear, dear Russian friends (by which I mean, Russian, British and American). I love you всей моей душой, всем сердцем.
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Children Will Listen...
This has been quite a week for Tardifs, Taylors, Semedos, Varones alike. My best friend got promoted to sergeant, my sister moved into her first flat (apartment), my cousins Jess and Josh went to their Senior and Junior proms (Jessie is graduating from high school this weekend, congrats, cuz!!!! Can't wait to see you at your PARTAY!!! :D), I finished my first draft of my thesis after months of agonizing research, writing forever and hoping for more than a little divine inspiration. My cousin Kristina is getting married, my cousin Gillian is graduating from college, wow. YAY everyone! On top of that, my best friend Maureen was featured in a interview, woo hoo! My friends Alexa and Bob have set a date for their wedding, as I have alluded to in a previous post, my friends Michael and Irina are getting married, supposedly in Russia, which would give me a superlative reason to return to the Motherland. So many props and shout-outs to make! Will be spreading them out over the next couple of weeks so be prepared! :)
On a serious note, I'm asking in advance for help in moving out. I need to arrive by Domodedovo no later than 3 p.m. on June 20 (Sunday) for a 5:15 flight to London (B.A.) If anyone can and wants to help me move my luggage from my flat (Leninsky Prospekt, Dom 81, kvartira 122, pod'ezd 5) to Domodedovo. If nothing else, I'd be very grateful for the company on the way to the airport, as well as your steadfast generosity with your time. If not, I can totally manage on my own, but would love to see anyone who has the time and desire to wish me off as I leave Russia for the third (and maybe final) time. Do let me know if you can help or knows someone who can help. I've got two suitcases and two carry-ons. Thank you very much in advance! :)
Now that the thesis is (mercifully!!!!) finished, I can concentrate on studying for my truly dreadful linguistics exam. I'm sure I won't fail, but I'm still quite worried. Lots of questions to study, plus it's an oral final, as it customary in Russia. Eeek. I just want it to be done. It will be on Wednesday, all that remains after that is a short paper for my music history class. After that, some bowling to celebrate my academic and other successes, but mainly, time spent with the best friends a guy could ask for. Thanks for making the last year and a half incredible for me. I will never forget your kindness ,your crazy stories about me, all the good times. Forget the bad, remember the good, that's what I say. YYL. :))))
Gonna keep this blog short today, feeling a little tired, tomorrow Fr. Simon's gonna send me off proper, as he won't be in church the following Sunday, which will be my last Sunday at St. Andrew's...never gonna forget all the Sundays singing children's hymns multiple times, the time I was asked to play piano with less than 10 minutes to go before the start of the service, and of course all the Tuesday and Saturday MIC rehearsals and concerts. Better if I will be beautiful...and TELL THE STORY!!!! :D
Moscow, I will never forget you...and yes, as Fr. Simon rightfully will say, I will return one day...thank you all and God bless.
On a serious note, I'm asking in advance for help in moving out. I need to arrive by Domodedovo no later than 3 p.m. on June 20 (Sunday) for a 5:15 flight to London (B.A.) If anyone can and wants to help me move my luggage from my flat (Leninsky Prospekt, Dom 81, kvartira 122, pod'ezd 5) to Domodedovo. If nothing else, I'd be very grateful for the company on the way to the airport, as well as your steadfast generosity with your time. If not, I can totally manage on my own, but would love to see anyone who has the time and desire to wish me off as I leave Russia for the third (and maybe final) time. Do let me know if you can help or knows someone who can help. I've got two suitcases and two carry-ons. Thank you very much in advance! :)
Now that the thesis is (mercifully!!!!) finished, I can concentrate on studying for my truly dreadful linguistics exam. I'm sure I won't fail, but I'm still quite worried. Lots of questions to study, plus it's an oral final, as it customary in Russia. Eeek. I just want it to be done. It will be on Wednesday, all that remains after that is a short paper for my music history class. After that, some bowling to celebrate my academic and other successes, but mainly, time spent with the best friends a guy could ask for. Thanks for making the last year and a half incredible for me. I will never forget your kindness ,your crazy stories about me, all the good times. Forget the bad, remember the good, that's what I say. YYL. :))))
Gonna keep this blog short today, feeling a little tired, tomorrow Fr. Simon's gonna send me off proper, as he won't be in church the following Sunday, which will be my last Sunday at St. Andrew's...never gonna forget all the Sundays singing children's hymns multiple times, the time I was asked to play piano with less than 10 minutes to go before the start of the service, and of course all the Tuesday and Saturday MIC rehearsals and concerts. Better if I will be beautiful...and TELL THE STORY!!!! :D
Moscow, I will never forget you...and yes, as Fr. Simon rightfully will say, I will return one day...thank you all and God bless.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
YML :)
Tired of hearing people complaining non-stop? Granted, in an uncertain world with an uncertain future, many people, deprived of basic human necessities such as water, food, shelter, oppressed and neglected by the governments who are supposed to represent the people, have every right to and should complain, seek justice for all the prejudice and hate which have no place anywhere in our world. I for one, in addition to getting visibly upset by prejudice and intolerance of any kind (I think Facebook - and the Internet in general - has politicized me, I've never been so vocal about politics as I've been in recent months), admit to having very little patience for people who constantly say FML. First of all, I am in general wary of people who swear profusely. Second, count your blessings and be grateful for what you have. I know it's a cliche and sounds over didactic to the point of moral superiority, but I don't intend to be. I know I'm not perfect, but I do know what I have: the love and support of my family and friends both here in Moscow and back in the States, my health, the gifts of writing and music, I could go on. Third, it seems to be "cool" to say FML every five minutes...it isn't, take my word for it. Nobody wants to read it; frankly, nobody cares.
I apologize for offending anyone, I didn't mean to start this post with a ginormous rant. What I intended to do was propose an alternative to all the negativity we see on TV and read about in the papers and online. The alternative is YML: Yay My Life. I don't claim to take credit for this acronym, I'm sure people far wiser than I have, if not used this in their speech, at least taken it to heart in their everyday lives. I say kudos to them. Yay My Life is an outspoken, direct attempt to show the world that, yes, life is difficult at times, but life is too short to dwell on the negative. Go out and live life to the fullest. If you're passionate for music, try playing an instrument or joining a choir. Incidentally, if you're a tenor living in Moscow and enjoy singing, do please consider the Moscow International Choir, or if you're a tenor who wants to grow in Christian faith (again , living in Moscow), do consider singing at the 11.00 service at St. Andrew's Church or at 2.00 with the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (also at St. Andrew's). We need tenors!!!!! :D
As many of my friends will tell you, I'm always smiling. If I'm ever upset about something, it never lasts long. I try to chill, spent a few minutes in silent prayer, and move on. I am so the eternal optimist. I'm called to share my optimism with others. I remember back in 2004-05 when in the middle of Merrily rehearsals we had a pretty significant crisis: half the cast quit midway through the semester and we had to pretty much reblock the entire first half (we hadn't even looked at the second act at all before Christmas break). I think it was around then that amidst cast frustrations that I started sending out emails to the cast and crew encouraging them not to lose hope. Despite all the hardship, despite the financial difficulties, we managed to put on a decent show in February. I consider that a small victory, even though I am so the worst actor/dancer in the history of the universe. To those not in the know, that was the origin of my mass emails, which, I like to pretend to think (lol) achieved a certain level of popularity among HC folk. Now that I've started blogging, people all over can read my random opinions and agree, disagree, or outright mock me. Let them mock, they're entitled to their opinions. I will never stop being an optimist. I've been hurt several times in the past, but have each time gotten up and become stronger, a better person. I will likely be hurt again, but knowing that I'm not alone gives me strength to keep fighting day after day.
As June grows ever closer, so do exams, due dates for papers, and, alas, final farewells. I'm so totally not ready to leave. There have been several occasions in the past when I was totally prepared to just go home and not look back, but now I'm totally in a funk just thinking about it. Living in a different country, a different culture entirely from what I've grown up with has totally made me appreciate America more. At the same time, I've grown much more tolerant and appreciative of Russian culture (especially fairy tales and cartoons, yay))). Knowing that I'm going home soon fills me with deep sadness. I really don't know when I'll be coming back, nor in what capacity. I'll probably say this about 50000 times in the next three weeks, so bear with me, everyone. I have to say a profound thank you to everyone who took a leap of faith and became my dearest friends here in the Motherland. Не обижайтесь на меня, если что-то было не так. Не поминайте лихом! (Don't be offended, if something (I did or said) wasn't right, don't remember all the bad things, only the good...) I'll probably thank every person individually as we get closer to the due date. Get your hankies out, you who are prone to tears, it's gonna be epic. Having said all this, I have to remember all the upsides: first of all, I get to see my family and friends from home again for the first time in six months, in some cases over a year. Second, I love all of you very very much and there's no need to be too sad about my leaving, I will be with you in spirit, bowling, having a few laughs and telling the story in spirit. I am also determined to come back, think of all the reasons I have to return....i.e. you are the reasons. ;) You who laughed with me, gave me strength when I felt like giving up, embraced the geek that I've always been and always will be...there just aren't enough words to sum up all the experiences, all the happy memories of the past year and a half. Geez, if I'm saying all this now, what's gonna go through my mind June 18-19ish, the eve of my departure??? Better if I will be beautiful. ;)
To end on a positive note, let me express my deep gratitude to every single person I've met in Moscow and become close with. You are all unbelievably kind-hearted and special. I shall greatly enjoy your company these last few weeks and then sorely miss you and think of you often when at last I must say goodbye for the last time. But let's keep smiling, keep dancing through life, and most importantly, YL...Yay Life!!!!! :) Thank you and God bless, love you guys. Comrade Jon :)
I apologize for offending anyone, I didn't mean to start this post with a ginormous rant. What I intended to do was propose an alternative to all the negativity we see on TV and read about in the papers and online. The alternative is YML: Yay My Life. I don't claim to take credit for this acronym, I'm sure people far wiser than I have, if not used this in their speech, at least taken it to heart in their everyday lives. I say kudos to them. Yay My Life is an outspoken, direct attempt to show the world that, yes, life is difficult at times, but life is too short to dwell on the negative. Go out and live life to the fullest. If you're passionate for music, try playing an instrument or joining a choir. Incidentally, if you're a tenor living in Moscow and enjoy singing, do please consider the Moscow International Choir, or if you're a tenor who wants to grow in Christian faith (again , living in Moscow), do consider singing at the 11.00 service at St. Andrew's Church or at 2.00 with the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (also at St. Andrew's). We need tenors!!!!! :D
As many of my friends will tell you, I'm always smiling. If I'm ever upset about something, it never lasts long. I try to chill, spent a few minutes in silent prayer, and move on. I am so the eternal optimist. I'm called to share my optimism with others. I remember back in 2004-05 when in the middle of Merrily rehearsals we had a pretty significant crisis: half the cast quit midway through the semester and we had to pretty much reblock the entire first half (we hadn't even looked at the second act at all before Christmas break). I think it was around then that amidst cast frustrations that I started sending out emails to the cast and crew encouraging them not to lose hope. Despite all the hardship, despite the financial difficulties, we managed to put on a decent show in February. I consider that a small victory, even though I am so the worst actor/dancer in the history of the universe. To those not in the know, that was the origin of my mass emails, which, I like to pretend to think (lol) achieved a certain level of popularity among HC folk. Now that I've started blogging, people all over can read my random opinions and agree, disagree, or outright mock me. Let them mock, they're entitled to their opinions. I will never stop being an optimist. I've been hurt several times in the past, but have each time gotten up and become stronger, a better person. I will likely be hurt again, but knowing that I'm not alone gives me strength to keep fighting day after day.
As June grows ever closer, so do exams, due dates for papers, and, alas, final farewells. I'm so totally not ready to leave. There have been several occasions in the past when I was totally prepared to just go home and not look back, but now I'm totally in a funk just thinking about it. Living in a different country, a different culture entirely from what I've grown up with has totally made me appreciate America more. At the same time, I've grown much more tolerant and appreciative of Russian culture (especially fairy tales and cartoons, yay))). Knowing that I'm going home soon fills me with deep sadness. I really don't know when I'll be coming back, nor in what capacity. I'll probably say this about 50000 times in the next three weeks, so bear with me, everyone. I have to say a profound thank you to everyone who took a leap of faith and became my dearest friends here in the Motherland. Не обижайтесь на меня, если что-то было не так. Не поминайте лихом! (Don't be offended, if something (I did or said) wasn't right, don't remember all the bad things, only the good...) I'll probably thank every person individually as we get closer to the due date. Get your hankies out, you who are prone to tears, it's gonna be epic. Having said all this, I have to remember all the upsides: first of all, I get to see my family and friends from home again for the first time in six months, in some cases over a year. Second, I love all of you very very much and there's no need to be too sad about my leaving, I will be with you in spirit, bowling, having a few laughs and telling the story in spirit. I am also determined to come back, think of all the reasons I have to return....i.e. you are the reasons. ;) You who laughed with me, gave me strength when I felt like giving up, embraced the geek that I've always been and always will be...there just aren't enough words to sum up all the experiences, all the happy memories of the past year and a half. Geez, if I'm saying all this now, what's gonna go through my mind June 18-19ish, the eve of my departure??? Better if I will be beautiful. ;)
To end on a positive note, let me express my deep gratitude to every single person I've met in Moscow and become close with. You are all unbelievably kind-hearted and special. I shall greatly enjoy your company these last few weeks and then sorely miss you and think of you often when at last I must say goodbye for the last time. But let's keep smiling, keep dancing through life, and most importantly, YL...Yay Life!!!!! :) Thank you and God bless, love you guys. Comrade Jon :)
Monday, May 10, 2010
С Днём Победы, Россия!
Здравствуйте, все! Ваня Кенгуруевич опять уехал на каникулы, но как раз с любовницей...между нами, его жена устроет ему скандал...
Anyway, I'm back online after taking a couple of days off to enjoy the beautiful weather. On Saturday I went to my favorite "prigorod" Dmitrov for the afternoon, just to walk around, check out the local shops and the Kremlin (not nearly as majestic as the one in Moscow but quite respectable and beautiful in its own right). The main square was closed off in preparations for the Victory Day celebrations. Saturday night I once again dominated in bowling (it should be said that not this past Saturday, but last Saturday I broke my old score of 168 with a solid 173, including four strikes to start the first game. I'm definitely getting better with practice, might be able to shoot for 200 before I go home and possibly never bowl again...:(
Sunday was an absolutely crazy day. Russians have every right to be proud of its veterans for the sacrifices they made in defeating the Germans. The massive costs were horrific and undeniable. What cannot be overlooked, no matter how some people may try, is the Allied effort. It truly was a joint victory for the Russians, Americans and British. Anyway, back to the craziness. I was on my way to church in the morning when I realized, to my chagrin, that the exits from the metro at Biblioteka im. Lenina had been blocked off. I was upset, but did think that many of the main streets would be closed to traffic and pedestrians because of the parade. I did ultimately make it to church, a few minutes late. The piano adventures began around 10:45ish, about 15 minutes prior to the start of the 11:00 Anglican service, when it became quite clear that our regular pianist wasn't going to make it. It also became clear that someone needed to step in to play piano, otherwise we were going to have to sing everything a capella. So I "volunteered" and managed to practice through all the hymns, with Father Simon mercifully starting the service late, because a lot of people were stuck because of the parade, or chose to simply watch the parade instead.
After church, we went out for Lebanese food, which was actually quite nice. I then went back to MPC (St. Andrew's) for the afternoon Protestant service, after which I met up with one of my friends from Middlebury (alas, I forgot to ask, whether or not she had been to any concerts featuring improvisation?) I then went out for dinner with Mike and Dan at Starlite before proceeding to Vorb'yovy Gory to watch a beautiful fireworks display. After that I went back to Starlite AGAIN lol and then returned home around 1:30 a.m, exhausted but content after an excellent day in the company of great friends.
It felt quite nice to sleep in this morning. Today was another gorgeous day so I took a book and sat in the Alexander Gardens near Red Square. Tomorrow we have our dress rehearsal for Friday's concert. As long as we "tell the story, sharp and hard, and that faces are without problems", we will be okay. I'm looking forward to singing the 3rd part of the classical piece, which seems a bit tricky. I'm looking forward to listening to our pianist play everything either slightly wrong but in time or not in time and completely wrong. No seriously, it'll all be okay. I'm reserving some tickets for our concerts on the 14th and 21st. I'm planning to get 4 seats for this Friday and one for next friday. Spread the word. If anyone else wants to come, let me know asap. Tickets are 450 rubles, available at the door or through me or somebody else in the choir.
That's all for now. Things are heating up, both in terms of workload and weather (it's been very warm the last few days, and today ias well). But I'm sure I'll come through with flying colors, and keeping my eyes on the prize, which is the receiving of my MA in August! Talk soon, everyone! Sending you all my love from the Motherland!
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
Anyway, I'm back online after taking a couple of days off to enjoy the beautiful weather. On Saturday I went to my favorite "prigorod" Dmitrov for the afternoon, just to walk around, check out the local shops and the Kremlin (not nearly as majestic as the one in Moscow but quite respectable and beautiful in its own right). The main square was closed off in preparations for the Victory Day celebrations. Saturday night I once again dominated in bowling (it should be said that not this past Saturday, but last Saturday I broke my old score of 168 with a solid 173, including four strikes to start the first game. I'm definitely getting better with practice, might be able to shoot for 200 before I go home and possibly never bowl again...:(
Sunday was an absolutely crazy day. Russians have every right to be proud of its veterans for the sacrifices they made in defeating the Germans. The massive costs were horrific and undeniable. What cannot be overlooked, no matter how some people may try, is the Allied effort. It truly was a joint victory for the Russians, Americans and British. Anyway, back to the craziness. I was on my way to church in the morning when I realized, to my chagrin, that the exits from the metro at Biblioteka im. Lenina had been blocked off. I was upset, but did think that many of the main streets would be closed to traffic and pedestrians because of the parade. I did ultimately make it to church, a few minutes late. The piano adventures began around 10:45ish, about 15 minutes prior to the start of the 11:00 Anglican service, when it became quite clear that our regular pianist wasn't going to make it. It also became clear that someone needed to step in to play piano, otherwise we were going to have to sing everything a capella. So I "volunteered" and managed to practice through all the hymns, with Father Simon mercifully starting the service late, because a lot of people were stuck because of the parade, or chose to simply watch the parade instead.
After church, we went out for Lebanese food, which was actually quite nice. I then went back to MPC (St. Andrew's) for the afternoon Protestant service, after which I met up with one of my friends from Middlebury (alas, I forgot to ask, whether or not she had been to any concerts featuring improvisation?) I then went out for dinner with Mike and Dan at Starlite before proceeding to Vorb'yovy Gory to watch a beautiful fireworks display. After that I went back to Starlite AGAIN lol and then returned home around 1:30 a.m, exhausted but content after an excellent day in the company of great friends.
It felt quite nice to sleep in this morning. Today was another gorgeous day so I took a book and sat in the Alexander Gardens near Red Square. Tomorrow we have our dress rehearsal for Friday's concert. As long as we "tell the story, sharp and hard, and that faces are without problems", we will be okay. I'm looking forward to singing the 3rd part of the classical piece, which seems a bit tricky. I'm looking forward to listening to our pianist play everything either slightly wrong but in time or not in time and completely wrong. No seriously, it'll all be okay. I'm reserving some tickets for our concerts on the 14th and 21st. I'm planning to get 4 seats for this Friday and one for next friday. Spread the word. If anyone else wants to come, let me know asap. Tickets are 450 rubles, available at the door or through me or somebody else in the choir.
That's all for now. Things are heating up, both in terms of workload and weather (it's been very warm the last few days, and today ias well). But I'm sure I'll come through with flying colors, and keeping my eyes on the prize, which is the receiving of my MA in August! Talk soon, everyone! Sending you all my love from the Motherland!
Peace and love,
Comrade Jon
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A typical choir rehearsal...
Здравствуйте, ребята! Давно не виделись! Я только что вернулся из Австралии, где я с женой моей, Екатерина Кенгуруевна Капризова, провели каникулы на пляже...как мне хочется обратно...
Итак, обещал описать типичную репитицую хора. Готовы ли вы смеяться? Но опять же , над мной НЕЛЬЗЯ.
Let's depict a typical Saturday morning rehearsal. It's 11:30, I arrive at the church, head upstairs to the balcony where we typically rehearse. A few altos and sopranos have already arrived. As usual, I'm the first tenor to arrive, often the first man in general. I sit waiting, waiting, waiting. The awkwardness starts to set in, especially when Sergei randomly decides to start earlier than usual. There's nothing like being the only person in your section. Granted, I'm totally used to it, singing at MPC where I've been the only tenor since September. So we start with the Swedish songs. Apparently we aren't happy enough, because Sergei issues us one of his well-intended but inadvertently hilarious comments: "Your face must be without problems." Yes, I know he means well, and he definitely pushes us to sing our voice and look our part. Главное, что мы tell the story. Finally, after that torment has passed, my other tenors have decided to join me, one of whom, not mentioning any names, has "forgotten" to print up his copy of Mamma Mia. Far be it from Ваня Кенгуруевич to mention any names or publicly humilitate anyone. ;)
Fast forward to Monday, our first rehearsal with the orchestra. Кошмар doesn't even begin to describe that particular rehearsal. Yes, the first rehearsal with the orchestra tends to be tough, but to their credit, they did a decent job. As for the organist....no. As for the pianist...this kangaroo has not been privy to such a display of ужас. Я был просто шокирован. But it happens, and Wednesday's rehearsal was better, but I have to recall two brilliant moments from Wednesday:
1. Sergei, after I believe the first movement of the Gloria, or after the break, stood up on the altar of the church and said something to the effect of "You must play with me." Read into it what you will.
2. This may be the greatest quote I"ve ever heard in my life. In fact, this may even top "You're taking the train to Russia?" As rehearsal ended on Wednesday, good-natured Robert, who means well but has missed quite a few rehearsals said in response to singing the fugue, "The 3rd part of that classical piece seems a bit tricky." I love people, sometimes. :)
So yes, rehearsals are at times frustrating, at other times wicked hilarious. Never a dull moment at St. Andrew's, that's for sure. We are currently preparing for our first concert on Thursday at the Conservatory, whooooo!!!! We are singing as part of a choir festival! FREE ADMISSION. 7 pm, Rachmaninov Hall. Go. Our full-length concerts: May 14 and 21 (both Fridays) at 7:30. Tickets 450 rubles, available at the door. Or you can reserve by calling this number: 985-924-5581. Banya wants YOU to come and so do I! :D Bring a friend, bring many friends, come here the glorious glory of John Rutter's Gloria, songs from Russia, England, and Sweden, and dance to the driving pop rock of ABBA! You will thank us for the music, I promise. :D
Well, that's all for this week's blog. Stay tuned for more laughs, more reflections, and more rants about the difficulties of trying to define linguistic concepts. U-ra.
Пока всем! До скорой встречи! Отдыхайте! С праздником, Россия!!!
Итак, обещал описать типичную репитицую хора. Готовы ли вы смеяться? Но опять же , над мной НЕЛЬЗЯ.
Let's depict a typical Saturday morning rehearsal. It's 11:30, I arrive at the church, head upstairs to the balcony where we typically rehearse. A few altos and sopranos have already arrived. As usual, I'm the first tenor to arrive, often the first man in general. I sit waiting, waiting, waiting. The awkwardness starts to set in, especially when Sergei randomly decides to start earlier than usual. There's nothing like being the only person in your section. Granted, I'm totally used to it, singing at MPC where I've been the only tenor since September. So we start with the Swedish songs. Apparently we aren't happy enough, because Sergei issues us one of his well-intended but inadvertently hilarious comments: "Your face must be without problems." Yes, I know he means well, and he definitely pushes us to sing our voice and look our part. Главное, что мы tell the story. Finally, after that torment has passed, my other tenors have decided to join me, one of whom, not mentioning any names, has "forgotten" to print up his copy of Mamma Mia. Far be it from Ваня Кенгуруевич to mention any names or publicly humilitate anyone. ;)
Fast forward to Monday, our first rehearsal with the orchestra. Кошмар doesn't even begin to describe that particular rehearsal. Yes, the first rehearsal with the orchestra tends to be tough, but to their credit, they did a decent job. As for the organist....no. As for the pianist...this kangaroo has not been privy to such a display of ужас. Я был просто шокирован. But it happens, and Wednesday's rehearsal was better, but I have to recall two brilliant moments from Wednesday:
1. Sergei, after I believe the first movement of the Gloria, or after the break, stood up on the altar of the church and said something to the effect of "You must play with me." Read into it what you will.
2. This may be the greatest quote I"ve ever heard in my life. In fact, this may even top "You're taking the train to Russia?" As rehearsal ended on Wednesday, good-natured Robert, who means well but has missed quite a few rehearsals said in response to singing the fugue, "The 3rd part of that classical piece seems a bit tricky." I love people, sometimes. :)
So yes, rehearsals are at times frustrating, at other times wicked hilarious. Never a dull moment at St. Andrew's, that's for sure. We are currently preparing for our first concert on Thursday at the Conservatory, whooooo!!!! We are singing as part of a choir festival! FREE ADMISSION. 7 pm, Rachmaninov Hall. Go. Our full-length concerts: May 14 and 21 (both Fridays) at 7:30. Tickets 450 rubles, available at the door. Or you can reserve by calling this number: 985-924-5581. Banya wants YOU to come and so do I! :D Bring a friend, bring many friends, come here the glorious glory of John Rutter's Gloria, songs from Russia, England, and Sweden, and dance to the driving pop rock of ABBA! You will thank us for the music, I promise. :D
Well, that's all for this week's blog. Stay tuned for more laughs, more reflections, and more rants about the difficulties of trying to define linguistic concepts. U-ra.
Пока всем! До скорой встречи! Отдыхайте! С праздником, Россия!!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
two months to go...
Hey guys! Ваня Кенгуруевич is on vacation, so I'm filling in for him as myself. ;) I thought I'd spend a few minutes reflecting on the two and a half years I've spent in this crazy strana known as Russia. It scares me a little bit to think that despite all the hardship, despite the dark times when I was afraid of being sacked coupled with the abandonment I'd been feeling at that point, I may not be coming back to this amazing place where I've grown in my faith as a Christian, where I rediscovered my dormant skills at bowling, where I've become super obsessed with Russian grammar (most recently, punctuation and syntax).
I can recall the many hours I spent watching soccer with my host dad back in St. Pete, the countless days and evenings walking in solitude along the Neva and Moskva rivers, day trips to various and sundry towns outside of Moscow. Four years ago on this day I successfully defended my first "nauchnuyu rabotu" in Russian, a research paper on Shostakovich and his opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District." Just last week I sang "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" as part of a trio during Offeratory and last semester I sang a solo in "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." I recall with gladness the classes I taught in which students were motivated to do the work, asked great questions about phrasal verbs and helped each other. I didn't even mind that I taught on Saturdays because I had a great group of beginners. Many fond memories remain of my days at the Link in the Pru. And then there was the shashlik party. Words cannot express the awesomeness and craziness of that afternoon and evening.
What else do I remember? Yes, I'm in one of those nostalgic moods, today...Let's see. I remember rushing around for hours trying to find a bowtie for my choir concert last semester, only to discover that Corinne had a whole bunch of extra bowties at the ready. Needless to say, I was slightly humbled. 0:) I remember learning how to play Durak (a popular Russian card game) and picking it up pretty quickly (this was on our forty hour train ride to Sochi), only to never play it again, lol. I remember the awkwardness I felt starting choir rehearsal being the only tenor for what seemed like ages. (Luckily I can read music well enough, and we didn't start with "Take a Chance" so it wasn't a polny' koshmar - a complete nightmare.)
I remember my 21st birthday spent in the company of my HC friends, drinking apple juice through a straw (yes, that was my passage into manhood, hahahah....can you tell I need a woman? :p), and then the images of what was in Kunstkamera....they shall terrify me for the rest of my life...
On the theme of unforgettable birthdays, I should probably recall again what happened just a couple of weeks ago. After a lovely birthday lunch, in which Julian certainly had a good laugh at my expense, I went to a bar for drinks with some friends from Language Link, and then began the craziest 5 hours ever spent in human company. Again, I'll just leave you hanging with all the details, but suffice to say, that yes, I woke up and was one of the first in the choir to make it on church ready to sing God's praises.
All this talk of nostalgia aside, I cannot deny being both excited and scared about what awaits me back in the states: a final summer of near-idyllic (would be idyllic except for the whole thesis thing) life at Middlebury (maybe the sun will come out two days in a row this year), one HELL of a graduation party, and then, gradual transition back into the workforce. It will, however, be nice to be back at home for a few weeks to relax and plan my next move. What a wonderful thing uncertainty is. It's easy to be scared by it and get stressed out, but it's so much more enticing and (in my opinion) worthwile to think of all the possibilities instead of being dragged down by the fear of closed doors which may not in fact be closed. With God on my side, I may trip, I may fall into a prairie dog hole (well, probably not, you'd have to be a real moron to do that, not that I know anybody who's ever had the experience...;)), but I WILL NOT FAIL. And that alone is enough to give me confidence. The fact that I am not alone as I take steps towards the next part of my journey towards finding myself and my place in this world also gives me hope. My friends in Moscow have been absolutely incredible, and I will forever be grateful for their friendship and hope that they will remember me as I will them. Geographical differences can easily be overcome, as we discovered on Sunday, worshiping with the Methodist Church in Salermo, Italy via Skype. We are all one family under God. We are all brothers and sisters.
That all being said, there's still two months of new adventures. There's the fact that I have THREE choir concerts next month. It'll be good to see some of my friends. First concert is May 6 at 7 pm at the Conservatory (Rachmaninov Hall). It's a Thursday, so if you can't make it, our other concerts will be at St. Andrew's Anglican Church (metro Biblioteka im. Lenia, Oxotny Ryad, Pushkinskaya, Tverskaya) on May 14 and 21 at 7.30 (both Fridays) Come by and hear some great folk songs, sacred Russian music, John Rutter and of course, Mamma Mia! There's exams to study for, opportunities to step up my bowling game, chances to assert myself as the official Bog-Korol' of Russian grammar (Mike, you've been demoted to assistant but you can reclaim your position in due time :)) It's going to be an incredible couple of months, and as excited as I am to be going home, I have every intention of making the most of the remaining time I have in this incredible city of Moscow.
Further reflections to come, but for now, this is Comrade Jon, signing off. Have a lovely day!
I can recall the many hours I spent watching soccer with my host dad back in St. Pete, the countless days and evenings walking in solitude along the Neva and Moskva rivers, day trips to various and sundry towns outside of Moscow. Four years ago on this day I successfully defended my first "nauchnuyu rabotu" in Russian, a research paper on Shostakovich and his opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District." Just last week I sang "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" as part of a trio during Offeratory and last semester I sang a solo in "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." I recall with gladness the classes I taught in which students were motivated to do the work, asked great questions about phrasal verbs and helped each other. I didn't even mind that I taught on Saturdays because I had a great group of beginners. Many fond memories remain of my days at the Link in the Pru. And then there was the shashlik party. Words cannot express the awesomeness and craziness of that afternoon and evening.
What else do I remember? Yes, I'm in one of those nostalgic moods, today...Let's see. I remember rushing around for hours trying to find a bowtie for my choir concert last semester, only to discover that Corinne had a whole bunch of extra bowties at the ready. Needless to say, I was slightly humbled. 0:) I remember learning how to play Durak (a popular Russian card game) and picking it up pretty quickly (this was on our forty hour train ride to Sochi), only to never play it again, lol. I remember the awkwardness I felt starting choir rehearsal being the only tenor for what seemed like ages. (Luckily I can read music well enough, and we didn't start with "Take a Chance" so it wasn't a polny' koshmar - a complete nightmare.)
I remember my 21st birthday spent in the company of my HC friends, drinking apple juice through a straw (yes, that was my passage into manhood, hahahah....can you tell I need a woman? :p), and then the images of what was in Kunstkamera....they shall terrify me for the rest of my life...
On the theme of unforgettable birthdays, I should probably recall again what happened just a couple of weeks ago. After a lovely birthday lunch, in which Julian certainly had a good laugh at my expense, I went to a bar for drinks with some friends from Language Link, and then began the craziest 5 hours ever spent in human company. Again, I'll just leave you hanging with all the details, but suffice to say, that yes, I woke up and was one of the first in the choir to make it on church ready to sing God's praises.
All this talk of nostalgia aside, I cannot deny being both excited and scared about what awaits me back in the states: a final summer of near-idyllic (would be idyllic except for the whole thesis thing) life at Middlebury (maybe the sun will come out two days in a row this year), one HELL of a graduation party, and then, gradual transition back into the workforce. It will, however, be nice to be back at home for a few weeks to relax and plan my next move. What a wonderful thing uncertainty is. It's easy to be scared by it and get stressed out, but it's so much more enticing and (in my opinion) worthwile to think of all the possibilities instead of being dragged down by the fear of closed doors which may not in fact be closed. With God on my side, I may trip, I may fall into a prairie dog hole (well, probably not, you'd have to be a real moron to do that, not that I know anybody who's ever had the experience...;)), but I WILL NOT FAIL. And that alone is enough to give me confidence. The fact that I am not alone as I take steps towards the next part of my journey towards finding myself and my place in this world also gives me hope. My friends in Moscow have been absolutely incredible, and I will forever be grateful for their friendship and hope that they will remember me as I will them. Geographical differences can easily be overcome, as we discovered on Sunday, worshiping with the Methodist Church in Salermo, Italy via Skype. We are all one family under God. We are all brothers and sisters.
That all being said, there's still two months of new adventures. There's the fact that I have THREE choir concerts next month. It'll be good to see some of my friends. First concert is May 6 at 7 pm at the Conservatory (Rachmaninov Hall). It's a Thursday, so if you can't make it, our other concerts will be at St. Andrew's Anglican Church (metro Biblioteka im. Lenia, Oxotny Ryad, Pushkinskaya, Tverskaya) on May 14 and 21 at 7.30 (both Fridays) Come by and hear some great folk songs, sacred Russian music, John Rutter and of course, Mamma Mia! There's exams to study for, opportunities to step up my bowling game, chances to assert myself as the official Bog-Korol' of Russian grammar (Mike, you've been demoted to assistant but you can reclaim your position in due time :)) It's going to be an incredible couple of months, and as excited as I am to be going home, I have every intention of making the most of the remaining time I have in this incredible city of Moscow.
Further reflections to come, but for now, this is Comrade Jon, signing off. Have a lovely day!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
not so народная мудрость
Добрый день! Позвольте мне представиться! Меня зовут Ваня Кенгуруевич Капризов, но Вы можете меня назвать "Дядей Ваней", "Дедушкой", и.т.д, только без всякой глупости и неприличных слов, хорошо? Как сказал один из мужчин в киноклассике "Ирония судьбы": "Давайте без дураков."
Поскольку читатели владеете несколькими языками (кстати, горазде больше меня. Я, например, владею русским, английским, и языком кенгуру), я буду писать свои замечание и впечателения о России и на русском, и на английском языках, пока без языка кенгуру, думаю, что будет легче так). Прошу прощениу у тех, кто не может читать по-русски, но что же делать? Пора занимаются русским!
Итак, мы с Вами познакомимся с теми вещами, которые часто удивляют, даже шокируют иностранцев. Готовьтесь смеяться (но над мной нельзя)!
If you want to know what I've been saying, non-Russian speaking friends, all you have to do is ask. But you have to ask, otherwise I will assume that you have without my knowledge acquired near-native speaker fluency in Russian in a wicked short period of time, in which case I applaud you and will pay good money to learn your secrets ;)
Ну что ж, ребята, начнём? Поехали.
1. Will I ever stop studying Russian grammar? No. Will I stop being terrified of all the exceptions to the rule which aren't really exceptions? No. Will I ever correctly be able to read fractions correctly? Yes, as long as they're in the nominative or accusative cases. ;)
2. Tell the story. (For my friends in MIC, an entire blog will be devoted to the majesty that is Sergei's attempts to give directions in English, but for now I will confine myself to a sampling of Sergeisms. Don't afraid. Don't sing like mechanical piano players.
3. Согласно Саше, моему папе, с которым я жил в Питере, я похож на хиппи, на Джона Леннона, и на медведя.
4. Я дружил с причастиями. Они меня не пугают.
5. Despite the stereotype, I will not stop smiling. Smiling is for me more than just an attitude or reflection of how I'm feeling at a given moment, it's a deeper sign of an eternal sense of optimism that despite all the bad things that have happened to me, things will work out.
6. I really can't make fun of my sister for losing her phone anymore. I can, however, say that I've never had my phone run over by a truck. That's just ridiculous. ;)
7. Last summer's shashlik party was the most insane day of my life. My birthday party on Saturday night was the most insane evening of my life. Here's to great friends! За дружбу!
8. "Это не важно". Сергей напоминает нам, что слова в песне "Либертанго" не так уж важно.
9. In Russian conversation, you are likely to hear several times, if not several hundred times, words such as вот, ну, давай, ага, же, and other particles which have different meanings and functions, depending on context.
10. Шас! Я щас!
11. "Джон, неужели ты никогда не провёл ночь с проституткой?" "Да, Сашь, иикогда." One of the many times my host dad tried to give me dating advice. On Victory Day he had me pose with a random Russian girl along the Neva holding the Communist flag.
12. Oh verbs of motion...how you confuse me.
13. Oh verbs with prefixes...how you bring me into a state of eternal perplexity.
14. Oh numbers...how I hate the fact that you decline like nouns, adjectives and pronouns. Decimals and fractions scare me.
15. Kunstkamera...the sketchiest museum to ever exist on the planet. Also, the weirdest birthday I've ever spent. Thank goodness it ended with my host mom giving me Cheburashka to offset the horrible memories of that place along Vasilievsky Ostrov.
I think that will suffice for the moment. Stay tuned for further interesting reflections on such themes as the Russian winter, the Russian soul, and more interesting battles with Russian grammar and insane drivers. Next time: a typical rehearsal with the Moscow International Choir.
Всего доброго! Буду выражить искренную благодарность за любые замечания и вопросы.
Ваня Кенгуруевич
Поскольку читатели владеете несколькими языками (кстати, горазде больше меня. Я, например, владею русским, английским, и языком кенгуру), я буду писать свои замечание и впечателения о России и на русском, и на английском языках, пока без языка кенгуру, думаю, что будет легче так). Прошу прощениу у тех, кто не может читать по-русски, но что же делать? Пора занимаются русским!
Итак, мы с Вами познакомимся с теми вещами, которые часто удивляют, даже шокируют иностранцев. Готовьтесь смеяться (но над мной нельзя)!
If you want to know what I've been saying, non-Russian speaking friends, all you have to do is ask. But you have to ask, otherwise I will assume that you have without my knowledge acquired near-native speaker fluency in Russian in a wicked short period of time, in which case I applaud you and will pay good money to learn your secrets ;)
Ну что ж, ребята, начнём? Поехали.
1. Will I ever stop studying Russian grammar? No. Will I stop being terrified of all the exceptions to the rule which aren't really exceptions? No. Will I ever correctly be able to read fractions correctly? Yes, as long as they're in the nominative or accusative cases. ;)
2. Tell the story. (For my friends in MIC, an entire blog will be devoted to the majesty that is Sergei's attempts to give directions in English, but for now I will confine myself to a sampling of Sergeisms. Don't afraid. Don't sing like mechanical piano players.
3. Согласно Саше, моему папе, с которым я жил в Питере, я похож на хиппи, на Джона Леннона, и на медведя.
4. Я дружил с причастиями. Они меня не пугают.
5. Despite the stereotype, I will not stop smiling. Smiling is for me more than just an attitude or reflection of how I'm feeling at a given moment, it's a deeper sign of an eternal sense of optimism that despite all the bad things that have happened to me, things will work out.
6. I really can't make fun of my sister for losing her phone anymore. I can, however, say that I've never had my phone run over by a truck. That's just ridiculous. ;)
7. Last summer's shashlik party was the most insane day of my life. My birthday party on Saturday night was the most insane evening of my life. Here's to great friends! За дружбу!
8. "Это не важно". Сергей напоминает нам, что слова в песне "Либертанго" не так уж важно.
9. In Russian conversation, you are likely to hear several times, if not several hundred times, words such as вот, ну, давай, ага, же, and other particles which have different meanings and functions, depending on context.
10. Шас! Я щас!
11. "Джон, неужели ты никогда не провёл ночь с проституткой?" "Да, Сашь, иикогда." One of the many times my host dad tried to give me dating advice. On Victory Day he had me pose with a random Russian girl along the Neva holding the Communist flag.
12. Oh verbs of motion...how you confuse me.
13. Oh verbs with prefixes...how you bring me into a state of eternal perplexity.
14. Oh numbers...how I hate the fact that you decline like nouns, adjectives and pronouns. Decimals and fractions scare me.
15. Kunstkamera...the sketchiest museum to ever exist on the planet. Also, the weirdest birthday I've ever spent. Thank goodness it ended with my host mom giving me Cheburashka to offset the horrible memories of that place along Vasilievsky Ostrov.
I think that will suffice for the moment. Stay tuned for further interesting reflections on such themes as the Russian winter, the Russian soul, and more interesting battles with Russian grammar and insane drivers. Next time: a typical rehearsal with the Moscow International Choir.
Всего доброго! Буду выражить искренную благодарность за любые замечания и вопросы.
Ваня Кенгуруевич
Friday, April 9, 2010
The quarter-century club
First and foremost, I have to say how very pleased I was to receive so many thoughtful birthday greetings! It speaks not only to how many friends I have, but also to the quality of friends I have and am lucky to know. God bless you, one and all! Thank you for the creativity (Stefa, Dan, Shannon...LOVED yours in particular), the humor (JJ, Maggie), the heartfelt wisdom and sincerity (Monique...well, really everyone :)), and so on. What did I do yesterday? I treated myself to a birthday lunch at Starlite (yes, got my usual cheeseburger and cheesecake c karamel'yu, I don't mind being a creature of habit, I am one after all, LOL), and then went for a walk at Tsaritsyno. Another recent blessing has been the terrific weather we've had lately. Thanks to sunshine and mild temperatures, the snow is at long last gone, hooray! But of course, as mom and dad know, snow will always be connected with me because I was born on a snowy April day, 25 years ago...
Today was an uneventful day, with the possible exception of having an unannounced test in linguistics. I don't think I did very well on the test, so I will have to make up for it by writing a good essay in preparation for seminar next week. I will probably take the tram home later, enjoy a leisurely evening of dinner and Vicar of Dibley, in preparation for tomorrow's epic day of choir, in which I hope the level of awkwardness that is me arriving way before the other tenors is kept to a minimum, and partying in the evening. I also can't wait for Sunday, as it is tradition to get a bar of chocolate in celebration of one's birthday, with the caveat that Fr. Simon takes great pride in humiliating every single person who dares to receive his/her chocolate. I'm sure Father Simon will say something on the lines of: "We congratulate our brother Jonathan on his birthday, an important member of the church choir, of the MPC choir, and about 5 other choirs in Moscow..." Something to that effect, haha. Oh well, for chocolate it's worth it. ;)
As I turn 25, I can't help but reflect on all that I"ve been through, both the bad: 9/11, the death of my beloved grandmother Meme and other close family friends, being mugged in St. Petersburg and dealing with an overly hostile choir director, the recent Moscow bombings, falling in and out of love quicker than I would have likcd, long periods of feeling abandoned and alone, and, more importantly for me, the good: graduating from my dream school, Holy Cross, during which I made some lifelong friends for whom I would gladly lay down my life, grad school in Middlebury and Russia, where I am putting my knowledge of Russian grammar to the test through daily contact with Russian and the writing of many papers, including my thesis, which I shall defend this summer, learning to really like myself and appreciate what I can do as opposed to regretting what I cannot, discovering a love of singing while still nurturing a long-developed love of piano (and now composing), hanging out with amazing people and finding time for reading, prayer and spending time outside in the beauty of God's creation, nature. I am truly blessed to have a God looking out for me, to be part of a loving family, to give and receive love in kind without any preconditions, to know so many brilliant, kind, talented, funny, compassionate friends, which leads to awe-inspiring, hilarious, humbling, unforgettable conversations. These are the people I want to be with, today and for all days.
Thanks again for a lovely 25th birthday. Will see some of you tomorrow, most everyone else in just a couple months' time! I don't know about you, but I'm WICKED pumped to go home. As great a time as I'm having in Russia, a part of me feels that it's time to move on and think about work in the States, that is, after one more idyllic summer at Middlebury with the Russian Choir , evenings playing the piano or watching a serial on Saturday nights till the early hours of the morning and hoping that thesis will be well-received. So much in store for the future, but so much to appreciate here and now, in the moment. :) What a glorious feeling it is to be 25! How great it is to truly be alive, to be a part of God's creation! My wish for you is to be part of the creation, to do something that makes you feel truly alive, that you are so passionate about. Go out to love and serve the Lord, we are told as the end of the liturgy. Go out and live. Thank you and God bless.
Today was an uneventful day, with the possible exception of having an unannounced test in linguistics. I don't think I did very well on the test, so I will have to make up for it by writing a good essay in preparation for seminar next week. I will probably take the tram home later, enjoy a leisurely evening of dinner and Vicar of Dibley, in preparation for tomorrow's epic day of choir, in which I hope the level of awkwardness that is me arriving way before the other tenors is kept to a minimum, and partying in the evening. I also can't wait for Sunday, as it is tradition to get a bar of chocolate in celebration of one's birthday, with the caveat that Fr. Simon takes great pride in humiliating every single person who dares to receive his/her chocolate. I'm sure Father Simon will say something on the lines of: "We congratulate our brother Jonathan on his birthday, an important member of the church choir, of the MPC choir, and about 5 other choirs in Moscow..." Something to that effect, haha. Oh well, for chocolate it's worth it. ;)
As I turn 25, I can't help but reflect on all that I"ve been through, both the bad: 9/11, the death of my beloved grandmother Meme and other close family friends, being mugged in St. Petersburg and dealing with an overly hostile choir director, the recent Moscow bombings, falling in and out of love quicker than I would have likcd, long periods of feeling abandoned and alone, and, more importantly for me, the good: graduating from my dream school, Holy Cross, during which I made some lifelong friends for whom I would gladly lay down my life, grad school in Middlebury and Russia, where I am putting my knowledge of Russian grammar to the test through daily contact with Russian and the writing of many papers, including my thesis, which I shall defend this summer, learning to really like myself and appreciate what I can do as opposed to regretting what I cannot, discovering a love of singing while still nurturing a long-developed love of piano (and now composing), hanging out with amazing people and finding time for reading, prayer and spending time outside in the beauty of God's creation, nature. I am truly blessed to have a God looking out for me, to be part of a loving family, to give and receive love in kind without any preconditions, to know so many brilliant, kind, talented, funny, compassionate friends, which leads to awe-inspiring, hilarious, humbling, unforgettable conversations. These are the people I want to be with, today and for all days.
Thanks again for a lovely 25th birthday. Will see some of you tomorrow, most everyone else in just a couple months' time! I don't know about you, but I'm WICKED pumped to go home. As great a time as I'm having in Russia, a part of me feels that it's time to move on and think about work in the States, that is, after one more idyllic summer at Middlebury with the Russian Choir , evenings playing the piano or watching a serial on Saturday nights till the early hours of the morning and hoping that thesis will be well-received. So much in store for the future, but so much to appreciate here and now, in the moment. :) What a glorious feeling it is to be 25! How great it is to truly be alive, to be a part of God's creation! My wish for you is to be part of the creation, to do something that makes you feel truly alive, that you are so passionate about. Go out to love and serve the Lord, we are told as the end of the liturgy. Go out and live. Thank you and God bless.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Feeling good...
What's that bright yellow thing up in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it John Rutter using mind-reading techniques to tell us how to properly sing his fugue? No (though that last bit would be pretty sensational, if totally odd) it's the SUN! And not only is it sunny, it's actually mild weather? Can such weather exist? Not in New England, but apparently in Russia it can! :)
I've been exceptionally poor at keeping up with the blog recently. I've been spending less time online the last few days in order to enjoy a nice walk outside, be it from my flat to Yugo-Zapadnaya, to Sparrow Hills, to a lovely park at Prospekt Vernadskovo where I ran into Cat of all places. (I do love the prospect of running into a good friend amidst a city of some 10+ million people) The days are only going to get longer (we here in Europe switch our clocks ahead tonight, I know you all back in the US did a couple of weeks ag00, and I'm going to be much less motivated to write my thesis, let alone keep up with readings and papers for my other classes.
Choir is going well. Props to Jennifer and Chris for showing up, albeit rather late, because for a while I was the only tenor....just a little bit awkward. It would have been even more so had they not shown up in time to sing "Take a Chance on Me" where the tenors and basses have repeat take a chance over and over again about 10000 times while the women have the melody. But all things considering, today was a good rehearsal. I am rather excited to learn that we are singing in the Conservatory on May 6, in addition to our scheduled concerts at St. Andrew's on the 14th and 21st of May, respectively. For the Conservatory, we will be singing Abba (our Mamma Mia medley), which I for one actually do like, even though parts of it are repetitive and the rhythm is tricky in a couple of places, particularly at the end in "Waterloo", as well as a piece called "Spring Waters", which is in Russian. For our other concerts, we will be singing in addition to that John Rutter's Gloria, some Rusisan folk songs, Rachmaninoff's "Bogoroditse Devo" which I sang in my sophomore year at HC and am absolutely STOKED to sing again, a tango, an Italian polka, and some English and Swedish pieces. Should be a very interesting program. Fear not, Muscovites, I shall keep you informed, and I will expect many more of my friends to turn out. You have three chances to see me, make use of them, or I will come and track you down. If you don't come, I shall know...Jon knows all, you see...;)
Another thing I've taken to doing recently (well, just once, actually, but I'll prob do it more) is taking the tram. There's a tram that goes from Universitet all the way to Chistiye Prudy, which gives me a chance to enjoy the long ride (takes about an hour and a half, depending on traffic) and do some reading. Sometimes, it's very gratifying to not have to be in a rush to do five hundred things all at once and take a break and just relax and be with your thoughts. Gives me more time to read, as well as pray.
Thesis update: up to 12 pages at the moment, hoping to finish chapter 2 next week. The thing is, I've got papers, exams, as well as my concerts coming up in May and June, so the sooner I finish a draft of my thesis, the better shape I'll be in. Must motivate myself to keep writing. I'm reading a LOT of really fascinating material, not just about fairy tales, but also more generally about other types of folklore, including children's folklore, which is highly interesting and might make a good topic for a future article or essay. Just something to be thinking about...
Hope all is well back home. I miss you guys like crazy! This goes for all my family, my friends, and even my friends in Moscow whom I've neglected the past few weeks. We'll have to catch up soon. This is another reason why I'm telling you in advance about my May concerts, so you can all come in droves to see me (well, our choir, but mainly me, LOL). ;) Keep me updated on everything! Congrats again to Jessie for deciding on UMass! Wonderful choice! Josh, don't slack off in school, particularly in Chinese class. ;) Linda, try to be somewhat of a decent role model to Jessie...0:) Jk sis lolz. Talk to you all later! Love ya!!!
I've been exceptionally poor at keeping up with the blog recently. I've been spending less time online the last few days in order to enjoy a nice walk outside, be it from my flat to Yugo-Zapadnaya, to Sparrow Hills, to a lovely park at Prospekt Vernadskovo where I ran into Cat of all places. (I do love the prospect of running into a good friend amidst a city of some 10+ million people) The days are only going to get longer (we here in Europe switch our clocks ahead tonight, I know you all back in the US did a couple of weeks ag00, and I'm going to be much less motivated to write my thesis, let alone keep up with readings and papers for my other classes.
Choir is going well. Props to Jennifer and Chris for showing up, albeit rather late, because for a while I was the only tenor....just a little bit awkward. It would have been even more so had they not shown up in time to sing "Take a Chance on Me" where the tenors and basses have repeat take a chance over and over again about 10000 times while the women have the melody. But all things considering, today was a good rehearsal. I am rather excited to learn that we are singing in the Conservatory on May 6, in addition to our scheduled concerts at St. Andrew's on the 14th and 21st of May, respectively. For the Conservatory, we will be singing Abba (our Mamma Mia medley), which I for one actually do like, even though parts of it are repetitive and the rhythm is tricky in a couple of places, particularly at the end in "Waterloo", as well as a piece called "Spring Waters", which is in Russian. For our other concerts, we will be singing in addition to that John Rutter's Gloria, some Rusisan folk songs, Rachmaninoff's "Bogoroditse Devo" which I sang in my sophomore year at HC and am absolutely STOKED to sing again, a tango, an Italian polka, and some English and Swedish pieces. Should be a very interesting program. Fear not, Muscovites, I shall keep you informed, and I will expect many more of my friends to turn out. You have three chances to see me, make use of them, or I will come and track you down. If you don't come, I shall know...Jon knows all, you see...;)
Another thing I've taken to doing recently (well, just once, actually, but I'll prob do it more) is taking the tram. There's a tram that goes from Universitet all the way to Chistiye Prudy, which gives me a chance to enjoy the long ride (takes about an hour and a half, depending on traffic) and do some reading. Sometimes, it's very gratifying to not have to be in a rush to do five hundred things all at once and take a break and just relax and be with your thoughts. Gives me more time to read, as well as pray.
Thesis update: up to 12 pages at the moment, hoping to finish chapter 2 next week. The thing is, I've got papers, exams, as well as my concerts coming up in May and June, so the sooner I finish a draft of my thesis, the better shape I'll be in. Must motivate myself to keep writing. I'm reading a LOT of really fascinating material, not just about fairy tales, but also more generally about other types of folklore, including children's folklore, which is highly interesting and might make a good topic for a future article or essay. Just something to be thinking about...
Hope all is well back home. I miss you guys like crazy! This goes for all my family, my friends, and even my friends in Moscow whom I've neglected the past few weeks. We'll have to catch up soon. This is another reason why I'm telling you in advance about my May concerts, so you can all come in droves to see me (well, our choir, but mainly me, LOL). ;) Keep me updated on everything! Congrats again to Jessie for deciding on UMass! Wonderful choice! Josh, don't slack off in school, particularly in Chinese class. ;) Linda, try to be somewhat of a decent role model to Jessie...0:) Jk sis lolz. Talk to you all later! Love ya!!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
An amazing week...
What a week to be alive. The sun is shining, the days are getting longer, St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow, it's almost baseball season (Go Sox!)...I've had a wonderful week, and it's time for me to take a minute to take stock and reflect on why it's been so good and all the great things that are sure to come...
Most of you who have seen FB already know what's coming. I'm not trying to boast or anything, but I am genuinely proud of myself. My hard work, all the years of agonizing over which vid glagola to choose, drafts of scholarship essays to write and revise, and hours of trying to make myself comprehensible to native Russian speakers are finally beginning to pay off.
It all started on Tuesday night at choir rehearsal. On an otherwise typical evening in which little progress was made in the Gloria, some of the choristers were asked to participate in an interview with a reporter from some Russian news channel. (As of today I still don't know when, where or even if the interview will be televised, but as soon as I do know I will let you all know). To my utter bewilderment, Corinne came up to me during the break and said that they wanted to interview me. Now, I've never been on TV before (except as part of a kid-vid course I took years ago, I've done some filming (for the same course, I can technically say that I've been a television producer, having produced a TV show and filmed a couple of local musicals at our town playhouse), so naturally, the butterflies were fluttering fluttering in my stomach. On top of that, I was interviewed in Russian. I've always been less confident of my spoken Russian (which to be fair is pretty good) than my written Russian (which is very good, and hopefully will be excellent by the time my thesis is done and ready to be submitted), but I think I did all right. I was asked to say why I enjoy singing with the MIC, and I naturally included the phrase pet' c dushoi (to sing with the soul, to sing with all your heart and soul might be an appropriate equivalent in English). For me, whenever I sing (I'm not a strong singer, but I can sightread well) I try to sing with a lot of emotion, paying attention to all the elements of a piece that make it unique: its text and just as important, its dynamics (crescendo and descrendo markings, forte/piano, triple forte, accents, staccato, etc) They make a piece come to life and it's always a joy for me to sing, even if I don't always get all the really high or really low notes.
Moreover, and even more important for me, I got a very delightful email from Mom on Thursday (I received it yesterday afternoon), with the financial aid document from Middlebury. On it was shown a $7000 grant for the Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace. Now I haven't received official notice from Middlebury, but I think it is fair to say that since it appeared on my financial aid document, I can assume that I have earned the fellowship. This was entirely unexpected. I thought I had written a decent essay (I talked about how we can combat personal attacks, which are on the rise, all the more so on the Internet, through education by example and compassion. I used my brief six-month stint as an English teacher here in Moscow and cited three rules (goals I think is the word I used in my essay) that I set for my students.: 1. Treat each other with respect. 2. Try to use English only in class. 3. Ask and answer questions. These goals are as much for me (if not more so) as they are for the students. If I don't set a good example, watching my language (not just grading it, but maintaining a respectful tone, through body language as well as intonation), then the students will not learn and I will have not done my job. That was the basic argument of my essay. Again, I thought I had written a decent essay, but I had no idea that I would have earned a fellowship (a rather prestigious one at that). Just as importantly, it means that I will be slightly less poor come the fall when I have to start paying off my student loans. HOORAY!!!!! (x infinity :)))
There's no way I can take all the credit for this. First and foremost, props to God (the big G) for His unending love and steadfast support in me, walking with me and helping me up when I'm down. Major props also go to Mom and Dad for their love and support, and for keeping me honest about getting the damn paperwork in on time. I've actually applied for this scholarship twice before, 2 years ago I got everything in on time but didn't win. Last year I didn't get everything in on time but I was in Moscow at the time so it would've been difficult. This year I wrote the essay while I was home for Christmas break so I made finishing that a top priority. This fellowship is for you guys. WE DID IT!!!!!! :D Props also to all my friends who've commented on my recent statuses and all my friends here and back in the States, whom I uzhacno miss. ;)
So yes, life is wonderful, and while I have a fantastic summer ahead of me in Middlebury, full of afternoon workouts at the gyms, great classes and Russian choir rehearsals, evenings wiled away playing piano at the Tsentr Iskusstv (Center for the Arts), I must not forget that I still have three months here in this unbelievable city of Moscow. What challenges and adventures await, I do not know, but I do know that I'm not alone, that I'm loved, and that I gotta just take things one day at a time. That philosophy seems to be working just fine at the moment. :)
Hope things are well with all of you! Keep writing and commenting! Thanks for all the support! Love you! :D Peace out from the Motherland! ;)
Most of you who have seen FB already know what's coming. I'm not trying to boast or anything, but I am genuinely proud of myself. My hard work, all the years of agonizing over which vid glagola to choose, drafts of scholarship essays to write and revise, and hours of trying to make myself comprehensible to native Russian speakers are finally beginning to pay off.
It all started on Tuesday night at choir rehearsal. On an otherwise typical evening in which little progress was made in the Gloria, some of the choristers were asked to participate in an interview with a reporter from some Russian news channel. (As of today I still don't know when, where or even if the interview will be televised, but as soon as I do know I will let you all know). To my utter bewilderment, Corinne came up to me during the break and said that they wanted to interview me. Now, I've never been on TV before (except as part of a kid-vid course I took years ago, I've done some filming (for the same course, I can technically say that I've been a television producer, having produced a TV show and filmed a couple of local musicals at our town playhouse), so naturally, the butterflies were fluttering fluttering in my stomach. On top of that, I was interviewed in Russian. I've always been less confident of my spoken Russian (which to be fair is pretty good) than my written Russian (which is very good, and hopefully will be excellent by the time my thesis is done and ready to be submitted), but I think I did all right. I was asked to say why I enjoy singing with the MIC, and I naturally included the phrase pet' c dushoi (to sing with the soul, to sing with all your heart and soul might be an appropriate equivalent in English). For me, whenever I sing (I'm not a strong singer, but I can sightread well) I try to sing with a lot of emotion, paying attention to all the elements of a piece that make it unique: its text and just as important, its dynamics (crescendo and descrendo markings, forte/piano, triple forte, accents, staccato, etc) They make a piece come to life and it's always a joy for me to sing, even if I don't always get all the really high or really low notes.
Moreover, and even more important for me, I got a very delightful email from Mom on Thursday (I received it yesterday afternoon), with the financial aid document from Middlebury. On it was shown a $7000 grant for the Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace. Now I haven't received official notice from Middlebury, but I think it is fair to say that since it appeared on my financial aid document, I can assume that I have earned the fellowship. This was entirely unexpected. I thought I had written a decent essay (I talked about how we can combat personal attacks, which are on the rise, all the more so on the Internet, through education by example and compassion. I used my brief six-month stint as an English teacher here in Moscow and cited three rules (goals I think is the word I used in my essay) that I set for my students.: 1. Treat each other with respect. 2. Try to use English only in class. 3. Ask and answer questions. These goals are as much for me (if not more so) as they are for the students. If I don't set a good example, watching my language (not just grading it, but maintaining a respectful tone, through body language as well as intonation), then the students will not learn and I will have not done my job. That was the basic argument of my essay. Again, I thought I had written a decent essay, but I had no idea that I would have earned a fellowship (a rather prestigious one at that). Just as importantly, it means that I will be slightly less poor come the fall when I have to start paying off my student loans. HOORAY!!!!! (x infinity :)))
There's no way I can take all the credit for this. First and foremost, props to God (the big G) for His unending love and steadfast support in me, walking with me and helping me up when I'm down. Major props also go to Mom and Dad for their love and support, and for keeping me honest about getting the damn paperwork in on time. I've actually applied for this scholarship twice before, 2 years ago I got everything in on time but didn't win. Last year I didn't get everything in on time but I was in Moscow at the time so it would've been difficult. This year I wrote the essay while I was home for Christmas break so I made finishing that a top priority. This fellowship is for you guys. WE DID IT!!!!!! :D Props also to all my friends who've commented on my recent statuses and all my friends here and back in the States, whom I uzhacno miss. ;)
So yes, life is wonderful, and while I have a fantastic summer ahead of me in Middlebury, full of afternoon workouts at the gyms, great classes and Russian choir rehearsals, evenings wiled away playing piano at the Tsentr Iskusstv (Center for the Arts), I must not forget that I still have three months here in this unbelievable city of Moscow. What challenges and adventures await, I do not know, but I do know that I'm not alone, that I'm loved, and that I gotta just take things one day at a time. That philosophy seems to be working just fine at the moment. :)
Hope things are well with all of you! Keep writing and commenting! Thanks for all the support! Love you! :D Peace out from the Motherland! ;)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Chimpanzee sent to rehab...
Pardon the completely random title, but I was reading an article in The Moscow Times about it (check out my link on facebook to the article) and laughed out loud at the total absurdity of it all.
Everything has been absurd as of late, not the least of which being the weather (my deepest sympathies lie with the people of Chile, Haiti, Hawaii and everywhere else affected by natural disasters). I am very glad to see that there is more and more daylight each day, that temperatures are starting to warm up, and even the cameo appearance of the sun is reason to celebrate. But with warmer temperatures and melting snow, there is also flooded streets, and to my intense chagrin, ice patches EVERYWHERE. Inevitably, I fell yet again this afternoon after church. Granted, it was the first time this semester, but there seemed to be something inevitable, I don't know.
To complement the rough week I've had, I spent a very pleasant weekend playing Strategic Command with Mike and experiencing my first taste of rugby. Unfortunately for Mike but very fortunately for ye Irish fans (Eileen :)), England lost to Ireland 20-16 in a well-fought match. Don't ask me to explain the rules, that will require me to watch about 5000 more matches before I can comprehend them, LOL. It was still great fun, though, just spending the weekend with a good friend. There's nothing in the world better than great friends.
I don't intend to stay depressed for long. Yes, I am sad about being single, but I don't intend to let that ruin my last semester. Relationships take time and need time to grow and develop. That much I know for certain, from experience. Quite frankly I just don't have the time right now, nor, just as frankly, am I ready for that kind of emotional commitment. It's really hard to give all of one self to another person, but if it's to the "right person", one who loves you and you love back, well, what could be greater? People keep telling me: "You're a great person, Jon. You'll find that girl one day. Don't rush, you're still young." I'm finally starting to really appreciate the wisdom of my well-meaning, and truly fantastic friends and family, whom I miss terribly and love more than words can ever express. Anyways, I've done some soul-searching this week and have come to a decision with which I am at peace. It will be better for both of us in the long run. Thank God for listening to my prayers and walking with me in this trying week. I feel better and more content and ready to face a new day. My butt is in more pain than my heart (CURSE YOU ICE!!!!!!! I curse thee with the fiery wrath of every movie villain!) :P
On a lighter note, I do wish I had more time to watch the Olympics this year, but I am proud of the Americans for a great showing and congratulate all athletes for incredible, inspiring performances. The next winter Olympics is in Sochi, so who knows, maybe I'll be back in Russia in 2014? Who knows.
There is so much good to look forward to in the coming months...Easter, April 8 (which should be an international holiday, hee hee...working on that), choir concerts in May, and one more idyllic summer of working out at the gym, practicing piano at the tsentr iskucctv and fun Russian choir rehearsals. Man, in just a few months, I can add the words M.A. to the end of my name, haha. Whether or not I go on for my Ph.D is far too soon to tell, but you never know, you could be seeing Dr. Tardif in Stein one day at Holy Cross, or even walking along the quad at Middlebury, relaxing at Lake Dunmore. It's fun to fantasize...
Thanks to everyone who comments on my blog, I always appreciate hearing from you! Hope all is well, wherever you are! Peace and love, Comrade Jon :)
Everything has been absurd as of late, not the least of which being the weather (my deepest sympathies lie with the people of Chile, Haiti, Hawaii and everywhere else affected by natural disasters). I am very glad to see that there is more and more daylight each day, that temperatures are starting to warm up, and even the cameo appearance of the sun is reason to celebrate. But with warmer temperatures and melting snow, there is also flooded streets, and to my intense chagrin, ice patches EVERYWHERE. Inevitably, I fell yet again this afternoon after church. Granted, it was the first time this semester, but there seemed to be something inevitable, I don't know.
To complement the rough week I've had, I spent a very pleasant weekend playing Strategic Command with Mike and experiencing my first taste of rugby. Unfortunately for Mike but very fortunately for ye Irish fans (Eileen :)), England lost to Ireland 20-16 in a well-fought match. Don't ask me to explain the rules, that will require me to watch about 5000 more matches before I can comprehend them, LOL. It was still great fun, though, just spending the weekend with a good friend. There's nothing in the world better than great friends.
I don't intend to stay depressed for long. Yes, I am sad about being single, but I don't intend to let that ruin my last semester. Relationships take time and need time to grow and develop. That much I know for certain, from experience. Quite frankly I just don't have the time right now, nor, just as frankly, am I ready for that kind of emotional commitment. It's really hard to give all of one self to another person, but if it's to the "right person", one who loves you and you love back, well, what could be greater? People keep telling me: "You're a great person, Jon. You'll find that girl one day. Don't rush, you're still young." I'm finally starting to really appreciate the wisdom of my well-meaning, and truly fantastic friends and family, whom I miss terribly and love more than words can ever express. Anyways, I've done some soul-searching this week and have come to a decision with which I am at peace. It will be better for both of us in the long run. Thank God for listening to my prayers and walking with me in this trying week. I feel better and more content and ready to face a new day. My butt is in more pain than my heart (CURSE YOU ICE!!!!!!! I curse thee with the fiery wrath of every movie villain!) :P
On a lighter note, I do wish I had more time to watch the Olympics this year, but I am proud of the Americans for a great showing and congratulate all athletes for incredible, inspiring performances. The next winter Olympics is in Sochi, so who knows, maybe I'll be back in Russia in 2014? Who knows.
There is so much good to look forward to in the coming months...Easter, April 8 (which should be an international holiday, hee hee...working on that), choir concerts in May, and one more idyllic summer of working out at the gym, practicing piano at the tsentr iskucctv and fun Russian choir rehearsals. Man, in just a few months, I can add the words M.A. to the end of my name, haha. Whether or not I go on for my Ph.D is far too soon to tell, but you never know, you could be seeing Dr. Tardif in Stein one day at Holy Cross, or even walking along the quad at Middlebury, relaxing at Lake Dunmore. It's fun to fantasize...
Thanks to everyone who comments on my blog, I always appreciate hearing from you! Hope all is well, wherever you are! Peace and love, Comrade Jon :)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Shto takoye colntse?
Good question. It's hard to come by here in Moscow and on a rare day when the sun does come out, it's about -10 (Celsius, that is, but still cold, brrrr). Snowed all day again yesterday, I swear we must have about 4, maybe close to 5 feet of snow on the ground. If I'm exaggerating, it's not by much. Oh well. Lots of time to read and thesisize. :)
Right now I've got about 3 pages done on the thesis. I've said repeatedly that my main academic goal for the semester is to finish a working first draft so I can spend the summer doing revisions. I don't pretend that my work will be publishable by any means, but I'd like to know that if I do a good job with my thesis, I can maybe then rewrite it so it can be published. I love classes, but at the same time am pretty much at the point where it's now time to take everything I've learned in 7 years of trying to understand verbs of motion, let alone PREFIXED vom and apply myself to research. I do love to read and write and I'm sure I can find several topics which I might like to develop into an article or, (I'm being super optimistic here), a dissertation prospectus. I'd love to do research on pretty much anything from Soviet cartoons to the Gulag to the stylistics of a favorite Russian author, etc.
Talking of classes, I'm only in class once a week at the moment, but am still trying to keep up with all the readings, mostly for linguistics, but just got a seminar assignment for my Russian music class. Totally managable, with some very interesting topics like "cvoi" and "chuzhoi" in Russian musical culture, origins and development of art in drevnii Ruc', and so on. My listening comprehension is getting better by the day, as is my reading. Still working on trying to increase my vocabulary, but not trying to overdo it. I know my strengths and my limitations.
Outside of academics, I'm enjoying a very busy social life. Choir is going well, staying at church (I gave up going to the Diner for Lent, but I'm afraid I may fall off the wagon, LOL...). And yes, for those of you who don't know (which I suspect by this point is probably only one or two of you, hehe) I'm dating a cute Russian girl named Nina. It's nice to be in a relationship, and also nice that it has in no way detracted me from my studies. All in all, a healthy balance of linguistics, God, and good friends.
I can't believe I've been back for three weeks already. Seems like just yesterday I was home, waking up at ungodly hours but elated to be home. Looking forward to another brief respite in the Throp before I go back to Vermont and wow Middlebury with my thesis. :) It will be very difficult to leave Russia, possibly for the last time, but I still have four months to enjoy to the fullest, so my dear Moscow friends, you don't need to miss me just yet. JT is sticking around for some laughs, some great music, and, it goes without saying but I will anyway, Strategic Command. "Welcome to hell!" (inside joke, no need to look shocked, hahaha)
Talk soon, everyone! Sending you my love from the Motherland! Do keep writing back! :)
Right now I've got about 3 pages done on the thesis. I've said repeatedly that my main academic goal for the semester is to finish a working first draft so I can spend the summer doing revisions. I don't pretend that my work will be publishable by any means, but I'd like to know that if I do a good job with my thesis, I can maybe then rewrite it so it can be published. I love classes, but at the same time am pretty much at the point where it's now time to take everything I've learned in 7 years of trying to understand verbs of motion, let alone PREFIXED vom and apply myself to research. I do love to read and write and I'm sure I can find several topics which I might like to develop into an article or, (I'm being super optimistic here), a dissertation prospectus. I'd love to do research on pretty much anything from Soviet cartoons to the Gulag to the stylistics of a favorite Russian author, etc.
Talking of classes, I'm only in class once a week at the moment, but am still trying to keep up with all the readings, mostly for linguistics, but just got a seminar assignment for my Russian music class. Totally managable, with some very interesting topics like "cvoi" and "chuzhoi" in Russian musical culture, origins and development of art in drevnii Ruc', and so on. My listening comprehension is getting better by the day, as is my reading. Still working on trying to increase my vocabulary, but not trying to overdo it. I know my strengths and my limitations.
Outside of academics, I'm enjoying a very busy social life. Choir is going well, staying at church (I gave up going to the Diner for Lent, but I'm afraid I may fall off the wagon, LOL...). And yes, for those of you who don't know (which I suspect by this point is probably only one or two of you, hehe) I'm dating a cute Russian girl named Nina. It's nice to be in a relationship, and also nice that it has in no way detracted me from my studies. All in all, a healthy balance of linguistics, God, and good friends.
I can't believe I've been back for three weeks already. Seems like just yesterday I was home, waking up at ungodly hours but elated to be home. Looking forward to another brief respite in the Throp before I go back to Vermont and wow Middlebury with my thesis. :) It will be very difficult to leave Russia, possibly for the last time, but I still have four months to enjoy to the fullest, so my dear Moscow friends, you don't need to miss me just yet. JT is sticking around for some laughs, some great music, and, it goes without saying but I will anyway, Strategic Command. "Welcome to hell!" (inside joke, no need to look shocked, hahaha)
Talk soon, everyone! Sending you my love from the Motherland! Do keep writing back! :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Maslenitsa > Valentine's Day
Okay, so while I can the attraction that Valentine's Day holds for many, particularly for those who happen to be in a relationship, let's compare it to one of the merriest (and yummiest) of Russian holidays. So Valentine's Day: sure, you might some nice flowers, some chocolate, a trip to London and Paris (best gift EVER btw :)))) , your guy might wait on you hand and foot (men who happen to be in Russia, do not despair, Feb 23 is YOUR day), but really, that lasts only a day (unless you happen to have a quality guy who is nice enough to love you each and every day, and give you flowers just because. And yes, I do believe (naively, perhaps) that the spirit of Valentine's Day should last not just one day, but the whole day long, but that's just the hopeless romantic optimist in me, lol.
Let's look at Maslenitsa. I'm not here to give a history of how it started, I'm just saying it's infiinitely better than Valentine's Day. Why, you may ask?
1. It lasts a week, leading up to and culminating in Shrove Tuesday.
2. Pancakes pancakes pancakes! Among other traditions, you basically are free to consume as many pancakes as humanly possible for an entire week. And really, what could top that?
That's about all I got, actually, haha. Like I said, this wasn't meant to in any way be an information introduction to all aspects of this great week-long tradition, I just wanted to state an opinion. In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I've got to say about that."
In other news, I have successfully gotten over jet lag now, and thus am getting up at much more convenient hours. For the moment I'm only in class one day a week (just started this past Friday), but surely that will change soon, and my schedule will be completely insane. I've got to write around 50 pages or so before I come home in June, so I really do need to start making some major headway with my thesis, because I was just assigned a major paper for my class on a survey of Russian music from ancient times to the 17th cent. Very interesting course, but don't really need the extra work, lol .And then, because I'm completely insane, I decided to take an introductory course on linguistics, or yazikoznaniye. Three words, or rather, 3 letters, because Russians just love abbreviations: SMR, translated in grad-school speak as SO MUCH READING! But I do love languages, and I do think this course will be both beneficial towards future studies as a Slavic scholar and interesting in and of itself, so I'm willing to make the commitment. I may need to be committED when all is said in done, but I'll do my best, lol.
In choir news, we are singing John Rutter's Gloria, which in my opinion is ACCIDENTALTASTIC (music scholars will hopefully laugh, but I know Jennifer will, because as we all know, she adores accidentals, especially in John Rutter's music! :)) We are also singing some folk songs from Russia (and it seems England as well), and, if I heard correctly, selections from Mamma Mia. I kid you not. ABBA will be sung by the Moscow International Choir, so I fervently encourage all ABBA fans who are in Moscow in May to come and check out our concert! :D Take a chance on us, and then thank us for the music, LOL! :)
That's all I really have to say for the moment. I'll try to keep up with the blog this semester, it will be particularly gratifying to take some time to do some writing in English and stay in touch and hopefully hear from people that I haven't spoken to in like 5000 eons but are still my close friends. :) You stay classy, wherever you are, hee hee. ;) Talk soon, and enjoy the Olympics!!! And a happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate it! Or a happy Singles' Appreciation Day to those who strive come hell or high water NOT to! Meanwhile, I"m going to go have some blini while it is still very much socially acceptable to do so. Actually, it is ALWAYS socially acceptable to eat blini, but this week, it's pretty much my duty as a student of Russian culture to do so. :)
Let's look at Maslenitsa. I'm not here to give a history of how it started, I'm just saying it's infiinitely better than Valentine's Day. Why, you may ask?
1. It lasts a week, leading up to and culminating in Shrove Tuesday.
2. Pancakes pancakes pancakes! Among other traditions, you basically are free to consume as many pancakes as humanly possible for an entire week. And really, what could top that?
That's about all I got, actually, haha. Like I said, this wasn't meant to in any way be an information introduction to all aspects of this great week-long tradition, I just wanted to state an opinion. In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I've got to say about that."
In other news, I have successfully gotten over jet lag now, and thus am getting up at much more convenient hours. For the moment I'm only in class one day a week (just started this past Friday), but surely that will change soon, and my schedule will be completely insane. I've got to write around 50 pages or so before I come home in June, so I really do need to start making some major headway with my thesis, because I was just assigned a major paper for my class on a survey of Russian music from ancient times to the 17th cent. Very interesting course, but don't really need the extra work, lol .And then, because I'm completely insane, I decided to take an introductory course on linguistics, or yazikoznaniye. Three words, or rather, 3 letters, because Russians just love abbreviations: SMR, translated in grad-school speak as SO MUCH READING! But I do love languages, and I do think this course will be both beneficial towards future studies as a Slavic scholar and interesting in and of itself, so I'm willing to make the commitment. I may need to be committED when all is said in done, but I'll do my best, lol.
In choir news, we are singing John Rutter's Gloria, which in my opinion is ACCIDENTALTASTIC (music scholars will hopefully laugh, but I know Jennifer will, because as we all know, she adores accidentals, especially in John Rutter's music! :)) We are also singing some folk songs from Russia (and it seems England as well), and, if I heard correctly, selections from Mamma Mia. I kid you not. ABBA will be sung by the Moscow International Choir, so I fervently encourage all ABBA fans who are in Moscow in May to come and check out our concert! :D Take a chance on us, and then thank us for the music, LOL! :)
That's all I really have to say for the moment. I'll try to keep up with the blog this semester, it will be particularly gratifying to take some time to do some writing in English and stay in touch and hopefully hear from people that I haven't spoken to in like 5000 eons but are still my close friends. :) You stay classy, wherever you are, hee hee. ;) Talk soon, and enjoy the Olympics!!! And a happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate it! Or a happy Singles' Appreciation Day to those who strive come hell or high water NOT to! Meanwhile, I"m going to go have some blini while it is still very much socially acceptable to do so. Actually, it is ALWAYS socially acceptable to eat blini, but this week, it's pretty much my duty as a student of Russian culture to do so. :)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Flight Wars: The Airport Stirkes Back (or Return of the Comrade, take your pick)
So, to begin, yes, I'm back in Moscow. Yes, I'm exhausted. No, I didn't sleep on either flight for longer than a half hour combined, but I did sleep until 11:30 this morning, so that sorta makes for it.
And now let me recount briefly the latest in the serious of Jon's anything but smooth airplane adventures. It started out nicely enough. Before going to the airport on Thursday, Mom and I watched Up, yet another Pixar triumph. "I do not the cone of shame." Mom and I both thing Dug is hilarious. After that we left for the airport and were surprised to find practically nobody there. As it's customary to arrive two hours early for an international flight (if not even earlier), we had lots of extra time on our hands, having quickly checked in. Seeing that there was no one in line waiting to go through security (and seriously, when does THAT ever happen???), we had a cup of chowdah (yes CHOWDAH for us New Englanders, whose chowdah is by far superior to that Manhattan crap, LOL) and a cocktail. It turned out to be a very good thing that I had the chowder because, after going through security and walking around in the airport trying to establish an internet connection (props to Logan btw for finally having FREE wifi, major yayage on that), it transpired that one of the incoming planes to Boston was struck by lightning and so our flight was delayed by THREE HOURS to undergo safety checks. Understandable, of course, but it meant that I had to sit around, read some fairy tales and wait. We eventually set off at 11:30 p.m and arrived in London at around 11 am London time. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because even though I missed my connecting flight (scheduled to leave at 8:40 a.m), I ended up getting rebooked on a 12:30 flight to Moscow. That means that I had another short stay in Heathrow, but it wasn't too crowded and I got through security pretty quickly, after waiting in line to be rebooked for about 15-20 minutes. YAY British Airways, they've always treated me exceptionally well despite the occasional luggage not making the flight. I will always choose them when flying international. Random plug aside, I finally set off for Moscow, arriving at Domodedovo at around 7:30ish in the evening local time. After getting through passport control, again surprising quickly (the line was less than a mile long, LOL, actually it was pretty short), and avoiding all the sketchy cab drivers looking to pick up and rip off unsuspecting foreigners with ridiculous fares, I hopped on the express train and then took the metro to Universitet and walked home. It wasn't too awkward carrying my suitcase around, due in large part to the fact that I only carried one, not too. I suspect that when June comes around, I"m going have to bite the bullet and take a taxi to Domodedovo for my two suitcases and carry-on.
So this morning I slept in and then went out to the Diner for lunch and now here I am, rejuvenating the blog after a brief hiatus to enjoy my much needed vacation at home. I can't believe that in just a few months' time I'll be flying home, possibly for the last time. It's always simulatenously exciting and stressful not to know what the future holds, but for now I'm gonna kick back, relax, and focus on my studies and my singing. Should a good-looking Russian girl come along, I certainly won't object. ;) Let me take this moment to publicly declare how awesome Mom is. She's like, "NO RUSSIAN BRIDES. You can date extensively though, hahahaha." Wow. That's mom in a nutshell there, seconded by Auntie Suzanne and probably everyone in my family. Thanks, fam, for that. :)
But wow. It's amazing to think that I will have spent nearly three years of my life in Russia, navigating the complexities of the Russian language and idiosyncracies of the Russian mentality. I'm still determined to keep smiling and swimming, no matter what life throws at me, and not let cynicism and defeatist attitudes get me down. I'm determined to write a damn good thesis, even if I finish it minutes before graduation this summer, LOL. I'm determined to NOT fall down on the ice with embarrassing regularity. I'm determined to make this semester the best one yet, and last semester was pretty damn good. Because I know this won't last forever. I know that this possibly might be my last time in Russia for a while, maybe forever. Gotta find a delicate balance between studying hard and partying (almost) as hard, hee hee. ;) Gotta keep strengthing my faith through prayer and song. Gotta write some instrumental parts for a new song I just wrote called "Lullaby." Anybody interested in providing lyrics or getting involved in any way, do let me know, I"m always looking to collaborate with my fellow musicians who as passionate about music as I am. :) Gonna continue to love singing in church choir, in MPC choir and in MIC. Whatever solos I do get (being the only tenor in MPC does occasionally lend itself to a solo, haha) I will relish and sing as well as I can for a God who loves me and has supported me through a quarter-century (gasp! I am getting old, lol) of ups and downs, rough times and cherished memories to be forever treasured.
Here's to you, my friends and family who love me and support me. Lastly, here's to you, Russia, you country of mystique whose language inspires love, hate, terror, and confusion in the hearts and minds of generations of inostrantsy. May this semester be truly great.
And now let me recount briefly the latest in the serious of Jon's anything but smooth airplane adventures. It started out nicely enough. Before going to the airport on Thursday, Mom and I watched Up, yet another Pixar triumph. "I do not the cone of shame." Mom and I both thing Dug is hilarious. After that we left for the airport and were surprised to find practically nobody there. As it's customary to arrive two hours early for an international flight (if not even earlier), we had lots of extra time on our hands, having quickly checked in. Seeing that there was no one in line waiting to go through security (and seriously, when does THAT ever happen???), we had a cup of chowdah (yes CHOWDAH for us New Englanders, whose chowdah is by far superior to that Manhattan crap, LOL) and a cocktail. It turned out to be a very good thing that I had the chowder because, after going through security and walking around in the airport trying to establish an internet connection (props to Logan btw for finally having FREE wifi, major yayage on that), it transpired that one of the incoming planes to Boston was struck by lightning and so our flight was delayed by THREE HOURS to undergo safety checks. Understandable, of course, but it meant that I had to sit around, read some fairy tales and wait. We eventually set off at 11:30 p.m and arrived in London at around 11 am London time. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because even though I missed my connecting flight (scheduled to leave at 8:40 a.m), I ended up getting rebooked on a 12:30 flight to Moscow. That means that I had another short stay in Heathrow, but it wasn't too crowded and I got through security pretty quickly, after waiting in line to be rebooked for about 15-20 minutes. YAY British Airways, they've always treated me exceptionally well despite the occasional luggage not making the flight. I will always choose them when flying international. Random plug aside, I finally set off for Moscow, arriving at Domodedovo at around 7:30ish in the evening local time. After getting through passport control, again surprising quickly (the line was less than a mile long, LOL, actually it was pretty short), and avoiding all the sketchy cab drivers looking to pick up and rip off unsuspecting foreigners with ridiculous fares, I hopped on the express train and then took the metro to Universitet and walked home. It wasn't too awkward carrying my suitcase around, due in large part to the fact that I only carried one, not too. I suspect that when June comes around, I"m going have to bite the bullet and take a taxi to Domodedovo for my two suitcases and carry-on.
So this morning I slept in and then went out to the Diner for lunch and now here I am, rejuvenating the blog after a brief hiatus to enjoy my much needed vacation at home. I can't believe that in just a few months' time I'll be flying home, possibly for the last time. It's always simulatenously exciting and stressful not to know what the future holds, but for now I'm gonna kick back, relax, and focus on my studies and my singing. Should a good-looking Russian girl come along, I certainly won't object. ;) Let me take this moment to publicly declare how awesome Mom is. She's like, "NO RUSSIAN BRIDES. You can date extensively though, hahahaha." Wow. That's mom in a nutshell there, seconded by Auntie Suzanne and probably everyone in my family. Thanks, fam, for that. :)
But wow. It's amazing to think that I will have spent nearly three years of my life in Russia, navigating the complexities of the Russian language and idiosyncracies of the Russian mentality. I'm still determined to keep smiling and swimming, no matter what life throws at me, and not let cynicism and defeatist attitudes get me down. I'm determined to write a damn good thesis, even if I finish it minutes before graduation this summer, LOL. I'm determined to NOT fall down on the ice with embarrassing regularity. I'm determined to make this semester the best one yet, and last semester was pretty damn good. Because I know this won't last forever. I know that this possibly might be my last time in Russia for a while, maybe forever. Gotta find a delicate balance between studying hard and partying (almost) as hard, hee hee. ;) Gotta keep strengthing my faith through prayer and song. Gotta write some instrumental parts for a new song I just wrote called "Lullaby." Anybody interested in providing lyrics or getting involved in any way, do let me know, I"m always looking to collaborate with my fellow musicians who as passionate about music as I am. :) Gonna continue to love singing in church choir, in MPC choir and in MIC. Whatever solos I do get (being the only tenor in MPC does occasionally lend itself to a solo, haha) I will relish and sing as well as I can for a God who loves me and has supported me through a quarter-century (gasp! I am getting old, lol) of ups and downs, rough times and cherished memories to be forever treasured.
Here's to you, my friends and family who love me and support me. Lastly, here's to you, Russia, you country of mystique whose language inspires love, hate, terror, and confusion in the hearts and minds of generations of inostrantsy. May this semester be truly great.
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