Still Kicking...

I know it's been forever since we've updated the world on our goings on. Basically we hit the ground running when we came back from Russia over 2 months ago... and we've barely had any time to breathe. I started teaching an undergrad class and writing my dissertation and looking for jobs, and Brian started back to school and has continued to play support staff at home, which basically means picking up all of my pieces at the end of each day. Occasionally that means emotional pieces when I'm particularly stressed. But most often it's just literal pieces... trails of dirty diapers and dirty dishes and dirty clothes and dirty babies.

It's funny, with all of that going on, that I just said to Brian yesterday.. man, we have it so EASY.. I don't think our lives are always going to be this easy. And I really feel that's true, despite the stress. For the most part it's good stress. And even this week, when it's been the worst it's been since we've been back (because I have deadlines but zero motivation) I don't necessarily want to change our circumstances (though I would like to change my perspective on those circumstances).


Malcolm and I got to go to Croatia a week or two ago with a group from church (and my mom and grandma), and it was amazing. Challenging, exciting, invigorating, fulfilling, and a million other things. Next week all three of us go to Boston for a conference I'm presenting a paper at, and then December to Washington. So we're traveling fiends with no end in sight really. Next spring will probably entail flights for job interviews. Though if it doesn't, that's fine too.. we would be happy to have job prospects around here, but at this point we're casting the net wide in order to see what opportunities come up. The sky's the limit, really. I'm applying for postdoctoral fellowships (a combo of research and teaching usually), teaching jobs, research fellowships, I'll probably apply for some NGO-type jobs. Then we'll just see what happens. We're excited to see what's next, but not too worried or nervous, which is a good place to be.



And Malcolm is a champ of course. He's 8 1/2 months old now and really an awesome little guy. He has 5 teeth and he weighs 19 lbs (about the 50th percentile). He doesn't crawl but he seems more interested in trying to move than he has in the past, so it may be soon. He eats some table food, but mostly just nurses still for all of his calories. He doesn't sleep through the night, which is tiring, but I like to say he'll have plenty of time to catch up on sleep when he's a teenager. As for me, I shouldn't be sleeping anyways.. I'm a grad student!

So that's his world, and ours. Here's a cute pic from Croatia.

Being in Croatia didn't make me miss Russia like I thought it might. It did, however, make me miss speaking Russian. And now that I'm back home, I do miss Russia a bit. I certainly wouldn't be sad if we had the opportunity to go back for either a long or a short while.

Our Daily Bread

We've been asked, "what do you eat?" Here's a good example. Caress and I eat cirok almost every day. It's a small refrigerated cheesecake candy bar that costs about 20 cents. Of course it comes in many flavors, but always covered with chocolate.

Cat Theatre

We went to the Cat Circus yesterday because Brian really wanted to see a Russian circus (because of some James Bond reference... sorry to say I don't know details). We tried to go to the typical circus, but we didn't plan far enough in advance and by the time we got there (this was last weekend), they only had tickets for 1700 rubles (about $40-50).... waaaaay too expensive. So we went to the Cat circus instead. I went the first time I was in Russian and it was pretty hilarious. What surprised us is how much Malcolm liked it! We figured he wouldn't care too much one way or the other, but he was completely mesmerized. The show is very kiddy-oriented, so they have clowns and what not, and this was the part he really liked.. it was very colorful and silly.

As for the cat part of the circus, you can really only appreciate it if you are well versed in cat behavior (sorry to say we have no pix, no photography allowed during the show). They had cats walking tight ropes, cats pushing carts across the stage, cats lounging around, cats riding skate boards... the cats were doing all of this stuff in a very snobby sort of "I don't care" sort of way. And it was almost funnier when they wouldn't do a trick they were supposed to (though I expect this is part of the act as well). Anyways, it was very entertaining. And it was only 100 rubles ($3)... we got there an hour ahead of time and all they had left were tickets for 1000 rubles and tickets for 100 rubles. So we took the cheapies (being the cheapies we are). We were in the last row. But since the theatre is small it only has 20 rows and our seats were perfect. In fact, we would have felt really stupid if we'd paid 1000 rubles for tickets that were only a few rows ahead of where we ended up sitting.

After the circus, we got some street food (this wonderful little things called sharma... kind of like a gyro) and went on a river cruise, which was completely enchanting and gave us a great view of the city (which up to this point we've mostly seen via metro... which is not very scenic). Today we went with friends an hour outside of Moscow to a little monestary and had a picnic in a typical Russian dacha village. It was really wonderful. We're ending our time with a bang for sure. As much as we will be glad to come home, I know we're really going to miss a lot of things about Moscow!

Missing Russia already

I'm so glad that there are things we'll miss about Russia. It means it's not such a scary and foreign place afterall! I've been creating a list in my head of all the things I'll miss.. so I finally need to start writing them down. There's also a list in my head of all the things I'm looking forward to when I come back.. so let's see which list is longer. I'll keep updating the lists over the next few days... so check back!

Will miss:
1. I'll miss the sandwiches Brian always makes (tomato and cucumber), trying to see how many dairy products he can fit into one sandwich (sour cream, cheese, tvorog--a sort of ricotta cheese type thing). I think it's the bread I like best.. it's nice and dense, and small.
2. Long leisurely family breakfasts. Ahhh. Nothing like waking up to a nice cup of coffee and some lounging around with the boys. I'll miss all the family time in general. It's been really awesome to be together all summer long.
3. Moscow's public spaces. There are so many parks and squares that people actually USE. They hang out there. Lots of people. Of course the sense of personal space is completely different... people are used to being around others. It's great for people watching!
4. Walking so much. It's a matter of practicality here.. but it's nice to just stay active.
5. All the wonderful friends we made here. We've met so many interesting people from all sorts of places. It will be sad to leave them.. but nice to know that they're just an email away!
6. Having Malcolm all to ourselves for so much of the time. I just like to hog him up.
7. Conversations with my language teachers (well, some of them at least)... and language learning in general. I've learned so much and come so far language-wise.. it's so cool. Of course, there's always more to learn and I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm so glad for what I've learned up to this point.
8. So many interesting excursions. We've seen a ton of really cool stuff. There's always some amazing cultural/historical thing to see just a metro ride away. So much stuff that we never actually made it out to the dacha as planned.. I regret that.. because it would've been so nice to spend time with the people who own the apartment and to have some nice country air and a more relaxed pace of life. I've practically turned into a Russian, huh.. longing for the countryside! 9. Hearing Russian all of the time. I know... this is a no brainer. But it's true.
10. Seeing all of the insane (and diverse) fashions that people wear. Hilarious. Truly. Especially when you consider I'm coming back to J Crew U where everyone dresses alike. Fashionably, but alike. I'm placing $10 on the fact that I'll see some sort of stirup pants within 30 minutes of being on campus. Leg warmers anyone?
11. Being somewhat isolated from all the partisan political garbage in the US. Enough said.
12. Sharma
13. Drinking a beer wherever we feel like it. In the park, on the boat ride, walking down the street. Sometimes it's just nice to have a beer. One of my traditions is that on leaving Russia, I always have a beer from a vending machine in the airport. Because I can. Well, of course last year I didn't because I couldn't, seeing as how I was still in my 1st trimester of pregnancy. So I just had ice cream from the vending machine. Because I could.
14. A great summer of great weather. Very little heat and humidity. Moscow can get hot and miserable, we've heard. But we were lucky this time around.
15. Great food. All sorts of delicious desserts. Yummy breads. Some of this stuff we can get at home, but not as easily. We'll certainly be frequenting the Russian stores in Cincinnati when we get back!

Looking forward to:
1. Pizza! (Brian just read me a recipe for a pizza with home dried tomatoes, brie, carmalized onions and smoked salmon. It sounds divine!)
2. Toast from the toaster! Big pieces of toast! (we just have a frying pan here and make toast in that... and though I like the size of the bread for sandwiches.. I love a big huge piece of toast!)
3. An oven that works consistently. The one here is a) electric, and b) all the burners don't always work. No rhyme or reason. Actually, I'll be glad to have my entire kitchen back. Bread maker, pressure cooker, garlic press, etc.
4. Taking a full shower. Not an army shower. We just have a hand-held thing here... so you have to stand in the cold while soaping up.
5. Driving. I never thought I'd say it.. but this whole public transportation gets old fast! I think it's partly because Moscow is just so HUGE.. and regardless of what form of transportation you take, it just takes forever to get anywhere. I'll also quite enjoy trading the 1 hour commute to church for the 5 minute one at home.
6. Local produce. Basically the American food system. I know it's flawed.. but I've kind of learned how to navigate it... and where to get what.
7. More than just a few outfits. Both for myself and for Malcolm. And having more than 8 cloth diapers (and no dryer)!
8. Drinking water from the tap.
9. Recycling!
10. Not having to boil Malcolm's bottles... meaning it's great to have a safe water supply!
11. Sleeping to the white noise of the fan.
12. Good strong coffee. And decaf that's not instant.
13. Peanut butter and hummus. Basically, though I've loved the dairy, dairy summer, I'll be glad to replace many of those items with nut and bean based favorites. And we're excited to integrate some more "raw" foods into our diet when we get back, like sprouted chick peas, which I discovered here just last week!
14. Screens (no more bug bites while we're sleeping!)
15. Wearing my engagement ring.

more to follow.. and Brian will make his list as well!

He's so advanced!

This week Malcolm learned how to transfer an object (i.e. a spoon) from one hand to the other. He's much more aware of what his hands can do for him now! He's also using his thumbs more... up to this point, he's kind of had a funny little grip that we laugh about, not utilizing his opposibles. But he's getting it now! He's also making the first attempts at scooting. This is of course on the rare occasion that he has tummy time, which he's not a big fan of. He's also sitting like a pro, now.

We also made the discovery that M sleeps a lot better when he's well rested. Sounds funny.. but also very logical. Sometimes we drag him all over town because there's so many things we want to do and see before we leave. But it really takes a toll on him and he becomes a huge Russian bear (funny that the word for bear in Russian is medved.. not a far cry from president Medvedev's name.. which I always find amusing, though his personality seems very un-bear-like.. Medvedev's, not Malcolm's.. or a bear's).

I'm looking forward to M being on a more regular stay at home schedule AND being able to sleep in a room that stays dark past 6am. I know it will take awhile for him to adjust to the time, but hopefully not long.

We're also looking forward to having a high chair to put him in during meal times and starting some more solids. He's still only getting the rare bit of banana and frozen breast milk. But I think he's ready to embrace eating, we just want to get back to the high chair and bibs first!

You've come a long way, baby

Actually it's me that's come a long way! This weekend I was thinking back to my first time in Russia 3 or so years ago. I was with a group of 5 other students from Miami who were also doing the summer language program. We all met up in New York and flew to Moscow and then to St. Petersburg where we met the rest of our group.

But of course it was not simple and it was a very rude introduction to Russia. We arrived in Moscow not knowing that what appeared to be a simple terminal transfer involved getting some sort of ground transportation to a different part of the airport (about a 10 minute drive). It ended up being very stressful and scary, as our Russian was minimal, we missed our flight and had to wait around for quite awhile to sort things out. That first trip did not have a lot of independence-producing experiences and thus Russia remained a very intimidating place in my book.

Things are a bit different now. My language skills are better. Not perfect. But better. Yet I was still really apprehensive to go to St. Petersburg this weekend knowing how complicated it can all be. But we mapped everything out before we left. We took the metro to a train to the airport and took the bus over to the other part of the airport (realizing that what is a 10 minute drive is really just across the tarmac, it just involves driving out of the airport and completely around the outside). We did have a bit of a hiccup when we neglected to inform them we were bringing Malcolm, which involved going over to a completely different check in desk on the other side of security and waiting in line to get him a ticket (which was free) and then going back to check in. That was kind of our fault, though.

When we got to St. Pete, we took a bus to the metro and walked (the long way, I didn't really do a good job of locating our hotel and the closest metro stop) to our hotel. The hotel was amazing.. really pishety posh, much above our normal standards because Brian got it for a steal on expedia. We thought it came with breakfast, but it didn't.. and that was actually a huge disappointment, especially for Brian because I had been talking up the amazing Russian hotel buffet breakfasts. And it was actually crazy expensive to add it (I don't think I can even bring myself to say how much!).. so we splurged one morning, but were kind of disgrunteled that expedia didn't make it clear what we were getting.

The next day, we took a bus out to Peterhof, which is the Versailles (not KY) of Russia. Lots of fountains, etc. Brian will fill you in on all the attractions of the weekend, but I just wanted to say that I was really nervous to navigate us out of St. Pete (Peterhof is about an hour away) as well as figuring out all the airport transit. Having had such a bad experience in the past, I basically didn't breathe a sigh of relief until each leg of the journey was successfully completed.

But we did it! What a huge accomplishment. It's so nice to be able to look back and see all the progress. So nice that even though people in St. Pete were actually a lot ruder than in Moscow (a completely different experience than I'd had before.. I always liked St. Pete way more than Moscow.. now I feel much more comfortable in Moscow). We had one waitress in particular that was a really big sour puss. But the coup de grâce was this guy in the metro (I guess he was a security guard, or a turnstile monitor or whatever) who completely yelled at me for not having the right kind of token to pass through with baggage (why there's a need for a different token I'll never know). He finally yelled at me "do you understand Russian!?!" (in Russian of course), and then shouted off some instructions in English. Whatever. I just didn't even care. Of course I followed the directions. I just didn't get upset about it. In fact, this was one of many situations recently where I've been confused about something but have been glad to see that the people around me are also confused by the situation and so it has much less to do with the fact that my Russian is not perfect than with the fact that the situation is confusing!

A great moment in the weekend came when we went to this yummy Georgian restaurant. A lot of waiters and waitresses spoke to us in English over the weekend (this happened to us much more often in St. Pete than it does in Moscow), but this waitress didn't know English. Which of course is fine, because I'm capable of ordering and whatnot, and I don't feel like they should have to speak English because we're in Russia after all (it's interesting though, that ppl from other countries come to Russia and the common language is English.. so we saw Asians, French, etc. using English with the Russians.. I don't know.. I just find it kind of insulting). Anyways, so we had this wonderful meal and the waitress was really awesome and she asked us where we were from, etc. And she told me I speak Russian very well! Isn't that great! Great end to a great weekend. :)

Civic Action!

Russia is funny. Of course the US is funny too, but since we're new to Russia it's kind of hilarious to point out some of the things that happen. For example, there's a really long sidewalk we walk on every day to get to the metro. It runs along the front of an apartment building that has about 6-8 entrances. Not too long ago, they tore up the sidewalks directly in front of each entrance in order to create ramps from the street. Good idea, Russia! In a place that is notoriously handicapped inaccessible (we have a funny picture of some of the handicapped ramps that are completely useless as well as completely non-standardized), we really thought this was a step in the right direction. However, it was kind of annoying. From the perspective of walking from the street to the entrance of the building, it was great. But from the perspective of walking along the whole length of sidewalk, it was really annoying, because every 50 meters or so you would have to walk on the slant of the ramp (I think it's kind of hard to imagine.. maybe I'll take some pix).

So last night when we returned from St. Pete, we discovered that several of the ramps had been ripped out and restored to their original flat sidewalk status. Hilarious. If there's one thing the Russians are good at it's quick projects (of course not all projects are quick.. but they can really bang things out fast in some circumstances). I like to think that there was some sort of public backlash against the new ramps and so they advocated for a return to the old sidewalks. This is huge for a country with traditionally weak civil society. Go Russia!