My final post

This will be my last contribution to BLOG-одать 2011. I have returned home to deal with affairs that are closer than anything to my heart and soul. I left Russia with a head full of new ideas, perspectives, and goals. This trip was hard for me everyday but I will miss every bit of it. It has opened a whole world for me. I have new friends to stay in touch with who will help me practice my Russian. I have new ideas about how to spend my energies while they last. I have new appreciation for where I come from and what it means to me. There is much I still don't know or understand about not only myself but humanity in general. I think I expected to gain some kind of unalterable wisdom and elevation from this adventure into the unknown. Yet, I have more often been only disappointed by my own weaknesses, the absence of clarity in my head. I know now how much I have yet to do and learn; how much effort and pain it takes to understand one's self beyond a superficial level. I not only want to but need to keep exploring the planet, humanity. I need to do this whether or not my head is ever clear. The smoke may never disappear, but someday it will settle into a calm mist over green grass and I will have happy memories.

The best of luck to Nuala as she tackles this most elusive of places. Her adventures in the land of the Rus' will bare beautiful fruit. I eagerly await hearing about them. Much love to all. Thanks for the support. I thought of every one of you.

And now some pics before I sign off:

The Russkies finally let me cook a bit. Eggs and onions over the outdoor pechka.

Cooling off in the prood (pond) after my first hop in the banya. As you can tell from my expression I am feeling rather unique. A bit like a new born and only slightly less confused.

After four banya rotations we sat down to a fine Russian dinner. Mushroom soup, black bread, vodka toasts. Oora! It was all a bit too much for the American at first but after pacing myself a bit I jumped back in there going shot for shot with the Russkies.

This picture is proof of that.

Vova, Kolya (the owner), and I sporting our banya sweats and dress. In between our intense blasts in the bath we came out and drank tea, ate sooshky (little biscuity things), and candy. I managed to communicate well enough to learn that Kolya has done some sick bike tours in Russia and Asia. He made his own panniers and did some work on his bike at high altitudes. A hard dude. Sorry for the lack of chronological order.

An impromptu day in Moscow

This cheloveck was chilling hard on the Arbat. Vova has seen him before and says he made that instrument by hand. His own design. It has an incredibly ambient sound, one that transcends human classifications of time and history. Just straight up music. If I could pick any sound for the Arbat it would be this thing. It fit that street like a glove.













This dude again... dig it













Vova, Anton, and I in front of Kievsky Vokzal (station). Beautiful day.













Decided to come to Moscow to get away from the mosquitos, take a shower, see the doc about my ailing stomach, and maintain in general. Vova and I hitched a ride with a friend and spent today walking all over the city. We checked out a couple memorials and saw such famous Moscow sites as Patriarch's Pond, and the Arbat (Bulgakov shout out). We met Vova's best friend in Moscow (Anton, a smashing chap) after enjoying the serenades of Moscow's finest street musicians and dope smokers. The World Press 2011 photography contest is displayed in Moscow until the 10th of July so we hit that up and got a nice dose of perspective. The general atmosphere in the gallery, with people viewing some 40 odd photos consisting of every tragedy befallen to mankind in the past 12 months, was of repentance for petty worries and muddled reactions to events none of us could truly understand. But... maybe I am just projecting. I found it hard to keep my jaw not dropped. A beautiful collection of photographs, I recommend them. After the exhibition we strolled down the starry (old) Arbat and took in the Moscow mid afternoon. That street reminded my of Ithaca. It is an attraction for tourists while also being a center for sub-cultures in Moscow. Cool to see. Tonight we are chilling, eating, interneting. My mind is cloudy so whoever can tell and cares will have to not care so much for a bit. Enjoy the pics!

P.S. didn't have a camera most of the day so forgive the lack of diversity with the pics.

and why not a couple more pics?

Helped a friend with his bees last night. So fun! The local bees are a very mean variety. I didn't get stung but my host got a little more than he wanted. I manned the smoke thingy, awesome experience. Maybe someday I will have some bees. The local raw honey is unbeatable.





Helping Vova build an outdoor stove for his mama. A little skin shot for the calendar (lawlz).







After working on the house we had a feast in a yurt. All gathered around talking merrily (and quickly). I just tried to not look as tired as I was. Delicious food and atmosphere. Everything with sour cream. Told the hostess a bit about your yurt aunt Christy. It is her dream to live in one. Although I am sure the house we built for her is nice too.

update 6/20/2011

Helping Vova and is mother carry some fresh herbs from a neighbors garden. They are wonderful people. Singing songs to pep me up out of my fatigue and somewhat dark thoughts after being kicked out of my abode with Natasha. Grateful for them.

Sasha and Igor man the top of the wall, hoisting up logs we give to them with ropes. Work. These dudes went hard all day, savoring the work in a truly Tolstoyan (word?) fashion. Awesome to witness.

The workers and myself trying to blend in. Notice the lack of machinery. Dig it. The power of human generosity. A good lesson from blagodat.

Got some internets again and am able to update anybody who cares on my situation. Crazy weekend! Got to experience the building of a really nice log cabin. The guy is building his dream house here in blagodat for FREE. He only offers a nice feast for neighbors who come help him and the rest is generosity. It's amazing really. I came out Saturday to help buildthe structure of the house and we hauled huge heavy logs (pre-cut the week before) together. A bunch of crazy Russians yelling and commanding quickly. All real stoked for the work while I tried to help, not get in the way, and looked forward to the food. The whole thing was built with only simple machines too! No gasoline or electricity needed. Cool. A one of kind experience. The only trouble was that Natasha (my host) didn't want me to go so she rolled up when I was there and told me to take my things and leave her (She has always had some mental turmoil). It's all for the beter because now I am living with Vova and his mother, helping them where I can. Much happier in general. This week holds so promising adventures. There will be a pagan festival on Wednesday that the whole country is celebrating. The blagodaters will do it in a special way I am sure. The day after that I was invited to take a Banya (Russian bathhouse) at a locals house! It will be my first Russian Banya and it is badly needed, No shower for 2.5 weeks already. Maybe i'll get to Moscow next week to see a play that a local blagodater is in. Vova wants to go and I figure why not. Anyway, pics to follow I hope. I'll keep you all posted. kisses (yes, to everybody).

photos worked!

Me and the most Russian man ever. Hard to describe him better than that. Intense dude but so friendly.







This was inside the monastery I went to on the lake here in Pereslavl. Beautiful iconostasis. Like stepping back in time. A beautiful testament to human endeavors to understand and honor all our beautiful suffering.








I hate this cow. That smile is fake. She is a diva.

more photos, update: 6/16

Don't think pictures are going to work. The world of technology seems to conspire against me. So sorry to all. Life here continues. More to learn everyday. More to work on everyday. I have met new people and been impressed with it all. As my time here may be cut off any day I am trying to live in the moment and absorb as much as I can. Speaking a lot of Russian but some days are better than others. Understanding the language is still hard. Speaking the language requires creativity. It helps to have friends now who are patient and help me. With them I learn much. I will try to post some more pictures soon if the gods see it in their favor. Apparently I need to sacrifice a goat or something.
My work has consisted of sawing a lot of wood and now I am working on replacing all of the wood in Natasha's trailor. Going to make it nice and new and paint it bright red. Quite Russian. Nuala, I have much to tell you about this place. Things you must see, lessons I learned, and people to meet. My friends are eager to meet you. Stay stoked! Until next time. Sorry for the lack of pics again.

Me and Vov, but mostly me. Sorry, bad pic. We are hiding in the car from Kamary (mosquitos). Smokin cigs and sharing music. This dude loves Radiohead... chill. He also digs Dub FX (attention: Lindsey) Told him about your loop pedals. Stoked.












Inside the hut. Looks bigger than it is. I eat my meals on a fold out table in the kitchenbedroomlivingroom...room. Eating Tvorog (cheese curds), lots of pickles, radish salads, porridge and other such things. That crazy cow svyozdochka (little star) keeps us both well fed and fat.







Do werk

















The famous lada. Thing takes such a beating on bumpy country roads but it's tough. I am impressed.

The house with Karoduck (Turkish or Black Mountain). I just call him Carrots and Ducks. Crazy dog. If you try to pet him he snaps at you. Barn in the back and Natasha's tiny house in the foreground. Cozy but mosquitos everywhere all the time. Kashmar!









Me with Jay (Canadian from Newfoundland, great accent) and Olga (Vova's fiane). Great people.















Natasha with her horse whose name I never bothered to remember. I have ridden on him bareback (no kids ever) and on a wagon that he pulled. He has no middle speed. Only stop and gallop.













Me in my chicken coop. Hard to smile because the mosquitos are taking advantage of my vulnerability. Nice door ya? Bringing American innovation to the exotic east.










Me and my Kastyor. Natasha wants all the dead wood on her land burnt so I make a lot of fires. Once it got out of control and we almost burnt the forest down. Pozhar! My b

The First Update! Sorry for the delay everyone

Internet connections here are few and far between so I'm sorry for the lateness with some (any) postings. But, I am in Pereslavl now (the closest major town of roughly 45,000 to Blagodat). Natasha is running errands and has left me off at the cafe to reconnect wih the world like a junky needing his fix.
Firs off, this place is CRAZY! Russia that is. Extremely foreign and very fast paced. I arrived in Moscow on the 2nd and meandered my way from Domodedovo airport to where I was staying with a friend on Kutuzovsky prospekt. Not easy with no sleep for two days. Spent two days in that crazy city. Rode the metro a lot and saw all the necessary sites. On the fourth I hopped on the bus to Pereslavl and the country. More craziness! Natasha picked me up in her banged up old lada and we proceeded to venture another 40 minutes further into the Russian hinterland. She speaks English well enough to make up for what I can't understand in Russian. Mostly I speak Russian to her and she speaks English to me and we get along this way. She showed me to my abode (a tent) and introduced me to her land and animals. She doesn't grow very much, only some potatoes and green onions but she has a cow, a horse, a dog, and a cat. Quite the little farm. My work consists of caring for he animals and helping her with any projects that come o her mind. I just finished building a pen for baby chicks to graze in (pics to follow). From the first day I was introduced to friend and neighbors and have already made some close ties. A Canadian man named Jay lives only 2 kilometers away and we became instant pals, relieved to speak english fluently with each other and drop a little slang. I also met a Russian man named Vova (Vladimir) and his wife Olga who are from Siberia. He recently bought land near Natasha and is building a house there. A very generous man who has taught me a lot. He has helped me get an internet connection so I can stay in touch with my loved ones and brag about my exploits (this is his computer). My language in improving faster than I ever thought it would. I can express most of my thoughts well enough and after I get warmed up can even understand most of a hurried conversation in Russian. Much room for improvement still. I have now been in the country for a week and it has felt like an eternity. I have done much adjusting and there is much still to come. I will only be here until July but that still feels like an eternity. Forgive my weakness dear readers. Not to fear though because Nuala will take my place here with vigor! I will try to contribute to this blog as much as possible without trying the patience of my friends. I have taken many pics and most of them will get up here at some point. If not now, then when I return to the states. Hit me up with any questions you have! If you can do that I don't know how this works. Much has happened and there is much to tell. I am excited to kind of know what to say to professors when they speak Russian to me now. until next time! P.S. Enjoy the pics

Welcome!

Hello,
Peter is already in Russia, while I wait, I wait, at home on Long Island for my invitation to come in the mail. I am so excited to go to Yaroslavl' and stay with Galina, who is an opera singer and is going to teach me to become a wonderful singer as well. I simply cannot wait! I am currently learning Bach's Ave Maria to sing in her choir. I still need to get my visa, plane tickets, and a phone... so much to do!

This post was more of a test than anything else,
Nuala