Back to School

9 January, 2009

SO after an entire month of straight traveling, I am finally back in Yaroslavl. The latest adventure was a brief trip to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. That was super cool. It is one of the only places in the world that you can find a mosque and a church in the same complex – and no sorts of conflict. Christianity and Islam have coexisted peacefully for almost a thousand years in this republic. For the first time I went inside a mosque ;( Kul Shariff) and I was completely blown away. While we in the western world have our differences with the theologies and politics of the followers of Muhammad, there is no denying that THAT was a house of God. It was full of light and beautiful decorations; though not the heavy overpowering ones I have become accustomed to in Russian Orthodox churches. To be honest, it was one of the most holy places I have ever visited. I would show you pictures, but we were not allowed to take any there. In some ways, that is better. I doubt that I could have done it justice. That and my camera died. Go figure…

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that I am going to start crying “Allah Akbar” five times a day. Islam is not a terribly female friendly religion, no matter how beautiful their places of worship may be.

What else did I do in Kazan? Wandered around a lot- it is a very clean, beautiful city, full of ridiculously nice people. Most Russian, when asked directions by foreigners, blabber away in very fast, very idiomatic Russian. The people in Kazan were very considerate, helpful, and best of all spoke in clear, slow Russian. I was pleasantly shocked. The university there looks like the kind of school that I was used to in the states; very student oriented, easy to navigate, full of fun things to do. It makes ЯГПУ, where I go, look very shabby in comparison. Oh! Almost forgot! I tried all sorts of Tatar cooking while in Kazan, including horse meat! No fooling! I ate horse! I saw it on the menu, and I couldn’t resist. It was pretty tasty, though nothing fantastic. There was also a lot of interesting Tatar sausages, a very tasty vodka substitute called «Тимерхан», and a personal favorite «Чак-Чак.» This last resembles something between a funnel cake and rice krispie treats. Tasty tasty. We stayed with my friend Aigul, with whom I worked at Lesnoe Ozero. Fun times. She taught me how to make жаркое, a very tasty fried stew that I have become fond of here.

After all these adventures I am both sad and happy to be back where I belong. Sad, because classes start tomorrow, and I have almost forgotten how to study and do homework after this 2 month weekend. (If only) Also, it was slightly warm today, and all the nasty snow is melty and gross. It is a good thing that I once swam on a team; I am having to use all of my water skills just crossing the street. Not nice. Still, I can’t tell you how glad I am that I no longer have to catch any trains, or constantly check my map, or feel like there are still so many things to see and do. Tim and I were calculating today, and we have spent 8+ of the past 30 days on the train. It is exhausting. Tomorrow I have my first Russian film and Early Russian History classe. I am looking forward to both. Especially since they don’t start until 2pm! Yay no early Tuesday classes! ☺ And with that, I bid you good day!