Where in the World is Cat?

Well, today closes week six here at Middlebury. I'm counting not because I want to leave, but quite the opposite - counting so that I know how much time left I have to take advantage of everything here and cram as much Russian into my brain as possible. How many weeks left do I have? Three. Not enough. Never enough.

Things have been a little up and down lately. Generally speaking my studies continue to progress well and I'm enjoying this break from real life. My leg is feeling much better and I'm able to play volleyball and visit the gym regularly again. Fingers crossed - I'll be able to play soccer next week. However I think six weeks of immersion is taking its toll; Though everyone here is so nice and there are plenty of things to do and people to do them with, I at the same time feel a little lonely. It's hard to live without the ability to express yourself articulately, and very frustrating. Sure, there are people who would listen, but would they know what you're talking about? Maybe, maybe not. At times this situation drives me to plow through the grammar and new vocabulary, and at other times it really makes me throw my hands up in the air and run until I sweat whatever's bothering me out of my system. I don't think I can run enough!

Luckily, I've found a good friend here. He seems to be in the same situation, and we do a pretty good job of alternating our turns to vent and then cheer each other up. If he'll let me, I'll get a picture of him up soon.

So, where the heck are you guys? No one's posted yet except Chris.....drop me a line, let me know what's going on in your world (or the world in general, sometimes it's easy to get disconnected here). Anyone hear about Ben getting engaged? Amazing!

I'm in an exceptionally good mood today, most likely because I finished my homework yesterday, actually got to sleep last night and the weather is starting to cool off. To celebrate this occasion, I want to leave you with my favorite Russian poem, written by the famous Anna Akmatova.

* * *

О тебе вспоминаю я редко
И твоей не пленяюсь судьбой,
Но с души не стирается метка
Незначительной встречи с тобой.

Красный дом твой нарочно миную,
Красный дом твой над мутной рекой,
Но я знаю, что горько волную
Твой пронизанный солнцем покой.

Пусть не ты над моими устами
Наклонялся, моля о любви,
Пусть не ты золотыми стихами
Обессмертил томленья мои,—

Я над будущим тайно колдую,
Если вечер совсем голубой,
И предчувствую встречу вторую,
Неизбежную встречу с тобой.

And in English, that would be....


I think of you seldom,
and am not captivated by your fate,
but the mark left by our insignificant meeting
has not been cleansed from my soul.

I walk past your red house on purpose-
your red house above the muddy river;
but I know that I bitterly disturb
your sunpierced peace.

Maybe it was not you
who bent down over my lips craving my love,
maybe it was not you
who immortalized my yearning in golden verses...

I secretly cast spells over the future,
when the evenings are quite blue,
and I have a foreboding of a second meeting,
an inevitable meeting, with you.

Anna Akhmatova
1913

Well, I've just successfully finished week 4 of the program and am quickly approaching the halfway point of the program. Time has flown! (As usual.) Was able to get a great break from dorm life yesterday when my suitemate Gerrie drove my roommates and I out to her house. Got to eat real (and really good) food, swim in her marvelous inground pool and even (shhh!) speak a little English. I didn't realize just how far I had gone from reality until I almost cried when I saw the fresh corn on the cob and grilled steaks - I even got a little teary. Needless to say, I went to bed last night a very happy person.

Today is a different story - thermometer hit 95 degree here today with over 65% humity. I realize that's not that hot (and shouldn't be for me especially after living in DC) but after you consider the fact that I'm living on the 4th floor of an dorm without air-conditioning - things get a little hot. I'm ready to go back to Gerrie's.

My Russian is coming much for freely and I'm working on widdling down the number of mistakes that I make in conversation (big hurdle for me). With any hope, I'll finish the summer with the ability to speak Russian to a Russian, without them having to watch them politely smile as they exercise the upmost patience with my grammatical mistakes. Someday I will conquer this language!

War has been declared on Middlebury campus. With the recent bought of rain, warm temperatures and newly fertilized fields surrounding the Middlebury campus, we have been under siege for the last several days by armies of colossal mosquitoes. These mosquitoes know no limit - they attack through layers of clothing, in the rain and find you even when you find yourself 40 meters away from the nearest tree or blade of grass. This is a blood war.

Students walk around campus looking like children at summer camp, covered in a camouflage of bug bites, calomine lotion, bug repellent, and when there's sun - sun block. I myself have a hard time paying attention during classes as I'm usually distracted by a number of kamikaze mosquitoes dive-bombing my head and neck. Things have gotten so bad a petition has been started asking the school administration to order the campus be sprayed with repellent. I myself wouldn't mind paying extra to have the "luxury".

Other than the current war, things continue to go well. Work is constantly challenging (I like this!) and teachers continually offer their support and time. Hard to believe I'm almost halfway through my time here, and hard to believe I still have 5 more weeks to go. Things are serious at this point, you NEED to know the materials given to you. Even the extra-curricular are serious at this point - the choir is preparing for our "spectacle" (as Russians call concerts) and competition with the sports leagues is heavy.

I've added just a few extra pictures to my album in case you'd care to look. Nothing special, but as soon as I'm back up on my feet, I'll have pictures of the town and local scenery for you to enjoy!

Third Saturday here and I'm finally figuring out just how intense everyone is about there studies here. The Russian school took a trip today to Lake Dunbar, about 20 minutes away. Lots of things to do there, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, baseball, etc. I immediately went straight for a swim. Only a couple of other students followed me in, and a couple minutes later I got out of the lake, curious to know where the other 100 students were. I got on shore only to find about 50 students laying out on their towels with our weekend homework laid out in front of them! Never before have I felt like the goof-off! Who would have thought? Needless to say, I DID bring my homework with me too - however I decided I was better off spending my time relaxing. I swam as much as my leg would let me, and joined in some frisbee. However, it's now 9pm on Saturday night and I'm on my second hour of homework. Oh, the life of a student....

Well, the Fourth came and went like any other day here at Middlebury. Seeing as we're all studying foreign languages and cultures no big party or plans were made for celebration, which is fine I guess. This weekend the Russian school is making a trip to Lake Dunbar, about 20 minutes away to picnic and go swimming. I can't wait - I know I'll need the break after this week. I'm up to about 6 hours of homework a night now, pile on the clubs and I'm averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Just like high school. I did opt out of a couple of clubs (most regrettably, the culinary club) and am out of sports for two weeks on a bum leg, so time is "abudant" at the moment.

Classes at the moment are focusing on the culture of Russian drunkenness. Yes, you read correctly, the "culture of drunkenness". This may be surprising to some, but to anyone who knows a bit about Russian culture shouldn't be surprised at all. This week we shall study this culture is all aspects - through reading lessons, listening exercises, cultural lessons and even grammar lessons (Russian language has different verbs for drinking - to drink casually, to drink quickly, drink heavily, to get drunk, to get drunk heavily, to be horribly drunk, etc, etc.). Simply amazing.

Other than that - weather has been incredible up here. Sunny, hot, but a nice breeze most of the time. Perfect for running - if I could. I found an incredible running route that runs across campus and through the city - runs by the waterfall in town, over the river, around the small boutique shops in the village and up some challenging hills with beautiful landscaping. One of these days I'll snap some pics along the route and post them. Until the leg heals, I'll just be walking the route.

And it all starts here - Middlebury, Vermont. Just off a whirlwind year of traveling the Midwest and being based out of Washington, D.C., I find myself at "Russian Boot Camp", the Russian Language School at Middlebury College. Prohibited from speaking (but not typing)English for my 9-week duration here, I'm hoping to brush up my Russian before heading to Moscow to start my graduate studies. Also, I've been lucky to meet a large number of people here who will be studying or living in Moscow this fall as well. The program here is great - not only drilling you for 4 hours a day with classes, but keeping everyone on a very regimented schedule for meals, clubs and homework. They really do their best to make sure you only hear, listen, read and speak the language you are studying - even the workers on campus and in the surrounding community learn a bit of every language to make sure you feel comfortable.

I've joined the school soccer team, volleyball team, and culinary club - and will start practicing with the school's chorus come this Monday. EVERYTHING is in Russian, so it's been a great, well-rounded experience. Unfortunately however, having not played a team sport in almost 5 years, I'm learning just what time can do to a person's physical performance. Despite my many hours in spinning classes and on treadmills, I lasted about 10 minutes into my second soccer game before seriously pulling a muscle. I'm prohibited from sports for a couple of days, but after some rest and ice I should be just fine. I promise never to make fun of my older family and friends again!