To Russia With Love

Next Stop: Cleveland

2007-08-23T18:52:00.000+03:00

The last few weeks have been really fun and very draining, all at the same time. We have loved and cherished every minute visiting with friends and family. And it's been wonderful to reconnect with all of our Pesach Project participants in both Palm Beach and Cleveland, swapping stories of what has happened since our time together in St. Petersburg. However, I think we are growing tired of digging through suitcases, waiting for delayed airplanes, and wondering what city we are in when we wake up each morning! We are now back in Delaware after an amazing, roller coaster ride in Cleveland over the last week. The interview schedule in Cleveland was really intense for me, which is great on one hand (lots of fantastic opportunities!) and emotionally and physically exhausting on the other hand.

Getting together with the Pesach Project participants
in Palm Beach (above) and Cleveland (below)

The good news is that our days of being nomads is coming to an end. We have officially decided to relocate to Cleveland. Matt has accepted a Senior Campaign Associate position at the Cleveland Jewish Community Federation, which has a reputation for being one of the strongest federations in the country. (He starts on September 17th.) We are hoping that it will allow us the opportunity to stay connected to the work we started in St. Petersburg and continues to be funded generously by the Jewish community of Cleveland. My job search is coming along. I have one offer and I am hoping to hear about other offers by the end of next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me! We are returning to Cleveland next week (en route to Minneapolis for a family wedding over Labor Day) to continue our house hunting expedition. It is so much more fun than looking for real estate in Washington; in Cleveland, you can get a whole house for the cost of one room in DC!

Starting to become Cleveland Indians fans,
with the help of our friends Leah and Jeff

So begins the next chapter of our lives. A little adventure that pales in comparison to our last one, but an adventure nonetheless. The next few months will test our adaptability, but also present us with new opportunities to grow as individuals and as a couple. Thanks for taking this ride with us. We have greatly appreciated and enjoyed the support and companionship of our blog readers!

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-31T00:43:00.000+03:00

It is so incredibly fabulous to be home - I can't even sufficiently put it into words. (Even if we can't pinpoint where home is, exactly.) In the two weeks since we've been back in the United States, we have spent time in Delaware, Washington, DC, New York City, and Florida, squeezing in quality time with friends and family, doctors' appointments, and job interviews. We have greedily devoured all things good about American culture: shopping at great American stores like Filene's and Walmart, eating authentic NY bagels, drinking Starbucks coffee, getting super-cheap NY mani/pedis, devouring kosher meat and fresh, yummy summer fruits, etc. etc. And like Matt said in his last post, it's great to be among our own, able to communicate freely and without boundaries.

Our first night at home (at David and Jen's house), from left top: Alyson's dad Jay, Matt, Alyson's mom Bryna, Alyson and our niece Hannah

We know we've been bad about posting to the blog, so I hope today's post starts to make up for it. Let me start by saying, NO, we still don't know where we'll be living. Right now the front runners are DC and Cleveland, but that might change at a moment's notice if I get a job offer in Philadelphia or Matt's lead in Miami pans out. Alas, our lives are still very much being lived out of suitcases.

Hanging out with some girlfriends in Washington, DC, from left: Becky, Miriam, me, Jill and Deborah

A few highlights of our last two weeks:

Our first Shabbat back was a perfect transition back home. We had Michael Farbman (the rabbi from Shaarei Shalom), his wife Olga Marcus and their two young boys over for a casual Shabbat dinner at my parents' house in Delaware. Eating outside, while the boys swam, with our new friends from Petersburg was admittedly a bit surreal, but lovely nonetheless. The following morning was a big brouhaha at my parents' synagogue. Mind you, Matt and I are minor celebrities, returning from our big adventure to save the Jews of the world. Matt read the haftarah and I gave an introductory talk, which I'll post online soon (I promise). In addition to our big moment in the spotlight, there was also an auf ruf for the educational director and his soon-to-be wife. And, if that was not enough to celebrate, my brother and sister-in-law were called to the Torah to name their newborn daughter, Abigail Sophie (Avigail Leah, in Hebrew). All in all, it was a spectacular homecoming Shabbat, replete with lots of family time.

With our nieces, Abigail (on Matt's lap) and Hannah (on my lap)

Between interviews, we've had a few moments of vacation-like bliss. Take this week, for example. We came to the Orlando area to spend time with Matt's family. On Thursday, we spent the day shopping at the outlets with Matt's sister Sharon and his Aunt Francine who is visiting from Minneapolis. That night, we drove up to The Villages, where Matt's mom recently moved. It is heaven on earth. A planned community for people over 55, The Villages is like camp for active seniors. There is constant organized activity -- from Mah Jongg to painting to line dancing -- at all hours of the day. Since we got here, we've played ping-pong, gone swimming, taken a tour of the community, driven to and from Gainesville, and even attended Shabbat services at the New Jewish Community at Temple Israel. We even learned a new sport called pickleball, which is a blend between tennis and ping pong. And we've been rolling around town in Barbara's golf cart, pretending like we are cool enough to live here.

BBQing with Matt's siblings, from left: me, Matt, Sharon and Ethan

Tomorrow we are off to South Florida for a few days to see my cousins and for some more interviews. As of late, our lives have been so full and busy that we keep forgetting that we are unemployed! Having this much fun seems like a full time job -- and hopefully, some day soon, we'll have one of those, too!

Soft Toilet Paper and Cargo Shorts

2007-07-25T03:41:00.000+03:00

We're back in America, and the culture shock is setting in. We had a quintessentially American experience today when we walked into the restaurant chain Panera. We were awe-struck by what a difference a day makes. Yesterday, we were in Russia struggling with every little thing. Today at Panera, we understood the menu and could eavesdrop on the conversations at adjoining tables! Even more importantly, we looked like everyone around us: with my cargo shorts and flip-flops, I actually fit in rather than stuck out like a sore thumb!

Also, we noticed that even American toilet paper is softer than what we had in Russia!

The Final Four (Days)

2007-07-22T11:59:00.000+03:00

The train ride back from Yekaterinburg was the calm before the storm. What could be more relaxing than sitting in bed all day in your pajamas, with nothing to do except read a good book, watch a few DVDs, watch the passing countryside, and drink tea? Our four-person compartment was, with the exception of six sleeping hours, completely ours. It was a blissful 36 hours of peace and quiet.

Once we got back to Petersburg early Thursday morning, we transformed ourselves into crazy packing machines. We wrapped up loose ends at work: copying over files, sending colleagues last-minute reminders, organizing and labeling documents, helping submit one last grant proposal, completing and submitting our final report (nearly 40 pages long!), dropping off one last receipt for reimbursement, and unplugging all of our crazy tech gadgets in the office. As we walked out of the building on Friday night after services at Shaarei Shalom, we turned in our keys and said goodbye to YESOD, our home-away-from-home for the last year. It was a bittersweet and surreal moment.

There have been lots of goodbyes. We said goodbye to the staff of Hillel last week (before we left for Yekaterinburg and they headed to Odessa for a Hillel seminar) and, in a touching gesture, they presented us with a beautiful silver framed photo of us with their student leaders. The frame was engraved with a message of appreciation that listed all of the ways we have contributed to St. Petersburg Hillel this year. On the last night of our trip to Yekaterinburg, we said goodbye to our Country Director Jonathan Porath and the Northwest Russia Coordinator Daniella Citron. They presented us with a beautiful silver engraved kiddush cup on behalf of JDC Jerusalem and St. Petersburg. The staff of the Ural-Volga region gave us a huge bouquet of flowers and a book of photos to remind us of our trip to the Urals. On Thursday night, back in Petersburg, we had a low-key farewell party at City Bar, where about two dozen of our friends and colleagues came to toast us one last time. And we spent Shabbat dinner at the home our boss, Menachem Lepkivker, and his wife Lilach; at the end of the meal, we had a hard time leaving. The spirit of Shabbat weighed heavy in our hearts as we said goodbye one last time to the Lepkivkers, who have been a tremendous source of support for us this past year.

Saying goodbye to a few of our local friends at our farewell party Thursday night:
(from left) Lonya, Masha, Matt, Marina (in front), Olga and me

We also managed to say goodbye to many of the household items we've accumulated this year, raising nearly $340 at our moving sale. Sadly, we managed to blow most of it on a shopping spree for gifts and souvenirs to help us remember our time in St. Petersburg. We spent an amazing day with our friends Erin and Jon, who ferried us around town in their car, taking us from souvenir shop to souvenir shop, to our favorite restaurants (Troitsky Most and Tres Amigos) for one last taste of St. Petersburg, and to those we-meant-to-get-there-but-we-never-did spots. On our way home, we stopped on the Strelka (the tip of Vasilievsky Island) to see the rostral columns alight and the choreographed fountain jumping to classical music. We were also delightfully surprised by a wrestling match on the waterfront and a group of live salsa dancers. It was a beautiful way to watch the sun set over the Neva -- a perfect metaphor for our last few days here.

As I type, I am sitting in our freshly-scrubbed apartment completely surrounded by oversized suitcases. It's with mixed feelings that we are leaving. On one hand, this year has been challenging, difficult, and isolating in many ways. But at the same time, it was rewarding, enriching, and thought-provoking. All in all, it was a tremendous growth experience for both of us. The ultimate irony is that just as we finally have created a few strong friendships, as we can finally figure out how to work with the community, as our language skills have finally proven helpful, our time here is up. We have but a scant few hours left. Tonight we will see one last ballet performance, we'll try to hunt down one last blini, and then the driver will come pick us up at 4:15am tomorrow to take us to the airport.

Fortunately, we have lots to look forward to at home in the United States, most especially meeting our new niece! We are looking forward to our travels over the next few weeks to Delaware, Philadelphia, DC, Florida, Cleveland and Minneapolis as we visit with friends and family, interview for new jobs, and try to figure out where the next chapter of our lives will take us. Please don't ask the annoying question of where we're going next: just know that once we know, our beloved blog readers will know, too. This we do know: we will have to work hard to make the next chapter as adventurous as this one has been. Thanks for sharing our journey with us. We will continue to post to our blog for the next few weeks, but probably at a lesser frequency.

This past year has been a long and winding road; it's hard to believe that is quickly drawing to a close. We've learned and grown in ways that we could never have imagined. And hopefully, in small but meaningful ways, we will leave an enduring legacy behind. We are truly privileged to have been given this opportunity to serve the Jewish community of St. Petersburg.

Dosvadanya, Rossiya!

36 Hours and 1,800 km later...

2007-07-19T15:26:00.000+03:00

We're back! The 36-hour train ride from Yekaterinburg was relaxing, rejuvenating, and almost completely stress-free! I found an interesting web page to illustrate our adventure. Go to it, then wait a couple of seconds for the animation. Check it out here.

Heading to Yekaterinburg

2007-07-15T11:51:00.000+03:00

We're packing up our office and heading out of town for a conference! We were invited to join the JDC's conference in Yekaterinburg and give a short presentation on our experience and observations after a year in Russia. Where the heck is Yekaterinburg, you ask? It's the "capital of the Ural mountains," Russia's 5th-largest city, and you can find it here.

Then, we are taking a portion of the Trans-Siberian railroad back from Yekaterinburg to SPB. We'll cover about 1/3rd of Russia in 2 nights and one full day on the train. Check out our route here.

If you miss our blog postings and are looking for something to read, here is a funny article.

Lots to Celebrate

2007-07-11T13:03:00.001+03:00

After a really sad and stressful week last week, this past week has been an absolute party! There have been so many reasons to celebrate...and celebrate we did! Our colleague and friend Mollie from Kiev came to visit from Friday until today, and her friend from home, Kristin, was here on a 3-week writing program. Along with our new friend, Joe, we've been having a wonderful time, running around the city and soaking up nearly every single cultural event we can! Here's a quick rundown of the past week's highlights:

Tuesday, July 3rd: Our 2nd wedding anniversary, which we celebrated with a quiet romantic evening at home. We then joined some other American expat friends for a "July 4th in Russia" themed midnight boat cruise on the Neva. We ate Pringles and popcorn while we guzzled beer, Sovietskoe Shampanskoe (straight from the bottle of course), and did other reckless Russian-inspired activities! Because the cruise ended at 2am, we got stuck on the wrong side of the bridges when they went up, so we crashed on our friends' couches.

Palace Bridge goes up for the iconic photo of White Nights in St. Petersburg (above),
while Kristin and Joe pick up some Russian drinking habits (below)

Wednesday, July 4th: We had an insane day at the office (after barely sleeping the night before) during which time we conducted two tours of YESOD and had a lunch meeting with Jay Lurie, a native Clevelander who is doing a Illuminated-esque backpacking extravaganza through Eastern Europe, looking for his roots. That evening, together with Kristin and Joe, we decided to try to see the free performance of the Three Muskateers that was "a gift from the city to its people." See, we had tried to buy tickets, but were told that they are not for sale. That should have been the first clue to stay home. Instead, we lined up an hour early, shoving babushkas out of the way when they finally opened the outside doors. Unfortunately, the inside doors were still locked. So then we waited some more. Finally, we found seats in the balcony. The musical (a cross between an opera and a ballet) lasted an hour and a half (including a 30-minute intermission) and was among the worst we've seen here in St. Petersburg. Matt even managed to catch a scene on film in which one of the dancers falls down!

Thursday, July 5th: We woke up the next morning to some incredible news. Our sister-in-law, Jen, had given birth to our newest niece, Abigail Sophie Rappaport, four days ahead of schedule. She was born on July 4th at 1:38pm, weighing in at 5lbs 11oz. Here are some photos of her for you to admire...

Our newborn niece, Abigail, with Mom and big sister, Hannah (above) and with Dad (below)

Friday, July 6th: We saw Elton John in concert! Despite the pouring rain, the concert was amazing! He played his hits for nearly 3 hours straight in the middle of Palace Square, with the Hermitage, the Alexander Column, and St. Isaac's Cathedral serving as the backdrop. And because Shabbat doesn't start until 11 o'clock at night, I didn't even feel bad about breaking my "don't go out on Friday night" policy!

Singing in the rain, at the Elton John concert, with the Hermitage behind us

Saturday, July 7th: We spent the day getting Mollie registered, walking around the city, enjoying blinis, and catching up. We also went to this grungy urban artist colony called Pushkinskaya 10 that turned out to be a big disappointment. In the evening, we tried a new Mexican restaurant for dinner then we caught a late-night concert of JD and the Blenders (my friend Jennifer Davis' band) at the Achtung Baby!

Sunday, July 8th: Matt's birthday! In honor of his big day, we spent the afternoon and evening doing a soviet retro bar crawl (CCCP, Lenin Lives, Road to Communism), drinking bad beer at some of the city's finest watering holes. We capped off the night and the weekend with some deliciously Zen eats at our favorite Kashmir Cafe. Take a look at our photos from Sunday!

Na Z'darovya!

Monday, July 9th: Another insane day at work. People are starting to take note that we are leaving soon, so we are getting bombarded with last-minute requests. And we are desperately trying to set up interviews back home, clean out our office, write our final report, and tie up all of our loose ends.

The highlight of the day was our final English Discussion Club. Matt organized a special session -- a mock session of the Knesset -- as our grand finale and, because we made a big deal about it, we had a record 20 participants! The goal was to negotiate to pass your own party’s bill and block your opponent’s bills. It was pretty incredible to watch Russian young adults role playing as each of Israel's political parties, learning about the inner workings of democracy while practicing their English. It was a huge success, although the bills that managed to pass, and those that failed, were quite surprising to everyone involved!

Mollie, representing the Meretz party at our Mock Knesset session

Tuesday, July 10th: Rounding out our summer concert series, we saw Aerosmith in concert last night! Suffice it to say that this week has been: AMAZING!

Look Ma, We're Famous!

2007-07-11T10:36:00.000+03:00

Here are two recent JDC articles that feature our work:
"Angels of Shabbat" in St. Petersburg, Russia | JDC Website | June 2007
Sports Program "Kicks Off" at YESOD Jewish Community Home | JDC Website | May 2007

We are expecting another article to be published soon (from the JTA), but it probably won't come out until after we leave. Stay tuned.

Saving the Best for Last

2007-07-06T13:12:00.001+03:00

By the tone of our recent posts, you would think that we've already packed our bags and are heading home. But actually, we're still working pretty hard: running the English Discussion Club (you can see our most recent lesson on confronting social problems by clicking here), helping the new director transition into her job, wrapping up our various assignments, and more. I also had a fascinating new opportunity this week: to teach fundraising at a large nonprofit conference here in St. Petersburg. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had so far this year, and I wanted to tell you about it!

I was introduced to the NGO Center by a friend of ours here in St. Petersburg, Jen Gaspar. Although I'm certainly no expert in fundraising, after four years of working in that field, I love talking about it and teaching others how to do it. So, when they gave me an hour-and-a-half session at their major summer conference, I was really excited and a little nervous. There are so many cultural differences between America and Russia (duh!) and they all seem to coalesce in the classroom. But I was up for the challenge and eager to impart my meager wisdom on anyone who would listen.

Of course, while I can speak basic sentences in Russian, I wasn't prepared to lead an entire session in this difficult language. Luckily, I had taught through an interpreter before, and knew just how strange an experience it can be. On the one hand, you have time to really formulate your thoughts while the information is being translated; on the other, everything takes twice as long, and it's awfully hard to tell a joke through a translator.

The session got off to a good start right off the bat. First, it was amazing to see my bio and session in Russian...and that I could actually understand it! Then, the person who was teaching before me was also an English speaker, a Canadian named Yvette Ghattas, who is also an experienced fundraiser. She had already read my bio and was looking forward to meeting me, since she is active in the Montreal Jewish Federation and is originally Israeli. Small world, huh? She was interested in hearing about the Jewish community here, so we had lots to discuss! And she wasn't the only Jewish person I met that day: there was a fundraiser from Russian Friends of Hebrew University and (to my great suprise) the head fundraiser for Chesed Avraham, located right here in YESOD!

Of the 120-or-so attendees at this conference from all over Russia, about 25 came to my session. Over the course of the session, I taught the group how to set up a meeting, how to present a compelling case, and how to ask for money successfully. Then I had them break up into pairs, so they could practice and put these skills into action. Along the way, I enjoyed learning about some of the non-profits in the room. They represented all sorts of causes: fighting HIV/AIDS, saving SPB's historical landmarks, helping children with Down's Syndrome, preserving parks and green spaces in the face of expanded urban development, and even renovating the city's one Buddhist temple. In fact, the Buddhist lady invited me to come and tour the temple, but I told her that Alyson and I had already been there (see, I told you we've done everything in this city)!

While I've learned that fundraising in Russia is far more challenging than it is in the States--first of all, people don't have nearly as much disposable income or free time--the participants really grasped the importance of asking people in a face-to-face manner. At the end of the seminar, I was excited to know that some of the participants were eager to go and use this important skill. In my own small way, I had helped build Russia's emerging nonprofit sector, and I was overjoyed to make a lasting contribution to the country as a whole.

One Year Later: A Retrospective

2007-07-03T16:23:00.000+03:00

It's really hard to believe that in just a matter of weeks, we'll be packing up our apartment and boarding a plane back to the United States. I still remember like it was yesterday the feeling I had sitting in the car on the way from the Pulkovo Airport to our apartment for the very first time: I strained to read the Cyrillic signs before we passed them; I was elated to find a sign I understood and I was relieved when we hit traffic, meaning that I had more time to decipher all of the letters and make sense of them. I remember the butterflies that fluttered around in my stomach and the questions that danced in my head.

Looking back over the last year, many of those anxieties have been brushed aside and relegated to the "naive American" category. Our greatest fears have been trumped. We survived our first Russian winter without too much discomfort and only a few pairs of torn long-johns. As the Russians love to say, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." We tested our marriage by living and working side-by-side in a place we knew we would feel isolated. We knew our work-styles were polar opposites and while the first few months were sticky, we overcame the obstacles and learned to communicate better, work together more efficiently, and leverage each other's strengths. In the end, our marriage is stronger for it.

Over a candlelit dinner tonight in honor of our 2nd wedding anniversary, we compiled a joint list of 30 lessons we've learned over the last year:

Russians don't know what water fountains are (since they can't drink the tap water anyway). Only the ones who have traveled abroad understand the concept of free water.
Rolling suitcases don't roll in the snow.
Sometimes, all you need is a pink parka and matching pink boots to help you overcome your greatest fears.
Shredded cheese and tofu are integral to our happiness.
Being able to adjust the heat is a luxury.
Yelling at people on the street through a megaphone is a legitimate marketing tactic.
Those fancy shops on Nevsky Prospekt, like Prada, Gucci, and Versace? They're just for show. No one buys anything there.
Watching the sun dim over the Neva from a boat at midnight is truly spectacular.
St. Petersburg -- in general, summer months excluded -- is NOT a beautiful city.
There is no ceiling for weirdness in this part of the world. Every time you think you've reached the limit (say, you attend a Christian hip-hop concert in downtown Helsinki or you celebrate graduation with 500,000 of your closest friends), you will be surprised again very quickly.
An umbrella is always necessary, even when it's sunny out. Likewise, a sweater is always necessary, even during the summer.
There is a machine (a "babushkifier") in which Russian women enter around age 35 that transforms them from sexy, thin model-types into frumpy babushkas. There is simply no other explanation.
The theater, ballet, opera and symphonies in this city beat the pants off of most other cities in the world, and for a heck of a lot less money, too!
Wearing jeans and a t-shirt to the most prestigious theater in the world is totally acceptable, because all the Russians do it.
No matter how short the skirt, Matt is still not allowed to look.
It's ok to drink beer on the street at 9 am.
Time management is a skill that does not exist in Russia.
Fieldman's law dictates that regardless of where you are, someone will come sit/stand next to you and start smoking in such a way that the wind will blow the smoke right into your face.
Russian is a near-impossible language to master.
The metro in Washington is put to shame by the metro of St. Petersburg.
Alyson can whip up any kind of food you want, given 30 minutes and basic kitchen utensils. Standard ingredients are not necessary.
Matt is a whiz at figuring out how to play video games, even when they are not in English!
Searching for a job from far away is very difficult. We've gotten to the point in our careers where only face-to-face interviews will do.
The middle of the street is a suitable place for car maintenance, peeing, passing out in a drunken stupor, or any other activity you can get away with.
You can find podcasts for anything--Jewish learning, breaking news, financial advice, military history, classical musics, even tips on good manners. Podcasts make for great escapist behavior.
There's no concept of "service with a smile." You're lucky if you even get "service."
Alyson's mother makes the best personal assistant you could imagine.
You must provide exact change at all stores. Otherwise, you are likely to get verbally abused by the woman at the counter.
It is imperative to stay alert on the metro escalator to avoid having drunk men fall down backwards into you.
If you have the right partner, you can do anything.

It's Summer - Break Out Your Coats!

2007-07-02T15:51:00.000+03:00

The summer is heating up! Well, it's heating up somewhere...just not here, where it hasn't broken 72 degrees yet, it's been cold and rainy, and we consistently have to break out our light coats on cooler days. At the risk of repeating Alyson's post, I'll reiterate: "Hello, it's July, people!" But the job search has been heating up, as I've been talking with organizations in San Francisco, Cleveland, and DC with pretty good results so far. And there has been a slew of events and trips to report. It's been a crazy, interesting, and exciting week.

Let's start with Friday night, when the Reform synagogue here, Shaarei Shalom, said a final goodbye to its beloved rabbi, Michael Farbman. Michael is off to pursue new activities and opportunities in the United States, and it was a bittersweet moment as Rabbi Stas took over. Rabbi Michael has built a community from nothing to between 250 and 300 members, which is an amazing accomplishment. While the community will miss his leadership, and we'll miss his big smile and fluent English, his departure makes room for the community to mature and develop from a child into a teenager. We'll be looking forward to hearing great things from Rabbi Stas in the future.

On Saturday, we recruited our new friend Kristin to come with us on a field trip to two ancient forts, Shisselburg and Staraya Ladoga. Even though I'm a history geek, I didn't find the series of battles and ancient civilizations that lived in this area to be especially compelling. You see, after a year living here, we're starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to sight-seeing. What was cool was a medieval fair that was going on a the second fortress, complete with battling swordsmen and cheering onlookers. Unfortunately, there was a small group of neo-Nazis hanging out around the fair (the "White Power" and swastika tattoos gave them away...), so we took a few pictures and left. You can see our pictures here: Shisselburg and Staraya Ladoga Pictures

On Sunday, we were called in to help out as YESOD held a big event, spotlighting Dr. and Professor Robert Aumann. I've been lucky enough to meet two other Nobel Prize winners (Elie Wiesel and Vernon Smith) but I've never actually hung out with one before. Well, all that changed when we spent four-and-a-half hours with Dr. Aumann and his wife Batya. I helped him put on his translation machine, assisted with translating some questions, and even made him a cup of coffee! Our boss Jonathan Porath joked, "Now you can put it on your resume: technical advisor and personal assistant to a Nobel Prize winner!"

If you've been counting, here is the third celebrity we've met this year (Amos Oz and Yo Yo Ma were the first two).

The Ribakoff Auditoriam was packed to the gills for the speech, which was on a pretty obscure subject: game theory. Since Aumann is originally American, the ironic thing was that, for the first time, we didn't need a translator! There was a nice reception afterwards for VIPs (whatever that means), where people got to ask him individual questions. The only problem was that many of the Russians thought that a Nobel Prize in Economics winner must have valuable business knowledge; they took the opportunity to ask about all their personal finance questions and talk about their company's individual issues. I guess they don't meet theoretical scientists very often in these parts.

Lastly, against my better judgment, I'd like to write a few sentences about my beloved Grandma Esther, who passed away this week. It's enormously strange to write my thoughts and feelings on a blog, but I'll give it a shot. I will deeply miss Grandma's wry sense of humor, her funny anecdotes, and her bemused outlook on life. She always described herself as a simple woman who did the best she could with the little she was given, but that never fooled me. I saw from the very beginning that she was an amazing person--she must have been to put up with my dad! Grandma's greatness came as naturally as her humility. She was my biggest fan, always reveling in my successes and brushing past my failures. She cared about others, loved her family deeply, and changed the world for the better. I can only hope that the family that Alyson and I will start (hopefully soon!) would make her proud.

Summertime and Symphonies

2007-06-28T13:47:00.000+03:00

I was planning to post a top ten list about how you know it's summer in Russia (much like our beloved winter list), but unfortunately, there's no way to know it's actually summer. Today and yesterday, the temperatures have been in the mid 50s, leaving us with little choice except to wear long pants, sweaters and jackets. We saw dozens of people wearing turtlenecks yesterday on the street. Can you believe it, wearing a turtleneck in late June?! I actually have to remind myself that it's summertime, because it sure doesn't feel that way outside!

Last night, we went to the brand-new Mariinsky Concert Hall for the Stars of the White Nights concert series. The building, which had formerly been the site of the theater's set workshop, burned down in a historic fire in September 2003, destroying almost all the costumes and sets stored there and structurally damaging the building. The Mariinsky converted the building -- leaving the exterior intact -- into a fantastic concert hall for world-class musical performances, which reopened just this past spring. The wood-paneled interior and plush red seats make for an intimate, acoustic delight. (Sorry there are no photos -- we forgot our camera at home!)

I admit that most symphonies are typically far beyond my tone-deaf grasp, but thanks to Wikipedia and a little advance research, Matt and I could appreciate and follow the performance of Schoenberg's Violin Concerto and Mahler's Fifth, conducted by Valery Gergiev (who looks a little scruffier than I imagined a conductor of his caliber to look). Not surprisingly, Matt enjoyed Schoenberg's more-traditional piece more than Mahler's maddening piece; I far preferred the Mahler piece, probably because I understood more about its structure. I especially enjoyed the third movement, in which plucked strings sounded strikingly like the pitter-patter of falling raindrops, and the crashing symbols and loud blasting horns of the first two movements. It all felt a little irreverent for a symphony.

At work today, we continue to wrap up loose ends. We are writing our final report, which will allow us to document our successes, failures, goals, and advice for any future volunteers who are posted to St. Petersburg or other FSU communities. We are training local staff to lead tours of YESOD in English. We are trying to pick a date for our farewell party. And most of all, we are trying to avoid the question, "Where are you going next?" For the next 25 days, we can simply enjoy summertime in St. Petersburg, replete with concerts and cold weather!

Insanity in SPB

2007-06-24T10:27:00.000+03:00

Wow, what a crazy night last night. The "Scarlet Sails" party was one of the most intense and outlandish nights we've had since getting here. The party is ostensibly celebrating the graduation of Russian students from their universities, although judging by the half-a-million people on the streets last night, I would say that it's just another excuse to have a massive event for the city's 5.5 million residents. The name for the party comes from a Russian fairy tale where the beautiful princess is swept away by her love, who comes to her on a sailing ship with scarlet (or crimson) sails. And what better way to celebrate these students' ascendancy into Russian adulthood than get ridiculously drunk, break glass bottles on the street, trash the city, and generally act irresponsibly?

St. Petersburg at 11 pm, the famous "white nights."

These events are always a struggle: we have to balance our own safety with the unique chance to see Russian culture in action. So, after a nice dinner that Alyson made, we headed downtown about 10:30 pm with as few valuables as possible. We knew it was going to be insane from the very beginning, as the train car was packed to the brim with people. Luckily for us, we only had to go 2 stops to Nevsky Prospekt Metro station. This was the sight that greeted us when we finally escaped the train:

The Nevsky Prospekt Metro, at 11:15 pm, completely jammed from front to back.

In a crowd like this, you can't really walk; rather, you just let the crowd push you along (kind of like the sailing ship that gives the party its name!). We had been trained to be wary of pick-pockets in crowds like this, and I kept my hands in my pockets to protect my wallet, keys, camera, and cellphone. I was very happy that I didn't lose Alyson in the crowd...and that I didn't get crushed against the railing....and that I didn't fall down the escalator...and basically that I survived the ride there. But when we finally emerged onto the street, and I checked to make sure I had everything, I discovered that my cellphone was gone. I checked briefly to ensure it hadn't fallen out and onto the street, but we quickly discovered that the phone had been permanently turned off, a sure indication that it was stolen right out of my front jeans pocket. Darn it.

Rather than fight the crowd into Palace Square, we decided to head straight to a party hosted by our friends Matt and Nicky. Over champagne, olives, and other yummy snacks we patiently waited for the party--called for 11:00 pm--to start. Paid for by Wrigley's chewing gum, the apartment is gigantic, and has an incredibly unique view over the Neva river--it's no wonder their monthly rent is more than 5 times what the JDC pays for our apartment her! I'm a little ashamed to admit, but after an hour or so I was so bored that I convinced Alyson to play Uno with me, which helped the time pass faster, and our Russian friends Marina and Olga came to join us as well.

Marina and Olga have drinks with Alyson at 1:15 am.

In true Russian style, the first fireworks didn't go off until 1:30 pm. For 30 minutes, it was a truly spectacular light show, reminiscent of my childhood trips to Epcot's IllumiNations. Boats in the Neva river shot off fireworks that exploded over the Peter and Paul Fortress; lasers and colored lights emanated from the Peter and Paul Cathedral; a platoon of paratroopers parachuted in, carrying giant sparklers that lit up the sky; great plumes of fire shot from off the fortress's ramparts; enormous military trucks illuminated the sky with industrial-sized spotlights, fireworks lifted off the Troitsky Bridge like anti-aircraft fire; and classical music blared through the streets, mixing the old world with the new. Actually, Alyson put it best when she said, "Now I know what it must have been like when the Nazis were attacking the city."

Fireworks over the Troistsky Bridge at 2 am. Notice on the right side that the bridge is open.

Of course, the dramatic climax was the entrance of the Scarlet Sails , with a crescendo of fireworks and "The 1812 Overture."

The ship enters the main part of St. Petersburg at 2 am, with the fortress and cathedral in the background.

Once the show ended, we thanked our gracious hosts and headed back onto the streets. The streets and sidewalk were still congested with smoke, trash, and tons of drunk people.

Looking down from the apartment onto the street at 2:15 am, with the smoke, drunkenness, and congestion providing an inviting atmosphere for camaraderie and friendship.

With the Metro shut down until 4 am, we decided to head back home on foot. Our first attempt to cross the Troitsky Bridge was rebuffed by police officers with no explanation (as usual), so we had to go the long way. This gave us the opportunity to see the sun start rising again, around 4 am, and we arrived home about 4:30 am. It was a long night, and I'm bummed about my cellphone, but it was a truly insane Russian experience.

Trash, police, and barricades, 3:15 am.

The Kronshtadt Krepost (Fortress)

2007-06-21T17:22:00.000+03:00

Enjoying the beautiful day in the park, in front of a statue of Peter the Great.

If you're like me, you've never heard of Kronshtadt before -- and you certainly never thought about actually going there! But Kronshtadt has a rich history, played an important role in resisting the Soviet Union, and is a very pretty island not far from St. Petersburg. For that reason, we were excited when our boss from Jerusalem, Rabbi Jonathan Porath, invited us to go there with him as part of a field trip / business meeting. There should be a word in English for "field trip/business meeting"; that would make the US a much more fun place to live and work!

We headed out there around noon, making our way from the northern end to the western tip, then heading out to the Eastern tip, then walking around the city, its church, and fortress itself. If you grew up playing with GI Joes like I did, you had to enjoy the museum: its models of battleships, dioramas portraying Kronshtadt under attack, and opportunity to touch military hardware made the trip a lot of fun! You can see all the pictures here.

Since Jonathan was the person who interviewed us when we were first considering the Jewish Service Corps program, and was responsible in large part for our placement in SPB, we enjoyed the chance to discuss our experience with him. With just 5 weeks left in Russia (we're counting down till July 23rd!), we now have some perspective and insight, and we were eager to share that with him. So it was an incredibly productive trip, set against an interesting and intriguing background -- sort of sums up the whole year, doesn't it?

Sleepless in St. Petersburg

2007-06-21T01:50:00.000+03:00

It's 3:00am and both Matt and I are awake. It's no wonder: there are endless groups of young people hanging out on the street, drinking beer and making a lot of noise. As there's no air conditioning in our apartment, we have no choice but to sleep with the widows thrown open. It's not fully dark out, more like dusk. Yes, that's right, it's White Nights season. Tomorrow night is the shortest night of the year here, barely getting dark for four hours (approximately from midnight to 4am).

Some say it's a poetic, mystical, or romantic to stroll along the canals, watching the bridges go up. For tourists, and graduating high school students all dolled up like prom night, this week is party week. Forgive me for my cynicism (maybe it's just the hour), but having lived here, I find the White Nights mostly a disturbance to my sleep. I can envision a perfect marketing opportunity for Ambien: sponsoring a White Nights festival.

Last night, I was awoken at 4am. We had accidentally left a small sliver of our curtains open, and as the sun blasted its early morning rays into our bedroom, the bright light reflected off the mirror and right into my eyes. As nice as it is to enjoy dinner out at a swanky Georgian place with friends and then stroll home in bright daylight at 11pm, I would appreciate a good night's rest.

More Russia Pictures

2007-06-15T12:49:00.001+03:00

I was asked to put up more touristy pictures of our experience, and I am happy to oblige.

Album 1 - 22 of my favorite pictures

Rebecca and Adam's album - They took fantastic pictures while they were here. Well worth a look.

Big Decisions Coming Up!

2007-06-13T15:23:00.000+03:00

With the summer in full swing, our work has dwindled into small, individual projects. For example, take today: we had a brief interview with a JTA reporter for an upcoming article, then we worked on creating a promotional video for YESOD, then I met with one of the Hillel staff members to talk about fundraising strategies for the summer. We're hosting another Shabbat dinner this Friday night, which is always fun and enjoyable.

What is quite important to us is our future, which we are diligently working on. I've found a series of great opportunities to continue my work in the Jewish world. From a foundation in San Francisco, to the Federation in Cleveland, to returning to DC, it seems like there is no limit to the interesting, meaningful opportunities out there in the Jewish world. It's also exciting because one of my motivations for this whole adventure was to have a Jewish experience that really sets my resume apart from my peers; that goal seems to have come to fruition! In fact, the security guards here must think I am absolutely crazy--I've been coming in late at night during Russian holidays, when I am the only person in the whole building, so I can interview via our Vonage phone! While I know that the decision of which job to take will be one of the momentous decisions of my entire life, I also know that I can't really go wrong. I'm doing the best research I can, talking to as many people as will speak with me, and searching my tail off. In the end, I have to leap ahead, follow my heart, and never look back. I am fortunate to have a wonderful wife like Alyson, who is incredibly supportive and understanding, without being overbearing or apathetic.

In the meantime, I've also put together a few photo albums that I wanted to share with you!

A new Torah is welcomed to St. Petersburg.

Shaarei Shalom Dedication - we've written volumes about how much we love the Reform community here, and its departing Rabbi, Michael Farbman. That's why we were elated to participate in the dedication of their new space, which has a larger sanctuary, a youth wing, a kosher kitchen, and more. The service was both meaningful and moving, as the congregation welcomed a delegation from its sister synagogue in West London, who brought with them a new Torah for the new space. The sanctuary may look a little bit like a space ship right now, with its aluminum-clad interior, but we can only hope that the community will take off like a rocket in the years to come!

The Ubiquitous Russian Mullet - a collage honoring the most popular Russian hairstyle. An homage, if you will.

The Palaces of Petersburg - Check out the ridiculous, over-the-top, gratuitous wealt of some of the palaces we've visited.

Summertime in SPB - A trip to our favorite palace, Peterhof, which is the Russian version of Versailles.

On Top of the World

2007-06-08T12:30:00.000+03:00

We have been having so much fun lately that it should be illegal. We had a great time showing our friends Rebecca and Adam around, as Matt wrote about in his last post. It was a great opportunity to step back and remember, "hey, we live in Russia!" It's not so top-of-mind, now that the sun is shining, the weather is warm, and the throngs of tourists make it easy to hear English spoken on the street. I had a wonderful time in Moscow; the highlight was seeing Shrek 3 for free in English! Oh, and the Kremlin treasures weren't too shabby either...

There have been so many highlights packed into the last week that I fear that I may have to resort to a list:

1. Going on a classic canal cruise. In the last month or so, the canals and rivers have thawed, and St. Petersburg started a remarkably tourist-friendly venture: offering the classic canal cruise in English! Rebecca, Adam, Matt and I bundled up for what proved to be a beautiful view of the city from the water. It's officially "White Nights," so we had gorgeous daylight on our cruise that started at 8:30pm.

On the Neva River, with Peter and Paul Fortress in the background
(this picture was taken at 9:15 at night)

2. Seeing Don Quixote at the Mariinsky. We've been to the Mariinsky twice before, to see the opera M. Butterfly and to see the ballet Jewels. But this one topped them all. The ballet of Don Quixote had great music, beautiful costumes, and AMAZING choreography. The dancers were out-of-this-world, well, except for the one soloist who slipped and fell to a loud gasp from the audience. The two main leads basically had a dance-off in the final scene and it was incredible to watch.

A dream sequence from Don Quixote, which featured classical ballet; the rest of the performance was more modern and reminded us a bit of the opera Carmen, which we recently saw at the Mussorgsky Theater

3. Visiting Catherine's Palace (without the snow). Back in April, when we took our parents to see the world-famous Amber Room at Catherine's Palace in Pushkin, it was freezing cold, gray and snowing. This time around, the palace looked the same, but wow, the grounds were absolutely beautiful! We spent the afternoon strolling around the beautiful gardens, taking hundreds of photos and soaking up the sunshine.

The exterior of Catherine's palace, which is so picturesque,
it's on the cover of the Rough Guide to St. Petersburg!

4. Eating super yummy food at our favorite restaurants. Having guests in town is the perfect reason to throw caution (i.e. our budget) to the wind, and eat out every night at our favorite restaurants. We managed to take Rebecca and Adam on a virtual culinary tour of St. Petersburg (as much as 4 kashrut-observing people can) with stops at the kitschy Na Z'darovye, the exquisite pseudo-Indian veggie Kashmir Cafe, the cute and comfy Stolle Cafe, the lively Georgian haunt Sakartvelo, and the delicious-albeit-decorless vegetarian cafe Troitsky Most. Matt insists that the best meal was at Chabad at Marina Rosha in Moscow, but I think he was just excited to get kosher chicken! He was probably too busy gettin' jiggy with a recently graduated Russian girl on the dance floor at the Georgian place to notice how amazing the kachapuri with beans was!

We got a bonus on this front when a cute Australian couple, Tal and Tandi -- whom we met last week at Chabad, called us up to get a tour of YESOD. They are traveling around the world for a year (and you thought WE were crazy and adventurous?!) and had met up with Tandi's parents in St. Pete. I happily gave them a tour and shared some insights with them about living in Russia. When they invited us to join them for dinner at Kashmir again, Matt's face lit up. It was so nice to have the company of a warm, Western Jewish family and yet another (unexpected) delicious meal!

Needless to say, I've been a bit of a slacker in the professional realm lately. Besides giving tours of YESOD, which are sometimes as often as twice a day now, I've done relatively little in the last week or so. It was easy to forget work when we had such great distractions. The good news is that we finally launched the YESOD website! It has been a labor of love for the last 9 months, so much so that you could liken the experience to having a baby: one great idea, lots of pushing, and a good deal of pain. But in the end, I think it's beautiful and easy-to-navigate. The content is currently in Russian and English, but will soon be translated into Hebrew as well. I invite you to take a peek and send me your comments. [Caveat: As with any new website, there are bound to be bugs, typos and the like; I hope you will bear with me as we perfect and grow St. Petersburg's virtual Jewish community home!]

A labor of love: the newly launched YESOD website!

Seeing Russia Through New Eyes

2007-06-04T12:19:00.001+03:00

When our friends Adam Arenson and Rebecca Rosenthal told us they wanted to come visit us here in SPB, we were of course excited and elated. Here are two friends who we've known for quite a while, and we couldn't wait to hang out with them, show them around SPB and Moscow, and catch up on our lives. We figured it would be just another fun week of tourism and seeing the sites. What we didn't expect, however, was the way that seeing Russia through their eyes would impact the way we personally see this country and our experience here. After all, it's been almost 10 months now, and it's time for a little reflection.

Sitting in a cafe with Adam and Rebecca.

The trip has been great so far. You know, it's easy to get down here in Russia when the skies are grey and the people aren't always friendly. But when you get out of the day-to-day work, and enjoy SPB's amazing sites, it's easy to forget the problems of daily life here and simply enjoy the fantastic history and culture.

For example, we took Adam and Rebecca to Peterhof -- our second time at this amazing palace, with its stunning fountains, lush gardens, and fun atmosphere. We both decided this is our favorite tourist attraction in the region, now that we've seen everything multiple times! You can check out all the pictures by clicking here. I got the crazy idea to take the same picture that we took there 10 months ago. That's us from back in August on the left; that's us from this past week on the right. Notice any changes?

After running around SPB, we headed down to Moscow to see the capital city. Although I had been there back in November, I was excited to return and show Alyson the ins and outs of this massive megalopolis. But my favorite part of Moscow wasn't seeing the Kremlin or the various interesting parts of the city; rather, it was a special meeting I was able to set up with a group of Moscow Jewish young professionals. As you may remember, we met a group of these people when they were visiting Washington, DC, back in May of last year, so I was able to call them up and set everything up very easily. We met in a kitschy and eclectic club called "Petrovich," but the strange nature of the club didn't detract from our getting to know these inspiring young people and sharing our own ideas and thoughts. Coincidentally, there just happened to be a rock band playing at the club, and everyone got very excited, because this band got its start through Moscow Hillel as a klezmer band! So of course we made a special request for klezmer music, and they were happy to oblige. You can see them rocking out by clicking here.

Eating cakes and drinking coffee with the group. Check out the club's decorations in the back!

Like good TourMentors (see a previous post), we've been running our victims--oops, I mean guests--ragged running from place to place. Although Russia still has a long way to go in terms of welcoming tourists and making places easy to navigate, we've learned a few tricks of the trade and can really pack a day with activities! Here are a few more pictures that I wanted to share with you. Even more pictures from Moscow are available by clicking here.

<- In front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. The weather has been beautiful lately!

The four of us at Peterhof.

Springtime, At Last!

2007-05-22T16:21:00.000+03:00

After months and months of seemingly endless cold, gray, and snowy/rainy days, springtime has finally arrived in St. Petersburg. The blue skies, sunshine, and blossoming tulips have been asuper- delightful change of pace! My freshly polished toes are thrilled to be exposed once again to daylight. And there is plenty of daylight here these days: the sun rises shortly after 5am and doesn't set until close to midnight. (It makes for really bizarre Shabbat observance -- but not nearly as weird as when Shabbat doesn't end until Sunday morning! And it makes me rethink the over-simplified statement that Saturday is our day of rest.)

I've been explaining a lot of the basics of Judaism of late. Irina, our new missions director at JDC, started yesterday. She, like so many members of this community, has Jewish roots (her father is Jewish) but relatively no knowledge to accompany her ancestry. Fortunately, she is inquisitive and hungry for knowledge; she made a list of vocab words she didn't understand after reading our missions book. It makes me realize just how much I take my Jewish knowledge for granted. I can't really remember a time when I didn't know what "yiddishkeit" meant. I really struggled when I tried to explain that one. We decided together that it means "Jewish spirit" or something along those lines. Hopefully over the next few weeks, I'll transmit to Irina more than just the responsibilities of her new job -- I have the amazing opportunity to help shape her fledgling Jewish identity.

Me and my FotoQuest teammates running around SPB.

Fortunately, it's not all work and the heaviness of conveying our tradition. The warmer, spring-like weather has also brought us outdoors for many fun activities, including a recent outing to the Udelnaya flea market, Hillel's FotoQuest (scavenger hunt all over the city), and last night's late night rooftop party at a local club sponsored by a new, cutting-edge indie Jewish organization called Krem. We've also had a bunch of fun, indoor activities, like our latest Shabbat meal on Friday night, dinner out with friends at an Azerbaijani restaurant, the final EVA performance, and a Zenit game.

Here is me wading through the crowds at Udelnaya Market. Can you find me?

Tonight is a huge Shavuot celebration at YESOD, including over ten different modern "beit midrash" classes, including flower arranging, aromatherapy, as well as a few more traditional offerings, including Matt's text study on the Ten Commandments in English, and a shiur on piyut (liturgical poems that are often set to music). As Shavuot approaches, and I reflect on what it means to receive the Torah, I can't help but draw the parallel to the freedoms that the Jews of this community have regained, anew in recent years. It's not surprising that my feelings about celebrating Pesach here among the Russian Jewish community carry over, 40 days later, to Shavuot. Chag sameach l'kulam -- wishing all of our readers a joyous Shavuot!

We've Come A Long Way, Baby!

2007-05-16T17:37:00.000+03:00

So much has happened in the last week, I don't even know where to begin...

I guess I should start with last Thursday morning, when our local supervisor called and asked me to come into the office for a private meeting with him. This was a bit weird, since Matt and I usually meet with him together. Nonetheless, I obliged, and was honored -- and a bit surprised -- to find him asking me to step in to act as the head of the local JDC missions department for the next few weeks, at least until we find a permanent replacement for my friend and colleague Lena who left about a month ago. (I was devastated, by the way, when she told me she was leaving. She was my partner-in-crime in planning Pesach Project.)

For those of you not in the JDC world, a mission is usually a group of high-level donors who comes to visit St. Petersburg, sometimes on business and sometimes on pleasure. We try to find time in their schedule and manage the logistics in such a way that they get to see all of the amazing programs and initiatives that their dollars, directly or indirectly, are funding. Some of these missions constitute 2 people for an afternoon tour of YESOD and others involve 40 participants over the course of a week, from dawn until dusk (like Pesach Project).

I am now responsible for making sure all of the upcoming missions -- and we've had 3 in the last 2 weeks, to give you an idea of the spring and summer pace -- are organized with precision and care. Fortunately, Olga, who is the coordinator in my department speaks beautiful fluent English, so we make a good duo and we are starting to put systems into place to make our lives even easier. Needless to say, this is a huge promotion and a clear sign that my boss trusts and respects me. I just hope that we are able to find a full-time missions director soon so that I can transition back to the laid-back world of YESOD. Balancing my old portfolio (YESOD website, tours of YESOD, hosting Shabbat dinners, teaching, camps, etc.) and my new one is a bit of a challenge, especially considering that my hours are not as flexible as they once were.

In order to unwind at the end of what turned out to be a crazy, hectic week with an unexpected new job, on Friday night, we went to Shaarei Shalom for services. Rabbi Stas whatever-his-last-name-is-I'll-never-be-able-to-spell-it was co-officiating with Rabbi Michael Farbman, who is leaving at the end of June. It's such a bittersweet transition. Rabbi Michael has been a major player in this community and a guiding light for us, personally. He is leaving soon to move to the United States with his family. It kills me that a rabbi as charismatic and amazing as he is hasn't yet been placed with a congregation in the US. (Yes, this is a shameless plug for him!) I wish him only the best and I am excited to see how Rabbi Stas begins to integrate with the community over the next few months.

One of the three missions that I mentioned was a small-but-powerful group of professionals and lay leaders from Palm Beach and Cleveland; they arrived in SPB on Thursday and stayed through Monday. They really pushed the envelope, digging and prying into some of the community's latest issues in order to move everyone and everything forward. Their missions are always a little uncomfortable for me -- to some extent, their probing questions (which are certainly well-meaning) can often put me in an unpleasant place, stuck between a rock and a hard place. At the same time, though, it's a lot of fun to hang out with Americans who really "get it." This time was no exception -- we had dinner with them one night and had them over to our apartment for dessert on Saturday night.

After they left on Saturday night, Matt and I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning watching the Eurovision song contest. We were really glad to see that Serbia won, since that was Matt's favorite. I was personally happy to see a country win that chose to sing in their native tongue; I was a bit shocked by how many contestants entered songs in English.

Sadly, my days of teaching kids about Shabbat at EVA are over.

Sunday morning brought my last EVA class (sniffle, sniffle). I'm not sure if I'll miss waking up early and pantomiming to my rambunctious group of 5-8 year olds. I love their energy, but it really drains me, too. Sunday also brought be back to YESOD after two full days of working in the JDC office across town. It was so nice to be back...it really feels like home after all these months and on Sunday is was packed with people. There was a community performance of a riveting Children of the Holocaust by EVA after a great Israeli singer played some Carlebach-style tunes. There was a young leadership seminar in town. And to top things off, Matt organized a sports tournament to help promote his YESOD Sports Program. He had four teams (one from Hillel, two from local universities, and one pick-up team) go head-to-head, or foot-to-foot as I should say, with a professional ref calling the shots. We spent the evening at JAFI's Cafe im Mashmaut program which is quite possibly one of the best programs for young adults that we've seen in this community.

The Hillel team, on the right, takes on a team from a local university in YESOD's fantastic gym.

Then on Monday night, we "relaunched" English Club with the assistance of Ira, the JDC's PR manager. As our original group dwindled, she kick-started the energy and the redesigned the format a bit in order to attract a more unaffiliated audience. We had about 15 come for the first week to discuss the experience of recent graduates as they enter the working world. The discussion was interesting, but the part that warmed our hearts was that a handful of people were late because they couldn't find the building. That means that they've never been there before and our program was the reason they came! Between English Club on Monday and the sports program on Sunday, we estimate that at least two dozen new faces were in YESOD this week, due to our efforts. We've come a long way, baby!

Hello, America?

2007-05-14T17:01:00.000+03:00

Although history has given us many such examples, it's still difficult me to understand why someone would be killed simply for being Jewish. I'm saddened -- and a bit frightened -- by Saturday's murder of a young Jewish man. But what infuriates me is that the American media hasn't even picked up the story. Israeli media picked up the story right away. A dear family friend in Israel even emailed me to suggest that I might want to reconsider wearing my Magen David necklace that I recently bought in Israel after she read the news story. (I've already made the difficult decision to stop wearing it: safety trumps ideology in my book.)

But come on, America, where are you? Why are you not the least bit interested? The mainstream press seems to care about world Jewry. Case in point: the Wall Street Journal recently ran an expose on the Chabad movement in Russia. So there has to be some interest, right? Is it because a 22-year-old's murder doesn't represent hundreds of thousands of dollars? Or is it because hate crimes in Russia are no longer shocking? Or is it a trend to simply ignore what's going on here, like the US press did when Russia and Estonia went head-to-head over the relocation of a war monument? (CNN was the only US media outlet that covered that story.)

Regardless, I am terribly saddened and angered by the silence of the American press. Didn't we say "never again" to responding to tragedy with silence? According to Jewish tradition, when does one murder not count for an entire world?

From the Headlines: Tragic News

2007-05-13T10:51:00.000+03:00

Yesterday morning around 10am, while I was tucked cozily in my bed, enjoying a quiet Shabbat morning, across town something awful and tragic happened. A 22-year-old Jewish young man named Dmitri Mikolinski was stabbed to death. Only two media outlets have reported on the incident so far, but it appears that the incident was racially motivated. On his way to synagogue, Dmitri was stabbed in the neck in a manner that is indicative of a group of skinheads in the city. We received word from our security team early this morning. Needless to say, this makes our stomachs churn and our hearts beat faster. Please pray for the safety of the Jewish community here.

Local yeshiva student stabbed to death in St. Petersburg | Ha'aretz | Amiram Barkat | 13 May 07

S'Dnyom Pobeda - Happy Victory Day!

2007-05-10T12:11:00.000+03:00

Yesterday (Wednesday, May 9th) was a big national holiday here, commemorating the victory of the Russians over the Nazis in WWII. Symbolic of Russia in general, this day is held one day after the rest of the Europe celebrates their victory over the Nazis--everything in Russia has to be done differently than in Europe, what can I say?

Anyway, it was an exceptionally gross day yesterday, and most of the festivities were muted or even canceled altogether. But the parade happened, and we enjoyed checking it out. Then we went to a concert by Alexander Rozenbaum, a famous Russian singer who happens to be proudly and openly Jewish, even singing a handful of songs with Hebrew lyrics.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to hear any of his non-traditional stuff. In fact, the half part of the concert was him singing old Soviet war songs. The most memorable part, aside from the music that we didn't understand, was the guy who threw up in the seat behind me (that's three times in three weeks, for those of you who are counting). Otherwise, it's hard to describe the whole event in words; instead, take a look at the pictures--which I have diligently captioned and even translated the banners--by clicking here.

Marching sailors from one of the city's many military universities.

Alyson enjoys intermission at the concert hall.

"Chiste Yevrey" - A Pure Jew

2007-05-07T14:49:00.000+03:00

The first time I heard it, I didn't understand it. The second time I heard it, and I thought about its literal meaning, I found it totally repulsive. And as the phrase continued to pop up in conversation--"Chiste Yevrey," a clean or pure Jew, something Russians say about themselves when they have purely Jewish roots--I struggled to understand what the heck the phrase really means. Why is this country so obsessed with the roots of its people? Why would anyone (other than a white supremacist) boast about their "pure" heritage? And what does this mean for people who aren't "chisti yevri" - are they somehow dirty?

Part of the answer might come from this anecdote, which our friend Veronica told us over Shabbat dinner at our apartment a couple weeks ago:

Veronica was in 3rd grade, and the teacher was talking about ethnic groups in Russia. He was going down the list of students, and pointing out what their last name said about their ethnic identity: "Andrei Pluschenko - that's Ukrainian. Vladimir Vukovich - that's a Russian last name." Belorussians, Poles, etc. - they were all present in the class. "Timor Jugashvili - that's a Georgian name." Finally, the teacher came to Veronica Zalmonovich, with her unmistakably Jewish last name. The teacher hesitated, knowing that pointing out Veronica's Jewish roots would mean social isolation and ostracism for the young girl. He continued, "Veronica - now that is clearly a French name!" So, for the rest of grade school, Veronica was French!

Veronica accompanied me on a Malachei Shabbat ("Angels of Shabbat") visit recently, bringing joy and warmth to Henrietta Popova. That's Alyson's challah on the lower left.

Another anecdote I heard recently came from Lubov Iosifovna Lebedeva, an 81-year-old Chesed client. I visited her in her apartment through the Malachei Shabbat program, with another young Russian Jewish woman named Liza. Lubov told us:

It was 1941. The Siege of Leningrad had just begun and, as a typical, able-bodied 15-year-old, Lubov was ordered to report for work in a factory that manufactured guns. Upon arriving at the factory, she was asked for her Komsomol card, proving that she was a member of the Communist Party's Youth Movement. She explained that she wasn't allowed to be a member of the Communist Party, because she was Jewish (even though she had no Jewish education or knowledge whatsoever). She was told she couldn't work in the factory because she wasn't a member of the Komsomol, and was dejectedly sent home.

Sharing a laugh with Lubov in her tiny one-bedroom apartment.

Being a devoted citizen of Leningrad, she returned the next day to beg the plant's director for a job. After much convincing, he allowed her to work in the factory, even though she was Jewish. However, he couldn't put her on the "payroll" -- meaning that she would work as a volunteer and receive no credit for the 10-hour shifts she worked 6 days per week. Because she was not considered a worker by the Soviet regime, she was not entitled to a worker's extra rations. Despite selflessly contributing three full years of her life to the Soviet effort to defeat the Nazis, over the course of the 900-day Siege, she nearly starved to death on several occasions. Of course, as soon as the Siege ended, her Jewish roots were publicized and she was expelled from the factory.

As I've come to realize from stories like these--and many more that I've heard over the past 9 months--being a "chiste yevrey" is a badge of honor. These people have not only Jewish relatives, they have been branded with Jewish names, making them the subject of ridicule, threats, and discrimination. Though they have little or no Jewish education, they are proud of who they are and will never return to second-class citizens. They live in the constant shadow of anti-Semitism; if they were not overtly persecuted like Lubov's generation was, then Veronica and her peers fear social rejection by their non-Jewish peers. But they remain undaunted--what was once a curse has become a point of pride and, while I still cringe every time I hear the phrase "chiste yevrey," I have finally begun to understand what it means to the Russian Jewish community around me.

Super Shout-Out!

2007-05-07T09:51:00.000+03:00

We got a really nice public thank-you from Tanya Linetsky, Esq., who was one of the Pesach Project participants. This is a really compelling article about the positive impact of the Pesach Project - we highly recommend you reading it:

http://www.cjn.org/articles/2007/05/04/features/profile/ufsu0504.txt

The Joys of Traveling

2007-05-02T20:32:00.000+03:00

Clearly, we've been bitten by the travel bug and lately, ever since Pesach Project ended, we've tried to travel even more than before. Part of it was wishful thinking -- it's springtime, so the weather is bound to be warmer, right? (Wrong. Very wrong.) And part of it was parting panic -- ohmigoodness, we only have 3 months left! Maybe it's the beginning of the influx of tourists here in St. Petersburg and, as we hear English spoken on the main streets again, the travel bug is contagious. Unfortunately, it leaves a little something to be desired, namely: convenience.

So in the last three weeks, we've taken three mini-trips: to Gatchina (which was ghetto-fabulous, as Matt wrote about previously), Novgorod, and Helsinki. Each posed a slightly unique travel-related challenge. Take for example, the little kid sitting next to Matt on the bus who puked just outside of the town of Gatchina. (Sadly, it was the second such incident for Matt that week. I was worried he might actually refuse to take public buses, but fortunately, he proved more resilient than I would have been in the same situation.)

Or, on the way to Novgorod, when I noticed that the trip was taking a little longer (4 hours, as opposed to the 3.5 hours) than we had expected. Good thing I piped up, because as it turned out, the bus driver decided to "skip" the stop in Novgorod. He pulled over on the side of the highway to let us off, hail a bus in the opposite direction and graciously paid for our fare in the opposite direction. Imagine my surprise when I asked the second bus driver how far we were from Novgorod and he said "2 hours." Wow, it shouldn't have taken us 6 hours to get there...we could have traveled from DC to Boston by train for the same amount of time. Good thing there's not much to see in Novgorod! Despite its name, which means New City, it's among the oldest cities in Russia. It's a cute town, that's for sure, but besides the walled-in areas of the Kremlin and the area across the river called Yaroslav's Court, which is packed with churches from the 11 and 1200's, there's not a lot to see or do. The highlight, by far, was having a late lunch at a cute restaurant inside the Kremlin walls (originally built in the 1050s). Very cool, indeed, to be eating inside a piece of history!

A view of Novgorod's Kremlin from across the river

Our bus ride to Helsinki was a little less adventurous than our previous rides, although it was still rather exhausting. The 383-kilometer ride (that's 237 miles) took 8.5 hours each way, including a nearly 2-hour stop-and-go dance at the border. (Yes, you can fly cross Atlantic from NY to Paris in less time!) Fortunately, the bus picked us up and dropped us off at our nearest metro stop; unfortunately, it snowed the morning we left! Brrr...

We also traveled to hell and back last week -- a quick weekend getaway, if you will. I found a lump in breast while doing a routine monthly exam on Friday and spent much of the weekend getting poked and prodded by doctors. I spent all day on Saturday at the American Clinic, where they were unable to find anything abnormal on an ultrasound. On Sunday, I met with two traveling doctors from Georgia (in the US, not the FSU) who were here with their church group and who graciously volunteered to see members of the missionary community for free. I decided God would forgive me for twisting the definition of a missionary to include me, especially in my breast-cancer-paranoid state; alas, in the end, I don't think I pissed off God too badly because the prevailing medical opinion -- based on my age, my family history, and the results of the ultrasound -- is that I have a benign cyst.

Helsinki proved to be a wonderful distraction from life in St. Petersburg. We left amid the grayish white snow covering; we were delighted that by the time we arrived in Helsinki it was sunny and bright. We loved the diversity of the people, the architecture and the cuisine. We hated the prices -- holy crap, things were expensive! Lucky for my wallet, many of the stores were closed for the May Day/Student Day festivities. Instead, we were fortunate enough to witness the raucous celebrations littering the streets.

Soaking up the Finnish sunshine near Helsinki's port

In case you aren't familiar with May Day in Finlad (we certainly weren't!), all the students dress up in ridiculous brightly-colored jumpsuits and silly white sailor hats, clean a famous statue, and get wasted. (I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.) Part of the fun was a bunch of outdoor concerts, including a bizarre rap/R&B performance that was fun until we realized that they were singing Christian rock songs! We scooted out to seek some good Mexican fare and try out some Finlandia vodka drinks at the Arctic Bar, which was completely made of ice. So it turned out to be a major tourist trap...oh, well, you only live once!

Nope, those aren't Eskimos or aliens -- it's us, all bundled up at the Artic Bar in Helsinki!

All in all, we've decided that as fun and adventuresome as we are, we will be very happy to return to the monotony of everyday life back in the US soon enough.

Our 100th Post!

2007-04-26T16:55:00.000+03:00

Congratulations to us, this is our 100th blog post! In honor of this momentous occasion, we thought we'd post two short commercials for...us! Talk about shameless self-promotion!

If you think we're cool, bold, and/or inspirational and you want to be like us...you too can join the Jewish Service Corps!

The Jewish Service Corps (JSC) of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is a unique one-year volunteer opportunity for active, enthusiastic, knowledgeable Jews to take part in the life of a Jewish community abroad.

The job description of each JDC Jewish Service Corps Volunteer is a unique blend based on the resources and needs of the community and the talents and skills of the individual volunteer. Often past volunteers have started projects that can be enhanced or developed more fully. There may be a targeted set of outcomes and roles drafted at the beginning of a volunteer’s term, but often those evolve as the year progresses.

JDC is currently looking for volunteers to serve next year in Turkey, Ukraine, and possibly Slovakia. For more information about these positions or about the JDC Jewish Service Corps, please e-mail volunteer@jdc.org.

If you think we're cool, qualified and professional and you want to help us...please help us find jobs for next year!

Matt is looking for positions in the Jewish communal sphere, ideally something that leverages his development skills and takes them one higher, i.e. young leadership, assistant director positions, or anything else that maximizes his "big picture" brain.

Alyson is looking for a marketing position in a Jewish or nonprofit organization, ideally, but would be totally and completely happy going back to a law firm environment, as long as the environment is highly creative and collaborative.

If you know of any suitable positions, please email them to us! Thanks for reading our 100th blog commercial.

Ghetto-Fabulous Gatchina

2007-04-20T21:06:00.000+03:00

Although it rarely works out that way, Friday is nominally our day off. While we often have meetings or office work to do--and occasionally, a Shabbat meal to prepare for our guests!--Fridays are meant to be a little more low-key and relaxed. This Friday, we were able to take some time off and enjoy a fun day of sightseeing and Shabbat services.

Being a good husband, I deferred to Alyson's desire to see the Gatchina palace. Located about 60 km outside SPB, Gatchina is the ugly step-sister of the prestigious SPB palaces, like Peterhof, the Hermitage, Yusupov Palace, Pushkin, and Pavlovsk (I like to call them the Pretty Palaces, because they are just so over-the-top lavish). In fact, many tourist publications don't even mention Gatchina. Why? Because after the incessant bombing of WWII, the palace was a shambles. While the Soviets did a fantastic job restoring the major palaces, they left much of Gatchina untouched, unrestored, and generally unloved. So, as we set off on our journey this morning, I wasn't expecting anything special.

The adventure started with our bus ride. Sitting in front of us were two young men speaking English. One look at their dark suits told me exactly who they were: Mormons (or, as they prefer to call themselves, missionaries from the Church of Latterday Saints). Mormons are becoming a more and more common sight in this part of the world; just two weeks ago, the 80 Mormon missionaries in the SPB-area came together for a conference in downtown SPB. Think about it: they have 80 people working in just the greater Petersburg area--talk about a big operation! Now, don't get me wrong--we love Christian missionaries, because they are so darn nice, friendly, and supportive of our work. But when you meet two young men with such incredibly different worldviews, as these guys did, what do you have to talk about for a 40-minute bus ride?

I won't bore you with all the details, but I will tell you what I found fascinating. Did you know that these two guys are part of a worldwide network of 50,000 Mormon missionaries? By contrast, Chabad, which seems ubiquitous in this part of the world, has just 4,000 missionaries and only 150 in the FSU. Did you know that these Mormons sign up for a two-year commitment, with no knowledge or say in where they get placed? Or that they all pay the movement $400 per month to be missionaries, regardless if they live in SPB, Shanghai, or South Africa? That's spending nearly $10,000 of your own money to leave your family, move to a strange country, and work your tail off for your faith. Let's do a little math:
50,000 people x $400/month x 12 months/year = $240 million per year income from the missionaries

What an insane amount of money! What a massive commitment! I mean, these two guys make Alyson and me look like we're receiving executive-level CEO treatment! One other funny thing--since Mormons don't drink alcohol, they often have uncomfortable situations when they are at Russian houses and they are offered vodka to drink. But they seem to have mastered the ins and outs of Russian hospitality--sadly, when they were telling us about the hospitality of Russian homes, Alyson and I couldn't relate.

On to Gatchina. What makes this palace so unique, and gives it a lot of character, is that much of the building is still ruined and, rather than be cordoned off, the decrepit rooms are displayed openly alongside pictures depicting its former glory. Of course, many of the rooms have been restored and are gorgeous--but, seriously, after you've been bombarded with the inlaid floors, the gilded mirrors, the finely-detailed furniture, and the overwhelming ostentatiousness of the Pretty Palaces, you become jaded and it all starts blending together. It's easy to sit back and say, "Oh, those stingy czars--if only they had shared their wealth with the starving people. But they were too self-centered and superficial!" But, in the mid-1860s, when the Russian monarchy was at its height, America was locked in a brutal Civil War. So you have to keep everything in perspective and not get carried away by criticism. For more pictures--and these are really interesting, since you get to see a lot of half-destroyed rooms--click here.

On the way back, we had another small-world experience: one of the families we work with at EVA was on the bus as well! They don't speak any English, but they are one of those families that came back to Russian from Israel, so they decided to ask us questions about the palace in Hebrew!

To end our day, we attended Shabbat services at Hillel; this week, the theme was Israel's Independence Day. They had a nice crowd of about 50 young people, and the program was interactive and engaging. It never fails to affect me when I hear Russian voices singing Hatikvah.

In all, a very exciting Friday!

Time Warp

2007-04-19T13:43:00.000+03:00

Time has been acting weirdly this year. Our first five months in Russia felt like an eternity, and December, in particular, felt like it would never end. And now -- in what feels like just a few moments later -- I realize that we only have 3 short months left in Russia. Where did all the time go?

I'm overwhelmed by how much I still want to accomplish, both professionally and personally, in the short time we have left here. The YESOD website is still under construction and the Visitors Center is far from complete. And then there are all the touristy places I'd love to get to: Moscow, Helsinki, Gatchina, Valaam, Kizhi, etc. (It's almost embarrassing that I still haven't been to Moscow.) I begin to wonder how I'm going to do it all!

Just as I'm finally getting comfortable here and beginning to enjoy a few professional successes, it's time to switch gears and start looking towards the future. It always works that way, doesn't it?

On a Lighter Note...

2007-04-16T17:03:00.000+03:00

As Alyson mentioned, we went to "Feel Yourself Russian," which would be better named, "Fall Yourself into a Tourist Trap." But there were some funny moments...click below for the videos:

Bird People Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gENgGAxrzJ4

Man Plays Saw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqEQQHGCtuc

It's a Dirty Job...

2007-04-16T12:20:00.000+03:00

Every day here in Russia is an adventure, because almost everything we do here, we do for the first time. Yesterday was a perfect example: I got a chance to participate in a community-wide event which has a long tradition here in SPB, but of course I was a total newbie and had no idea what to expect. Alyson was gracious and selfless in teaching my Sunday English class at EVA (thanks, sweetie!) so that I could participate in the community's commemoration of Yom Hashoah through cleaning up the local Jewish cemetery. Looking out over the crowd of about 350, I was excited to see the participation of so many individuals representing so many different organizations. It amazed me how the community really embraced this event, as representatives from Adain Lo, EVA, the Sochnut, Chabad, Hillel, and more came out to get their hands dirty to perform the mitzvah of kavod ha-met (honoring the dead). To see a video of one of the performances--a really beautiful Yiddish song--click here.

The Jewish cemetery is quite large, and has fallen into disrepair over the past 20 years or so as the daily upkeep is too big a job for the cemetery's two elderly caretakers. Walking through the cemetery (founded in 1875), it was upsetting to see the number of people who died in pogroms, during the Leningrad Blockade, and of various hungers and famines; on the bright side, you see the diversity of the community as you read the first names: Grigory, Dmitri, Nikolai, and Anna, interspersed amongst Fruma, Lev, Yakov, and Sarah (I can't imagine what it must have been like to live under the Soviet Union with such a distinctively-Jewish name, but that's another story...). In Russian tradition, many of the graves had likenesses and pictures of the dead etched into or attached to the gravestones. I wasn't shocked by the decrepit state of some of the graves, because I had seen it in other Eastern European cemeteries, but it was sad to see the gravestones crumbling, as the last memories of these people give way to the onward movement of time and nature.

Mostly, we spent the day raking dead leaves, picking up trash, and cleaning off the pictures. I fell in with a group of two Israelis and a local Chabadnik--talk about a mish-mash collection of people! As I've mentioned many times in past posts, it's easy to get wrapped up in the tough questions: "Are we doing enough here in SPB? Will our contributions be remembered? Are we truly making a difference for years to come?" For one day, though, I was happy to find an answer. Although the leaves may continue falling, and the trash will continue accumulating, I think spending the day in that cemetery was the best thing I could have done that day. Standing alongside other members of the community, working towards a common goal, and doing a great mitzvah together--those are the things that truly make a difference and will be remembered for years to come. It's a dirty job, but I'm happy to do it.

My cleaning buddies, from left to right: Vadim, Yaara, Leigh, and Leah.

TourMentors

2007-04-12T12:17:00.000+03:00

The last 12 days have been insane. Not only was the Pesach Project winding down, but our parents (minus Matt's dad) decided to descend on Petersburg for Pesach. The timing couldn't have been worse, but hell, what's living in Russia without a little extra confusion and logistical hurdles?! After all, they will be one of only 2 groups of visitors we are expecting, so we were pretty happy to receive them, despite the bad timing.

They arrived on Sunday of the Pesach Project, so we were able to skip out on the group's evening at the ballet -- after all, we went to see Carmen at the same theater just the week before -- to join our parents for dinner at a swanky St. Petersburg restaurant called Ryba, where we had never been before. We also managed to squeeze in lunch on Nevsky the next afternoon before Pesach started. We took them with us to first night seder with the group, which they loved, and then sent them to Rabbi Michael Farbman's expat seder at YESOD for second night seder. They also accompanied some of the small group home visits to the elderly Hesed clients which helped give them an "insider's" perspective. Then, during Hol Hamoed (the intermediate days), we lovingly shipped them off to a quick visit of Riga, which they enjoyed tremendously. They arrived back in St. Petersburg just before Shabbat, a full 24 hours after the Pesach Project had departed. Just enough time to do a little laundry, sleep, go grocery shopping and get ready for Shabbat.

We've really enjoyed playing tourist and showing them all of the sites of St. Petersburg. We even "saved up" a lot of things that we'd been wanting to see or do, so that we could share our "firsts" with our folks. For example, on "church day," we finally went inside 3 local churches that we pass fairly regularly but have never seen from the inside -- Church on the Spilled Blood, Kazansky Sabor and St. Isaac's Cathedral. Although, the highlight of the day, was by far, having high tea at the Hotel Astoria while a woman played the harp nearby. My mother aptly named the place "heaven."

On "palace day," we braved the snow and wind to see Catherine's Palace and the Holocaust memorial in Pushkin for the first time. We also managed to take them to Pavlovsk, and the Nikhailevsky Palace to see the cheesiest ever tourist-centric folk show called "Feel Yourself Russian." All we felt was drunk after the free-flowing champagne buffet at intermission! It sure did make the rest of the performance better!
From morning til night, we dragged them here and there -- to a bazillion tourist sites and museums (Hermitage, Palace Square, Peter and Paul Fortress, the Aurora, Russian Museum, the Kunstkammera, the Choral Synagogue, etc.), to a few off-the-beaten path kind of places (English Club at YESOD, our neighborhood Dixie, the local tea and blini shop, our favorite "rinak" or farmer's market, an amazing hole-in-the-wall Georgian restaurant, a few random metro stops, the Stolle pie shop, the not-so-extreme circus, etc.)

We joked that we should start a tour company called "TourMentors" with an emphasis on the tormenting part. At the end of their stay, I think we're all pretty exhausted, but we really enjoyed sharing the time together. In the end, it was a treat that it was Passover, which meant more meals at home than at restaurants, more quality time together (since we didn't have to work), and more of a focus on what's really important.

Just a few hours after they left, an eerie quiet looms over our apartment. No more lines for the toilet, no shower schedules, no odd-ball questions, and no one to do the dishes but us. It's back to business as usual, as the Fieldman Family Hotel closes its doors until our next guests arrive in late May.

Easing Out of Overdrive

2007-04-03T15:18:00.000+03:00

Local participants welcome the groups from Israel and the US.

Understandably, I've been in overdrive for the last two weeks, gearing up for Pesach Project. The last seven days have flown by, packed and overflowing with activity and meaning. Each day was better than the next, and without a doubt, this past week has been the highlight of my year in St. Petersburg. Here are some of the most memorable moments from this past week:

Two of the small groups coordinated a spirited and joyous first night seder (dedicated to the 3 kidnapped and missing Israeli soldiers from last summer) for the group at YESOD. The maggid portion of the seder was a skit portraying a modern day exodus from Egypt. Pharoah had a cell phone and two bodyguards who looked like they were lifted from The Matrix!

Many of the participants were touched by the mini-seders to the children and young adults with special needs, as well as the home visits to the elderly. One group who had a teacher in the group brought drawings from her students; the young adult they visited was artistic and appreciated the gesture so much that she in turn gave the group a piece of her artwork to take back to the US.

Community organization seders were also very moving, especially the one provided to Adain Lo Tikvateinu program for young adults with special needs, where the seder was followed by a lively round of dancing, singing and playing a variation on "hot potato" using a giant, blow-up matza ball!

We watched a documentary on the Siege of Leningrad, visited the Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad and participated in a touching and solemn memorial ceremony organized by a handful of our participants. During the ceremony, the stories of two young girls were juxtaposed -- Anne Frank and a young girl who lived through the Siege of Leningrad.

On Saturday night, before Shabbat ended, we visited Cafe im Mashmaut (Coffee with Meaning) at JAFI's center, where we "ate and drank" from modern Israeli texts and partook in lively discussions in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm the day everyone arrived. But the participants also got to see "classic" St. Petersburg weather -- it snowed on Wednesday and was gray and cold today. For some of our Israeli participants, it was the first time they had seen snow!

Meeting and getting to know everyone in our group was really the most rewarding part of the Pesach Project. Some of our participants brought with them entire chapters of Jewish history -- three of our participants (2 from Cleveland and 1 from Tsachar) were born in the FSU and emigrated in the early 90s. The two from Cleveland have a beautiful story -- he was born in Baku and she in Tashkent. They met in high school in Cleveland, shortly after they arrived. They've been married for 5 years and have 2 young boys at home. Needless to say, the energy and enthusiasm all 3 of them brought to the trip added tremendously to everyone else's experience.

As we drove to the airport yesterday afternoon, I wondered aloud how I'll fill my time now that the Pesach Project is over. Matt quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out a handwritten letter. It was a sweet way for him to tell me how proud he was of me, but also to give me ideas for enjoying my recreation time over the next few months! (I admit that I'm really bad at relaxing and need all the help I can get!)

Now it's back to reality -- we have to cook our meals, take out the trash, etc. Just this morning, I was rudely reminded that I'm no longer in my happy little Pesach Project bubble, when a babushka knocked on our door to deliver some tickets to us. When I opened the door, she immediately started yelling at me that our apartment number isn't on the door and how was she supposed to find us?! After a few minutes of this verbal barrage, I asked her if she had our tickets, said thank you, and proceeded to close the door in her face. Just in case I had forgotten, she wanted to remind me that I live in Russia.

Despite the disappointment that follows any big project or event, I am filled with satisfaction in knowing that I helped create a powerful Pesach experience for everyone involved -- including myself.

Matt and I demonstrate how to make a Hillel sandwich at first night seder.

Exhausted and Exhilarated

2007-03-30T16:28:00.000+03:00

One day into the Pesach Project, and I find myself with a few minutes to spare while the group prepares their first set of seders for two upcoming home visits -- one to a special needs child or young adult and their family and another to an elderly Chesed client. The groups from Palm Beach, Cleveland, Beit Shean and Tsfat arrived yesterday afternoon within 10 minutes of each other. We only lost 1 piece of luggage and started our program 15 minutes late. But we quickly made up for lost time over our ice breakers and welcome session before heading to dinner. The participants were jetlagged and started to sag over the course of dinner, but today they were fresh and alert for community presentations, visits to the Choral Synagogue and Shaarei Shalom, and a endless activities this afternoon at YESOD. We made our own matzah at the Matzah Factory, discussed cultural identification and clothing at an EITAN-sponsored beit midrash, and we are now preparing for our first few seders.

I can't tell you how proud I was when over lunch, one of the American staff members pulled me aside and told me that everything she had been warned about on past Pesach Project trips was proving to be invalid this year -- bad food, programs running up to 2 hours late, horrible weather, etc. etc. Ok, so I didn't have much to do with the food or the weather, but at least I could take credit for building a reasonable itinerary and keeping the group on schedule.

As I finally sit down and catch my breath for the first time in over 24 hours, I realize that I'm exhausted. I am beginning to wonder if jetlag is contagious; I just know how revved up I was for the first day...things are slowing down a bit and everything is falling into place. But I'm not only exhausted, I'm also exhilarated. I feel like this is the reason we came here. To help the community grow and strengthen itself through partnerships, events, and young leaders -- all of which are exemplified by the Pesach Project experience.

Pesach Project 2007 group photo in front of the Choral Synagogue

Today is the Day

2007-03-29T07:58:00.000+03:00

In just a few hours, 18 Russian young adults will meet up with 15 American and 9 Israeli young adults at the Pulkovo airport. Thus begins the Pesach Project, a whirlwind week of visits to local Jewish organizations, home visits to elderly Hesed clients and Adain Lo special needs clients, stops at local tourist sites, and of course, seders, seders and more seders!

Matt and I have been planning for this day since mid-December and I can hardly believe the day has arrived. I'm a little tired (have been working crazy hours in preparation), a little nervous (the logistics are insane), and very, very excited! Our tiny office is the command center, stacked high with arts supplies, welcome folders, kosher wine and, ironically, countless boxes of matza. (See Matt's post from a week ago on the subject of finding matza.) I still have a few last-minute things to take care of, so I'm going to cut this post short, but I can assure you that there's a much, much longer post to come on this subject.

Wishing you and your loved ones a chag Pesach kasher v'sameach -- a happy and kosher Passover!

Getting My Groove Back

2007-03-28T11:44:00.000+03:00

I hit a really rough patch professionally in the weeks leading up to Pesach. At the time, it wasn't really blog-worthy to share that I was frustrated by a lack of progress on certain projects, and I didn't want to cloud the blog with useless negativity. As you would expect, getting work done in a foreign culture, especially in the midst of Purim and Pesach preparations, can be arduous and trying. There was a LOT going on and, even though my initiatives were put on the back burner or canceled entirely, there was still plenty to do. So I figured I should sit back, ride it out, let Pesach come and go, and then dive right back into the work.

Thankfully, this past weekend's Pesach Project Training Seminar was exactly what I needed to get my confidence back and re-focus my energy. The goals of the seminar were to help our Russian participants get "up-to-speed" when it comes to Pesach, and also help them bond with each other and their staff. Since many of the participants have very little in the way of a Jewish education, or come from families where Passover was never celebrated, it was important that they feel comfortable with the seder and the Passover story, as they will be leading seders throughout the city (together with their Israeli and American counterparts).

This was a great partnership with the local organizations, including EITAN (which focuses on Jewish education), the Jewish Agency, and Hillel. I helped push the process along, crafting an excellent agenda that not only covered all the educational bases, but also facilitated the group moving from twenty individuals to a community.

The seminar was held at a retreat center outside the city and, because it was a Friday night, we started with a Shabbat service. As the ice breaker, everyone was asked to talk about either their most memorable Shabbat experience, or their first Shabbat experience. Amazingly, many of the Russian participants talked about both simultaneously: their first Shabbat in Israel as part of the Taglit-birthright Israel experience. The philanthropists who fund that program would be floored to hear how meaningful the trip was for these students, as many of the participants talked about how they truly understood the power of Shabbat only when they celebrated it in Israel. But Israel is also a dividing force in this Jewish community: one girl named Marina talked about how, when her sister made aliyah, it made her parents very sad and now she feels the burden of being an only child. Another girl named Marina talked about how her family made aliyah, but she returned to Russia for university, and now she lives a split life between the two countries.

We learned so much from these participants -- it's amazing how much you can understand when the seminar is held in English! For example, Bella related the story of how the choosing of her name was a big debate in her family because Bella "sounds Jewish"; in fact, her grandmother still calls her grandfather by his Russan name (Misha) instead of his real name (Moshe). Seva, Olga, and Lena told about how they moved to SPB from other Russian-speaking towns, and the culture shock that they experienced coming to a big, cosmopolitan city (so we aren't alone!). Finally, one of the educators we brought to the seminar, Alisa, told us later that she over-estimated the Jewish knowledge of the participants, assuming that they would know basic things about Jewish history and finding that many of the participants are in desperate need of fundamental Jewish education. This is something that happens to us very often here in SPB, and it was good to share the feeling of surprise and confusion with a fellow educator.

There were plenty of humorous moments during the seminar. Lonya told a D'var Torah about how Pharoah's headstrong nature reminded him of his own--at an airport once, he was determined to shop, hang out, and talk to his mom before his flight. He got everything done--except the part about boarding the plane! Rabbi Michael Farbman, who is actively looking for a rabbinical job in the States, told a funny story about how he had to learn the two-letter endings of the lesser-known states: while "DC" and "NY" are pretty obvious, he's also been looking at jobs in places like "MO" and "OR." Lastly, Inna led a small revolt over a problem she saw in the PP itinerary by organizing a petition amongst the participants. I couldn't help but laugh--here was a Russian teaching the Americans about democracy!

There was one particular session that really stands out in my mind. You see, I really wanted to teach the participants how to create and present a D'var Torah--I thought this was a valuable skill that they could use for the rest of their lives. What's a D'var Torah? Well, it's a short (or long) speech that takes the current parshah or Jewish holiday and connects it to modern life in a personal, meaningful way. I knew very well that it would be hard to get the participants to understand, first of all, what a D'var Torah is; then, getting them to actually create one would be even more difficult! But after struggling through the first half-hour, they finally started to get it. As Masha told us later, "I was thinking about it and trying to understand and then, suddenly, it's like a light just turned on!" She then told a great D'var Torah about how her mother is still living in Egypt, and the struggle to adapt to and accept religious freedom in her family. Olga, who has never celebrated Passover before, talked about how the Pesach story reminds us that "timing is everything." She then told us that she had never known about her Jewish roots until, by coincidence, she saw a JDC job advertisement and asked her parents if they knew any Jews (it turns out, her grandfather was Jewish but the family had long ago decided to keep it a secret).

Looking back, what made the seminar so meaningful for me was that I felt that here was a real, tangible, and high-quality product of my work. From conception, to planning, to execution, to evaluation, I facilitated the process all the way through, and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Alyson and I were a great team: on Saturday morning, Alyson talked about the small picture (the goals and itinerary for the Pesach Project), and then I piggy-backed by teaching about how PP fits into the big picture of philanthropy, the Federations, and the global Jewish future.

Occasionally during our eight months here, I've felt very isolated from the Jewish community, like my efforts have been ineffective or ineffectual, or that I am unable to contribute because of the language and cultural barriers. But this past weekend, I felt like I was making a real difference in giving these young people skills, knowledge, and enjoyment that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. At one point, when I finished teaching a session and sat down exhaustedly next to Alyson, she turned to me with eyes alight and reminded me, "We're doing it! We're doing it!"

Check out pictures from the seminar by clicking here.

As a last note to this long blog post, I have one more success to boast about :-) Over the past couple weeks, I arranged with the local, English-speaking American School to bring their students to YESOD to see the building, learn about Passover, and experience the matzah factory. That field trip happened this morning, with Alyson and I being the madrichim, and the school's students had a blast. Of course, we took the innocent questions that you would expect from children: "Are you Jewish?" and "Do Jews believe in Jesus?" When I asked the kids to tell me what a miracle was, one of the girls took the opportunity to list the miracles that Jesus supposedly performed. But it was great to lead another activity in English, to educate these kids about Passover, and to feel like I'm "getting my groove back" in my work here.

Baking Matzah Can Be Hazardous to Your Health!

2007-03-22T15:25:00.000+02:00

I had a dilemma this afternoon, as I had to choose between two competing priorities. I was thinking about joining Alyson, who was driving around the city, checking out locations for home-visits. You see, when the Pesach Project is here next week, participants will go visit elderly Chesed clients in their homes. Of course, the hosts need to be somewhat healthy, articulate, interested in having guests and, most importantly, their homes have to be able to hold a group of seven people. So, an unfortunate necessity is that the potential hosts need to be screened, and Alyson was in charge of checking out their cribs. It's always interesting to visit these people, and I really wanted to go, but I figured I spend enough time with Alyson (and she'll tell me all the stories anyway!).

Instead, I opted for a different experience with the elderly. All this week and next, YESOD will be hosting a matzah-baking factory. This factory isn't anything fancy: a few tables where people can roll the dough into thin circles, and two large hot-plates where the matzah bakes before your very eyes. The big children's event is this Sunday, but during the regular workdays, the clientele of the matzah-baking factory is the Chesed clients.

I volunteered to help in the matzah factory this afternoon, and I was in for a fun experience! Over the course of an hour, about 30 elderly people (mostly babushkas) came through the factory. Since my Russian isn't that good (and it's basically non-existent when it comes to cooking!) I let my fellow volunteer, a nice student from the Jewish university, explain how to make the matzah. I was content with a supporting role, flipping matzahs on the hotplate and, once finished, handing them to their eager maker. Here is what I witnessed:

First, either Russian doesn't have an equivalent of "a watched pot never boils," or no-one bothered to tell these people that "a stared-at matzah doesn't bake." In the five minutes it takes to cook one of these matzahs, they must have asked 50 times "Eta Gatov? (Is it ready?)". You would expect them to make small talk or chat amongst themselves, but no--they stood there, just staring at their creations. Literally, there were times I couldn't even get to the oven, because the crowd was so thick it would push me away! I wanted to tell them, "Seriously, people, it's just matzah!" - but then I realized that, after living their whole lives under the Soviets, it's still a novelty here.
Then, an argument erupted over whose matzah belonged to whom. Imagine four-foot-tall babushkas yelling at each other: "Eta mayah!" "Nyet, eta mayah." "Nyet, you have the ugly one." "Nyet, I have the pretty one." "Nyet, that one is yours. This one is mine." "Nyet. Young man, tell her that one's mine." I thought they were going to pull off their rubber gloves and hairnets and start slugging each other! Luckily, one woman stepped in and negotiated a compromise, so I didn't have to call security on the babushkas and shut down the matzah factory for fear of a geriatric riot.
One woman didn't feel any pain in her hands. She flipped the matzah by herself, ignoring the fact that it was on a 250-degree hotplate. She belongs on that tv show, "Heroes."
One man was flat-out crazy. He was all alone at the very end, just yelling to himself about how he remembers his grandmother teaching him how to bake matzah and repeating the Hamotzi blessing over and over. I think he scared some of the other participants. Anyway, his grandmother taught him well, because the crazy guy made the most beautiful, circular matzahs of any of the participants.

I thought I was just spending an hour volunteering to flip matzahs. I ended up getting a lesson in post-Soviet geriatric sociology!

The Search for Matzah

2007-03-20T16:18:00.001+02:00

Finding matzah here in SPB was an unexpectedly harrowing experience. We knew that this would be a harder Passover than our previous experiences in America, but we figured that in a community of 100,000 Russian Jews, it wouldn't be hard to find the basics for observing Passover: matzah meal, matzah, and cake meal. Besides, I saw lots of nice old babushkas from Chesed walking out of YESOD loaded down with boxes of matzah...if they can get it easily, surely we can, too!

This morning, Alyson and I left bright and early at 9:15 (yes, that's really early in this part of the world!) to head down to the kosher store at the synagogue.The kosher store is nearly an hour-long schlep from our house: a 5-minute walk to the Metro, a 20-minute ride on the Metro, and a 25-minute walk from there to the synagogue. On the bright side, it was a gorgeous day today--sunny and in the high 40s--so I packed away my heavy ski coat, opted for my lighter wool coat, and look forward to walking outside. Alyson, however, loves her pink coat, and can't bring herself to part with it!

So we show up at the kosher store as the doors open at 10 am, but we are totally disappointed by what they have to offer. This isn't KosherMart in Rockville, or even the Giant near our house in DC...this is basically a closet of kosher candy, macaroons, and other noshy food. Nothing to cook, but we find the matzah in the corner. We eagerly start loading up on matzah, but then notice a sign saying, "This matzah is not kosher for Passover."

Frustrated, we approach the counter-lady. Will there be another, kosher shipment coming in? No. Is this all there is in the store? Yes. So where do we get matzah that's really kosher for Passover? The synagogue. When does the synagogue open? I don't know.

Luckily, two blocks from the synagogue is the yeshivah, which (if it's possible) has an even smaller kosher store. It's basically two bookshelves put together and stacked with kosher food. There, we find a whole bunch more kosher-for-Passover noshy food (cakes, pudding, etc) but still no matzah! Another nice counter-lady gets accosted by two bumbling Americans who, in broken Russian, strike up a conversation: Where is the matzah in this town? It has to be specially ordered. When can we order it? Today is the last day. Oh, whew. Who do we order from? There is one lady who takes the orders, but she doesn't come in for another hour. Seeing no other option, we found some chairs and decided to wait. (While we waited, a nice Orthodox guy from the yeshiva decided we should eat pizza, so he makes us a couple of pizzas to nosh on. They may not be efficient, but at least they're hospitable!)

An hour later, a nice young lady named Sveta shows up. At this point, we've been searching for two hours and we're getting desperate, so I cheat on my Russian and speak Hebrew with her. Where is the matzah? We're all out. You're out of regular matzah? No, we never had regular matzah; we only sell hand-made shmurah matzah. We didn't want shmurah matzah anyway, so no big loss if she sells the other things we need. What about matzah meal, cake meal, or anything to actually make Pesadich food with? Nope...but we have salt, sugar, water, and macaroons. No thanks, we say, and dejectedly continue our search.

At this point, we leave the yeshivah and decide to try our luck one last time with the synagogue. On the way, I call the director of Chesed Avraham, which gives matzah to its elderly and needy clients for free (those are the babushkas I mentioned earlier). I ask him if, in case of emergency, we can buy some matzah from Chesed so we can survive Passover. The answer is "only if we have some left over from giving to the needy." Do you often have left-overs? We NEVER have enough matzah to go around, and we run out every year. OK, well, thanks anyway.

We get to the synagogue, which is now open, and find people distributing matzah in the basement. After 10 minutes waiting in line, we find out that this line is only for people who pre-ordered matzah; if you want to buy matzah, you have to go upstairs. Finally, we find the matzah lady, buy a ridiculous amount of matzah from her, then schlep our matzah, like the treasure it is, back to our home. Three-and-a-half hours after leaving our house, we arrive back home with the matzah we so desperately needed.

Even though we get to spend 4 days eating catered meals as part of the Pesach Project, the last 4 days of Passover will be difficult with so little Pesadic food available here. But maybe, somewhere in this city of 5 million residents, we'll find that matzah meal!

Our Russian: Aptitude or Ineptitude?

2007-03-16T11:58:00.000+02:00

As Matt explained in his last blog post, much of the work we do here in St. Petersburg is in English. This is because most of our colleagues speak English and/or because we cannot perform at a high-level in Russian. Today, I found myself at work with a little time to kill when a meeting we had scheduled was canceled. So I was reading articles online, exploring a few Russian learning sites...and viola, I found a language school that allows you to test your Russian language skills online. I was actually surprised by how much of it I understood; unfortunately, I also realized how much of the minutiae of the grammar I have forgotten since the end of our Russian classes back in December. 52 questions, and a small headache later, I found out my level of Russian: 25 out of 52 or "pre-intermediate," which they define as follows:

You are familiar with common structures of Russian grammar, and your level, which we would describe as pre-intermediate, allows you to understand Russian in personal and social contexts, to react accordingly in everyday situations and to express your opinion on topics of personal and common interest. Accuracy and knowledge of peculiarities of Russian are subject to further improvement.

In my typical competitive style, I then encouraged Matt to take the same test. He managed to score 7 points more than I did, which isn't surprising, considering how much more effort he has put into learning Russian than I have. His added effort landed him in the next category up, "intermediate:"

You are able to communicate and convey precisely what you want to say in everyday living situations. You understand written and conversational language on a range of personal and social topics. For further language training we recommend to work more on passive, negative and other specific grammar constructions, train fluency and building longer and more complex syntax structures (e.g. impersonal constructions, sentences with indefinite/generalised subject, expressive word order). Well done!

On one hand, I'm bummed that after 7 months here, I can't speak Russian as easily as I would like to be able to. On the other hand, considering that it's one of the world's most difficult languages and that I didn't know one word of it a year ago, I feel better than at least I can understand, if not speak. And for once, I can graciously admit that my husband is better at something than I am.

Where Am I?

2007-03-13T12:37:00.000+02:00

After six months of living in Russia, I have found myself suddenly struggling with the question, "where the heck am I?" Take a look at my life here, and you'll understand why:

First, all of our recent meetings have been in English. Yesterday, we met with American Jewish professionals from the Jewish Agency, who were here in SPB on a study trip. I gave the presentation about the local Jewish community, and Alyson led a tour of the building. Although we had never met these people before, we instantly developed a camaraderie, joking about American politics, sports, and the latest celebrity scandal. Today's meeting, about launching the YESOD Visitor's Center, was also totally in English. And tonight's meeting, with Pesach Project staff members from Cleveland and Palm Beach...you guessed it.
On Sunday, I played family football, the latest in YESOD's ever-expanding list of regular programs. Family football is targeted towards English-speaking families with young children, who want to get them running around and playing soccer. I do a little coaching, a little encouraging, and a lot of playing
Last night, after teaching my weekly English Club class, I came back to my office to make calls on our Vonage phone. I caught my sister as she was boarding her Spring Break cruise to the Caribbean, and we gossiped about life at UF and our crazy family (ha ha!). There was a great article by a new friend of ours, Cliff Levy, who is a writer for the NY Times and fellow Petersburger. I highly recommend it, especially to those of you who aren't quite sure exactly what a "Vonage phone" is!
During that English class, three twenty-something-year-old students joined me for a discussion on identity. The conversation turned to politics and the recent election for the local assembly, in which just 1 in 3 Petersburgers actually voted. I want to share with you what they told me, because their insights sounded as American as anything I've heard so far in this country. Yosef didn't vote, because he felt that his vote wouldn't matter and that the election's result was already largely pre-determined. Mary voted for the party with the best advertising, which just happened to be an "ultra-right" party that published a fancy newspaper. And Genia, who made aliyah and lived in Israel for 10 years before returning to Russia, decided that things were better under the Communists, so he voted for that party. The views of these students really struck me, because they captured the frustration, confusion, and apathy that many Americans also face when it comes to democracy.
As Alyson mentioned in her post about the IWC Ball at Yusupov Palace (another picture on the left), we attended a really high-falutin, English-speaking event recently. What she didn't mention is that it reminded us strongly of a charity benefit we attended at the Kennedy Center almost exactly one year ago to the day (right side). Both were classy, at unique locations, and filled with fascinating people!

So, with that in mind, I give you pictures from both events, one year apart - and now you understand the strange situation of standing in two difference countries, with your feet straddling the Atlantic Ocean.

Lots of Flowers / Not Many Voters

2007-03-10T11:32:00.000+02:00

Today is March 11, Election Day, and surprisingly, things are relatively quiet here. From local media reports that we've seen, less than 25% of the local population is expected to vote. Our informal conversations with friends only reinforce the anticipated low voter-turnout, although we did receive a handwritten invitation to go and vote. A number of our friends and family back home have asked us to comment on the elections and the recent protests in St. Petersburg; since we are here for other reasons and have been entirely consumed by Purim celebrations, Passover preparations and hosting Shabbat meals, we haven't paid much attention. We try to keep abreast of the news, but it's mostly through the international media. One recent op-ed piece caught my eye and I thought it was worthy of being shared here:

Breaking Putin's Cordon | The Washington Post | by Masha Lipman | 10 Mar 2007

In other recent goings-on, this past Thursday was a national holiday: International Women's Day. It felt to me like a cross between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, and not anything like the politically-motivated women's rights day that it is in the States.

Interestingly, I learned that International Women's Day was founded in 1911 by a German Jewish women's rights activist, Clara Zetkin, and that International Women's Day was proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It wasn't until 1965, though, that it became an official holiday here in Russia, replete with a day off from work, according to the official USSR decree "in commemoration of outstanding merits of the Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and selflessness at the front and in rear, and also marking the big contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples and struggle for the peace."

Seems all very lofty, but in reality, it's a rather meaningless holiday in my estimation. Men here typically shower their women in chocolates and flowers, and true to tradition, I received a number of gifts from my colleagues while my inner feminist cringed. I've never seen quite so many flowers before in my life -- it looked like the Amsterdam Flower Market set up shop outside virtually every Metro station in St. Petersburg! Matt dutifully bought roses for all of the women we work with at YESOD, but when we got to the flower shop that morning, there was a line nearly 20 men long! We opted for one of the make-shift stands nearby instead!

International Women's Day is also supposed to herald the start of spring, and if the weather is any indicator, it's right on time! The temperatures here have consistently stayed above freezing for the last week and have even peeked into the 40s on a few days. But more importantly, the grocery stores here got the memo about the start of spring: all of a sudden, more fresh fruits and veggies have appeared on the store shelves, just in time for our monthly Shabbat dinner on Friday night! We hosted 6 friends: 2 Americans, 1 Israeli/Russian, and 3 Russians. It was a wonderful feeling to sit around the table discussing this week's parsha, debating issues related to culture and assimilation, and celebrating Shabbat together. Another highlight of the weekend was the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the International Women's Club that was held last night at the Yusapov Palace. Here's a picture of us all fancied up (in our apartment, NOT the palace)!

Purim...live from Petersburg!

2007-03-05T11:58:00.000+02:00

Purim here in Russia was a wonderful experience. While many boisterous Russians were celebrating in their own way, we spent Purim helping organize activities at YESOD. The building was truly rocking over the weekend--on Sunday, we estimate that over 600 people came through the building as part of the festivities. We have lots to tell you about, so here we go...

The weekend started with the second installment of "Amerikansky Shabbat" at Hillel. This time, I took a page out of the Russian playbook, using a popular trivia local gameshow format called "Shto, gde, kagda?" (What, where, when?) The students were split into teams and, interspersed throughout the service, I asked the teams trivia questions about famous American Jews. The two winning teams got 11 right...see how many you can get correct by clicking here. Of course, the best part is the eating and shmoozing; Alyson made a nice spread of cookies, challah, and vegetables for the kids to eat. You can check out the pictures here.

Saturday night was a big Purim party for the community. At 300 rubles, the ticket price was deliberately steep, designed to attract a high-class crowd. As you would expect, the event was quite fancy, transforming the building into a fashionable, trendy club for the evening. The highlight for me was a hip-hop-inspired Purim production, complete with a fashion show as potential queens paraded in front of Achashverosh. I took a video of the show, which you can watch by clicking here. You don't need to know any Russian to enjoy the funky fashions and festive atmosphere!

Sunday was our big day to shine, as we played an important part in the chidren's carnival. I taught Purim songs, using my Hebrew school education to the fullest as I transliterated the Hebrew into Russian! Behind my head is that classic children's song, "La-Kova Sheli Shalosh Pinot" - you can imagine how awkward it is to explain to children that Haman's hat had three corners, and that's why we sing this bizarre song about a three-cornered hat! Or take the song on the lower left of the picture, "Leytzan Katan," about my little clown that dances with everyone...again, hard to explain to 5-year-olds. In general, the kids were far more interested in the face-painting, caricature artist, and the drums than my boring old singing station, but I found some babushkas who were interested, so I sang with them! Alyson helped the children make groggers using the classic "fill a plate with beans" method. It was a big hit.

The kids enjoyed our activities, then participated in an interactive show, before heading upstairs to the 3rd floor for a wide variety of classes: how to make butterflies out of tree bark (I think that's what they were doing), Latin dancing, balloon animals, magic tricks, etc. The grand finale was a huge inflatable city, which I called a "moon bounce on crack" -- we didn't have such things back in my day! The kids had a blast, which got me thinking that we Americans take fun for granted (think of Chuck E. Cheese, Disney World, Gym-boree, etc), but this was the first time I had seen Russian kids really enjoying themselves in an unfettered, boisterous way. We kept waiting for them to get off of it so we could go on it, but they were still going at 6:30, a full 3 hours after the event had started!

Yesterday evening was another large Purim party, this one targeted towards young adults. There were at least 200 people here for a performance, which had a cabaret theme and was enormously entertaining.

Take a look at some of the best pictures from the Purim festivities by clicking here.

One other note: you may remember that we were the first office our whole wing of the building (3rd floor, opposite from Hillel). In what was once a hinterland in the YESOD building, it's actually starting to get crowded these days! In December came the staff of MegaGym, the company that has rented out a significant portion of YESOD to set up a private workout facility. Now, as the YESOD JCC formally launches, programming staff are flocking to our wing. We now have a neighbor: Simeon Parizhky, who will run YESOD's educational department (officially called EITAN). Alex, the director of arts and cultural programming, has moved to the third floor, along with Yakov, who will be researching YESOD's audience and targeting specific populations. And, in a funny and strange situation that I won't get into on the blog, some of the Reform synagogue's staff has unexpectedly moved to our floor as well. We feel like veterans, with our office already set up and knowing our way around the building. In fact, we often find ourselves wondering, "Who the heck are these people that are suddenly taking over our floor?"

In the end, this year's Purim experience was enormously exhausting, entertaining, and educational. Again, a very different experience from our DC Minyan community: there was no big production made out of the mitzvot, such as mishloach manot (in previous years, we've received 20 or more of these nice food packages; this year, we were excited to get one!), reading the megillah, having a Purim meal, or matanot l'evyonim. Rather, the focus was on celebrating Jewishly through arts, singing, dancing, and merry-making. Through Purim, YESOD proved yet again that it can attract large and prestigious audiences, willing to pay real money for a high-quality Jewish programming on the holidays. The questions we will try to answer over the next four months, along with our colleagues at the YESOD JCC, are: How can we get these people to come here on a regular basis? Between now and Pesach, what events and programs can we hold that will keep crowds streaming through the building? What are people interested in, and, just as importantly, what programs are they willing to pay for?

Hopefully, finding the answers to these questions will be a lot easier than explaining why I'm singing about a three-cornered hat!

Banya-rific

2007-03-04T19:20:00.000+02:00

I survived my first banya experience today. It was weird and scary and relaxing all at the same time. For those of you who don't know what a banya is, it's a Russian bath house. I went with my friend Jen who is a virtual banya expert. She gave me a great overview in advance, which helped me appease my fears about hanging out naked with unfamiliar Russian women.

So here's what happens: You arrive at the banya and pay for your visit (about $20 for 2 hours) plus whatever extras you want. You can get a beating with birch branches, a chocolate/coffee massage, or other similarly bizarre treatments. Then you strip down in a little changing room, wrap yourself in a sheet, slip on flip-flops and a strange felt hat and head outside. Yes, outside in Russia -- fortunately, it was nearly 40 degrees F today in St. Petersburg! There, you find a little wooden shack and 3 pools of water (icy cold, luke warm and hot). You enter the wooden shack and find the previously mentioned unfamiliar naked Russian women. The image that immediately came to mind: walruses. My friend Jen, who lived in San Francisco for 9 years, later joked that they remind her of sea lions laying out on Pier 39. You hang out there, in Jen's words, "for as long as you can stand it," which in my book is about 5 minutes. Then, when you think your skin is about to melt, you head outside and jump in the icy pool. After a loud shriek, you hop out, and jump into the luke warm pool, where your skin tingles as it acclimates back to its normal temperature. Then -- as crazy as this sounds -- you repeat the process, as we did 3 more times. Each successive time, I was able to last a little bit longer in the repressively hot banya.

On my last stint in the banya, I got the birch branch treatment. A cute young man (who probably has the best job in the world, hanging out with naked women all day, while he coincidentally gets to wear shorts) beats the sh*t out of you with a wet, hot birch branch contraption. It feels like he is just shy of trying to cause you bodily damage -- a mix of torture and massage. And it gets really, really HOT! When he finally says he's done, you run out as quick as you can -- covered in leaves -- and jump in the cold pool...AHHH!

By the end of our excursion, my limbs felt like jello and I felt totally mellow. In fact, after we showered and got dressed, we had to sit and have a cup of tea before Jen "sobered up" enough to drive home. Like I said, it's weird and scary and relaxing all at the same time. And oh-so-very Russian. Forgive me for not having photos -- I'll bring my camera next time to record the madness! Well, maybe just the part before we get totally naked.

Money, Money, Money

2007-03-03T21:01:00.000+02:00

I've noticed a few weird things about money here in Russia over the last couple of weeks. First, it started when a Hillel student asked me what I thought about American men who look online for Russian brides. Hmmm...I wasn't sure what to tell her exactly since many of the thoughts I conjured up were based on stereotypes of scary, weirdos trolling the net, looking for young, blond playthings. Instead, I told her honestly that I didn't know any such men. Why was she asking? Apparently, her mother thinks it's a good way to start a new, better life in America. I turned to the young woman and asked her what she thought. She said that at 24, she wasn't quite ready, but that ultimately, she thought it was a good way out, so to speak. I pressed her on what she meant -- quite frankly, she said, "you have to have noticed that it's not so easy to live here." She was referring, of course, to the discrepancy between salaries (which are often less than half of what they are in the US--but then again, is that only the declared amount?) and the cost of buying household goods (which are often double what they cost in the US). Definitely makes you wonder how the typical Russian makes ends meet.

Then there's this issue with the currency. The coins are pretty much useless, especially those that are worth less than a ruble. Kopecks, as they are called, are basically worth nothing. Take for instance, a 10-kopeck coin: it's worth one-third of a cent. The funny thing is that there still are 10-kopeck coins, 5-kopeck coins, even 1-kopeck coins still in circulation! So it's not surprising that you see these coins on the ground EVERYWHERE. I even saw a woman begging on the street and there were a few coins laying within arm's reach and yet she didn't bother to pick them up and put them in her cup!

A bigger issue is counterfeit money. I never really paid any attention to it until I recently handed a grocery store checkout clerk a bill and she handed it back to me after looking at it under a black-light gizmo. Turns out it was a fake. You could tell with the naked eye: the requisite metallic strip was missing. Since that day, I've looked at my cash before spending it and have noticed on two different occasions that I am handing someone money that could possibly be counterfeit. I'm honestly shocked at the amount of fake money in circulation; that, or I just have really bad luck! [Editor's note: I stand corrected. One of our wonderful blog readers pointed out to me that the old currency still in circulation does not have a metallic strip and it is still legit. Who are you, anonymous comment-poster? We really appreciate your comments!]

Just a few casual items that I've noticed and thought were rather intriguing... As Henry Ward Beecher once said, "It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has." Thanks, Henry.

Weekend Update

2007-02-25T20:08:00.000+02:00

My mother says I'm not blogging enough. So this one's for her...

Last Friday was February 23, which is celebrated in Russia unofficially as Men's Day, when Russian women are supposed to shower the men in their lives with cards, candy, flowers and other signs of affection. Officially, it's called День защитника Отечества, Defender of the Fatherland Day. As with all Russian holidays, it's a hold-over from Soviet times. I chose to give Matt a terribly tacky card (replete with Russian soldiers and ridiculous nationalist imagery) and an equally tacky present: a banya set! Since neither of us have been to the banya, I thought this just might be the motivation Matt would need to entice him.

Because it was a holiday and everyone had the day off (not including us, of course), EVA organized a Purim celebration for their family club. It was a great event -- hamantashen baking (inspired by my successful foray into challah baking with the kids at camp!), a puppet show, snacks and a slideshow from EVA's winter camp. Matt and I then split up and went our separate ways to celebrate Shabbat with a few elderly Chesed clients around the city through our Malachai Shabbat program. The 90-year-old woman I visited really touched my heart. An engineer by trade, she learned to paint when she was 60 and her apartment is covered floor to ceiling with her amazing artwork. Now that her vision has deteriorated, she can no longer read or paint, leaving her bored and disinterested with life. Our visit was clearly a highlight -- and she repeated over and over that she is so thankful that she hasn't been forgotten. Exhausted, we crossed town and enjoyed a delicious Shabbat meal at the home of two Israeli young women who are doing their national service in St. Petersburg by teaching Hebrew at a number of the Jewish schools here. Playing cards after dinner and swapping stories about being far from home...it was the perfect way to end the week.

Matt and Sasha show off their freshly made hamantashen.

Shabbat morning we went to a Chabad minyan near our apartment on the Vyborgskaya side of town. We've come to adore the young, hip Chabad rabbi who leads the minyan. We came home after a light lunch of cholent (yum!) and salads and took a good, long nap. Last night we went to a joint birthday party for my friend Jen and her husband Vanya at their apartment. First of all, their apartment is so cute! It's decorated like it's been on some HGTV show -- lime green, bright blue, and bright peach. It's totally my style, replete with ultra modern lighting. Ok, enough about the apartment. It was nice to be at a party that was 50% Russian and 50% foreigners. The guy sitting next to me, for example, was from Baku. As the night wore on, we started singing karaoke, both in Russian and in English. Even I sang -- with my terrible voice and all!

On our way home, we had a classically Russian experience. Never mind the puke on the metro. As we left Jen and Vanya's apartment and turned the corner, I noticed a dark heap on the ground. I asked Matt if he thought that was a person on the ground. Mind you, it was probably 3°F outside. Apparently, it was a very, very drunk man who had tried to stop and pee on the side of the street. Instead, he fell over with his fly wide open and his penis hanging out. We didn't know whether to laugh or to feel bad for the guy. Ah, to live in Russia!

Out and About in Petersburg

2007-02-21T09:10:00.000+02:00

In this second half of our posting here, we feel like we've finally begun to hit our stride, both personally and professionally. Work-wise, we've found useful roles in the community, with the local organizations are coming to us on a regular basis for help and advice. Alyson is working hard on the Pesach Project and launching the YESOD website, and I've been keeping myself busy with my summer camp program, launching the YESOD Sports Program, and helping with Purim preparations. It was a long time coming, but we seem to have found our niche at YESOD and in the overall community.

On a funny side note, you may have heard that there was a bombing at a St. Petersburg McDonald's. The bombing certainly isn't funny, but the response of our Israeli friends, Liat and Biko, is. I received an email from them asking if we were ok -- and telling us how excited they are that the tables are turned, and now they are the ones checking up on us!

We also have this awesome streak going: four consecutive weeks with Saturday night plans with friends. Since returning from Israel, we've been to concerts, out to Georgian food, visited a painter's studio apartment, and I even found an ultimate frisbee game to join! This week, we have plans three of the next four nights. I am enjoying... but for Alyson, who is the true social butterfly in this family, this is a major coup and I'm excited for her to feel like she has a base of friends here.
That brings me to the highlight of this past Sunday: Maslenitza. I couldn't even begin to explain this unique piece of Russian culture, except to say that it is a big festival that involves lots of blini eating, walking around in sub-freezing temperatures, ice skating, creating large hay-stacks in the shapes of people, and then burning them. Like I said, I can't explain it. But you know you have reached true Russian culture when the music played around the campground is Russian and not American.

When in Russia...

2007-02-16T10:23:00.000+02:00

We've had some fascinating, truly Russian experiences over the past few days. First, there is an election coming up, so the streets are covered in political advertisements. There are also tons of people paid to hand out fliers--you can't leave a Metro station without being accosted by them. I've been collecting everything I can get my hands on, examining the similarities and differences with American campaign literature. I even found a flier that used Valentine's Day symbolism--two polar bears kissing over a big red heart--to push a political party, even though Valentine's Day is not a Russian holiday! I won't say any more about the upcoming election, except to point you towards this New York Times article. Second, we got a package from America, and it only took 4 months to get here! Who says the Russian mail is inefficient?

We also went to go register with the local government. It was a crazy experience that I can't talk about in detail on the blog. For now, suffice it to say that when a mean, fur-wearing Russian lady decided to grab Alyson and push me when we jumped ahead of her in line (we had been smart and made an appointment!), I nearly lost it. I yelled at her, in my best Russian, "What the hell?" She responded by calling me "not normal." If being rude and aggressive is normal, then yes, I'm not normal. Anyway, if you're interested in hearing more, email me.

On the work side of things, I have been having some success with an idea that I had to help Russian Jewish students work in the States as summer camp counselors at Jewish camps. I had such a fantastic time at Ramah (Palmer and Darom), and I want these young people to be able to share the American sleep-away camp experience. Along the way, they'll gain valuable skills and excitement about Jewish life, which they will bring back to invigorate this community. Over the past few weeks, I've received dozens of phone calls and emails expressing interest, and yesterday five students stopped by my office to formally apply.

It has been quite funny as cross-cultural issues continue to creep up through the application process. For example, one student wanted to know if she would be able to check email from camp. Why? Because, on a previous trip to the States, when she tried to check her email, she found that ALL the Russian websites at her host family's house were blocked because they were ALL considered inappropriate for children! Also, Camp America, the international company we are working with, has a policy that all applicants have to submit their parents' tax returns. But, because many Russians avoid taxes through special arrangements with their employers, they have seperate procedures specifically for Russian applicants! Lastly, a common question I ask the applicants is, "Would you like to work at a religious camp and, if so, how religious?" You should see the look on their faces--they suddenly turn petrified, because the only exposure they have had to religious Judaism is the Chabad synagogue here. When I try to explain to them that, hey, there are many branches of Judaism, and you can work at a kosher camp, Shabbat-observant camp, Conservative camp, JCC camp, etc., all I get are perplexed looks. The reaction of these Russian students further emphasizes the need to get them to the States, where they can see firsthand what it means to have pluralistic, multi-faceted opportunities for Jewish expression.

Now, I just have to find them camps to work at, so if you have any connections with overnight Jewish camp directors, please send them my way!

47 Days 'til Passover!

2007-02-14T09:04:00.000+02:00

Purim isn't even here yet and already my head is swimming with visions of matzah and maror. I've been crazy busy with planning for this year's Pesach Project -- looking at hotels, drafting and re-drafting itineraries, setting up meetings/conference calls/video conferences and building planning teams around the world. It's a massive undertaking, but totally up my ally.

Today was a big day. Avraham Infeld and Aaron Goldberg from Hillel's Schusterman International Center were visiting St. Petersburg to talk about the JAFI/Hillel merger that is slowly occurring across the FSU. If this is news to you, wake up and smell the coffee: the merger was made public back in December. Anyway, it also happens to be the day we randomly decided to hold our first local planning committee meeting, which involved players from JAFI and Hillel. Officially, it was the first time both parties sat across from each other, rolled up their sleeves and agreed to tackle a project of this scale together. Despite a few uneasy moments at today's meeting, overall, it went really well. I left the meeting really optimistic and upbeat about the collaboration we are building on the ground in St. Petersburg. Pesach Project is going to be a good catalyst for bringing Hillel and JAFI together and I feel proud to be part of the process.

One of my colleagues at Palm Beach Federation sent me a link to a video he made after participating in Pesach Project 2005. It captures perfectly the energy and spirit of the initiative. Enjoy watching!

Not Their Parents' Russia

2007-02-12T09:04:00.000+02:00

Here's an interesting op-ed piece from Thomas Friedman on the state of democracy in Russia today:

Not Their Parents' Russia | 9 Feb 2007 | New York Times | Thomas L. Friedman

10 Ways You Know It's Winter in Russia

2007-02-06T15:20:00.000+02:00

10. You can't feel your extremities...and when a feeling comes back, it's painful frostbite.
9. Every step down the ice-covered street is an adventure, and every pedestrian a potential handrail.
8. The streets and sidewalks are covered in grey, mushy stuff that people lovingly refer to as "snow."
7. You see people fall on their asses, and you just keep on walking.
6. There is so much fur around you, you feel like you're at the zoo.
5. It takes you 20 minutes just to put on your scarf, coat, hat, gloves, two layers of socks, boots, etc.
4. Your consumption of tea and soup triples, as well as your number of trips to the bathroom.
3. You find yourself calling your space heater "Fido," and you lead it around by its "leash" so it can follow you from room to room.
2. Rather than make your 20-minute walk to work, you'd rather take a 35-minute, crowded Metro ride.

And the #1 way to know it's winter in Russia is...

1. You wonder aloud how many pairs of pants you can physically wear at one time.

Enjoy the view from our office window!

Tu B'Shvat Reflections

2007-02-04T20:18:00.000+02:00

Just before we left Israel, we hiked through Bet Guvrin and saw a number of blossoming almond trees, a sign that Tu B'Shvat -- and springtime -- was just around the corner. Since we've returned to the cold, snowy weather here in St. Petersburg, it has been nice to remember those tiny white blossoms and think that sometime soon, spring will return to St. Petersburg. It's a little reminiscent of the Jewish community here and how it went into hibernation for over seven decades of communism and has now re-emerged only to grow and blossom. I can't help but to mention the YESOD logo today, as I reflect on Tu B'Shvat. It's an image of a small plant breaking through an abstract shape. It represents the renewal and growth of Jewish life in St. Petersburg.

Over the last couple of days, we have celebrated Tu B'Shvat, the new year for the trees, with a new appreciation for the natural world around us. On Shabbat, we trudged through the freshly fallen snow (about 3" fell over night) to attend a new Chabad minyan that has just started to meet regularly at the newest Jewish building in St. Petersburg, a Chabad school called Maor. It was beautiful to see the untouched white snow. At Shabbat lunch, as we chatted in a smattering of Russian, Hebrew and English, we enjoyed dried fruits and customary Tu B'Shvat songs.

Today, I taught my youngest students all of the parts of the tree in English and we learned about all of the gifts that trees provide for us. Tonight, we attended a Tu B'Shvat event at YESOD that really brought the building to life and honored us in an unexpected way. One of our colleagues asked us to participate in the ceremonial planting of a palm sapling -- we were really touched by the honor and proud to be building, physically and spiritually, the landscape of the Jewish community here. Tonight's event focused around an opening of a large art exhibit by a wide variety of Jewish artists, both amateur and professional. It was beautiful to see the walls come to life with the colors and textures of Jewish culture. The evening was capped off with a performance by young adults from EVA who depicted the story of Noah and the Ark from the animals' perspectives in the form of a musical. Tonight's event was about as homegrown as they come -- Russian Jewish life revolves around the arts and culture, nearly to the exclusion of all other expressions of Judaism.

After personally struggling for so long with the culturally-based expressions of Jewish life in this community, I am slowly beginning to appreciate the value and beauty of this commitment. The Russian Jewish community makes countless contributions to the world Jewish community -- by treasuring, protecting and nurturing certain elements of Jewish arts and culture that we take for granted in the West. Take klezmer and Yiddish culture, for example.

Tonight, over a late-night bowl of soup, I read an article written by Nessa Rapoport in the October issue of Sh'ma which really resonated with me. Eloquently, she writes that "culture arises from a paradox -- the sense of being replete, rich with a past we know, merged with longing for something intangible and beautiful that can never be had in precisely its old form but must be distilled and made new." With this simple and beautiful sentence, I immediately understood why Jews in Russia are so deeply attached to their cultural expressions of Judaism. They know that they cannot recreate the rich Jewish life that once existed in the shtetl; yet they are acutely aware of the lifestyle that their great-grandparents enjoyed from the paintings of Chagall, from S. Ansky's The Dybbuk and from countless other legacies of Jews from this region. Today, three generations later, they long for something spiritual -- a way to access what the generations before them so dearly cherished.

May the Jewish community of St. Petersburg continue to "flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon."

Water, Water Everywhere

2007-02-02T15:22:00.000+02:00

Never a dull minute here in Peter (as the locals call it). This morning, I had two back-to-back meetings at the JDC office across town. When I got home around 3, I was thinking of grabbing a snack, relaxing a bit and changing into shul clothes. But alas, when I opened the door, I discovered that my apartment had something else in mind for me.

Our kitchen sink and its Soviet-era pipes decided to rebel. The sink was filled and overflowing with nasty water with small brown flaky chunks (yum!). The floor was quickly filling with water. I threw off my coat, shoes and socks, rolled up my pants and started bailing water into empty trash cans as quickly as I could. I threw down old towels to keep me from slipping on the wet floor. In the span of an hour, I had filled 6 buckets with water and dumped them into our tub to drain. Fortunately, our local JDC staff jumped into action when I called, sending over two plumbers from YESOD as well as our friendly security guy, Raf. It was an added bonus that they gave Matt a ride home, too. So Raf chatted with us in simple Russian, asking us about our trip to Israel, while our two resident plumbers went into action. Less than an hour later, the sink has been repaired, although the plumbers refused to say that it was "fixed." They said it was "better," but that it might happen again. Good thing it didn't decide to do this while we were away -- I can't even begin to imagine how gross that would have been!

Off to finish the clean up efforts before Shabbat begins. Shabbat shalom and happy Tu B'Shvat!

More to Share from Israel

2007-02-01T10:29:00.000+02:00

Lots more to share! Here is a multi-media feast:

Session on Jewish Identity in the FSU - For those of you interested in the work that we're doing, here is a handout that we put together on the complexity of Jewish identity in the FSU. It's just a sample of some of the stories and experiences we've had; for a more complete picture, you should do some research on your own.

186 Pictures for your viewing pleasure - Tons and tons of pictures. Have fun seeing how beautiful Israel is in the winter!

On the beach in Tel Aviv - A short video introducing the Tel Aviv beach and Matt's favorite restaurant, Yotvata. Check out the kite-surfers behind Alyson!

Frisbee Blooper - We went to throw the frisbee on the beach, and ran into a friendly dog. Antics ensue.

Returning to Reality

2007-01-31T10:08:00.000+02:00

Winter has returned to St. Petersburg, and so have we. After three glorious weeks in Israel, we arrived at Pulkovo Airport at 3am last night. As we drove through the largely deserted streets, things felt familiar and comfortable, just with a thin white veil of snow. The temperatures plummeted since we left; now it's in the low teens (in Farenheit, or -11 Celsius). Despite the climate changes, we are happy to be back.

Our trip to Israel was both reinvigorating and relaxing. We spent the first week in meetings and our midyear seminar in Jerusalem, as Matt explained in the previous post. Then, we jumped around the country, visiting dear friends along the way in Kfar Saba, Herzilya, Yokneam and a small new settlement called Haruv (near Kiryat Gat). Since it was the first time we had been to Israel together, it was fun to show each other the places we had each lived and introduce each other to people from our past. We relished the abundance and variety of kosher food, the warm hospitality, the beautiful weather, some great shopping, the ability to practice our Hebrew, and discovering new places and re-discovering old places together. Our list of daytrips included Caesarea, Yad Vashem (where we saw the new museum -- a must see), Haifa, Tel Aviv, Zichron Yaakov, Mount Tabor (pictured above), and Beit Guvrin.

Being in Israel, though, is more than just sightseeing; it's a chance to glimpse into the psyche of the Jewish people. The remnants of this summer's war with Lebanon are mostly cleaned up, but the conflict has left psychological scars in the hearts of the people we talked to. Did we lose the war? What was the end-goal? Why did we initiate a war if we weren't prepared? These are the types of questions we heard over and over. During our trip, the scandal surrounding President Katsav spiraled out of control. For us, it was insightful and intriguing to watch "Eretz Nehaderet"--a political satire show on TV that is a mix between Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show--as it lampooned the situation, the American presidential campaigns, and more. Fortunately, one thing Israel has aced is the ability to laugh at itself (and others!).

The most powerful encounter we had with recent changes in the Israeli landscape was during our visit to Haruv, which is a new settlement in the northern Negev, about 20 minutes from Kiryat Gat. We visited Biko and Liat, a recently-married couple that Matt knows from BCI (pictured above). Basically, Haruv is one street lined with caravans (temporary trailer homes), housing 30 families awaiting the approval to build their homes on a nearby hill and thus, settle the land of Israel anew. These people represent a new generation of practical Zionists. In the distance, you can see the security fence that was built to protect Israel from unwanted intruders from the West Bank. The adjacent street looks fairly similar, but with larger temporary homes. This street is another such settlement which will be located near the new Haruv, but these people are not there voluntarily: they are the relocated families from Gush Katif. They are the result of the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza that occurred in the summer of 2005. A handful of them have signs in their front yard admonishing the Israeli government for pulling out of Gaza, but we were impressed to hear that, by and large, they have accepted their situation and are eager to move on with their lives.

Sadly, the realities of being in Israel hit us hard as a pigua (Hebrew for explosion) killed three in Eilat just a few days before we left.

Once we finish unpacking and doing laundry later today, we can refocus our attention to our work in St. Petersburg. The next few months bring some formidable challenges for us as we swing into high gear for planning a few critical initiatives. First, we are organizing the Pesach Project, an amazing coalescence of St. Petersburg's Jewish young adults, its partner cities in the US (Cleveland and Palm Beach), and their Partnership2000 cities in Israel (three northern towns and Beit She'an). Nearly 50 young adults from these communities descend on Petersburg for a week of Passover-related celebrations and volunteering. Second, we are working hard to launch a YESOD website well before the start of the spring tourist season here. Third, we are initiating a sports program at YESOD to lure unaffiliated Jewish teens into the building. And fourth, we are recruiting Petersburg's Jewish students to work in American Jewish summer camps this summer so, if you have any contacts at American Jewish summer camps, please send them Matt's way!

Fortunately, we've returned from Israel with a ton of new energy and passion after being away from the city for nearly five weeks straight. We are very much looking forward to part 2 of our Russian adventure!

Chillin' in Israel

2007-01-19T20:34:00.000+02:00

Today was a great day to be in Israel. First of all, the weather is AMAZING...it's in the 60s, bright and sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We're staying with family friends of Alyson, the Ronens, who live in Kfar Saba (outside Tel Aviv). We started the day with a very somber reminder that we are in Israel: we attended the memorial ceremony of an Israeli soldier named Gidi Eyal who died when his helicopter crashed during a training mission exactly twenty years ago. It was a sad and poignant ceremony in the military cemetary where he is buried, but it was beautiful to see that around 60 people were there to show their support and condolences, even 20 years later. We greeted Gidi's mother, who seemed remarkably resilient when she told us, "This is part of living in Israel." It truly must be--when we turned to leave, we saw another memorial ceremony taking place just a few meters away.

Our day continued on a happier note with a decadent lunch of hummus and salads in Zichron Yaakov. If you've never been there, you are definitely missing out, as the town is so cute and relaxed, and the views overlooking the Mediterranean are simply fantastic. While Alyson went back to the house, I went with the guys to fly kites on the beach. It was something out of a book: a stunning sunset, horses galloping on the beach, a low-flying plane buzzing over the water, and just enough wind to keep the kites aloft. We just finished Shabbat dinner, and we wanted to post to the blog before going to bed. In the next few days, we'll be traipsing around the country to visit more friends: the Rofes in Herzliya, the Yarmuts in Yokneam (outside Haifa), and the Arrans in Haruv (in the northern Negev, not far from Beer Sheva).

Now let's go back in time a few days to explain why we're here in Israel. We arrived last week in order to participate in the Jewish Service Corps Midyear Seminar, which gathered the 12 volunteers from our nine countries for four days of discussions, introspection, and generating ideas. Of course, there was also a large amount of commiseration, as we shared stories of culture shock, local food, misunderstandings, and adjusting to our host cities. We really enjoyed seeing our colleagues from around the world and pigging out on delicious kosher food. We found the seminar extremely helpful and motivating. Now we're tacking on two weeks of vacation at the end, running from city to city to see friends. It's strange to say this, but with our new-found motivation and excitement, we're actually looking forward to going back to St. Petersburg!

In the picture, from right to left: Michal in Sri Lanka, Faye in Turkey, Ariella in Romania, me, in front of me is Aviva in Warsaw, then Mollie in Kiev, then Alyson, then Chloe in Turkey, Erica in Minsk, Eli in Ethiopia, and finally Erin in India. On the far left is our Country Director, Jonathan Porath, who is our mentor and supervisor based in Jerusalem.

In this picture, you see a little get-together we had at "Colony," a fancy bar in Jerusalem. The three people to my left are all friends from DC that I wanted to hang out with. From right to left: Lizzie, Jay Rosen, Tali Golan, David Bernay, me, Alyson, and Mollie Wertlieb (the JSC volunteer in Kiev). We can't tell you how "at home" we feel in Israel--we have tons of friends here, we know our way around, and we can find kosher food on every corner. It's been a great respite from our work in St. Petersburg, and we know that we'll return refreshed and ready to jump back in at the end.

Am Yisrael Chai

2007-01-09T06:18:00.000+02:00

We're back from camp, with a whole 24 hours to unpack, do laundry, catch up on email (and our blog), re-pack, and catch our flight to Israel! Before I get to the summary of camp, let's give it up for my Florida Gators, who won the National Championship at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. As promised, I listened to the whole game (4 to 8 am SPB time), making me Gator Fan #1. Now for camp...

The second camp we staffed -- organized by EVA, which focuses on the Jewish creative arts like singing and dancing (as well as services for the elderly) -- was not just fun and enjoyable, but also meaningful. Alyson and I were able to carve out roles that went beyond English teaching or American ambassadors, and became something more like "Jewish tradition coordinators." In our English classes, we facilitated lots of Jewish experiential learning. As you know by now, I teach Jewish tradition through modern music. At EVA camp, we did five lessons: we looked at the spiritually-rich music of Matisyahu; the political debate over the future of Israel, as reflected in Israeli hip-hop music; the Jewish view of tzedakah through some American rap music; the Jewish view of happiness; and women's roles in Judaism. In my free time, we enjoyed getting to know the kids through hanging out, playing chess and Russian-style checkers, and walking outside along the coast (this picture was taken at noon, just to give you a sense of how much sunlight we are getting these days!).

Alyson pushed the organization to innovate and take risks. For example, she had all four age groups make challah (over 60 loaves!) that we enjoyed together at the festive Shabbat meal. Each plate of challah was covered by handmade challah covers, created by the youngest two groups. The children also made Shabbat-inspired art projects and Shabbat candlesticks. Coordinating the logistics was no small feat (especially when she had to do most of it in Russian!), but the end result was worth all of the effort. It was something special to see these kids truly enjoying being Jewish and expressing their Judaism through the creative arts. If we can inspire them with a love and excitement now, then maybe as they get older they will be motivated to explore and learn more.

From the very beginning, this camp was unique, since it invited the entire family; there were many parents and babushkas (grandmothers) and even a few dedushkas (grandfathers) in attendance. We were able to bring fun American camp activities, like human knots, scavenger hunts, and campfires that enhanced the fun of camp. We sang at every opportunity, teaching American tunes to popular Jewish songs, to the point where we are totally sick of "Shabbat Shalom, hey!" We also enjoyed hearing the kids lead their own songs; in fact, to hear this community sing "Am Yisrael Chai"--the song was popularized as part of the movement to liberate Soviet Jewry and refuseniks--was truly inspirational.

If you ever look at one of our photo albums, this is the one. It was really something special for us to see organic expressions of yiddishkeit in a community that has faced such massive obstacles. One of the fathers approached us at the end of the camp to say that there are three ways for a Russian Jew to lead a Jewish life: assimilate, move to Israel, or stay put and try to create a vibrant Jewish life here. Clearly, this group is taking the third option and maximizing it, not just for themselves, but for their children and their parents.

An Amazing Start to 2007

2007-01-01T14:38:00.000+02:00

Wow, what a fabulous start to the new year!

We went out last night and had a blast. Quite literally, the sky was ablaze with fireworks. Jumping out of my skin at first, I had to quickly adjust to the constant explosions as we followed the hoardes of people down Nevsky Prospekt to Dvorstavaya Ploshad (Palace Square). There, we stumbled upon a gathering of thousands, congregating in front of the Hermitage to watch a huge staged spectacle. Amid the wet, heavy snow that was falling, explosions and bright light (flares, sparklers, fireworks, spotlights) came from every direction with no warning. Apparently, amateur fireworks are completely legal here. Speaking of legal, there are no open-container laws in Russia, so everyone was carrying bottles of champagne and they were selling it at stands all around the downtown area. By midnight, the streets were littered with empty bottles and drunken revelers yelling, "s'novum godum," Russian for happy new year! Shortly after midnight, we headed home by foot, taking the long way past the Rostral Columns, which were ablaze with fire, lit on the occasion of the new year, and Peter and Paul Fortress, sitting like an enchanted palace overlooking the frozen Neva River. We've posted pictures here so that you can see the festivities for yourself, or check out the video by clicking here.

A couple of cool links for you:

You can read about St. Petersburg in this week's New York Times travel feature, Holiday on Ice in St. Petersburg.
We took a video in downtown that is featured on the Gator Sports website as part of the lead-up to the natioanl championship game. You can see it here.

This morning, we awoke to an email message from our dear friends Andy and Nadine back in DC. On Friday, Nadine gave birth to a healthy and adorable baby boy. Mazel tov, Andy and Nadine!

I went out at noon to meet a friend for tea while Matt went to run an errand. He met up with our Russian friend Zena who graciously and generously brought us a huge care package from the States, courtesy of Matt's family in Florida. We can't describe the joy and surprise when we opened the suitcase to find oodles of food, magazines, books and -- much to our delight -- a new laptop from my brother-in-law Ethan! It was as if our dreams had been answered!

Needless to say, we feel like we've turned a corner. As hard as it's been to live and work here, so far away from friends and family, we are slowly growing fond of Russia, with all of its oddities and charm. We are looking forward to being back after our travels to unearth more hidden gems and discover more ways we can make a difference in 2007!

S'novum Godom - Happy New Year!

2006-12-30T17:55:00.000+02:00

While Communism robbed the Jews of Russia of many of their religious practices, it had a similar impact on the local Christian population. As a result, Christmas here was re-configured: some aspects were maintained, others ditched, and some simply changed for the sake of convenience. For starters, all celebrations were moved to January 1 and the holiday became New Years. Santa was replaced with Dyod Moroz , Grandfather Frost, who gives out gifts with his granddaughter escort, Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). Christmas trees are renamed "yolka" and are decorated with non-religious symbols.

Judging by the traffic, the crowds in the malls and the ridiculous mob scenes in most public places today, EVERYONE celebrates the holiday. Even though it may seem strange to us for Jews to buy fir trees and take pictures of their children with old men in red suits with white fur trim, it is completely normal around here. Thus, it was no surprise to us that the theme of the week-long Adain Lo children's camp we attended this past week was "New Years." Each day celebrated a different type of new year on the Jewish calendar: Rosh Hashanah, Tu B'Shvat, the new year for animals and Passover. And in honor of the Russian new year, the last night of camp concluded with a small fireworks display.

Our camp experience this time around was far more enjoyable, especially since we knew what to expect. We did a better job of bringing kosher food with us, so that we could actually enjoy mealtimes; likewise, we did a better job of bringing books and DVDs to help us enjoy the unstructured free time. We interacted with the children far more, especially since we posted daily trivia questions to our door (yes, in Russian, thanks to the help of our fellow counselors). The kids knocked on our door all hours of the day and night (even when we had a "we're closed" sign up), excited to answer the questions and win candy in exchange. Hopefully, they learned a thing or two in the process.
We don't have any real plans for the holiday weekend. We are enjoying the quiet time mostly -- watching movies at home with a glass of wine in hand, visiting the local Yusopov Palace this afternoon (where Rasputin was killed), and gearing up for the EVA family camp next week. Tomorrow night, we'll wander around downtown, hoping to catch a glimpse of real Russians celebrating New Years, Russian style.

If you're interested in learning more about the Russian/Jewish dimension of the Russian New Year, here is an interesting article by a Russian Jewish woman who moved to America and struggles with her identity around the holidays:
December Dilemma, Russian Style
Caught between the fir tree of the old Soviet days and the menorah
Yuliya Chernova December 22, 2006 The Jewish Week

Eight Crazy Nights!

2006-12-21T16:04:00.000+02:00

You might think that Chanukah and the start of winter would slow down life in St. Petersburg, but you'd be wrong. Chanukah this year has been crazy. During the day, we are preparing for being away from the city for the next 5 weeks--that's right, a week teaching at the Adain Lo winter camp, a week at EVA's camp, and three weeks in Israel. In the evenings, we attend many of the various community events that celebrate the Festival of Lights. Bill Bryson once commented that English has plenty of words for "vacation"(see them here) but it really needs a word for all the work that happens before you leave for vacation (not to mention, a word for sifting through your 500 emails after vacation!). This Chanukah, the only light around here is busy burning the midnight oil!

Just to give you a sense of what's going on on this side of the world, here's a rundown of what we've been doing each evening:
First night of Chanukah - Chanukah started with a bang, with three celebrations in one day! First, we participated in a ceremony here at YESOD, with about forty people coming to see the menorah lit. What makes this menorah so special is that it's 15-feet high! The rabbi joked that he felt like a cosmonaut going up on the machine to light the candles. Then, in the afternoon we went to the Jewish War Veterans' building for their festive banquest, celebrating Chanukah, Shabbat, and the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow commemoration. It was a beautiful, moving ceremony, with a contingent from Moscow arriving to tell their stories of this famous battle. It was fantastic to meet Jewish heroes who risked their lives to fight the Nazis, though I was saddened to think how many of these people's friends, colleagues, and fellow soldiers were not able to join us. To our surprise, we were suddenly "enlisted" (like the pun?) to help with the ceremony, as we were the only ones in the room that knew the Hebrew blessings! We wrapped up the celebrations with a quiet Shabbat dinner and a little dreidl-spinning at home.
Second night - Although Alyson might disagree with me, this was the night where I had the most fun, because I didn't have to do any work! Our Chabad friends, Bentzi and Leah, invited us over for Shabbat lunch (so far, we have yet to be invited over by a Russian family; Israelis here, like Bentzi and Leah and Menachem and Lilach, have shown us tremendous kindness and hospitality). There was such an interesting crowd of people at their house: Russians who live in Israel, Israelis who live in Russia, and we met a few representatives of a small but growing group of Russians who made aliyah but have returned to Russia for a host of reasons. Anyway, the conversation was lively and we ended up staying there till 5:30 for candle-lighting and singing. Bentzi is awesome: as soon as we were done with Shabbat zmirot, we started Chanukah singing; when that was over, he turned on Matisyahu and started singing that!
Third night - This was our big night, and our contribution to the SPB Jewish spirit. We hosted our own Chanukah party, with twenty-five adults and five children coming for Alyson's home-made latkes and kugel, store-bought sufganiot, songs, laughter, and more. Unfortunately, though we invited dozens of our Russian friends, only five actually showed up. This is just another bizarre cultural barrier that we've come up against: we aren't invited to Russian people's homes and, in general, it seems that they are uncomfortable coming to ours. Or maybe they're just too busy: we've definitely noticed that Russians work longer hours, including Sundays. Regardless, opening our home is our favorite activity: Alyson makes the food, I do the shopping and cleaning, and we both have fun as we get to know the people who live on this side of the world.

Fourth night - Anglisky Club rocks! Alyson organized a party for her Anglisky Club, inviting some of our native English-speaking friends and setting up a nice festive meal. We talked about Chanukah, and the students got to know two of our friends. From left to right: Misha, Autumn (American), Alyson, Lera, Alina, Olga, Genia, Alisa, Yura, and Tamara (British). What was crazy was that, for many of the attendees, it was their first time spinning a dreidl or lighting a menorah. So we were excited to lead them in saying the blessings and enjoying the festive Chanukah spirit.

Fifth night - We went to the synagogue for a fun celebration of Chanukah with SPB's Israeli community. As I mentioned above, Bentzi is Israeli, and loves Israeli rock (he and I have been known to belt out some of our favorite songs). So, he organized a community-bulding dinner for SPB's Israeli expats at the kosher restaurant. Alyson and I went, not knowing that a famous Israeli rock star, Micki Gavrielov (the original composer of the well-known song "Oof Gozal"), would be there! We enjoyed the music, kosher chicken, humus, and getting to practice our Hebrew. Unfortunately, my Hebrew lives in the exact same part of my brain where my Russian lives, so they get mixed up all the time. It was frustrating, but comical at the same time.

Sixth night - This was a huge night for the St. Petersburg Jewish community. Every year, one of the Jewish oligarchs rents out the largest venue in SPB, Ledovy Dvoryets (the Ice Palace - think of an arena the size of the MCI Center or Orlando Arena), and hosts a gigantic Chanukah extravaganza. I was expecting something like a mainstream concert with some Jewish bands, but the groups that played were just strange. You'll think so, too. In the picture is a women's singing group from Belarus; the words say "Chanukah - 5767. "Check out the videos of the Accordion Rock singer who looks like Elvis (Video #1 - Video #2). And then there's the Jewish rock American-Idol-wannabee (Video) who sang in Russian, Hebrew, and Yiddish, and had a bunch of gyrating backup dancers. We actually found the concert to be kinda boring, as most of the songs were in Yiddish (only in Russia!) and we didn't get any of the jokes.

Seventh night - Alyson has a conference call to prepare for the Pesach Project. I'm finishing up the work I needed to do to get ready for the Adain Lo camp. Compared to the other nights, this one is extremely low-key and a lot less fun!
Eighth night - Late Thursday night, we were invited to Elazar and Leah's - another Chabad couple who heard about us from their friend, Rabbi Kot (who had us at his house in Tallinn!). It's definitely a small world! So we enjoyed Shabbat dinner at their house, where they have three very cute kids all under the age of 9. The conversation was very nice, although they speak very little English and my Hebrew is constantly getting mixed up with my Russian in a frustrating, but also quite comical, language tzimmes. Because the kids go to bed early, we were home by 9 pm or so, which was really nice.

As a quick aside, you can subscribe to our videos on YouTube, so you'll get an email every time I post a video there. I'm not quite sure how to do it, but start by registering your own username, and then try it by clicking here.

Hope you have a great end of your Chanukah!

From the JDC Website

2006-12-19T11:55:00.000+02:00

Thought you'd all be interested in reading this snippet from the JDC website:
Roslyn Z. Wolf Cleveland - JDC Fellows Begin to Make Their Mark at YESOD in St. Petersburg

Modern Miracles - Happy Chanukah!

2006-12-15T12:15:00.000+02:00

“Arkady was the only Jew I ever shared a cell with in the gulag. We celebrated Hanukah together in Chistopol prison in 1980, lighting pieces of wax paper we had stashed away for months and hoping they would last long enough for us to say the prayers over them.” -- Natan Sharansky

This quote (thank you, Erica Brown) illustrates poignantly that miracles of Jewish existence aren't a matter of biblical history here in Russia. The fact that there is a vibrant and active Jewish community here in St. Petersburg today, after over seven decades of atheistic and deicidal Communism, is truly a modern-day miracle. This afternoon, a giant menorah was erected and lit outside of YESOD--a triumphant display and testament to the vibrancy of Jewish life in the face of the ultimate adversity.

As today's bright blue sky fades to darkness and we light the first candle of the menorah, Matt and I wish you and your loved ones a warm, bright, happy and healthy Chanukah from around the world. May the light of this year's Chanukah candles remind us to appreciate our freedoms as American Jews and give us the courage and strength to be a "light unto the nations."

Russian is Really Hard...

2006-12-13T17:05:00.000+02:00

Last night, Alyson and I had a really fun group of guests over to our house. First, we were SO excited to be able to have a nice apartment with lots of chairs, so we can accomodate a large group of people (we're expecting 30 on Sunday for our Chanukah party!). This group was really special: there are 12 Russian teenagers going to Palm Beach, Florida, for 10 days of cultural exchange, Jewish learning, and making new friends (sponsored by the Palm Beach Jewish Federation). So, we decided to have them over for a night of speaking English, talking about America, eating good ol' mac-and-cheese, and preparing them mentally for their upcoming trip. All the pictures are available here.

It got me thinking, "Wow, I wish I could speak Russian as well as these 15-year-olds can speak English!" But then I started wondering if maybe English is a little easier to learn (disregarding, of course, the fact that I've only been learning Russian for 5 months and some of these students have been learning for 10 years!), because Russian is so difficult. What makes Russian difficult, you ask? I mean, of course there is the Cyrillic alphabet, but you can learn to read it in about 15 minutes. And then, in class today, Alyson and I received this on one of our worksheets:

Mind you, this is Russian class, not physics or geometry! Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads! So what makes Russian so darn difficult? Why am I obsessed with talking about it constantly on this blog?

Well, let's start our little Russian lesson - I think you'll find it interesting. First, let's talk about the six cases. What the heck is a case, you might ask? Since English doesn't have cases, this is a totally foreign concept to us Anglos. Basically, a case means that words change based on the context in which they are used. Here is an example: we'll take a very simple word, like "home," and use it in simple contexts. Take a look...

Nominative Case - the most simple, when the noun is the subject of the sentence - My home is great (dom - pronounced "dome").
Prepositional Case - remember your prepositions from grade school? - I am in my home (domye).
Accusative Case - remember your direct objects from school? - I am going home (domoy).
Instrumental - used with certain prepositions, especially "with" - The plane flew over the house (domom).
Dative - used with certain prepositions and when talking about an indirect object - I walked around the house (domoo).
Genitive - totally impossible to explain outside of a classroom - I own five homes (domov) in Florida, and three homes (doma) in Russia.

As you can see, even though there are supposedly only six cases, there are at least seven ways that a noun can change. It's important to note that there are masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, so you need to know the specific endings for all three genders; you wouldn't want to use a masculine ending for a feminine noun--that would be incorrect grammar! Oh, and did I mention that the adjectives change also? Let's use our example again and you can see what I'm talking about when we add the word "big" (bolshoy) to describe our house, and you can see how that word changes also in a totally irregular and unpredictable way:

Nominative Case - My big home is great (bolshoy dom - pronounced "dome").
Prepositional Case - I am in my big home (bolshom domye).
Accusative Case -- I am going to my big home (bolshoy dom). (Don't be fooled...this would change under different circumstances, I just chose a particular example and had to stick with it...)
Instrumental - The plane flew over the big house (bolsheem domom).
Dative - I walked around the big house (bolshomoo domoo).
Genative - I own five big homes (bolshax domov) in Florida, and three big homes (bolshovo doma) in Russia.

So now you've got a tip-of-the-iceberg understanding of the six cases in Russian, when to use them, and how they influence grammar and speaking. Now let's talk about that bizarre diagram above. I mean, why would you use a diagram to explain language concepts?

Here's why: Russian is infamous for the complexity of its verbs of motion, and only through those arrows can you tell what each verb variant is referring to. To put it simply, it doesn't just matter that you are walking, but the direction and timing of your walking is critical to the verb. Am I just starting to walk (poyedoo)? Am I walking out of the building (ooyedoo)? Am I walking close to the building but not quite reaching it (doyedoo)? Am I walking for just a short time (zayedoo)? I might be in the process of walking towards the building (priyedoo) - but I better not be entering, because that is a different version (voyedoo) and I better not have arrived, because that would be different also (podyedoo)! It gets even more complicated, with more prefixes to denote other actions, and there are tons of other verbs (like driving, swimming, leading someone by the hand, driving them in a car, etc.), but you get the picture.

Why do I dwell on this subject so much? Because I think that unlocking the mysteries of the Russian language helps me understand the paradoxes of Russian culture. How can a people that pride themselves on their hospitality treat Alyson and I so distantly at times? When the culture prizes intellectual activities like dance, music, singing, etc. above all else, why are there so much brutal violence and ignorance present here? Maybe, if I can understand the way they speak, I can understand the way they think. And by unlocking the door to the Russian mentality, perhaps we can be more effective and make a lasting impact in our work here.

From the Headlines

2006-12-11T16:24:00.000+02:00

Our vacation is officially over and now it's back to the realities of Russia. I've noticed two articles recently that stuck out as being particularly relevant to our work here that I wanted to share with you. (The first has been removed.)

The second article is less directly connected to our local community, although I imagine that the sentiments playing out in Ukranian public opinion aren't so far removed from those here in Russia.

Ukrainians don’t want Jews, but hate others more — survey
Vladimir Matveyev December 10, 2006 JTA

Back from the Baltics

2006-12-11T13:05:00.000+02:00

It was a wonderful vacation, that's for sure. Our run-in with Yo Yo Ma (left) was just the beginning to the adventures we had. For example, I faked having family roots in Vilnius in order to get into the archives of a special medieval building; it was worth the little white lie. But the best story happened this morning: at 4 am, as we were crossing the Russian border on the overnight bus and going through immigration, our bag is scanned. You don't mess around with Russian security--as Alyson mentioned, they scan and frisk relentlessly, not to mention requiring every foreigner to be registered with the local government within three days of arriving in the country. Anyway, everything seems normal, until the security officer summons me over to question me about what has found in our bag. On his x-ray screen is a six-pointed star that clearly looks like a weapon. Tired and worried, I don't even bother with Russian--I just tell him "it's for cookies!" and gesture wildly. He looked amused and let us go on our way. And so ends the story of how Alyson's Magen David cookie cutter almost landed us in Siberian prison.

Tallinn was a fitting culmination of our Baltics trip. First, we spent three days in a beautiful but tiny city that really only requires about 24 hours to explore completely. The result of that imbalance was that we had plenty of time to nap, watch American television in our hotel, and wander the streets aimlessly as we sipped on our hot wine drinks. We also got a little bit off the beaten path, seeing the Estonian National Art Museum (called KUMU) and one of Peter the Great's palaces outside Tallinn (called Kadriorg). Like Riga, Tallinn is this fantastic mix of old and new, and the juxtaposition of high-end shops next to medieval dwellings never ceases to amaze you. You'll walk out of a trendy Indian restaurant, and right next door there is a plaque talking about how a building next door was built in 1302, and here is a long list of the history of this modest little house. We enjoyed bumming around the Christmas village that was set up, although our search to find that special souvenir to remember our year abroad continues to come up with nothing.

Without further ado, here are some of our multimedia capturings from our trip:

A Restaurant in Riga - As you can see, medieval is big in this part of the world. Check out this restaurant we went to in Latvia.

Downtown Vilnius - A little difficult to hear, but you can enjoy the sites of the Lithuanian capital.

Scenic Vilnius - From the castle overlooking the city, here is the landscape and medieval city.

Overlooking Tallinn - Alyson narrates our first morning in Estonia.

And, if you're dying for more, here are lots of pictures. Once again, I've taken the time to only select the best, and to caption them. Please let me know if you like the captions...they take quite a bit of time, but I want you to know what you're seeing!

Chasing Ghosts in Vilnius

2006-12-09T14:04:00.000+02:00

On Wednesday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn and caught a bus to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. We arrived by 11am, checked into our hotel and wandered through the streets of Old Town. It's not quite as charming at Riga, although we had been warned. We enjoyed a traditional Lithuania lunch before climbing to the top of the Upper Castle on the hill to see amazing views of the new city and the old city. We searched in vain for the Vilna Gaon memorial but only got lost in the process. Likewise, we found the old synagogue (the only one of hundreds still standing today) but the gates were locked up tight, despites signs that indicated a daily minyan every after at 4:30. In light of the fact that Vilnius is known in Jewish circles as the Jerusalem of Lithuania, I was surprised how many churches there are in Vilnius. In fact, we even stayed in an old monastery near the Gates of Dawn, just at the edge of the Old City.

Thursday we spent looking for Jewish sites and signs of Jewish life. We started at one of the three locations of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. There was no mention of who the Vilna Gaon was or what his connection may have been to the sad, small and delapidated museum. Fortunately, we stumbled across the Jewish community center next door that seemed to breath a little life into the small Jewish community of today's Vilnius. Our search continued at the Green House, stop #2 on the tour of the Vilna Gaon Museum. This museum, although still small and humble, did a better job of capturing the history of the city and the richness of Jewish life during the Vilna Gaon's lifetime up until the WWI. Stop #3 turned out to be the jewel in our crown: Dubbed the Tolerance Museum, we had no idea that it was actually a Jewish museum with a fabulous depiction of the city's amazing and tragic Jewish history, including many relics saved from the Great Synagogue before the Soviets destroyed it after WWII. After lunch, we wandered back through the Old City, this time armed with a guidebook on the Jewish sites. We finally found the site of the former Great Synagogue, the Vilna Gaon memorial and the site of the Vilna ghetto.

Sadly, there is little beyond the numerous plaques to remind us of the vitality of Jewish life that once thrived in Lithuania. With a twinge of sadness, we darted through town to catch an overnight bus to Tallinn.

Bumming around the Baltics

2006-12-08T10:12:00.000+02:00

After nearly four months of working 6-7 days a week, Matt and I decided it was high time for a vacation. We decided to check out the nearby Baltic countries--Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania--especially after we caught wind of a some amazing airfares from airBaltic. So after some extensive planning, we packed up Sunday night and caught a flight out of St. Petersburg on Monday early afternoon.

That's when the fun began. We got through passport control when we had to go through our third metal detector/frisking station, just to sit at the waiting area by our gate. Lo and behold, there was a man three people ahead of us who looked really familiar. After seeing that he was carrying a cello case, my hunch was confirmed: We were standing 3 feet away from Yo Yo Ma!! After we all successfully got through the security check-point, I gathered all of my courage and approached him. Turns out he is one of the nicest people I've ever met -- he was genuinely interested in learning about us and the work we're doing in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, he wasn't on our flight (he was going to Oslo), so we had to part ways, but fortunately, we got an awesome photo to show our 2 loyal blog readers! (We'll post it when we get home next week, we promise!)

Our flight was delayed a bit, but without too much of a hassle, we arrived in Riga, the capital of Latvia late yesterday afternoon. It was cold, dark and rainy, but we ventured out anyway, in search of a memorable dinner in Old Town. WOW -- this place is really, really cute and quaint. I barely walked two blocks into Old Town before I had nearly a dozen photos of picture-perfect little streets, replete with gas burning lamps and cobblestone streets. We had dinner in a medieval themed restaurant, which we were half-expecting to cheesy; quite to the contrary, it was quaint, romantic and very unique! After dinner, we grabbed dessert and coffee at a place that reminded us of the Cosi before we went to the movies. Yes, it was so decadent to be able to watch Borat (which is banned in Russia) and in English, no less. And it only cost us $12 for two tickets!

This morning we walked around the residential neighborhood where our B&B is located. Even though it's not in Old Town, it's still really interesting. The architecture is mostly Art Nouveau, which is a welcome change for us from the style we're used to seeing in St. Petersburg -- we casually refer to it as "decaying Soviet" style. The beauty of the architecture is actually in the variety; next door to an elegant Old World building, you may find a gorgeous brand new, high-design building. We've found that it's very easy to get around here and people are very comfortable speaking to us in Russia, Latvian or English, whichever one we use first! And it's great to be able to use credit cards widely (unlike in Russia, where they are often not accepted). Riga defintely has a European and Scandinavian feel, with many of the conveniences of the West.

We spent most of the afternoon strolling through Old Town again, purposely getting lost in the tiny alleyways and discovering new nooks and cranies. We saw churches, museums, old houses, guilds, shops, bakeries, bookstores, the old synagogue and more. Each street was more beautiful than the last and as the sun sank in the sky, the town took on a beautiful wintery holiday feel. Needless to say, this is one place we'll definitely recommend! Tomorrow we're off to Vilnius, where we hope to unearth some of the city's rich Jewish heritage. (Photos to come; check back in a week or so!)

Thanksgiving in Russia

2006-11-29T09:09:00.000+02:00

Outside of the US, Thanksgiving is a relative non-entity. Fortunately, we were able to find two different ways to celebrate last week.

On Thursday evening, we joined a group of American expats, most of whom work together at the American Consulate, for a progressive dinner through three apartments that are conveniently located in the same building. It was so comforting to be among Americans, eating all of the traditional foods -- stuffing, butternut squash, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and yes, turkey (ok, so maybe just smelling the turkey). To know that we share the same values about diversity, freedom and democracy was more than just comforting. We made a few new friends and despite losing my voice during the course of the evening, I couldn't have been happier, considering that we were away from family and friends on Thanksgiving.

The following afternoon, we were invited to join the Thanksgiving celebration at the American Corner, which is a special cultural initiative of one of the local libraries. (Matt tutors two Russian students there, which is how we found out about the event.) A fellow American gave a PowerPoint presentation on what Thanksgiving is, replete with references to Native Americans and Pilgrims, to about 50 Russian young adults in the room. Afterwards, we played games in Russian-style English and enjoyed some definitely non-American snacks. This celebration was far less authentic, and yet, still rather enjoyable and heartwarming. It's fascinating that Russians equate learning about America and English with success in the business world -- if only it were that easy! We even met one Russian guy at the event who is raising his 3-year-old son bilingually so that he is better prepared to enter the business world. Talk about forward-thinking!

One more highlight from the past week was the International Women's Club (IWC) Winter Bazaar on Sunday. Basically, it was a huge fair run by expat women from around the world to raise funds for local charities, including many of St. Petersburg's orphanages. Each country or vendor had a table -- I helped bake and staff the USA table, of course! We sold American favorites like chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, rice krispy treats, pumpkin scones, banana bread, plus I Heart NY t-shirts, American candy, stickers and pencils for the kids. I'm still waiting to hear about how much money was raised from the event, but it was great to see people from all different backgrounds and cultures come together to create a festive atmosphere and do good in a community that needs more examples of how to do good for others.

Being in St. Petersburg has given us fresh eyes and it's amazing how much we have to be thankful for...Here are a few things that we've learned to genuinely appreciate in America:

Having drinking water come out of the taps {or water at all, as witnessed by last week's momentary "draught"}
Communicating without language barriers
Voicemail
Discount airlines
True democracy and a police force that looks out for you
Toilets in the same room as the sink
Large, brightly lit grocery stores with lots of choices
Non-meat protein sources (like tofu)
Airplanes that stay in the sky
Warm, sunny weather

And of course...the number one thing we appreciate about America...
Being close (or at least closer) to family and friends

I hope you'll realize by reading this list just how privileged most of us are. We have so many things -- both physically and spiritually -- we should give thanks more than once a year! Lest you think that we're homesick, though, here are a few things we DON'T miss about being in America this time of year: George Bush, Christmas music in shopping malls, the overworked American lifestyle, commercialism, etc. {Thanks to our friend Erin in India for inspiring this list!}

Since last weekend, things have gone decidedly downhill for me. While recovering from last week's cold, I managed to get an eye infection. Then, without warning, I started suffering from severe lower back pain. To make a long story short, it turns out that I may have a herniated disk. I went to the American Clinic here and was surprised to get American-quality medical care! One more thing to be thankful for...I should have been more thankful for my health, I guess! As of today, my eye infection seems to be gone, but the back still hurts like hell. Hopefully the medication will begin to work its magic. We are far too busy to allow something like pain interfere with our work. After all, it's the end of the year, which means proposals for budget allocations must be submitted in the next week or two!

A Few of our Favorite Things

2006-11-20T14:10:00.000+02:00

As of today, it's been exactly three months since we arrived. We've definitely adapted. For instance, we now remember not to swallow the tap water after we brush our teeth, we can navigate rolling suitcases over snow, and we think that anything over 0ºC is warm. There are plenty of things that we dislike about living in Russia -- smoking, pollution, high-fat everything, the weather, few to no social services -- but for the sake of staying optimistic, here's a list of some of our favorite things:

Blini and Sirki: The high-fat Russian diet does have a few perks. Alyson loves the ubiquitous blini that you can find on every corner. Basically, they are paper-thin pancakes stuffed with whatever you'd like: cheese and mushrooms or chocolate and banana or even sweetened condensed milk (yum). Matt prefers sirki (singular: sirok), which are miniature rolled cheesecakes, sometimes stuffed with caramel or some other treat, then covered in chocolate. Vendors sell them on the street for a ridiculously cheap 5 rubles (about 20 cents).

The Metro: We used to think that the metro in Washington was awesome. But then we rode the metro here and we've come to love the fact that we never have to wait more than 3 minutes for the next train. More often than not, a train arrives in under a minute and a half! It's simply astonishing.

Snow Removal Devices: Even though the snow season is just getting underway, we've already seen a handful of snow removal devices. And the best part is that they actually work! We've been incredibly impressed by these machines -- we find ourselves staring like small children at the big monsters that gobble up piles and piles of snow!

Opera, Ballet and Performances of All Kinds: We were told that this is the best part of living in St. Petersburg, but it wasn't until we actually saw an opera at the Mariinsky (for about $15 a ticket, mind you) that we really understood what all the hype was about. These productions are amazing -- from the costumes to the choreography to the music. And they never last less than 3 hours! Matt's "entertainment cost/benefit" equation (he hates paying for anything that costs more than $10 per hour) is never, ever called into question. For example, when we went to the classical guitar concert this past weekend, our tickets were $2 each!

The Hermitage: This list would be glaringly incomplete without mentioning the Hermitage, which is a comfortable one-hour walk from our apartment. The art is among the most famous in the world and the palace itself is among the most beautiful in the world. (Think: Versailles with all the treasures of the Louvre inside!) We hope to visit many, many times while we're here, especially since it's free for students, like us. Yes, that's right, we don't have to pay even one cent to spend countless Saturday afternoons roaming around the galleries, taking in all of the Monets, Rembrandts and Picassos that we can stand!

"I saw my grandmother do this..."

2006-11-19T16:07:00.000+02:00

Of all the programs we've launched so far, I think the most rewarding has been Malachei Shabbat (Angels of Shabbat). It only takes trekking up 7 consecutive flights of stairs--most Soviet-era buildings don't have elevators--to understand why. These elderly Chesed clients, who look to the local Chesed for life-sustaining support such as social worker visits, home-cooked meals, and food packages, are in desperate need of support from their Jewish community. And, when your breath is coming in gasps after schlepping up those seven flights of stairs, it's no wonder that many of these people haven't left their apartment since the fall of Communism--they would never be able to get back!

We made two different home visits this week, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. For the sake of simplicity, I've lumped the photos into one Snapfish photo album. Here is a pretty cool picture from our Wednesday visit to Esther Israelovich, who has lived in the same single room in communal apartment since 1963, sharing a kitchen and bathroom with as many as 15 other people. While we were there, she brought out pictures of her family members, all of whom passed away a long time ago, leaving her alone in the world. She also brought out her medal from the Leningrad Blockade, which was really a special memento for us to share.

On Friday, I brought two Russian students, Masha and Toma, to visit Elena Evgenievna. We expected her to be alone, but when she heard that young people were coming and bringing Shabbat to her, she invited over two of her friends! We had a wonderful discussion, but the video of her lighting Shabbat candles is maybe the best I've taken so far. Here is a lady who grew up in Vitebsk, with her parents and grandparents speaking Yiddish, but under the Soviets she was forbidden from having any Jewish education or practicing her religion. So she had never lit the Shabbat candles before in her life. As she says in the video, "I saw my grandmother do this." It was amazing to have such a window into the past, and to be able to help this Jewish lady connect to her deceased relatives.

In our free time, we have launched a new program, call the "Let's Have More Fun" initiative. You see, in our free time we used to sit at home and relax. I watch tv, Alyson cooks or reads...it was a pretty boring state of affairs. But we've decided to have more fun, including getting out of the house and experiencing the sites and sounds of Petersburg. Over the past couple of weeks, we've gone to the Hermitage, which is everything that everyone says it is; Alyson went to a cake tasting through the International Women's Club; this past weekend we went to the art studio of artist Aron Zinshtein; and last night we caught a guitar concert at a local concert hall. Although these activities cost money, we've been able to make ends meet and had a lot more fun in the process. By the way, I still haven't found a word in Russian for fun...go figure.

"Getting It"

2006-11-12T18:28:00.000+02:00

As you can tell from my previous posts, the work here can be pretty tough and draining sometimes. We struggle to make sure the people we are working with, be they professionals or children, "get it." What does that mean, you ask? Well, I can't define it exactly, but it happens when an individual suddenly understands that the Jewish people, wherever they live, are linked and responsible for one another (said beautifully in Hebrew, kol yisrael arevim zeh l'zeh). Moreover, "getting it" involves more than just arriving at this realization--it involves a commitment to take action and make a difference in the world. In order to "get it," one has to open their mind and heart, which is difficult in these tumultuous times. Helping this community "get it" has been a real challenge and can really leave us mentally and physically exhausted. But occasionally, we have powerful experiences that re-charge our batteries and give us the energy to get from one day to the next. After the antics and hijinks of Thursday night's run-in with the St. Petersburg police, we had two moving moments over the past two days.

First, on Friday night, we partnered with St. Petersburg Hillel--conveniently located down the hall from our office--on "Amerikansky Shabbat." The idea was simple: to bring American tunes, spirit, and even cuisine to Hillel for one special Friday night. We were excited as services began and our little gathering kept expanding, and expanding, and expanding--in the end, nearly 40 people attended!

I lead the services, teaching a Carlebach tune that I love and generally leading a typical Conservative Friday night service. After many years of Hebrew Day School, Camp Ramah, and Hillel, it was great to share my traditions with the young people here. But more importantly, I shared some important concepts that I thought would maybe impact the crowd. For example, we started with an icebreaker designed to get the Russians meeting each other and creating new relationships (see my post about introductions, below). We also talked about the amazing amount of choice in America where, in the city of Washington alone, one can choose from over 60 synagogues and a dozen Hillels (in stark contrast to St. Petersburg's three options of Reform, Chabad, and Hillel). I spoke in my bumbling Russian, with regular help from a student who volunteered to be my translator, and I think the students appreciated my attempt to speak their language.

Alyson's contribution, as always, outshined mine. She baked both oatmeal and chocolate-chip cookies, cut vegetables and made dip, and generally created a smorgasbord of food. We were even able to have bagels and cream cheese delivered to YESOD for the students; the bagels were donated by a local baker that we contacted. As we sang "Shalom Aleichem," "Hineih Ma-tov," and "V'shamru"--to the same tunes that Jews all over the world sing--we realized that these students were starting to get it.

The next night, we were invited to another unique event that reinforced why being posted in St. Petersburg is so special. We had a group of influential donors in from Norfolk, Virginia, as well as JDC's head of fundraising. Everyone around the table "got it"--these people were willing to sacrifice their time and energy, talk to complete strangers, and give generously of their financial resources, for the sake of helping the global Jewish community. We had a fantastic conversation, and there was a very interesting dynamic going on throughout the meal. As we were recharging our batteries from seeing just how committed and dedicated these lay leaders were, I think they were also gaining strength and rejuvenation from seeing the passion that we brought with us to the table and this foreign city. It was a meaningful evening that we won't soon forget.

Of course, we also have to have some fun, and this weekend we finally made it to the Hermitage! This is a picture of us in the tsarina's dressing room, one of thousands of rooms in the Winter Palaces.

To see the video we took, Click here.

For pictures, click here.

Go Hippos!

2006-11-12T16:12:00.000+02:00

We were mentioned in the newest GW alumni newsletter. It's mostly accurate...a few inconsistencies here and there, but it's nice that GW mentioned us :-)
http://www.gwu.edu/~alumni/news/2006_11/2006_11.html

Culture, Craziness and Corruption

2006-11-10T13:59:00.000+02:00

If Russia was a fraternity, we were initiated last night. It was a night we won't soon forget.

The evening started off innocently enough -- we went to see the opera Madama Butterfly at the famous Mariinsky Theater with a large group of friends. The theater and the production were fabulous, easily living up to the hype, although Matt wished that the three acts could have performed in less time than the 3 hours and 45 minutes that it took last night. It was the first time we had been there; we are now going to try to find ways to go as many times as possible for the theater closes mid-winter for rennovations. To see the Kirov ballet perform in its home theater would be spectacular and certainly a highlight of our year here.

After the opera, on our way to a well-known local bar, we went in search of blinis or some other late-night snack, since many of us had not had a real dinner beforehand. Matt and I had agreed to stay out past midnight, when the metro shuts down, so we were not in any rush, especially once we had learned that our tour of YESOD scheduled for the next morning had been postponed. We stopped for pizza on Nevsky and, after a quick nosh, went on our way to the bar. The bar we chose was Dacha, which is supposed to be a kitschy Soviet-era relic of a bar. Turns out it's more of a tiny, run-down Russian hole-in-the-wall. Quite literally, there was a hole in the wall. After a few rounds of vodka shots, we were dancing like lunatics to retro 80s tunes.

Eventually, the six of us decided to leave and hail cabs back home. We got as far as one of the city's main drawbridges to realize that it was open, meaning we were stuck on that side of the city and wouldn't be able to get home to our island. We had heard stories of the bridges opening in the middle of the night to allow for the boat traffic to get through, but since we rarely stay out past midnight (thanks to the metro), we aren't familiar with the bridge schedule! It's a rite of passage to get stuck with the bridges up. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait outside in the cold for more than 20 minutes before the bridge went down and we were able to safely walk across and hail another cab home.

However, those 20 minutes were some of the most memorable of my life. This story has been removed from our blog at the request of our supervisors. It is deemed to be inappropriate. If you want to know what happened, please email either of us and we'll happy share the story with you via email.

The most important thing is that we got home safely...with some great Russian stories to share!

It's Always Precipitating in Sennaya Ploschad

2006-11-07T12:28:00.000+02:00

OK, so this inside joke requires a LOT of explanation. First, Sennaya Ploschad is a major Metro stop in the center of the city--it is where we get off to go to the synagogue, teach at EVA (here's a recent picture from my English class), and go out at night. In the summer, it was ALWAYS raining there--even on beautiful days, like Rosh Hashanah this year, there would be a sunshower when we got off the Metro. And now that the snow is coming down basically every day, the rule holds true: it's always prescipitating in Sennaya Ploschad.

Let me get the little things out of the way. First, weird sports alert: on television over the past few weeks, I have seen the men's world championship of ping pong, which featured two North Koreans, so I didn't know who to root against more; women's handball; bocce ball, which I didn't understand at all; more sumo wrestling; and competitive darts. Also, remember that you can see the fully-captioned slideshow of the camp, which will tell you what we did on a day-to-day basis, by clicking here.

Let's start with the first day, where we ran smack into a tremendous cultural barrier. We didn't realize this going in, but Russians aren't big on introductions; they basically assume that if you're in the same place at the same time, it's not necessary to share your name or other biographical details...you'll get to know each other soon enough. So here we are, expecting to shake hands and learn about all these dynamic young counselors at camp, and only ONE person came up to introduce themselves. As you would expect, all of the orientation, staff meetings, and activities were held in Russian, so we were only able to pick up snippets here and there. The feeling we felt on that first day--surrounded by 70-some campers and a dozen counselors--was one of crushing loneliness.

Eventually, the kids and counselors did warm up to us. I played soccer and ping pong with the boys, and Alyson played cards and hung out with the counselors and some of the girls. At night, when the kids were having their discotech, we would relax in our room and read or play cards. By the end, the kids really did enjoy saying "Hello" to us in the hallways. In fact, the last night of camp (when the kids stayed up all night!) our door was knocked on late into the night/early morning as kids invited us to play cards, ping pong, etc. Now, we know that these kids aren't going to be our best friends for life; in fact, if they remember our names or a single English word we taught them come the January Adain Lo Winter camp, I'd be surprised. But that's not important; the part of our mission we really care about is the long-term impact. Have we been able to communicate that the American Jewish community cares about them? Have we been able to instill these kids with a sense of pride and excitement about their Jewishness? And, most of all, do they understand that there are people in this world who are willing to drop everything--successful careers, a caring community, their comfortable lifestyle--because there are Jews in need thousands of miles away?

We're Back from Camp!

2006-11-06T11:25:00.000+02:00

We have a boatload of work to catch up on--I came back to 160 emails! We'll share all our insights and opinions very soon. In the meantime, check out the pictures. Once again, I've fully captioned them so you'll get the full story, and even a handful of fun videos, by clicking this link.

Unity Day: Jewish or Russian?

2006-11-06T11:06:00.000+02:00

Today is a Russian national holiday, dubbed the National Day of Reconciliation and Unity. It is only two years old; before 2005, the holiday was celebrated a day later, on November 7, in tribute to the Bolshevik Revoluntion of 1917. Ironically, the holiday seems to bring out ultranationalist sentiments, which only widen the gap between Russians and other nationalities living in Russia. An article from the Los Angeles Times captures the situation from this past weekend: In Russia, schisms are evident on unity day.

This brings me to a point that continues to beguile us: Judaism as a nationality. We are so comfortable in the US with being both Jewish and American. There is no inherent contraditiction to us. One is a religious identity, the other a nationality. Here, apparently, you are either Russian or Jewish, certainly not both. Judaism does not really exist here as a religious entity; it is far more a cultural entity. And, since the Jews of Russia are not "ethnic Russians" (whatever that means), they identify ethnically as Jews. The locals seem to be ok with this idea. After all, many of them are proud to be Jewish, despite undertones of anti-Semitism. They want to be able to openly place greater value on their connection to other Jews (in Russia, Israel or abroad) than to other Russians. Frankly, one of our Jewish Service Corps colleagues who is posted to Kiev has tackled this issue much better than I can on her blog. I urge you to read her posting to understand the confusion that exists on this topic.

It's Snowing!

2006-10-30T19:20:00.000+02:00

On my way to English Club tonight, I walked past a big picture window in YESOD and noticed, to my delight that it was snowing gently. Now, two hours later, a thin white blanket covers the city -- and from my warm, little office, it looks beautiful. I'm sure that my feelings toward snow will change dramatically this year, but for now, I am tickled pink.

Cold, Dark and Ecstatic

2006-10-27T17:39:00.000+03:00

It's cold, dark and rainy outside but inside YESOD, Matt and I are warmed by the idea that we have a brand new office. (It's also nice that we're listening to Tahitian music that is a throwback to our honeymoon just about a year ago.) In the back corner of the 3rd floor is a tiny room that is all ours. We couldn't be happier. Two desks, two computers, a printer and most amazingly of all -- our Vonage phone! So now if you want to call us, it's as easy as calling us when we lived in DC. The number is the same. Try it out and let us know what you think. Just remember that afternoons our time (mornings in the US) are the best times to reach us.

The last few days have been a blur and our lack of sleep is starting to catch up with us. We've had late night meetings almost every day this week. And on Wednesday night we went out to dinner at a vegetarian Indian restaurant with some friends. The food was amazing -- each dish better than the last -- but the service was ungodly slow. We sat down at 9 and didn't get the check until after 11:30! We barely made it home before the metro shut down at midnight.

Yesterday afternoon we attended a party at the Nevsky Institute where we take Russian classes. It was a party for foreign students who are studying in Russia. The "party" involved a number of artistic performances (in the true SPB spirit) and little to no mingling. So much for the theme, "Let's Be Friends!" Needeless to say, the whole thing cracked us up.

For the last two days, we've helped host a mission of delegates from Cleveland and Palm Beach -- both partner cities to St. Petersburg. It's so nice to be surrounded by people who understand the ins and outs of this community. The small group of six represents the professional and lay leaders from each Federation and they just "get it." They are the principal supporters of Jewish life here and it's amazing to be able to show them first-hand the fruits of their labor. They are among the reasons that Jewish life in St. Petersburg is as vibrant as it is. To sit in a room with local leaders and American Jewish leadership is an awe-inspiring experience. While this community certainly has its share of growing pains, as I like to call them, they are so fortunate to have the support and involvement of two such powerhouses of the American Jewish community.

Tonight, we're welcoming Shabbat at Hillel, just down the hall from our new office. Tomorrow, we'll join the mission for services and Shabbat lunch. And in a few days, we'll head out of the city with Adain Lo for their children's camp. The blog will lilkely be quiet next week -- forgive us while we're out of Internet range.

A Russian Roller Coaster

2006-10-22T14:07:00.000+03:00

The past few days have been packed with activity, with numerous highs and lows. Let's go through the week and you'll see just how topsy-turvy our life in Russia can be.

Last Wednesday, Alyson and I were excited to be invited to an Adain Lo meeting where a group was planning the agenda for their upcoming retreat outside St. Petersburg. They expect 80 participants, ranging in ages 7 through 15, for a week-long camp, where we will be doing Jewish education through English. What was exciting about this meeting was the fact that most of the planners are 17, 18, and 19 years old; they graduated from the Adain Lo program and are now volunteers helping plan future programs. They were very gracious at the beginning and explained the retreat schedule in English to us. But as the meeting commenced in Russian, we were totally lost, which I found extraordinarily frustrating because, after spending four years as a counselor at Ramah Darom, I had tremendous experience to bring to the table, and I wasn't able to share it because the meeting was moving too fast for my elementary sentences. Towards the end, a discussion began about a version of "capture the flag" that all the campers would play one evening: what the rules would be, how to infuse Jewish content, how to make sure the logistics worked, etc. I planned many Yom Sport events at camp, and would have been happy to make suggestions, if only I could have pushed the "pause" button on the meeting so I could construct the sentence correctly and put in my two cents. Alyson wasn't as frustrated as I was, but I just couldn't help thinking that we'd come all this way, and sacrificed so much, that it was really upsetting to bang my head against the language barrier.

Then Friday came, and with it one of the highlights of our time here so far. Alyson and I are launching a new program linking Chesed Avraham and Hillel; since St. Petersburg has so many Jewish elderly who are home-bound and can't enjoy Shabbat with the community, why not take Shabbat to them? With myself as liaison between the two organizations, we recruited three Russian students to come with us and act as translators as we visited two needy elderly that Chesed identified. I took Sonya and Igor to visit 82-year-old Yekaterina Davidovna, a Leningrad Blockade survivor who now lives on a pension of less than $200 per month. I asked her about life during the Siege, and she spoke for a solid hour without stopping. Her story is fascinating: as a 15-year-old girl, she went from building to building recording the names of the dead. Her father and brother were both decorated soldiers, and were both killed in different battles. Her closest relative is one niece who lives in Bulgaria, and the only contact she has with the outside world is through a neighbor who visits once each week. Bringing Shabbat to her was such a pleasure, and the three of us were on Cloud 9 afterwards. Alyson has baked many challahs for other people over the past four years, but watching Ekaterina sway to our rendition of "Shalom Aleichem," I think this was the most meaningful of all of them. The goal now is to have all three students recruit two friends, so the program can expand and we can visit more and more needy people. For more pictures from this extraordinary visit, click here.

I returned home to check my email before Shabbat started, and found that a dream of mine had come to an abrupt and crashing end when my application to become a Taglit-birthright israel madrich (counselor) was rejected by Hillels of Russia. Since the inception of the birthright program back in 2000, I've wanted to be a madrich and take a group to Israel (another unpaid volunteer position...why do the best jobs all have to be volunteer work?!?!?). Anyway, this free, ten-day trip to Israel will take 80 Russian students and young professionals to Israel for the first time, and I wanted to be right there to help guide them through it. After spending a year in Israel on Project OTZMA, with my extensive Federation and Hillel experience, and because of my unique American perspective, I thought I had a lot to offer and add to the trip. But their decision--and I understand and respect it--is that if I can't speak Russian fluently, then I can't help lead a trip. Honestly, I don't disagree with their decision, it's just hard to put that dream on hold for another year.

On Saturday, we organized a group of six friends to go to Pavlovsk and walk around the amazing park and palace. The weather was in the mid-30s, and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, but it was still beautiful. For pictures from our fun little excursion, click here. We figure this will be the last time we can spend a full day outside...so museums, here we come!

Then, on Sunday we had another really positive experience when a mission from the Hartford Jewish Federation came and visited. It was such a pleasure to educate these committed and passionate lay leaders about where there dollars are going here in St. Petersburg. We did another home visit, and this was just as moving and powerful as the previous one, but I'll save the details for another time. They also got a complete tour of the YESOD building, and even watched a performance by the EVA dance and choir groups, made up of Petersburgers from 5 to 20 years old. As you all know, these are the groups that Alyson and I teach every Sunday afternoon. So once the mission participants had left, I taught my EVA group about who their audience was, what the American Jewish federation system is, and how it all comes together and impacts their everyday lives.

So, these past few days have been an emotional adventure. We continue to be amazed by just how good our work can make us feel, and how crushing it can be when things don't work out the way we want them to. Through it all, we've been there for each other--you can imagine us sitting in our kitchen late at night, sipping our tea, discussing our thoughts, comforting each other through the disappointments, planning for the next day, problem-solving, and occasionally finding a few minutes to read our books before bedtime. In all, it's a very pleasant way to spend a year abroad!

The Heat is On

2006-10-19T09:18:00.000+03:00

While I’m sure you’re tempted to launch into the lyrics of the classic 80s song, I am being quite literal. Earlier this week, when the newspapers reported that the temperatures were going to drop to 1ºC by Friday, I grew a little alarmed that our heat still hadn’t been turned on at home or at school. Fortunately, on Tuesday afternoon, our pipes started to make weird gurgling noises and the radiators became warm to the touch. Apparently, our neighborhood was among the last to get heat in St. Petersburg!

As a result of the heat, I’ve had to rethink my clothing strategy entirely. Last week, I wore heavy turtleneck sweaters all the time, along with a wool coat. At night, I wore a sweatshirt and heavy socks to bed. Now that it’s a bit warmer inside, I can wear lighter sweaters and shirts again, so that I can peel off layers upon arrival indoors.

Alas, if what to wear is our biggest concern, I think we’re in good shape. Yesterday, we learned about another mishap with our Finnish friend, Utta. She is the only other person in our Russian class, so we’ve gotten to know her quite well. She came here to learn Russian and to be closer to her Russian boyfriend, who attends a local naval academy. He was shipped off just after she arrived here, so they have spent ridiculously little time together even while living in the same city. The stories she tells us of her old Soviet apartment are incredulous – her toilet broke, her pipes leaked, her elderly landlord moved back in to get everything fixed, etc. Yesterday’s story beat them all: her landlord had died in the apartment the night before!

Hearing Utta’s stories makes us so appreciative of the support network we have here. Had a fraction of these things happened to us, we would have found a new place to live by now. It’s actually hard to believe that we’ve been here for two months. I felt like the first month would never end, but the second month has come and gone remarkably quickly. We have begun to hit our stride.

We have found a fabulous Western-style grocery store that’s a 20-minute walk from our house. While it’s not conducive to daily shopping trips, nor does it stock tofu, we are thrilled to have found it! And on our way to the grocery store the other day, we stumbled upon a high-end gym. We went in and asked about the prices (too high for us) in Russian; amazingly, we were able to understand the gist of sales presentation!

We are also beginning to feel like we are contributing to the community. Every Sunday, Matt and I teach at EVA, a local Jewish organization. I teach two groups of 5-8 year olds and one group of 9-12 year olds. Matt has the older kids, who are mostly 15-20 years old. On Monday evenings, I host an English Club at YESOD, where about a dozen young adults congregate to practice their English and learn about a Jewish or Israel-related topic. Matt spends Tuesday afternoons tutoring in an after-school program at one of the Jewish day schools. We are starting a joint Hillel-Chesed program that encourages young people to visit the elderly on Shabbat to bring a little light into their lives; this week is our first trial run. We continue to help the JDC and other local organizations with English translations and idea generation. Next week, we have not one but two missions coming from the US. And at the end of the month, we are joining Adain Lo on one of their children’s camps for five days outside of the city. In more ways than one, the heat is on!

From the Headlines

2006-10-15T18:23:00.000+03:00

Another grim reminder of the realities of life in Russia from last week's news:
Russian Journalist Murdered

On the bright side, the weather here isn't as bad as it could be. It's been gray and rainy and in the upper 40s and low 50s--delightful compared to Buffalo, New York, which now sits under a foot and a half of record-breaking snow.

Sukkot at YESOD

2006-10-13T14:25:00.000+03:00

Sukkot at YESOD started off with a bang. Truckloads of Russian schoolchildren came to the building, with class after class of kids parading through the building and into the new sukkah outside. Alyson and I enjoyed just roaming through the various rooms at YESOD, checking out the festivities in all the nooks and crannies around the building. As volunteers who work very non-traditional hours, we have the flexibility to just jump in and participate when we find something that looks fun. Here, we got roped into cutting out cardboard Sukkot symbols for a group of children who were decorating picture frames. It was great, because it reminded us of our niece Hannah's birthday party early this past summer. And hold onto your seats for the next revelation: Alyson and I even sang for a group of elderly Chesed clients! That's right, Alyson overcame her fears and sang publicly! I have no idea how it happened; what started with us saying "We'll join you for a few minutes for lunch" somehow translated into Russian as, "Of course we want to sing for you!" After a few rounds of "Oseh Shalom" (my favorite version, Debbie Friedman's melody) and "Lo Yisa Goy," we were warmly thanked by our audience, who I think were as surprised as we were by our impromptu performance!

Also, even though the weather is getting colder, a steady stream of visitors continues to come through and see the YESOD building. You would think that we would be bored by giving the same tour shpiel for the twentieth time now, but you'd be wrong. As we continue to learn more about this community, we have more details and specifics that we can add to our tour. Moreover, as our Russian gets better, we can actually translate a sentence or two spoken by the Adain Lo kids or the elderly Chesed Avraham clients to their Western guests. The tour pictured here was a special one for two reasons. First, because I knew Debbie and Walter Cohn when I was working at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and it's always a pleasant surprise to see recognizable faces in this foreign land. But even more importantly, and somewhat strangely, during our visit to the Chesed Avraham Day Center in the building, Debbie and Walter received a round of applause for their contributions to Jewish life. And they deserved it--they are fantastic lay leaders, and we're excited to have them over to our house for Shabbat dinner tonight!

Matt's Trip to Moscow!

2006-10-10T08:39:00.000+03:00

After several weeks of work (here is a picture of me tutoring a Jewish student in the Adayin Lo after-school program), it was time to take a day off! As a perennial sports fan, I jumped when I heard that the Israeli national soccer team was playing the Russian national team in Moscow. Here was a great chance to take a break, support Israel, and watch European soccer of the highest quality.

It was quite an adventure from the very beginning. Our British friend Keren and I took the overnight train down from St. Petersburg--it leaves at 11 pm and arrives around 7 am. The roundtrip cost was $100; not bad when you consider it's over 400 miles each way! On the way down, we couldn't sleep because we ended up with two stinky, snoring Russian men (Keren thought the stench was worse, but I couldn't even listen to my iPod, the snoring was so loud!). So we played cards the whole way down and only got about 2 hours worth of sleep.

What do you do when you arrive at 7 am in Moscow, and nothing is open? Walk around, of course! We went and took the mandatory pictures of St. Basil's, Red Square, etc. It was a cold and gray day, but you won't be able to tell that from the pictures, as I've retouched most of them to be less depressing :-) The Kremlin wasn't open the whole weekend; apparently Putin was having important meetings and couldn't be bothered by tourists. We did have an interesting experience outside the Kremlin walls, though, as anything and everything could be bought with the American dollar. On one side, Lenin and Trotsky impersonators took pictures with paying tourists. On the other, ice cream carts galore littered the square, despite the 50-degree weather. Most interestingly, there were two guys selling the opportunity to take your picture with your choice of wild animals--from hawks to owls to monkeys. These poor animals were obviously not the happiest beasts on the planet, tethered and caged and waiting for their next photo op. Clearly, the Cold War is over and Russians have embraced capitalism in a warm hug--but have they taken it too far? On a different note, the Moscow Metro completely lives up to its reputation: every station is different and beautiful, with incredible mosaics and the feel of a museum. It's a shame that you can't take pictures, but it's really fun to ride the train around the city.

We met up with two more British study-abroad students, Olga and Joe, in Moscow, and we all went to Chabad for Shabbat and the beginning of Sukkot. It was a fantastic Shabbat experience--we met all sorts of interesting people, including an Israeli in the Intelligence division (he had a lot to say about the recent war) and the chief Rabbi of Russia. The vodka was flowing, languages were being thrown around left and right, we were singing and dancing, and the kosher meat was excellent. I must say that Chabad has treated us well in Beijing, Shanghai, St. Pete, and now Moscow...I have nothing but complimentary things to say about their organization.

Finally, Saturday evening we went to see the match we had all been waiting for. There were Russian soldiers everywhere, and the Israeli fans were sequestered in a fortified ring of 20-something Russian police. For their part, the police and soldiers were all polite and there were no incidents that I saw, except for a few middle fingers that were extended as a "Welcome to Moscow" gesture by the opposing fans. The Israeli spectators--there were maybe 300 of them, almost all on private tour groups from Israel--were incredibly fun and gregarious before the game. But the Russian side scored in the first 5 minutes of the game, which took the wind out of our sales for the whole first half. In the second half, the Israelis came out strong and put tremendous pressure on the Russian defense, finally scoring in the 84th minute to force a draw. After waiting for almost an hour-and-a-half to see their team score, the Israeli section erupted, and you can see the video of our goal and celebration by clicking here.

We were then escorted out of the stadium and into the Metro by a small army of soldiers, and we went straight to the hostel to pick up our stuff, as our train left at 11 pm. I must tell you that I felt far less safe travelling on the streets of Moscow on a Saturday night than I did in the stadium. There were drunk, aggressive Russian men everywhere; we saw many of them being restrained by police, and even witnessed a fistfight that led to quite a bit of blood and crying girlfriends. This is a typical Saturday night in Moscow, I was assured by my companions.

On the train ride back, we were joined in our cabin by a friendly Russian couple who made up for their lack of English with good old Russian hospitality. In fact, our companions started the evening by asking, "So, are we sleeping or are we drinking?!?!" He then plied us with excellent Russian cognac--surprisingly, the cognac here is just as good as the vodka--and told us jokes in Russian, which Keren and Olga translated for me. It was another sleepless night, but a lot of fun! I've been recovering slowly from an intense, crazy weekend, and hopefully am back on my feet now :-)

You can see a selection of my Moscow photos--just 26, with captions that provide additional details about the trip--by clicking here.

Kugel Capers

2006-10-09T16:01:00.000+03:00

Today was one of the most surreal days of my life. While Matt was in Moscow, I had nothing much to do, so I asked my friend Autumn if she wanted to hang out. She had committed to help cook for a «bris party» at a local bar, City Bar, which is owned by a woman from New York named Eileen, whom I vaguely remembered reading about in our Lonely Planet guide to St. Petersburg. I quickly agreed to pitch in and help cook. The bris, which is happening tomorrow at Shaarei Shalom is for the newborn son of a fascinating American guy I met there on two previous occasions. Just as I love to cook for the families of newborns back at home – after all, that's what we Jews do, right? – I figured that there is no better way to welcome a new Jewish baby into the community than to make a huge kugel!

So without a second thought, I grabbed my favorite kugel recipe (thanks to Sandy Lubaroff who makes the best kugel in the whole world), I crossed town to find the City Bar, and introduced myself to Eileen. That was a 3:15 this afternoon. We planned the menu (traditional Jewish with a New Orleans twist – bagels, kugel, and jambalaya) and got organized over a cup of coffee. For the next three hours, Autumn, Eileen and I had traversed the city in our search for ingredients. Would «tvorogom» work as a suitable substitute for cottage cheese? What kind of noodles did I need? Could we find pre-sliced lox to serve on the custom-ordered bagels? Finally, by 7:00 we were back at the restaurant and I went to work on the kugel while Autumn and Eileen went out to one more store to find a few last-minute items. Hanging out in the kitchen with the Nigerian cook, I flashed back to my Jewish Service Corps application; one of the essays asked what skills I could bring to the community and among the skills I listed, I ranked cooking as the most important. Funny that, months later, I find myself standing in the kitchen of a restaurant half-way around the world, making a kugel for a bris. I never could have imagined this scenario, but I felt that it fit neatly within my goals as a volunteer here. After all, what better way to reach the Jewish community than through its stomach?

By the time Autumn and Eileen got back, I had a huge kugel waiting to go into the oven. Autumn and I got busy working on the chocolate chip cookies. Well, actually, they are chocolate chunk cookies, since chips are impossible to find here. By 10:30, we pulled out the last batch of cookies as we chowed down on freshly-made pizza and enjoyed a nice bottle of Chilean merlot. We chatted with Eileen's customers – one more interesting than the next – as I wondered to myself what next week's adventure would be.

Our Walk to Work

2006-10-05T13:37:00.000+03:00

There are plenty of pretty sites around SPB, like this shot I took of the sun setting over the main drag, Nevsky Prospekt. Unfortunately, our walk to work has none of them. However, my little photo montage--which I creatively title, "Our Walk to Work"--captures daily life here in Russia. You'll like it: I made sure to caption all 17 pictures that I took during one typical walk to work (it takes about 25 minutes). What it lacks in beauty, it makes up in construction. See for yourself.

Events Galore!

2006-10-05T13:04:00.000+03:00

The Chagim marked an exciting time for Alyson and I. While Russians in general are not a religious community, they love arts and culture, and no one does singing, arts, and dance like the Russians! There have been numerous events over the past two weeks--here is just a quick look at some of the ones we attended.

The first event we went to was a cantorial concert at the Grand Choral Synagogue. The acoustics there are fantastic, and it's a really beautiful space. Check it out--here is Chazzan Shneur-Zalman Baumgarten from NYC singing "Avinu Malkeinu". Watch it here.

Next, we joined the Israeli Cultural Center for their opening party. It was at a fancy restaurant in downtown SPB, and there were all sorts of fun activities. Here, four of their members do an Israeli dance for the audience. Watch it here.

You wouldn't know it, but occassionally we've found time for a relaxing evening at home. I enjoy sitting on the couch, watching tv and eating kiwi. It's ironic, but here at the Arctic Circle they have fantastic kiwi: less tart than the ones we get in the States, they are like candy from heaven. On TV, two new bizarre sports to tell you about. First, I watched the most bizarre sport I've seen so far: handicapped fencing. It was incredibly boring--the two contestants don't move, they just lunge at each other from their chairs. On the other end of the spectrum was motorcycle soccer, which was fantastic to watch. Players ride motorcycles and kick an expanded soccer ball around an asphalt field. The speed and technical skill were just mezmerizing, and there was a NASCAR-like feeling to the crashes. You hated to watch these guys get thrown off their bikes onto the hard concrete, but you couldn't look away!

Corrections

2006-10-04T08:55:00.000+03:00

Welcome to our new-and-improved blog! We heard from some people that the old template was hard to read, so this new template is a little clearer. Links are in light blue now, so they stand out more from the background. What do you think? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Also, I uploaded the wrong video of "Swan Lake" to the Internet. I've corrected that now. You can see the correct, 2-minute video by clicking here.

T’shuva, Tefillah and Tunes

2006-10-03T14:32:00.000+03:00

It’s hard to believe that it’s October, which means that we’ve been here six weeks already. It’s nice to start to see familiar faces wherever we go. The names are still a bit of a Russian blur—Sasha, Elena, Misha, Tanya. But the feeling of belonging is growing slowly, bit by bit, a little more every day. The awesomeness of the High Holidays has helped cement in us a connection to the Jewish community, perhaps a bit more quickly than would have been the case, had we arrived in May, for example.

T’shuva (repentence) is a difficult thing to pull off when you’re so far away from those you may have hurt or the actions you may have committed with a hint of malevolence. For the most part, we have clean slates here, sparkling white with the anticipation of what we have to offer the community. To be honest, I am a bit overwhelmed by what is expected of us. Can I live up to what the community expects? Can we successfully inspire members of the community? Can we make Jewish life as appealing here as it is to us back in the States? These are tall orders.

Sunday night, we attended Kol Nidrei at the Choral Synagogue, again marveling at the beauty of the space and enjoying the somewhat familiar tunes of the choir, despite the shortages of machzorim. There, we met a handful of Americans, some passing through and others who live here, which we always enjoy.

Yesterday, we spent all day at Shaarei Shalom, where there is more of an expat community. During the afternoon lull between services, the rabbi asked us to forgo our annual Yom Kippur nap and instead lead an English-language discussion. Together, we put together a discussion based on excerpts from two Franz Kafka texts: The Trial and Letter to his Father. The discussion among the eight of us was lively; the two texts seemed to balance one another and give us insight into Kafka’s own Jewish experience. The text of The Trial is rather enigmatic, posing more questions than it answers. It concerns a man from the countryside who attempts to access the law through a doorway, but it is stopped by a gatekeeper when he asks for permission to enter. According to the rabbi, the problem with the man in the story is that he asks permission to enter. Had he simply walked through the doorway, he would have come closer to the law, his ultimate goal. But in the simple act of asking, he questions his own ability to advance his goals. It’s clear that we are our own gatekeepers sometimes, holding ourselves back. I try to keep this in mind as we face one obstacle after another here in St. Petersburg.

What kinds of obstacles, you ask? On Sunday, for instance, just before Yom Kippur started, we went to an opening session of EVA’s Sunday school. EVA (pronounced “yeva”), is a community-based organization that has been around since before the JDC was asked to return to the FSU. They specialize in training young people in Jewish culture (choir, dance and art), as well as providing for welfare services to over 8,000 elderly through day centers, in-home care, food packages and soup kitchens. They have asked us to teach English and Jewish tradition to six consecutive groups every Sunday, from 10:30am until 3:45pm. Matt and I quickly realized that we’d need to divide and conquer, so I’ll be teaching the younger groups in the morning and Matt will take the older groups in the afternoon. I have 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds, many of whom don’t speak a word of English. Not only am I supposed to teach them English, I’m also supposed share Jewish tradition with them. And for some of them, the 45 minutes we spend together each week is the only Jewish influence they get. While this is a bit daunting, I remind myself of the Kafka story and hope that I can power through my own anxieties and triumph in the end.

Fortunately, our sense of community here is starting to take hold. Obstacles are always easier to tackle when you have a strong support network nearby, something I’ve felt lost without these past few weeks. At Shaarei Shalom, we met two young American women who are living here temporarily. In a small world story, I heard about one of them from a mutual friend in DC over July 4th weekend and I remembered with crystal clarity. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have contemporaries who are experiencing similar trials and tribulations. We also spent some time with a US consular official and his young family whose paths we crossed back in DC. (Small world indeed.)

While the tunes we sang yesterday were not the clap-your-hands, Jeremy-Kadden-inspired tunes that we’ve grown accustomed to at the DC Minyan, the tunes were nonetheless touching and beautiful, especially the melody we used to draw the yom tov to a close over havdalah. At the end of the fast, we organized a small group of Anglos for break-the-fast next door at the Sbarro’s restaurant. It’s not quite like home—no bagels or kugel—but it did the trick just fine. It filled our bellies with pizza and our hearts with the warmth of being connected to others.

From the Headlines

2006-09-29T10:09:00.000+03:00

Two recent news items remind us that we are in a foreign land. I've been debating whether or not to post them for nearly a week. I certainly don't want to cause anyone alarm, but frankly, there are occasional xenophobic episodes that remind us to be cautious and keep a low-key profile. Fortunately, we feel relatively safe in our daily lives. Click on either one to read more.

Vandals attack synagogues in Russia
Attackers stab Indian medical student to death in St. Petersburg

More of Matt's Musings

2006-09-27T12:55:00.000+03:00

As I'm sure you've noticed, Alyson's posts tend to be very deep and focused. Mine are a little more, well, schizophrenic would be the right word. In that vein, here are more random things to enjoy:

A Trip to the Ballet
We went to the Russian State Conservatory for a performance of "Swan Lake." This is NOT the Mariinsky Theater, although it's right next door; we'll make it over there someday soon, but we haven't saved up enough money for our tickets yet! A two-minute clip of the ballet (we clandestinely taped it) is available by clicking here--it's a little bit boring at the beginning, but gets better later. We should charge you the 400-ruble ticket charge for watching it! (Just kidding...)

Learning Russian is Really Important
There are so many interesting opportunities for us to experience as Americans, but if we want to access real Jewish life here, we need to know Russian. For example, last week were invited to a fascinating meeting of volunteers for Adayin Lo. This is a major Jewish educational organization here in SPB: over its 16-year history, it has grown from a small group of children meeting informally in Genia Lvova's kitchen into a massive enterprise, with 7 locations throughout SPB. It has developed a group that is any Jewish organization's dream: a core of roughly 75 volunteers, generally between the ages of 16 and 20, who are almost all products of Adayin Lo's educational program, having come up through the ranks and are now excited to give back to the organization.

So here we are, sitting in this meeting, surrounded by about 40 of these inspiring young adults. Genia, now the organization's executive director, had generously been translating for us, but now she had to run the meeting. On our own, we were able to understand the questions posed to the group -- "What got you involved with Adayin Lo? How long have you been involved? What do you hope to receive from your volunteering here?" -- but the responses were indecipherable. Although we couldn't understand the exact words, we understood the general emotion: here was a group that was excited to be getting older, to come into their own as Jewish adults, and to spend their time and energy providing for the younger generation. This is what I mean when I talk about how Russian is critical to our experience: it is the key that will open up the door to understand more than just the question, but also its answer.

I Have a Confession to Make
OK, so now that you know how important Russian is, you'll understand when I confess that I'm a bit of a Russian dork. I'm always up for a challenge, and learning the world's third-hardest language (Finnish and Japanese are considered more difficult) is exactly what I'm looking for. In another post, I'll talk about why Russian is so difficult; for now, just know that solving the Middle East Crisis would be easier than learning to speak Russian fluently.

What makes me so nerdy? Well, I sit in front of the TV with a dictionary in my lap. I tend to read every ad on the street, looking for words I don't understand. When I find them, which is constantly, I write them in my PDA to look up in the dictionary when I get home. I also have these great flash-cards that have Russian on one side and English on the other (thanks, Shannon, for letting me borrow them!), and I bring them everywhere. Whenever I have a few minutes free, I'm flipping through these cards one after another, trying to learn useful words. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

So my obsession with Russian is a little bit on the geeky side. But in my defense, if you lived in a society where you struggled to communicate effectively, wouldn't you do everything you could to learn the local language? For example, I had to go to three different grocery stores last night searching for pasta sauce; every time I tried to describe what I was looking for, the store clerks would point me to the ketchup! And besides, SPB has the world's deepest Metro system; when it's a full 2-minute ride down and back up the Metro's escalators, what else is there to do but read through your Russian flashcards?

The Search for Fun
In my quest to learn Russian, I've come across all sorts of interesting linguistic factoids. For example, Russian has a word for new buildings where construction has started but will never be completed because they ran out of money; apparently such buildings are common enough to deserve their own name!

On a different note, I haven't been able to find a word in Russian that directly coincides with "fun." Depending on who you ask, you'll get all sorts of answers...but when you delve a little deeper, you quickly find out that it's not really "fun" that they're describing. My friends and colleagues have suggested all sorts of similar words -- "interesting," "funny," "diversions," even "to take a walk"-- but I still haven't found "fun" here in Russia. The search continues...

Celebrating the New Year in a New Place

2006-09-25T12:54:00.000+03:00

Rosh Hashanah 5767 will prove to be one of the most memorable of my life. Celebrating a Jewish holiday in Russia is especially tricky when those who identify as Jewish don't even celebrate. Overall, the Jewish community is not religiously affiliated; rather, they prefer the cultural aspects of Judaism. I suspect that holidays such as Chanukah and Purim are more strongly embraced than Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Since there are only two options for davening in St. Petersburg, Matt and I made a point to share the holiday with both communities. We spent erev Rosh Hashanah and the first day with the progressive (Reform) community, Shaarei Shalom. On Friday night, we hosted our first meal here. We tried to invite some young adults from the community but we found that everyone worked on Friday evenings and could not accept our invitation for an early meal. We hosted two study abroad students, one from England and one from Argentina. It was nice to share the chag with others who were no doubt feeling how we were feeling – far away from home. After dinner, we walked over to YESOD, the Jewish community home where we work, and where the progressive community was congregating. Services began at 7:00 and drew a crowd of 125 or so, including a handful of young families, young professionals, middle aged couples, and a few seniors. After services, there was an amazing kiddush, schmoozing, klezmer (performed by Hillel students) and dancing. The atrium was packed wall-to-wall, the atmosphere was festive, and the energy was infectious.

Not only was this a new place for us to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, YESOD is a new place for the entire community to celebrate the new year. Open for less than a year, this was the first time anyone from the community has heralded the new year at YESOD. Seeing the space used so organically by a home-grown Jewish community really warmed my heart.

Saturday morning at the progressive synagogue on Vassilevsky Island (a 10-minute ride from our apartment) was equally warm and “happy clappy” as the rabbi calls it, but the crowd was far more intimate. About 25 people came for davening, which lasted from 11:00am until 1:30pm – the longest in the community's two-year history! In typical Reform style, we read three aliyot (the reading from the second day of Rosh Hashanah about Akedat Yitzhak) and skipped the haftarah. After services, there was another lovely kiddush where we had a chance to chat with the six other English speakers who were there. We then walked to the Neva River and did a breadless tashlich. At first, I was uncomfortable with the idea of not having bread – the rabbi insisted that I not bring any – but after some reflection, I realized that it forced me to focus on the meaning behind the symbolic tossing of bread instead of the bread itself. It was a new twist on a familiar tradition. As we were standing on the riverbank, a Soviet-era oil tanker pulled into dock, just next to where we were standing – the captain shouting orders to his crew disturbed an otherwise peaceful moment of reflection. It was a distinctively Russian moment.

Across town and across the religious spectrum is the central and magnificent Choral Synagogue, built in 1893, run by Chabad. I arrived at 11:00am to find a scant 30 women sitting upstairs in the huge balcony. The acoustics were tough…the congregation was so dwarfed by the massive size of the traditional Moorish shul. All at once at 11:45, waves of women appeared, as if dropped off by a bus picking up Jews from all around town. Women of all shapes and sizes: Old babuskas, with their colorful handkerchiefs tied over their hair. Young women in jeans, chatting (to my surprise) on their cell phones to others across the synagogue gallery. Young mothers, holding their babies in their arms. Wealthy middle-aged women in pantsuits trimmed with fur. No dress code or behavioral protocol here; it was light-years away from the homogenous crowd I'm used to at home. Few women followed the machzor; instead, they chatted quietly, asking their neighbors questions about what was happening. One elderly woman turned, pointing to the Torah, and asked me what it was. It's astonishing to me that someone who has never seen a Torah would be compelled to come to services on Rosh Hashanah. That really blew my mind. The crowd swelled to at least 200 women in the balcony. I was later told that about 500 men were downstairs at the same time, in addition to two other minyanim that were happening concurrently at the Choral Synagogue. I wondered aloud to my friend Keren (the British exchange student) about how they all knew to come at 11:45. Turns out that Chabad had run ads on local television and in local newspapers indicating that the shofar was going to be blown at 11:40. Fifteen minutes later, when it actually happened, the crowd grew silent and listened intently, leaning forward to capture the shofar blowing, which may be their only Jewish experience of the year. Shortly thereafter, the crowd slowly dwindled. By the end of services at 1:30, there were about 60 women left.

Matt and I enjoyed a festival meal at the home of our boss and his wife. They are the most amazing hosts I've ever encountered in my life; I can only liken them to Abraham and Sarah from the Torah. They fill their home with guests – many of whom speak different languages – week after week, feeding their bodies the most exquisite food and their Jewish souls with stories and songs. I savor the ambiance they create; if I could bottle it, I would. Sitting around their table with Russian Jews of all backgrounds, I realized that this will be a fascinating new year.

With near-70 temperatures and sunny skies, God smiled down on the Jews of St. Petersburg this Rosh Hashanah. From miles away, Matt and I wish you a “sladky, novy got” – a sweet new year!

L'shana tova!

2006-09-17T18:41:00.000+03:00

We're Famous

2006-09-17T10:16:00.000+03:00

Thought you'd like to read one of the cover stories from this week's Cleveland Jewish News, "Wolf Fellows by the Pair," written by Margi Herwald. Note from Matt: The reporter did a fantastic job capturing our discussion, the way we play off each other, and our excitement before embarking on this journey. Alyson's gonna kill me for telling you this, but the article brought a few tears to her eyes--so be warned, those of you with an emotional streak.

Summer Turns to Autumn

2006-09-17T10:02:00.000+03:00

Yesterday, we went to the Summer Garden and walked around (we had planned on sitting in the park and reading, but it was in the 40s and just too cold). For those of you that are liking our videos, you can see our newest one by clicking here. The weather is turning cold quickly, so time is running out for taking long walks around St. Petersburg! We're also losing about 30 minutes of sunlight each week; it won't be long before we get just 5 hours of sunlight each day. It's kinda scary...

Then we walked over to Marsovo Pole. As with most things in SPB, you end up at a really pretty place and have no idea what the significance is because it's all in Russian. There was an eternal flame of some sort, pretty flowers, and tons of soon-to-be-married couples taking pictures. So we look in the tour book to see what this place is and find out: it's a mass grave. That's the strange contrast of life here in SPB--there's so much history around every corner, and some of it isn't very pretty.

We've gone from boredom to extremely busy: we're now working Sundays on a regular basis, giving tours and getting oriented to more of SPB's Jewish organizations. In addition, we're taking 8 hours of Russian each week. More on that in future posts!

One Year Older

2006-09-15T11:47:00.000+03:00

I'm officially one year older. Any wiser? I'm not really sure about that. My Russian has improved slightly, I know more intimately the amazing work that is transpiring here in the St. Petersburg Jewish community, but more than I've learned about the (new) world around me, I've learned about myself.

I've learned what it feels to be an outsider. I'm learning how to adapt and change to fit unusual and often uncomfortable surroundings. I'm learning how to create a community and support network for myself from scratch. I'm not accustomed to relying on the generosity of others -- I am so much more comfortable giving rather than receiving. Matt and I are so much at the core of our community back home that we are the ones to provide for others, but at the same time our community in DC is so strong that it nutures us in return. Here, we must struggle to provide for others while seeking out support for ourself as well. It's a high-wire trapeze balancing act that draws on an inner strength that sometimes I forget that I have.

In an effort to create a small circle of friends, Matt and I are actively pursuing any social outlets we can. Yesterday afternoon, I attended a weekly Peter's Tea run by the local International Women's Club to meet other English-speaking expat women. Last night, the couple that we met our first week here over soccer invited us to their home for dinner. Tonight, we are going to the Reform synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat to hopefully meet more new people. And on Sunday night, we are organizing a small gathering at an Italian restaurant to celebrate my birthday.

Every year on my birthday, I am reminded of my life goal of keeping the number of countries I've visited above my age in years. Just two months ago, I had only been to 29 countries -- fortunately, over the last two months, we've been to two new countries, China and Russia. So now my country count is set for at least another two years! Hopefully, though, this year will add even more countries to my list.

Today, Matt and I celebrated a few more small successes. We gave our first two tours of YESOD (the Jewish community home where we work) this morning -- one to a journalist from the Forward and one to an American couple who came to St. Petersburg on vacation. These are small steps towards creating a full-fledged YESOD visitor's center as a way to attact foreigners to better understand the richness of Jewish life here. This is just one wish I have for the next year. May this year -- the last of my 20s -- be a year of trial and wisdom, of fulfillment and growth.

Two Momentous Events

2006-09-12T13:45:00.000+03:00

Hi everyone,

Two big events to tell you about --

1. Alyson's Birthday!
We won't dwell on how old she is, but let's just say that she's getting a little long in the tooth :-) For her birthday, she received a very nice bouquet of flowers from her loving husband (it's the only thing I know how to order, and can be sure that I'll get it right!). But, more importantly, she received a huge care package filled with goodies, sent over by her parents (love you guys!). You'll see in the picture all the products we can't find here in Russia (also included were English reading materials, pictures, and books...a total of 40 pounds worth of precious Western treasures!). And if you should get a hankering to send us a care package, please know that we're here and will love you forever for your kindness!

2. We've Been Really Busy!

We've been working our tails off on a wide variety of different projects. Each morning except Fridays, we spend from 10:30 to 12:30 in Russian language classes. Then, we come over to our office and work on whatever needs to be done that day. These past few days, an important mission of European delegates has been learning about and seeing firsthand the life-sustaining work the JDC is doing with Blockadniks. This group of people, who survived the 900-day siege of Leningrad, aren't typically considered Holocaust survivors or victims of Nazi persecution. Even though they were cut off from the outside world for two-and-a-half years, forced to eat meager rations and fight harsh Russian winters, they've been mostly ignored by the outside world. So this JDC mission is trying to change that, and take care of these heroes in their old age.

This is a wonderful picture of Alyson and me with two of our heroes. On the far right is Ralph Goldman, whose work with global Jewish communities has made him nothing short of a hero (not just my words) in every respect. Next to him is Amos Oz, Israel's preeminent author, who was in town speaking about his new book. Thankfully, after five years, the Hebrew I've learned on OTZMA is still pretty strong, and I was able to translate his speech for Alyson. To be honest, I've only read one of his books, and that was only because it was the only thing available at the time, but it was really good. Plus, his discussion that evening of the place of argument in Jewish society was very powerful, so I'm looking forward to reading more of them in the future. This was definitely the highlight of our work here so far!

Abuzz with Activity

2006-09-08T13:54:00.000+03:00

This week was the first that we were actually busy. While having a ton of free time was certainly relaxing, it was starting to get annoying. How many nights could we sit at home and play cards?

For one, we started our Russian classes at Nevsky Institute, conveniently located next door to our office. There are three of us in our class -- the two of us plus a Finnish young woman named Yuta. (Coincidentally, of all the places in SPG to live, Yuta lives on our block. Do you think she's a spy?) Our teacher, Marina, is awesome. We are thrilled to be immersed for two hours a day in Russian!

We also got thrown into one of our first assignments -- writing a grant proposal for an innovative St. Petersburg Hillel art program that will hopefully create ripple effects throughout all of the FSU. The grant isn't due until September 26th, but through careful reading, we learned that the foundation will offer feedback if it's submitted before the 12th, which is Tuesday! So Matt and I powered through what we could and we're meeting with the coordinator of the program in a few minutes to review our progress.

The most monumental moment of this week, though, is that we finally met our country director, Jonathan Porath. His frenetic pace was a bit alarming on the few overseas phone calls we shared with him over the past few months, but yesterday, in the 30 minute encounter we had with him, we were mesmorized and empowered by the energy that he seems to exude. While he's in town for the Blockade Mission that we'll tell you more about next week, I think we'll get to know him a little better and he us. I look forward to translating his energy and passion into tangible results on the ground. As Matt said in his post, there's a lot of work to be done here. I hope we can squeeze it all into one year!

Potpourri

2006-09-08T12:10:00.000+03:00

This post has no theme (except maybe: Life in Russia). If you can find a more fitting theme, I hope you'll post a comment at the end...

- I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I'm really enjoying Women's Water Polo on VestiSport (see my last post). Russia is in the finals of the European championships - woo hoo! Go Double-headed Eagles! These women can really gun the ball at the goal; it's pretty exciting to watch the goalkeeper desperately trying to make a save. By the way, this morning on VestiSport, add another one to my list of boring-yet-televised sports: competitive jump-rope. No lie.

- I'm debating which is the better job in Russia: personal driver or Metro-watcher. Seriously, there are Metro employees at the bottom of each Metro escalator who stare, all day long, at the escalator. Why? I'm not sure--perhaps to ensure that it's working properly? Perhaps to guard against any horseplay on the stairs? I'll post a picture soon so you get a sense of what I'm talking about. What a fun job: people-watching all day long. But I think the personal driver may win out. For our first few days here in Russia, Andrey took us from place to place in his car, and I was enthralled. First, you get to weave in and out of traffic at an insane pace; it's like a life-sized video game, and you get as many quarters as you want. Then, once you've finished your drop-off, you wait patiently for hours on end for the call to take your passenger home. Just think of all the great things you could do! For me, I would read hundreds of books, listen to MP3s till my ears fell out, take long naps, and drink endless lemonades as a Russian personal driver. If I don't come back to the States, you'll know why.

- Another strange Russian sport is making out. I'm serious: I think that Petersburg's young people get points for making out in strategic locations throughout the city, and there is a giant scoreboard keeping track somewhere in the city (I just haven't found it yet). This unusual behavior is understandable, considering that almost everyone lives at home until they get married. So where else would you go to make out if you're an amorous Russian teenager? To the most public place you can find, obviously!

Here is the point system, as I've been able to decipher it:

On a public bench: 1 point.
On a bridge: 2 points.
In the middle of Nevsky Prospekt: 3 points.
On a crowded Metro platform in the middle of rush hour: 5 points.
Making Matt nauseous through your tongue-hockey antics: 10 points.

- OK, one serious note for today's post. Yesterday, we got a tour of EVA, which is the city's oldest Jewish welfare agency. It services children through education and a very strong performing arts program (Russians love the arts with a passion!), and 1,300 elderly clients through home-care visits and food packages. They want us to help there by teaching Jewish subjects in English to children and young adults, so we were getting an orientation to their office and services.

When I worked at Federation, I was familiar with all the statisitics they mentioned. I had also seen model food packages--we had a steady stream of them coming into the office as a reminder of the good work we were doing. I always found them moving: here was a box filled with food that was going to supplement an old person's pension and thereby help them make it through the month. I even used these prototypical care packages to help train other fundraisers in the community, saying things like, "Here is just one example of why you need to help in Federation fundraising efforts. One of these packages costs just fifteen dollars, but means the difference between life and death for the FSU's 200,000 elderly Jews."

Well, at EVA I encountered these packages again, only it was for real this time. These cardboard boxes, filled to the brim with groceries, had a Rosh Hashanah theme: in addition to the basics like flour and vegetable oil, they came with apples and honey. It was powerful to realize that, in this box, was an elderly person's whole Rosh Hashanah experience. And just as important as the goods inside the box was the home visit that comes with it; since many of these elderly people are home-bound, with family spread all over the world, they rarely get the chance to talk with other people. Alyson noticed how each box was lovingly prepared by the EVA staff member in charge--packed to perfection, with each item individually sealed to prevent leakage. But I was struck by the meaning behind these boxes, and the happiness that they would bring to people in need. It was one of those, "wow, I live in Russia, and there is a LOT of work to do..." moments.

Everything from Scratch

2006-09-05T15:49:00.000+03:00

Cooking here is a labor of love, with the emphasis on the word labor. Few convenience items that we have in the States -- like pre-shredded cole slaw, baby carrots, or salad in a bag -- are available here. Ok, make that none. The few microwave dinners that we can find are expensive (about $5 each) and take a long time to heat in the oven (we don't have a microwave). I suspect that I will spend a good chunk of my time here in Russia in the kitchen. To give you a sense, I spent a full hour this morning washing, peeling and chopping carrots and potatoes for dinner. Luckily, I was waiting for a delivery, so I had to be at home anyway. Seems that the staples of our diet will be potato salad and cole slaw. Ingredients for both are in plentiful supply. It'll be like one big year-long picnic!

For simplicity's sake, we have a dairy-only kitchen. We decided this would make it easier and cheaper for us to stock our kitchen here. But we're quickly learning that finding protein sources is tricky, especially with meat out of the picture. We can get peanut butter (thankfully), eggs, beans, and plenty of fish, although the good stuff is quite pricey. The soy products that we subsist on at home have not yet made it to Russia.

Russia seems to be stuck in the sushi craze, with sushi places on nearly every block. Dining out is going to be our little indulgence. We've already started a mental list of places we want to try. For now, though, I am looking for recipes to make from scratch. (The kind I avoid at home!) Please email me recipes -- anything with potatoes, cabbage or beets gets extra credit!

Mullets, Metro, and the Mute button

2006-09-05T10:37:00.000+03:00

More random musings on Russian life today...

- The preferred hairstyle for Russian men is the mullet. These American guys have nothing on Russian men. Riding the Metro, you see a string of them--blond, dark, red, you name it. I want to pull out my camera and start taking pictures...I will one of these days. The best I've seen so far was long, curly and jet black on a guy that could have been Jose Canseco's twin brother. Amazing.

- I've never used the mute button on my remote control so much in my life. Russians don't do subtitles--they dub everything from the movies to American television shows. So we can see "Lost" and "Vegas" on our tv, but the English has been totally wiped clean in favor of bad Russian voice-overs. Since we can't understand more than a word here and there, we tend to watch tv on mute.

Luckily, we have three sports channels, so they have kept me occupied. I was able to watch the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup and the FIBA International Basketball Tournament, both of which I can't imagine got much airplay in the States. In basketball, we finished a disappointing third place, which is amazing considering the dominance we once displayed on the world stage. But far more devastating were the two crushing defeats in soccer, where the bad guys, North Korea, won it all, and the US placed a disappointing fourth after losing to both Brazil and China in penalty shoot-outs. We sat with the parents of those players when they were here in SPB, and I could just see them comforting their distraught daughters after those games.

My favorite sports channel thusfar is a local Russian one, VestiSport. They show sports that you would never find on tv in America. So far this week, I've seen: jet-ski racing, women's water polo, competitive darts, rugby, and women's fencing. Now maybe you could find a couple of those late at night on ESPN, but to find all of those one on channel, in prime time, in one week? I'm just waiting for sumo wrestling, and then I'll never get off the couch!

-Jumping back to the Metro for a second, Washington's WMATA could take a few lessons from the efficiency and reliability of the rail system here. The escalators are ridiculously fast and they always work, which is good because the Metro here is much deeper than in Washington. But the best part is the frequency of the trains: they run every two minutes, day or night, rain or shine. There are no delayed trains, no elevator outages, and no sick passengers ruining the commute. While it's not as beautiful as the Moscow Metro, which has stations that are more like museums, the stations are spotless and free of bums.

If Dvostsvaya Ploschad (Palace Square)--with the Hermitage, Admiralty, Alexander Column, and proximity to Nevsky Prospect--is the Dupont Circle of SPB, then we live in the Cleveland Park. We're exactly two Metro stops away, and our neighborhood is more residential but with decent restaurants and excellent shopping. We use the Metro constantly--at only 50 cents per ride, it's the only thing us poor volunteers can afford!