I have also come to find that the more I feel blended into the population, the more I feel like I have lost my sense of identity. Maybe that is due in part to the monotonous ways of my daily routine. Wake up. Walk to metro. Cautiously avoid random patches of ice. Push through people in metro station. Bottle-neck my way to the escalator. Sit on metro. Don't smile. Get off metro. Walk to school. Go back to metro. Go home. To not draw attention to yourself you basically have to look completely dismissive of everyone and everything.
As my confidence increases and individuality slightly decreases, I find somewhere in the middle a feeling of what it is to be Russian.
Although, obviously, I can't feel completely Russian if I can't speak the language! Which brings me to my next point-- This week my ability to communicate and comprehend Russian felt even worse than before I got here. Although the ACTR Manual swears that this is normal, it doesn't mean it's not frustrating! However, there are times, although it seems rare, where I am talking with my host family, and use a verb that I had not known before, or an adjective that I picked up in class. Maybe I'm just an impatient,overly-anxious student who expects my brain to be like a sponge, and have a fabulous retention for difficult foreign languages.
Alas, it is only week 3! I am getting ahead of myself. The point is, complete immersion of a new culture and language is bittersweet: you learn more than you realize, but it is difficult to track your progression in a concrete manner- which is something all Type-A people like myself want to do.
AAK!
On to more interesting things! This week we went to Юсуповский Дворец, or the Yusupov Palace. Quick background history: The Yusupov's were an immensely wealthy family in Russia (at one point THE wealthiest). They are most famous for their donations to charity, huge collections of art...... and the murder of Grigori Rasputin. Felix Yuspov (a B.A.) was a noble and married to the niece of Nicholas II. He didn't like the obvious influence of Rasputin on the Romanov family, so he and his cronies plotted his murder. The story, although there are many variations, goes like so:
1) Felix met up with a doctor to get a poisonous concoction (aka CYANIDE), to put into Rasputin's food/ wine.
2) They attempted to poison Rasputin, but it did not kill him (they later found that the doctor flaked and did not make the poison strong enough.)
3) When this did not kill him, they fetched a gun which was SURE to do the trick. Nope! He still attempted to stand and chase after Felix, even after being shot 4 TIMES.
4) The next logical step was to tie him up in a blanket, beat him over the head, and throw him into the river.
5) He managed to break free being tied up while in the water, but couldn't get out of the river.
6) His autopsy said he died of hypothermia. ... SERIOUSLY?
... Clearly this guy was not human. It is very interesting to know that he was such an integral part of the Romanov family, despite his freakish nature (mostly for his ability to "naturally heal" Alexy, the heir to the throne, who was burdened with hemophilia) .
Anyway, the Yusupov Palace is gorgeous, right on the Moika River. They did a fantastic job of recreating the night of Rasputin's Murder. Here are some pictures:
With the doctor, who was supposed to create a deadly poison..but didn't. (Aren't these wax figures awesome?)
Felix and Rasputin. He is anxiously awaiting for the poison to work.. to no avail!
Close-up of Rasputin. It looked so real... As I tuned out the tour-guide who was speaking too quickly for me to understand anyway, I could have SWORN I saw him move...
All in all, despite my language set-backs, it has been a fun week! I have an interview at the Hermitage Museum tomorrow for a potential internship- wish me luck! I also may be going to Pskov for the long weekend, updates to come later.
Miss you all, I hope everything is going well back in the States! Спокойный Ночи :)
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