Russia - Academics day 1

Well classes are in full swing. I woke early this morning unable to sleep, not surprising, there's no night. Oh I must definately be in St. Petersburg. Actually my room mate was sneezing all night and I was snoring, we did a wonderful job of harassing each other out of sleep but it was great. We went across the street and bought water and coke and sat around drinking and smoking for an hour. He ran a photography business in LA so we had a ton to discuss. James Boobar, my room mate, is our resident Dostoyevsky scholar and leads the Roskalnikov tours around town. I'm going to go on one with him. Very friendly man who teaches at the University of The Redlands in southern California.

WEnt tot he office to help Tom get the classes ready for the students. We managed to heard our participants to their rooms after breakfast. Everyone settled into the groove and then Tom, Sasha and I retired for our breakfast which was comprised of Cirniki (fried cottage cheese with sour cream and honey), an omlet for tom, tea and vinigrette for Sasha. Svetta, our Russian coordinator called a meeting of all staff members. We discussed some upcoming excursions to Peterhoff, dolled out morning duties in openning the office, I have thursday mornings, and then assigned partner teams to monitor the attendants when they are out and about in the evennings, I have Monday nights with Katia.

Tonight we're going to take a boat trip down the Nevya river at 12:30 to watch the openning of the bridges. St. Petersburg should be seen from the water. Its magnificent. Floating down the Nevya gives you a view of the winter palace, summer gardens, hermitage, Peter Paul Fortress, Admiralty and everything else that makes this ctiy a majestic jewel on the rim of the arctic. The weather is perfect for such an event. The reason for the late launch of the boat is the weird spectacle of the bridges openning. Now bridges openning on the Nevya is not strange, but when yuo consider the people lined up on the banks of the river to watch them open, partying, screaming at their openning, it becomes odd and wonderful. Boats of Russians and tourists alike sail down the Nevya greatting each other and screaming "ooooooooorah" or "Udatchey" (good luck or best wishes). The bridges open at 1:35, all of them, to allow large barges and vessels to pass don the river. They close at 5 AM with brief 20 minute closer in order to allow auto and foot traffic. Pedestrians rush to the banks to be the first ones across the bridges when they lower for that 20 minute window. There's always accidents and the roads nearest the banks on the PEtrograd, Vasilevsky Island and mainland side are thronged with cars trying to escape their temporary incarcertaion on one or the other bank. Spectacular really.

Its warm, actually hot today and I'm in sandals. My left foot is relishing this light wear. Although my boots are comfortable, the amount of walking i've done over the last two days has generated a huge blister on one foot. I've had to tighten the belt. The weightloss has begun which is a rather nice feeling. Considering how much beer we've all been drinking, you still loose weight as the diet consists primarly of protein. I've had potatos once, and a little bit of bread, but mostly meat and eggs.

I'm looking forward to the first days to be over with. I'll have more time to walk and what I'm hoping, read and finish Memory For Forgetfullness by Mahmoud Darwish which I put a dent in while I was flying from JFK to Moscow. The book chronicles a single day in August which was host to the worst shelling ever of Beirut by Israeli forces. It was written after the invasion by a Palestinian poet in Exile who was living in Beirut then. He wrote it as a way to cope with the carnage and the destruction of his adopted city. Its a meditation and paradox that one has to remember in order to forget or the way he lusts for coffee and the simplest most banal things that become hallmarks of our daily routine and when they are absent the distended reality of coping with desire and hunger. Its a fantastic read, part prose, part poetry, I recommend it to everyone who has an interest in memory, horor and how to represent it without it representing you.

So much to see. I've decided to use my one roll of Color IR film in the Summer gardens. If the weather holds up I'll have time this week. Its so easy to put things off, as I'm here for three weeks and say I have time, but i'll be busy when the second session comes in and I have to take advantage of the cooperating weather, yesterday it rained cats and dogs...

Alright, back to the office to prep the afternoon classes which will be underway in about 90 minutes, maybe grab lunch at Taromoko, the blini stand near the Moyka canal, a blin with ham and cheese and a bottle of kvas are a definite treat. Oh, and one more gastronomic tale, had Satsivi last night, its a georgian chicken dish. I've heard that its the premier dish of the Georgian kitchen but I didn't have it last year. Don't even know whats in the sauce but damn is it good... Zach... weigh on this one mate, what the hell is Satsivi?! Tastes peanuty... clear the fog!

Be well my friends...

Udatchey vam vsem...