Северное Лето

View Alexander Abroad in a larger map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108301682546296558563.000464fa39be876186e52&z=2

A map of my travels past, present, and future, covering the time period from May 2009 until August 2010. A work in progress. Zoom out for the full effect at this point; there aren't a whole lot of details on it yet, but all the dots are places I've been or places I'm going.

First, a few more pictures from Israel:

This picture, in which on the right can be seen the edge of a bunker used in the last war with Syria (the Yom Kippur War), was taken on top of a mountain right on the border with Syria. In fact, the green area is the UN base in the de-militarized zone, and beyond that is Syria. We were told that on a clear day you can see Damascus from this particular point. Israel and Syria do not have peace, even today.

These are soldiers (roughly my age) in a supermarket somewhere in the middle of the Golan Heights region.

As promised, The Camel Picture. Bedouins such as the one leading my camel led us on a short "trek" around the edge of their "camp." These are Arab people (yes, they speak Arabic) that have no Palestinian or Israeli connection; as such, their main concerns are for themselves. We were given to understand that this particular group has taken to providing tourists with an "experience" of their culture in order to support themselves in a rapidly changing world. Even so, their numbers are dwindling as their children continue to go out into the world and leave the traditions behind.

Sign in the parking lot from the beach-swimming-relaxing-kibbutz complex where we swam in the Dead Sea. Israel is a fascinating place in that there are places where people mix, places where some people go, and places where other people go. Depending on who you are, some places are more dangerous than others, though there are indeed efforts to increase understanding among peoples. This particular beach was a place of peace.

Swimming in the Dead Sea--that's me on the right! It was an incredible experience, and I feel certain that I'll do it again someday. The water is so salty that NOTHING lives in it except for some extremely hardy bacteria. It's prized as being a very healthy experience for bathing, however--the mud is said to be wonderful for the skin. So, we rubbed it all over ourselves, and in truth I can tell you that I felt quite exfoliated. It was great! However, avoid the water if you have cuts--it can be like bathing in Bactine. Still, it's good for you--and everyone floats! The land visible on the other side of the Sea is Jordanian territory, and fortunately, Israel has peace with Jordan. So maybe in August when I go to Eilat, I'll be able to visit Jordan for a day.

As always, I have little time to blog, but it's time for an update!

First, I want to thank everyone who has done so for the emails and comments, here and on Facebook. It's great to keep in touch and to hear from the people I care about. Also, I forgot to mention--if you call my cell phone here in Russia, I don't have voice mail, just so you know. If I don't answer, it's either because I don't hear the phone or because I'm in class.


View of the Neva River looking north from near the central region of the mainland.
Classes are continuing smoothly, and it seems that people are starting to settle into a routine. There are two extracurricular projects, a choir and a theatre project, and I'm participating in both of them--today is the first meeting of the choir group. Russian food, I must say, is vastly better than I was told it would be. For those of you who are interested or had other ideas (ahem, DAD), it's not "meat and potatoes" at all. There are lots of vegetables--cucumber seems to be involved with almost every lunch and dinner. Also there are often various sorts of root vegetables. Fortunately for me, my host-mother is a really good cook, and she proudly makes her own recipes every breakfast and dinner. So far, every day I have had a different kind of kasha (hot cereal) for breakfast (except the first morning, when we had blyny [Russian pancakes]) and a different kind of soup with dinner! There is always tea, as well. Lunches are also excellent at the school's cafe, and during that time the Smolny program completely overruns the place. I can't really describe the food very well yet because I still don't know what a lot of things are called, but everything has been good. Even the hot dogs on the street are "gourmet" by American standards, and they're a lot cheaper than Dodger Dogs too. The thing to remember is that everything is generally more fresh than in America, and pretty much never processed, so things that sound boring or gross (like cucumbers, beets, soup, salads, cheese, etc) are always fresh and flavorful. Nothing is ever spicy.

The title of this post, Severnoye Leto, means "Northern Summer." Truly, the summer in Saint-Petersburg is a curious event. On Sunday, the temperature pushed 90º Fahrenheit, but yesterday it was in the 40s Fahrenheit. It rained literally the entire day (and the days here are over 20 hours long). I definitely need to buy a new, better, stronger umbrella.

The picture on the right is of some Russians looking to make some money by getting pictures of tourists with their animals. I have no idea whether they need any kind of permit to do that, or do have the monkeys and the falcon in the middle of the closed street next to the Spas na Krovi. There is bureaucracy everywhere, but there's generally a system to things also where people mind themselves and are never particularly surprised by anything. The hot water in Sveta (host mother)'s apartment is supposed to be off for two weeks, but I'm told that the actual time could be anywhere from a few days to six weeks.

There was no birthday party because with my still-limited Russian skills, I misunderstood what Vova was saying. Anyhow, we're all going to the Opera tomorrow, so that should be some kind of interesting. On Saturday evening is some kind of RIDICULOUSLY HUGE CELEBRATION for recent graduates here in the city, but all of the Russians I've met say it's a horrible mess, with seas of ridiculously drunk people causing all sorts of problems. However, there is apparently a huge pyrotechnic show that I'm sure will be worth seeing from the other side of the river. It's true that alcohol is very readily available in Russia, but I don't get the sense that they have the kind of binge drinking culture that prevails at American colleges. Sounds good to me. I'll talk about my opinions on alcohol later, as I have two minutes left on my battery. As it happens, I haven't had any alcohol so far in Russia, but I can tell you that Israeli beer is quite good.

On Sunday, we're all going to Pskov. Dunno anything about it yet, but I'm sure it will be interesting. More later!

Video of the lunch table on the first day of class