The Return

(Pictures to come--it will be more interesting then)

7-9 August: Last days in Saint-Petersburg. Final exam, final meals, final grades, SKA hockey game, walking around the city, Lenta-Fest part 2 and subsequent picnic, jazz club, watching the bridges, sunrise, making Uzbek friends and discussing shwarma across borders, great times hanging out with Russian friends Viktor (BROTHERRRR) and Ruslan (the wizard), the Central Naval Museum, trip to the airport, and the airport itself. My culminating ultimate moment in Russia came at the end of the band's set at the jazz club--I had finished my delicious drink and was starting to think about leaving, but a random guy struck up a conversation with me (in Russian of course):
Random guy: "Hey, do you know who else plays here?"
Me: "No, I don't know--it's my first time here. I think there's a calendar hanging on the wall over there."
Random guy: "Oh, it's my first time here too. Are you from Petersburg?"
I HAVE ARRIVED!! I thought to myself. My last night in Russia, and I am mistaken in not only appearance but also in language--for a local!!

I was detained and interrogated for at least 40 minutes by El Al Airlines personnel because apparently I was suspicious for several reasons: having such a ridiculous itinerary, only planning to be in Israel for one day, not being able to produce proof of where I would be in Israel and for how long... but I made it through. It was sort of cool actually because I knew I had nothing to hide... but I suppose if I'd had something to hide, it would have been hell, and with security like that, how could anyone pull something off?

10 August: Israel again. An amazing day, all around--it's so wonderful to have friends all over! I got a ride from the train station in Tel-Aviv to Pri's house, where I had one of the best breakfasts EVER. Fresh egg, fresh-baked cake, a fresh REAL cappuccino, cottage cheese, Israeli salad, and other cheese and other food that I simply didn't have room for. Her mom took me into the city, and we had a great conversation regarding culture and politics and everyday life along the way. I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon walking around the city, exploring markets and shops and taking lots of pictures before I headed to the beach. There's a pretty big Russian population there too, and I found a couple of Russian bookstores. On the beach, as I was setting up and preparing to sun myself, an attendant came over and started telling me in Hebrew about how I need to give him a certain amount of money in order to use the benches and lounges on the beach. I understood what he was getting at, though I asked him whether he could speak English. I did actually learn a few Hebrew phrases, one of them being "I don't speak Hebrew." I wanted to ask him whether I could simply lie on my towel on the sand for free, but he didn't understand me, so I asked him in Russian, and he understood! It was an amazing linguistic experience. And so I sunned.
I lay on the beach listening to kids next to me speaking Hebrew and cursing in Russian until Pri arrived, so then I swam in the Mediterranean while she watched my bag. Warm sea is wonderful!! Made me want to visit a tropical island sort of place. After that, we headed over to pick up other friends, and then spent the evening hopping around cafés and bars and restaurants in Jaffa, and I had some wonderful falafel and Goldstar beer (yes, legally!). It was so nice to hang out with them, talking about life, but by the end of the night my exhaustion from traveling caught up with me (and I suppose the Goldstar didn't hurt) and I slept in the car on the way back. It was a great day.

Then it was more travel--car, train, plane, bus, van, bus, car, in that order, all in one day, from Pri's house in the Ramat Gan suburb or Tel Aviv to Rachel's house in Lexington, Massachusetts. I studied Hebrew on the plane to New York, and found that I really enjoyed it. No problems with US Customs:
Customs Officer: (Reading my declaration form) "You have food?
Me: "Some packaged snacks."
Officer: "Go to the red lane."
...>
Customs Officer (Red Lane): "Do you have any meat?"
Me: "No."
Officer: "Go ahead."
I hefted my luggage out to the ground transportation curb, and immediately was greeted with a sort-of seedy private "cab" driver, who said something like "Hey buddy, need a ride?" and I ignored him, a response that would have been normal in Russia. "HEY, YOU COULD AT LEAST SAY NO!" he yelled at me once I had passed, apparently hurt. It made me think of basic human interactions across cultural boundaries, and, well, a lot of other things, but that's coming up in a future post.

Hanging out at Tufts and around Boston for two days was a ton of fun. I really wanted to do it, because I knew that by spending a year studying in Japan, I would be forfeiting a lot of time spent with Tufts friends. Fortunately, many of them were around campus even though it was three weeks before the start of classes, and I got to see a whole lot of wonderful people. I felt for the first time that I am really starting to appreciate my university. It's amazing what a couple of months abroad can do. I'll post pictures later.

Then it was overnight Greyhound (oh, yes) to Washington, DC, to spend three and a half whirlwind days with lots of family. There were actually a lot of Russians on that bus, though I was tired and didn't talk to them. Let it be said that Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan at 3:30 in the morning is not a fun place, but I really don't mind--I've gotten quite used to carrying luggage and waiting and making connections. Actually spending time in Washington was really wonderful, and I got to see three aunts, my grandfather, my great-uncle, a great family friend, and more--an awesome 98 year old friend of my grandfather (and his wife) had us over for coffee and lent me a book of essays by Amos Oz, insisting that she carry the tray herself. The woman speaks four languages--English, Spanish, Russian, and Yiddish. I also got to have brunch, courtesy of some kind and apparently connected family members, at the Cosmos Club by Embassy Row. What a meal! And then it was the Air and Space museum too, dinner in Bethesda, and a diner in Virginia. Finally, I got to Dulles, and it was strange to know that I was heading back to my parents and the house I grew up in. For the first time in my life, I arrived home to a house that really didn't feel so much like my home anymore. I guess that tends to happen.

I've now been back in Los Angeles for about eleven days, and I've been back in America for two weeks. It was strange to come back to New York--I was sitting next to a couple of Orthodox Jewish guys on the plane, and I was happily studying Hebrew from one of the books I picked up while there, with Dostoevsky in my bag. I arrived to another different culture, and America that looked significantly different from the one I had left.

What a month it's been. What a couple of months. Hell, what a year! I've been so busy running around Los Angeles in the past 11 days or so that I've hardly had time to reflect, but I've got my computer back now (thank you, Apple!) and I have a lot to say. Expect more updates and reflections over the next month, leading up to my departure for Japan.