Some Sabantuj and the worst sunburn ever....

Well, I made it to the bus early Saturday morning after gallanting around town Friday night with some new friends from Kazan', California and England, all speaking Russian of course. It was a long night, and admittedly, an even longer morning, but all was well worth it. We rode the bus for about an hour out into the forest. I was a bit confused. I thought we were going to some kind of street festival, something similar St. Patrick's Day downtown. Again, my expectations were completely off target. We got out off the bus and walked another half hour deep into the woods. We were in the thick, surrounded by hundreds of people, all walking along a narrow path deeper into the woods. I dropped pebbles along the way, just in case I had to Hanzel and Grettel my way outta there. At the end of the path, however, did not appear a witch, or a candy house, or even a banya...i mean..an oven. Actually, what awaited was a gigantic party that everyone and their brother attended. There was music and games, singing and dancing, traditional food and dress, friendly competition, something called "towel pulling", poll climbing, skits, puppet shows, live bands, booze...it was crazy. And it was all to celebrate work, no less. The mayor was there to give a speech, which was very uplifting. He spoke about the economic crisis and about how the Russian and Tatar people had the strength to overcome. It was cool. We walked around the forest, took pictures, tried some of the food, etc. We we're advised not to participate in any of the friendly competition, as they have the potential to turn "not so friendly", especially with foreigners. I didn't think I'd have a problem, but I was happy to remain a spectator. It was very interesting to see a traditional Tatar-Muslim holiday celebration. I'd imagine, unless I come back to Kazan', that could be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. The more I think about it, the more awesome it becomes. Those people are very, very proud of their culture.

That evening, we went to the opera. I like the opera. We saw "Carmen". If you don't know "Carmen", imagine every other romantic tale of love and death, only with the "Beef...It's what's for Dinner" song playing in the background. It was breathtaking. The theater was beautiful. Everyone dressed up, sipped cognac, and smoked cigars between acts. Russians get down at the opera. A great evening.

Sunday, I was an idiot. We went to the beach on a windy, partly cloudy day. It was enjoyable, only a bit chilly. For the first hour, I sat there, listening to Russian Ipods while Russians listened to mine. The exchange of music, in my opinion, is an all too important act of international understanding and cooperation. Plus, my taste in music is supreme, according to me. Why was I an idiot, you say? Well, I had sunscreen on my face for that first hour, but no where else. Nothing was out of the ordinary. It was cloudy. No big deal. After the first hour, I put sunscreen on, walked out into the river and came back to hang out. We left a couple hours later. Turns out, after that first hour, it was already way too late. The sun that day was like a silent killer, lurking behind the clouds. We all went to Masha's to make dinner and watch a Russian movie. I could barely move during the movie and by the time I made it home, it was agonizing. My thighs and chest are literally still purple. I really don't know what it was. I have noticed that my body doesn't heal here very quickly for some reason. Why would that be? I am, afterall, Wolverine. I'm sure it has something to do with the environment, but I've had the same cut on my leg for 3 weeks. I can only imagine how long my body is going to be on fire.

Other than that, everything else is continuing to go smoothly. I've noticed that many of the little clicks in our group are beginning to break apart, which is good. It's nice to hang out with some new faces here and there. Friday night was also good for that reason. I think we're planning a repeat this Friday, as it's the Englanders' last week here. I've been doing very well in school. We had our first test in grammar over verbal aspect, something that takes a long time for native English speakers to grasp. Verbal aspect, perfective and imperfective actions do not really exist in English to the extent they do in Russian. For nearly every imperfective Russian verb, there is a perfective pair that is the same in meaning, but will alter the syntax of the sentence. Imperfective verbs can be utilized in the past, present and perfect tenses, while perfective verbs can only be used in the past and future. This means that if you only speak in the present tense, you only use half of the Russian verbs in the system. When speaking about the past or the future, knowing which to choose (every time you use a verb) and why, is a daunting task. I did well though. 100%.

I do, from time to time, feel like a stranger here. I do my best to blend in, but I just don't look that Slavic or Tatar. I'm 6'5'' with brown hair and I smile a lot. The whole smiling thing is weird to me. I've heard the opinion among Russians that Americans smile to cover up what they are really thinking. They can't imagine why we'd smile upon first meeting someone new. What is there to smile about if we've only just met this new person? They say, why should we smile if we're not happy. Even in the Russian film we watched on Sunday, the mobster's Russian friends told him, before he left to America, to smile really big in Customs and they wouldn't give him any trouble. I think it's just a stereotype. What's funny is that I see Russian's smiling in public all the time. I also see Russian's making out in public all the time. Hardcore. I must admit, this is something that always strikes me as a bit awkward. I think there are just some cultural differences that everyone thinks he or she is an expert on, and yet, more often than not, the "experts" are completely wrong. It's just interesting the things we are taught to believe about each other. While some hold water, the majority are completely off base.