Life in Irkutsk

This time round in Russia is actually pretty great. This is due to many different factors. One of them is that I now know not to dress like this while in Russia. Here's a picture of me on my first day in Russia two years ago when I saw where I would be studying (please note the look of apprehension bordering on terror beginning to bloom on my face--I love this picture for so many reasons).

By Russian standards I am the epitome of the slovenly foreigner. Although I do love that coat. <.<

My point is that this time round I know a lot more about Russian culture and that alone makes things much easier. Russia without the lens of extreme culture shock and seasonal depression is a totally different place. That was more or less what I was starting to figure out during the Spring semester last time I was here and why I was willing to come back and give life here another shot. I'm glad I did!  Granted, Irkutsk is the strangest place I've ever lived in and I make an ass out of myself literally every day---but that's besides the point. I'm having a good time and that's really all that matters. 

I have a place to live: 

This is my room. It is extremely Russian. Note the semi-nude portrait of J-Lo hanging above my couch.

It demanded a close up. Everything about this picture is the epitome of class and I love it. 

My living situation isn't the greatest part of my Irkutsk experience despite the fabulous decor of my room which should, in theory, make up for literally anything. But really, it's not all that bad. My host just happens to be pretty focused on my uncanny ability to produce rent money in crisp $100 bills and is convinced that I'm secretly very rich (despite all outward appearances) and sees this as an excuse to try and get extra money from me where she sees fit. Just a tip for anyone ever thinking of living in Russia--$50 a month for laundry is in no way a fair price. Not even if you're a secretly rich American graduate student like me. What my host didn't foresee is that I'm actually insanely stingy by any standards and am willing to just throw all of my laundry in the bathtub, spend $2 on laundry detergent, and do it by hand. I don't want to complain too much about anything so I'll follow this up by noting that my host has a cute dog named Alisa who is by far my favorite member of the household. Here she is sleeping on the couch while my host is out for her afternoon broom ride around Irkutsk.

My Russian "talking to dogs voice" is the same as my English one. Aaawwwwrrrrrr. 

 I will note that the whole "secretly rich American" idea really isn't as far fetched as it seems (not that it makes it right to try and rip me off). As one of my professors here put it, Americans are less likely to show off wealth than their Russian counterparts. By this, she meant that most Americans dress much more casually than their Russian counterparts (and by this she meant that most of the American students that come to the foreign university dress like slobs--or more or less how I'm dressed in the above picture). I've done a much better job of dressing like a Russian this time and it's amazing how different a reaction I get from people. FYI, all you need to do to dress like a Russian is the following: 

Take this quote by Coco Chanel about dressing with accessories "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off" and replace with "Put at least one or two more things on. Maybe three. Also at least one item should be bedazzled. This is Russian law." Done. That's all it takes. So my original point was that even if you as an American don't dress all that flashy, people still assume that you may be totally loaded and are too jaded by your mountains of cash to care. As a cultural note, if you're Russian people just assume you're poor and feel bad for you--this is not me saying this, this is coming directly from one of my professors. Take it how you will. I've made a point of telling my host that this is not the case and a spur of the moment trip to Thailand isn't really in my immediate future but apparently I can just ask my parents for the money when I go home for break. I can't believe that never occurred to me. So, parents, if you're reading this, I would prefer a manilla envelope of $20 bills to pay for the trip. Thanks! 

The situation with my host is literally the only somewhat negative thing about my time here so in the scheme of things, I have nothing to complain about. As a whole, people here have been really nice to me so I don't want you to think that behavior like that is the norm. Just the other day I was at the train station buying tickets for my trip later this week (more about that later) and ended up having a hilarious interaction with the man selling me my tickets that resulted in me obtaining a free houseplant. 

 I can't make things like this up. I need to come up with a name for him/her/it. 

Yes, a random ticket vendor gave me a houseplant just because he was impressed with the fact that I could speak Russian. He also may have been suspicious of this fact (hence the brief moment of "Your Russian is good!--long pause--where did you get such good Russian? And why are you here...?") but his love of Obama and Nicolas Cage movies was enough to soothe these suspicions and give me a free houseplant. This is the truest example of Siberian hospitality I have encountered yet and counteracts any other negative experiences I've had. In all seriousness, the people that I know the best here, my professors and my Russian friends, are all really great, kind people and have made me feel very welcome so I have no excuse to complain. 

I also have non-Russian friends who I hang out with. Compared to St. Petersburg, Irkutsk has relatively few foreigners as a whole but that isn't to say that they're a rare commodity. There are actually a lot of foreign students here--even other Americans, although they study at another university in town so I rarely, if ever, see them. Most of the time at my university, I'm the first American anyone has ever met...I'm sorry other Americans. The one thing I'll admit to is drinking coke far more frequently in Russia than I do in America which makes me a walking stereotype and doesn't help any of us. I'm sorry. I only noticed this because literally every time I buy a coke when I'm with Russians (or other non-Americans) everyone immediately gets this knowing look on their face and asks me how long it's been since my last fix. Or how many cokes I drink a day, is it a law in America, etc. etc. The best response would probably be to only drink coke when I'm alone in my room and act superior in public but I refuse to succumb to public shaming. I'm just waiting for the day when one of these people eats borsht in front of me. Game. On. (At least there's not a McDonalds here because I would be there literally every day, shaming our people and getting monstrously fat because Russian McDonalds is fabulous and has the cheapest, decent quality coffee around...) 

Right, before I got distracted, I was talking about the other foreign students I know here. It's actually been an unexpected bonus getting to meet so many different people from all over the world here in Irkutsk. We all speak Russian together--at least when I'm around because they've accepted my crazy, Russian-only ways--and have a lot of fun navigating the ins and outs of life here. It's great having people to appreciate the absurdity of life here with. Sometimes there are moments that only another foreigner can truly appreciate. Since there aren't any other Middlebury students here this semester, I usually end up having to appreciate these moments by myself and then having to try not to smile or show any sort of joy or amusement. Because that would be insane. Next semester will be a lot of fun when the new students come, especially considering that they're all Russia first-timers. Oh god, it will be wonderful. 

Some of my foreign friends (and me) at the sketchy looking Uzbek restaurant we found in the Chinese market. It was as delicious as it was sketchy. Which is to say it was insanely delicious. 

It's always interesting talking with other Americans who are in Russia for the first time and hearing their take on things. A lot of the things that freaked me out last time don't really register as being all that weird my second time round so it's interesting to hear what really jumps out at other people. Another American described it to me like this, "I don't know how to say this in Russian, but everything here is sketchy.". Upon first glance, this may or may not be true. Then you realize that beyond that sketchiness lies delicious Uzbek food and free houseplants and you begin to come to terms with it. 

Speaking of things that terrified me in Russia last time--I present you with the poodle face that hung over my bed. This was probably the root of all of my problems in Russia. 

In short, I'm having a much better time in Russia this time round and that's mostly due to the fact that I'm embracing the absurdities, focusing on the positive, and getting regular sunlight. Occasionally though, it's good to let loose and embrace your inner American-ness. When Phillip and I were on our Trans-Siberian trip, we rented an apartment in one of the cities and the second the Russian land-lady left, there was a quick pause before we had a "The Russians are gone!" moment and turned into complete and utter lunatics. In this case, that meant opening all of the windows (because Russians love stuffy rooms) and in my case, reveling in the fact that I didn't have to wear house shoes. Different people have different methods of embracing their American-ness. Some people like practicing rhythmic gymnastics. I prefer dancing crazier than a Southern Baptist to Queen in my room when no one is home and scaring the dog with my artistic renderings of Bohemian Rhapsody. To each his own. The most important thing is that you let loose from time to time because there's definitely a difference between acceptable behavior around Russians and how you would act on a normal basis if left to your own devices. That's at least how I keep from going insane. So on that note I'll leave you with my favorite "Russia" song.