"I have a tender heart, and I dislike to dwell on the spectacle of a human being groaning under the iron heel of Fate. Such morbid gloating, I consider, is better left to the Russians." -P.G. Wodehouse (.)
March 31, 2007
Excerpt:
Kostya (short for Konstantin) is one my closest friends over here in St. Petersburg. We've know each other for about two years now. Last night a bunch of us were at a friend's house until 3am. Normally, I have to...
March 29, 2007
Excerpt:
One of few drawbacks to St. Petersburg, vis-a-vis Moscow, is that it is less technologically developed. Almost every cafe in downtown Moscow has free wi-fi access, even McDonald's. Here, however, there are only a handful, and all off the main...
March 28, 2007
Excerpt:
The Belorussian is my favorite train station in all of Moscow. I am fortunate to be staying at an apartment with a great location, a fifteen-minute walk from Belorussky Vokzal, which doubles as a metro station on the circle line...
March 19, 2007
Excerpt:
This is my favorite picture that I've taken so far here in Russia. It's the door to the metro, and on top is written "Entrance." On the door, however, is written "No Entrance." Well, that sums up a lot of...
March 10, 2007
Excerpt:
I came back again to St. Petersburg yesterday. A good friend from America, who I haven't seen in two years, is in town for a week, and I wanted to see her. Of course, I'll take just any excuse to...
March 07, 2007
Excerpt:
St. Petersburg is a stunningly beautiful city. My first direct experience with Russia was in June 2002, when I came over and taught debate. The first stop was Moscow, which was interesting, but my schedule was so full that I...
March 01, 2007
Excerpt:
Seasons begin early in Russia. Today is the first day of Spring, and people are congratulating each other on making it through another winter. Though I'm afraid it's a tad too soon. After living over here, I understand why our...
February 28, 2007
February 19, 2007
Excerpt:
Unfortunately, I still have problems with my comments. If you have anything to add, please post in the comments section of my livejournal page. It's the exact same entry, but I would love to hear any feedback or differing opinions....
January 26, 2007
Excerpt:
Yesterday it was about -15C (5F), and fresh snow covered the city. Minus fifteen in Moscow is nothing compared to St. Petersburg. I had heard people talk about the humidity making a difference, but I had never really experienced weather...
January 06, 2007
Excerpt:
After ten years of almost constant travel, I am finally getting the hang of packing light. I have, for two weeks, my backpack and a small gym bag. Three shirts, two sweaters, two pairs of pants, underwear, sleeping clothes, and...
December 30, 2006
Excerpt:
Over the past three years, I have noticed a marked increase in the complexity and attractiveness of the New Year's decorations around St. Petersburg. As a quick recap, everything that we in the West have for Christmas, the Russians have...
November 06, 2006
Excerpt:
There was a little performance at the Souvenir market yesterday:...
October 27, 2006
Excerpt:
The Aral Sea: Tap Water in Aktau:...
October 22, 2006
Excerpt:
"Is it really true that only women with perfect skin can be beautiful?" Someone on the metro in St. Petersburg marked in the box for "yes."...
October 14, 2006
Excerpt:
One of the bridges in St. Petersburg, taken at 2:30am a week and a half after the peak of the White Nights....
September 10, 2006
Excerpt:
Not many people can claim an office with a view, but it's one of the fringe benefits of my current job. At any point in the day, I could stand up, turn around, walk three feet, and stare out at...
September 01, 2006
Excerpt:
Posting has been nonexistant for the past two weeks, because I've been out of town. For the first week I was in Almaty, which was a pleasant experience, then I was out on the oil field, which was torture. I'm...
June 22, 2006
Excerpt:
Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. To give you an idea of what the sky was like at midnight during the height of the White Nights, I went out and took some pictures: The White...
June 05, 2006
Excerpt:
No, it's not a Russian Nativity Scene. It's at the train station....
June 02, 2006
Excerpt:
In Russia, seasons start on the first of the month, so yesterday was the first day of summer. Like everything else this year, it was exceptionally cold, with a high of about 10C (50F). It was also pretty dreary, the...
May 29, 2006
Excerpt:
I find this advertisement extremely disquieting. There's just something about a hair-covered lightbulb that awakens a deep-set revulsion. What's even stranger is that it's an ad for furniture. How does the picture represent that???...
May 23, 2006
Excerpt:
Here's a picture of the former monestary (turned girls finishing school, turned Lenin's command post) that now houses the international relations department. One of my classmates, Boris, is trying to hail a gypsy cab (a normal car that stops and...
May 21, 2006
Excerpt:
There are three requirements for the completion of the MA program here at St. Petersburg State University. You have to pass all the exams, defend your dissertation, and pass the State Exam. It consists of three questions, and you have...
April 07, 2006
Excerpt:
The callback wasn't exactly what I expected. I was there by one, because I was assured that if I was late, I wouldn't get a chance to be interviewed. When I get there, however, the place is eerily empty. I...
February 13, 2006
Excerpt:
I live in a standard two-room Soviet apartment. The building is a 9-storey Khrushchevka, named after Khrushchev, who built them - though not personally, he was too busy banging shoes on podiums and arguing about kitchens. When I moved in...
January 12, 2006
Excerpt:
A good friend came out to visit me for New Year's, and we decided to make it memorable by going to Moscow and feting on Red Square. I was deathly ill, but since it was to be my friend's only...
November 24, 2005
Excerpt:
As Ben Franklin tells it, Thanksgiving was originally slated to be a day of fasting and beseeching the Lord to help carry the Pilgrims through these difficult times. Instead, one farmer suggested that things were indeed getting better, and perhaps...
November 23, 2005
Excerpt:
The snow has settled in, and it's not going anywhere for the next four to five months. Last year I posted about a tree that was holding on against the prevailing currents around it, and this year, during the first...
November 10, 2005
Excerpt:
I stumbled upon this masterpiece the other night. If you'll look at the left tubes, you can see that they've been used as a trash receptacle. This is actually quite considerate of whoever put their refuse there, most people would...
October 30, 2005
Excerpt:
Our first snow was on Wednesday. It was predicted the day before, and I was expecting a light sprinkling. You know, October, the very first snow. I didn't even think it would stay on the ground, just melt upon impact....
October 12, 2005
Excerpt:
I'm back from my three week vacation. My little brother graduated from Marine Corps Basic Training, and I wanted to be there for that. Luckily, his training took place in San Diego, which is only a three hour drive from...
Posted by Owen at
09:01 PM
|
Comments (0)
April 29, 2005
Excerpt:
Strays run rampant in the district where I live. I never noticed it before because I lived in the center, but now that I'm in the middle of the projects, it seems like at any given moment there are more...
April 23, 2005
Excerpt:
Russia has contributed more than its share to the advancement of scientific knowledge, and it's good to hear that they keep on making breakthroughs: Alexei says he was an irredeemable alcoholic until he met Marina. He gave up drinking...
Posted by Owen at
05:47 PM
April 21, 2005
Excerpt:
It's almost May, and it's been sub-zero the whole day. I stayed in finishing my NATO paper, that I should have had done this weekend. It's not so great, but I consider it a rough draft for my research paper...
Posted by Owen at
01:33 AM
|
Comments (0)
April 08, 2005
Excerpt:
This is a picture of the Ladozhskaya Metro Station, which is in front of and attached to the the Ladozhskij Train Station (ладожская и ладожский вокэал): The train station was very recently renovated, I believe it was done for the...
Posted by Owen at
07:57 PM
|
Comments (0)
April 03, 2005
Excerpt:
Last time I spoke about buckwheat (греча), it was in less than flattering terms. Recently, however, I have become addicted to it. I was first introduced to this marvelous grain two and a half years ago. I was in Ukraine...
Posted by Owen at
12:59 AM
|
Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
Excerpt:
There's a conference at my school this week on "New Europe and New Russia," for international young researchers. I'm giving a presentation on Tuesday about the changing role of NATO. Not my favorite sphere, but tangentially related to it. I'm...
March 16, 2005
Excerpt:
My University has a computer lab, comprised of approximately thirty machines. Old does not come close to describing these machines, they don't even have USB ports, and most can't open pdf files. Loading the simplest of graphics takes minutes, and...
March 13, 2005
Excerpt:
This is me standing on a little square in front of my school, which is situated to the right, just out of view. I'm surrounded by government buildings of some sort or another. For example, the one on the...
October 21, 2004
Excerpt:
This is me, last January, standing on the Neva river. Normally it looks something like this. In winter it freezes over, and I was told that you could walk across it. Being the idiot that I am, an Aussie...