The Little Big Things

Hey Comrades,
Another day in Russia--actually, another two weeks in Russia. As you can probably guess its not easy to write about. However, Hannah managed to write a blog last week so I have to (1) wirte one for this week and (2) make mine better than hers for this week. ;) See, I already have an internal blog joke...its like an inside joke, but for blogs. hmmm...
Anywho,
We've already encountered our first snow in Moscow. I was actually surprised that we had snow (I know, you may think this is dumb) but that's because the mayor of Moscow has decided to put a certain chemical into the clouds that are approaching moscow which would force them to produce and dump their snow before arriving over Москва. When we heard about this everyone had some sort of freak out. I guess that's because the idea of putting chemicals in the clouds and then hoping that it wouldn't rain back down on us was somehow a daunting one. All in all, it still snowed, so I can't imagine imagine what the light, white flurry would be like without our man-made, mother nature controlling chemicals. Either way, Москва is beautiful, and the snow actually makes it feel more like home, (maybe that's cuz I'm from Ithaca and Colorado or it's because...) the fur hats, gloves and large jackets are coming out--the Russian style of winter is finally setting in-- and it feels goooooood.
Swine flu has come to MXAT. The school has taken precausions in order to protect the American Students--they have a week long quarantine where no russians students are aloud to interact with the american student--the idea is a good one--but like communism, and human nature in general--it's just not working. We still find time to smoke with Russain friends in the hallway and sneak in some fun time with them at the local discoteque. Actually, we all find it to be quite humorous due to the fact that if you walked into our dorm and up the stairs (avoiding touching the rails), you would see about, give or take, 3 russians with 3 amercans, two of which are wearing a face mask (the one that covers your nose and mouth, as if you were doing a surgery on someone), two of which had their face mask around their neck, one who "forgot" his upstairs and the last one who just really doesn't believe he/she will get swine flu. Funny. Yes? And we have to take two pills a day which boost our immune system provided by the MXAT school. They really take good care of us, and I can't thank them enough.
I took my weekly walk with Justin to the grocery store today to buy eggs (yaytsa, яйцо) and milk (malako, молоко) and we got to talking about how this is the time to lose it. This is the time to really dive in and hurt ourselves. I have a month and a half before I come back to the USA and I need to take advantage of every moment in every class. We saw Richard III yesterday and Richard was played by one of Russia's most famous actors--Konstantin Raikin. This was one of the most awe inspiring performances I have ever seen. I believed every movement, every breath, every smile, and every moment of silence. Sad thing (and amazing thing) is that Raikin, albeit the most famous actor in Russia (who teaches at MXAT) is still considered to be second in talent--to who?-- his father, the famous soviet actor of the last century. Justin told me how when Raikin was in school for acting he would work on personal Etudes (scenettes) until 2 or 3 am in the morning and then get his partners to rehearse the scene. People considered him to be an animal. The passion and drive this man had and HAS is phenomenal--and you can tell that that passion still lives inside of him, even after being as famous as he already is. It's time to be an animal--dig deep, sleep less, for the greater good of achieving something worthwhile, something worth sharing, worth experiencing.
Tonight I'm seeing "Swan Lake" at the Балшой (Balshoi) Theatre. This is our "Phoenix Rising" as Justin would call it. I might cry I'll be so inspired. I figure though, a phoenix can't only be inspired to rise, it takes effort and an immense want of life....
ok. Peace and Love,
Marcin