Мы Пойдем

Hi all and welcome to the new (and improved?) blog – Moscow Edition.

Right now I am sitting on the plane, three-ish hours in, watching “No Reservations.” Before this I watched “This Is Where I Leave You,” and attempted another movie in Russian (but got bored). I’ve spoken to a few people in Russian, have fooled all the flight attendants into thinking I’m a native, and asked my neighbor a question in Russian (which then turned into a light/brief chat).

So far so good.

It hasn’t struck me that I’ll be living in Moscow for 8 weeks… It probably won’t until I’m in my new apartment. It also hasn’t struck me that I’m a senior and that this is my last college summer. All the dancers are in such faraway places… It’s good to go away. It’s good to return.

…Leaving and returning, leaving and returning, all in a circle, all in evolutionary growth, all in movement… la la la….

I don’t know a lot about what my time in Russia will be like, but I’ll tell you what I DO know.

1   1.     I’ll be doing research with a man named Dr. Balaban at the Institute for Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology at the Cellular Neurobiology Lab of Learning.

a.     It’s a mouthful, I know.

b.     I think I will be working on a rat genomics project?

2   2.     I'm able to do this via a program at my school called CISLA.

a.     Students apply to the program their sophomore year, and in order to graduate with the CISLA Certificate, they must study abroad, complete a Senior Integrative Project (or an Honors Thesis), do an internship abroad, and meet the required score on a national exam in their desired language (ie mine is Russian)

b.     They also fund your internship abroad, which meant that I was able to get almost $5,000 dollars to come here. Win.

3   3.     I'm living on the same street as the lab at a very nice Airbnb. For those who haven't experienced the wonders of an Airbnb, I highly recommend you do.

a.     I'll have my own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, stocked with linens, towels, glassware, etc.

b.     The places are located on the southwestern part of the city in the Академическая (Academic) District… I’ve been to Moscow twice before (on both occasions I was there for only a weekend), and I THINK I remember the metro at the center of the district… I’m curious to see what I remember.

4   4.     I have a visa. It took a million years to get.

Hm, I thought I would have more than four facts about this summer. I guess I don't know much. Before my extended (or immediate, let's be real) families freak-out about that idea, be rest assured that I will be under the close watch of Dr. Balaban and his family. He's already told me that I'm essentially part of his family for these two months, so have no fear! I am not completely alone.

I am alone, but not completely alone. Ah, real-life is here at last.

When I land in Moscow, I'll be greeted by a woman named Natalia, who apparently is part of the team at the lab. From the airport, we'll go to my apartment, and then to Dr. Balaban's house for lunch. He told me that his kids want to go on a stroll with me to the city center. Hopefully everyone will speak Russian to me and not want to practice their English… I think this is wishful thinking.

CISLA people always speak of their time abroad and how they “changed,” but do people actually change? Do you “become” new? I’d much prefer to think of change as something that is multi-layered and circular, but I think people think of change as a line. You go somewhere to become “something else”, to go somewhere and become “something else”…. Point A to Point B. I don’t like this – lines are silly. This summer will be round and full and connected and evolved and cylindrical. There will be no lines. No point A to point B for me.

As was true for my St. Petersburg blog, this blog will at times seem random and detached…. There may be more rants… Thoughts may seem sporadic… So bare with me as I say that this blog is a record for my own keeping; that being said, I invite you to ride along with me. Who knows what shall happen. 8 weeks isn’t very long, but a lot can happen.

Oh! I’ve also decided to title the posts in Russian with sayings or other phrases/words I like. This title – Мы Пойдем – means something along the lines of “We are setting off,” or “Off we go!”, or “Let’s go!” This translation has never been literal for me… it’s more of the feeling of setting off to a new location and being excited about it. I thought it was fitting.

With that, I bid you goodnight! Time to try to sleep on ze planeeeeeeeee.

Love to all. Miss you already – you know who you are.