Happy Sunday all,
Today is a lazy morning but soon I am going to head to the
Sandanny Banya (oldest most famous Banya in Moscow). Before I do that, I will
talk about Friday and Saturday.
Friday was a tough day. It started out well and I was able
to do PCR and gel electrophoresis by myself, but then we went upstairs for tea.
I don’t really want to go into detail about what happened, since I’ve already
vented about it quite a bit, but basically, comments were said about me – but not to me – regarding me getting lost/me not understanding
things/etc. I know that Balaban cares
for me a lot, but I feel like lines are crossed when your BOSS at work starts
saying mean things about you in Russian to your colleagues. I understand that
he thinks of me as his responsibility or as his quasi-third child, but when
we’re at work, I do not want to be belittled. I don’t think that’s too much to
ask.
And maybe it wasn’t so much as what was said, but how it was
said. I felt like I was a tiny bug in the room, unable to say anything or
defend myself. I’m not quick enough to
retort in Russian, and even if I was, what could I have said? I’m a young WOMAN
American student in Russia. I’m in no place to retort anything! There was just
such an obvious power dynamic that told me I was in the losing court… and there
was nothing I could do about it.
Eventually I just left the room…. And then Nastya saw me
visibly upset and tried to console me…. It was just all blah.
At one point Balaban was also saying comments about Obama
and how he “needs to get his head on straight” and in that moment, I was the
odd man out. Science is an equalizer. But politics makes me a stranger and an
enemy to these people. I hate politics. I also felt/have been feeling that I
have some weird “duty” to kill stereotypes of America since a) we’re not all
rich, b) NYC does not equal America c) not everyone thinks Obama blessed the
Earth, d) not everyone carries a gun, e) not everyone is fat. For a lot of
these people, not only am I the first American they’ve come in contact with,
but I am also the first native English speaker they’ve met.
There is a lot of responsibility in all of that.
One example, actually, happened on Thursday. I was talking
with someone from the lab about American and Russian stereotypes, and he asked
if everyone in Texas had a gun. I said, no, of course not – being conservative
doesn’t necessarily mean you own a gun. And then he asked if all Americans
believe that Russia is full of snow/bears/vodka, and I answered, “I hope not –
it’s just a stereotype.” It was strange that he even had to ask those questions
– stereotypes are stereotypes. Adults are supposed to recognize stereotypes and
REALIZE that that’s what they are. Meep.
There is also still a lot of racism here – it’s less blunt
than Roza’s, but people still say, “oh black people go to that university… it’s
a bad school… etc.” It’s sad. I’m so thankful that I can blend in easily here
and not be subjected to the stares that anyone who is not white certainly receive….
Anyways, so that was my mess of a Friday. I went home and
watched a romantic comedy, drank wine, took a bath, and that was that.
OH! Balaban also sent me an emailing apologizing… so that
was nice…
Saturday I decided to spend my day at Gorky Park. The park
is HUGE and there’s so much to do! I should have brought my book, but I didn’t
think it would be so nice. I went to a Hungarian Festival there. It was small,
but I got some free info on Budapest, which I was happy about since I will be
going there in a little over a month! There
was music, and I strolled about, happy to be out and about on such a gorgeous
day (there were even blue skies whaaaaat).
Later in the afternoon, I tried to find the Panda Festival,
but after looking and not finding it (the area was also very quiet), I gave up
and went home. When I checked back on blog-fiesta, I saw that the Panda market
was actually on Friday not Saturday… oops.
Today (Sunday), I went to the Sanduny banya. It was really
nice and some ladies were giving me advice on where to sit and what hat I
should buy. It was soooo relaxing. I did a lot of rounds of sauna, ice cold
water buckets, shower rinse, cold pool, then relax in normal dry land… it was
great. And I love that it’s all women and no one wears clothes. How freeing!
The banya I went to in NYC with the Russian department was co-ed so everyone
had bathing suits – the real Russian way in Russia is better. I stayed there a
few hours and then headed home.
Once I got home, I realized that I was exhausted from
relaxing (tough life), so I took a shower and then napped. What a great first
full free weekend! Tomorrow is day 1 of week 4… I can hardly believe how
quickly this is going.
I think that’s it for now… oh wait! I’ve watched a lot of
movies.
1)
Moneyball. Film with Brad Pitt about the
business of baseball. I hate sports and this movie was AMAZING so that should
be reason enough to watch it. It also related to life in general and how we’re
all part of this ridiculous game that we’re not aware of.
2)
12 Years A Slave. Holyyyyyy Toledo. Do not watch
this movie if you’re depressed since it’s insanely heavy and graphic. I will
never ever forget this movie….
3)
Appropriate Behavior. Iranian woman who
struggles with her bisexuality. Pretty good, but I don’t think it deserved the
98% on Rotten Tomatoes… (that rating is unheard of on the site FYI)
4)
Ex-Machina. Film about a robotic “human”… very
thought provoking. What constitutes a human? If a computer is able to feel
emotion, generate new ideas, think with innovation, and understand idioms,
aren’t they then a human? The biology doesn’t have to match…. Just think of
trans people. The hardware only tells half the story and even then it doesn’t
define you.
5)
This Means War. Solid Rom-Com with Reese
Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Harding. Two CIA agents competing for one
woman. Can’t go wrong.
Anddddd I think that was it… I forget. Tomorrow is Monday,
weeeeee. Have a great week all J
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