люди как люди

its not worth it to write about my trip so far because i don't feel like it. so here is what i will write:

after finland i took a really rough ferry to tallinn. tallinn was beautiful and quite pleasant, they are doing pretty well for an ex-USSR country. I have always wanted to go there, and the Tallinn old town was gorgeous, especially with thick snow falling.

Riga was almost as pleasant as Tallinn but it seemed more like a real city, it is also the biggest city in the Baltic states, I think. There is a strange problem that I noticed: Latvians are very proud of their culture, being a small state threatened by surrounding countries throughout history (Poland, Sweden, Germany, Russia)

BUT 50% OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE CAPITAL ARE RUSSIANS

and they are definitely Russians. They speak Latvian, of course, but their mentality is still very Russian. And two days after I left, riots broke out in the capital because the economy was mostly based in stuff effected by "the Crisis."

But I have been in St. Petersburg for a few days and I really like it. Its like being in a Russian novel, and the weather was really awful, just like I expected!

But I mostly wanted to talk about Russians. About how they are really a downer and rude and not fun in public, inside of grocery stores, anywhere, really, at all.

but how one on one they are not bad at all. But they are still not like me, but that's okay, because if a country was full of people like me, it would be pleasant and boring, a little.

but here are some examples:
in riga the lady at the reception desk of the hotel seemed a little cold but then when i said i was from alaska she sat down and talked to me for about an hour about why the world financial crisis was caused by a global conspiracy, her daughter, the time she became a deputy almost by accident in the Soviet Union time and was embarassed, etc.

on the train from Riga i sat next to Stanislav, who seemed unimpressed by me, but still shared his chicken, beet salad, and cookies with me, and when I said I was full he said "ploxo kushayesh'," which translates to "you don't eat right". Then he got in an argument with the young woman sitting next to me about whether russia was in a bardak right now or if its doing well, seeing as how there are no tanks on the streets. then when we got off the train he gave me his number, just in case, even though i still think he was completely unimpressed by me.

Today I wanted to see Nikolayevski cathedral which is next to a little park. 70% of the church was covered with scaffolding so i sat down on a bench to find out where to go next. Then an old scrappy looking babushka came up to me and asked if I could help her. I expected her to say that somebody stole her purse or that times are tough, and I was prepared to give her about 20 rubles, but instead she asked me to open a beer.

This was sort of moral dilemma, because its sad to open a beer for an old lady, especially when its Baltika no. 9, which is extra strong. But I didn't really want to refuse, because she would get somebody to open it anyway. So I opened it for her and she sat down next to me and started talking. I gradually came to realize that she was insane. She said she worked in churches all her life and drank because her shoulder hurt. She said that the priest in the nearby cathedral was actually God himself, that he had a son but they don't talk anymore. She told me about the 3 monks named Isaac who gave their names to the Isaac cathedral that I was going to visit next.

She kept asking me if I understood, and when I said yes, she kept talking, or sometimes she said "you don't understand anything." I wrote down her address and I will try to send her a letter. She told me that she is afraid for me because all Russians are dangerous and that I have a very spiritual look about me, and when I tried to leave after about 15 minutes she said, "don't go, its nice with you."

But then she would get mad at me when I didn't understand her. She also told me a secret about my heritage that I can't tell anyone. I don't think she's right, but she got so mad when I told her that that I don't think I can reveal the secret, because I want to remain alive. I'm serious.

But I guess she wasn't a typical Russian, more like a crazy person.

Also right before I wrote this the old Russian jew who is living in the hostel as well asked me to rub cream on his back and then told me about world war II and his opinion on the Gaza conflict.

So people in Russia are really lyudi kak lyudi, you know?

No, I don't know, I don't really know anything about Russia. Or Russians.

Chapter 2: Western Europe (Finland)

So when I got into Helsinki my first reaction was sort of shock. Shocked at how clean everything was, how the streets had proper drainage, and how bourgeois everyone was. How all the men over 35 had little trendy euro-glasses and turtlenecks, and how everyone spoke english with basically no accent.

I felt at ease.

But then, as I got to know the Finns better, I decided that they are cool. Because they embody a lot of things that I belive in: they are liberal and tolerant, they are quiet in public, and they are friendly. Especially the young finnish people. Here is an example:

I went to a record store and asked the guy if he knew when the new Annie album is coming out. Here's how the conversation would have gone in America:
Clerk: Who?
Me: Annie. You know, she's Norwegian, pop singer...
Clerk: Yeah, just a second... No, its not in our computer. Sorry.

and in Russia:
Clerk: What?!
Me: Annie, she's an... a norwegian singer.
Clerk. What?!?!?! No. I don't know.

but in Finland the guy said in perfect english:
"Yeah, I think it got delayed until, like, May or something." and he said it with a perfect mixture of sympathy so that I didn't regret asking him at all.

But the main thing about Helsinki wasn't the attractions, which were nice, but the fact that it was very pleasant, with nice buildings that were very angular and attractive but not suffocatingly so, and it was safe, and also I was there mainly to meet my friend Erich, who had been studying in Germany, so we mostly walked for many hours every day and talked a lot.

We went to a nice modern art museum, tried to decipher swedish captions at the history museum (only 5% ish of finland are native swedish speakers, but the whole country has to learn the language and write stuff in two languages. sux.)

so it would be cool to visit finland again. most places i like to say, "it was fun to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there," but i think the reverse is more true for finland. not that it wasn't fun to visit.

but you can't buy beer after 8 pm. even in gas stations.

baltic

so everything went okay, especially in comparison with the mongolia border time. but i should note that i have recently been outside of russia. but i will try to summarize my time here, day by day, in telegraph style:

dec. 30 - flew to moscow. plane only delayed by 1 hour- miracle! being incredibly shocked by the sophistication and worldliness and wealthiness of muscovites. drinking a warm (?!) milk shake for 6 dollars in KOFEE HOUS.

dec. 31 - Patrick and I visited VDNX, or the exhibition of the achievements of the people's agriculture, ish. Now re-named the All-Russian Exhibition center. Basically a huge park surrounded by huge gaudy buildings built in a half fake classical palace style and half socialist concrete style. My favorites were the arch that had two proletarians grabbing a bushel of wheat on the top, the Karelian and Armenian pavillions, the rocket ship in which Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, and the fact that all these buildings are now turned into strip malls.

Also, my first encounter with the infamous Moscow police. "Good evening. Your documents please. Hey, Vanya, look, an American passport! Wow!" I wished him happy new year's, which was probably too much, but I think that speaking Russian a little and having a more permanent visa helps.

Then we went to our rented apartment and got ready for New years. We walked down Tverskaya street to Red Square, passing through 3 metal detectors on the way there. The countdown was suprisingly lackluster along with the fireworks, but it was still Red Square on New Years eve. The best part was walking back to the hostel with thousands of drunk, estatically happy Russians. We couldn't stay up because by Irkutsk time it was 6 in the morning already.

In Moscow I realized that I love cities, I have since I was a kid, and Irkutsk is like a trial. Because I will speak better Russian after this year, but when I come back to Russia (and I better, considering the fact that I'm majoring in it, etc.) it will either be probably to St. Petersburg or Moscow.

Aw hell this is going to take forever so I'll just do it in installments. So thus ends my time in Moscow, or approximately 1/7 of my trip so far.