Dear WORLD, I haven’t written anything in so long! I'm a little sad because I have experienced so much that deserves to be written about, but I’ve been struggling with a staggering lack of motivation of late and have been barely able to do my homework, let alone anything else. For example, Wednesday night, all I needed to do were three simple grammar exercises and it took me five hours to finish them. FIVE HOURS. I don’t understand how it happened! I sat down at my desk and I just couldn’t focus, so then I curled up on the floor with my work, and then I went on tumblr, and then I stumbled across a movie quote, and then I tried to look at my grammar, then I read the quote again, then I looked up the movie, then I tried to look at my grammar homework, then I checked to see if the movie was on Netflix, then I watched the movie on Netflix, then I paused it and tried to do my homework, then I played it again, then a young Hugh Jackman walked on screen and I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to, then it was 2AM and the ending credits were rolling, and I was lying face-down on the ground, allowing the carpet to muffle my screams of exasperation… And thus, my week passed. Sometimes, I think I would be much better off if my Internet stopped working for a day or two.
Oh well, let us carry on to more important matters.
Two weekends ago, we went to Kazan! Our train left around 7pm and we all stocked up with a nice arrangement of snacks for the journey, as we wouldn’t arrive in Kazan until 9am the next morning. Naturally, I just brought food for myself because I’m a despicable human being and I don’t know how to share, but Maureen’s host mom packed Maureen with her signature, delicious pizza, and Genevieve’s host mom gave her some meat. “What kind of meat?” We don’t know. That’s not important. Here’s a photo I took of Genevieve and her meat. That meat made it all the way to Kazan, and then to the fridge in our hotel room, and then the fridge stopped working, and.. there was the meat. Just… sitting there.
I asked Genevieve to put the meat away right after this photo because it was wafting a very unpleasant, meaty smell towards me. Later, I was in the mood for scary stories, but no one knew any scary stories. I tried to tell a couple, but every time I got to the scary part of the story, I started laughing. Everyone got mad at me, and I wasn’t allowed to tell stories anymore. After that, we played cards until bedtime and it was so much fun! Card games are so fun; I had no idea! I’ve always been adverse to most games because I’m too impatient to learn the rules and I don’t like to commit myself to sitting still and cooperating with my peers for an indeterminate amount of time, but I’ve since changed my mind! I've stumbled upon a whole new, game-filled world. Some day, I want to take all my friends to a cabin for a weekend, and there will no internet or phones allowed. We’ll play games and eat and drink and laugh. Then, one of us will hear a strange noise outside and th – nope, nope, definitely not. This is how too many horror movies start. Never mind. We’re not going to a cabin. No one is going to a cabin.
1. The first morning, we went to the Kazan Kremlin, which was really cool for a lot of reasons, my favorite being that it’s a visible example of Christianity and Islam peacefully co-existing. Within the Kremlin stands the Qol-Şärif mosque, only a few feet away from the Christian Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral.
The mosque was rebuilt and finished in 2005, thanks to funding by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The fantastic carpeting inside was donated by Pakistan. The mosque is truly remarkable to see from the outside. It kind of reminds me of Jasmine’s castle in Aladdin. I don’t remember everything we learned about the Annunciation Cathedral (I’m sorry, Irina! I was sleepy!), but my favorite part about it was that the floors were heated. My feet were so happy. There is a stove in the basement, I think, that keeps the stone first floor warm. Also, the relics of Archbishop Gury, the first bishop of Kazan lie within the church.
The Tower of Soyembika, one of the few leaning towers in the world, also stands within the walls of the Kazan Kremlin. Austen told us a really cool legend associated with it:
When Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan, he saw the beautiful Tatar queen Soyembika and immediately wanted her for his own. He "asked" her to be his wife, threatening to kill all her people if she refused. Knowing it was the only way to save her people, she agreed to the marriage, but only on the condition that he build her the highest tower she had ever seen. Ivan agreed and ordered artists to construct the tower, finishing one tier per day, until seven days had passed and the tower had reached an impressive height. Soyembika then climbed to the top of the tower, and threw herself off of it. The process of building the tower allowed her people enough time to escape to safety, and gave Soyembika the ultimate, tragic escape from an undesirable marriage. Since then, the tower bears her name.
A nice story, isn’t it? In reality, the tower was built way after Ivan IV seized Kazan, but I like the legend anyways.
We also visited the Museum of Soviet Life and, later, the Museum of Soviet Childhood. The Museum of Soviet Life is located in a former communal apartment, and every room is filled to the brim with artifacts, which represent and define life in the Soviet Union, primarily in the 1970s and 80s. There is a pile of guest books in one corner, which house photos of famous people who have visited the museum. Of note is Timati, a Russian artist who basically taught me the difference between the Russian prepositions, “в” and “на”, in his classic song, “в клубе” (“In the Club”). Thanks, Timati! Your passion for grammar inspires us all. (I should send him a thank you note.) Also, if you are liking the vibe of “In the Club”, please watch Timati’s new music video. You may find it confusing to follow, but just keep in mind that the most repeated line translates as, “my best friend is President Putin”.
Ilyich (Lenin) and the Girl.
I was really excited to find this book commemorating the Soviet Union gymnastics team from the 1960 summer Olympic Games, in which their women's team won Gold all-around! (I used to be a gymnast, for those of you who don't know. The history of gymnastics in the 20th century is SO COOL.) The top left picture is of Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina, who won a total of 18 Olympic medals in her gymnastics career. She held the record of the most Olympic medals for 48 years, until she was surpassed by Michael Phelps in 2012. 48 years!!
Finally, here's Timati, supporting the Museum of Soviet Life. Thanks, Timati. He is the gift who keeps on giving.