A wise friend once said to me "Transience is the life of a 20-year old."
Feeling currently on the brink of a new semester in what seems to be a "new" Russian State University for the Humanities (briefly, RGGU), I am choosing now to write my opinions of the first semester. (I realize that, yes, I have been back in the country for over a week now. Tomorrow, as I will be moving into the dormitories, makes this past week seem like more of a transition period than actually part of the semester.)
The semester began with difficulty. I was a new student in an entirely new country with an average comprehension of said country's language. Furthermore, I came without any sort of organized group due to a general lack of interest in the Program. Within three weeks, I had made the acquaintance of very few, and the Program itself - while incredibly flexible due to "me being the Program"- seemed confusing and unorganized. While Dickinson's side of the program appeared to have all in order in their mind, and RGGU's program appeared to have all in order in their mind, the two somehow still were unable to agree on my class schedule or what I would be doing with myself for the remainder of the semester. I was simply "here," taking classes, going to the theater occasionally, and would at some point, be taking excursions.
Ironically, just as extant clouds formed above Moscow, the proverbial clouds parted over my status within the Abroad program. My class schedule was organized, and I started to do more than simply tour monasteries and read while holed up in my Smolenskaya apartment. My aquaintances slightly wavered over the first several weeks of sociability; however, by the beginning of October, I managed to make a solid group of friends whom I felt comfortable doing nearly anything with.
Over time, this led me to make the decision to move to the dormitory my second semester. Despite my host family's considerable kindness and flexibility (as I kept rather odd hours commuting back and forth to campus to spend time with friends), I felt more comfortable choosing to live amongst my peers at the University. Unfortunately however, I became rather well aware of the fact that I would not be rejoined by the same group of friends.
The final two months were ones of what I feel was a sense of cameraderie amongst the students of Korpus 4. We experienced the 2008 Election together, traveled to Petersburg and Estonia, created large meals together, and quite honestly did very little without out one another. This was a great oppotunity; not only were we all approximately of the same age, but we were also of a similar mindset. We all struggled through the language barriers, cultural differences, and naturally, the normal demands of an academic semester, in a foreign country. Furthermore, aware that the majority of us would be separated in a matter of weeks, we developed a mutual understanding of the rather different future that awaited us.
The semester itself ended seemingly quickly, each of us returning to his or her respective home for the Holidays. I returned through New York, which allowed for a "trial by fire" in a non-Russian metropolis as soon as my plane landed. I felt similarly tried by my return to suburban life a day later; I found myself devoid of simple transportation, conveniences within walking distance, and the ability to utilize my recently honed Russian skills. This soon faded and I managed to adjust to the feeling of being home, if only temporarily.
In a sense, these are "just the facts." My intention is to go beyond this and analyze what else there was to this past semester that I feel impacted me exponentially.
1.) I will begin with one of the most important of these "impacts". I feel content with my choice to pursue a graduate education: I often felt uncomfortable in the first years of college making any firm decision in terms of what to do afterwards. It goes without saying, much to my parents' early frustration, that I must have changed my mind nearly one hundred times due to one influence or another, but never felt on any firm ground with any one of these so-called "decisions." In the past semester however, I was involved in numerous intellectual conversations with other prospective graduate students, in which I was able to offer academic arguments based on my areas on intensive study. Normally, these conversations ended with a friend asking "Have you considered teaching, like a professor maybe?" I comfortably responded, "Yes" after several such discussions.
2.) I have developed an appreciation for the arts that I never thought possible:
As many are aware, I have always been active musically, from early years in the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Honors Band, to performing lead roles in musicals, to simply serving as a Reader in the Orthodox Church and singing in the choir. My involvement with "art" (i.e. painting, drawing, sculpture) has been relatively minor, although I can say I undoubtedly enjoyed it. In Moscow, I have been able to attend the opera, dramatic plays, ballets, and orchestral performances. I orginally had little patience for opera, but came out of a Bolshoy Theater performance of Bizet's "Carmen" amazed beyond words. I have toured numerous art museums, expecting the Old Tretyakov Gallery (featuring the Rublev icon of "The Trinity", and works by Repin, Shishkin, and other Russian greats) to be an unchallenged favorite. Weeks later, I found myself at the New Tretyakov gallery of primarily modern art, and had to be practically dragged away from the works of cubists, futurists, and impressionists. I went to a Warhol exhibit of 16mm silent films and became absorbed in their visual simplicity but symbolic depth.
3.)I now find an endless amount of joy in very simple things:
I never thought in years that I would take so much merit from something as basic as a long walk. It started as a thirst for discovery or adventure in a new and strange city and became something so habitual that I had difficulty living without it when returning home. On days where I found myself frustrated with all around me, I would stop everything I was doing and go on a walk for often over 3 hours - sometimes alone, sometimes with a companion. I would return and feel amazing, as if a weight was lifted from me, despite all sorts of muscles aching. While I naturally enjoyed the company of friends, I never thought something as simple as dessert, a bottle of red wine, and good company at the end of a day could be so rewarding. This too became a regular practice that caused me to wonder later why I had never done it before.
I ended the semester with these things in mind, and quite naturally feared their disappearance along with the departure of the people I had grown to value so much. There is much now however, which I felt I understood more clearly, that I could use to guide myself through a second semester. In my desire to close with another quote as I began with one, I will leave it to a master to describe the situation more eloquently.
"I shall still dispute in the same way, shall inoppotunely express my thoughts...my life, my whole life, independently of anything that may happen to me, is every moment of it no longer meaningless as it was before, but has an unquestionable meaning of goodness with which I have the power to invest it."
-Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Political Views...an Outside Looking in Experience
I'm going to start with a metaphorical sort of question. If you had gone a while without a costly product you enjoyed, and knew you had a check of an indeterminate amount coming to you in the mail in the near future, would you go all out to buy the product anyway before you even knew the amount on the check? Or, would you move towards action in the polar opposite direction, and, knowing the natural dangers of overspending, isolate yourself and opt never to buy again until you had the exact amount of money you needed? (Knowing our recent economy and issues with overextending one's credit spending, unfortunately I think we'd go with the former, were this not an extended metaphor...)
Having the opportunity to observe America from Russia - which from my experience with Russians has been more or less a national pattern of apathy towards our country unless we're critiquing their foreign/domestic policy or giving them money - has been a unique one. It has allowed me, at the risk of making a dangerous political move, to be as objective as was possible when viewing our government and public opinion. I will state before delving into anything else that going into this election, I supported no particular candidate, Republican, Democratic or otherwise. I think it is relatively important to note that; otherwise, my claims at being objective could be called into such a level of question as to completely destroy my argument.
I forgot about the election quite honestly, until I received my absentee ballot. Then, I forgot about it again until around November 3rd. There was little or no mention of it in Moscow for the first several months of my study abroad. Finally, at the suggestion of a group of friends from the University, I attended an "Election Party" on the 4th at an "American Style Diner" in the south of Moscow. A majority of the group was composed of Obama supporters, or those like myself who were just interested in seeing the outcome of the election. The night itself (actually early morning in Moscow) ended in celebration with the victory of Barack Obama, which was announced at around 7am Moscow time. I was not aware that the event at the Diner was being run by a local Democrats organization until later in the morning, so I merely thought the cheers represented a tone of overall excitement.
As for my personal reactions to the election: I was pleased with Obama's victory. My reasons were the result of nothing particularly proactive or a leaning towards him as a presidential candidate. The previous administration had never struck me as anything truly evil or dictatoral, but rather extremely misguided and disorganized in the face of trying times. I stand by this from a historical perspective of "Time will tell how this regime or this president is viewed throughout history." For instance, the now constantly discussed Lincoln administration was (quite obviously) hated by half the country, and received a great deal of low approval in the North as well due to numerous socioeconomic issues. The Civil War took an awful toll on the entirety of the United States, and as a result, Lincoln was not very well liked as a President. Now he is one of our most beloved Presidents; savior of a severed country, liberator of a race of the enslaved, founding father.
With this in mind, I am hardly claiming Bush to be the next Lincoln. I am merely stating that history judges differently than present public opinion. My feelings toward the Bush administration can be wrapped up in one word: tiring. The war, the rhetoric, the underlying corruption issues, etc. all became tiring to hear about. Whoever would be elected in the 2008 election, as far as I was concerned, had to have a clearly defined path towards a change from the previous administration.
As Obama accepted his nomination as President, his rhetoric (at the very least) seemed to embody the concept of "change." This is not to say that McCain did not have rhetoric that hoped for change. Obama simply sold it better to the American public as was indicated by his victory. My feelings, however, were that with such a victory, it was imperative for Obama to transform this strong rhetoric into action. I was aware that this would not be immediate; however, if he expected to avoid the same sordid public opinion of his predecessor, he would need to do more than simply speak of change.
My worry is now the public explosion of emotions and taking of sides as a result of yesterday's inauguration. Even the day before the election, talk shows, news channels, and nearly every form of mass media held interviews and had discussions about the "change" taking place for the future. Oprah Winfrey, an adamant Obama supporter throughout his entire campaign, interviewed actors and actresses, singers, and others, all praising these "changes." Several artists even debuted a song called "America's Song," happily singing of the change to come, including the Irish humanitarian lead singer of U2, Bono (I am assuming to show the international impact of the "change"). Facebook was strewn with the gleeful anticipation of "change starting at noon tomorrow!" or the cheers of how students countrywide were "once again proud to be Americans."
Honestly, while attempting to be realistic, this all was a bit difficult to swallow. As "president elect," Barack Obama could physically change nothing yet- not the economic crisis, not the war, and quite frankly not even the furniture in the White House if he wanted to. All he could do was simply continue to promise to fulfill everything he spoke of while campaigning. Yet somehow, it seemed that he had changed nearly everything simply by being elected. I do not seek to underestimate or downplay the monumental historical significance of his election and inauguration as President. This is undoubtably a great "change" for the United States. Take the following example, however. A Wall Street criticism of George Bush was that nearly every time he made a major speech, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted. With Obama's promises for an economic turnaround, many believed - somewhat naturally - that Inauguration Day might stimulate the Market and cause the Dow Jones to go up, even if only for the day. Inauguration Day came; the Market fell nearly 300 points and Wall Street continued its struggle.
On the other side of the spectrum, however, the naysayers of the fresh administration have come out of the woodwork. Take for instance the following Libertarian article http://www.nolanchart.com/article5831.html (in advance, Gerolamo, sorry I stole the article from your facebook). This particular article accuses Obama of being actually worse than the former President, and offers a laundry list of preemptive political transgressions. This includes, but is not limited to imperialism, foreign exploitation, thievery and enslavement, and naturally the overall quashing of our freedom and liberties as citizens of the United States.
Frankly, there are some merits to both sides of this argument. Obama's campaign and election represents a great change historically, as well as the potential for great national and social change for our country. However, there are many things that President Obama may not be able to achieve quite simply by time limitations, legal limitations, socioeconomic limitations, and in some cases governmental opposition, apathy, or inability. Only time can determine the activity or inactivity, ability or inability of the new administration.
Or, to quote my father when asked his opinion: "Ask me about him in a year."
Having the opportunity to observe America from Russia - which from my experience with Russians has been more or less a national pattern of apathy towards our country unless we're critiquing their foreign/domestic policy or giving them money - has been a unique one. It has allowed me, at the risk of making a dangerous political move, to be as objective as was possible when viewing our government and public opinion. I will state before delving into anything else that going into this election, I supported no particular candidate, Republican, Democratic or otherwise. I think it is relatively important to note that; otherwise, my claims at being objective could be called into such a level of question as to completely destroy my argument.
I forgot about the election quite honestly, until I received my absentee ballot. Then, I forgot about it again until around November 3rd. There was little or no mention of it in Moscow for the first several months of my study abroad. Finally, at the suggestion of a group of friends from the University, I attended an "Election Party" on the 4th at an "American Style Diner" in the south of Moscow. A majority of the group was composed of Obama supporters, or those like myself who were just interested in seeing the outcome of the election. The night itself (actually early morning in Moscow) ended in celebration with the victory of Barack Obama, which was announced at around 7am Moscow time. I was not aware that the event at the Diner was being run by a local Democrats organization until later in the morning, so I merely thought the cheers represented a tone of overall excitement.
As for my personal reactions to the election: I was pleased with Obama's victory. My reasons were the result of nothing particularly proactive or a leaning towards him as a presidential candidate. The previous administration had never struck me as anything truly evil or dictatoral, but rather extremely misguided and disorganized in the face of trying times. I stand by this from a historical perspective of "Time will tell how this regime or this president is viewed throughout history." For instance, the now constantly discussed Lincoln administration was (quite obviously) hated by half the country, and received a great deal of low approval in the North as well due to numerous socioeconomic issues. The Civil War took an awful toll on the entirety of the United States, and as a result, Lincoln was not very well liked as a President. Now he is one of our most beloved Presidents; savior of a severed country, liberator of a race of the enslaved, founding father.
With this in mind, I am hardly claiming Bush to be the next Lincoln. I am merely stating that history judges differently than present public opinion. My feelings toward the Bush administration can be wrapped up in one word: tiring. The war, the rhetoric, the underlying corruption issues, etc. all became tiring to hear about. Whoever would be elected in the 2008 election, as far as I was concerned, had to have a clearly defined path towards a change from the previous administration.
As Obama accepted his nomination as President, his rhetoric (at the very least) seemed to embody the concept of "change." This is not to say that McCain did not have rhetoric that hoped for change. Obama simply sold it better to the American public as was indicated by his victory. My feelings, however, were that with such a victory, it was imperative for Obama to transform this strong rhetoric into action. I was aware that this would not be immediate; however, if he expected to avoid the same sordid public opinion of his predecessor, he would need to do more than simply speak of change.
My worry is now the public explosion of emotions and taking of sides as a result of yesterday's inauguration. Even the day before the election, talk shows, news channels, and nearly every form of mass media held interviews and had discussions about the "change" taking place for the future. Oprah Winfrey, an adamant Obama supporter throughout his entire campaign, interviewed actors and actresses, singers, and others, all praising these "changes." Several artists even debuted a song called "America's Song," happily singing of the change to come, including the Irish humanitarian lead singer of U2, Bono (I am assuming to show the international impact of the "change"). Facebook was strewn with the gleeful anticipation of "change starting at noon tomorrow!" or the cheers of how students countrywide were "once again proud to be Americans."
Honestly, while attempting to be realistic, this all was a bit difficult to swallow. As "president elect," Barack Obama could physically change nothing yet- not the economic crisis, not the war, and quite frankly not even the furniture in the White House if he wanted to. All he could do was simply continue to promise to fulfill everything he spoke of while campaigning. Yet somehow, it seemed that he had changed nearly everything simply by being elected. I do not seek to underestimate or downplay the monumental historical significance of his election and inauguration as President. This is undoubtably a great "change" for the United States. Take the following example, however. A Wall Street criticism of George Bush was that nearly every time he made a major speech, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted. With Obama's promises for an economic turnaround, many believed - somewhat naturally - that Inauguration Day might stimulate the Market and cause the Dow Jones to go up, even if only for the day. Inauguration Day came; the Market fell nearly 300 points and Wall Street continued its struggle.
On the other side of the spectrum, however, the naysayers of the fresh administration have come out of the woodwork. Take for instance the following Libertarian article http://www.nolanchart.com/article5831.html (in advance, Gerolamo, sorry I stole the article from your facebook). This particular article accuses Obama of being actually worse than the former President, and offers a laundry list of preemptive political transgressions. This includes, but is not limited to imperialism, foreign exploitation, thievery and enslavement, and naturally the overall quashing of our freedom and liberties as citizens of the United States.
Frankly, there are some merits to both sides of this argument. Obama's campaign and election represents a great change historically, as well as the potential for great national and social change for our country. However, there are many things that President Obama may not be able to achieve quite simply by time limitations, legal limitations, socioeconomic limitations, and in some cases governmental opposition, apathy, or inability. Only time can determine the activity or inactivity, ability or inability of the new administration.
Or, to quote my father when asked his opinion: "Ask me about him in a year."
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