tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64454172024-03-13T02:24:47.857+02:00Chayyei SarahTrying to keep things in perspective, be the best Jew I can be, and say things that need to be said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1074125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-21642457862367323102014-11-24T17:41:00.000+02:002014-11-24T17:41:14.843+02:00Moscow (Part XXIV - The Matrushka Doll Museum)<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xix-shabbat-dinner.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIX</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xx-shabbat-day.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XX</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xxi-money-and-plan.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XXI</a>, XXII, and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/11/moscow-part-xxiii-sunday-at-jewish.html" target="_blank">XXIII</a>)</span></i></div>
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The next day, Monday, was my LAST DAY in Moscow, and I still
had not gone to the Kremlin OR the Matrushka Doll Museum, but meanwhile I was
scheduled to be back at The Jewish Agency in the afternoon for some meetings. I
needed to make the morning COUNT.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I looked at a map and decided to take a taxi to the Doll
Museum first, since it was way out of the way, to the east. Then I would take
another taxi westward to the Kremlin, do a brief walk-around there, and then
walk to The Jewish Agency.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The hotel called a taxi for me and told the driver to take
me to the address that was given in my guide book. Yay! Matrushka Dolls!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEMQ89-QfQQuohPe9XYEJVe6yx8zsjBG_rRqzmFj0OuMc9j2p1ZrmXENE6LzkNkL_F-ghi4TDkWF5jXPRgfTchaMTuaHkh21HWh9mCFtXzKl2luNtgaaiBtia-8a4egsj_Xv0Ww/s1600/matryoshka-burnt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEMQ89-QfQQuohPe9XYEJVe6yx8zsjBG_rRqzmFj0OuMc9j2p1ZrmXENE6LzkNkL_F-ghi4TDkWF5jXPRgfTchaMTuaHkh21HWh9mCFtXzKl2luNtgaaiBtia-8a4egsj_Xv0Ww/s1600/matryoshka-burnt.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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The taxi pulled up to a very handsome building, I paid him, and I walked
happily to the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On it was a sign that said the museum had moved, to a place
completely across town.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There was nothing for me to do but laugh. So I laughed and
laughed and laughed until I was almost crying.<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-38186313763746662682014-11-12T19:49:00.000+02:002014-11-12T19:49:14.517+02:00Moscow (Part XXIII - Sunday at The Jewish Agency)<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xix-shabbat-dinner.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIX</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xx-shabbat-day.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XX</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xxi-money-and-plan.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XXI</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/11/moscow-part-xxii-kremlin.html" target="_blank">XXII.</a>)</span></i></div>
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Most people don’t realize that The Jewish Agency is involved
in a lot more than “just” immigration to Israel. Among lots of other things,
the Sochnut, as it’s known in Hebrew, has a hand in an incredible variety and
scope of Jewish education programs around the world, especially in the former
Soviet Union and South America. There are children in the former Soviet Union
whose ONLY Jewish education comes from Jewish Agency programs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Russia, as in most of the world, Sunday is not a standard
workday, and so The Jewish Agency facility – classrooms, offices, an auditorium
– are busy with all sorts of formal and informal Jewish education programs,
which generally draw those Russians who either are planning to move to Israel,
or who simply want to learn more about Jewish heritage or Hebrew language, but
aren’t necessarily interested in the religious nature of the education offered
by the local, mainstream Chabad. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Jewish education offered by The Agency frames the
material in terms of history and culture rather than “Jewish law,” and many
participants, such as campers in Jewish Agency camps, decide to, for example,
start lighting Shabbat candles and making Kiddush at home not because they necessarily
believe God commands it, but because it is a beautiful Jewish thing to do that
is part of our history and part of what connects us to each other. For some
there is a spiritual aspect as well – or perhaps, feeling part of a community
and feeling spiritual, for many people, is the same thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For my job as a marketing writer for the Sochnut, I write
about those programs all the time; what a thrill to finally see them in action
and meet the people who make them happen! And, once again – what a miracle that
Jewish education was happening in the open, in Moscow! A miracle!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first thing I did at the office was pay back Rusina. This is Rusina, my savior and one of the nicest and most professional people you could ever hope to meet:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CmgS0H-16vk7dzf2C_FsSU1-xhIAvb9Fo1IoyeRQ3zwUpDUhd6c_5ZgeapaaaN80Rjobp-24P94yY9HXyrryfQyei3MKsLmPQ0snJzFDRf_6zjWrMLYvk3hbhVRFlatbL4LaQA/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CmgS0H-16vk7dzf2C_FsSU1-xhIAvb9Fo1IoyeRQ3zwUpDUhd6c_5ZgeapaaaN80Rjobp-24P94yY9HXyrryfQyei3MKsLmPQ0snJzFDRf_6zjWrMLYvk3hbhVRFlatbL4LaQA/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+019.JPG" width="179" /></a></div>
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<br /><br />Then, all in one day, I witnessed the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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* Small children doing an arts-and-crafts project in a
Hebrew School class that meets every Sunday<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5KvM2AcI_MuiSRocW9iybopP_dZLOHDE4__IIOtBtZ53EN7SBOJvDQ0zG6zp8LpFd4dCX6OUeqdq9ZAT7lrTkDL5VwEw5W0k9p_cPO4JOUCFkz9lO_ADMnkfZpTNw0ObDif8oQ/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5KvM2AcI_MuiSRocW9iybopP_dZLOHDE4__IIOtBtZ53EN7SBOJvDQ0zG6zp8LpFd4dCX6OUeqdq9ZAT7lrTkDL5VwEw5W0k9p_cPO4JOUCFkz9lO_ADMnkfZpTNw0ObDif8oQ/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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*Special needs children taking part in the class, through
the “Integration” program that helps special-needs kids be mainstreamed into
Jewish programs<o:p></o:p></div>
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*The parents of the Hebrew school children taking a
concurrent parenting class, with Jewish subjects included<o:p></o:p></div>
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* Hebrew-language “ulpan” classes for adults, at different
levels.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4QwjuIzS6pg4O32HabSqfe33EPmH5k7pSgbLAC2Wwzcaz04q9t67ag0Tvwh6Z0hlttnsJtwaEisL_YBmhIT2T7f5ANUA3h6CkyeNcXKv8Kr1-zBFNHuYFWGHPdS0q2q9rDVfjg/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4QwjuIzS6pg4O32HabSqfe33EPmH5k7pSgbLAC2Wwzcaz04q9t67ag0Tvwh6Z0hlttnsJtwaEisL_YBmhIT2T7f5ANUA3h6CkyeNcXKv8Kr1-zBFNHuYFWGHPdS0q2q9rDVfjg/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+110.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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* A class on Hebrew, Israeli history, and math, for high
school kids preparing to take the entrance exam for <a href="http://www.elite-academy.org/en/" target="_blank">Na’ale</a> (a program through
which they attend Israeli high schools for grades 10-12).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCWhYL4EZot24dzvwjhQRVSrNNKobfrf31TDsxRS4y4zlnEdmnXijlMLYq9O-0ejojln4jwILfSthk8Njqf9yM7UttJgPu3wCmVfLrxNMZ5QcQ9NuZLTRJUA7nslNbqeUuwtunQ/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCWhYL4EZot24dzvwjhQRVSrNNKobfrf31TDsxRS4y4zlnEdmnXijlMLYq9O-0ejojln4jwILfSthk8Njqf9yM7UttJgPu3wCmVfLrxNMZ5QcQ9NuZLTRJUA7nslNbqeUuwtunQ/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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*A session of the year-long training for counselors who work at Jewish Agency camps. Their course includes both Jewish education for themselves, and lessons in pedagogy and program planning. On this particular day they were studying the "motivation" element of programs - how to start things so the children are interested in participating.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7qBB33k9iXPRs4nY6tLPKaQIG6271TgnOmr1oaum7YwLHT32JNdquo98D4NVGevKmWafoyBijfM7SJbC7pFwUVXtigHGFPVATYT2PT7bAcCJI9we7uxYH_eQLGO4JxGt9-4HRQ/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7qBB33k9iXPRs4nY6tLPKaQIG6271TgnOmr1oaum7YwLHT32JNdquo98D4NVGevKmWafoyBijfM7SJbC7pFwUVXtigHGFPVATYT2PT7bAcCJI9we7uxYH_eQLGO4JxGt9-4HRQ/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+273.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><br />*An evening meeting for doctors who are thinking about
making Aliyah to Israel, with an overview of the Israeli medical system by a
visiting administrator from Soroka hospital</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFIzsrsZLLQGzc8OeDxDDSN4QdK76rc4HYaiX6FYibuDZv7hS7jvX-CuLekB9vSdxD1G86FKJ7QJ_xIfMllBiao6A0xJnHZ6VtLtYBvoqF1iFgny9hirllsmV5nJuJ1SiWVrwIg/s1600/SB-Moscow-3-2014+158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFIzsrsZLLQGzc8OeDxDDSN4QdK76rc4HYaiX6FYibuDZv7hS7jvX-CuLekB9vSdxD1G86FKJ7QJ_xIfMllBiao6A0xJnHZ6VtLtYBvoqF1iFgny9hirllsmV5nJuJ1SiWVrwIg/s320/SB-Moscow-3-2014+158.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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All that, punctuated by lunch across the street at the <a href="http://culture.ru/en/atlas/object/727" target="_blank">historic, stunning ChoralSynagogue</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ygI8Da6mqq1naaxaMFeZuwbl9TnDwmldvrhr4o6ZYgZhXDwNTva98UEb5YoSojDzRAOcAy4ExS-ir_nrHbDbRZbQIYotAITtvOGyvFF6n3Onaj5QOLWKQdif81OTvGBbvVX4Hw/s1600/item_54798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ygI8Da6mqq1naaxaMFeZuwbl9TnDwmldvrhr4o6ZYgZhXDwNTva98UEb5YoSojDzRAOcAy4ExS-ir_nrHbDbRZbQIYotAITtvOGyvFF6n3Onaj5QOLWKQdif81OTvGBbvVX4Hw/s320/item_54798.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The synagogue is magnificent, and has an absolutely beautiful
restaurant (with English menus!) on the second floor. A kosher restaurant in
Moscow! A miracle!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-14656227542298619482014-11-12T19:00:00.000+02:002014-11-12T19:00:01.299+02:00Moscow (Part XXII - The Kremlin)<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xix-shabbat-dinner.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIX</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xx-shabbat-day.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XX</a>, and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xxi-money-and-plan.html" target="_blank">XXI</a>.)</span></i></div>
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Sunday morning shone bright and cold, and I was ready to see
the Kremlin! My feet still hurt real bad in those boots, and because of the toe
I’d squashed at the Jewish Museum, but I hardly felt sick anymore at all, I had
money in my wallet, and I was on my way!<br />
<br />
I looked carefully at the maps and saw that if I got off the subway at the “Biblioteka”
stop, I could then walk through the Kremlin and Red Square at my leisure, and
continue on eastward toward the offices of The Jewish Agency, where I was
expected at noon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Those of you who have been to the Kremlin already know that
this is impossible: the Kremlin is a complex of buildings surrounded by a wall,
and there is only one way to get in or out, through the gates on the Western
side. But I didn’t know that.<br />
<br />
I got out of the subway and noted that this stop had a few cute little shops in
it, including a gift store with some nice matrushka dolls in the window. Since
it’s so cold outside in the winter, Russians do a lot of their shopping
underground. I wondered what the dolls would look like at the Matrushka Doll
Museum tomorrow!<br />
<br />
I walked toward the Kremlin and was stopped by a guard, who said I needed a
ticket. Oh, duh! That makes sense! At last, a bit of capitalism around here!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He pointed me around the corner and down a hill, quite a
walk considering how much my feet hurt me. Before joining the ticket line, I
went to see what’s in the gift shop: A lot of books in Russian, and almost
nothing of interest to an English-speaking tourist. Once again, capitalism
*fail.* <br />
<br />
Anyway, I got to the ticket counter and bought the cheapest ticket available,
with no tour guides attached to it, just the right to walk around by myself. I
also discovered that not a single one of the ticket salespeople at the Kremlin
speaks ANY English. Thank goodness for the other tourists nearby who DID speak
Russian! I really, really don’t expect that “Joe Moscovite” will speak English –
I’m not that Western-centric – but at the tickets sales for the Kremlin?
Tourism-friendliness *fail.*<br />
<br />
I was directed to walk a bit more, lots of painful steps, to check my backpack.
At this point, my memories are dim. I remember that I tried to explain in
English to the bag check lady that I need my bag, because I’m not coming back
out this way, I’m going THROUGH the Kremlin and won’t be returning here to get
my bag. She, of course, had no idea what I was talking about, because – as I
now know – it’s impossible to go THROUGH the Kremlin. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thwarted in my attempt to enter – because really, the
security guard doesn’t let in anyone with a backpack, which I understand – I now
had, once again, failed in my plans AND, to add insult to injury, had to now
walk AROUND the Kremlin to get to The Jewish Agency. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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There was one consolation, though. On my way, I witnessed
part of a little ceremony some kind that involved Russian soldiers marching
just like this (actually, in the exact spot where this You Tube video was
taken):<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MdeClXZRE1M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
That was cool. I mean, seriously, if you are going to fly to Moscow and get sick
and not have money and then not be able to get into the Kremlin, at least there
are soldiers in those coats, doing that march!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-78932397650568617052014-09-06T21:18:00.003+03:002014-09-06T21:18:54.158+03:00Moscow (Part XXI - Money and a Plan!)<div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; margin-right: 54pt; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" style="color: #33aaff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xix-shabbat-dinner.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIX</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xx-shabbat-day.html" target="_blank">XX</a>.)</span></i></div>
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Shabbat ended, and it was time to get money! I
was so scared something would go wrong – the PIN wouldn't work, or something
else – that I delayed finding out by first going back to the supermarket to
finally get the banana that I hadn't been able to purchase the first time. If I
was going to be in deep trouble, alone in Russia with no money, at least I should have a banana for strength!</div>
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One specific thing that terrified me was the
suspicion that once I took money out of an ATM using my new card, when my
Israeli credit card company saw that someone was using the card in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>,
they might cancel the card.<br />
<br />
So after the supermarket, I nervously approached the ATM machine in the lobby
of my hotel, with the goal of taking out, all at once, more than enough to
cover the rest of my trip which, in addition to two days of visiting the
offices of The Jewish Agency, would include: paying back Rusina; a little
touring; a meal or two at kosher restaurants; a few Matrushka dolls; money for
a cab back to the airport; and money to spare, just in case.<br />
<br />
The ATM had a limit of 5,000 rubles (500 shekels, or around $140) per
transaction. In a panic about having the card canceled, I made 4 withdrawals,
one immediately after the other, for a total of 20,000 rubles. I couldn't RE<st1:stockticker>A<st1:stockticker>LLY</st1:stockticker></st1:stockticker>
afford to spend the equivalent of 2,000 shekels on my vacation, but the idea of
spending ANY more time in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>
without access to money was spooking me. <br />
<br />
Each time those 5,000 rubles came out of that machine, I can't tell you how
relieved I was. I gave 10 rubles to the receptionist to pay for the internet
they'd given me for free on my first day, then went back up to my room and
divided the cash into separate bundles, one for Rusina, one for dolls from the
Matrushka museum, one for the cab ride to the airport, etc, to make sure I
stayed on budget and would be able to make it home!<br />
<br />
I was feeling physically better, and I had 20,000 rubles in my wallet to enjoy –
this vacation was getting back on track!<br />
<br />
I was leaving Tuesday morning, so I had two days left to tour – but also had
meetings scheduled at The Jewish Agency. So I needed to plan carefully how to
see the Kremlin AND the <st1:place><st1:placename>Matrushka</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Doll</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place> AND get to The Jewish Agency
for my meetings. Unfortunately there was just no time to see any other sites,
including the beautiful subway stations that I'd so much wanted to see. At
least I'd gotten to see the incredible Bolshoi (as awful as it was, for me),
and the amazing Jewish Museum.<br />
<br />
Here was my new plan:<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Since the Matrushka Doll museum was out of the way, and I needed to be at The
Jewish Agency office by noon, I decided to leave the museum for Monday so I wouldn't
be late to work.</li>
<li>Sunday: Take the subway to the Kremlin, walk through the Kremlin and <st1:place>Red
Square</st1:place> to The Jewish Agency, which is on the other side. That way,
I could sort of tour the Kremlin and <st1:place>Red Square</st1:place> while on
the way.</li>
<li>Jewish Agency meetings from <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">noon</st1:time>
until <st1:time hour="20" minute="0">8 pm.</st1:time></li>
<li>Meet Golda Leah for dinner.</li>
<li>Monday: <st1:place><st1:placename>Matrushka</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Doll</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>, then more meetings at The
Jewish Agency in the afternoon.</li>
<li>Leaving <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city> Tuesday morning.</li>
</ul>
<br />
That was the plan, anyway.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-80224952460426281642014-09-06T20:39:00.005+03:002014-09-06T20:39:49.665+03:00Moscow (Part XX - Shabbat Day)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" style="color: #33aaff;" target="_blank">XVIII</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/09/moscow-part-xix-shabbat-dinner.html" target="_blank">XIX</a>.)</span></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" /><div class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="direction: ltr; margin-right: 54pt; unicode-bidi: embed;">
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In typical Chabad style, the prayer services
on Saturday morning started at <st1:time hour="10" minute="0">10 am</st1:time>
(very late by most standards). I showed up at <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">noon</st1:time>,
and they were still at Torah reading (that is, about halfway through the
service). I was glad I'd slept in! There was a bar mitzvah that morning, and at
the end of Torah reading the women in the balcony threw down candies at the bar
mitzvah boy. </div>
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<br />
I felt happy and proud that I was raised to be able to follow an Orthodox
service, and could walk into any synagogue, even in a place as
"random" (to me) as <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
and follow along. <br />
<br />
After the service, everyone who was staying for lunch went down to the same
side room where the English-language meal had taken place the night before. It
was a much smaller crowd this time. Although their doors were just as
"open to all" as they'd been the night before, in practice the only
people who normally bother to go to the Shabbat morning service are people who
have a certain commitment to Orthodox Judaism.
Additionally, it seems that the elderly tend to go to bed early on
Friday nights, but make sure to attend synagogue in the morning.<br />
<br />
So it was a much smaller and much older group of people this time.
Additionally, unlike the night before when everyone sat where they wished and
the presiding "shluchim" had everyone introduce themselves, at this
lunch meal the men and women sat at different tables, and the entire
"program" for the meal was one rabbi after another giving divrei
Torah (sermons) – in Russian, naturally. I felt like Friday night was all about
Chabad doing outreach, and Saturday lunch was Chabad being themselves – which is
fine, but it didn't feel as exciting as the night before.<br />
<br />
I was very grateful to once again be getting a free, hot, kosher meal, but a
bit sad not to have much of a chance to talk to the people around me. Even when
there were breaks in the sermons, the elderly women did not seem talkative, and
anyway the language barrier was a problem. However, I did meet three very nice
women who were younger (20's? 30's? one was divorced with a child – I think she
was maybe in her early to mid 30's): Miriam, Golda Leah, and Lilli. </div>
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Lilli was a bit withdrawn, but Miriam and
Golda Leah were thrilled to be meeting someone who lives in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>
(Golda Leah had lived in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>
for a year, and misses it badly) and to practice their English. I told them how
to find me on Facebook, and we made tentative plans to get together again
before I left the country.<br />
<br />
One interesting thing I discovered was that many of the regulars at this
synagogue had never been given Hebrew names by their parents, and so when they
decided to become more involved with Judaism, they asked the rabbi of the
synagogue to choose a name for them. Apparently he was partial to the name
"Miriam," because I'd met two women who got that name through him.
This Miriam told me that at work she goes by her birth name, Mariya, but in the
Jewish community she goes by Miriam.<br />
<br />
<br />
After lunch I went home and slept some more, desperately willing myself to
recover, physically, from whatever had disabled me as I left Ben Gurion airport.
I also had another concern: yes, I now had the PIN code to my credit card, but
what if something else went wrong with it? What if it didn't work?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-43782991564863963892014-09-05T17:23:00.004+03:002014-09-05T17:23:47.468+03:00Moscow (Part XIX - Shabbat Dinner)<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVII</a>, and <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xviii-prayers.html" target="_blank">XVIII</a>.)</span></i><br />
<br />
I
have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Chabad as a movement.
Notwithstanding certain issues of concern vis-à-vis some beliefs in their ranks
about the Rebbe, I am super grateful that Chabad exists and do what they do.
Anywhere in the world that a Jew travels, he or she can always find kosher food
and ways to connect to a Jewish community on Shabbat and holidays, because
Chabad is there for you with a warm welcome and warm food. (I keep
meaning to send the Marina Roscha Synagogue a donation to cover the costs of my meals; will have to do that soon!)</div>
<span dir="LTR"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">When I went downstairs, I found that the auditorium was set up with multiple
tables, open to anyone who wanted to partake of Shabbat dinner at the synagogue.
It appeared that there was a table for Hebrew speakers (the "Israelis in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">" group that
I'd found on Facebook), a table for younger people, a table for retirees, etc.
Once every three weeks, there is a table for English-speakers, and I happened
to be there at the right time. I entered the room on the side where the English
meal would take place.</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">The meal was presided-over by a young American rabbi and his Italian wife, both
Chabad "shluchim" (emissaries) in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">. Every third week
they got a babysitter for their kids on Friday night, so they could run this
English-language meal. They were extremely friendly and approachable, and set a
happy, hospitable tone to the meal.</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The
one large table was shaped like a capital "T", and I sat at
one end. I just want to say here that the food was MUCH fancier than I
expected. I expected a more mass-produced, Ashkenazi-kiddush feeling of soggy
potato kugel, gefilte fish from a jar, that sort of thing - typical beige food. But the first course
was a fancy fish salad and lots of vegetable dishes. There was lots of
"color" on the plate. The
first course was so nice that I worried that this was it, the whole meal, and
that there would be no roast chicken. But the roast chicken DID come and I was
happy. </div>
<span dir="LTR"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">The rabbi and rebbetzin had each person introduce himself or herself, and
explain what they were doing in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">. Additionally, I got to know the married couple on my right, and the
couple who had brought their friend, to my left. It was a bit sad for me, when
they asked me how my trip was going, not to be able to say "it's going
great." Having to say "actually, so far, it's been terrible" is
very sad. But there was a certain relief for me of being out with people,
feeling nominally better, and having hot food.</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">There were people who had first come to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> to study or work,
and had fallen in love with the city and decided to stay. There were people who
came to study or work and had married a Russian and stayed for them. There were
tourists, such as myself, who were just passing through. One tourist, on a business trip, was at her
first-ever Shabbat meal in her life, brought to Chabad by one of her work
colleagues. One man – the only other person at the meal who was Shomer Shabbat,
other than myself and the rabbi and rebbetzin -- was a native Russian who
simply liked to meet new people and practice his English, so he ate at the
English-language meal. Quite a hodgepodge of personalities, but all with a
positive vibe. </span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">To my right sat a very handsome, friendly couple who were "regulars"
at the English meals; she is a native Latvian, and he is an Israeli
who, it transpired, hates other Israelis. He was so happy living in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> and NOT </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span dir="LTR">. That's why they were at the English table and
not the Hebrew one; he hates other people who speak Hebrew. I decided that I
don't need to understand other people to accept them as they are, and refrained
from asking him what the hell is his problem and how he could possibly enjoy
living in this ugly, formerly-Soviet city more than </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span dir="LTR">. If he's
happy – well, whatever!</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">To my left was another handsome couple. I don't remember their story, only that
they, too, were "regulars." Between us was their friend Christo, who
was sitting to my immediate left. Christo is a native of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span dir="LTR">South Africa</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span dir="LTR">
who is great at languages and a world traveler, and is now in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> teaching English
and enjoying </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">'s underground gay scene. His friends had been telling him for years
that he should come to Chabad with them, and this was, finally, his first time there.
And yes, he knows it's ironic for a person with a Jewish mom to be named
Christo, but such is life. Christo and I are still chummy on Facebook, and
meeting him was one of the most fun things that came out of my trip.</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">After the meal ended I stayed with a bunch of the other attendees to keep
"schmoozing," and I got to my hotel around </span><st1:time hour="0" minute="0"><span dir="LTR">midnight</span></st1:time><span dir="LTR">. The meal had been
a very positive experience and is now one of my favorite memories of my time in
</span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">.</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks, Chabad.</div>
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-49628455555776375202014-04-16T18:07:00.001+03:002014-04-16T18:07:19.678+03:00Moscow (Part XVIII - Prayers)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XVI</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvii-on-way-to-marina-roscha.html" target="_blank">XVII</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />
The Marina Roscha Jewish Center is simply huge. The building in which the synagogue is located contains not only the tremendous, grand sanctuary but also a library, classrooms, and a Judaica store. The Center also includes multiple other buildings, including a Chessed (Jewish Welfare) building, an elementary school, and girls’ and boys’ high schools. And there are other synagogues around the city! Wow.<br />
<br />
The women’s section is a U-shaped balcony. It turns out that that though Shabbat started at about 6:40, we wouldn’t be starting Kabbalat Shabbat (the Friday night prayer service) until 8 pm! So much for missing part of davening!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, there was nothing to do but observe the people. Downstairs in the men’s section, which seats, I believe, about 300 people (maybe more?), a few dozen men were sitting in various pews, reading or talking. In the back, at a long table, a rabbi was giving a shiur to about 50 men. At first there were only a handful of women -- I guess most women in the community know not to come until later -- but eventually there were, I estimated, about 70 women in attendance (indeed, dressed to the nines) and about 200 men.<br />
<br />
Despite the fact that this was a tremendous Chabad institution, it had a Young Israel vibe, with the kids running around, bored women in the back shmoozing, men in the back shmoozing, etc. I suppose once Orthodox Judaism reaches a critical mass of mainstream institutionalization, it starts to look the same no matter who is running it.<br />
<br />
All the books’ translations were in Russian, and announcements were in Russian. No surprise there, but it meant there wasn’t much for me to read or do while I waited.<br />
<br />
I was worn out and very thirsty. There weren’t many people who could talk to me because of the language barrier, and I started getting bored. As time continued passing and the shiur downstairs didn’t finish, I thought of just going home, but . . . . There would be chicken. I finally went in search of a cup of water, and was so desperate that I took a used plastic cup from a table in the back of the women’s section and just rinsed it off to use it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.<br />
<br />
At first no one spoke to me, but eventually I managed a stilted mostly-English conversation with a woman who said she works in finance, and after a traumatic life event a few months ago, she decided to look into religion and has been coming to Chabad every night for three months, and also attends a class during the week.<br />
<br />
I mentally divided the congregants into three categories: Lubavitch chassidim (I later found out that about 100 shluchim and their families live in Moscow. They hail from all over the world, and some are from Russia itself); “knowledgable about Judaism Russians” -- people who didn’t look chassidic but clearly had been attending synagogue here for many years and felt at home both with the community and with the rituals; and “not knowledgable about Judaism Russians,” people who were at their first service, or their 10th, or maybe their 20th, who were at various stages of familiarity with the prayer books. I liked this a lot, that all these people were praying at the same place.<br />
<br />
Then the services started, and I was so happy I’d stayed. Directly below me somewhere was a LARGE group of children who recited the prayers with great gusto, in unison. I was moved by this -- Jewish children, praying together in public in Moscow, with raised voices. A miracle!<br />
<br />
(The next morning I paid closer attention and discovered that it was a group of about 20-30 little boys, whose Rebbe stood nearby goading them to show enthusiasm, and apparently giving candies to whoever said “Amen” the loudest. Well played, Chabad.)<br />
<br />
Finally the services ended and we all wound down the stairs to the ground floor where multiple tables were laid out for the Friday night meal. I asked around and found that the “English-language” meal was in “the restaurant,” an enclosed room on the side. So that’s where I went for my Friday night Shabbat meal experience in Moscow, so happy that I was about to get my chicken, and a bit nervous and curious about who I might meet at this meal.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-72572693061218274112014-04-16T16:53:00.003+03:002014-04-16T16:53:32.714+03:00Moscow (Part XVII - On the Way to Marina Roscha)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XV</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/moscow-part-xvi-chicken.html" target="_blank">XVI</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />
As I neared the Jewish Center, I must have turned left a little too early, and got a little lost. Where the Center was supposed to be was an entrance to a place that looked like it might be what I wanted: there was a guard outside (common to Jewish institutions in places with lots of anti-Semitism), and I saw a man in a black hat walk inside. But when I asked for "Marina Roscha" and "Rabbi Friedman," the guard didn't seem to know what I was talking about – or perhaps he just didn't understand what I was saying. Looking back, I'm thinking that perhaps this place had some sort of small, private congregation inside, but it wasn't the place I was looking for.<br />
<br />
Eventually two Jewish men (wearing kippot) walked by, and the guard motioned for them to help me. When I said "Rabbi Friedman" they nodded and gesticulated in understanding, motioning that I should follow them. So I did, for two blocks, and here is what I thought about on the way, because while both men were wearing kippot and tzitzit, one of them was smoking, which is forbidden on Shabbat:<br />
<br />
Thanks to my work, I know a little bit about Russian-Jewish history and culture. Not a lot, mind you, but a bit. During the 70 years of the Soviet regime, no one was allowed to practice religion in Russia. Jews were arrested if they taught Judaism or attempted to engage in any communal rituals. So a lot of knowledge was lost over the generations. By the time Communism fell, most Jews in Russia had nothing positive with which to associate Jewishness. To them, being Jewish just meant that your grandparents were Holocaust survivors, and that you lived with a stigma. Being a Jew wasn't information one volunteered to neighbors. It was more an unfortunate fact of life than something to be proud of.<br />
<br />
After the fall of the Soviet Union, large Jewish organizations such as Chabbad, the Jewish Agency, ORT and others set up house in Moscow and other formerly-Soviet areas and started teaching Jewish history and heritage. A lot of Jews from Russia took the opportunity to move to Israel, but today there are something like 800,000 Jews who still remain in the former Soviet Union. In Moscow, there has been something of a Jewish Renaissance: several Jewish day schools, several synagogues, a few kosher restaurants, a kosher market, a yeshiva, a seminary . . . it's now possible to live a full Jewish life in Moscow.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KX40sH4W1X9ibAy3LTBtLnuKFFC3qDDzgh5pyl8t48WccXhbscqOt04ieGMMnDIj8gAuZiEVgDEcTevTu4OL8sk3b3wPQYdYknurdNyLwYdu1PxVnOO7B5jHyg0OCBIEQ0q4Ag/s1600/smoking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KX40sH4W1X9ibAy3LTBtLnuKFFC3qDDzgh5pyl8t48WccXhbscqOt04ieGMMnDIj8gAuZiEVgDEcTevTu4OL8sk3b3wPQYdYknurdNyLwYdu1PxVnOO7B5jHyg0OCBIEQ0q4Ag/s1600/smoking.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo for illustrative purposes, taken from <a href="http://vosizneias.com/">vosizneias.com</a> through Google Images.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
But it's a community going through a lot of changes very fast. You have a lot of Jews who have no interest in Judaism whatsoever, and many who are curious and will do things like go to classes at Chabad to learn what they can. They may or may not take on Jewish practice, at a rate comfortable for them.<br />
<br />
In places where Orthodox Judaism has enough of a core, "mainstream" group of adherents to comprise its own subculture – places like Boston, New York, and certainly Jerusalem, all the places I've ever lived – there's a certain assumption that for a person interested in living a life of Orthodox practice, certain rituals or practices come before others. For example, a person who makes public statements about their Orthodoxy by wearing tzitzit would never be smoking after sundown on Friday night. If you are "religious enough" to be wearing tzitzit, which is a very public statement, obviously you must be fully Sabbath-observant.<br />
<br />
But in a city where Orthodox Judaism is in a state of rapid change, there are no assumptions. A man who isn't interested in fully observing the laws of Shabbat may very well decide he's interested in wearing tzitzit. Very likely, Chabad teaches that tzitzit is one of the first things a person should take on, since it's easy and doesn't involve any sacrifices (like giving up smoking on Shabbat) or investment of time (like a lot of Jewish rituals). Chabad is more concerned with people keeping a mitzvah, than in whether that mitzvah makes a public statement about one's "level" of observance. (I am using quotes because I think "levels" of observance is a false construct – I think Jews who wish to be engaged in Judaism are each doing the best they can, and no one can say who is on a “higher“ level than another.)<br />
<br />
So I completely understood how it could be that a man in a kippah, with tzitzit swinging side to side, might be smoking on Shabbat. But it still felt strange to see, I have to admit.<br />
<br />
Anyway, we got to the Jewish Center, and I checked my coat (a shule with a coat check!) and with simple English and gesticulating managed to find out that the entrance to the men’s section was one flight up, and the entrance to the women’s was two flights up.<br />
<br />
On each landing were groups of kids wearing Shabbat finery and running around the halls rather than sitting inside the sanctuary. This made me feel at home. I also noticed that the stairwell railings had little knobs on them, to prevent kids from sliding down them. This also made me feel at home. Kids are kids, whether they speak Russian, Hebrew, or English!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORyfHx8Sp5bmU-q9YO6C81FnQwexCqo4PNXqsHnAT5A7BELmMLnlUmNlV8sSm8zeK6NxTp2ydkrFK08C1LTNwjKDV1BgJBrFYwgy344RfjwiNjf9VSyGYDiYrHu_KFGBOcJ6hg/s1600/Marina+Roscha+sanctuary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORyfHx8Sp5bmU-q9YO6C81FnQwexCqo4PNXqsHnAT5A7BELmMLnlUmNlV8sSm8zeK6NxTp2ydkrFK08C1LTNwjKDV1BgJBrFYwgy344RfjwiNjf9VSyGYDiYrHu_KFGBOcJ6hg/s1600/Marina+Roscha+sanctuary.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="http://crownheights.info/">Crownheights.info</a>, through Google Images</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I got up to the third floor and entered one of the largest sanctuaries I’ve ever seen.<br /><br /><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-90274884896025415452014-04-16T16:35:00.001+03:002014-04-16T16:35:52.669+03:00Moscow (Part XVI - Chicken)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIV</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xv-jewish-museum-and.html" target="_blank">XV</a>. </span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7mAsqxyDcOqbmJnPa-fEM6n4uTwjxmzL1tQPx1V8Ojp-pWUAuhMMVxK9cQ_J-Z6Kvnd_1i_Ha8pBHR37ktrU9-SlHtyfzyMPzZ77i3WDwdImWBgaBDOPmqJY31dbNgbHda9T5A/s1600/Metallurg+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7mAsqxyDcOqbmJnPa-fEM6n4uTwjxmzL1tQPx1V8Ojp-pWUAuhMMVxK9cQ_J-Z6Kvnd_1i_Ha8pBHR37ktrU9-SlHtyfzyMPzZ77i3WDwdImWBgaBDOPmqJY31dbNgbHda9T5A/s1600/Metallurg+room.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Back in my hotel room, I seriously contemplated skipping the Friday night experience at Chabad. Frankly, the process of showering early enough so that my hair would dry on time, but then not being able to nap because my hair would dry all flat from the pillow, seemed overwhelming when I was so tired and just wanted to sleep. I'd heard that Russian women dress really nicely and always wear makeup (which was true, from what I‘d seen so far) and it felt like too much effort to make myself look good, shlep to the Chabad house, and then pray and eat and talk to people. The opportunity to just sleep all evening was tempting.<br />
<br />
In the end I decided that I'd have to go with wet hair, and took a nap first. Part of the reason I wanted to go to Chabad was to see how this particular slice of Jewish Moscow looks, and to meet people who actually live in Moscow. I wanted the cultural experience, one I'd never have a chance to experience again. But what truly compelled me to pull myself together, frankly, was the knowledge that there would probably be roast chicken at the meal. That felt like a simple but wholesome, warm food that I could eat.<br />
<br />
I have a friend who jokes, whenever she forces herself to go to a social situation that she doesn't want to attend, that "at least there will be cookies." I didn't feel like dragging myself outside, but at least there would be roasted chicken! I love roast chicken.<br />
<br />
So I napped, and as the sun was going down I showered, feeling bad that I might miss the start of the prayer services; again, I'd probably never be back to Moscow, so this was my only chance to soak in the Shabbat experience here.<br />
<br />
Then something positive happened: I checked my email one last time, and my friends had sent me my credit card codes! They’d gone to get Wylie’s litter box, and had found my codes just where I’d said they’d be. I didn’t celebrate yet -- I’d have to wait until after Shabbat to confirm the codes actually WORKED in this foreign country, and that nothing else was going wrong -- but this was a step in the right direction. I was 95% ready to breathe a sigh of relief.<br />
<br />
Shabbat started around 6:40 pm, which is when I left the hotel, in search of the Marina Roscha Jewish Center.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-40810505204797868232014-03-29T22:37:00.001+03:002014-03-29T22:37:18.886+03:00Moscow (Part XV: The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XIII</a>, and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiv-how-was-weather.html" target="_blank">XIV</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />
At the <a href="http://www.jewish-museum.ru/en/" target="_blank">Jewish Museum</a>, I went to the ticket counter and proudly held out 400 rubles.<br />
<br />
The museum is located in what clearly used to be a sprawling warehouse, and it has a cool “New York loft apartment” feel to it, with exposed brick walls and all the displays under one vast, airy roof. It is quite large, with lots to see and read; I spent two hour there and by far did not see everything (in particular, I did not see their youth center, nor the “Center for Tolerance” section of the facility). But what I saw was really, really interesting and well-done.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJLJ9jugiNVpJZQvGH9axSa41gpzuhhMgNaiZagXJlHN64flkVZw5EjCjiZyKXax6F91xJce0XqIpjQu3K3Tbxpcirtt8BwMq8KHNFdXfSvgdGxVnLZd_twahC5vU2aRtl_OoPA/s1600/museum+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJLJ9jugiNVpJZQvGH9axSa41gpzuhhMgNaiZagXJlHN64flkVZw5EjCjiZyKXax6F91xJce0XqIpjQu3K3Tbxpcirtt8BwMq8KHNFdXfSvgdGxVnLZd_twahC5vU2aRtl_OoPA/s1600/museum+6.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exterior of Moscow's Jewish Museum. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, provided by the museum itself.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
First, visitors go up a ramp into an enclosed theater with large, comfortable seats in concentric circles, with large screens all around on the circular walls. There, the museum shows a film that summarizes the events of the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible), establishing for all visitors, Jews and non-Jews, that this museum is about a people with a long history and a rich heritage, a people that has many stories about itself and that has challenges maintaining their traditions and heritage when they are scattered all over the world. I appreciated that they started with the “positive,” and that they didn’t jump right into something like the Holocaust. In any case, the seats moved around to make it “experiential,” and if you ever go there, be prepared to get wet during the section about Noah’s Ark.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHsGh_pSu4t2SgKuNCoLIXaC53qUloUMeWJHxPb-Imw-9YPXaOSSO8HYrSxGCKDmxcWXnm_X5J9ycq0GO9rFJvTknoyyC9ga7QYhE6xUhtYTqBn62mwb6BGmR2QamlgjRZGunng/s1600/Museum+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHsGh_pSu4t2SgKuNCoLIXaC53qUloUMeWJHxPb-Imw-9YPXaOSSO8HYrSxGCKDmxcWXnm_X5J9ycq0GO9rFJvTknoyyC9ga7QYhE6xUhtYTqBn62mwb6BGmR2QamlgjRZGunng/s1600/Museum+1.jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experiential theater-in-the-round about the Hebrew Bible. This and all other photos taken from the Museum's website.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One then goes out into the exhibits about Jewish life in Russia over the last several hundred years, which go more or less chronologically, though I think at one point I went the wrong way and went through the 1800’s backward. There is also a section on the different Jewish holidays, which I think is a serviceable introduction for people who don’t know much about them, and a section on Jewish traditions in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, with photos of families lighting Shabbat candles and such.<br />
<br />
Wherever possible, the curators clearly did their best to make the exhibits engaging and to use as many senses as possible; for example, in the section on Jewish synagogues and prayer, they have a soundtrack playing of a man chanting Kol Nidrei, which gave me chills because, of course, it’s the same tune they use in every synagogue I’ve ever been in for Yom Kippur. These are MY people! Many of the different eras of Russian-Jewish history were addressed through documentaries, showing real film clips from the times. In a section about political turmoil in the early 20th century, there is a “coffee shop” where you sit at tables with various statues (Jewish people) and you can read the newspapers and pamphlets that are on the table - quite clever. Most, though not exactly all, the exhibits came with English translations.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDH4LD_mjcKzq2P0pk2-f8FPGmL4uMx5oBE8A3cz3BFdwWmvnQg9DUNTkvLN7jC0dXADg9RkO4-_95SOS0vBTnRBnmerQwBDTsZj5I8yZI6zF-WbE543mJnQMR8AuiVZ3MmFZAQ/s1600/Museum+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDH4LD_mjcKzq2P0pk2-f8FPGmL4uMx5oBE8A3cz3BFdwWmvnQg9DUNTkvLN7jC0dXADg9RkO4-_95SOS0vBTnRBnmerQwBDTsZj5I8yZI6zF-WbE543mJnQMR8AuiVZ3MmFZAQ/s1600/Museum+2.jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interactive maps of Jewish migration from the destruction of the Second Temple until today.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwUn61cXMQSXkRtj-qX6D93z7rfLbXYasol2Cy9d6ZmPd7wbnkF_UhdGbSm_jA49_7Yzhj-JZsg5ILQ_VctQnITcc96aYBcZBFl-K-vMuIAV0e7epK_ZezL-poD0kw_IvT19adQ/s1600/museum+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwUn61cXMQSXkRtj-qX6D93z7rfLbXYasol2Cy9d6ZmPd7wbnkF_UhdGbSm_jA49_7Yzhj-JZsg5ILQ_VctQnITcc96aYBcZBFl-K-vMuIAV0e7epK_ZezL-poD0kw_IvT19adQ/s1600/museum+4.jpg" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then as now, urban Jews sat in coffee shops and talked about local politics.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The section about life in the Shtetl was very good, although I did accidentally jab my toe into the platform holding up some peddler’s wares, and to this day I have a bruise under the nail of my second toe - an injury I sure didn’t need! But in any case, there were two things I learned about, that I hadn’t realized I was confused about. The museum showed me I’d been confused AND cleared up the confusion at the same time.<br />
<br />
First, about Shtetl life. I’d always gotten two kinds of stories about it, passed down from my grandmother, who lived in one, and through other cultural exposures such as playing in "Fiddler on the Roof" or visiting Yad Vashem. I realized now that I’d never really understood how it was that the Shtetl was both a sort of Golden Age of Jewish life in Eastern Europe and Russia, and also a place where Jews suffered from anti-Semitism and were poor and had difficult lives.<br />
<br />
Here I learned that for hundreds of years, Jews lived in Shtetls and, for the most part, did have relatively good lives (compared to the non-Jews around them) because they were some of the only literate people in society, and because they were relatively autonomous. They could practice Judaism as they pleased. Until they couldn’t. Starting in the late 1800’s, in particular when Russia annexed Poland, anti-Semitism became more rampant, the Shtetls became less autonomous, and, for all sorts of economic and cultural reasons, more young Jews started moving into cities, where they had more opportunities but were no longer protected by the “togetherness” of the Shtetl - they were more exposed. And then, of course, following the Revolution in 1917, it was forbidden for them to practice Judaism at all (just as it was forbidden for anyone to practice any religion, including Christianity.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-rCAfQf8Cd7LL11REfTIRbJXq0rkyu2J4IXYjYp3Y3qGJrVFHMQ_ewZ8y2KMJ5XeDyLPk4dauwBb7RSv1f6BSAtnHduo6k2zoW_2h0DC6MaTY7F88uQOVQtv4SDOkpOlBg3p5w/s1600/museum+3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-rCAfQf8Cd7LL11REfTIRbJXq0rkyu2J4IXYjYp3Y3qGJrVFHMQ_ewZ8y2KMJ5XeDyLPk4dauwBb7RSv1f6BSAtnHduo6k2zoW_2h0DC6MaTY7F88uQOVQtv4SDOkpOlBg3p5w/s1600/museum+3.jpeg" height="194" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I learned about Shtetl history and lifestyles, and also jammed my toe quite thoroughly into the low platform under this barrel.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another enlightening thing I learned addressed a question that had been in my mind ever since I started interviewing Russian-speaking immigrants to Israel, for my job. I go once a month to different Jewish Agency Absorption Centers, talking with these new immigrants about why they moved to Israel and what their plans are. One particular donor for whom I collect these stories likes to hear that Aliyah is inspired by anti-Semitism, and/or that the immigrants are grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. So I always ask about the Holocaust connection, even though in the back of my mind I wondered what connection there would be, for Jews in countries that hadn‘t been occupied by Germany. And every time, especially when I spoke with Ukrainians, they didn’t tell me about family members who had been in concentration camps, they told me about family members who had either migrated because of World War II (often they migrated several times, to different areas of the Former Soviet Union), or who had fought in the military. Obviously I had a hole in my historical knowledge, and two conflicting questions niggled at me, unarticulated: why were Jews in the Soviet Union affected much at all? And at the same time, how could it be that ANY Jews in this region of the world DIDN’T have relatives in concentration camps? (Now, I’m like “duh,” but again, the questions were nebulous, unarticulated -- I <i>didn’t know</i> that I didn’t know.)<br />
<br />
At the Jewish Museum in Moscow there is a very moving section about the Jewish community’s role and sacrifices during World War II: how many Jews fought for Russia in their army, how many hundreds of thousands of Jewish soldiers were killed, how the Jews in the Russian army fought doubly hard because they were fighting not only for Russia, but also because they had an inkling of what would happen to them if Germany won the war. I had never truly considered World War II from the Russian viewpoint before, let alone the even more specific Russian-Jewish one. Now I understood why, when I asked about the Holocaust at Israeli Absorption Centers, the Russian translators used the word “Catastroph” to refer to the war.<br />
<br />
FYI, the gift shop at the Museum has some nice knick-knacks, but all the books were in Russian. No English. In this case I think that’s fair, since the museum really is marketed more, I think, toward non-Jewish Russians than to international tourists, though I do highly recommend it to visitors. It‘s a truly excellent museum. Next to the gift shop is a kosher café that looked like a nice quiet place to sit, with all that exposed brick and all.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UJfsT9ZwQk9kXC7T0BOtwODUphfZp8tsVD2b-W83l_5ekSTFXseKAhcjBuAwuGb6hfAjIutF0EP5hyphenhyphenNGeteoDuNBqg4e35Y5AHOSQH5VCW9OuagE5WUDCFcRInxxN5yqlBugzQ/s1600/museum+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UJfsT9ZwQk9kXC7T0BOtwODUphfZp8tsVD2b-W83l_5ekSTFXseKAhcjBuAwuGb6hfAjIutF0EP5hyphenhyphenNGeteoDuNBqg4e35Y5AHOSQH5VCW9OuagE5WUDCFcRInxxN5yqlBugzQ/s1600/museum+5.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jewish Museum store has little to offer English-speakers, but is otherwise very respectable, with many books in Russian about Jewish culture and history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On my way out of the museum two interesting things happened.<br />
<br />
First, I saw what clearly was a Chabbad rabbi leading a group of teenagers through the museum. Finally - someone who speaks Hebrew! The teens looked like it was a secret thrill to have an American stranger talking to their rabbi in Hebrew, and it really is very cool when you think about it. Anyway, he confirmed for me that yes, the synagogue where there would be communal Shabbat meals is quite nearby, and did I know that in addition to the Israeli table, there would be, this week, a Shabbat table set aside where the language would be English? I said I’d certainly keep an eye open for it! He also showed me that the kosher grocery store, Pardes, was just a block away.<br />
<br />
Second, I checked my email (thanks, free museum wi-fi!), and found that the friends taking care of my cat were having a difficult time. The cage I’d bought for him turned out to be very easy for him to escape. He’d almost jumped out the open window of their apartment. They had made a makeshift cover for the pen, but still, he had found a way to escape from underneath. The tin of litter that the vet had recommended using was not adequate and they were planning to go to my apartment to get the litter box. Meanwhile the cage was full of litter. And Wylie seemed unhappy, “brooding,” and they didn’t feel they could devote the time he needed to interaction and affection. He wasn’t eating and they were basically force-feeding him wet food and his painkiller. Perhaps he’d be better off at a shelter?<br />
<br />
I promised I’d try to find an alternative solution for him, because if they were specifically asking about putting him in a shelter, it sounded like they were very overwhelmed by the intensive care he needed, and I’m not the sort of person to just leave my problems dumped on good folks who are overwhelmed by them. I told them that it’s OK if Wylie is brooding as long as he’s safe, and I know they are doing their best and I have confidence that no one could be doing better than they were, but I’d try to find a new place for him. I posted on Facebook that I’m looking for solutions for my cat, and then walked home. Shabbat was starting soon, and I still didn’t have my credit card code, and now my toe hurt and I needed to find a new place for my cat to rehabilitate. But at least I’d finally seen a Moscow attraction, and it had been one with personal meaning.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-46652364270813760712014-03-27T18:09:00.001+02:002014-03-27T18:09:58.823+02:00Moscow (Part XIV - "How was the weather?")<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XII</a>, and <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xiii-supermarket.html" target="_blank">XIII</a>.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everyone
warned me that the weather in Moscow would be terrible. That’s why the plane
ticket is so cheap, everyone pointed out; who else is crazy enough to go to
Russia at the end of February? “We hope you have a good coat,” they said.<br />
<br />
Well, I do have a good wool jacket, in fact, and I wore many, many layers, and
gloves, and earmuffs. And between the coat and all the layers and the gloves
and the earmuffs, I was perfectly comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Most of my trip, the temperature hovered just at zero degrees Celsius, or one
degree below, during the day. That’s pretty cold . . . but it was sunny, and
there was no wind. The absence of wind makes a huge difference.<br />
<br />
Given that I was getting over a fever, I actually found the crisp, cold, sunny
air refreshing. The weather was absolutely not an issue. (The last day, it
snowed a bit, but not enough to get in my way.)<br />
<br />
The fact that my boots were extraordinarily uncomfortable for long-term wear
was a much bigger problem than the weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-2489455331114820412014-03-19T19:09:00.001+02:002014-03-19T19:25:58.805+02:00Moscow (Part XIII - Supermarket)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">XI</a>, and <a href="http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/trigger-warning.html" target="_blank">XII</a>.</span></i><br />
<br />
I woke up at 11 am, feeling incrementally better than the
night before. At least I was headed in
the right direction, albeit slowly.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On my way out of the hotel, I purchased access to the internet
for the day, emailed Jerusalem to exert some more not-so-subtle pressure on my
friends to go to my apartment and get my PIN code for me, and then headed for
the supermarket I’d found next to the money-exchange place the day before.<br />
<br />
My first order of business, now that I had some cash, was to get toothpaste.
All this time – since I’d arrived a day and a half before – I’d been brushing
with water to protect my teeth, and gum to protect my breath. <i>I would have
traded my kingdom for some Colgate.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While looking for toiletries, I took the opportunity to
examine grocery prices here in Moscow. The store was long and narrow, so I had
to walk the entire length of it before I found the dental items at the other
end. I picked up a banana and some milk, and looked around at the prices on
produce, meat, packaged foods, and dairy products.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people had told me that Moscow is an expensive city,
but I found the prices here to be quite reasonable. The prices on the food were certainly no
higher than in Israel, and in most cases a bit lower. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, everyone knows that food prices in Israel are
ridiculous. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Furthermore, I later found out from someone I met
at a Shabbat meal that an educated person in Moscow can expect to make only
about $1,000 per month, about half of what an educated person in Jerusalem
makes. So if the prices on food were only a LITTLE lower than in Israel, I
could see why so many people who had an opportunity to move to Israel were
taking it. (The admissions prices to museums, by the way, are also reasonable,
all things considered, generally the equivalent of about 35 NIS / $10 or so.)<br />
<br />
By the way, it appears that Russians, like many Europeans (I think?) are not in
the habit of using floss. There were about four different kinds of toothpicks,
and many brands of toothpaste and mouthwash, but no dental floss. Also, by the
way, trying to mime dental floss to store employees feels rather ridiculous.<br />
<br />
When I went to pay, the cashier swiped the toothpaste and the milk, but not the
banana. She didn’t speak English but motioned that there was something missing
from the banana. I figured out that here, you are supposed to weigh the produce
in the produce section, get a sticker with the price, and then bring it to the
cashier – they don’t weigh it at the cash register. I felt bummed that I didn't even know how to buy a banana in this place, but did recognize that not having a banana was a much higher-order problem than the ones I'd had the day before.<br />
<br />
You live and you learn. Weigh produce first. Know your PIN code. Pack your own
dental floss. OK.<br /><br />Now that the shopping was done, I had time to see a tourist attraction. I considered going to the Matrushka Doll Museum, but with Shabbat coming, and my still feeling woozy, I figured it would be smarter to stay closer to the hotel. The Matrushka dolls would have to wait until Sunday or Monday.<br />
<br />
Next stop, just a few blocks away: The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-61035484150089433882014-03-17T01:26:00.002+02:002014-03-17T01:32:33.708+02:00Moscow (Part XII - Trigger Warning)<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a>, </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">X</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-xi-way-to-bolshoi.html" target="_blank">XI</a>. </span></i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">.</span></i></div>
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><br /></i>
<span dir="LTR">When
I bought my ticket for the Bolshoi, I chose the performance on the basis that
it was the only night during my trip that they were doing a ballet (rather than
opera) and it wasn't Shabbat. It didn't much matter what ballet they were
doing, since there was no other night I could see any dance there. I could tell
it would be something modern, but didn't really pay much attention to what it
would be. Whatever it would be, it would be the Bolshoi Ballet! Amazing!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">When
I got there and settled in my balcony seat, an incredibly graceful and strong
man dressed in a suit was dancing on and around a sofa, full of angst. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4H8nK1VrWdsmrfoXalWHhP_Rwtowx6wRZ2bWLPcHkP0Y6AIDKHupWN41EU9Ko3TXKBjnUlFxFqygRMwCRDDKukd4PYBdofsihx4qhQai8f05TGPVIU4xTTTi0NDS3gekIqrIOg/s1600/Kvartira-2-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4H8nK1VrWdsmrfoXalWHhP_Rwtowx6wRZ2bWLPcHkP0Y6AIDKHupWN41EU9Ko3TXKBjnUlFxFqygRMwCRDDKukd4PYBdofsihx4qhQai8f05TGPVIU4xTTTi0NDS3gekIqrIOg/s1600/Kvartira-2-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">He was
extremely talented. When he was finished, about four other dancers came on, did
a dance full of angst, and left, to be replaced by a couple playing out
domestic angst in a home (it ended with the woman </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">taking a baby out of the
smoking oven, handing it to the guy, and leaving). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">Here
are photos from the ballet, taken by Damir Yusupov, who I think is an official
photographer for the Bolshoi (I found the pictures through Google Images):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span dir="LTR"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span dir="LTR"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbp_xAR6hEia07q8W07TFiMKhA_9SP4tfhxAaTJelo44VxYZgsMr4XPPHvbP7CAjxrAyXyr3fLOrGsr9vRRKIvD5nOaAUzPxyaXN8RFmf7vnDRQqN9u55rMv4gkWenwWLUrYjtTA/s1600/Kvartira-1-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbp_xAR6hEia07q8W07TFiMKhA_9SP4tfhxAaTJelo44VxYZgsMr4XPPHvbP7CAjxrAyXyr3fLOrGsr9vRRKIvD5nOaAUzPxyaXN8RFmf7vnDRQqN9u55rMv4gkWenwWLUrYjtTA/s1600/Kvartira-1-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span dir="LTR"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAC7mNycHN8LMutH-s_WdgAl375Wpe34BzhNwXdJbC7VHY1A_8kLI7KtyuBHnFawo115awIgoZGMFMRf7BzTOtgMrzWOq1xpw2p9MfPtfta0eTzeSpSnY94q8g1NqYslTcnlRsxw/s1600/Kvartira-3-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAC7mNycHN8LMutH-s_WdgAl375Wpe34BzhNwXdJbC7VHY1A_8kLI7KtyuBHnFawo115awIgoZGMFMRf7BzTOtgMrzWOq1xpw2p9MfPtfta0eTzeSpSnY94q8g1NqYslTcnlRsxw/s1600/Kvartira-3-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span dir="LTR"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09FnfvdSrN9y-Bm_h9CRH5MNB3XHTerhh6lZp1TGy1lwgTAFljoiQbBOxsLfLRdbEy9eMWJ4IpuWf_BUYUNDgWukyKIahpp0evWO0I62OIqlwcjJQ8eHzx4nrJTJ5fRpHR5yRVQ/s1600/Kvartira-4-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09FnfvdSrN9y-Bm_h9CRH5MNB3XHTerhh6lZp1TGy1lwgTAFljoiQbBOxsLfLRdbEy9eMWJ4IpuWf_BUYUNDgWukyKIahpp0evWO0I62OIqlwcjJQ8eHzx4nrJTJ5fRpHR5yRVQ/s1600/Kvartira-4-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">Although
ideally I would have been treated to classical ballet, full of frilly tutus and
soaring music, I could appreciate the modern dance. I cannot overstate how
talented the dancers were, and if the music and choreography weren't my taste,
and if I'd have preferred </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span dir="LTR">Swan</span></st1:placename><span dir="LTR"> </span><st1:placetype><span dir="LTR">Lake</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span dir="LTR"> or the Nutcracker, well, I could still respect what the Bolshoi had
chosen to do tonight. Besides, what is a trip to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span dir="LTR"> without
a ballet full of angst? I felt the whole thing was appropriate and interesting
and Russian, through my aching feet, slowly-receding nausea, and slowly
decreasing fever. </span></div>
<span dir="LTR"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">When intermission began, I went downstairs and claimed my rightful seat. Tenth
row, center aisle at last! Thank God. I also asked an usher for an English
program. (None of the ushers spoke a word of English, natch.) It turned out that what I had just seen was called <a href="http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/616/" target="_blank">Kvartira</a>, and it
had been a one-act ballet. After intermission, I'd be seeing a different
45-minute one-act ballet, Igor Stravinsky's <a href="http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/656/" target="_blank">The Rite of Spring</a>.</span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
</span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Some of you reading this know what's coming, but I did not. I did not know that
when The Rite of Spring debuted in 1913, it literally almost caused a riot,
because the music is so discordant and the choreography was so disturbing. Oh
no, my immediate thought was "The Rite of Spring – that sounds
pretty!" (Looking back, my ignorance is embarrassing but it sure makes for
a better story on my blog.)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This performance had new choreography; the show had debuted at the Bolshoi just
nine performances ago. The "plot" of the dance revolves around a
group of dancers, equally divided between men and women, who live in an
incredibly ugly futuristic dystopia; the set immediately brought to mind <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-NTOJkx08c" target="_blank">the film "9."</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUyxjDKrwkUz6YQnDK9ljqbnaYEJQSxGPQrl8vCsdjFzvqDzjbFas8DZ2I7ByD4g2Bcg5R-ItW6_jBtkJ0Vy1EL-qX6M7bhpCjxhfaPnYozHF0fYP4mKd-OoXVoegrgscEW6BHg/s1600/Rite-1-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUyxjDKrwkUz6YQnDK9ljqbnaYEJQSxGPQrl8vCsdjFzvqDzjbFas8DZ2I7ByD4g2Bcg5R-ItW6_jBtkJ0Vy1EL-qX6M7bhpCjxhfaPnYozHF0fYP4mKd-OoXVoegrgscEW6BHg/s1600/Rite-1-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwMkr2mX8li3VvqIx2dr1xvC188km5ObHxCpFxpTSHKEd5jgMkBdhbRjePAtT1fzDJIf7i6ijl8vgc4rAQN9oKnYB7s6HTceJSDXucV2Z8BSCnEs0tTHVNA5Pe0qo06ZOPuh_Zw/s1600/rite-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwMkr2mX8li3VvqIx2dr1xvC188km5ObHxCpFxpTSHKEd5jgMkBdhbRjePAtT1fzDJIf7i6ijl8vgc4rAQN9oKnYB7s6HTceJSDXucV2Z8BSCnEs0tTHVNA5Pe0qo06ZOPuh_Zw/s1600/rite-3.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7JJkB0lZxmSJW3sPW7mxAvygBtvpsZE3BPxnr4YsSDfX0ztWTD4-9hlXMtR4qA_ktp-l5ZyugokfiwUiqz3u86bxTi7gCKFi756Dt-ZcCyJ-fx6NF2Hxw7_TqioU3IkYVEb32Q/s1600/Rite-4-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7JJkB0lZxmSJW3sPW7mxAvygBtvpsZE3BPxnr4YsSDfX0ztWTD4-9hlXMtR4qA_ktp-l5ZyugokfiwUiqz3u86bxTi7gCKFi756Dt-ZcCyJ-fx6NF2Hxw7_TqioU3IkYVEb32Q/s1600/Rite-4-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The dancers have no water. There is a huge faucet way up in the sky, and the
women often stand under it, praying for relief, but it never provides even a
drop. Meanwhile, the men force the women to conform the rules of this strange
world – for example, each dancer creates a platform based on her height, so
that in no time they all become the same height. A creepy drawing of a leader
(Lenin?) appears, and the women rip it apart in a display of protest! </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQI7dF1V5HcqI3pqC_iVs4iWOdQCtsfYZeodFzkX2gouYb2yGbnL_JgP5JrsCOHp47woUF4kVIMgFcshzDAdWBhERo71XWEQu0RakiOV3AHxxXxNwmoWbK4FmOi7EO3rxkDUjFQ/s1600/Rite-2-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQI7dF1V5HcqI3pqC_iVs4iWOdQCtsfYZeodFzkX2gouYb2yGbnL_JgP5JrsCOHp47woUF4kVIMgFcshzDAdWBhERo71XWEQu0RakiOV3AHxxXxNwmoWbK4FmOi7EO3rxkDUjFQ/s1600/Rite-2-photo-by-Damir-Yusupov.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKQ2cJBCFE-qR3NYSJBbmgRBztqTbi87p0Z_3nJbG2gT5cYpUwZ7loBfrqYthbvpcYa1y9uyMkZuBzMpUZAiPa5110lX5we7svl2f9F05ggKO69noYJo6DlPEmOdDD_wiotNGiQ/s1600/rite-1-by_damir_yusupov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKQ2cJBCFE-qR3NYSJBbmgRBztqTbi87p0Z_3nJbG2gT5cYpUwZ7loBfrqYthbvpcYa1y9uyMkZuBzMpUZAiPa5110lX5we7svl2f9F05ggKO69noYJo6DlPEmOdDD_wiotNGiQ/s1600/rite-1-by_damir_yusupov.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And then, in a scene that should have come with a trigger warning, each of the
men rapes one of the women. Then the women hang themselves. Then a creepy
medical table is lowered down from the sky, and each woman rolls off of it into
a long sandbox, and rolls around in the dust, trailing her hair in it and then
whipping her hair back, so the dust is everywhere. The world is dust! The world
is full of nothing, it has no meaning at all! Then they all get water and are
happy. The end.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5alhf0tI8JgqYEM4wLSVMeh9HCMbpJV1amgMBxo5YWfF8Nqa5HZavhEW6Z7s2cl4DZCKltvkHSNM-TKwjaRZaRMlFdbxCacwK0D4-549wtTZ4DphbC_Ln7urzOEEsE_OM4-ZVMA/s1600/kvartira-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5alhf0tI8JgqYEM4wLSVMeh9HCMbpJV1amgMBxo5YWfF8Nqa5HZavhEW6Z7s2cl4DZCKltvkHSNM-TKwjaRZaRMlFdbxCacwK0D4-549wtTZ4DphbC_Ln7urzOEEsE_OM4-ZVMA/s1600/kvartira-5.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5XbkkErxNiw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">That's
right, children. After everything I'd been through to get to the ballet, it
turned out to be a super-depressing commentary on the Soviet regime and on
patriarchy, with scenes of rape and mass hanging. I'm pretty sure my
interpretation is correct because on the way out, I found the group of tourists
who had arrived late with me, and we'd all interpreted it the same way. Turns
out they were Americans who had just been in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Sochi</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> for the Olympics,
and stopped to see </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> before going home. </span></div>
<span dir="LTR"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">I learned two things on the way out. First, the beautiful lobby area is full of
benches because – and this makes complete sense – putting one's coat back on
after the ballet is part of the procedure of leaving, when you live in a place as cold as Moscow. The Bolshoi architects
were kind enough to provide ample coat-check space and ample space for putting
on boots, hats, and scarves.</span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
</span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR"><br /></span></div>
<span dir="LTR">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span dir="LTR">Second, they are way behind on the consumerism thing in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">. The American
group were interested in buying Bolshoi souvenirs – they specifically wanted
t-shirts, but would have been happy with anything that cost $50 or less – but the
only items available were a few different books (only one in English, and all
pricey) you could buy on the way out from a woman at a little table. In </span><st1:state><st1:place><span dir="LTR">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span dir="LTR"> or </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR">, the entire area
between the theater and the Metro station would have been riddled with little
souvenir shops with licenses to sell Bolshoi items. Here? Nothing. (Another
difference: There were people dressed in formal eveningwear at the Bolshoi. In </span><st1:state><st1:place><span dir="LTR">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span dir="LTR"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span dir="LTR">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span dir="LTR"> theaters, people
dress nicely, but you don't see anyone in a floor-length gown.)</span></div>
</span><span dir="LTR"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Anyway, I hobbled back to the Metro and got off at the station nearest to my
hotel. I had a bit of confusion about how exactly to get back, and ended up
taking a wrong turn for a short while a couple of times (see my path, in the
red line, below), which would not have been a big deal except that my feet felt
like they were burning in lava, and I was tired and sick and was just barely
managing to see the amusing irony in the fact that after all this, the ballet
had been one of the most depressing productions I'd ever seen. I was also not happy to be walking alone around Moscow late at night, because there weren't enough people on the street for my taste. It felt a bit alarming.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCr9FzvIXOS4uVrR0oeR8x_xzzwMW4NfAyzQCJbaRkWEA7MIZa4rHwebqa09dar5JCH_c2nsBxXlCWJIG7T3KCE-LyW0qpkw_ekMovuNfPMQataGOtWXVo_5zVEK-XsNiM5c5jg/s1600/how+I+walked+from+metro+to+hotel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCr9FzvIXOS4uVrR0oeR8x_xzzwMW4NfAyzQCJbaRkWEA7MIZa4rHwebqa09dar5JCH_c2nsBxXlCWJIG7T3KCE-LyW0qpkw_ekMovuNfPMQataGOtWXVo_5zVEK-XsNiM5c5jg/s1600/how+I+walked+from+metro+to+hotel.JPG" height="248" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When I got back to my room, I fell into a deep sleep, without setting my alarm.
I needed money and I needed to get this trip back on track, but most of all I
needed to get healthy again.</div>
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-84456192006762916372014-03-10T22:30:00.002+02:002014-03-10T22:30:48.446+02:00Moscow (Part XI - The Way to the Bolshoi)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IX</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-x-novoslobodskaya.html" target="_blank">X</a>.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
I
was about 15 minutes late meeting Rusina, so when at first I couldn't find her,
I feared that she'd given up and left. But she was there, with a hug and a
smile and an expression of sympathy. She not only loaned me some money, she
also came down into the metro station with me to buy me a 20-ride ticket, and
showed me on the subway map how to get to the Bolshoi.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dHBCZMfGzU4e4p4RYj7t26vVqQjU9AdmjkKJMWVckV2P9TgJHsvb3eq8vE6bR_FEUHOlEQD2vZb5vK5PBwzGlrChdv2bctRlYNvxjYJ8CuhiADXbZFfbvpIC-1R3p1jJlLml6w/s1600/02metro.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dHBCZMfGzU4e4p4RYj7t26vVqQjU9AdmjkKJMWVckV2P9TgJHsvb3eq8vE6bR_FEUHOlEQD2vZb5vK5PBwzGlrChdv2bctRlYNvxjYJ8CuhiADXbZFfbvpIC-1R3p1jJlLml6w/s1600/02metro.gif" height="400" width="348" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moscow Subway System</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br />
<br />
The great thing about having lived in <st1:state>New York</st1:state>
for so many years is that if you have mastered the <st1:city>New
York City</st1:city> subway, any other city's system is pretty
much a snap. It was easy to work out on the map which lines I should take and
where to change trains, and it was easy to match the signs in the stations and
on the platforms to the information I'd gleaned from the map.<br />
<br />
I should add here that <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>'s
reputation for having excellent subway service is well-deserved. The stations
are clean, nicely decorated, and well-marked, and the trains came by
approximately every three minutes. (Some of the stations are so beautifully
decorated that they were listed in "Moscow Top 10" as tourist
attractions in themselves. Alas, since my logistical troubles and illness
forced me to shorten my itinerary, I wasn't able to see any of them. I'd been
hoping to.) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
It
also offered an incredibly smooth ride; I was annoyed at first to find there
weren't poles in the subway cars for short people to hang onto, and then found
that the level of "jerking" was small enough that with just a little
concentration I could avoid losing my balance, even when the train was entering
or leaving a station.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
Still,
despite my subway savvy, the routes and stations were unfamiliar to me, and so
I did a lot of double-checking of signs and maps to make sure I was always
going in the right direction. This added time to the trip.<br />
<br />
Adding insult to injury, the balls of my feet were starting to hurt like hell. For
two days I'd been wearing the same pair of boots (I hadn't packed any other
footwear, because why should I? It would be too cold in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>
to wear flats), and they were getting incredibly uncomfortable. So now, each step was an effort because I had
no energy AND because my feet felt like they were burning off from the inside.
I was therefore disappointed to find that each subway platform had only one map
to look at, usually at the other end of the platform from wherever I was!
Torture.<br />
<br />
Anyway, when I got to the Teatralnaya station, it was <st1:time hour="6" minute="53">6:53</st1:time>. The ballet
started at 7. With any luck I'd make it just on time!<br />
<br />
I emerged from the subway system into the night air, and saw this (I lifted this
photo through Google Images from a blog called <a href="http://internetdatinguk.blogspot.co.il/" target="_blank">Internet Dating UK</a> but it's exactly what I saw), and knew without needing to be told that this was
the famous Bolshoi, just steps away!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDMQq2C_ZIGE4OXom1d9MmuafuY1tjEMCR9a0Tjlg5buxql0Xua8GteUJwLGaoUPrQC04N6g-C4bhFhSOoSM2Jckuga3KjMTKjKAZGeKkwuqdEFlZMs5YbvDuGIQN6gi3L9g2cg/s1600/httpinternetdatinguk.blogspot.co.il.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDMQq2C_ZIGE4OXom1d9MmuafuY1tjEMCR9a0Tjlg5buxql0Xua8GteUJwLGaoUPrQC04N6g-C4bhFhSOoSM2Jckuga3KjMTKjKAZGeKkwuqdEFlZMs5YbvDuGIQN6gi3L9g2cg/s1600/httpinternetdatinguk.blogspot.co.il.jpg" height="252" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
Wow.</div>
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<br />
For a minute I just stared at it, but time was a-wasting. I approached the
entrance at the columns, but saw people in front of me being turned by a guard
to a place around the corner. I knew there was only one show at the Bolshoi
that night, in the "New Hall," so I motioned to the guard "Here?
There?" and he motioned that I should go around to the left side of the
building and then straight.<br />
<br />
The current Bolshoi Theater building was built in 1821. A little more than a
decade ago, it was closed for extensive renovations. In order to be able to
continue performances while the building was being fixed up, the Bolshoi built the "New Stage." I'd seen in
pictures beforehand, and knew that even though I wouldn't be in the historic
auditorium, I was in for a treat. The Bolshoi had invested a tremendous amount
into making the New Hall nearly grand as the old, and the pictures looked just
beautiful.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZaGtBrv0dkHnH6pzLhJnjjk5y3vXpg7rGXz2YdxfmtXp9tEUpIzdqffkteyoa1o69AGMx3KE9IWyY6wO4Dbd3_5JwbxXOBuwdv1fPGl13d05lsqRylafDiDWKtUcENcuIC8AQ1Q/s1600/bolshoi+new+stage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZaGtBrv0dkHnH6pzLhJnjjk5y3vXpg7rGXz2YdxfmtXp9tEUpIzdqffkteyoa1o69AGMx3KE9IWyY6wO4Dbd3_5JwbxXOBuwdv1fPGl13d05lsqRylafDiDWKtUcENcuIC8AQ1Q/s1600/bolshoi+new+stage.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The interior of the Bolshoi's New Stage (photo found through Google Images)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
I went around what was clearly the historic, "old" building, looking
for an indication of where the "new" hall was. I walked all the way
down the length of the Bolshoi and didn't see anything to indicate where I
should go. So I walked around the back. Nothing. And around the other side. No
entrance. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Now
I was back at the columns where the guard had directed me away. I had just
wasted so very many precious steps on my aching feet to walk completely around
the Bolshoi building. <br />
<br />
Exasperated, and noting that it was now after 7, I went through the main
entrance and found a human being at a sales booth. I showed her the
confirmation for my ticket to the night's performance, and she issued me a
ticket with a beautiful design on one side and the Bolshoi logo. There it was,
written plainly in black and white: Row 10, Seat 13. My perfect seat in the
center aisle! </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
She
pointed me back outside and insisted I should go out the way I'd been before,
around to the left. Stymied, I went out again, and this time found a group of
about eight other people who all were clearly looking for the same thing I was.
Finally, we realized that the grand building on a platform to our left must be
New Hall. You didn't RE<st1:stockticker>ALLY</st1:stockticker> think it would
say "Bolshoi" on the building anywhere, even in Cyrillic, did you? <br />
<br />
We all went in, checked our coats, and then had more trouble figuring out where
to go from there. Up some stairs . . . then up more stairs . . . where an usher
(who spoke hardly an English, natch) told the group they have to go up yet
ANOTHER flight of stairs. I approached the usher and presented my ticket, and
she said "Come this way." She led me silently into the theater . . .
onto the first balcony . . . where she unfolded a seat connected to a pillar,
and pointed that I should sit there.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-1CLBuM1E_EXOAe0mpWaOnkL1GLMRyM8g4oIbmjO7cqWb7Qe3tndJ2TEfv04d-n3qoRR0YvMU_3WRjJqdhEtbxLMrMK2x0A8TyFZ6cWF0rtvlKxJIq4S9pV-NCuOcA6YC5_oMA/s1600/bolshoi+seats+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-1CLBuM1E_EXOAe0mpWaOnkL1GLMRyM8g4oIbmjO7cqWb7Qe3tndJ2TEfv04d-n3qoRR0YvMU_3WRjJqdhEtbxLMrMK2x0A8TyFZ6cWF0rtvlKxJIq4S9pV-NCuOcA6YC5_oMA/s1600/bolshoi+seats+1.JPG" height="287" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A: Where I was supposed to sit. B: Where I was now sitting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
It was <st1:time hour="7" minute="10">7:10</st1:time> and I'd lost my beautiful
seat, until intermission. I felt like crap, and the anxiety of the past few
hours still hung on me like a cobweb. But I was at the Bolshoi, and a very
graceful dancer was moving onstage, and there was music playing. I reminded myself that everything I was experiencing was very much a First World Problem. <i>Poor me, I have a bad seat at the Bolshoi Ballet, boo hoo</i>, you know?<br />
<br />
Deep breaths, Sarah. Calm down, focus on the present, and enjoy the Bolshoi.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-35500516358070531622014-03-09T22:39:00.001+02:002014-03-09T22:39:16.347+02:00Moscow (Part X - Novoslobodskaya)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VIII</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ix-pins-and-needles.html" target="_blank">IX</a>.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
Rusina
had said that it was a 15-minute walk from my hotel to the Novoslobodskaya
Metro station, where I was to meet her, but I didn't want to take any chances
so I went down to the lobby at about 5:30 to ask how to get there.<br />
<br />
The first thing the receptionist (the same one who had given me free internet a
bit earlier) said was "you see train on street?" Yes. I had noticed a
network of electrical cables strung over the major streets nearby -- it did nothing to improve the aesthetics
of the city, but did vaguely remind me of the "T" in <st1:city>Boston</st1:city>
and therefore felt sort of homey to me -- and periodic tiny "trains" that ran
along them, with little antennae-like rods connecting the "trains" to
the cables. Hilariously, to make sure I understood what she was talking about,
the receptionist made a little V sign over her head, to indicate the antennae.
Anyway, yes, I knew about the train.</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">"Take train to Novoslobodskaya," she said. I replied "I
can't. I have to walk. I have no money for the train." She literally
rolled her eyes and I realized how absolutely idiotic I sounded, being a
tourist with absolutely no money. <br />
<br />
The receptionist impatiently said "follow train," so I did. But when
I saw the train veer left at a point that I thought perhaps I should be veering
right if I was on foot, I tried asking more people for directions (I'd been
correct. Also, the station was VERY difficult to find and I never would have
done so on my own. Also, the big M signs indicating a metro station are not as
obvious in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> as they are in other cities I've visited . . . at least, not if you don't
know what you are looking for). Every few blocks I stopped Russian passers-by
and said "Metro Novoslobodskaya?" And I learned four things.</span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m29!1m12!1m3!1d8973.966268360346!2d37.606884519289046!3d55.7847017682079!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m14!1i0!3e2!4m5!1s0x46b54a0f6240c30f%3A0xc861ff95fa4d14c8!2sGostinitsa+METALLURG%2C+Oktyabrskiy+pereulok%2C+12%2C+Moscow%2C+Russia%2C+127018!3m2!1d55.787406!2d37.611677!4m5!1s0x46b54a174647811d%3A0xcf273fef30a9337a!2zTm92b3Nsb2JvZHNrYXlhINCd0L7QstC-0YHQu9C-0LHQvtC00YHQutCw0Y8!3m2!1d55.779514!2d37.601062!5e0!3m2!1sen!2s!4v1394397384494" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
First, everyone who had assured me that in central </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I'd find plenty of cosmopolitan
people who spoke English did not know what they are talking about. Not one single
person spoke English.<br />
<br />
Second, no one ignored me. Everyone did what they could to point me in the
right direction. Some of them did so brusquely, but there were people who were
friendly in the sense of stopping and thinking about the best direction to send
me, and trying their darndest to explain in English. It was sweet of them to
try. Most switched to Russian and I just gave them a blank stare and shrugged, because trying to understand was pointless.<br />
<br />
Third, if you are reading this and you have never learned Russian, I guarantee
that however you are pronouncing "Novoslobodskaya"in your head is wrong. Every
single person, when asked "Metro Novoslobodskaya?" first responded
with a quizzical look and then said something like
"Noviblublublublublu?" Maybe it was NoVOslobskei, or Novoblintzes, or
Novajabotinsky. But however I was saying it, was not right.<br />
<br />
Fourth, when you are sick AND you don't know where you are going, a 15-minute
walk turns into a 40-minute walk. <br />
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<!--[endif]--></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-2644100144598145332014-03-08T22:10:00.000+02:002014-03-08T22:10:39.768+02:00Moscow (Part IX - PINs and Needles)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VII</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-viii-cash-and-credit.html" target="_blank">VIII</a>.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
I
managed to communicate to the hotel receptionist that I'm having a problem
accessing money and I needed to reach friends in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>.
She kindly gave me a code for the hotel's wi-fi and said I could pay her back
later (the hotel charges 100 rubles per day for wi-fi access, the equivalent of
10 <st1:city>NIS</st1:city>
or $3).<br />
<br />
I emailed my roommate and then sat on pins and needles waiting for her to write
back. She was out of town . . . wouldn't be back until at least tomorrow, if
then.<br />
<br />
I emailed the Buxners. Since they were caring for Wylie, they had the key to my
apartment. They could get into my apartment and find the piece of paper with the code to my credit card. Since the card was new, I knew exactly where that paper was, thank goodness.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
While
I waited for them to respond, I emailed Rusina and asked her to call me. On the
phone, she said that indeed I have a problem, since one cannot pay for Metro
cards with a credit card, only cash, so I wouldn't be able to get far until I
was able to access an ATM. For example, the <st1:place><st1:placename>Matrushka</st1:placename>
<st1:placename>Doll</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>
was out of the question until I was able to get a Metro card (or get cash to
pay for a taxi – either way I needed cash).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
She
suggested that while I wait for the Buxners to respond, I go to the <a href="http://www.jewish-museum.ru/en/main" target="_blank">JewishMuseum and Tolerance Center</a>.
It was just a few blocks from me and I could pay for my ticket with my credit
card. Its proximity also meant that I wouldn't be pushing myself too hard,
physically.<br />
<br />
Relieved to be making productive use of my time at last, I walked to the
Museum. Actually, I plodded. Every step was an effort. At first I went the
wrong way and though I quickly realized the error and doubled back, I was upset
to have wasted the energy, even if it was only a block's worth of steps.<br />
<br />
I got to the Jewish Museum. It's located in what clearly used to be a large
warehouse, and the entrance was around the other side. I walked the long path
around the museum, and discovered that on the other side of the path was . . .
a Jewish school. I knew it was a Jewish school because there were about 70 kids
playing outside for recess, and all the boys were wearing kippot and tzitzit,
and all the girls were wearing skirts. Based on what I knew of the Day School
scene in Moscow (thanks to my job), I knew this must be the chareidi school,
one of a few different Day Schools in town. <br />
<br />
I was tired, but more importantly I was at last seeing my miracle, so I sat on
a bench on the path and watched the children playing. A Jewish day school in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>!
They were learning Judaism at school, openly, without having to worry about the
KGB arresting their teachers. Who would have thought, when I was growing up,
that I'd live to see this? These children had been born after the fall of the <st1:place>Soviet
Union</st1:place>. They had no idea how lucky they were, or how special their
school is, but I knew. I wished I could hold onto what I was seeing and save it
to show my friends and family.<br />
<br />
Finally I continued on, step by torturous step, to the Jewish Museum entrance.
I went to the ticket counter. The person there spoke English! He said a ticket
is 400 rubles (40 <st1:city>NIS</st1:city>/ $12). I
handed him my credit card. He swiped it. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
And then he turned a little machine to me and asked me to enter my PIN
code.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
So I took my card back and walked away.<br />
<br />
It turns out that in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>,
as in many other countries (but not in any places I've ever lived), you cannot
complete any credit card transactions at all without the PIN code. In the <st1:country-region>USA</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>, you
just hand over your credit card, they swipe it, you sign the receipt, and you
are done. In <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>,
they require your PIN (later, a Russian colleague in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>
told me that she was appalled when she discovered how easily someone in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>
could, in theory, fraudulently use her credit card). Intellectually I think the
Russian way makes much more sense. But right now, their intelligent credit card
security culture meant that I could do nothing, <i>nothing at all</i>, until I heard
back from the Buxners and they went to my house to find my code.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br />
I emailed them again. I'm sure I sounded like a mad woman, and in fact, they
later confirmed that they thought I was a little nuts, because who goes abroad without
money? They didn't yet know all the details of how I'd gotten to this point. But in
any case, they were not at home. They were out celebrating their first wedding
anniversary and wouldn't be home until late. They'd try to get to my house
tomorrow . . . <br />
<br />
I called Rusina because I didn't know what else to do. I was so embarrassed;
she's not a friend, but a work colleague (though friendly and helpful), and
here I was, in the very unprofessional condition of being sick and broke. <br />
<br />
She said she'll think, and get back to me. A little while later I got an email
from her. I was to meet her at a Metro station about a 15 minute walk from the
hotel, at about <st1:time hour="18" minute="0">6 pm</st1:time>, when she was on
her way home from work. She'd feel comfortable loaning me the equivalent of a
few hundred shekels, enough to get me started, and then I could go straight
onto the Metro and be at the Bolshoi well ahead of the ballet at <st1:time hour="19" minute="0">7 pm</st1:time>.<br />
<br />
I was relieved and grateful, but also nervous. Now I really needed that code,
not just to enjoy my travels and be safe but, more importantly to me, pay
Rusina back as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
But there was little I could do until I met Rusina at the Metro at <st1:time hour="18" minute="0">6 pm</st1:time>, so I went back to bed for another nap.<br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-70095925911172148012014-03-08T18:41:00.002+02:002014-03-08T18:41:40.908+02:00Moscow (Part VIII - Cash and Credit)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VI</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-vii-wednesday.html" target="_blank">VII</a>.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
The
first order of business was to get some money. I pulled on some clothes and
brushed my teeth with water, then popped some gum to freshen my breath. Since I
was still sick, the process of getting dressed turned out to be pretty
exhausting, so I went back to bed for a while.<br />
<br />
At the reception desk, I found a woman who spoke very, very basic English. Her
English plus a sheet of paper on which to draw maps was enough for her to explain
to me both where the nearest Metro station is, and where I could exchange money
– a currency exchange station was right around the corner.<br />
<br />
The neighborhood where my hotel was located was drab-looking, but Rusina had
assured me it's safe. Even so, I put on my best <st1:state>New York</st1:state>
"I'm not a tourist, I'm a confident person who knows where I'm going"
affect, though I don't know how successful I was given that every step I took
felt like an effort. I found the cash exchange very easily and discovered it is
connected to a supermarket – a handy thing to know.<br />
<br />
The woman at currency exchange spoke no English. Since I don't know how to
count in Russian, I wrote down on a piece of paper how many rubles I want, and
she nodded – she understood. I then handed her my credit card.<br />
<br />
"No card," she said. "Cesh." She pointed to my wallet.
"Cesh."<br />
<br />
So. Currency exchange takes only cash. I had about 100 shekels in my wallet,
that was all – not enough to get far, even if they do take shekels (I didn't
ask, but the sign outside said only dollars and Euros). The woman pointed
inside the supermarket and said "With card – machine. Take money
machine."<br />
<br />
The problem with her idea was that to take out money from the ATM with a credit
card, you need the PIN code. <br />
<br />
Now I knew what I'd <u>really</u> forgotten. The code to my credit card. <br />
<br />
I slowly walked back to my hotel, thinking over my situation. No cash meant no
rubles. No PIN code meant no cash. No PIN code, then, meant no money.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-15700810960786656382014-03-08T18:36:00.001+02:002014-03-08T18:36:55.810+02:00Moscow (Part VII - Wednesday)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/ibet-some-of-you-were-thinking-after.html" target="_blank">VI</a>.</i><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When I woke up, it was dark outside and my phone
said it was about </span><st1:time hour="18" minute="30"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">6:30 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. But I didn't know if it was still Wednesday, or
if I'd slept through Wednesday night and most of Thursday. The practical question
was whether I was about to miss the ballet at the Bolshoi, which was on
Thursday at </span><st1:time hour="19" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">7 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. A call to the front desk and some simple words in English combined with
the help of my phrasebook determined that it was still Wednesday, thank God.
The thought that I might have slept through my chance to go to the Bolshoi had
almost made me cry.<br />
<br />
I puttered around my room, changing into pajamas, eating a bowl of oatmeal –
slowly, in case it hit my stomach wrong – and drinking lots of water (which
tasted fine from the tap). At </span><st1:time hour="20" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">8 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, the phone rang in my room; Rusina had heard from
the taxi driver that I was sick, and was calling to find out what was going on.
I told her that after my nap I no longer felt on the verge of death, and that
it had been tough but I think now I was well enough to take care of myself, I
just need to take things slow. I told her that in the morning I'd go to
exchange money and I think as long as I didn't push myself too hard, I'd be all
right. I felt relieved that she'd called; at least someone now knew where I was
and what was going on.<br />
<br />
I watched a little TV before going back to bed. The shows in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> were the same mix as
what I see in the States. Cooking shows, action shows, dramas, Family Guy,
Friends. Everything was dubbed over in Russian, with the English just barely
audible in the background. Comprehension was just beyond my reach. I watched a
long infomercial about a container that also chops, grates, and slices your
vegetables, and went back to bed. I couldn't brush my teeth because the
toothbrush was in the depths of my suitcase and I didn't have the strength to
look for it, and anyway I had no toothpaste. I didn't set my alarm.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-3458915501911839392014-03-07T15:58:00.000+02:002014-03-07T15:59:42.409+02:00Moscow (Part VI - The Flight)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px; text-align: start;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">IV</a> and <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-v-day-before.html" target="_blank">V</a>.</i><br />
<br />
I
bet some of you were thinking after the last post that I slept through my
alarm, but I didn't! I got up and showered and packed, and, though I was quite
stressed about having left all this for the last minute, I did make it outside
at <st1:time hour="1" minute="45">1:45</st1:time>, exactly on time. I felt
proud of myself! I'd had only one hour of sleep, and my cat was injured and in
a strange place, but I was running on time (that never happens!) and my packing
list had been incredibly useful. My suitcase was a bit overweight, but I could
solve that problem at the airport by moving a few items into my carry on (which
I did).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once I got into the van and we pulled away from my house, I wondered what I
might have forgotten. Because everyone forgets SOMETHING! And then I realized,
I hadn't packed toothpaste. Oh well, that's not a big deal. Surely near the
hotel was a place I could buy toothpaste, maybe even at the reception desk. I
felt proud for being so organized that the only thing I could think of that I'd
forgotten was an easily-replaced toiletry item. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I went over in my mind my plan for the next few hours: Get through airport
security, change currency, sleep as much as I could on the flight, and, when I
got to <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>, buy a sim card for
my phone. Rusina had arranged and pre-paid for a car service to pick me up, so
that would be handy. And once I was at the hotel, I'd buy access to the hotel's
wifi, let people know I'm OK, unpack and rest, and then see if there was still
time to catch a museum or something before everything closed. It was a
reasonable plan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Except.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I went through passport control on my way out of Ben Gurion, the very low-grade
gastrointestinal rumblings I'd been feeling for the last day or two started to
feel more desperate. I could feel my blood pressure drop and a wave of nausea
roll over me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By the time I got to the duty-free area, where the money change store is, I was
desperate to sit down or get to a bathroom or get to my gate – I didn't much
care as long as I could crawl out of my skin. I'd have to buy rubles when I got
to <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>. At the gate I thought
about canceling my trip – I could feel that I had a low fever, and the nausea
was getting worse – but after everything that I'd been through to plan it, not
to mention the non-refundable payments I'd made for the plane and hotel,
cancellation was not an option. I'd be fine. If I could just get to a bathroom
I'd be fine.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I spent the entire plane ride either sitting in my seat shivering, or throwing
up. Yes, I made it to the lavatory every time, but just barely. There was a
point at which a flight attendant was standing with me next to the lav, waiting
for the person in there to come out, and I was leaning against the wall, sweat
dripping down my face, moaning and silently praying that I didn't explode all
over the El Al carpeting. The situation was quite desperate. Apparently, all the energy that my body had
needed the day before to stay calm and get everything done, it had diverted
from digesting any food. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
By the end of the flight, I was so completely spent I could hardly stand. I
asked the flight attendants to order a wheelchair for me to get me through the
airport, because there was no way I could walk or even stay standing to wait in
lines.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A man who spoke no English pushed me through the airport. Even if I'd had the
head space to ask him to stop to get a sim card or rubles, I didn't know how to
ask for those things in Russian. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We met the taxi driver Rusina had sent, and I got transferred into his van. It
took two hours to drive to my hotel because traffic was bad (later, on the way
back, it was just one hour). I spent most of the time sleeping, but every time
I opened my eyes, I saw ugly buildings. <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>
looked like one vast series of housing projects, like a vast <st1:place>Bronx</st1:place>,
boxy and unredeemed.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The receptionists at the hotel did not speak English. I was transferred into my
room (which looked exactly like the pictures on the site – clean and simple and
nothing fancy but satisfactory) and I threw myself into the bed, feverish and
scared.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was now alone and sick in a hotel room in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
with no cash and no way to reach anyone to tell them that I'm not OK.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk8m2pc-uMyo0tE03bZLYXXjpbEPk4BK2kygVmbc-EAQtyat5iwCjjGPjWxq1pOAtHLDfK_OuO3T8PUnejstgMPTJODp4udcI3DIppxQsHhVZSyxpZcQVDJo85ihZEDPbtIfbVQ/s1600/Metallurg+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvk8m2pc-uMyo0tE03bZLYXXjpbEPk4BK2kygVmbc-EAQtyat5iwCjjGPjWxq1pOAtHLDfK_OuO3T8PUnejstgMPTJODp4udcI3DIppxQsHhVZSyxpZcQVDJo85ihZEDPbtIfbVQ/s1600/Metallurg+room.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-76608414456104053012014-03-07T15:27:00.002+02:002014-03-07T15:29:42.545+02:00Moscow (Part V - The Day Before)<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">III</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iv-two-days-before.html" target="_blank">IV</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I woke up very early, especially considering how
late I'd been out at the vet, put Wylie in his carrier, and took him to work
with me. I was scheduled to spend the day in Kiryat Gat, interviewing new olim
(immigrants to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">), and had to go to the office to pick up the Jewish Agency's car and
camera I was to use. Wylie's carrier sat on my desk for an hour while I got
myself organized, and a coworker down the hall wondered why she kept hearing a
cat meowing. It was a bit strange and a bit embarrassing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My friends Yardena and Mory Buxner volunteered to look after Wylie while I was
away. Yasminah, my new roommate, is perfectly competent and willing to take
care of a healthy cat, but an injured one who requires extra care was more than
I could ask of a new roommate. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then, car, camera and cat all came with me to the vet, where I dropped Wylie
off so he could have his wounds stitched up. The vet told me that afterward,
Wylie would need to stay in a large cage, the kind they have there at the vet
for big dogs waking up after surgery . . . she said they cost about 900 </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt;">NIS</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> but if I go online maybe I
can find a used one, or someone who could loan me one. I was leaving for </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in a matter of hours
and now had to find a cage. My wonderful coworker, Moran, agreed to search for
me on Israeli websites.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Already running late, I drove to Kiryat Gat, a drive of about an hour and half,
and met with several Ethiopians who had just immigrated to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. I like driving, but
running late, and the stress that always comes from the journalistic unknown –
would the people I need to interview be cooperative? Would there be language
problems? Would they all show up? – was not helping. Meanwhile I texted with Moran
about the type of cage I needed and tried to figure out the logistics of taking
care of my job and the cat and my packing when I was about to spend the day in
Kiryat Gat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">From Kiryat Gat I drove back to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Moran told me there is
a pet supply store in Talpiot that sells the kind of cage I need for 200 </span><st1:city><st1:place><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt;">NIS</span></st1:stockticker></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Fine. I arrived at the store about </span><st1:time hour="5" minute="30"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">5:30</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> or </span><st1:time hour="18" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">6 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, where they showed me a picture of the cage, and
it was perfect, but the only ones they had in stock were bigger ones for 260 </span><st1:city><st1:place><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt;">NIS</span></st1:stockticker></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Fine. Whatever. An employee carried the very heavy box to the car while I
stressed some more about how to get the cage and Wylie to the Buxners' while
also wrapping up my work projects and packing. I also remembered that I had to
call the bank about making sure my new credit card was activated – which it
was.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">From Talpiot I drove home to drop off the cage, then to work to wrap up
projects that needed to be finished before I left for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Russia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. At about </span><st1:time hour="19" minute="30"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">7:30 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, the vet called saying
they were closing soon and I needed to come get the cat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So I ran out from work and got the cat, who struggled and fought against the
carrier and the cone on his head. The vet said that she'd had to remove a lot
of tissue, and hadn't been able to close skin over the entire wound, so he had
an open injury on part of one leg. It was bandaged up and Yardena and Mory
would have to bring Wylie back in a couple of days to change the bandages.
They'd also have to go to the pharmacy the next day to get some pain medication
for him. I felt guilty leaving him, and I felt guilty giving the Buxners so
much to do. I was also feeling a lot of anxiety because I hadn't started
packing yet.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At home, while Wylie struggled, I tried to stay calm and avoid panicking, while
getting things ready to bring Wylie to what I was soon to start thinking of as
the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Buxner</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Animal</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Rehabilitative</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. I took the very heavy cage, the heavy cat, and a heavy bag full of cat
food and supplies, and put it all in a taxi.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At their house – I paid the taxi driver extra to take the cage up the two
flights of stairs -- Yardena and I unpacked the cage, which turned out to be .
. . not at all what I'd wanted. It was not a cage at all, but a dog pen, with
no roof. It would be a simple matter for any cat to jump out of this thing. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But it was too late to do anything about it –
I was leaving the country in a few hours.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Yardena got on the phone and ordered a Nesher van service for me, from my house
to the airport, while I put Wylie in his cage and we tried to figure out where
to put his litter and food in a way that would create the least mess. It was
clear that the pan of litter was not going to be adequate and that Wylie would
have trouble eating and drinking with that cone on. He was so, so sad. And so
was I. Leaving him in a strange environment when he was injured was heartbreaking.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I got a call from my parents. They and my sister had put a few hundred dollars
into my Paypal account, to help pay for veterinary care. They wanted to make
sure I had funds to cover the kitty, so that I'd still have the budget to have
a good time on my vacation.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I went home and was too tired to pack. The van was coming at </span><st1:time hour="1" minute="45"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1:45 am</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. It was now about </span><st1:time hour="23" minute="15"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">11:15 pm</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. If I slept for one
hour, it would leave me just enough time in the morning to shower and pack
before I left for the airport.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It had been a crazy day but I'd stayed calm and gotten done the most urgent
things that had needed to get done. I felt grateful for my family and friends
for all their help, and for the fact that this terrible day was over.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-22739180195480822532014-03-07T09:53:00.000+02:002014-03-07T09:53:59.287+02:00Moscow (Part IV - Two Days Before)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Click here for Parts<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" target="_blank"> I</a>,<a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" target="_blank"> II</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-iii-matrushka-dolls.html" target="_blank">III</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My flight was leaving early Wednesday morning.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<br />
On Monday night, after work, I went to the supermarket to buy non-perishable
kosher food for my trip. Laden down with groceries, I stopped to sit on a bench
on the way home, and got the following text from my new roommate: "Wylie
still not home. Thought you should know." He'd been out of the house now
for 24 hours, probably cavorting with his friends in the bushes around the
corner, but still, I should look for him.<br />
<br />
So I dropped off the groceries and went to look for my cat. I called his name
up and down all over the neighborhood. Finally I heard a faint "meow"
answering me. I called, he answered. I followed the voice. I called, he
answered . . . why wasn't he coming to me?<br />
<br />
Using the light of my phone, I found him in an unused boiler room under a nearby
building. He was meowing, but not getting up. I was terrified. I scooped him up
and took him home, where I discovered that one of his hind legs had a wound so
gaping, I could see significant amounts of muscle. He was trailing drops of
blood behind him.<br />
<br />
Very upset, I arranged for an emergency trip to the veterinarian at </span><st1:time hour="10" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">10 o'clock</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> at night. The vet announced Wylie to
be infected and dehydrated, and gave him antibiotics, and painkiller, and IV
fluids, and said I'd have to bring him back in the morning so that the clinic
could stitch and clean him up properly. <br />
<br />
I was petrified about what would happen to my cat, and also – the stress of the
time this was taking, and the money, and the anxiety was not well-timed, given
that I was leaving for </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> in about 24 hours.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-52006957976786196792014-03-07T09:26:00.002+02:002014-03-07T09:54:20.738+02:00Moscow (Part III - Matrushka Dolls)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8QBapsR6pwkvmesIl3qtZcy-5cTtz9D8hqdhHuS8EPcBCEz4s4vHf6fm6dp3uDKD3upZwmNalUH4XGjB9ANos1KsltLkVT7j19Ag6N1LNkL6-6y8A-NQ-4W44qrUf1mlnw86fg/s1600/russia-matryoshka-dolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8QBapsR6pwkvmesIl3qtZcy-5cTtz9D8hqdhHuS8EPcBCEz4s4vHf6fm6dp3uDKD3upZwmNalUH4XGjB9ANos1KsltLkVT7j19Ag6N1LNkL6-6y8A-NQ-4W44qrUf1mlnw86fg/s1600/russia-matryoshka-dolls.jpg" height="256" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Click here for Part <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" target="_blank">I</a>, <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/moscow-part-ii-planning.html" target="_blank">II</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
I love matrushka dolls, both as a toy and as an art form. I love seeing how the
painters reduce the complexity of the designs as the dolls get smaller and
smaller. I love that they come in so many different styles. And I love the ones
that have eeny-weeny baby dolls in the middle.
They are just so cute, and I think they are under-rated as a form of
art.<br />
<br />
I owned just one, a souvenir that a friend brought me from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Poland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Reviews of<a href="http://www.russiandolls.narod.ru/museum.html" target="_blank"> </a></span><a href="http://www.russiandolls.narod.ru/museum.html" target="_blank"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">'s </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Matrushka</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Doll</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Museum</span></st1:placetype></st1:place></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> said it's only two
rooms and displays dolls from only one specific time period, but that it has an
excellent gift shop. I set aside a fairly significant sum of money to buy
souvenirs there for myself, and gifts for friends. After the Kremlin, </span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Red Square</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, and the Bolshoi, the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Matrushka</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Doll</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Museum</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> was the only site I was
determined to see while visiting </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.<br /><br />I was so excited! Moscow! Kremlin! Jews! Matrushka dolls!<br />
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<i>Click here for <a href="http://chayyeisarah.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/i-went-to-moscow-so-now-you-dont-have.html" target="_blank">Part I </a>of this series.</i></div>
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<b><u>HOW
I P<st1:stockticker>REPA</st1:stockticker>RED (BUT CLEARLY NOT ENOUGH)</u></b><br />
<br />
Before traveling to <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>, I had
been outside <st1:country-region>America</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region> to
only two places: <st1:city>London</st1:city> (where I
speak the local language), and <st1:city>Vienna</st1:city>
(which I visited with my mother, a native German-speaker). This would be my
first time traveling alone to a country that was new and strange to me, and
where I do not speak the language. It would be an adventure! <br />
<br />
I had only a few weeks to prepare. Preparing, anticipating – it's half the fun
of going away on a trip! I worked hard to be ready for any potential problems,
and to enjoy the process.<br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Borrowed a friend's "Russian the <st1:street>Fun Way</st1:street>"
textbook and learned to read the Cyrillic alphabet, so at least I could sound
out words on signs.</li>
<li>Bought a Russian phrase book and familiarized myself with how it's organized.</li>
<li>Carefully
researched where to spend Shabbat, since that would affect the short list of
hotels I'd look into (within walking distance of my Shabbat plans). Got connected with the "Israelis in Moscow" group, affiliated with the Chabad center at Moscow's Marina Roshcha synagogue - perfect!</li>
<li>Carefully
researched hotel room prices and booked a room for six nights at the <a href="http://hotelmetallurg.ru/en/" target="_blank">Metallurg</a>;
online reviews warned that the reception desk clerks do not speak English, but
I figured between my phrase book and miming maybe I'd be OK. Anyhow, everyone
told me that in central <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>, it
is easy to find people who speak English – the language shouldn't be a problem.</li>
<li>Researched
the kosher food situation: there is a kosher mini-market near my hotel, and a
few kosher restaurants, but it would be smart and cheaper to bring my own food</li>
<li>Connected
with my colleagues in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
Rusina and Michael. Rusina made an itinerary for me for two days of my trip,
for me to see <a href="http://www.jewishagency.org/israel-your-community/program/269" target="_blank">Jewish Agency programs</a> in person (for example, schoolchildren
learning Judaism in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city> – a miracle!)
and to meet other colleagues and emerging leaders in the Jewish community
there.</li>
<li>Read
"Moscow Top 10" cover to cover and made a short list of tourist
attractions I want to see. At the top of my list were, of course, Kremlin and <st1:place>Red
Square</st1:place> (conveniently located near The Jewish Agency offices), and
third was the little-known <st1:place><a href="http://www.russiandolls.narod.ru/museum.html" target="_blank">Matrushka Doll Museum</a></st1:place></li>
<li>Booked
a ticket to the <a href="http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/" target="_blank">Bolshoi Ballet</a>. Most of the nights I'd be in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
the Bolshoi was doing opera, not ballet. So I bought a ticket for the one night
they were doing ballet that wasn't also Shabbat. I knew it would be modern
ballet, not classical, so I knew not to expect fancy tutus. People asked me
what I'll be seeing, and I said "I don't know. I had one night to choose
from, so whatever it is they are performing that night, that's what I'll
see." For the equivalent of 250 <st1:city>NIS</st1:city>
I got a seat in the 10<sup>th</sup> row, center aisle. I was so excited and
felt very fancy, having such a wonderful seat booked at the Bolshoi Ballet.</li>
<li>Went to buy rubles. The currency exchange place I visited in <st1:city>Jerusalem</st1:city>
said they don't sell rubles, but I could buy dollars and then exchange those
when I got to <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>.
I decided to avoid doubling my fees, and figured I'd try again at Ben Gurion
airport; if the money changer there didn't sell rubles, either, I could always
buy dollars at that point.</li>
<li>Ordered
a new credit card. The Isracard I've used for the past 10 years is not
international; it's usable only in <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>.
I've managed for 10 years without a Visa or Mastercard, but when going to a
foreign country I figured an international credit card would be a smart idea.
Don't want to get stuck without funds!</li>
<li>Arranged with my new roommate to take care of my cat, Wylie. When I left for <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
Yasminah had been living in the apartment only a few days, but she's smart and
sweet and it's not hard to give Wylie fresh food and water every day. My
friends Mory and Yardena said that Mory would come over a few times to clean
the litter box.</li>
<li>Kept a running list of what to pack.</li>
<li>Compiled Wikipedia entries on various aspects of Russian history into one Word document and printed it out: 80 pages of background reading for the flight on the way to Moscow!</li>
<li>Did some research into how I could get phone service while in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region>,
and decided simply to buy a sim card at the airport there.</li>
<li>Bought
traveler's health insurance in case I got hurt in some way.</li>
<li>Made
a list of emergency phone numbers</li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sent an email to people at work, friends in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, and my family in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">America</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> letting them know what
I could about my itinerary and how to reach my hotel and each other.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<br />
I'm a great planner, right?</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-25318073577612155112014-03-06T20:01:00.001+02:002014-03-06T20:03:10.132+02:00I Went to Moscow So Now You Don't Have To (Part I - Why I Went)<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed;">
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<i>I was urged to write this blog series by friends on Facebook who were wondering why I was so, so very glad to be back home from my vacation in Russia. This will take many posts to explain properly. Buckle your seat belt and have fun; I didn't.</i></div>
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<b><u>WHY I WENT TO MOSCOW</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Optimism
is a powerful force. When I went to journalism school, it was with the specific
goal of becoming a freelance magazine journalist. During my time there, many
faculty members said "freelancing is really tough. You'll never make it if
you don't take an entry-level position, work your way up in the field, develop
your network, and THEN become a freelancer."</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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My internal response was always "there's something they know that I don't
know, which is how difficult it is to freelance. But there is something I know
that they don't know, which is how badly I want it, and how determined I
am." I was pretty successful at freelancing for many years, until I
wasn't.</div>
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I
never set a goal of going to <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
but when the chance came unexpectedly, I jumped at it. I work for The Jewish Agency for <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>,
as a marketing writer, and therefore often write materials (mostly
donor-relations materials) for our Unit for Russian-Speaking Jewry. I recently
wrote a material urging Jewish groups to go on organized visits to our activities in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
and so I knew something both about the tourist attractions there and the
activities of the Jewish community. It never occurred to me to go myself; if I
were going to spend money on an "exotic" vacation, there are other
destinations I'd rather see first.</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But El Al, the national airline of <st1:country-region>Israel</st1:country-region>,
had a "Fun Day" about 2 months ago, during which, for 24 hours, the
prices to select (not-popular-in-winter) destinations were rock bottom. For
$200 I could go round-trip to <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>,
<st1:city>St. Petersburg</st1:city>, or <st1:country-region>Valencia</st1:country-region>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region>Valencia</st1:country-region> would
be more relaxing, but I have no connections there and have never been
specifically interested in seeing <st1:country-region>Spain</st1:country-region>.
But in <st1:country-region>Russia</st1:country-region> I
could see these programs I write about all the time; I have colleagues at our
Jewish Agency offices in <st1:city>Moscow</st1:city>
(and St. Petersburg) who could help me if something went really wrong (an
important point, since I speak neither Russian nor Spanish; in Russia I
wouldn't feel as alone); and most importantly, I was sincerely and deeply curious
to see Jewish life in the former Soviet Union.</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Having grown up in the USA in the 1980's, the idea of being able to witness,
with my own eyes, children studying in Jewish day schools in Moscow was very,
very compelling, even if it is the middle of a Russian winter; in the summer I
could never afford it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone said I'm crazy. The weather is terrible, and anyway who goes to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> on VACATION? There was
something they knew that I didn't, which is how ugly and cold and not-vacation-like </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> is. But there was something I knew that they didn't, which is how deeply
connected I feel, for some reason, to my Russian-speaking colleagues and to
Russian-Israelis, how cool I, personally, felt it would be to interact with the
Jewish community of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Moscow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, and to see the Kremlin and </span><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Red Square</span></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. For $200, it was within reach now.</span></div>
</span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So I booked the ticket.</span></div>
</span>
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<!--[endif]-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445417.post-40865066274163609332014-01-30T11:56:00.002+02:002014-01-30T11:56:54.796+02:00Sketch ArtistLast spring, a video advertisement for Dove went viral:<br /><br /><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XpaOjMXyJGk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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It shows a series of women describing themselves to a sketch artist, who draws their portraits based on their self-descriptions. Then, each woman is described to the artist by someone else -- and the resulting sketch is always more attractive. In every case, the way a stranger described the subject was more attractive than the way the subject described herself.<br /><br />I thought of this video when I went to see a temporary exhibit at the Israel Museum called "Making an Entrance: Jewish Artists in 19th-Century Europe." The exhibit looks at how Jews in the 1800's, who were just being allowed into art academies or otherwise gaining formal training in painting, dealt with their Jewishness in their work. Some hid it, so they could blend more successfully into Europe's higher society. Some (well, one, anyway, in this exhibit) painted scenes of Jewish families celebrating Jewish holidays. And another initially painted neutral subjects, and later in life started painting nostalgic portraits of other (identifiably-Jewish) Jews.<br /><br />Even though the quality of the works is mixed (I'm no expert, and obviously I personally could never dream of painting ANY of those works so beautifully, but still - I do have a feel for what paintings made it into the exhibit because they are extraordinary displays of talent, and which are in the exhibit because they are done by Jews, and pretty darn good), I loved this exhibit because the people in the portraits looked like people I know.<br /><br />To get to the exhibit, one must walk through the Israel Museum's permanent, and rather random, display of Dutch art, which touches me not at all - I enjoy neither the style of painting, nor the subject matter, though I respect them both. But one room away are paintings of Jews, and even if they are wearing European clothes and hairstyles of the time, they still look exactly, and touchingly, like the people I see in synagogue all the time. You can even tell which little kid is most likely to charm her way into an extra lollipop from the candy man, and which woman would, if she were alive today, agitate for feminist reforms in her Orthodox synagogue. These are MY people.<br /><br />Anyway, in 1836, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim painted wedding portraits of then-17-year-old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_von_Rothschild" target="_blank">Charlotte von Rothschild</a> and her new husband, her first cousin, Lionel de Rothschild. This is the portrait he painted of Charlotte:</div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Charlotte_artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Charlotte_artist.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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<br />The painting shows a young, sweet-looking, attractive, vital young woman wearing the latest styles in finery. I'm sure that Oppenheim was paid in part to make her look as beautiful as possible, minimizing any flaws, but still - she must have looked SOMETHING like this.<br /><br />Young Charlotte was immensely interested in art and became an accomplished painter in her own right. Just two years after her marriage, she produced the following self-portrait, a sketch she made to prepare for her "Self-Portrait with My Family":</div>
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<a href="http://www.imj.org.il/images/news/all/13/JewishArtists10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.imj.org.il/images/news/all/13/JewishArtists10.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></div>
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<br /><br />Here we have a relatively frumpy woman, who could be in her 30's, with unruly curls, bags under her eyes -- which are looking in different directions -- and comparatively dowdy clothing. Remember, she produced this just two years after Oppenheim painted the work above.<br /><br />And that's why I thought about the Dove commercial, there in temporary exhibit space at the Israel Museum.<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0