Women, Men, Russian-Korean Wedding, Beards, Police, and Metro

Sorry, guys. I've given up on trying to write short posts. :) Oh, well.

The wedding was really interesting! It's a good thing you can invite yourself to weddings and parties in Russia. I didn't know anyone except Laura H. (not to be confused with Laura M.) and her friend Brent. It was kinda funny. I was meeting Laura at metro Konkovo, and I was waiting for her on the bench, reading a book. And when she walks up, she says, "I just knew you two were going to be sitting next to each other and not even know it!" So, the whole time I was sitting next to Brent in the metro as we both waited for Laura to show up. Anyway, Brent is from New Zealand, and he's a super cool guy. He said, "I'm a missionary...whatever that means." He is really sarcastic, but friendly.

So, we headed to Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary (where Laura actually works...not at RACU like I said before) which was about 45 minutes on the metro and then another 15 minute walk. So it took a while to get there. That is where the wedding was.

The wedding was not what I thought it would be. Laura forgot to inform me that this is definitely not a typical Russian wedding because not only is the couple Christian, they are Russian-Koreans. By that I mean they are Russians...who look Korean. They don't even speak that much Korean, but some of their grandparents speak it. So, the wedding itself was a conglomeration of Russian and Korean traditions. The entire ceremony was given both in Korean and Russian actually. Everyone had Russian mannerisms, clothing, habits, etc. The bride's name was Victoria, and the groom's name was Roman. Roman cried like a baby the whole time. It was pretty funny.

Everyone claps for everything in Russia (in fact, they clap if their plane is successfully landed -- "Yay! We didn't die!")...except it's really funny because they clap in unison (for the most part). I'm sure it has something to do with communism. Everyone's gotta be the same. None of this following the beat of your own drum. Well, actually that's not true. Everyone can follow the beat of their own drum as long as the beat is the same as everyone else's.

There is a Russian proverb which says, "The tallest blade of grass is the first to be cut." Don't be different. Don't stand out. Be the same as everyone.

You can see it even in advertisements. They have the "perfect Russian" on the poster. In America, you have a poster where EVERY single race and age is represented. Not so in Russia.

I wonder if things will change though with the newer generation becoming police officers and other officials. You know how the police academy is next door to my apartment building? Well, this means that all the police are walking all around the general area. The dorm for the police academy is next door to us too. So, they are pretty much everywhere. And you see them walking around with their long, dark grey coats, gold Soviet buttons (even their buttons are intimidating), and giant ushankas (Soviet fur hats), but...then you'll see their little black mp3 player earphone cords sticking out of their hats. I mean, what a contrast. The police academy students who are of my generation love western culture, and I can't see how that's not going to influence their worldview concerning independence, diversity, etc. It seems like musicians are becoming more active politically, and they are spokespeople for equality, human rights, tolerance, diversity, etc. So, if Russians police officials in training around my age are listening to American music which is all about being different and asserting your rights and following your dreams, how is this not going to change them?

I mean, I know change happens slowly. I was talking to Liza who is going to the pedagogical university to become a teacher. She said, "I don't really want to be a teacher, but..." and she shrugged her shoulders. Being thoroughly naive and American, I said, "Then why are you doing it? Be something else." She just looked at me like that was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. I mean, I guess it's just that I, like every other American girl, was raised on Disney cartoon movies where every movie has a song about following your dreams. I can't really change that. As silly as this sounds, there's something to be said for following your dreams.

Okay, back to the wedding...

The food was a mixture of Russian and Korean food. Mostly Korean though. I tried seaweed, caviar, and a bunch of other random stuff that I don't know the name of. The seaweed was pretty good, but the caviar made me gag. It was absolutely disgusting. They were little orange balls, and all I could think of was "NEMO!" When I ate them, they burst in my mouth, and liquid spurted out of the eggs. Disgusting!!!!!!! Plus, it was REALLY salty. I mean, it tasted like fishy salt liquid gel balls. That's how I would define caviar.

The woman I was sitting next to wanted to know who I was, so she asked Laura. She tried to pronounce my name which was hilarious. Russians simply cannot do it. I mean, it must be like coughing up phlegm to them. "Muh-hair-eh-deeghf." She tried a couple of times, threw up her hands in frustration, and pointed to Laura and Brent. "LAURA...BRENT." I knew she was saying, "Their names are so easy -- Laura. Brent. Why isn't yours?"

The Russian language doesn't have the th sound, and it is especially hard for them to pronounce it at the END of a word. They do it okay in English if it is a word like "the," three," or "that." But at the end of the word? It can't be done. Sveta, my Russian teacher, whose English is really good, calls me Meredee.

Back to the wedding...

Russian weddings are REALLY long. It was scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but Russians are never on time. A scheduled time is an estimate. So, the wedding didn't start till 3:30. Laura and I left at 7 p.m., and they still had not served the cake. Everyone was still singing and having a blast. There were lots of blessings and best wishes given, and a ton of songs were sung together too. One of them I was able to figure out what some of it meant. Laura filled me in on the rest.

The chorus was:

Without God there is no life.
Without God love is dead.
Without God the world is dead.
Without God you and I are dead.

Then, this older couple sang a song and had everyone join in. It sounded very Russian to me with all the yay-yay-yays. Here it is:

Here's another song. This one has hand motions! :)

Another thing that Russians do is have a bunch of skits and games at the reception about marriage, love, and weddings. One of the games had about seven men lined up in front of Victoria, the bride, who was blindfolded. Each man had to come up and kiss her on the hand, and she had to guess which one was her groom, Roman. Well, each one acted like they were walking up to her, but each time Roman kissed her hand. That way she didn't lose! It was pretty funny.

While we were eating and talking, the flower girl in the wedding came, sat next to me, and stared at me. Then she said, "Kak vas zavoot?" It was really funny and so random. I just told her, "Minya zavoot Meredith." And then she got up and left! Kids are so funny. She had a question, asked me, got an answer, and that's all she needed. So, she went on her merry little way.

Speaking of the flower girl...she was basically the only other member of the wedding party. Russian weddings don't have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Also, instead of facing away from the crowd as they say their vows, they face the crowd. So, the audience sees their faces the whole time.

Among other things, I went to church at ICF, and it was okay. I was really tired and almost fell asleep though. After that some of the teachers at Hinkson and I went to a restaurant called Kebab, and we got some lunch. I got chicken shashleek (kebabs) with borsche, which was amazing, and French fries. It sounds like a lot, but when you order fries here, they give you approximately eight fries. If you're lucky, you might get ten. The only exception is at McDonald's. If you buy Coke in a restaurant, it's something like 80 rubles.That's about $2.30. Ridiculous. And you don't get free refills. If you buy Coke at a produkti store though, it's like 35 rubles. Or if you get it at Hinkson, it's 25 rubles, not even a dollar. If I ordered water though, I'd have to pay the same because water isn't free, and nobody believes in drinking tap water.

When we left, there was this adorable little babushka playing some Russian instrument on the street. She was super cute!

After that Gail, Laura M., and I went toured the Moscow metro. We went all the way around the brown circle, and we got off at each station. It took well over an hour.


We had to be discreet with our cameras because there are always more police officers on the weekend, and they like to pick on foreigners. However, they are getting better about that. I should write a post dedicated to the police. They are fascinating.

Anyway, one of them saw me take a picture, and I pretty much freaked out because a) you're not supposed to take pictures in the metro, and b) the Russian police scare me like nothin' else...especially if they are older and have more regimental stuff all over their coats. I just started walking really fast and got on the train quickly. I know I would've been fine. The worst he would have done was either make me delete my picture or ask for my passport, find something wrong with it, and make me pay a bribe. But a few years ago when my friend Beth was in Moscow, she was forced to go to the police station and pay some random, mysterious fee. That's the kind of thing that scares me.

I've been really wanting a picture of the Russian police, but I didn't have the guts to do it. So, Laura M. was pressuring me and forced me to do it. She stood in front, and I put my camera over her shoulder and sneaked a picture. She is really brave and isn't ashamed to be touristy (unlike me). She also kept pressuring me to just ask for a picture with them. She kept saying, "Meredith, they are 12!" They all looked pretty young, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe if I am with Luke, my next door teacher at Hinkson, I will ask because everyone in Hinkson believes Luke has the gift of woo. And there ain't nobody that don't like him! Russians, Americans, etc. They just love him. In fact, he is notorious for having asked for his picture to be taken with some Russian police officers. And they did it gladly! See? The gift of woo.

This says "meer" which means "peace." The words for world and peace are the same. So world peace = meer meer.

Stained glass metro

Interesting fact. Some of the metros are REALLY deep, and they can go as far as 14 floors below the ground. The reason is that when the metro system was built, the Soviet Union was also thinking of it as a bomb shelter.

Art.

I loved the blue background, the black gate, and the soft lights. Just looked cool to me. :)

These lights are fantastic.

Work, work, work.

Mosaic art.

This is an escalator. A very steep escalator. I like to count Mississippis when I go on an escalator because they can be so long. Sometimes, you can look down the escalator from the top and you won't see the end. It's pretty amazing. This one was 82 Mississippis. I went on one this morning that was 107 Mississippis long.

I have more pictures of the metro on Facebook.

Today is International Women's Day. That means there are flowers EVERYWHERE! Men everywhere are carrying bouquets on the streets and metro to bring to their friends, sweethearts, sisters, daughters, and mothers.

Interesting fact though. You cannot buy an even number of flowers. One time this American guy tried to buy a dozen roses, but the tsveti shop owner refused. It's bad luck because a bouquet with an even number of flowers is reserved only for funerals. However, you can buy ELEVEN roses, and then make a separate transaction for ONE more rose. Russians are pretty superstitious.

Regardless of superstitions, I love Women's Day. Tomorrow there is no school, but I am going to have a lesson planning party all day long.

One more thing. I have rant. Here goes.

I don't really understand why men don't have beards here. I think that is terrible! First, most men look better with beards. They at least look distinguished and intellectual (as long as it is not bordering on the homeless-man beard). If they can't have a distinguished beard, then at least their beard will make them look somewhat artsy-fartsy on some level or another. Really, the benefits of a beard are endless.

But on a more important level...

The good Lord has given Russian men a coat....for the FACE. And it's free! Russians LOVE free things. That's why they can't have free drink refills here because they would just stand by the drink machine all day long. So, WHY don't they wear beards here? It simply doesn't make sense to me.

Okay, that concludes my rant, and my rant concludes this post.

Happy Women's Day! I think I am going to buy some flowers for myself and my girls at school.

Much Love,
Meredith