Back in the U.S.S.R.

Today, February 23rd, is the official holiday, which apparently in English is called "Defender of the Fatherland Day". Personally, I prefer the Russian version: День Зaщитника Отечества. It is a day that honors the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and more generally executed by celebrating all men. Just like March 8th is International Women's Day, February 23rd is similarly Men's Day. 

To personally honor this day, I took a trip to the ВВЦ - Всероссийский Выставочный Центр: an All-Russian Exhibition Center that is made up of many historic buildings, which now house various tourist-oriented shops and exhibits.

I spent a few hours strolling around, admiring the beautiful buildings and sculptures, and when I decided to finally investigate the inside of one of the largest, most ravishing buildings (thinking it, too, was filled with historic beauty), I was highly disappointed to find that there was nothing beautiful nor historic. Instead, there was a shark movie showing. The other monumental buildings, which looked like they would contain something of significance, were also façades for disappointing (and expensive!) souvenir shops, outdated jewelry bazaars, and obscure art exhibits. 

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик

Nonetheless, the territory of the ВВЦ was striking and historically rich - a very interesting place to discover a bit of the USSR past of the country. 

The architecture was stunning - no two buildings were the same.

This was one of the central buildings, which stood proudly displaying a lavish crown-roof, as though needing to prove its grandiosity. 

The the ribbed columns in the middle, which are holding up a canopy in front of the ornate mosaic-walled building, caught my eye because I had never seen such thin, long columns before. They looked as though they could topple over from just a small gust of wind. 

Vast amounts of sculptures depicted various aspects of soviet life. 
Left: men and women in Navy uniforms stand proudly, guarding their flag.
Right: several proletariat goddesses stand proudly displaying their wealthy crops - including wheat and sunflowers

Naturally, this golden crop glory was my favorite display. 

Finally, as I was leaving, I noticed this little fellow hidden away in a small park on the wing of the ВВЦ territory. He was so petite, camouflaged so well in the trees, and looked so lonely that I was drawn to take a picture of him - to recognize his presence in this monstrous center, as though giving him hope for a better, happier life. A sudden melancholy sight in the illustrious center evoked a short, poignant moment and I just had to capture it. 










But back in the grand, historic ВВЦ center, I was bid farewell by these two from atop a towering arch, and my visit was over. 

So happy День Зaщитника Отечества to all the Russian men (and women?) who fought for the Russian Army and who to this day are and will always be remembered for their honorable service. 

To everyone else, happy Men's Day. Go Men! 

And to everybody - men, women, boys, and girls - know that whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, and whether it is directly yours or not, it is important to learn history: to be educated and to not be ignorant of what took place before you. Though personally, I was never a fan of history classes in school (I prefer the outlook that "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift - that's why it's called the present".), I realize its importance and try to take the necessary measures to increase my knowledge of it. From history, we learn about the mistakes not to be made again, we imitate and improve successes, and we get inspired to make the world better than it was in the past. There's no use in denying the past, so first learn about it, the learn from it, then learn with it in mind, and with that you will be indestructible: 

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” 

― George Orwell

Sochi Olympics?!

No, unfortunately just because I am in Russia does not mean that I have easy and cheap access to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
However, being in Russia at the same time that the Olympics are taking place in this country, there is a lot of advertising seen virtually everywhere. There's even a count-down clock right by the Red Square, in a central location where most of the tourists can be found!
I really like the design that was thought up for these Olympic Games - the rainbow Russian-esque theme. Not only does it display a sense of national pride, with the incorporation of classic Russian elements, but it is also very universal and unifying due to its rainbow color scheme, which illustrates true Olympic spirit of worldliness and the coming together of all countries.

Every winter, a large portion of the Red Square is guarded off for an ice skating rink, and this year it is decorated in the theme of the Olympics! The surrounding walls are canvassed with the rainbow striations, which I love:

And although (I must admit) I am not a big fan of the talisman animals this year, because to me they look a bit pedophillic, they too are displayed at the entrance to the rink - ushering people (kids, I presume…) in to have some fun and skate.

Even inside the shopping mall next door called ГУМ, everything is decked out in Olympic-themed decor. Above the main fountain, the Olympic Rings (all five!!) are displayed at center-stage, once again showing off the colors of the unifying rainbow. 

And, as my cousin Anna says: if you went to the ГУМ and didn't have ice cream, you might as well say you haven't been to the ГУМ.

So in case proof was needed, here is my half-eaten absolutely delicious pistachio ice cream. Yum!

Babushka Lilia's First Encounter with Sushi

Babushka Lilia and I went to a Sushi place for a re-energizing coffee-and-dessert break, where we tried dessert sushi for the first time. 
Before this, Lilia had never eaten sushi before (or a dessert presented in sushi roll form), and she was nervous to try and fit an entire piece into her mouth! I explained to her that this was the only way to eat sushi - all or nothing - and though reluctant at first, she agreed to try it.

Lilia's encounter documented: (no descriptions needed)

Needless to say, she enjoyed eating sushi very much and now wants to try the "real thing" - meaning not dessert sushi, but the seafood sushi. Luckily, my birthday is coming up, which will be a great reason to go out for sushi! I'll let you know how Lilia manages with the real thing ;)

What is love? (Happy Valentine's Day!)

Inspired by the upcoming Valentine's Day, my cousin Anna and I had a mission. On February 13th, we bought ten red roses, took the metro to the Red Square, and asked strangers the following question: "What is love?"

We came across some very insightful and inspiring answers that brightened our day. Hope this will brighten yours too!

"Любовь это жизнь. Любовь это всё. Небыло бы любви, небыло бы нас."

Пока я снимала еë фотографию, она вспомнила анекдот. 
"Анекдот про двух динозаврах: Он ей, "мм?", она ему, "м-м". Он ей, "Мм!", она ему, "М-М". Он ей, "МММ!!!", она ему, "ММ-ММ!!!". Вот так динозавры и вымерли."

***

“Love is life, love is everything. If there was no such thing as love, we wouldn’t exist.”
While I was taking her picture, an anecdote came to her mind, which she shared with us. 
Anecdote about two dinosaurs: The male dinosaur says to the female, “M?” She replies, “Nuh-uh.” He pleads, “Mmmm!” She answers, “Nuh-uh!” He begs, “MMM!!!” She replies, “NUH-UH!!!” And that’s how the dinosaurs went extinct. 

Мама: "Любовь это взаимопонимание, поддержка." 
Дочка: "Она всё покрывает; то есть если один человек вода а другой огонь, казалось-бы они совершенно несовместимы, но любовь это то что может их связать в месте потому что любовь верит всему, надеется, всё покрывает, и некогда не перестаёт."

***

Mother: “Love is mutual understanding, support.”
Daughter: “Love prevails all; meaning that if one person is water and the other is fire, you would think they would be incompatible, but love is what can bind them together because Love believes in everything, has hope, perseveres, and is never-ending.”

"Любовь это уважение, доверие, и помощь."

***

"Love is respect, trust, and help." 
This man was very happy we reminded him it was Valentine's Day tomorrow. He walked by us later again and waved joyfully. 

"Любовь это такое чувство, которое если приходит в вашу жизнь и сводит вас с каким-то человеком, то обязательно приведёт к счастью."

***

"Love is a feeling, which if it enters into your life and leads you to a certain individual, will certainly bring you happiness."

Две очаровательные сестрёнки:
     С лева: "Любовь это когда ты понимаешь что ето твоё. Ты чувствуешь ето всем телом: какими-то непонятными ощущениями - может быть на запах, может быть кожей, наверное и душой." 
     С права: "И бывает что ты встречаешь человека который казалось бы не мог быть твоим мужем, но в процессе ты его полюбишь потому что любовь всё-таки сближает людей если они разные." 
     С лева: "Но стараться всё равно нужно своего человека, искать в сбоей среде - то что общее между вами - вместе если учитесь или работаете, что-бы было понятно что этот человек из себя представляет. Это для тех который хочет выйти замуж более удачно." 

***

Two lovely sisters:

     Left: "Love is when you understand that this is yours. You feel it with your whole body: unexplainable sensations - maybe you smell it, maybe you feel it with your skin, probably even with your soul." 
     Right: "Also, sometimes it happens that you meet a person who you would think could never become your husband, but in the process you fall in love with him because love brings people together, even if they are different." 
      Left: "But it’s important to try to find your own person within your own medium - to have mutual interests - like if you are together in school or at work, so that you have an understanding of what this person is truly like. This advise is for people who want to have a more successful marriage." 

---> Молодой человек был очень лаконичен. Он сказал, "Любовь это всё."

A young man was very concise. He said, “Love is everything.”

---> Женщина сказала что она не скажет что такое любовь потому-что у каждого она своя. 
One woman said that she wouldn’t tell us what love is because to each person it is unique. 

---> "Любовь это всё в жизне."
A woman who was too shy to allow us to take a picture of her said, “Love is everything in life.”

Whatever "love" means to you, I hope you find it this Valentines Day. And if you don't, I hope you have faith that sooner or later, this amazing thing called love will unexpectedly enter into your life and every day will be filled with red roses. 

Happy Valentine's Day! <3

What does love mean to you?

Van Goh Alive

Женя showed me a really interesting art center called Art Play located right by the train tracks - walking distance form the Metro station Курская. Before being turned into an 'Art Mecca', this area was somewhat sketchy, housing factory buildings, warehouses, and attracting a decent homeless population. Still there are traces of uneasiness and homelessness is visible a few blocks away, but now this area can also be described as vintage-chique - a unique, artistic renovation.

All of the walls are painted over in unique styles. Some old buildings were rebuilt into artistic masterpieces, with bricks crocheted into a semi-circular wall, and new buildings were also added - revamped and out of the ordinary, such as the oblong one on the left (on top of a café, I might add).

Today, one can find a variety of treasures in this Art Center: shops, cafés, artists' personal studios, company offices, Art University classrooms, a stereotypical English pub, art galleries, a vintage trinket shop (that I am told is a wonderful place to look for unique gifts), and most importantly - the reason we went - art exhibits.

'Van Gogh Alive' was a multi-media presentation of (seemingly) all of Van Gogh's works. His paintings, sketches, and even letters were projected onto large screens, accompanied by thematic music, and displayed in chronological order with commentary on his life.

Such a unique and whole presentation is impossible to find, since Van Gogh's paintings are scattered among various prestigious museums, so seeing his entire life's work in unison was captivating. Visually learning how his style evolved over time in accordance with prominent life events evoked a deeper understanding and appreciation for his works of art and dedication.

I saw works of art that I had never seen before and was really touched by everything I learned about his life. Thank you, Женя, for showing me such an unforgettable exhibit. Certainly, best 500 rubles I ever spent! :)

Attempting to be 'Artsy'

Hello. This is me. When I take pictures with the Nikon D5000, I think that I am a professional photographer. So here are some pictures that I think are 'artsy'. (All thanks to the camera.)

My room at Бабушка Галя's house

Bridge across the Neva River

Подезд #1

Подезд #2

Rose engraving on a building in St. Petersburg

Blue and gold chandelier in the Winter Palace

Crystal chandelier in the Winter Palace

Ornate vase at the Hermitage

Sculpture of a man pouring wine

Inside Spas na Krovi Cathedral

Starry sky ceiling inside Spas na Krovi Cathedral

Roof corner of Spas na Krovi Cathedral

Marble column adorned with flowers

PS. Many of these photos were used in previous posts, but I like them so much that I decided to re-use them. Hope you enjoyed!