Week 8 in Russia: Cultural Events

As I write this, I sit in a cafe eating a blini and drinking tea. It's a "fast food" joint, and yet I'm eating off a real plate with metal silverware and pouring my own tea from a ceramic teapot into a cup and saucer. All this is sitting on a cafeteria-style red plastic tray and Backstreet Boys' "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" just came across the loudspeaker. Oh, Russia--the culture shock never truly ends--and I love it that way. This past week marked the end of my second month here. Sometimes I feel like time is flying, and other times I feel as if I've lived here for years.

Last week (Week 8) was marked by cultural events: movies, theatre, and well, soccer. I play soccer on an intermural-level team at the university. A friend of mine invited me, so I naturally said 'yes'--what could it hurt? Well, I'm the only girl who plays--and it's very unusual for all the Russian guys. The first time I came to practice, I was greeted with an incredulous look -- "The girl is going to play?" followed by a very sincere "soccer is dangerous for girls." Clearly, these guys have never heard of Mia Hamm (not that I'm remotely near Mia Hamm level--I just wanted to play for fun!). At the first few practices, every time I bumped into a guy on the "field" (we play on an indoor basketball court) he would apologize and check to make sure I was okay. They eventually stopped, but it was still big university gossip when our tournament started. My roommate got a text from a Russian acquaintance (a girl): "I heard a girl was playing in the soccer tournament. Is it you?" To which she replied, "No, but my roommate is." 

The boys on the other teams think it's ridiculous that I play, but my teammates are very supportive--save one that during the last game said, "Girls shouldn't play soccer--they should play in the theatre." (Russians use the same verb "to play" for both playing games and acting). All of this discrimination makes me want to play even more. I just wish I were an actual soccer player, then they'd really have to learn to respect a girl's right to play soccer (Emma Burrows--come to Irkutsk and show them how it's done!). Anyway, we've lost every game so far, except one where we tied 2-2. I may not be a great player, but they don't let me play enough for those losses to be my fault. ;-) Check out the photo below for an idea of how odd it is to be the only girl among boys who take soccer on an indoor basketball court much too seriously:

 

Besides continuing the soccer tournament, last week I saw two movies with Russian friends, and The Sound of Music at the Musical Theatre with my roommate. On Friday, I convinced my friend Саша (Sasha) to go with me to see Slumdog Millionare at the tiny local arts movie theatre. He was really skeptical at first--we were the only ones at the theatre until right before the movie started (and even then only 4 or 5 people joined us). After the film was over, however, I asked him if he liked it and he was wiping away tears. I hope he doesn't mind that I'm telling the world that he cried at the ending. ;-)

On Saturday, I went with my friend Катя (Katya) to see the new Monsters, Inc-type American animated film. I'm actually not sure what the title is in English, but it was a cute movie. We had a little bit of a mix up because the film was playing at two theatres at the same time: Баргузин ("Barguzin") and Второй Этаж ("The Second Floor"). I thought we agreed to meet at "The Second Floor," but Katya thought we agreed to meet on the second floor of Barguzin. Luckily, we had planned to meet up early enough that I had time to make it to Barguzin and only be 5 minutes late to the movie. 

On Sunday, I went to see The Sound of Music with my roommate. I've got to be honest--it was terrible. I'm pretty sure the director does acid. After directing a show myself last semester, I can more easily spot which choices are made by the director. His vision was a little...trippy. That musical really shouldn't be over-the-top, and it was practically slapstick at times. For example, during 'Do-Re-Mi,' all the Von Trapp children strip down to 1920s style bathing costumes with brightly-colored horizontal stripes and frantically dance around the stage. Meanwhile, 1960s style "flower power" images are flickering in the background. What?! And that's just one example. I saw my friend (the woman who found my cards after I lost my wallet) and I gave her a small present from home as a "thank you" for her kindness. She was really taken aback and wants to take my roommate and I out for coffee the next time we go to the theatre. (And yes, there will be a next time. We already plan on it). 

So, that's the summary of Week 8. Finally, a weekend that wasn't dangerous or painful. :) I leave you with a photo of the beautiful Angara River which runs through Irkutsk. Spring is here! (And by spring, I mean 40 degree weather!)