Week 15 in Russia: Raccoon Dogs in Ulan Ude

This semester has fulfilled a series of life goals for me. One, to learn the Russian language. Two, to travel to Russia. Three, to see a raccoon dog.

Last week in Russia (Week 15), began with a trip to Ulan Ude, fully-organized by SRAS, my exhange program. I traveled by train with another American girl, Candace, and we stayed two nights with a host family, spending a total of three days in Ulan Ude. Ulan Ude is on the Eastern side of Lake Baikal, in Buryatia. It is known for the biggest statue of Lenin's head in Russia, and several Buddhist temples, one of which is considered the center of Buddhism in Russia. Candace and I were lucky enough to see two temples, eat dinner in a traditional Buryat yurta, visit several museums, go to an Old Believer's village to get drunk with a samagon'ka, and most importantly for me: see a raccoon dog. I'll get to the raccoon dog a little later. First, pictures of Ulan Ude, with commentary:

When we first arrived, our guide, Svetlana, took us to the center of town to see the famous statue of Lenin's head. Ulan Ude is most well known for this great leader's giant noggin:

Next, after walking down Ulan Ude's main market street, Svetlana took us for a traditional Buryat' dinner in a yurta, a traditional Buryat' home. (It's like a teepee for the Native Americans--no one lives in them now, but there are a lot of them around for tourists to see). Svetlana insisted on taking our photos with just about everything in and around the restaurant:

After that, we went to a datsan not far from the center of town. When visiting a datsan, Buddhists walk the perimeter in a circle and spin prayer wheels, laying coins at each station. Only after making the circle to the datsan do you enter, and in the datsan, it is forbidden to take pictures. We were there during a service, and quietly followed our guides as they made a circle to the idols within the interior, laying coins and saying prayers at each station. We left the datsan and finished the exterior circle and remaining prayer wheels.

The next day, we visited another datsan, further away from the city center, and considered the center of Buddhism in Russia. We took a similar trip around and inside the temples, and I particularly enjoyed the environment and surroundings at this datsan:

We also went to an Old Believers' Village, about a forty minute drive from the city center. The Old Believers split from Russian Orthodox church in the 1660s, wanting to preserve the old traditions when the church changed. They were sent by the tsar to Siberia, the Ukraine, and Poland, where they were allowed to preserve their faith in closed-off communities. We visited one such community, their museum, church, and had lunch in one of their homes. Our hostess, as it turns out, makes her own alcohol, which, apparently is about 90 proof. I, out of politeness, continued to drink 4 shots of this potent stuff, and well...let's just say it took awhile for the buzz to wear off, and poor Candace was certain she would get sick on the bumpy car ride back to Ulan Ude:

We also visited the ethnographic museum, which happens to host a zoo with native Siberian species. Candace and I saw camels, bears, moose, reindeer, wild boar, foxes, eagles, but what stopped me in my tracks was an unassuming little fur ball with very important species name..

Now, when I was younger, think 11 years old or so, I was in love with the idea of being a veterinarian or a marine biologist. In my spare time, I liked to pour over the pages of my enormous "Encyclopedia of Mammals." There, by family, each species of mammal on earth is catalogued and described. One day, I was reading the canine section, and happened upon the raccoon dog, native to East Asia. I showed the picture of the raccoon dog to my brother, who was convinced that an actual canine species that looks like a raccoon didn't exist. I was upset, at 11 or so years old, trying to argue with him that they do exist, and they didn't just paste a picture of a raccoon under the title "raccoon dog" to trick little girls like me who read the "Encylopedia of Mammals" in their free time. I swore that I would find a raccoon dog someday, proving that they really exist, but couldn't fathom how far away its natural habitat was located, somewhere on the other side of the planet. Well, Nick, my darling brother, last week I saw a real live raccoon dog. Actually, four. And here are the pictures to prove that they really do exist, and in Siberia, no less. One childhood life goal down, many to go:

The trip to Ulan Ude was a success, in more ways than one. I accomplished a life goal I had forgotten about, buried somewhere in the back of my mind, and had a great multi-cultural experience. When I said I was going to Ulan Ude, many Russians asked "for what?" or said that I need only see the datsan and Lenin's head, and then come back to Irkutsk. But I disagree, Ulan Ude had much more in store, from getting tipsy with an old believer to seeing a raccoon dog. :)