This past Friday marked the three week point until I leave for the trip to the East coast and Russia, and it's slowly starting to hit me what exactly that means. As much as I complain that I'm bored, and I'm not working on my life goals right now, the last few weeks have been extremely restful, and have allowed me to focus on some things I've been ignoring, such as my attitude towards speaking Russian and my health goals. In just eighteen days, however, I will have much larger things to think about!
Back in January, a friend from WoW got me started on a website to help lose weight and stay active. Between 2008 and 2010, I had gone from just over 200 lbs to 180 lbs, simply by cutting out sugar and snacks while I was gaming, but then I kinda got stuck at that weight. Irish dance was keeping me fairly fit, but I wasn't really paying that much attention to how much of certain things I was eating, and the fact that I wasn't really doing anything outside of Irish dance. When I started on this website though (www.myfitnesspal.com if you're interested), I got quite the wakeup call as to how much I was eating, and why I wasn't losing weight. In the last six months, I've lost a further ten pounds, and feel so much better, even to the point of not being out of breath at the end of some of our dances.
Unfortunately, the last time I was in Russia, they neglected to feed us on a regular basis, and I ended up resorting to McDonald's so as not to stay awake all night from hunger. Russian food in general is very big on fat, grease, and sugar in order to keep the natives padded against their winters, and things like fresh fruits and veggies are not all that common. Bananas, for example, weigh in at about $4/ lb, and more exotic fruits only go up from there. So while I'm fairly sure I won't be able to keep my diet how it is now, I'm hoping there will be healthier alternatives that McD's through this program. If not, I'll have to get inventive, I guess.
Not too long ago, I read a book written by an Australian who fell in love (and moved in) with a Frenchman. In describing all the mishaps and miscommunications that come from living in a bother culture, she offered up the idea of looking at the world around from an insider's point of view. That really struck a chord with me because, while I love and cherish many (not all, but many) of the aspects of the French, their outlook on life, their cultural norms, and their linguistic peculiarities, Russia has always seemed foreign and strange to me. Whether it's due to starting with the language much later in life, or the sheer vastness of the differences between English and a slavic language (as opposed to English and French), I have never looked at Russian as something that could be inclusive.
Part of that is the attitude, of course. The French do have a laissez-faire outlook on life, but when something truly bothers them, they take to the streets and fix it. The Russians, on the other hand, are almost fatally fatalistic and culturally resigned. On one particularly bad day in Russia in 2010, I was pouring forth what, to me, was a huge litany of grievances, mishaps, unlucky chances, and personal woes. The teacher listened passively until I ran out of steam, then casually said "нормально" (normal, or "life as usual"), and continued on with the lesson. On another day, she told us of how she was working two jobs and attending school to get her master's degree, sleeping on the train between home and work. When we expressed dismay over this, she dismissed it with a, "that's how things are. Can't change it, so what are you gonna do?" This attitude is utterly and completely foreign to me.
But to a point, they're right, about some things at least. Speaking Russian is a goal for me, and part of speaking any language well is knowing the culture and attitude behind it. Since I'm not going to be able to change an entire culture's attitude towards life that has evolved over centuries of, well, oppressive rule... it's time to set aside as much of my feeling of alienation as possible, and try to embrace it. I don't think I will ever accept the fatalism that is so rampant over there, but perhaps it can be tempered with a bit of acceptance and that good, old-fashioned, French laissez-faire. We shall see.
In the meantime, I am preparing for the upcoming trip as much as possible. I have plans and people willing to help while I'm gone (thank you, Sarah!), and am trying not to get too overwrought at the unknown that is awaiting me. I was lucky enough to find a decently-priced drawing tablet on ebay, and am spending a good portion of my time trying to figure it out. I miss drawing, but when I tried to do a quick sketch for a post the other day, I was incredibly frustrated at the makeshift tools I had at my disposal, turning a "quick" three-panel sketch into a two hour long process. Given enough time (something that is rapidly running out for me!), I hope to go back to hand-drawn pictures.
Until then, the countdown continues!
Back in January, a friend from WoW got me started on a website to help lose weight and stay active. Between 2008 and 2010, I had gone from just over 200 lbs to 180 lbs, simply by cutting out sugar and snacks while I was gaming, but then I kinda got stuck at that weight. Irish dance was keeping me fairly fit, but I wasn't really paying that much attention to how much of certain things I was eating, and the fact that I wasn't really doing anything outside of Irish dance. When I started on this website though (www.myfitnesspal.com if you're interested), I got quite the wakeup call as to how much I was eating, and why I wasn't losing weight. In the last six months, I've lost a further ten pounds, and feel so much better, even to the point of not being out of breath at the end of some of our dances.
Unfortunately, the last time I was in Russia, they neglected to feed us on a regular basis, and I ended up resorting to McDonald's so as not to stay awake all night from hunger. Russian food in general is very big on fat, grease, and sugar in order to keep the natives padded against their winters, and things like fresh fruits and veggies are not all that common. Bananas, for example, weigh in at about $4/ lb, and more exotic fruits only go up from there. So while I'm fairly sure I won't be able to keep my diet how it is now, I'm hoping there will be healthier alternatives that McD's through this program. If not, I'll have to get inventive, I guess.
Not too long ago, I read a book written by an Australian who fell in love (and moved in) with a Frenchman. In describing all the mishaps and miscommunications that come from living in a bother culture, she offered up the idea of looking at the world around from an insider's point of view. That really struck a chord with me because, while I love and cherish many (not all, but many) of the aspects of the French, their outlook on life, their cultural norms, and their linguistic peculiarities, Russia has always seemed foreign and strange to me. Whether it's due to starting with the language much later in life, or the sheer vastness of the differences between English and a slavic language (as opposed to English and French), I have never looked at Russian as something that could be inclusive.
Part of that is the attitude, of course. The French do have a laissez-faire outlook on life, but when something truly bothers them, they take to the streets and fix it. The Russians, on the other hand, are almost fatally fatalistic and culturally resigned. On one particularly bad day in Russia in 2010, I was pouring forth what, to me, was a huge litany of grievances, mishaps, unlucky chances, and personal woes. The teacher listened passively until I ran out of steam, then casually said "нормально" (normal, or "life as usual"), and continued on with the lesson. On another day, she told us of how she was working two jobs and attending school to get her master's degree, sleeping on the train between home and work. When we expressed dismay over this, she dismissed it with a, "that's how things are. Can't change it, so what are you gonna do?" This attitude is utterly and completely foreign to me.
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| But but but... you can plan for next time!! |
But to a point, they're right, about some things at least. Speaking Russian is a goal for me, and part of speaking any language well is knowing the culture and attitude behind it. Since I'm not going to be able to change an entire culture's attitude towards life that has evolved over centuries of, well, oppressive rule... it's time to set aside as much of my feeling of alienation as possible, and try to embrace it. I don't think I will ever accept the fatalism that is so rampant over there, but perhaps it can be tempered with a bit of acceptance and that good, old-fashioned, French laissez-faire. We shall see.
In the meantime, I am preparing for the upcoming trip as much as possible. I have plans and people willing to help while I'm gone (thank you, Sarah!), and am trying not to get too overwrought at the unknown that is awaiting me. I was lucky enough to find a decently-priced drawing tablet on ebay, and am spending a good portion of my time trying to figure it out. I miss drawing, but when I tried to do a quick sketch for a post the other day, I was incredibly frustrated at the makeshift tools I had at my disposal, turning a "quick" three-panel sketch into a two hour long process. Given enough time (something that is rapidly running out for me!), I hope to go back to hand-drawn pictures.
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| Remember these? This is still my favorite, 'cause it happens so often. |
Until then, the countdown continues!
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