After a week of continued pain, I'm pretty sure its the I-cracked/fractured-my-tailbone type of pain. Ice and stairs have become my arch nemesis this winter and a continued source of cringing. Later that day, I realized that my keys had fallen off of my key chain during one of my falls, leaving me temporarily locked out of my flat.
However, pain aside the week has been pretty good. The weather is turning bitterly cold, but I don't mind it that much. What I do mind is that all of the parks Kayla and I have visited have been closed. Even the "artist commune" I dragged her to had a pretty slim selection. The paper gallery was closed which I especially wanted to see. Regina's collection was fairly disappointing too considering it's supposed to be a "shocking" exhibition. However, there were two exhibits that were fairly decent.
Happy New Year Stanley
On New Years Eve day I braved the ice and grabbed the bus back to Zelenograd (no one can say I never learned my lessons). After arriving at my intended destination, I was welcomed into the flat by Lena and her friends Kate and Olga. The four of us spent the next few hours in a torrent of cooking and conversing. More people began to arrive which meant more hands to help, more people to meet and more tongues chattering away. By the end of the night, there was a total of ten people - ten friends who welcomed the New Year together.
Lena's party was "hat" themed. Everyone must wear a hand-made hat or head decoration. It truly was brilliant. Everyone was very festive. But in case I got two homesick, Micah and Britt decided to fill in the role of my brothers. Their colleges were playing a rival basketball game, and so I got to hear shouts and insults hurled at each other.
The thing about New Year in Russia is that it is THE holiday. It's basically the American equivalent of Christmas. Due to Communism's solid anti-religion campaign, New Year became the thing to celebrate.
Each New Year, the Russian President gives a short speech five minutes before 12:00. Even the children watch and listen as he describes his dreams for the future. This year, President Medvedev claimed that this coming year would see a more modern Russia, but to do so the children must be taken care of. This was followed up by Sting singing his song "Russians," which I have since downloaded.
At 12:00 a slice of carrot is eaten by every person. As everyone chews frantically away, they make a wish. If they finish their bite before 12:01, their wish will come true. If this tradition holds true, my wish should becoming true sometime within the next 12 months.
After the carrot eating and general inside frivolity and games, we sauntered outside to enjoy the snowy air and a nice snowball fight. This was followed by sledding and fireworks.
St. Petersburg
Kayla, her friend Danielle, and myself headed to St. Pete's on Jan. 2 by way of express train. We stayed with some mutual connections which helped us out on cost and provided a homey atmosphere for our journey. The first day we began our explorations of the Hermitage. The second day we toured the Peter-Paul Fortress and Cathedral where the tsars are buried. We also investigated one of the Russian State Museums. The third day we continued with our explorations of the Hermitage.
Although there is so much that could be said about St. Petes, I'll try to keep it brief. I LOVE St. Petersburg. I'm not a big city person, but St. Petersburg had a more intimate and generous atmosphere enveloping it. The people were friendly, and when we stopped and asked people for directions, they gave it to us with a smile and a few more questions about us. And then, there is the Hermitage. I could live in that place for a year and still not get enough of it. The art! The history! The LOVE! I want to go through it room by room with a notepad and pen and scribble away furiously. The inspiration and thoughts and admiration that pop into my head are innumerable and wonderful.
Back to School
Break is over. I'm back in my flat which suffered from water damage due to leaky heating pipes. Black mold is growing in my roommates room. The heater only works part of the time. The weather is cold and icy, although I still enjoy the cold. I just wish the ice would go away.
At this point, I definitely know my tailbone is broken. It's been over three weeks and I still can't sit longer than 30 minutes without needing to get up and walk around. In addition, my lower back is also giving me problems, and I think I've knocked a few things around. I've fallen twice more since the stair incident which hasn't helped much. Although, I now have a glorious pair of boots, so hopefully falls will be limited. I've never been graceful and have fallen plenty since I've been here without the help of ice, but the ice has served as a catalyst for my increasing number of injuries.
All of these bumps and fractures and bruises have led me to make the New Years Resolutions I refused to make on/at New Years. The year of 2011 will be my yoga/pilates year. While I definitely could stand to lose the weight, my main objective for this is to 1) strengthen/protect/heal my back and back muscles 2) try and get into the art and practice of meditation. While I don't believe in the exact religiosity of Indian spiritualism, I do believe meditation is an important part of spiritualism in general be it Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or Christian.
I would definitely like to learn more about the history of yoga and even the religious aspects of it along with the physical though. I've been very impressed with what I've read and researched so far. The general approach is more relaxed yet strict. It's not about food measuring, weight lifting and demanding regimes (although those can be included). It's not specifically a weight-loss regime, although it can help tone and trim. Rather, it focuses on the self. On coming to know and appreciate who you are. From the blogs I've read, I've lost count of how many times I've come across phrases like "love affair" and "conversation" with oneself. The blogs and chat rooms are filled with warmer and hopeful and encouraging reports and remonstrations. There are also a lot of posts on breathing and learning and gaining peace and conentment through simple breathing and posture exercises.
I did a little yoga about five years ago and was impressed, although I only did it for a couple months. However I was a lot more flexible back then, having gone through gymnastics and softball and marching band. I am totally, completely, impossibly out of shape here in Russia, and the ice does not help.
For my new resolution, basically I've downloaded several episodes and podcasts and am doing a home study. While I do have a little bit of background in some of the poses and movements from my previous class and my gymnastic years, I am slightly worried about correct posture, etc. I did my first yoga "class" today. I miss my old flexible body. My back hurts. But, I'm not discouraged. I'm going to keep going and hopefully this old back will be able to once again due bridges and twists and flips. Until then, I'll keep dreaming. :D
Sincerely yours,
Your Russian Traveller
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