Babyshkas and Samovars in Northern Minnesota

 Привет из Миннисоти!
     Hello from Minnesota! Bemidji, MN to be exact. Currently, I am sitting on the porch of a log cabin overlooking trees, other cabins, and a lake. Northern Minnesota (north of St. Cloud and Minneapolis/St. Paul) is so beautiful! If you ever get a chance to come up here, do it. But this isn't a tourism commercial.

    Что ты делаеш на севере Миннисоти Ося? What are you doing in northern Minnesota Joey? Well, besides enjoying the beautiful scenery, I'm working at Лесное Озеро (Lesnoe Ozero "Wooded Lake"), the Russian language camp at Concordia Language Villages (CLV). CLV was started in 1961 as a German immersion program for 9-12 year olds. Since then, it has grown to 15 camps where kids can learn Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, English, and of course Russian! The camps are each run a bit differently, but the basic premise of each is to 9provide a quiet, secluded place where campers and staff can immerse themselves in the target language (CLV History). Its a great place to start learning a language for kids from age 7-18 and for students of the language to continue learning and practice their language skills as counselors. At the Russian camp, we have several native speakers, heritage speakers, and students like me who love speaking Russian!

    The Russian camp is about a half hour outside of Bemidji leaving us very secluded from the outside world (well sorta secluded. As you can tell, we have internet). In addition to the absence of distractions, our location could not be more Russian. The site of our camp was once a log cabin resort. After CLV purchased the facilities, the Russian camp moved here giving us log cabins with a very Russian atmosphere. The site is wooded and cozy, making me feel like I'm living at a дача (dacha, country cabin) for the summer. When we arrive at camp last week, I thought we had landed in a Tolstoy novel (minus the deep, spiritual themes). We unpacked our belongings and prepared for the arrival of our campers. We're taking a break from our regular lives and spending time in the country. It's so idyllic. It's wonderful!

      My specific duties for the summer put me in the kitchen (кухня "khuxnya") as an assistant cook. I'll also be working part-time as a counselor in a cabin and help out in language classes and camp programs when I'm not in the kitchen.

     To supplement my words, I'll throw in some pictures to put meaning to the words. Enjoy!

We begin, making our way through the woods....

Stepping into a differing world.

 

First things first. "All visitors must register at the office (Building 13)"

Our first stop will be Moscow, the dining hall.

"The Golden Ring Restaurant"
The Golden Ring refers to a group of cities outside of Moscow that are referred to as "open air museums"  because of their historical importance.

Here are a couple shots of the kitchen, my workplace.

Dishwasher!

The озеро of Lesnoe Ozero. The lake, topped with a beautiful sunset.

I think the lake adds to the learning atmosphere. Water is such an a strange element because it can both destroy and calm. In this case though, it calms the mind and allows for learning to become one's mantra.

We can't be a Russian camp without a баня (sauna).

All of our buildings are named after cities of Russian-speaking countries.

The Медпункт (Nurse's hut) "Владивосток"

Yes, this is a big chess board. шахматы (chess)

This is our central cabin, Санкт-Петербург (St. Petersburg). 

Inside Питер (Petersburg)

Some Russian records.

And of course, many балалайки (balalaikas).

In the basement of Piter, we have our Эрмитаже (Hermitage) for arts and crafts.

Learn the Russian alphabet!

This is the rear of Piter. I'm currently on the deck.

And here's my cabin!

Murmansk!

Ahhh! Прекрасная жизнь!!! The summer is shaping up to be a good one. The campers arrive on Monday and we'll dive into our work. Stay tuned for more updates on Russian life in northern Minnesota!

Пока!

Passion

          As the title of my blog hints at, I'm a geek for everything Russian. This is a descriptor I've only recently applied to myself. It was this semester that I came to realization and appreciation that I am more than willing to make the study of Russia my life's work. Sure I'm 20 and sure I haven't even been to Russia yet, but the thrill I get speaking Russian and being around Russian culture and the language tells me that this isn't just an idle hobby. 

    Signs and symptoms that I am a Russian geek:  

          I enjoy reading about Russia's foreign policy (nerd alert!). In two research projects this past semester (one on the Soviet Union's involvement in the Spanish Civil War and the other was a start-up research proposal for research on Russia's foreign policy in relation to the post-Soviet space) I realized how much I enjoy reading about Russia and her role in the world.

        My ears perk up whenever I hear anything that remotely sounds Russian/Eastern European. For example, when I was in Vail, Colorado for spring break this past semester, I was out to eat with my aunt and uncle and our waitress had an accent (but not just any accent, an Eastern European accent!!). So I said "спасибо" (thank you) after she handed me my drink. She responded in Russian. Turns out she was from Belarus. Totally cool!!! And two weeks ago, I was out to eat with friends at a local Mexican joint (local in St. Peter, Mn; El Agave). This isn't the typical place to find Russian speakers, but our waitress was no other then  a native of Ukraine! Booyah! My friends can attest that I totally freaked out and talked about it the whole way home (much to there annoyance I'm sure; sorry!).

     Thirdly/fourthly, I'm currently working at a Russian language camp in northern Minnesota where we're speaking Russian all day! It's so wonderful and fun! Right now as a matter of fact, I'm listening to one of the other counselors play the guitar while others sing along to various Russian songs. I'll write more about this place (Лесное Озеро) in a later post. After camp, I'll be heading off to St. Petersburg (Russian, NOT Florida) from August 2011 until June 2012. I'm so pumped!

         What do I want to do with this? For sure, I want to go to grad school and continue learning and studying. I also have my eye on the Foreign Service, someday working in Russia at an embassy or consulate or even in the one of the former Soviet republics. Who knows exactly, but I do know that I enjoy every word I speak and hear in Russian and I don't want to stop learning about Russia and all it has to offer.

   So yeah, I'm a Russia geek. And I'm proud!