When You're 'Ooot and Aboot' all the Time, What the heck does home mean?

      Pardon the Canadian/Northern Minnesota words in the title, but sometimes I really do feel like I'm always on the move; in the door, out the door, sleep, repeat. On a larger scale, since moving off to college I've been on the move from location to location. I started in Washington, Il, then came to Minnesota, back to Illinois, to Wisconsin; back and forth and back and forth. For me, the concept of home is a bit muddled and I have the feeling that when I leave for Russia in August its going to get a bit more confusing. So I've been jotting down my thoughts on home after two years of moving back and forth. I'll be posting this in segments as this an on-going project.

Here's a song to spark some thoughts on home:

    Simon and Garfunkel say that home is a place where your thoughts escape, your music plays, and where your love life is waiting. Going by this formula, home is many places. At school, it was my dorm, in Washington, it's my house, up here at camp, its outside. I don't want to say that Simon and Garfunkel loosely use the term 'home.' The home that they describe is a special place for each of us. It can't necessarily be anywhere and it could be one place or many. But this brings up closer. We have parameters for what home should give us, now we need to clarify these and identify a location. Before we do that though, let's throw another ingredient into our thinking stew.

     

        I remember a Facebook status I saw a year or two ago that went something like this: "Sometimes, it's nice to go to a place where everyone knows your name." At first the thought made me laugh a bit. At the time I had no desire to return to Washington (a place I still consider small enough to be called a 'small town'), so the thought of returning to a place where everyone (or a lot of people) knew me was something I didn't want to do. This feeling came from my first visit to Washington after leaving for college. I envisioned it would be a triumphant return to my homeland. It wasn't. I enjoyed my time with old friends and seeing the world I left behind, but I missed GAC. The thing was, I left Washington behind. I went back to see the final marching band competition of the year because I wanted to see the band the year after I had graduated. But it wasn't the same. Everyone had moved on. It was fun to hang out with the alumni and be able to talk about the 'old days,' but GAC was not there. It wasn't the same, so after I returned to school, I wanted to stay there for as long as I could. That episode repeated itself over Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. While I was hanging about with friends and family, everything was great! But when the festivities ended or when nothing wast happening, I (pardon the poetic tone) longed to be back at GAC. Two worlds were created; my world in Washington and those associated with it and my world at GAC and everyone associated with that world. They didn't blend nor did anyone from Washington or GAC cross into the other world (my parents being the exception). There was a wall between GAC and Washington. What began was a game of tug-of-war between Washington and GAC. Which would be my home? Part of me justified calling Washington home because it's where I'm from while another part wanted a new home, GAC. Freshman year, it was the GAC side that overruled the Washington side.

      

       When the time came to leave GAC in May, I cried. I had never cried about leaving a place before. Ending experiences yes, but never leaving a place. I think its because GAC is more than a place. So much of my life is connected to that spot on the hill that leaving it is a sad thing for me to do each year. I came home and felt out of place. At the time, I was happy to soon be out the door again; this time to Beloit, Wisconsin. I was in Beloit for 8 weeks then back in Washington for a few weeks then back to GAC. That summer left me frazzled from so much moving. Arriving at GAC, I finally felt like I was in a permanent place. I was going to be at Gustavus longer than I was in Washington and Beloit. I felt like I belonged there.

I've explained the ambiguous nature that home is for me, or at least the conundrum I find myself in. Am I limiting the  term 'home' by restricting it to being a physical place? Can home be mobile? More thoughts will come as this discussion continues.

What does home mean for you?

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!

Why Russia?

Почему нет? Why not?

      In middle school, I read a biography of Josef Stalin. No, I was not obsessed with war or Stalin's paranoia. I was interested in the story told about the Russian people. Growing up in the 1990s to parents and teachers who had lived during the Cold War, all I learned about Russia was that they were Communists. They were the bad guys and we were the good guys. The biography opened my mind up to the world that I wasn't told about in school or at home. I read about Stalin's mass executions and arrests, but it must be stressed that Stalin was one man and he wasn't even Russian! His actions defined Russia and the Soviet Union, but they by no means are the only definition. After reading this book, I saw that Russia had a bigger story than the one I was being told. From that point on, I decided to look into Russian history on my own. My journey began.

     In 8th grade, I was called a communist and I accepted that rather joyfully. Let's just say my early years of interest in Russia were very boyish. I was captivated by the 'look' or Russia: tanks on Red Square, cool Russian bad guys in James Bond films, and the extensive use of the color red. There wasn't much substance to my interest. It skimmed the surface. I could tell you about what the Soviet Union did in World War II and I'll admit, I had a bit of a fascination with Stalin. Other than that, there wasn't much there. Then in high school I became more acquainted with Russian politics in the 21st century. At that time, Russia's president was Vladimir Putin, a strongman who wanted to put Russia back on the world stage and regain the prestige that it had had under the Soviet Union. For me, Putin represented hope for Russia. Again, I was caught up in a boyhood fascination with Russia  and wasn't really thinking about the bigger picture. But inside, I knew I wanted to learn more about Russia and study the Russian language. I wanted to understand Russia because all I saw around me was a lack of understanding which only leads to mistakes. I didn't realize that I would become so involved with Russian at the time, but when I started my college search, the schools I looked at all had a Russia department. That's how I came to Gustavus.

       Gustavus had a few things going for it: 1. Russian, French, and Political Science. 2. Swing Club. 3. Welcoming atmosphere. 4. I didn't get accepted into Macalester (which I'm thankful for). So I got accepted to Gustavus with the intent of study Russian, French, and PoliSci (that's Political Science). The spring of my senior year (Spring 2009), I had the opportunity to see Mikhail Gorbachev (Михаил Сергеевич Горбачёв) speak in Peoria, Illinois (about 20 minutes from my house). That was an awesome experience. It really made me realize how much I wanted to learn about Russia. Another factor helping me become more interested in Russia was a teacher at Washington Community High School, Dan Reem. He taught in the social science department (I had him for geography and Western Civ). Mr. Reem studied Russian in college, so he was one of the few high school history teachers that knew something about Russia. Therefore, when he taught European history, he remembered to mention the Russians. The most important thing I learned about Russia from Mr. Reem was that the Russians are not European, they are Russian.

     When the Roman Empire split in two and Rome became the capital of the western half and Constantinople the capitol in the east, the Russians were not yet a people. It was through contact with the Byzantines (what the Romans in the east came to be called) that the Slavic tribes developed a language and adopted the Orthodox tradition of Christianity, making them different from the western empire under Rome. When the Church split, Russia sided with Constantinople. This was one of those moments in history which defined Russia and its relationship with Western Europe. Ok, hold the phone Joey. Aren't the French French and the English English, and so on and so forth. Well, yes, they are. But they all share Western European culture which was defined by the Roman Catholic Church and the Latin Language. Russian on the other hand uses Greek characters (plus some unique Russian ones). Russia's traditional faith is not the Roman Catholic Church, but the Russian Orthodox Church. These differences define Russia. They separate Russia from Western Europe, not in a bad way, but in a beautiful way. Unfortunately, this separation has led and still leads to misunderstandings between Russia and the West. But that's a discussion for another day. Back to Mr. Reem.
    Mr. Reem taught us that and it stuck with me. Russia wasn't like any of the other European countries. To study Russian and Russia was to study something unique indeed. That's when my serious interest in Russia started to grow.

   Then I started college. Due to some scheduling conflicts, I couldn't take Russian my first year of college, but luckily, we have a great Russian Department at Gustavus headed my Prof. Denis Crnković (Денис Любомирович Срнкович). I was paired up with a Senior Russian major and got tutored in the Russian language. It really opened my eyes. I learned what I getting into first of all and second I realized the complexities of Russian. At first it seemed a bit daunting, but I got really excited to learn more. The summer of 2010, I did just that. I took beginning Russian language classes at Beloit's Summer Intensive Language Program. It was awesome and very busy. We learned Russian from 8 AM-3 PM Monday-Friday and spoke it all the time. I wanted to scream for the first three weeks, but after that I discovered how great Russian (Русский язык) is. Its complexities are beautiful even when they are annoying. After Beloit, I headed back to GAC and took another Russian language class, two Russian history classes (Imperial Russia and Modern Russia), and 19th Century Russian Literature. All these classes strengthened my resolve to learn more and more about Russia.

     So why Russia? Russia has gone from a backwards peasant kingdom to an imperial power that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Germany and from the North Pole to Afghanistan. The Soviet Union played a huge role in world history from the 1920s to 1991. And Russia today is back on the world stage. The importance of Russia on a political level should not be underestimated. I want to better understand Russia so I can help build a strong relationship between the US and Russia.


That's why I'm going to Russia.
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