Darn it... now I need to go buy some new calligraphy pens. Around noon I met Ksana at Sokolniki station and we traveled through the park to the museum of calligraphy where she works. The exhibit was amazing, and there were so many pieces of artwork that were beyond the power of words to give appropriate credit to. It amazes me the things that can be done with letters, and there were entire murals and huge pieces of parchment covering walls of pictures drawn entirely of poems and some simply of alphabets in different languages. I have never seen anything done like this before, and I was honestly completely speechless (something that you all happens rarely with me).
She had to leave briefly since she was in fact still working, and I got a chance to look around by myself. When she returned she took me around the museum and told me some really amazing stories about the pieces of art on exhibition and who made them and where they came from that wasn't included in the signs describing their histories (they were translated to English). It was fascinating to hear so many of the stories about the art, and some of the art from certain religions that weren't allowed to depict living things, so they paint pictures in poems and letter... it's not really a flower, it's a flower-shaped poem... very clever, and very beautiful.
Another of her friends joined us and we watched a calligrapher do a brief class for the patrons in the museum. Children took seats in the front and were given calligraphy pens and brushes, and he explained (to the best of my understanding... my Russian is still pretty lousy) how as we are raised, we are taught our native language, and we are taught how it is supposed to look. We form a mental image in our mind that doesn't allow us to see that letter any other way, but there are no laws saying those letters can't look different than they are, and there are an infinite number of ways you can draw a letter to make it look any way you wish.
He talked about trying to free your mind of those boundaries and learning to turn each letter into an individual piece of art; combining letters to make pictures of whole words. I think mostly the kids were lost by the concepts he was trying to explain, but all the parents and other adults in the audience got out their pens and pads and were trying to create their own masterpieces on receipts and spare scraps of paper in their pockets and purses. It was a really amazing display, and although much of what was said was lost on my because of the language barrier, my old attraction to calligraphy was reawakened and I still gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from the experience about art and perception.
Now I just have the task of trying to find a calligraphy pen somewhere in Moscow. Ksana, seeing my fascination, has already recommended a small Chinese store that sells everything Chinese from dumplings to Buddha statues, and she was sure they sold calligraphy pens... so I'll have to get around to that soon ;) After we left the museum Ksana changed clothes for the impending MUSE concert at 7, and the 3 of us went to the Coffee House for a quick dinner. We had beers and I had pasta, and we discussed how strange it was that you can buy beer and cigarettes everywhere.
In Russia, when you go to a restaurant there pages in the back dedicated just to cigarettes. When you walk down the street, there are tobacco and liquor stands everywhere. I explained how different the situation is in America and how carrying liquor in public can get you arrested and only a small percentage of stores certified to sell liquor are allowed to stock it. Cigarettes can only really be purchased in gas stations and groceries (they're sold in groceries and gas stations here too of course, but not nearly so many are sold there as in the street stands). Some kids about 13 years old walked by smoking cigarettes as we discussed this, and I just kind of stared... I don't know how to respond.
Then, a small child... I mean really small... no older than 6 or 7 I'd guess, walked by with his cartoon backpack on his way home .. by himself. It amazes me the differences here.. I don't even seen 10 year olds by themselves in America, let along 6. I made a joke about waiting to see a 6 year old walk by with a Power Ranger backpack smoking a cigarette, and Ksana and her friend just kind of looked away silently. Her friend (sorry, I forgot his name) told me about how he had visited an orphanage once and lots of the kids there, of 6 or 7 years old were sitting around playing cards and smoking cigarettes... cheap cigarettes he advised, and he didn't know where they got them... but it doesn't change the fact that, well... I don't really even know what to say about that.
He also told me about how on his 16th birthday he was out drinking with his friends and they got stopped by the Police on the Metro. They officer said, "Hey, boys! Having a good time? Let's go drinking!" When they said that it was late and they needed to get home, he told them that was a pity because now they'd have to go to jail instead. When you're with the cops, they don't care really if you break the law, but you better do what they say, or go to jail... and the prospect of experiencing a jail in Russia is most definitely not on my list of things I want to experience before I die ... if a cop asks me to go drinking, you know what I'm doing tonight..... getting hammered with the Police.
After we left the coffee house, we headed back to the Metro to head to Prospekt Mira where the MUSE concert was happening in about an hour or so. We left Ksana's friend on the Metro to head home since he was exhausted, and I have never seen a bigger crowd anywhere but at a futbol game than I did around that stadium. I know MUSE isn't particularly popular in America, but there isn't a single woman in this country that would murder someone in front of their own mother for MUSE tickets in Europe.... honestly, I wouldn't really be surprised if the person's own mother helped to kill them to get the tickets.
Everyone was wearing shirts with British flags, and the women were all toting purses with the same. We went to McDonald's for a Coke because she was thirsty, and it took nearly 20 minutes because everyone was getting something to eat before the concert. It was a tad unusual though to get so much attention. Although sometimes acknowledge that you're speaking English, in a city as big as Moscow, it's not totally unheard of. But because MUSE was there, being a British group, people heard Ksana and I speaking English and there were at least 20 people just staring at us as we were drinking... not even trying to hide it. I don't know if they thought we were with the band or what... but it was really disconcerting.
Her mother showed up shortly after to join her so they could go to the concert together, and they agreed that it was a travesty that I wouldn't be attending the show. Apparently I'm the only person in Moscow not going. We parted ways and I headed back home, and nothing particularly exciting happened, although my game that I play with myself almost paid off today finally. I hadn't told anyone about this yet, but when I'm on transports, I like to get out an English book, and sit so that as many people can see the cover as possible. Sometimes, I make phone calls and I of course speak in English... anything so that people notice that I speak English.
It's a fun game because lots of younger people (my age-ish down to early teens) study English these days and have a basic competency wherein they can read and write, but have no experience speaking. So even though they really could probably speak it alright, they're too shy from never having had the opportunity to practice. Every morning/evening, there's always at least a few people (usually younger girls... the guys are typically staring at the girls, not at what books I'm reading) that I can tell want to say something but can't quite muster the courage to do it.
Tonight a girl actually took off her headphones after staring at my book titled "Russian" and I thought she was going to ask me if I spoke English... I took off my headphones as well so she wouldn't think she was interrupting me, and she started to point at the book and look up at me, then quickly turned away and didn't look back at me the rest of the ride home. I was soooo disappointed. It was the first time anyone has actually gotten so close to saying something, but my starting the conversation would ruin the game ;) The point is that I don't have a problem talking to strangers, but Russians are much more reserved, and the point is to see if anyone is willing to break the unspoken rule of not talking to people on transports. Awwww, shucks.... maybe tomorrow.
Also, with the help of Лёша and Ksana, I've also discovered several theaters in Moscow that actually play movies in English, so I'm going to have to get around to doing that sometime soon as well. I got my iPhone synchronized today, but since it's a generation 1 and it's basically dead already I haven't really been able to get it to let me transfer my photos over yet. I spent about 30 minutes fighting with my computer trying to accomplish this, and my struggle ended with my computer refusing to acknowledge that the USB ports even existed anymore, and I gave up for the day. Why my computer randomly decided not to know what a USB is and what the had to do with my iPhone I'll never know... I just know I wasn't in the mood to deal with it today.
So, my USB drives are back up now, even if my extensions aren't, and I'll have to reinstall the device drivers tomorrow. But after that's all said and done, hopefully I can get these pictures uploaded. This process has been a huge pain in the patoot, and I've added "digital camera" to my list of things I desperately need. That aside, no one showed up for the show this evening, and I'm choosing to attribute this to my having given such short notice about the show and maybe the time. I'll try again next week at the same time, and if no one shows I'll try at a different time the following week. I WILL NOT BE DISCOURAGED! I WILL PERSIST!
I hope everyone had as awesome of a day as I did, and I hope you have an excellent day tomorrow as well! Take care, and good night!
She had to leave briefly since she was in fact still working, and I got a chance to look around by myself. When she returned she took me around the museum and told me some really amazing stories about the pieces of art on exhibition and who made them and where they came from that wasn't included in the signs describing their histories (they were translated to English). It was fascinating to hear so many of the stories about the art, and some of the art from certain religions that weren't allowed to depict living things, so they paint pictures in poems and letter... it's not really a flower, it's a flower-shaped poem... very clever, and very beautiful.
Another of her friends joined us and we watched a calligrapher do a brief class for the patrons in the museum. Children took seats in the front and were given calligraphy pens and brushes, and he explained (to the best of my understanding... my Russian is still pretty lousy) how as we are raised, we are taught our native language, and we are taught how it is supposed to look. We form a mental image in our mind that doesn't allow us to see that letter any other way, but there are no laws saying those letters can't look different than they are, and there are an infinite number of ways you can draw a letter to make it look any way you wish.
He talked about trying to free your mind of those boundaries and learning to turn each letter into an individual piece of art; combining letters to make pictures of whole words. I think mostly the kids were lost by the concepts he was trying to explain, but all the parents and other adults in the audience got out their pens and pads and were trying to create their own masterpieces on receipts and spare scraps of paper in their pockets and purses. It was a really amazing display, and although much of what was said was lost on my because of the language barrier, my old attraction to calligraphy was reawakened and I still gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from the experience about art and perception.
Now I just have the task of trying to find a calligraphy pen somewhere in Moscow. Ksana, seeing my fascination, has already recommended a small Chinese store that sells everything Chinese from dumplings to Buddha statues, and she was sure they sold calligraphy pens... so I'll have to get around to that soon ;) After we left the museum Ksana changed clothes for the impending MUSE concert at 7, and the 3 of us went to the Coffee House for a quick dinner. We had beers and I had pasta, and we discussed how strange it was that you can buy beer and cigarettes everywhere.
In Russia, when you go to a restaurant there pages in the back dedicated just to cigarettes. When you walk down the street, there are tobacco and liquor stands everywhere. I explained how different the situation is in America and how carrying liquor in public can get you arrested and only a small percentage of stores certified to sell liquor are allowed to stock it. Cigarettes can only really be purchased in gas stations and groceries (they're sold in groceries and gas stations here too of course, but not nearly so many are sold there as in the street stands). Some kids about 13 years old walked by smoking cigarettes as we discussed this, and I just kind of stared... I don't know how to respond.
Then, a small child... I mean really small... no older than 6 or 7 I'd guess, walked by with his cartoon backpack on his way home .. by himself. It amazes me the differences here.. I don't even seen 10 year olds by themselves in America, let along 6. I made a joke about waiting to see a 6 year old walk by with a Power Ranger backpack smoking a cigarette, and Ksana and her friend just kind of looked away silently. Her friend (sorry, I forgot his name) told me about how he had visited an orphanage once and lots of the kids there, of 6 or 7 years old were sitting around playing cards and smoking cigarettes... cheap cigarettes he advised, and he didn't know where they got them... but it doesn't change the fact that, well... I don't really even know what to say about that.
He also told me about how on his 16th birthday he was out drinking with his friends and they got stopped by the Police on the Metro. They officer said, "Hey, boys! Having a good time? Let's go drinking!" When they said that it was late and they needed to get home, he told them that was a pity because now they'd have to go to jail instead. When you're with the cops, they don't care really if you break the law, but you better do what they say, or go to jail... and the prospect of experiencing a jail in Russia is most definitely not on my list of things I want to experience before I die ... if a cop asks me to go drinking, you know what I'm doing tonight..... getting hammered with the Police.
After we left the coffee house, we headed back to the Metro to head to Prospekt Mira where the MUSE concert was happening in about an hour or so. We left Ksana's friend on the Metro to head home since he was exhausted, and I have never seen a bigger crowd anywhere but at a futbol game than I did around that stadium. I know MUSE isn't particularly popular in America, but there isn't a single woman in this country that would murder someone in front of their own mother for MUSE tickets in Europe.... honestly, I wouldn't really be surprised if the person's own mother helped to kill them to get the tickets.
Everyone was wearing shirts with British flags, and the women were all toting purses with the same. We went to McDonald's for a Coke because she was thirsty, and it took nearly 20 minutes because everyone was getting something to eat before the concert. It was a tad unusual though to get so much attention. Although sometimes acknowledge that you're speaking English, in a city as big as Moscow, it's not totally unheard of. But because MUSE was there, being a British group, people heard Ksana and I speaking English and there were at least 20 people just staring at us as we were drinking... not even trying to hide it. I don't know if they thought we were with the band or what... but it was really disconcerting.
Her mother showed up shortly after to join her so they could go to the concert together, and they agreed that it was a travesty that I wouldn't be attending the show. Apparently I'm the only person in Moscow not going. We parted ways and I headed back home, and nothing particularly exciting happened, although my game that I play with myself almost paid off today finally. I hadn't told anyone about this yet, but when I'm on transports, I like to get out an English book, and sit so that as many people can see the cover as possible. Sometimes, I make phone calls and I of course speak in English... anything so that people notice that I speak English.
It's a fun game because lots of younger people (my age-ish down to early teens) study English these days and have a basic competency wherein they can read and write, but have no experience speaking. So even though they really could probably speak it alright, they're too shy from never having had the opportunity to practice. Every morning/evening, there's always at least a few people (usually younger girls... the guys are typically staring at the girls, not at what books I'm reading) that I can tell want to say something but can't quite muster the courage to do it.
Tonight a girl actually took off her headphones after staring at my book titled "Russian" and I thought she was going to ask me if I spoke English... I took off my headphones as well so she wouldn't think she was interrupting me, and she started to point at the book and look up at me, then quickly turned away and didn't look back at me the rest of the ride home. I was soooo disappointed. It was the first time anyone has actually gotten so close to saying something, but my starting the conversation would ruin the game ;) The point is that I don't have a problem talking to strangers, but Russians are much more reserved, and the point is to see if anyone is willing to break the unspoken rule of not talking to people on transports. Awwww, shucks.... maybe tomorrow.
Also, with the help of Лёша and Ksana, I've also discovered several theaters in Moscow that actually play movies in English, so I'm going to have to get around to doing that sometime soon as well. I got my iPhone synchronized today, but since it's a generation 1 and it's basically dead already I haven't really been able to get it to let me transfer my photos over yet. I spent about 30 minutes fighting with my computer trying to accomplish this, and my struggle ended with my computer refusing to acknowledge that the USB ports even existed anymore, and I gave up for the day. Why my computer randomly decided not to know what a USB is and what the had to do with my iPhone I'll never know... I just know I wasn't in the mood to deal with it today.
So, my USB drives are back up now, even if my extensions aren't, and I'll have to reinstall the device drivers tomorrow. But after that's all said and done, hopefully I can get these pictures uploaded. This process has been a huge pain in the patoot, and I've added "digital camera" to my list of things I desperately need. That aside, no one showed up for the show this evening, and I'm choosing to attribute this to my having given such short notice about the show and maybe the time. I'll try again next week at the same time, and if no one shows I'll try at a different time the following week. I WILL NOT BE DISCOURAGED! I WILL PERSIST!
I hope everyone had as awesome of a day as I did, and I hope you have an excellent day tomorrow as well! Take care, and good night!
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