I BalaLIKEa it.

Lack of posting over the summer has mainly been due to my camp-counselor alter-ego, who we will call "Яблоко" (Pronounced YAH-bluh-kuh and meaning Apple). Яблоко is an awesome counselor at a certain Russian-language summer camp which offers a complete linguistic and cultural immersion experience for their campers. In line with the cultural side of things, we have a lovely collection of Balalaikas. If you don't know what a balalaika is, you are about to find out (or you just clicked on the link, and now you have a general idea).

While Яблоко is normally way too busy for any such distraction, this year part of her orientation included a master-class on Balalaika, and she was immediately hooked. The results were devastating. See here:

Now, seeing as the balalaika collection belongs to the camp, Яблоко had a good four weeks during which she was able to occasionally sneak away, in the dark of night, and practice a few chords on her little triangular three-string. After that, however, it was time to come home, and the balalaika she loved was packed away in a rubbermaid box with all of its balalaika buddies, not to be seen or heard from until next summer. Tragic, I know. And thus began my search for a balalaika of my very own.

As soon as I made it back to civilization, I stopped in to my local music store where I asked the strange question: "This is a longshot, but do you know where I might find a balalaika?" Of course, it was a longshot, and "I know a guy who might know a guy..." line was the best I could get. Later on, my wonderful, beautiful aunt called me and said "Hey Sarah, did you try taking alook at the local music shop?" which prompted my re-telling of the whole scenario, and the bleak prospects that it had offered. "Oh," she replied with a confused tone, "because I was just there, and I saw what I am pretty sure is a balalaika. You should go back and check, because when I asked what it was, no one at the shop seemed to know what a balalaika would look like anyway! But there it was, three strings, triangle-shaped and all..."

My aunt didn't get a chance to complete her thought, because I was already in my car driving back to the music store where I walked into the back room and saw with my own two eyes a BEAUTIFUL specimen, albeit covered in years off dust and equipped with strings dating back to the soviet union. In his own defense, the shopkeeper admitted that "You know, as soon as you left the other day, I got to thinkin'... isn't that a balalaika? But ya know, I just wasn't sure!" Frustrated (but elated at the idea of having something to play), I ask "Any idea how much you would sell it for?" ...The response killed me: "Oh, not a clue! And to tell the truth, that's an original right there, and I wouldn't want to sell it to just anyone..."So, there went the balalaika. Back to sit on the shelf, collecting dust, because I wasnt going to shell out an impressive sum for an "original" soviet balalaika that originally cost 5 rubles and 40 kopeks. 

...But thank goodness, we have Ebay! And on Ebay, no one knows exactly what a balalaika is either, which is why you can find plenty of them up for auction titled "RUSSIAN VINTAGE GUITAR UKULELE BALALAIKA DOMRA HIGH QUALITY FROM USSR PLAYS NICE!!" The prices are reasonable, especially the "original" (haha) soviet leftovers --- but knowing me, I couldn't buy one for $150 when there were auctions starting as low as $30! So I wait, refreshing the ebay page on my phone for two days, waiting until the last minutes of an auction to bid $36 dollars on a beautiful little balalaika that was shipped to my house three days later! What bliss! Finally, she is here! She just needs a little oil on the tuners, and she's ready to go! I am so pumped and immediately show my dad, who, in an attempt to fix it himself, FLICKS one of the stuck tuning pegs and SNAPS. IT. IN. HALF.

Ok. Whatever. I just need to get new tuners. It needed them anyway, right? How hard can those be to find? I talk to Music store man, who tells me that normally a set of machine heads will run around $20 --- perfect! But we need BALALAIKA machine heads. And where can you get those? Anybody know the answer??? Anybody????

...

...

...Nowhere.

As I scour the internet for days, I find a meager list of closed businesses, luthiers who repair traditional string instruments, and specialty balalaika websites that haven't been updated since 2009 (either way, they are SOLD OUT of balalaika machine heads, as it says in their product description). I resort to calling and emailing each business on the list, which leads only to unanswered emails and just as many phone conversations where disgruntled Russian men tell me "You can't find them in US, nowhere you can find them. Only I make them custom, you come to my shop, you pay $100, is only way." I am starting to believe them, because so far, everywhere I look, I have come up empty.

And this, my friends, is where I stand. This is my life. I can only hope that I have better luck next week when I move to Kansas, where I may just buy-up every UKRAINIAN FOLK GUITAR AUTHENTIC THREE STRING TUNES UP NICE that ebay has to offer. Until then, I will be camping on Lake Isabella with Dad and ignoring every single one of you :) BWCA 2014 Wooh!

Love,

Sarah

Unfamiliar Territory

For the past few years I have been writing blogs about my travels and experience around Eastern Europe, which some people maybe even read. While I wish I could continue traveling indefinitely, all good things must come to an end (or at least a pause). So, coming this Fall, I'll be writing about life in a different context: Cut to the next chapter in my life, in which Sarah Chao does...

...Kansas.

Yes. Wow. I know. But hey guys, Kansas is a pretty spectacular place from what I have seen so far --- I took a mini road-trip down to Lawrence last weekend, where I will be enrolled at KU's MA program in Slavic Languages and Literature for the next two years (potentially longer if I decide to go on to PhD, but I'm gonna say that's not happening... maybe I'll write about that decision later). The city was hoppin', the campus was beautiful, and the department had everything I was looking for. Plus the financial support they gave me was so good I couldn't turn it down --- They are basically paying me to go there (which I guess is normal for Kansas, among other places)

So, we'll see if I can do something crazy and write about life in my home country for once, eh?  Because in the meantime, I am still here in Minnesota where I will keep teaching, hopefully doing a little bit of music, and speaking Russian when the opportunity presents itself. I also still have to reflect on my most recent trip to Russia as a Fellow for the US-Russia Social Expertise Exchange (which ended with a Californian adventure, so I guess I could write about that, too.)

Getting ready to live in Black and White!

Sarah

Петрозаводск // Petrozavodsk

Okay, okay, it's about time for another post. I know it's been a while, but I just want to share with you all a little bit about Petrozavodsk (where I was until, oh, about two weeks ago). Who knew that way up near Finland, I would find myself in the Russian sister-city of DULUTH?

"Duluth Fisherman" in Petrozavodsk

Yeah, that's right. This is one of the first places I have been to in Russia where people know where Minnesota is, and some of them have even BEEN there! Example:

(Scene: on a crowded bus with one of our hosts in Petrozavodsk)

Host: So, where are you from?

Me: Minnesota

Host: Oh! Minnesota! Do you know the city Duluth?

Me: Um, yes, of course --- wait a minute, you know Duluth? That's crazy!

Host: Yes, actually, I've been there.

Me: Wow, why?

Host: They are our sister city, and we organized a boat-making exchange. Two Minnesotans came here and made birch-bark canoes, and I went to Duluth!

Me: That is totally crazy, I never meet people in Russia who have even HEARD of Minnesota!

Man sitting behind us: (taps me on shoulder) Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you from Minnesota?

Me: Yes?

Man: Oh, That's wonderful! My son lives in Minnesota, and I was just in Duluth last year, what a great city!

Mind... 

...Blown.

But really, when you go to this city, it makes total sense why it is buddy-buddy with Duluth. I mean, just look at the snow on that frozen lake, and the smiles that come from romping all around it! We might as well be in Northern Minnesota, amirite?

Lake Superior? Noooo, lake Onezhskaya!

Silly Americans Romping

On a side-note, I also got to hold a real-live olympic torch, which there are like, a crazy lot of. Thousands. Seriously. But here's one, a real one, even has torch marks on it from when it was lit!

And as my fellowship in Russia came to an end, I grew incredibly lazy with my blogging because I was too busy hanging out with ALL THE AMINALS!

Aminal

Aminals

Aminalz

Aminal...

Aminal?

AMINAL

Love,

Sarah

A Favorite Place

I've been traveling for quite a while, and in the mess that is my life abroad I have been lucky enough to return multiple times to what have become my very favorite places on earth. One of them is Lake Baikal, another will always be Kiev, and of course my very first love: Moscow's Red Square. I can't fully explain my love for this place --- Maybe the connection to my first trip abroad? Or perhaps its the general sense of awe that one feels while walking across the expanse of smooth, wide-set cobblestones towards this immense, iconic cathedral. Maybe it's the sense of peace as well, because when you enter red square all of a sudden everything becomes quiet, seperated fom the noise of the street vendors and traffic just outside the gates, with red walls and churches surrounding you on three sides. Night trains to Moscow arrive before 7am, which means I usually get to see the square at Sunrise, when St. Basil's is back-lit and beautiful. I take a mandatory picture with the cathedral, and then continue to the small street that runs to the left of the square and walk past some of the most beautiful little churches that line the path all the way to my favorite sandwich place in Kitay-Gorod. It makes sense that during my one-day layover in Moscow, I went to Red Square multiple times, and it seems that most of the pictures I took there feature the square as well... #sorrynotsorry. Enjoy one of my favorite places on earth, everyone. I'll write very soon about how amazing Petrozavodsk is!

Sunrise

Early Morning

Valya likes this place, too

Obligatory St. Basil's Selfie

Mid-day

Krispy-Kreme with an old Friend

The End!

Holidays (in every sense of the word)

Happy International Women's Day! March 8th is a very important Holiday in Russia (and everywhere around Eastern Europe, in my experience). We were treated to a student concert, with lots of variety:

Women have been hearing wishes of good health, happiness, and love from EVERYONE this weekend. Even strangers in the street will wish us a Happy Women's day when we walk by, it's that well observed here. It seems like we have been wishing everyone a "Happy Holiday" of some sort the whole time we have been in Tambov, because last weekend was (if you remember) MASLENITSA (pancake week!)

Maslenitsa originated as a pagan tradition celebrating the beginning of Spring: The pancakes resemble the sun, and a large doll is burned as a symbol of the end of Winter. The celebration also marks the period before fasting, and the last day of that period is the last day you can have butter (which, along with meat, is off-limits until Easter during fasting time) --- hence the buttery pancake indulgence!

This doll is burned to signify the end of Winter

People of all ages gather to celebrate Maslenitsa in the Park

Standing in line for pancakes (which we never got, because the line was too long)

And besides that, there was also ANOTHER sort of celebration --- the Olympic torch was brought through Tambov on its way to the Paralympic games in Sochi: 

...We stood there for a long time waiting for them to come by. I've never been that into the olympics, but still, how often do you get a chance to see the olympic torch? I snagged a quick vid. (p.s. This really was the most exciting part, it was kind of anti-climactic.)

In other news, we have been visiting so may educational centers, youth groups, universities and NGOs that I can't even keep them straight sometimes. We will have a final team meeting in a few hours to go over all the material we have gathered here and figure out what we can do with it --- and then it's off to Petrozavodsk via train, where we will have a 15-hour layover in...

omgIcan'twaitI'mgonnapeemypantssoHAPPYYYYY

For those of you who don't know anything about me (but perhaps read the first few posts on my time in St. petersburg), I'll tell you right now that most often my unhappiness in St. Petersburg is caused, very simply, by my NOT being in Moscow... because I find it inherently BETTER in almost EVERY way. So yeah, I'm pretty happy about it.

That's all for now, next post will be from Karelia!

Love,

Sarah

Тамбов // Tambov

Eternal Flame

Lenin

Rachmaninoff

On the school wall in the background: "Study Study Study -Lenin"

View from the Bridge

500-year old Oak tree

Тамбовский Волк --- Тебе Товарищ

The title of this post is a Russian saying, which translates as "The wolf from Tambov is your comrade." From what I understand, it's supposed to be ironic --- but people in Tambov have been wonderful so far! :)

We are continuing come research which we started in Samara, looking at different models of collaboration between youth, schools, NGOs, and service organizations.We are mapping out three main models so that we can analyze them based on criteria such as project sustainability, application in an American context, and possible partnerships with U.S. organizations. We love charts! 

Otherwise our first day in Tambov was a bonding day at our host organization, the Center for Youth Initiatives. Our colleagues here often lead master-classes on decoupage, so they invited us to create our own little projects --- they turned out quite nice, I think.

We talked out our whole schedule for the week and the next day met with a fabulous artist Nikolai Nikolaevich at his studio inside a local school. The school accomodates regular students as well as students with hearing impairments. Nikolai has been teaching life skills through art since the early 90s, and his philosophy on the benefit of art is quite inspirational.

We met with 4th-grade students and asked the what they like to draw most. The girl on the left said "Girls, with pretty outfits, from cartoons and things"; the second girl answered: "Dogs. My dogs, and me!"

In more general news, we are finally starting to feel productive with our project, things are falling into place, and this weekend is Maslenitsa! It's sort of like Mardi Gras, marking the beginning of the lenten season when orthodox believers start their 40-day fast until easter. It is sometimes referred to in English as "Pancake Week," so you can guess what I'll be eating on Sunday ;)

I'll keep you posted!

Sarah