Showing posts with label Russian. Show all posts

People ask me what I'm doing and how I'm doing in Stern, and my first reply is always in the form of a huge smile -- because I'm doing great. Since classes started again after Sukkot, there has been so much going on that I barely have time to breathe. In addition to the six classes I am taking this semester, I signed up for a whole load of clubs and events and activities, filling up almost every free minute of every day. It only caught up to me now during midterms, when I have a few subjects to study for and a couple of papers to write (one of which will be six pages long) and 100-page readings on topics such as "Time, Work Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism" and "The World the Slaves Made." Those long readings will eventually translate into long papers to write. But despite the length of my to-do list, I am having the time of my life right now.

Juniors and seniors always seem surprised when, in reply to their questions, I say that my freshman year is going great so far and I'm loving it. They also seem surprised that I actually know what I'm going for -- English major, art history minor. I, on the other hand, am always surprised to hear that many students don't yet know what they would like to major in. I would have thought that the direction you want to take career-wise would influence which college you choose, since different colleges have different strengths and weaknesses, but oh well. I suppose they will eventually know what they're doing. (But there are always those people who never really know and end up going back and forth between different fields.)

Apart from academics, I have been having a lot of fun in Stern getting involved in all these amazing clubs and going to various events. I just became a board member of the Creative Writing and Poetry Club, which had its first event of the year earlier this month -- a discussion on Shakespeare and Milton as dissidents. Future events might include readings, workshops, and poetry slams, so it's going to be absolutely awesome! I am also involved in the Stern College Dramatics Society's production of Pirates of Penzance, which is going to be a blast. The result is that I often come home late, since I commute. The benefit of commuting is that I have 40 uninterrupted minutes each way in which to do homework, reading assignments, and studying for exams.

Aside from that, I am going to start writing for Stern's official student paper, The Observer. Actually, there is a deadline coming up right after midterms so I might want to start writing. And speaking of The Observer, I was mentioned on the front page of the October issue since I was one of the Dean's Scholars who received a free laptop at orientation.

Just in case everything else I'm doing now is not enough, I am also in the process of becoming a docent at the Yeshiva University Museum on West 16th, so I hope to see some of you. I went to the YU Museum this past summer to see the Braginsky collection, which was on display for a limited time and is unfortunately no longer there. It was kind of surreal and so incredibly meaningful. One of the manuscripts on display was a handwritten one by the Vilna Gaon, and I could not tear myself away from it. The exhibits at the YU Museum change all the time, so there is always something new to see. As a docent, every time there is a new exhibit I will have to attend a training and get to learn all about it, so that should be fun!

Yesterday, the art club had a scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although I had been there many times over the past few years, this was a completely different experience because instead of focusing on one gallery at a time and examining each piece of art separately or lingering by the ones I found the most interesting, we were hurrying through all the galleries and covering most of the museum. We were going back and forth between the modern art, European art, Egyptian, and Greek and Roman and trying to find the answers to all the scavenger hunt clues in our booklets. That definitely gave me a new perspective on the Met, so it was fun.

Oh, and YU has a Russian club! I was actually pretty surprised at how many Russian students there are in Stern. I absolutely love those "whoa-are-you-Russian-too?" moments that I've been experiencing a lot lately. Even one of the ladies working in the caf is Russian! She actually complimented me on my Russian.

By the way, Stern is having an open house on November 14th, so anyone applying to college for next year should definitely come! I want to write up a post about Stern and my experiences here so far for prospective students, so look out for that. :] And meanwhile, if you have any questions you can feel free to comment below or to send me an email at myinkstainedhands [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

This 10-minute episode of the Russian Winnie Pooh is the most ADORABLE thing ever. I love watching all these Russian videos on YouTube.... They bring back such memories, since I used to listen to Russian children's songs all the time when I was little. (And for all you non-Russian speaking people, there are English subtitles!)

It is not unusual to pass by a group of Russian people talking in obnoxiously loud tones on the street. Neither is it uncommon to overhear a few Russians heatedly arguing in the middle of a store.

What makes it interesting for me is that I actually understand what they are saying, so I sometimes amuse myself by listening to their loud conversations.

One of the things that has been made apparent is that Russians have no problem analyzing and discussing you thoroughly while under the notion that you do not understand a word they are saying. It seems that many Russians simply assume they are the only ones speaking the language, so they have free license to say whatever they please about whomever they please.

I remember I once went with my mother to a doctor's office. My mother went into the office, while I sat in the waiting room and occupied myself with my writing and my iPod. There were two older Russian women sitting near me, also waiting. I began writing a story, but my thoughts were interrupted when I heard one of the women muttering under her breath to the other in Russian, "Look at how long her skirt is. Why does she wear such long skirts?" I might have lifted my eyebrows at that comment, but I did not allow myself to look up or give any other sign that I had understood. That was a good thing, or I would have been denied the amusement of listening to them discussing my outfit, my looks, and what I was doing. ("What is that in her hand?" "Oh, it's something that plays music.") It took a great deal of self-discipline not to burst out laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. There I was, a Russian-speaking young girl, wearing a long skirt, trying to write and listen to music, and minding my own business, and there were the two Russian ladies, their heads bent together, their eyes staring directly at me, their conversation revolving around me. The best part of the story is that when my mother returned and came over to me, I loudly asked her in Russian whether she's ready to go. Oh, you should have seen those women's faces. And then... one of them loudly whispered in shock to the other in Russian, "She understands everything!" Once my mother and I left the office, I allowed myself a good laugh.

A similar thing happened as I was walking outside one Shabbat. Two Russian women discussed my appearance, and it never occurred to them that I might understand Russian.

I was walking around Brooklyn yesterday with my friend, and we were talking about this interesting Russian habit. Apparently, she has had similar experiences. We went into a shoe store together, and as we were looking at shoes, I heard one of the young Russian employees remarking to the other that I have pretty hair. First of all, I kind of felt like laughing because my friend and I had just discussed how Russians talk about you freely, and here we were experiencing it again. So I turned around and thanked the girl in Russian. Her expression was priceless. She was shocked into silence for a moment, and her eyes became larger as she stared at me. Then came the questions... They asked us how we know Russian, where we're from, and so on. We talked a little bit, and I told them that my friend and I had just discussed how Russians often don't realize that we understand them. Once they got over the initial surprise, they were also amused.

Some of my friends and I also used to talk to each other in Russian when we were in school or in other public places, so others should not understand. I remember that when I was in sixth grade, I used to write stories or journal entries during class. Once I realized that there was the danger of a teacher taking away my writing and reading it, I decided that I would play it safe by writing in Russian. And what do you know? As I was sitting in the back corner of the classroom, calmly writing in Russian about my life and how boring the class was, my teacher walked up, stood behind me, and said, "I know Russian."

Lesson learnt: Never assume that your conversation is private just because you are speaking or writing in a language other than English. Do not be so confident that others cannot understand you.

I wonder, is it mostly a Russian thing or do my multilingual readers experience the same thing with people of other nationalities?