- 3/1/2008 10:00:00 PMMoscow Trip - Day 20Today we met Lisa Smith - head of the Lighthouse Project. At first I was not sure it was her as she does not appear entirely like her photo on the web site. Not better, not worse, but different. She had her hair pulled back perhaps that was what threw me.
She immediately began to tell us about her visit to Russia and how it was the worst, and most unproductive ever. It seems that the rise in the Russian foster care system is a big concern for the Lighthouse Project. Both systems are after the same human resources. There is a fear that the strong nationalist feeling will take away the opportunity for children to be placed in good homes. Since the foster care system is just getting off the ground, there are not enough checks and balances in place to ensure that the children are placed into a good home. We heard stories of some people adopting as many as 6 children at a time. The governments monthly payment for fostering a single child is $350. In some regions, this is like a monthly salary. Considering the living conditions and the size of the average flat, you begin to wonder how they can make it. At this time, it is not a concern of the government. Better foster care screening will come in the future.
Peggy and I sat together with Lisa, Larissa, and Marina. We listened to stories and learned a great deal about what it is like to grow up and live in Russia. Larissa told us that when she grew up, she described herself as "brain-washed". She said as a teenager, she stood in lines for bread and other necessities with government sponsored coupons to pay for them. She thought this was "normal" and even though things were tough, putting everyone on even ground (aka socialism) was by far the best system in the world. She was offended by talk of capitalism and hated the west for their greed.
I asked her, "what caused you to change your mind?". She said that when she was in her 20's, she wanted to travel. She tried to go to Hungary and some other closer countries and her Visa was always held up because she didn't score high enough in certain courses in school. Courses like "Modern Atheism". She began to understand that she was being flagged as a person who was "not thoroughly brainwashed" and that is why she was not allowed to travel to other socialist/communist countries.
Then one day she got a Visa to America. I don't know what it was for. She said that when she arrived in Washington DC, got off the plane and looked around her, she began to cry. She said that she had felt as though she was betrayed by her own people and told nothing but lies her entire life. She said, "we live in a bubble over here and have no idea what is going on around us. We are told that we are the biggest, the first and the best about everything. We live in a bubble and have no idea what is going on around us".
As I began to think about what she said, it occurred to me that this statement is often times the biggest criticism of the United States. I have been told that the US news reports are bogus and that if we only saw "the real news" as reported in Europe, we would think much differently about ourselves. I asked her how many people did she believe think like she does - both before and after her Washington DC trip. She didn't know any figures on that.
There are some other observations I have made about Moscow that are not necessarily true of Russia as a whole. Over the last 15 years or so, Moscow has undergone incredible mind blowing change and it is still happening. It is my opinion that they are stuck somewhere between the very olden times, and the most modern times. It really depends on what aspect of the culture you are talking about.
In the end, I see a people group that is perhaps in some kind of identity crisis. On thing in particular that appeals to me is music. More specifically - rock and roll music. I see posters and billboards of what appears to be angry young Russian males mimicking all the angry rock and roll music that happened in the United States back in the 1980's. I see a culture that is trying to "like" the west but without "being" the west. That being the case, then who are they? I think they are trying to work that out but there is so much history and baggage here they can't go to where they want (the future) and yet they can't stay where they are (the past).
Wow! That was a lot of rambling...
After we had finished talking, Lisa said she was able to "acquire" tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet Theater for tonight and offered them to us. I have never been to the Ballet. That is something that I thought old, sophisticated wealthy people do in New York or Paris or something. I was tired but also curious and I didn't want to be rude. This was another opportunity of a life time so I said, "sure... we'll go".
There were only two tickets and Larissa was bringing us. She would attempt to get a ticket from scalpers outside the theater once we arrived. Since we are living out of a suit case, I realized that my clothing choices were limited so I just kept my current cloths on. Peggy on the other hand was a little more concerned. When you think of the ballet, you think of well dressed high-society people. We were wearing our "Saturday casual cloths". This bothered her. There was not enough time to do her hair properly, wearing jeans, not enough time to apply makeup... All of those female things.
We walked to the subway at a blistering pace. On the way there, I noted all of the little shops along the way. They are 8 x 10 trailers with walls. Sometimes a little bigger, sometimes not a trailer but a very poorly constructed building. Each of them sells either one item or one type of item. One of them will have toiletries, the next will have soap, the next will have hand bags, the next - cell phones, the next - fruits and vegetables, the next - meats and sausages. I wonder how a Super Wal-Mart would do here. From what Larissa says, the presence of such little shops was born in the 1990's. In the beginning of 15 year era I described above.
On a related side note, I saw an expose on migrant workers on Russian TV the other night. It spoke of how foreigners are coming in and taking Russian jobs. In some cases, there are racially motivated killings. I think in Moscow alone there are like 68 already this year. They have some of them on video - which of course - they showed.
As long as I'm off the subject of the Ballet, did you guess what was wrong in the photo of the gas station yet? Obviously the price of the fuel was in Rubles. But the price did not end in ".9" or "9/10" of a Ruble. All the prices ended in an even number. Two of the prices had a decimal point with a number after. The decimal number is in kopecks. So 23.50 is 23 Rubles and 50 Kopeks (per Liter). Remember - they are all Metric over here and have been for a long time.
Getting back to the Ballet. We arrived about 30 minutes before the show. The scalpers approached us right away with offers of $300 per ticket. Larissa was prepared to not go into the show and do something else while we went in. This is a good strategy to have when dealing with scalpers. The longer we waited outside, the lower the price dropped. I think in the end she paid $350 Rubles which I think is like $15 Dollars. As we stood there, we watched the people coming in. Some of them looked like ambassadors. None of them were dressed quite as casual as we were - not even close.
We went through the security check and Larissa got stopped. She was carrying a large bottle of Martini mix in a back pack. This was a gift for a friend that she had intended to meet today but was not able to do so. She pleaded with the security guards to not take and drink it. They let her through.
As I mentioned before, I have never been to the Ballet so I will describe it to you from the perspective of a man from Northeast Wisconsin. First of all, even though we had the nose bleed seats in the theater, there is not really a bad seat in the house. The building itself is a work of art although I think it would not pass a safety inspection in the states. There is no lighting on any of the steps in the theater. Two or three times, I missed a step because I could not see that there was a step. When you miss a step going up, you trip and fall on your face. When you miss it going down, you look like a very surprised idiot. I was the latter of the two.
Here is an FYI for you when going to the Ballet - know the story before you go, otherwise you will be completely lost. Ballet is a story told through music and dance. There is no singing or narrating.
This show was in three parts. During the break between parts, you go downstairs and into the foyer and drink champagne and eat snacks. If you are a smoker, you go to the hallway that leads to the bathrooms and smoke like a chimney. It was so cloudy and blue down there I had to hold my breath all the way to the mens room, while I was in the mens room, and as long as I could coming back out. That was gross!
We did not get any champagne but instead walked around in the theater and got some pictures and a program. Peggy read the story and from then on I was able to enjoy the performance as much as a guy from Northeast Wisconsin is capable of.
For the most part, I think the ballet dancers have about 12 moves they do in various sequences. They jump, glide, spin, and leap all with lots of hand motions. Often times they will just stop on the stage in some kind of pose and just alter the position of their head, or arms, or legs. They move very smooth and fluid like and make things look deceptively easy.
I was smart enough to know that much of what they do would shatter the ankles and/or knees of the average person. During the second and third acts, the dancers would do their moves to some song when it was done, the lead dancer (usually a female) would go to the edge of the stage to receive applause. They stood there, in some kind of pose with an arrogant look on their face while the people clapped. Then they would change their pose and wait for more clapping.
When the show finished it was already 10:30 PM. We went downstairs to get our coats and observed the other people there. Without taking a count, I would estimate that approximately 30% of the females there were dressed in attire that would be considered provocative. For that matter, many of them looked like very high priced prostitutes.
One woman stood in front of the mirror for a good 10 minutes fluffing her hair and looking at her own body. No kidding, 10 minutes! For that matter, many of the younger women I've seen around Moscow dressed like she did. Most of them have black leather boots that go up to their knees with stiletto heals. Often times they are wearing short skirts with a lot of high leg showing. I am certain that if it was warmer, you would see even more. Thankfully it was between 5 and 10 degrees most days.
We left the theater and it's "classy" people and walked to the subway and then home. Lisa and Larissa would be going back to the states soon. Larissa said she will be glad to get home to California. She said, "I'm tired. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder, of the suspicious looks, of the dirt and cars everywhere. I'm tired of everything here." We ready to go home too.
When we arrived back at Marina's flat, we found her waiting for us. We ate cheese, fruit and sat quietly - contemplating the evening.
