To accompany a previous post, The Sounds and Songs of Moscow, I have compiled a collection of the sounds I heard in Siberia. These sounds portray the peaceful, magical atmosphere found on Lake Baikal, the light solitude of the woods, and the rickety chugging of a train on an old railway. More than that, however, these sounds […]
Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began at the turn of the 20th century. Today, the map is quite extensive, carrying passengers and supplies across Russia, central Mongolia, and Manchuria. Constructing a railway was no easy task, and at first the map did not look like this. Lake Baikal, covered in ice for six months of […]
A trip to Buryatia, Siberia (see feature image) is incomplete without spending hours upon hours bumping and bouncing in a bus. A bus takes you through multiple climates, ecological zones and types of existence. After nine days of long bus rides, one day of which eleven hours were spent on the bus, I gained an […]
Do you ever stand still in a city, close your eyes, and simply sense? What do you hear? What do you smell? Are you cold, is there a breeze, are you holding someone’s hand? This is one of my favorite exercises to do when I go to an unfamiliar place, or when I want to […]
To see a show at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater you can simply go online and buy a ticket at the official website. But where’s the fun in that? And why pay such a hefty price? Here’s the story of how I got my ticket to the best ballet in the world. When arriving in Moscow, I […]
A few weeks ago, I partook in a 24 hour trip with five other Carleton students to Murom, a small town southeast of Vladimir. The purpose of this trip was educational exchange; we spent the day with first-year students who study English at the Murom Institute, a branch of Vladimir State University. We (Carleton students) began […]
The historical city center of Saint Petersburg is indisputably gorgeous. Sparkling canals are crossed by artfully curving bridges, and the skyline is peppered with cathedrals, spires, and monuments that pay tribute to the city’s rich history from 1703 onward. Strolling along Ekaterininsky Canal after sundown, one is struck by the reflections of timeless architecture and […]
“Where are you from? Why would you ever want to study Russian? Do you like Moscow? Who are you?” These are the questions I’m greeted with each day as I make my way around the city, talking to servers at restaurants, coaches at gymnastics gyms, Russian students who live on my floor at МГУ (Moscow State […]