"Breakfast for Monika. Good morning! :)"
I ate breakfast, got ready for the day, and strolled leisurely on over to the American Home, just in time for our morning tea. We then attended a lecture downstairs by a local graduate student, named Timur, at Vladimir State, who talked to us about the topic of his thesis: migration (particularly from Central Asian countries like his homeland of Uzbekistan) to Russia. Certainly, the particulars that he was speaking about are unique to Russia, but it was an interesting and--for lack of a better word--comforting presentation/discussion. I say "comforting" because, again, I think this was a moment where the differences between "us" and "them" disappeared. In the United States, there is a lot of talk about immigrants, immigration, and the ethics and challenges thereof, but today we heard the same exact rhetoric, the same exact challenges, expressed in a country on the other side of the globe. Perhaps immigration--though not a top priority for either Russia or the US, considering the other problems our countries face--could serve to unite these governments that currently view each other with great suspicion. In this way, an "issue linkage" could be created to improve Russian-American relations and to facilitate greater future cooperation on other issues. Surely, such improved relations and cooperation couldn't hurt.
For what it's worth, this particular individual who lectured to us today--himself an Uzbek immigrant to Russia who also previously lived in Ukraine and is devoting his life to the study of migration--thinks that Russia should take a lesson from the West about how to deal with immigration. No, the US and Europe aren't perfect, as immigration is not just one single issue, but a complex web of issues with many variables (like everything else in life, no?); but nevertheless, Western approaches to regulating migration are seen--at least by this scholar--as worthwhile to be learned from and emulated by Russia.
Following this insightful lecture, our group stopped for a quick lunch at the restaurant next door and then headed to the plot of land that is slowly but surely becoming a dog shelter. (Russia has a problem with stray dogs, and some attention was brought to this issue by the 2014 Winter Olympics in Со́чи [Sochi].) We were heading in the direction of "my" house, so I made a quick pit stop to change, as I had been wearing jeans, and it was probably 85+ degrees Fahrenheit today and really sunny--not at all jeans weather. I've learned that the iPhone weather app is woefully inaccurate, at least for our current location. After taking the bus to the end of the line and trekking through blocks of an industrial park, which reminded me of the backlots of Universal Studios in Hollywood, we finally made it to the location of the shelter, where we were greeted by two of the three women who started the project--and by some of the doggy dwellers!
For four-ish hours, we worked, picking up trash, painting doghouses, collecting buckets full of rocks to support fence posts the guys constructed, and playing with the sweet puppies during our intermittent water breaks.
Today we learned that the plot of land used to be a junk yard, which is why the local government gave it to the women, but once several rounds of junk were removed by a dump truck, the authorities realized what a nice spot it actually is and decided that it should no longer be free to the women to use as a dog shelter. Apparently, the local government is recanting their gift and is now saying that the women will need to start paying rent and/or tax (I don't remember the specifics) on the property; the women plan to take this case to court, so keep your fingers crossed that everything will work out in their favor. They are three older women who are kind, gentle, concerned, and determined enough to act on a problem they see in their community, and even though the language barrier is great it's been a pleasure getting to help them.
We called it a day around 17:30, walked back to the bus stop, hopped on, and headed back to town. When I got back, I ate dinner while helping Lena with her German homework, which I enjoyed a lot! When her mom got home, the two of us spoke a bit in German and tag-teamed to help Lena with translating Russian sentences into German. As I told Lena, it was fun to finally be able to understand the language being spoken and even to have a "secret language" with her mom--I think she felt a little bit like how I feel when I witness the two of them (and everybody else...) speaking Russian. :P
After dinner and the obligatory, delicious tea, Lena and Irina asked if I wanted to go to the mall. Turns out Lena, also quite the tomboy, hates dresses and skirts but Irina's been telling her to get some "girlier" clothes. I took a shower before we left so that I didn't smell like dog (yum), and I donned a dress to show my moral support for Lena. It was a successful shopping trip, and we like similar clothes, I think; I picked out one of the dresses she ended up buying, and the other one I had seen and was about to point out when she saw it. Although it was in Russian and mostly incomprehensible to me, the banter between Lena and her mom while shopping--her mom pointing out stuff to her, trying to get her to try things on, dragging her from store to store--reminded me of many a shopping trip with my mom. :) Refrain: People are the same everywhere.
We got back, snacked a bit, simultaneously watched an episode of The Simpsons dubbed in Russian and consulted on German translations, and now it's time for bed. Tomorrow will be much like today, I think, though it's supposed to rain, which should at once make everything muddier but also cooler.
More to come later, but for now, Спокойной ночи и До завтра ("spokoynoy nochi i do zavtra")--good night, and see you tomorrow!
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