Kazan — summer 2014

Happy birthday, Don!!!) I wish u lots of positive moments and be happy. We love you! You are very good person and best friend ;) happy birthday!!!)

I'm afraid that over the last few years I've begun to feel that I have failed in the proper use of my life. That text let me know that at least there were a few people on the planet who thought well of me. It made me very happy.

Russia has taken another step backwards: a law has been passed and signed that requires free public internet sites to require official government identification of all users. So theoretically one could no longer use the free Wi-Fi at McDonald's in Russia without presenting documentation.

Step by step, Putin is trying to return Russia to the older, authoritarian government of the Soviets, one that does not allow freedom of expression or communication without government monitoring. This is a bad thing for mankind.

Shopping today for tonight's get-together, I had an odd encounter. The place where I usually buy ground meat here is at the Chekhov Market. I asked the woman for 750 grams of ground beef and pork mixed together, which is a standard thing here. She put together a package, and then I asked for 750 grams of ground chicken breast. She said, "Okay, half a kilo of ground chicken as well." And I said, "No, not half a kilo, 750 grams." Then another customer interrupted, and after she dealt with him she asked again how much I wanted. I repeated that I wanted 750 grams of chicken, and she said, "Okay, half a kilo of ground chicken." And I again said, "No, not half a kilo, 750 grams." She started the process and muttered to herself, "Half a kilo of ground chicken," and I carefully repeated that no, I wanted 750 grams. This time it got through, and she got me the right amount.

Eventually I got home and discovered that she had only given me half a kilo of ground beef/pork. Crud. I had to adjust my recipe.

She probably charged me correctly, but at the farmers' market they don't worry too much about things like receipts. And I find myself wondering: did she actually think that 750 grams was half a kilo? I can't imagine even a fifth grader in Russia making such a mistake. Or was she just mentally processing me very quickly and reassigning my request as a more common one?

BTW, I asked for 750 grams because an entire kilo just won't fit in my pans.

The get together was a smashing success. All the food got done, but it was up to the last minute. Alas, I failed to clean the floors in the bathroom and entryway, but the big rooms were all done.

Among my guests were Dasha and Danila:

Here's a picture of Flyura and me:

Adeliya and Marat also came:

And here is the dessert spread after dinner:

Marat and Adeliya are musicians, and I had specifically asked Marat to bring his (very nice) guitar. So the music started with a classic beatles tune:

Then yours truly piped in, though frankly I haven't really played for years. The result was shaky, but still amusing:

And last of all a very Russian song that feature Adeliya's very lovely voice:

It's our last week of class in Kazan; we head home this weekend. The timing is curious. Putin has again massed troops on the Ukrainian border and is threatening to send in a "humanitarian relief" group into the Ukraine to help the separatists withdraw. Kind of silly: if the separatists wanted to go to Russia, it's just a hop, skip and a jump away. Does anyway think that the Ukrainian government will not let them *leave*?

Sad to say, things look generically bad for Russian studies next year in Russia, although we currently think we will be able to run our own program again next summer in Kazan. But ACTR is pulling the Flagship program out of Petersburg and will hold it in Alma Aty next year. NSEP will not allow Boren scholars to apply their funds next year in Russia. Other governmental programs are likely to do the same. It really bums me out.

So the next few days will be as busy as can be, prepping my final reports, doing estimates of the students oral skills, and of course cleaning and packing. The only thing I won't have to do is cook because of Saturday's get-together.