did you know...

that Dyed Moros is not the traditional Russian gift-giver on Christmas? I didn't. I thought he was a traditional figure in Russia history that got re-assigned from Christmas to New Year's celebrations by the soviets along with the tree, the food, and other trappings.

Not so! He and his granddaughter/niece/helper-girl Snegoritchka were created by the soviets for New Years. The traditional gift giver was Sankt Nikolas.

Another thing I hadn't thought about was the fact that many Russians now celebrate New Years before Christmas. This is disconcerting to the people I've talked to. There are actually people who are trying to move the celebration of Christmas from January to 25 December. They think if they're celebrating New Year's on a Julian calendar, then Christmas should be celebrated on that same calendar. Makes sense to me, but I hadn't thought of it.

AND, did you know that leap years are "bad" in Russia? For some unknown-to-me reason, that extra day, that ne normalna occurance is baaaad.

pif

Debbie, Chou2, Kristen (of course I remember you!) you're it! Please put your own pif post up on your blogs. I'm already musing about what craftiness I can gift you with. Hmm...

pay it forward

Jenni had a post up on her blog about an exchange of handmade items. Here are the rules:

"I will send a handmade gift (of my choosing) to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange, and who make the same pledge on their own blog. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward."

Having seen Jenni's fantabulous knitted projects I jumped on this bandwagon. Anyone else interested? (No, you don't get a fantablulous Jenni creation. You get something from me. I would like to stress--hence the pink--that I don't know what is will be and that I have a year to accomplish this task.) If you're game, drop me a comment. It'll be fun!

room 3.10 (long)

I had promised the girls in room 3.10 a doll each...после завтра (the day after tomorrow, in this case, Saturday). So, I set out early (well, early for vacation and early for Russia...about 10 a.m.) last Friday to find more dolls--4 baby dolls and 2 girl dolls. I went to Ashan, the French supermarket where I'd had success before. Unfortunately, the shelves were still pretty empty after new years. I did find one doll.

But, (you knew that was too easy, didn't you?) Ashan is a cash-only store. I had little cash with me. I had planned to use the Citibank ATM (no fees) elsewhere in Mega to get some cash. On this day, NONE of the ATM's in the mall were working. None.

So, I checked the two toy stores (Banana Mama and Children's World) that are in Mega, thinking I could find something there. Guess what. Not only were the ATM's off, the card swipers weren't working either. When I asked why, I was told they couldn't explain it to me. When I asked when they would be working--after lunch? this evening? I was told maybe.

I headed back home and stopped at a few toy stores on the way. No success. I decided I might try to find the other Mega and try the Ashan there. (One Mega is in the north of the city and one is in the south. It won't surprise my friends to hear I don't know which is the one in the north and which is the one in the south.) On the way, I changed my plan. I stopped at Karousel (think Wal-mart--cheaper than my Target-substitute of Okey but with lots of stuff). The dolls were okay, but...not as nice as the ones I'd already given.

I remembered that a new "Children" store had opened upstairs. I thought they'd be too expensive, but decided to give it a shot. I found...four of the SAME baby dolls I'd given the other girls all wearing different clothes (perfect!) for not much more than I'd paid at Ashan. And, after sorting through inappropriately-attired girl dolls (what's with that?), found two who were the same size as the baby dolls and had childlike faces and clothes. Score!

On Saturday, I set out on my own for the children's home. I found it with only one wrong turn and two stops for reassurance that I really was on the right road (one via mobile to V and one at the mashrutka depot. That dispatcher-lady did not want to open her little window for me! I just stood and stared until she slid it and "Da?-ed" me. I greeted her very politely and asked for help. I asked where the village was and she then happily told me it was not far--only 15 km.).

When I arrived, I called M and told her I was here. She came out to meet me, told me the dolls were beautiful and thanked me for coming. We went up to room 3.10. I was behind her but could see the girls' faces (especially N's) light up at the mention of my name and dolls. I don't think I'll ever forget it. They hopped up from the table where they were having tea and clustered around. Each got to choose her doll. M had to go, but I was invited to stay and have tea with the girls.

That was the best, the happiest hour and a half I've spent in months. We all sat down around the table. We talked. The girls told me their names and ages. They told me who the sisters were in the room. Slowly and surreptitiously they reached for their dolls and started to undo the packaging. Tea was soon forgotten as they told me about their dolls. They all knew what the dolls' names were. (The youngest had named hers Sasha, but an older girl's scowl forced her to change it. I hope she's still calling her doll Sasha, as she'd originally wanted, and not Sofia.) One of the dolls was sleeping. One was in the stroller. We took pictures of the girls with their dolls. K made a list of all the girls with their dolls' names.

Their caretaker was so pleased to watch them play. She is obviously very fond of them. I told her, "Little girls need dolls." "Yes," she said. "Need."

At their caretakers suggestion they showed me their photo albums and told me about the pictures inside. Most pictures were recent. They showed the children on various trips to St. P and Moscow. They all cuddled close and looked and looked. Ka had two books to show me. She, it seems, is a singer and dancer. (She is the Ka from the last post who didn't get to visit her grandparents this holiday. The youngest girl in the room is her sister.) N gently showed me all her pictures, proud of the French braids she had when the Buckner group visited last summer. I wish I'd stopped right then and braided her hair. I didn't know how long I had and others were waiting to show me their books...but if I could go back I'd tell her it isn't hard and French braid her hair for her. Maybe next time. Her older sister, K, told me the name of every single person in every single picture.

After looking at the photos, they helped me to deliver the ±100 stuffed animals I'd brought. I'd told a friend here that these children had no toys of their own. I'd told her how M had said that they thought it was so important for the children to have something that belonged to them and not to the group. I told her how the used toys our school had donated last year were saved and handed out on special occasions--the last day of school, for example. This friend started washing stuffed animals from her house. (She has four children and had been wanting to donate some of the extras they've accumulated before they ship out.) And she gave me enough for each child to have his own stuffed animal--with some leftover for me to take to other orphanages.

I'd told M (through V on the phone) that my friend hoped that the children could have them right away and that they wouldn't be saved for something special. She agreed. The girls came with me to my car to get them. They were VERY impressed that I had a car. They were more impressed, and quite incredulous, when they found out I came alone; that I drove. One girl kept questioning me about whether I drove, if I had the proper documents and where those documents were.

We handed out the stuffed animals (I'd gotten permission to bring them on my last visit. I've heard from some people that stuffed animals are considered unhygienic and not allowed. M and V were both puzzled by this--even thinking we had a translation problem. The stuffed animals were welcomed.) to all who wanted them. The girls had a great time being able to be the ones doing the giving. One of the girls, L, found a large horse and claimed it for herself. She was delighted with it! We decided her baby could ride on it. One older boy, M, chose a giant moose and proudly danced around with it. He was recently in the paper to say he is available for adoption. V says he is the only child who has ever asked her to bring him books. He has run away from the orphanage, but now is back and is hoping for a family.

Then, it was time to go. The girls walked me down to the door and hugged and kissed me goodbye. K hugged me so long. It was hard to leave. They walked out in their slippers and waved me off.

I've asked V to make arrangements for me to sponsor this group. She says she will. I want to bring them birthday presents this year and visit if I'm allowed. This is a very, very special group of girls.

simple wishes

I haven't felt very bloggy lately. And, I've been busy--on the road travelling to various orphanages to distribute donations. But, now that I've got a free day, I need to tell you about the results of Rachael's Simple Wishes project.

I've been busy shopping ever since sales closed in the shop. Rachael and I had agreed to get some toys for the younger children and something practical for all the children at Lopukhinka. I found out there were about 70 children there. SEVENTY! I shopped around and found four baby dolls (It's incredibly difficult to find baby dolls here that are both sweet-faced and inexpensive. Incredibly.difficult.), two doll strollers, a fake Lego castle and two castle accessory kits, and gloves or hats for everyone. I got an orange, a snickers and some shower gel (in the shape of cats, frogs or ducks) to stuff them. If Santa stuffs stockings and Sankt Nikolas fills shoes, why couldn't I stuff gloves?



So, that's just what I did. (note to Ukrainian adopters: I bought this tablecloth from the street market in Kyiv. I use it every Christmas.) I stuffed the gloves and hats and then tied them with a ribbon. Not only did this allow choice (and I thing giving these children choices is empowering) but it meant I didn't have to wrap 70 gifts. ;> I'd looked for clear, plastic gift bags that I'm often given a gift in, but I didn't find them. So--a ribbon seemed a good solution. I think these were my favorite gloves:


When I was finished, I loaded them all into two IKEA bags (still happy with IKEA) and headed out. This way, the children could choose which they liked best.

We got there after visiting a baby home earlier in the day. A teacher, M, went with us from room to room as we delivered the gifts. The toys were divided between the different groups. The dolls were presented as a matter of course to the youngest member of each group. In two groups, this was not a problem. The groups were mostly boys and the lone girls were happy. But, in my favorite group from last time, the doll being presented to the youngest child resulted in five very glum faces. I asked if we couldn't leave doll number four for the group as well. They agreed--and then did ahti-bahti ( like eeny-meeny-miney-mo) and gave the last doll to one of the girls, K. Four very glum faces were presented to me. I promised, PROMISED to be back with dolls for everyone. They nodded but didn't cheer up very much. I asked the remaining girls if they wanted baby dolls or girl dolls with hair. All asked for baby dolls--and they asked for two girl dolls for missing group members. Those girls were home with family for the holidays. Here they are bent over the bag choosing their gloves:
The last group loved their gifts. They were the youngest in the orphanage. And, when a little boy asked if they could have a hat and gloves, and I saw we had enough for that and said they could, they were so excited. They loved opening them up and comparing the contents. (The pix have identifiable faces in them so I won't post them.)

Everyone seemed pleased. Our teenagers were less enthusiastic and typically teen-aged. But, I saw many oranges quickly peeled and much thought put into some of the glove choices. The teenaged boys enthusiastically claimed a train set for their group. One of the boys had carried the bags around to all the groups just so that he could choose the train for his group. A, the bag-carrier and train-chooser, is a winner of a winter Olympics for held amongst Russian orphanages.

We found out later that Ka, the girl who had received the final doll, had been very upset over the holidays, crying many tears. Her grandmother wanted her to come visit for the holidays, but the director, not knowing the character of the grandparents, had denied the visit. After she got her doll she said that she was glad she had stayed at school because they had done many fun things and she had gotten a present.

I think Rachael's simple wish was granted. Many thanks, Rach, for letting me be a part of this wonderful day.

extending the metaphor

When I last lived in England, I rode the 139 from my lovely little house in Chalk to the next-but-one village of Higham where I taught. (It's pronounced High-um and not Hig-um, btw.) The 139 was not the most reliable of buses. It had recently had its times cut and no one was happy with the change. It did provide an easy chit-chat opportunity. Everyone was dissatisfied with the scheduling and reliability of the new timetable. Apparently the 139 used to be very efficient and dependable. It used to run like clockwork. But that wasn't the case when the new timetable went into effect.

The 139 was scheduled to stop at the end of my street every half hour from 7:18 a.m. to 9:48 p.m. (It also ran hourly in the early mornings at 5:18 a.m. and 6:18 a.m. Can you imagine my joy when I needed to be at school early and had to catch the 6:18 A.M. bus? Not hard to imagine...) The biggest problem with the 139 was reliability. Especially during the morning hours it was common to have a bus running late or even not show up at all. If a driver didn't show up for work, then there was no bus. The problem was, there was no way to know if a bus was on time, late or skipped. So, each morning I'd arrive at the bus stop by 7:10 a.m. And I'd wait.

If my bus was skipped, I could still make it to school on time by catching the 7:48 bus. It was CLOSE, but do-able if everything ran smoothly and to schedule. The problem came when the 7:18 got skipped and the 7:48 was late. What to do, what to do?

At the top of my street and down a block on the main road, there was another bus stop. It was for another bus company. I don't know the number of that route, so you can see it wasn't familiar to be. It was rumored to stop near my school. When I needed to be at school and the 139 was critically late, I'd start wondering about heading up to the other bus stop. It was a dilemma! In true Murphy's fashion, the 139 would surely arrive as soon as I left for the other bus. (And, you can't psych out Murphy's Law and pretend to go. The Law knows. It can't be manipulated like that. You have to commit.) And, I didn't ride that other bus. I didn't know the schedule or where exactly I'd end up.

That's where I am right now in my long adoption process. The bus is incredibly late. I'm wondering if it's time to stop waiting for the 139 and take another bus. Everyone in Russia is on holiday right now. There are some questions that need to be answered here before I head up the street to the other bus stop. I wish there was a point halfway where I could stand and watch both buses and then dash for the one that comes first. However, not only is that not physically possible (bend in the road), but I'm not a runner. I'd miss them both.

And that is something I'm not willing to do.

(p.s. I'm tired of looking at that long timeline over in the sidebar and am thinking about deleting it. At the time, those seemed like milestones. And, I know it does help other people keep track of my convuluted, atypical ride... We'll see.)

genius

I don't do the whole resolution thing. Why January first? What makes that special? Unless you're a thoroughbred--then your birthday is 1 January no matter when you were born--it's just another day.

I know that a lot of bloggerdom is talking about new weight loss strategies starting today. I am *always* struggling with weight. I think I have stumbled upon a plan that will confirm those suspicions of genius harbored on my behalf. Stay with me here--genius is often ridiculed in its early stages.

It has been often noted that pets resemble their owners and vice versa. My cat, Beazy, (after Beatrice in Much Ado) is a big cat. She was a scrawny little kitten who gained weight after she was spayed. Then, when I was living in England and she was in the US she gained even more. When we arrived in Russia, we both needed to shed a few pounds.

I did. She did too--but by getting gravely ill. When she recovered and adoption stress mounted we both put on pounds. My sensible eat-less-move-more plan didn't seem to be working for either one of us. So, rather than go to the move-even-more plan, I've now got my cat on a STRICT diet (Royal Canin light, 1/2 c per day). It's a cat's answer to NurtiSystem--pre-planned and pre-measured. And, I figure if pets DO resemble their owners, my weight loss should follow hers as a matter of course. Genius!

Now, this is not to say that it's an easy program to follow. There is a fine line between a happy cat and one who is hungry and mean. Beazy is a vocal cat and trills her complaints (she doesn't miaow) insistently. This invokes the response, "No, Beaze" from me which, in turn, makes me sing Dona Nobis. She tries to hypnotize me into feeding her more by staring at me intensely and then dashing for the food bowl when I acknowledge her or shift in my chair. She wakes me up at 5:30 every morning wanting to be fed. It's tough.

But, I really think this plan has potential. I'm off to continue watching season 3 of Lost (I don't know if I can manage to watch it stretched out over a season instead of in a marathon sitting.) after I give Beazy her snack ration. We've been on this plan for some time now and are seeing some slow progress. But, we all know that slow, steady weight loss is the best way to ensure that loss is permanent. I would encourage any of you who feel like you've tried everything to lose weight to give this scheme a try. I can use your testimonies in my infomercial when I'm back in the US. ;>

quick quotes

New Year's is a harmless annual institution,
of no particular use to anybody
save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks,
and friendly calls,
and humbug resolutions.

~Mark Twain

The only way to spend New Year's Eve
is either quietly with friends or in a brothel.
Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off,
someone is bound to be left in tears.

~W.H. Auden

New Year's Resolution:
To tolerate fools more gladly
provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.

~James Agate

Happy

sharing an oddment

During my recent sick-in-bed-for-nine-days I was looking for some light reading. I decided to read the Harry Potter series in order. That made me think I should do the same with the films. I found out there are five of them. (I thought there were four.) I drove ALL over the city and checked out all sorts of places that sell dvd's.

Prisoner of Azkaban is not available in English. Anywhere. All the others are, but not that one. Strange, huh? It makes me wonder why. In the kateish universe everything has a reason--no matter how convoluted or obscure.

(I got the other four and ordered PoA from am@zon.co.uk. It should be here soon.)

Just found that a little odd and had to share...

ikea is ok-ea

Warning: this post meanders quite a bit

We were laughing as we were driving yesterday about the fact that on many horrible roads in Russia there have been signs put up a warning drivers about disastrously pot-holed roads instead of fixing the road. The warning above functions in the same way. ;>

I admit that I'm not a fan of their furniture or their store layout. Before yesterday I would have considered it a place to buy vanilla candles and temporary solutions. But now I have a soft spot for that retail giant.

The orphanage director from the orphanage I went to yesterday has gotten IKEA to sponsor her facility. They repaired the building (It's a large, U-shaped building. One wing is completely closed. Another had fallen into serious disrepair--broken windows, leaks, etc.). They rebuilt shower rooms. And, they furnished the children's rooms.

We handed out gifts the students at my school collected to some of the school-aged children.



And afterwards, we went upstairs to see one of V's special friends, L. V has known L since she was three. At that age, L took V's hand and led her throughout the orphanage showing her things and asking questions.

L is eleven now. She is warm and sparkly and open. She wanted so badly to talk to me! She exhausted her English (with help from her roommate, O) and considerately slowed down and simplified her Russian for me. Still, I found it difficult to converse. That is FRUSTRATING! I just wanted to chat. Every time I meet one of these amazing children one-on-one I think I need to raise my age range! Remember when I decided seven was still little after meeting Katya? Today eleven feels little, too.

L met us in her study. She and one other girl have a room furnished with two desks (chairs, lamps, etc.) and a wardrobe for their things. They had personal items on their desks and in the wardrobe. This was such a welcome surprise! I hadn't seen any other orphanages with this personal space allocated to children. And, it was quite a difference from the usual all-communal property.

Space might be one of the things this orphanage has going for it. It's a big building! But, I think that the director's vision for what the children need is just as important. Otherwise, this space could be used as offices, storage or simply left unused. The fact that these children are given this space as their own affected me tremendously. This director is leaving the orphanage. Valentina summed it up well when she said she is sad to see such a wonderful woman leaving the children, but glad that she is moving up in the ranks of government. She is going to be a supervisor of many orphanages now (I think). Valentina thinks her talent and intelligence will take her far--and hopes that having such a caring woman in a position of influence will help all of Russia's children.

We also talked quite a bit with L's brother, his friend, and L's roommate O. O was not happy with her Christmas presents. She didn't like the wooden dollhouse furniture that you assemble. She was upset that she didn't have a doll the right size. The dolls she did have she declared either too tall or too fat. She wanted the gifts L had. L offered to share, but O was determined to be unhappy. She didn't want her picture taken. She didn't want us to find her a doll. She just wanted to be sad.

She forgot to be sad when L wanted to talk to me. O is more confident of her English than Lena and liked being able to help her. She didn't want to speak to me herself, but she liked being able to help L say, "I am eleven." I asked where they learned English. We were told (V translated) that their dancing teacher wanted more money so he had begun teaching them English as well. When we left, O was fine. V, who was very concerned, told the deputy director that O was upset with her gifts. The deputy director said that this was usual for O. I'm on a secret mission to find a doll the right size...and something fun for L, who generously offered to share what she'd been given.

V is always an interesting source of opinions on the state of things in Russia. She thinks that Medvedev will be the next president of Russia. The statement that made the biggest impact on her was his claim that in two years there will be no orphanages in Russia. She thinks this is laughable. She is very concerned about a law limiting abortions that goes into effect next year. She foresees a dramatic rise in the number of children in Russian orphanages.

V also has her eye out for d2b. I confided to her that I was concerned that neither my current agency nor the other possible agency has experience and contacts in the region where I'll need to be. She often works there and is going to talk to some directors she knows who have placed children internationally. Maybe we can work this backwards and get d2b home!

1-2-3

1. My agency has accreditation!

2. I am still trying to speak to an alternate agency. I'll call after New Year's and fill you in asap.

3. I got to deliver orphanage presents collected by our school today. Post to follow...

good tidings

Wishing you a merry Christmas
filled with wonder and joy,
peace and love
and sticky, candy cane kisses.

not "when" yet

Lauren did indeed work her string-pulling magic. The new agency has told her that they would be willing to represent me. (WOW!) However, I'm still waiting to have an e-mail answered by the agency. (I picked a great time to be switching--what with the holidays and my current agency's reaccreditation. SARC!) I want to speak to the director directly before making any decisions. If they are willing and able to register me in Leningrad Oblast then we'll switch. (gulp) If they reccommend another region, I'll need to weigh things a bit. It seems like a wasted opportunity to be in Russia, able to visit d2b regularly between "trips", and not take advantage of all the transition-smoothing that would allow. That being said, I am willing to go wherever it is that d2b is waiting. I've really wanted to take the Trans-Siberean Railway to Vladivostock for years now... ;>

I know that I am too much of a people-pleaser. Not only do I want my current agency to like me, I feel like I'M letting THEM down by considering a switch. I believe that they did nothing out of malice. However, their cautiousness and unpleasant demeanor has cost me time, social workers and irreparable damage.

I try not to dwell on what's been invested so far. But, you've been asking, so who am I to disappoint? I quit my perfect job 3 1/2 years ago to start saving and building respectability. I announced my plans and officially "started" about 22 months ago. I've spent $7000 with my current agency. My first hs (which never saw the light of Russia) cost $1800. My second hs, so far, has cost $2200. It will cost another $1000 to complete. So, I guess that's a total of 3 1/2 years and about $12,000 invested so far.

I know there's a reason for all of this. And, I know I probably don't get to know what that reason is. I just get to trust and move forward. I feel called to pursue Russian adoption. So I'll keep pouring out the time and money until God says, "When".

When my good friend, Kerry, was considering how much time had been invested so far, she told me that my daughter was going to be AMAZING to have kept me waiting so long. I can't wait to see that amazingness for myself!

internet is back!

I'm completely snowed under with getting caught up on a month (two weeks SICK and two weeks without internet) of internet-related tasks. I will do it...just be patient with me.

Be back soon. I've missed you guys!

before the bell

We don't actually have a bell. But if I'd put "before the kids come" it would have raised hopes.

No internet at home. Don't know when I'll have it.

SW2 submitted updates with all changes to agency. Agency wrote back an impolite list of further changes.

SW2 has HAD it with agency and will either submit as is or will charge me for an entirely new hs. This is MUCH more expensive than an update...which isn't cheap. She says she's never dealt with such a difficult agency and wishes she had never taken on my update. She says that SW1 has communicated that she feels the same way.

The amazing Lauren (Cupcake's Mommy) is busy behind the scenes trying to work her magic and pull some strings. If that ex-pat string can be pulled, changing agencies, even as I hear that accreditation is expected next week (deja vu), may be the best thousands of dollars I've ever wasted.

Please, keep this situation in your prayers.

bang, bang

• I am feeling better. I'm not well, but I'm on the way. More bedrest for me this weekend!
• Internet is being turned off sometime soon (that's as much as we know) so that we can change providers. No telling when or for how long I'll be internetless. Nobody panic.
  
• HS seems to be ready! SW2 e-mailed asking for info (which I gave 2.5 when she visited...) and then it's FINISHED. Well, it still needs notarizing and apostilling and translating. But, accreditation can come any time now.
• I have an exhausting couple of weeks coming up. Today was conference day. It was nice that I didn't have to plan for a sub. But, now I have to make up those conferences before and after school for the next two weeks. I'm not sure an extended day is a good idea for me right now. And, we have the school winter concert on Wednesday.
  

(Did you know that the title of this post meant you were getting bullets instead of a real post?)

please excuse kate

from life this week. This includes, blogging (both writing and reading), e-mails, telephone calls and anything that takes place out of her bed. Her doctor has Rx'd antibiotics and bedrest (saying, "And I mean in the bed!") for five days to kick a respiratory infection.

No fun. It's my first antibiotics in eight years! But, I can certainly feel the need for both the suprax and the total rest. I'm getting better, but it will be a while before I'm well. No worries, though!

(Oh, and I still haven't had a reply re: my homestudy. Do you all realize this has been going on since JUNE? That's a long time when you look back. When it was happening, it was all little delays of sw vacations and more vacations. But, they sure added up to one l-o-n-g homestudy!)

Be back next week...breathing easier.

nickname?

What's this new blogger thing? Why do I want the option of being me or anonyomous or nicknamed?

I guess I could be Toasty Christmas...

Seriously, though. What gives?

all that jazz

Musical theatre is a decidedly American form of entertainment. Modern musical theatre using not only the spoken word, but also music and dance to tell a story. When the emotion is too big to be contained in words alone, the character sings and dances. Muscial theatre started in the US and no one does it better. The Brits try, and some of their efforts are stellar (Les Miz, Martin Guerre, etc.). Most, imho, however, fall flat; lacking that spark that makes musical theatre magical. I've seen some musical theatre in Russia. Russians just seem to be mystified by this genre. It doesn't quite work here.

Friday night I went to see Чикаго, as it said on my ticket. It was a production of Chicago. This is a show I love. I've seen it on Broadway, on tour and in the cinema. While it was lots of fun to go, this particular production lacked razzle dazzle.


It was the best musical I've seen here. But, it was on par with a good amateur production. The choreography was lackluster. My grades 4-6 dance class do a better job (and their choreography, if I do say so myself is more interesting, more clever and more Fosse-esque) with the opening number than this cast did. The entire production looked like it was trying to be the film. Film and theatre are DIFFERENT. One should not try to be the other. But, in this case, scenes from the film had been added to the play. The costumes were very reminiscent of the film. Velma looked remarkably like Catherine Zeta Jones. She was good. Roxie, bizarrely, looked like Little Orphan Annie--curly orange wig and ill-fitting dress. Although she was a Russian Actor of the People, she was not very good. She was cartoonish and melodramatic. She has little truth to her character instead posing and shouting. Amos was likable. Billy was horrible. And the chorus, well, left a lot to be desired.

I don't like ballet very much. To me, ballet, especially here, is all about physical prowess and lacks passion. The story gets lost in technicality. The dancer focuses on precisely positioning his or her body in demanding positions. And, to me, this is boring. These dancers had certainly been trained in the Russian ballet. They were flexible and able to kick...but they didn't use dance to tell the story. Bob Fosse, I'm certain, would not've been unimpressed.

But, even a poorly executed musical is better than no musical at all!

The most entertaining part came from our interactions with the other theatre goers. We were astonished to find that Kat (the ticket purchaser for this girls' night out) had gotten us seats in the front row of the balcony (my favorite spot) for only $14! The seats were plush, we were in the center of the theatre and life was good.

It was actually too good to be true. It turned out we were actually seated in some makeshift seats behind the seats in the balcony. It looked like an area that normally was used for storage. We couldn't see a thing!

We moved our chairs forward and I turned mine around backwards and was kneeling on it. The usher, who looked very stern, came and told me that after the lights went down we could go and sit in empty seats.

The lights went down and we leapt. Unfortunately, only Liv and I got to move down. (Though, as it turns out, Kat ended up with a more comfortable seat with less irritating neighbors.) The woman sitting next to me, who also moved down when the lights dimmed, was unpleasant-- crowding me in my seat and worrying that my boot might touch her. It was bench seating. Although the seats were generous, she decided to sit right on the edge of her seat next to me for the second act--and to be disapproving.

I was glad this was a show I knew backwards and forwards. I merely sang along in English in my head (well, mostly in my head...) and watched the dancing. I did laugh out loud when the line "My sister in now unfortunately deceased" was translated as "But now my sister nyet." No one else laughed but I was tickled.

light makes right?

Edited again to add: I've just heard what I've never heard broadcasted here before. There is a big, blue truck driving around broadcasting happy music!! Bring on the life-is-good-so-why-change-things propoganda machine! Putin described the voting today as "festive". Besides the lights and music, MANY incentives are being given to lure voters to the polls--mobile phones, tickets to concerts and events, housing contracts to villages with the highest percentage of "mature" voters, etc. Sounds festive to me.

The votes will be counted by next Saturday, according to Russia Today.

eta: link is fixed

Interestingly, (okay, I know I say that a lot, but I find lots of things interesting...) the holiday decorations went up much earlier this year than they did last year. Last year, if you remember, lights weren't up until after 5 December. This year, light were up before Thanksgiving. More lights and more trees are around the city. The Snovim Godim signs aren't up yet, but the other lights are up and, as of Friday, were lit.

My theory? I think it's all about the elections. I think having the holiday lights up makes people feel happy, warm, contented...like life is good. And, if life is good, why should people vote to change it? My Russian friends were amazed at my insightfulness when I posed this theory. It's nice to be seen as wise and not cynical when expressing these theories! While my Russian friends know all about the coercion and manipulation that occurs under the soviet system, they're still learning about the manipulation that occurs during this "free election".

Elections are tomorrow...