Guadalajara!

Hello friends! I recently returned from a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. I visited this city (mexico's 2nd city with a population in excess of 6 million!) for business, but luckily there was time for a bit of leisure as well. Our kind business associates took us to the city center we we visited the "Hospicio Cabanas," home to some amazing murals painted by Jose Clemente Orozco between 1936-1939. Along with Siqueiros and Diego Rivera, Orozco was one of 'the big three' of the Mexican Mural Renaissance. Orozco had communist tendencies and the influence of the Russian revolution can be seen in his murals here. They are massive, foreboding, and savage.

Here I am in business mode in front of the Hospicio building. It was originally built as an orphanage. Thats an impressive looking orphanage no? The fountain in the foreground gave a dancing water display nearly as impressive as the one in front of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg...nearly.

Now, observing frescoed rotundas can be a recipe for a neckache. However, the Mexicans were thoughtful enough to place a highly polished copper plate beneath the main rotunda. In this manner you can look down at your feet to see the detail painted 100 feet above. Ingenious! I've never seen the like in any other country!

Enjoy the following photos of Orozco's magnificent work! If you have the opportunity I would highly recommend visiting them yourself. Though intimidatingly large, I found the city of Guadalajara hospitable and its inhabitants, 'los tapatios' extremely open and friendly. Make the trip!

And with that, I wish you all a happy holiday season. Enjoy your rest, and most of all enjoy your time with loved ones and friends.

I Return!

Whew! Well, after nearly a year hiatus I have returned to blog again! Lets see. Quick update. I returned from Russia in May, spent the summer in Austin dividing my time between Micro/Marcoeconomics courses at ACC, a defense policy course at the LBJ school at UT, and as much work as I could get at the Texas Association of Counties (shout out to my HEBPeople!). I am now living in San Antonio working as a sales rep in the depths of old Mexico. This isn't my ideal job, but its a great opportunity to refresh my Spanish after over a year focusing solely on Russian, and it never hurts to get some international business experience. My overall goal though, is to attend grad school with a focus on international affairs in Washington D.C. That being said, I recently took a trip up to investigate potential masters programs and have thanksgiving with the lovely Star Silva.

Speaking of the lady Silva, there she is now. She was a most gracious host, and we had a wonderful time as winter began to settle onto our nations capitol. Here we are overlooking the national mall, and the many smithsonian buildings it contains.

After visiting the (relatively) new WWII memorial (in the background just at the base of the Washington monument) I walked up the reflecting pool and was able to catch a nice shot of the pool from the steps of the Lincoln memorial.

Luckily, while I was in D.C. the Major League Soccer championship match was held at RFK stadium just a few metro stops from Star's apartment! I've been following the season intently this year and was extremely excited to catch the match. The Houston Dynamo defended their title, beating the New England Revolution (for the second time!) in the MLS cup final. It was a great match and a fun time. Here are you champion Houston Dynamo!

Everyday struggle.

I felt the art in this room at the Hirschorn Museum of Contemporary Art was bland enough that it needed outside element to liven it up. Here i am an outside element. Lines on a canvas? How much did he make on this piece? Hmmm...how much can i sell the photo for?

Mark Hanson, Minnesotan, and onetime roomate in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mark is a current resident of Samara, Russia, and is returning soon to attend university there. He just so happened to be in town and we shared a happy if unexpected reunion.

The National Cathedral. I had no idea D.C. contained a church as majestic as this. I suppose i've seen it's interior for state funerals, but i'm not sure i've ever seen the full exterior. I was able to catch a Sunday evening choral prayer service and the voices ricocheted about the chamber, creating a immensely soothing environment.

I won't make any promises like 'the next post will come much sooner!' But I'll do my best to be put something up at intervals more regular than a year. Until then, be well! and enjoy December.

Helsinki!

This weekend I travelled to Helsinki, Finland to renew my Russian Visa. I had passed through Helsinki before, briefly, but had never had a chance to walk around and familiarize myself with the city. I was impressed. Those Finns have really got it together. Here are photos to document my journey.

This is the Helsinki Railway Station. It is imposing, handsome, and well kept...easily the finest train station I have seen in Europe, maybe in my life.

Need to do some shopping, quickly? No problem...ascend from the efficient Helsinki Metro directly into the mall. While I was walking here, a fire alarm went off. There was no panic. Instead, a friendly voice on a loudspeaker in Finnish and then English, told us 'not to panic yet, an investigation is underway as to whether or not this is a legitimate alarm...until a true emergency has been established, please enjoy your shopping"....and we did.

I must say the Finns have a truly exceptional sense of design and style. The city is divided into the charmingly antique, and, as we see here, the ultra-modern. The impressive thing is how smooth the merge between the contrasting styles is accomplished.

Here we see the classi Helsinki. It's a dream! This is what St. Petersburg must have looked like 200 years ago when the paint was still dryin on Peter's dream town. The Finns know how to maintain!

A well kept, brilliantly white, orthodox church just opposit the row of houses from the previous picture. If you notice, the Finns have even shoveled clean a little walkway up the snowy steps. How considerate.

Of course, every culture has it's eccentricities and the Finns are no exception. Here we have a delightfully odd window for a second hand clothing store downtown. The manequin is wearing a garbage-bag dress.

Probably the most Russian thing I saw in Helsinki was this stone mural. I don't know what the Finnish means, but the style seems rather socialistic. However, its much too well kept to be a Russian monument...that's the giveaway.

For a European capital, Helsinki is actually not a large city. If you walk all the way to the edge of the center, you will find the vast frozen expanse of the Nordic Sea. An hour to the south lies, Talinn, Estonia. I contemplated jumping a barge and sailing there, but alas, time was not on my side. Enjoy the photos...

Winter has come!

I returned to a Russian winter in half-swing, which promptly kicked itself up into full-swing, just as I finished unpacking my suitcase. My moustache freezes from every time i hit the street, the moisture from my nasal exhalations collecting on the frozen whiskers. The stray cats are bountiful in this city, and I always wondered how they could possibly survive in such a climate, come winter. One night I spied the secret of their survival.The floodlights that illuminate the arches of the Kazan Cathedral also provide the nightwarmth that keeps the streetcats of Russia alive. They huddle here and wait for the sun.In addition to keeping the cats alive, the lights to create a handsome sight when one (huddled in scarf and coat) approaches the cathedral. Essential and proper winter attire. One must be prepared for the elements. I will be back in Texas in March for my brother's wedding. Until then, my love to you all, and keep warm!

С Новым Годом!

Happy new year to you all! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks as I ventured forth from the cold north to pay a visit to my dear friends and family in Texas. It was a great surprise for my Mom, who had no idea I was coming, and a real treat for me, as I hadn't anticipated returning until March. So first off, thanks to my Dad for gifting me a ticket to come back. Despite losing my Russian work visa somewhere along the way, and scrambling to replace it at the embassy in Paris, it was an alltogether joyous trip. Here are photos.Here's my friend and sometime roomate (and editor of effing press) Scott Pierce crossing Shoal Creek. Though the buildup of massive skyscraping loftblocs troubled me more than a little, it warmed my heart to see old Austin sights, like the thundercloud lightning bolt glowing in the window.In Dallas, a happy reunion with Ben Berger and Greg Martin. We walked Oak Lawn and Greenville, and visited the new Good Records location (its polyphonic!). Ben and I thrashed Greg and some drunk guy in foosball (though the blame for the loss lies on the drunk guy and not Greg, who played quite valiantly) and doubting bartenders scrutinized my passport before aquiescing to serve me lone star.After a harrowing day in Paris, running about, documents and money in hand, visa concerns filling my brain, I recline in the pre-boarding lounge at Charles De Gaulle airport. It's 10:30, and I'm waiting for a plane to Helsinki, and losing my mind a bit. So this is the ceiling of the terminal....it seemed beautiful to me at the time. Suppose it still is.I arrived back in Russia just in time for Old (Gregorian) Russian New Year. The Russians celebrate whenever possible, and fireworks are of course a necessity. A group of us found an exit out to the roof, and shot off bottle rockets with champagne and cheering. We were saluted by other rooftops in return. In this photos we have two Englishmen, Liam and Craig (head sticking out the window), two Russian ladies, Luba and Yana, and Dan the Wisconsonite. We stepped carefully up there, as the snow was falling and the metal roof was quite slick. Dan nearly lost it here.Star with sparkler!Sparklers for everyone!
A Russian new year roofscape. This is the top of St. Petersburg. May you all enjoy the new year and all it brings. I send my love from Russia.

Autum, Otono, Осень!

It's been an inexcusable amount of time since my last post I know. I was quite occupied, teaching summer intensive courses (5 days a week 4 hours a night with the same students) and recieving visitors from all parts of the globe. That includes Texas Association of Counties' own Morgan Holkesvik. I'd like to send love to all my friends at TAC who check in with this blog from time to time and apologize for the long absence (what up HEBP!), I would also like to thank TAC for letting Morgan run off to Russia to see me, it was wonderful seeing an old friend again, though it made me miss home dearly! Without further ado, here are images!

This is a babbon near Red Square in Moscow. Yes, he is indeed wearing not only a t-shirt and rather fashionable cargo pants, but what appear to be birkenstock sandals. Of course, this fascinated both Morgan and myself.Here we stand, amidst the thronging Russians, taking a moment to appreciate the novelty of a fully clothed baboon on a leash in front of the Kremlin. It know seems Morgan is a bit more amused than I do, but I've had several months of training in the Russian stoneface now - never let wonder touch your face on the street here. A massive, bronze statue of the pioneering, Petersburg founding, mutated fetus collecting, Swede and Finn defeating, Peter the Great. This statue is a few dozen feet taller than Lady Liberty and is situated on a man made island in the middle of the Moscow river. Many Muscovites resent having such a monument to the man who moved the Russian capitol from Moscow to St. Petes (until the Revolution of course). But no one can deny he has played a significant role in the shaping of the Russian world. Peter deserves a place in Moscow too.Interior of one the centuries old churches that lie within the massive red walls of the Kremlin. This church dates back to the 12-13th century and the walls are completely covered in amazing, ancient Russian iconography. Somewhere in this church there are a few icons painted by the great master, Andrei Rublev, inspiration for one of Tarkovsky's greatest films.A celebratory moment in front of the Russian Foreign Affairs Department, the equivalent of the U.S. Department of State. This is one of Stalin's "Seven Sisters." Seven, massive, skyscrapers that epitomize (and actually began) the architectural style, "neo-geothic imperial." Yes they are aggressive, dark and menacing, thrusting needlesharp spires and hard edges at the heavens as if to say, "God who?" Oh, Stalin....when will you learn. Perhaps, someday I will visit this building as a foreign dignitary and not a vagabond in a threadbare jacket and worn out sneakers.A claustrophobic moment on the St. Petersburg metro. Breathe in the smell of those Russian commuters, arms raised, grasping the oily metal of the overhead bars, while working Sudoku puzzles. This is a daily chore.Old Vladimir Illych pointing towards Revolution and (relative) freedom on the front steps of the (former) soviet regional government building in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, Morgan and I didn't get to see his corpse in Moscow, but to be honest I prefer the statues in noble plazas to waiting an hour in line to see a 60 year old wax body. Just me.A strange, sad, little frog I found painted on the walls of a music venue in the Petrograd district of St. Petes. I liked his cap.Navy Day! Fellow teacher (and minnesotan) Mark Hanson and I walking with our (former Russian Naval Officer) companion Alexander. Alex (a former student of mine) gave me the striped navy shirt I'm so proudly sporting here as a gift. All day long as we walked and drank with the sailors I was constantly hugged, shaken hands with, and coerced into Russian Naval sing-alongs because of said shirt. It was a great day.

Rise Up

The bridges of St. Petersburg go up at night in the summer. The big boats crawl through the Malaya Neva (the little neva river) then, the sailors on their decks, leaned against sterns and masts, returning from long voyages or maybe heading out for months, watch the revellers on the river bank hurtling fire through the ever-dusk of the white nights, drinking, smiling, and dancing their celebration.These photos were taken during the summer solstice. It was the longest day of the year, though due to some unexpected cloud cover, the night wasn't near as bright as I had hoped. Still there were many of us out at 3am that night, including busloads of Mexican tourists who i chatted with about Russia for a while. This is this view of St. Petersburg State University across the Malaya Neva. The bridge, Dvortsovy Most (Palace Bridge) is set to raise in minutes.
The anticipation builds....the bridge inches upwards to cheers and hoots by the hordes of spectators nearby. Small tourist vessels flood through the gap, their passengers afforded an ants eye view of the massive soviet coggery in action.
The bridge, along with its comrades across the city, is fully upright now, effectively shutting vasilievsky ostroff off from the city center and mainland. We are distinct boroughs for the rest of the night. Krystoffsky Ostroff, Petrogradskaya, Vailievsky. No metro, no cabs, no cars, no tramvias will cross water 'til morning.