So now my schedule seems to be getting more regular and I am sort of settled in. I just want to say how crazy I think that it is already March. It seems like just a week ago I arrived back in Moscow for my second semester. Oh how time flies..
At the moment I am taking the regular courses for the Dickinson Program. Something we had to do this semester was find a class with Russian students that we liked. After searching while I have settled for some Spanish classes which I am enjoying so far(Translation, Literature, and Grammar). Going to classes with Russian students, at least in my experience, is different than going to a class at Dickinson. I would say that Russian students have a tendency not to show up to class, especially language classes. I have also not mentioned this before but cellphone etiquette is much different here in Russia than it is in the US. Professors and students answer their cellphones during class without even hesitating, people LOVE to talk on their cellphone during a movie in the theater, and people have no qualms about texting right in front of the professor during a lecture. It seems weird because in the US that would definitely all be pretty rude, but here in Russia it seems to be quite the norm. I still wonder why but I don't really question it since I have gotten used to it, although I have not adopted the Russians' celletiquette (that's right, made it one word) yet haha. As for internships, I do believe I have two at the moment. I have one at an HIV/AIDS center that specifically caters to gay men and men who have sex with men(MSM). For that one, it isn't really clear what I am doing, translating probably. Also I have picked up another one at the Cervantes Institute which is a place that promotes the spread of the Spanish language and knowledge of Spanish-speaking cultures. I am doing quite a bit with Spanish this semester, which I am really glad about actually since I have always thought since I got here "Who am I going to speak Spanish with?!?!"
So lately I have been thinking a lot about the way I express myself in relation to sexuality and gender. In Russia, things a bit different than in the US when it comes to gender relations and expression on non-heterosexual sexuality. I am not going to sit here and try to quantify oppression and compare it between two countries because that is just not how I work. In class, especially when it comes to more personal topics(i.e. marriage) I obviously try to give my two cents. I was actually glad that the other day when we talked about marriage and we just stuck to kinds of weddings/matrimonial traditions rather than go into a conversation about our own personal visions of what we want our weddings to be like. If we did take the more private route I would obviously try to express my opinions as best as I can in the Russian language and probably come out to the whole class right there and then. The problem in this scenario is that I don't have an amazing command of the Russian language which would allow me to express myself fully and defend myself in case things go awry. As for gender, well currently we have this class in English on the arts in Russia in which I have noticed that the professor is quite rigid on her ideas of gender. There have been several occasions where she's made it quite clear that something is for boys and something else is for girls(i.e. a makeup video to learn about color theory is for girls only). I have made sure to tell her that actually, I am not so interested in buildings and telephone technology, I actually LOVE fashion. In this case I am not so hesitant to give my opinion because of the language, the class is in English. But these interactions are all within a classroom environment. Outside of the class is a whole different story. Just like in the US, I am at times aware that I am not really acting gender-appropriate and I may get a stare or two. What actually worries me more is my race rather than the way I am acting at a certain time. The whole gay thing actually goes way over the heads of a lot of Russian people. I haven't encountered a situation yet where I have had to hide who I really am in order to feel like I belong or even to feel safe, and for this I am grateful.
So in a couple of days I will go off to a city to the East of Moscow called Kazan. It's one of those long weekend trips and I am looking forward to it. My next post will def be when I come back.
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