3-3-2010; 1:40 AM
Mood: A mix of "f#%k me!!!" and wonderful!
The former, because I obviously haven't written about the 28th, 1st, or 2nd yet. -- And wonderful, because I suddenly feel just that little bit better in realizing that February only has 28 days (but where did they go?!), so it's only actually been three days since I have last written, not five!!!!
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2-28-2010
"GISELLE" AT THE BOLSHOI "NEW STAGE" !!!!!! (<-- Ha ha ha, I wasn't excited about that at all, was I?)
I met up with Sasha much earlier in the day, and we checked out a few shoe places -- but I didn't find what I was looking for; so I had to brave a Moscow winter night in open-toed high heels!!!
(For those of you who follow etiquette, that fact is VERY important… … Because it means that I couldn't wear pantyhose with my dress! And the dress had a nice, big slit up the front! Bare Legs + Bare Feet + Cold, Moscow Night + Big Puddles/Lots of Snow = Big Adventure, and Slightly Tricky, let me tell you!!!)
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After we finished looking at a few of the shops, we went back to the apartment Sasha is using while he's visiting, and we had a good afternoon, sitting and chatting.
The funniest part of the afternoon was probably the following little tidbit from Sasha:
"… [Eventually, I'll] have my people check you out; you understand of course. … All my friends, they are telling me, "How do you know she isn't a spy!?!?!?" I say, 'She doesn't look like a spy…' and they tell me, "That's [the kind of person] who they use!!!!!!!!!" "
Ha ha ha ha!
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We also were snacking the whole time, so I got introduced to:
** Ikra iz Kabachkova [Икра из кабачкова] -- This is NOT the same "ikra" as what translates to "caviar!" It was basically a vegetable purée that was *wonderful!* And Sasha gave me some really tasty crackers to eat it with!!!! Although, he warned me, as a dancer, I might not want to eat too many of them! *laughs*
** One of the most delicious candies I have EVER eaten! -- It was a little, spherical chocolate -- chocolate cream center, wafer layer, covered in a chocolate shell. -- Funnily enough (at least, to me), they come from the "Red October" Chocolate Factory!! I about died laughing when I found out. In truth, I really am not sure why it was so funny -- I think it was just more of a "cultural moment" + a moment of going, "Hey! It's "Red October!"" + "Wow…! That's a really tasty chocolate!"
** Smoked Fish (from Kamchatka (eastern Russia)) -- This is apparently some kind of crazy specialty item, that's pretty hard to get a hold of this time of year. Unfortunately, me being me, with strongly flavored things, I wasn't too fond of it… But at least I tried it! -- You have to be careful with this stuff though -- because it will make EVERYTHING smell of fish, and quite strongly…
** *Fresh,* Red Caviar -- As in, "two weeks ago, this was in a fish" fresh. More specifically, "two weeks ago, this was in a fish; two weeks ago it was cut out of said fish; and has come to you sans processing." -- So, short of going out fishing and getting a hold of it myself, that's probably some of, if not *the* freshest caviar I'll ever eat in my life. …. Unfortunately, I'm also not terribly fond of caviar… And that's putting it politely. *laughs* What's worse, is that I could tell it was *really* good caviar! It had a really soft flavor at first, and then the notes "from the sea" hit. … Geeze, it's like the time I got to go to a wine tasting at a French winery -- some things are just lost on me…
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Soon enough, the time rolled around to get ready -- and as Sasha had told me to do, I "Dressed To Kill!" Luckily, I brought two dresses with me for just such an occasion. For the debut, I went with my classic, black velvet stunner, with the slit right up the front center. … But once I'd gotten it on, I found a hole/pulled seam in the side!!!!!!! Luckily for me, however it popped, it didn't go through to show my skin -- so I could still wear it for the evening -- but I was so upset!!!!
There were no other bumps in the preparations beyond the seam in my dress, so off we went to the theatre!
As I mentioned before, we went to go see, "Giselle," at the "New Stage" of the Bolshoi Theatre. To make things a little more simple, here's a little "Q+A" about the show:
1. The Show? -- "Giselle"
2. What Choreography was it? -- Yuri Grigorovich's.
It was the last time they will be performing his version for at least few months! (For those who have no idea what that means, here's a summation: Grigorovich = a VERY famous dancer/choreographer from the Russia/Soviet Union. I was told that, at the time of his doing this choreography, it was essentially done for the brightest stars of the Bolshoi during Soviet times. Anyone who knows the history better, please feel free to correct me on this....)
3. Where were you at? -- The "New Stage" of the Bolshoi Theatre. This is in a different building entirely than the Bolshoi.
4. Why weren't you at the real Bolshoi? -- It's under construction.
5. Wait, it's under construction? -- I was surprised, too!
6. When will it be finished? -- It was supposed to be finished this year -- now, "Only God knows," according to my friend. Not even the *Director* of the Bolshoi himself knows.
7. Where were you sitting? -- *Row 4*
8. Do you have the ticket? -- Nope, we had no tickets... Just an invitation with the actual signature of the Director of the Bolshoi Theatre himself.... =^____^=
9. How much did it cost? -- Well, nothing for me... But that seat was probably worth a few hundred dollars... =@_@=
10. So how did YOU get there?? -- "Don't have 100 dollars; have 100 friends!" Russian Proverb; revealed to me by Sasha -- said friend.
11. Who's the friend!? -- Alexander Minchin (Александр Минчин) -- Author, Playwright, etc. Mad Connections. *laughs* Wonderful guy. See Journal -- 2-24-10 -- for how we met.
12. How was the show!? -- INCREDIBLE!!! And the Orchestra was AMAZING!!! One of the clarinetists actually made me cry.... Which I'm loathe to admit, but that should tell you how good it was. (Because I NEVER cry during movies, shows, etc.) For anyone who is curious, the song that got my waterworks going is the song that the Prince enters to, in act II (of Giselle.)
13. How were the dancers?! -- Have you ever seen 21 pairs of the same legs and the same arms [doing pass throughs across the stage so that everything *must* be in-line]? The Corps is *astounding.* Giselle was beautiful; and 2 dancers were having their very PREMIERE performance.
14. Did you have fun?! -- You bet!!!
15. What did you do after the show? -- Sahsa and I did a full 360 from High Theatre and went to the John Donne Pub (the same I keep talking about in the blog) to watch Canada beat the USA in the Olympic Hockey Finals!!
-- While there, I *also* learned that Sahsa had worked as a professional photographer before -- for Elite Modeling…!!!!! Nothing like learning that someone has taken pictures of some of the most beautiful, and famous, supermodels in the world to make you a little nervous about having your picture taken! But BOY! did the pictures he took of me turn out well!!! =^___^= --
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As I just mentioned in the above Q+A, Sasha and I had made plans to go watch the Canada vs. USA Hockey Final for the Winter Olympics, so right after "Giselle" let out, we beat it out of the theater and went back to Sasha's place, to change to go to the John Donne.
While at Sasha's, I took the time to call my mum to tell her about the show -- and Sasha so loved how I was while on the phone with my mutti, that he went and got his camera -- and thus, my phone call with mutt turned into an impromptu photoshoot!
Also, thanks to Sasha, I got to Skype (aka - video chat) with my mutti and my little brother for the first time since I arrived in Russia!! That was really fun -- and mutti got to meet Sasha, too! We made plans to talk again after the hockey game, and then Sasha and I left for the John Donne!
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At the John Donne, Sasha and I visited with Pete, as per normal, and Sasha was telling me stories about the players that he knew. He also kept telling me he was going to fix me up with one of the players on team USA… if he scored/if the USA won, etc, etc, etc. We spent half the game waiting for them to show us a good view of his face! Ha ha ha!!!
At one point, we saw a girl who was sitting with a group of her friends, right under a t.v., trying to see the game -- so Sasha told me to invite her to come sit at our table so she could see better. *laughs* But apparently, she didn't know anything about hockey, and kept asking Sasha to explain things -- to the point that Sasha wound up telling me he wished we hadn't invited her over!!!
After the game was over, one of the guys sitting at her table wound up asking me for my number, "to chat," -- but it was obvious he was asking for more than that. Now, he asked me this in English -- and it was only after I turned him down, and they left that I found out why… Once they'd gone, Sasha said something to the effect of, "The nerve [of that guy]!!" I didn't understand and said, "What??" That's when Sasha told me, "That boy was that girl's boyfriend! -- He asked for your number in English so she wouldn't understand!" What a pig! (But he was slightly drunk, too, we think, so Sasha was more amused than anything.)
I did talk with mutti for an hour or so after the game, and then I told Sasha I had to get going, because I still had homework to do for school (later that morning!!!!).
Being a dutiful student, I did my homework… And then got ONE hour of sleep before getting up to go to school!!
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3-1-2010
Classes -- I was EXHAUSTED!! Nothing like an evening of theatre, and a morning of Olympic Hockey and Homework to do that for you! But hey, at least I didn't play Hooky afterwards!
I rushed home from school so that I could get ready, because I had another night of theatre waiting for me, back at the Lenkom Theatre!!!
The show had something to do with, "Figaro" (I didn't understand all the words in the title… [And as of 3-18-10, I still haven't looked them all up! =o///o='' ]) -- but it was a cheery little comedy!!
Luckily for me, there was at least a little French, and I followed some of it -- plus Sasha was giving me cliff notes here and there. Additionally, the action was pretty understandable, once there was a basic understanding of who the characters were -- so, even without understanding every word (well, most of the words…) that were spoken, I still understood most of the show, which was fun!
[3-18-10 Note: Something I've just realized -- so far, with both of the shows I've been to at the Lenkom Theatre, I've been served by my *other* foreign language studies {Spanish and French, respectively} when it came to understanding the show!! Truthfully, I understood the Spanish better than the French -- odd? -- but maybe that was just the subject matter, or the clarity of what was being spoken.]
Sasha had told me that the particular performance we had gone to go see was special because all of the actors in it were famous, Russian actors, from television shows, movies, and the like. So, just about every single [main] character on the stage all received *very* warm welcomes when they appeared.
I went straight home after the show -- where I just flat-out collapsed into bed! -- But woke up every hour....
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3-2-2010
… So today, I was: EXHAUSTED!!!!
I went to classes, as always, but it was a bad day for Grammar… Nobody had done their homework in my group (including me -- I was trying to be passed out and sleep, remember???) !!!! So, we learned what it was to have a Russian teacher show their disappointment in you…. Which they do in a horrendously back-handed way! They start talking about how they must not be a very good teacher, and how they've done badly!! It's the ultimate guilt trip!!!!! That Lilia Leonidovna -- she's incredible! Ha ha ha!
After school, I headed out to the Internet Café, where I was finally on MY computer!!!!!
From there, I rushed out to go to my Tuesday Hustle Party, where Timu (the Door Guy) let me in for less! Whoo-hoo!
He also told me that he wanted to walk me to the Metro, once the party was over. So, everyone can be happy -- I didn't walk back to the Metro alone. (I also think I wrote about this before: but Timu resembles George Clooney, I think. It's interesting. Ha ha ha…)
Tonight, however, I also learned...
...
...
...
… Sometimes it's good I go [to the parties]s alone.... =o///o= ''
(For anyone who's more than a little protective of me when it comes to guys, you may want to stop reading now, for the sake of not adding any gray hairs to your heads -- because I'm going to write about a boy who was *particularly* interested, let's say. But rest assured, I'm a good girl, I'm apparently quite unflappable, and I didn't do anything rash. There are also still no Russian Boyfriends. But I promised I'd be honest about everything in this blog -- so I'm going to write about that situation boy for a little bit. Look for the asterisks where you can come back in… =^_~= )
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…. It is a testament to how GOOD I AM!!!! …. … I am probably the ONLY [American] girl who could have a HOT [Russian] guy, who is an excellent dancer, who *wants* to kiss her; *tries* to kiss her; …. and *does* kiss her -- who could STOP him, for the sake of the thought, "Hey, we're supposed to be dancing here!" =>_<= *face palm* (… and of course the whole, "I don't know you//watch where you are putting those hands, mister!" bits...)
In my defense, for the ladies who may be saying, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!!?!" -- e.g. - that I should have *kept* kissing him, and forgotten about the dance -- he dances awfully closely/intimately with about every girl… I'd seen it the week before -- and thought he was dancing with his girlfriend. I suppose he can get away with it, what with the handsomeness thing and all -- and seeing as how I'm neither his girlfriend nor his mother, he can do as he pleases. But, being the kind of girl I am, yours truly called him on it (in Russian -- and got a grammar lesson in the process) -- and the look on his face was pretty priceless. XD
I think he was surprised at my ability to "resist," however, because he certainly seemed to be trying about every trick in the book to make a girl melt -- and I failed to turn into a swooning girl. In fact, when he got too "game-y," I wound up drumming my fingertips on his shoulder or back, à-la, "C'mon, can you cut it out? Let's *dance!*" or, "Haven't I already called you on this?" -- And that apparently turned into an inside joke, by the end of the night, as he'd start drumming his fingertips on my back à-la, "C'mon, haven't you melted yet?" or, "Why won't you let me have some fun?!?"
It appears I should have been the one put in the Garden of Eden -- I'm untemptable! Ha ha ha ha!!!
Still, we danced about the whole night together; and I didn't manage to avoid every kiss he tried to pull on me… =@_@= Whew. Hot, hot, hot.
I don't know if he'll be there Sunday (for salsa) or not -- I may have to wait until next Tuesday to see him again. And truthful? I don't know what I'm going to do with that one when I *do* see him again...
…. But I learned that kissing is the best "lip plumper" out there…. =o///o= …
On a completely random, and chaste topic!!! --
I had to laugh -- concerning Zhenya (the above guy's name) -- some of you would have said I'd found my soulmate: he makes funny/"eep" ish noises when something happens (someone bumps into us/vice versa/etc). Obviously, much lower-pitched than mine, but I thought that some of you would enjoy knowing that. I was pretty sure that if you'd been there to hear it, you would have teased me about it like crazy!!
I think Zhenya was intending on walking with me to the Metro (and I about got his number, just for the hell of it) -- but I couldn't explain to him fast enough that Timu already told me that he was going to walk me there -- so that didn't happen. He also didn't walk fast enough to keep up with Timu and I -- and I didn't wait in the Metro for him. He was cute, but I'm no lost puppy, so to speak. And it's not like I'd have been warming his bed tonight anyway. (Although he'd have liked that, I'm sure. =o///o= ) So there wasn't any real reason to wait for him anyhow.
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(OK - it's safe to come back now. =^__^= )
I had a really great time at the party, and of course, Yuri and Cergei's music was GREAT, as always!
I went straight home after the party (Timu did walk me to the Metro) -- and that brings us to:
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The present (3-3-2010 -- 1:58 AM)
I still have hw to do, but that's the catch-up, so to speak. My goodness, I'm exhausted….. Ciao....
Love,
Moscow Kitty; 1:58 AM
=^__^=
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