A Week of Russian Cuisine

Day 1: FRIDAY
Breakfast: сырники (curd fritter / cottage cheese pancakes), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (open-faced sandwich with butter and cheese), виноградный сок (grape juice)
Lunch: суп (soup); хлеб (bread); огурцы с лукой; (cucumber and onion salad); курица (chicken), капуста (cabbage); блины с яблоками (Russian apple pancakes); пирог (pie)
Dinner: сосиски с кетчупом (hot dogs with ketchup), капуста (cabbage), сырники (curd fritter / cottage cheese pancakes), пиво

Day 2: SATURDAY
Breakfast: гречка с молоком и сахаром (buckwheat porridge with milk and sugar), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (bread with butter and cheese), виноградный сок (grape juice)
Lunch: суп с фаршем, лукой, картошкой, морковью (soup with meatballs, onions, potatoes and carrots); хлеб (bread), огурцы с лукой и майонезом (cucumber and onion sald with mayonnaise), курица с кетчупом (chicken with ketchup), блины с фаршем и маслом (meat and butter pancake wrap), чай (tea)
Dinner: макароны с мясом (pasta with meat), соленья (pickles), бутерброды с мясом (open-faced sandwich with meat), чёрный хлеб (black bread), торт (cake), пирог (pie), пиво, водка, яблочный и апельсинный сок (apple and orange juice), чай (tea)

Day 3: SUNDAY
Breakfast: rice puffs с молоком (with milk), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (open-faced sandwich with butter and cheese), виноградный сок (grape juice), чай (tea), печенье (crackers)
Lunch: картофель печеночный с сыром (baked potato with cheese), пепси (Pepsi), суп с фаршем, лукой, картошкой, морковью (soup with meatballs, onions, potatoes and carrots); хлеб (bread), винегрет (beet salad), мясо с рисом и острым соусом (meat with rice and hot sauce)
Dinner: пирог (pie)

Day 4: MONDAY
Breakfast: пельмени со сметаной (meat dumplings with sour cream), апельсинный сок (orange juice)
Lunch: салат с помидором и огурцом (tomato and cucumber salad), лапша (noodle soup), пицца (pizza), пирожки (pastries), чай (tea)
Dinner: суп с фаршем, лукой, картошкой, морковью (soup with meatballs, onions, potatoes and carrots); хлеб (bread), огурцы с лукой и майонезом (cucumber and onion salad with mayonnaise), мясо с рисом (meat with rice), чай (tea)

Day 5: TUESDAY
Breakfast: каша с бананом (hot cooked cereal with banana slices), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (open-faced sandwiches with butter and cheese), апельсинный сок (orange juice)
Lunch: щи с острым соусом (cabbage soup with hot sauce); хлеб (bread); две кутлеты с рысом, маслом и острым соусом (two meat cutlets with rice, butter and hot sauce); пирог (pie); чай (tea); вода (water)
Dinner: суп (soup), корейские моркови (korean carrots), куриная котлета (chicken cutlet), картофель-фри с острым кетчупом из чили (french fries with hot chili ketchup), круассаны (croissants)

Day 6: WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: каша (hot cooked cereal), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (open-faced sandwiches with buter and cheese), апельсинный сок (orange juice)
Lunch: винегрет (beet salad), борщ (borscht beat-soup), гуляш с макаронами и острым соусом (goulash with pasta and hot sauce), пицца (pizza), пирог (pie), сок (juice), чай (tea), вода (water)
Dinner: суп (soup), овощи: помидоры, баклажан, перцы (vegetables: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers), курица с острым соусом (chicken with hot sauce), круассаны (croissants), чай (tea)

Day 7: THURSDAY
Breakfast: каша (hot cooked cereal), бутерброды с маслом и сыром (open-faced sandwich with butter and cheese), апельсинный сок (orange juice)
Lunch: салат из капусты (cabbage salad), щи с хлебом (cabbage soup with bread), картофельное пюре (mashed potatoes), котлета (meat cutlet), вода (water)
Dinner: суп с хлебом (soup with bread), курица (chicken), картофель-фри (french fries), чай (tea), вода (water)

Note: Every aforementioned reference to hot sauce with food is my own personal twist on Russian cuisine and is not typical. In hopes of making Russian food more flavorful, I've eaten it with three different hot sauces and well as curry powder. I found that hot sauce with щи (cabbage soup) isn't as tasty as I would hope, although when hot sauce is added to meat cutlets and rice, it is a match made in heaven.

Russians generally find hot sauce to be too spicy. The hottest food they eat is usually Georgian food, specifically шашлык (shashlik kebab) with a spicy sauce.

I have had two different homestays during my time here in Russia. Not every Russian family eats all of the typical Russian foods. In my first homestay, I never ate каша (hot cooked cereal) or пельмени (meat dumplings). In my present homestay, I have never eaten плов (pilaff rice dish) or чёрный хлеб (black bread).

Vladimir, Russia - KORA Center for Russian Language

In case your curious about what I actually study while I'm here in Vladimir, I'll break it down for you.

I take seven classes, which total to 20 hours of study per week. All classes are conducted entirely in Russian.
Грамматика (grammar): 5 hours per week
Фонетика (phonetics): 2 hours per week
Практика Речь (speaking): 5 hours per week
Русская Истрория (Russian history): 2 hours per week
Художественный Текст (literature): 2 hours per week
Искусство Письма (writing): 2 hours per week
СМИ (current events): 2 hours per week

Our Russian study center, KORA, is located in a technikum. The program rents out a number of rooms on the third floor of the building, which we use as our study space.

Lunch is included by the program. We dine on authentic Russian food in the cafeteria of the technikum.

On Friday, we have excursions to points of interest both near and far. Some of the excursions this semester include Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Murom and Sochi. It is mandatory that we speak Russian at all times while on excursions and all guides speak only Russian with us.

In addition to classes and excursions, there are extra-curriculars. Folklore is an extra class conducted every other week to expose us to Russian culture through dance and music.

Kruglii Stol or Russian-American club is a round-table discussion with our Russian counterparts at the linguistics university about prearranged topics.

Internships give us on site experience in various Russian organizations.

Basketball is played with the Russians every week as a good way to get out some extra energy and exercise.

We are allotted two personal days every semester, which can be used for personal travel. This is a wonderful way to see more of Russia that you otherwise wouldn't have the chance to see with the program. Combined with a three or four-day weekend, these days provide a great opportunity to travel throughout Russia.

Remarkable Russian R & R

It was the last week of my fall semester studying abroad in Vladimir. I took Thursday off to travel to Moscow, spend time with my friend, Natasha, and visit some of the remaining sights I had not seen yet. She cooks so well. Every time I visit, I feel like I am at home, eating my grandma’s cooking. I enjoyed a delicious casserole she prepared and then went about my business. I had to travel across the city by metro and walk about 1.5km to get to the Armed Forces Museum. Making a wrong turn, I was pleasantly surprised to end up on Pushkin square and see a beautiful Christmas tree. Orienting myself, I easily navigated to the museum. It was impressive. The museum was built during the Soviet times to commemorate the accomplishments and history of the military. The museum continues to function today with limited additions pertaining to post-Soviet armed forces activity. My favorite exhibition was the wreckage of the American U-2 spy plane which was shot down in the 60s.

Natasha and I met again and we decided to go ice skating. We went Gorky Park. At first she was hesitant to skate, fearing that she might fall, but I assured her that I would not let that happen. After enjoying a brief snack, we headed out on the ice. The first time around was slow, but as time went on, it was no longer so difficult. During my visit, there were a number of coincidences, perhaps the most surprising being that Natasha happened to see a student from her University group that she had not seen in over 5 years! Heading back home, it was late. We had big plans for the following day. I wanted to visit the Tretyakov Gallery again. Since my last visit, I had greater exposure to Russian art and I also knew that the religious icon of Vladimir was located in the Tretyakov. Natasha later joined me there later on. It was great sharing our knowledge of the artwork and learning even more. We left the Tretyakov to eat dinner. We ate in an upscale mall not far from the American embassy and listened to a pianist.

After dinner, we left for the Gosudarstvii Teatr Kinoaktiorov. This theatre is famous for its actors, many of which are also TV and movie stars. We watched a comedy that was set in the 19th century about marriage between different economic classes. The language used in the play was fascinating. They used a special form which adds an “s” to the end of certain words in a sentence to denote respect when speaking to others. This style of speech was typical of the era. Seeing an advertisement for a special hot wine at the skating rink, we had decided to prepare some of our own at home. It reminded me of a more delicious apple cider. We stayed up late talking and enjoying each other’s company.

Early the next morning I returned to Vladimir. For the first time since summer, I decided to travel by bus since there was not a train leaving any time soon. I prefer the train because in summer, I once spent over 7 hours on a bus from Moscow to Vladimir due to traffic jams. The bus was only 32 rubles cheaper than the train and it was packed. I sat uncomfortably for four hours, ineffectively sleeping for brief spurts of time. I had to return to Vladimir on Saturday because I had my oral proficiency interview to evaluate my level of spoken Russian.

That evening, some of my friends and I wanted to celebrate the conclusion of our program so we gathered and split a bottle of Putinka. We also had delicious Russian crackers, caviar and cake. After our little gathering, I left for the center. With perfect timing, my coworker had called me and invited me to go clubbing with her. We went to a small discotheque in the center. The DJ there was playing my favorite music, Eurodance. We toasted with champagne and hit the dance floor. I’m glad to know such wonderful people here in Russia. It makes it just that much harder to fly home to America.

Library Complications

Earlier in the semester, I went to get a library card at the central library here in Vladimir. I remembered that I had yet to actually go and get some books because I already have my collection of favorite Russian reference books with me. Since it was a rainy Sunday afternoon and I live on the same block where the library is located, I decided to see what it was like. Upon arriving to the library, I immediately proceded to the front desk and presented my library card. They in turn handed me back my library card as well as a slip that documents which rooms of the library I am in and for what time duration. Continuing on to the second floor, I enter the room of books for foreign language study. I begin to browse the selection, but I am stopped by the librarian who states that I must present my documents in order to be in the room. I do so and everything is in order. I proceed to the Russian as a foreign language section to look for books. As I browse, I am stopped by the librarian and informed that this area is off-limits and that I must proceed to the other part of the room. I do as I am told and then inquire as to how I am to find books. I ask if I may browse the electronic or card catalogs. The librarian tells me that they don't keep these books on record because they are so seldom used. The other librarian then proceeds to take me back to the off-limits section where I was just minutes earlier and let me browse at my leisure. After finding three books that suit my fancy, I returned to the front desk. I was informed that I would have to pay 200 rubles as a deposit for the books. Furthermore, I would need to fill out a series of forms with my contact information: name, birth year, address, phone number; all information that I had previously given them when applying for my library card. After a series of signatures for each of the books, the deposit given and the transaction in general, I was allowed to proceed out of this room. Arriving on the first floor, I presented my documents and was given clearance to leave the building.

While the Russian system may seem complicated, I give it credit. I favor it to the Spanish library system at the Universidad de Sevilla. There I was not allow to browse the books and simply restricted to an archaic card catalog system and a seemingly nonsensical electronic search database. Even, after all of the paperwork, this Vladimir libarary functions effectively and the librarians there are generally very friendly.

I'm going to Russia!

I will study in Moscow (ACTR: Contemporary Russia) this summer and in Vladimir (ACTR: Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP)) this fall as a John Mohan Study Award Recipient and a Fulbright-Hays scholar.