Posts Tagged "москва"
Karina: Migrant Helping Grandson
It's a story I hear regularly...Karina came to Moscow from one of the former Soviet republics to earn money to help her grandson. She wants him to study in Europe, so she labors here - cooking and cleaning - to set aside money for his education. The Russian economic recession not only means that the rubles she earns buy less foreign currency needed for her grandson's study, but it means she earns fewer rubles as she has fewer clients these days. She is hoping to stick it out another year or two at the most and return home to see her family for first time in a decade.
Anna: Economics Student from Smolensk
Like Sasha (yday portrait) Anna also said the most memorable event last year was a real-life lesson. Anna, who comes from a well-to-do family near the Ukraine border, said she decided to donate lots of her clothing and toys to Donetsk refugees. However, she gave away her first childhood toys that had family meaning, so Anna had to go to the refugee camp to find them. Anna said visting the camp shocked her as she "had never seen people in such poverty before."
Yulia: Student Who Celebrated Halloween
Yulia, a soil science student from the Urals, said one of her most memorable events of 2014 was spontaneously deciding to celebrate Halloween in the dorm with about 10 university friends. While they found constumes, they didn't find pumpkins, so they bought oranges as an alternative. I asked if the dorm guards gave them a hard time: ‘’We weren’t too loud, so the dorm guards didn’t mind.
Sasha: Economics Student from Siberia
Sasha, an economics student, said one of her most memorable events last year was a tough, real-life lesson in personal finance. Like many others, her family's dollar mortgage became a burden when the ruble tumbled. Thus, Sasha said she spent a lot of time running back and forth to banks to get the mortgage converted to rubles. Sasha, who wants to develop and market new consumer products, said people should not take a mortgage in foreign currencies.
Nikolai: Retired Machinery Worker
Another photo of Nikolai, the retired machinery worker who has taken up ice-skating for firs time in decades to stay in shape. Nikolai came to the pond by bicycle.
Ruslan: Geology Student & Rockabilly Dancer
Ruslan, 22, a geology graduate student, said his most memorable event last year was hitch-hiking around Armenia for two weeks with his girlfriend. ‘’Armenians are very hospitable - they were not only willing to pick us up along the road, they would invite us for coffee, offer food or even to stay at their places.'’ Ruslan said he met his girlfriend through a rockabilly dance school, where they both take lessons.
Arina: Star Wars Fan (2)
Arina was buying something from a kiosk in a Moscow street underpass, a schoolbag in the form of a Stormtrooper from Star Wars on her back. Arina said she became a Star Wars fan thanks to her older brother and subsequently showed me her Darth Vader t-shirt. She said she wants to become a fashion designer and create 'something different'... like her unusual schoolbag.
Arina: Star Wars Fan
Arina was buying something from a kiosk in a Moscow street underpass, a schoolbag in the form of a Stormtrooper from Star Wars on her back. Arina said she became a Star Wars fan thanks to her older brother and subsequently showed me her Darth Vader t-shirt. She said she wants to become a fashion designer and create 'something different'... like her unusual schoolbag.
Anna: Lover of Indian Culture
I remember how some friends in NYC changed their look and image rather substantially after one or two years after highschool...Anna, who grew up in a provincial Volga town, entered university as an architecture student in Sept 2013 with brown hair. By January 2014, she had black hair. By June, when I first past her at a bus stop, she was blonde with dreads and 'India-inspired' clothing. She said she was on her way to a weekend-long outdoor music festival and dreamed of visiting India. When I saw her again at end of 2014, she said she was taking time off from university, spending her days drawing India motifs and doing yoga.
Akim: A Family of Musicians
In my previous post about Lera, she said both her parents were skilled at drawing, . Akim, pictured here, takes the family artistic skills to one more generation. I saw Akim talking to friends near a music academy in the center of Moscow on a snowy afternoon, carrying an instrument on his back. He said he plays the violincello, recently finished his Russian music studies and was planning to continue his education in Germany. I asked if anyone else played music in his family. He said his parents and grandparents play the violin, among the eight professional musicians in his family. Akim grew up in Obinsk, a town outside Moscow built around the world's first nuclear power plant that is known for its top-notch physicists and engineers, not musicians.
