(no subject)
Interviewed by 
Solieri
1. What is the one aspect of your current life that has really taken you by surprise?
I've been trying to come up with a good answer for this one, and honestly, I'm still a bit stuck. I guess I'll go with my first thought: how boyish I am. As a middle schooler in a girl's school, I never would have guessed that at 21 I'd be wearing boxers, avoiding bras at nearly all costs, febreezing clothes so that I can wear them an extra day, and seriously considering the prospect of trying to pass as male at certain social functions. For example, when I was in Prague over spring break, I attended Friday services at the Alte-Neue Synagogue, where the women are placed in a completely different room from the men, and mostly obscured from view by a two-foot thick medieval style stone wall. And although I valued the experience I had, I wish that I could go back to daven with the men, dressed as one of them. I'd like to see if with enough practice I could pass as an Orthodox 15 year old boy. And even in a non-Jewish context, I'm curious to put my boyishness to the test. If only I could fit into men's pants. (I have enough trouble fitting into women's pants--according to designers, I'm too small for my hips.) But I always feel awkward each time I go to a store and look at the guy's clothing sections. Just need to get my courage up.
2. Why Russian?
Back in 10th grade I read some short stories by Tolstoy and Chekhov and enjoyed them. Back then I was also in orchestra, so I was playing and hearing a lot of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Mussorgsky, among others. And somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to be able to read Russian literature in its original form. When I came to college, I was intending to start both German and Russian, but the classes conflicted and I had to choose one. What with the literature I'd read and the music I played, I chose Russian. By the end of my freshman year, half of my credits were in the Russian Department with which I had fallen in love, and... it just made some crazy sort of sense to declare Russian as my major. I only had my first real doubts about my Russian major last semester when I was in Russia, and by then... too late to do anything else. Too many credits. Too much time spent studying verbs of motion. And us Russian majors make up a good group of tragicomic figures. I shall conclude with a quote from a song, which is disturbingly typical of Russian thought:
Четыре трупа возле танка Four corpses near the tank
Дополнят утренний пейзаж Complete the morning landscape
3. What's a girl do for fun in your neck of the woods?
Not much. I don't have a car, so I'm basically restricted to campus events. If I can pry myself away from Diablo II and naps, I usually either hang out and drink with friends or go to some on-campus event where I can fill up on free alcohol. Friday nights I go to Shabbat services. Most weekends I go to Troy to visit my boyfriend and his family. That's about it.
4. Do you let emotions fly regularly, or are you more of a bottle-it-up, release sort of person?
I'm incapable of keeping my emotions in. Or rather, it's possible that I'm capable, but I've never really tried and I doubt I'll start any time soon.
5. Seriously. . . is that icon of yours trying to steal my soul?
Yes.
Solieri
1. What is the one aspect of your current life that has really taken you by surprise?
I've been trying to come up with a good answer for this one, and honestly, I'm still a bit stuck. I guess I'll go with my first thought: how boyish I am. As a middle schooler in a girl's school, I never would have guessed that at 21 I'd be wearing boxers, avoiding bras at nearly all costs, febreezing clothes so that I can wear them an extra day, and seriously considering the prospect of trying to pass as male at certain social functions. For example, when I was in Prague over spring break, I attended Friday services at the Alte-Neue Synagogue, where the women are placed in a completely different room from the men, and mostly obscured from view by a two-foot thick medieval style stone wall. And although I valued the experience I had, I wish that I could go back to daven with the men, dressed as one of them. I'd like to see if with enough practice I could pass as an Orthodox 15 year old boy. And even in a non-Jewish context, I'm curious to put my boyishness to the test. If only I could fit into men's pants. (I have enough trouble fitting into women's pants--according to designers, I'm too small for my hips.) But I always feel awkward each time I go to a store and look at the guy's clothing sections. Just need to get my courage up.
2. Why Russian?
Back in 10th grade I read some short stories by Tolstoy and Chekhov and enjoyed them. Back then I was also in orchestra, so I was playing and hearing a lot of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Mussorgsky, among others. And somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to be able to read Russian literature in its original form. When I came to college, I was intending to start both German and Russian, but the classes conflicted and I had to choose one. What with the literature I'd read and the music I played, I chose Russian. By the end of my freshman year, half of my credits were in the Russian Department with which I had fallen in love, and... it just made some crazy sort of sense to declare Russian as my major. I only had my first real doubts about my Russian major last semester when I was in Russia, and by then... too late to do anything else. Too many credits. Too much time spent studying verbs of motion. And us Russian majors make up a good group of tragicomic figures. I shall conclude with a quote from a song, which is disturbingly typical of Russian thought:
Четыре трупа возле танка Four corpses near the tank
Дополнят утренний пейзаж Complete the morning landscape
3. What's a girl do for fun in your neck of the woods?
Not much. I don't have a car, so I'm basically restricted to campus events. If I can pry myself away from Diablo II and naps, I usually either hang out and drink with friends or go to some on-campus event where I can fill up on free alcohol. Friday nights I go to Shabbat services. Most weekends I go to Troy to visit my boyfriend and his family. That's about it.
4. Do you let emotions fly regularly, or are you more of a bottle-it-up, release sort of person?
I'm incapable of keeping my emotions in. Or rather, it's possible that I'm capable, but I've never really tried and I doubt I'll start any time soon.
5. Seriously. . . is that icon of yours trying to steal my soul?
Yes.