Culbert Report

For those of you who don't typically celebrate the 12th of April, or are even, dare I say it, ignorant to the nature of the holiday, let me be the first to congratulate you with a happy 50 year anniversary of "The Day of the First Man in Space!" Billboards like these have been up for weeks in our neighborhood: (April 12th: World-wide Day of Aviation and Astronautics - Congratulations ) At many of the universities where we work, students are quick to ask us who we think was the first person in space - a Russian or an American. You can probably guess the answer just by the way the question is asked... But just as Neil Armstrong's first step onto lunar territory, as well as his epic words on that occasion have formed a critical part of the American identity, so it is with Yuri Gagarin, the USSR's national hero, the very first man to burst into the unknown showing definitively that the sky was no longer the limit to human progress. April 12th marks a pivotal momen...

We recently started teaching English at Moscow's Sports' University on the far north side of the city (just under an hour and a half commute from where we live.) Our first week there, we were given a tour of their enormous facility, complete with separate gyms and equipment for over 40 different types of sports for students there. While we work primarily with students in the volleyball department (yes, that's right, you can declare “Volleyball” as your major at this university,) I believe many of Russia's future professional athletes study here now. Most students dream to go on to the professional sport world, while others will become future coaches or trainers. I am still a bit curious what kinds of classes are offered for students here, however, 5 years of volleyball seems like a substantial amount of time in class... Their chalkboards are field diagrams with magnets for different players and positions. I'd like to take an exam here just to see what it's...

Every time I think I have Russia figured out it surprises me. I've asked students about the complexities of the Russian psyche, seen the variations in the Russian landscape, and attempted all sorts of ways of collecting a package at the Russian post office. One of the best windows into understanding Russia itself has been by looking at their history. Each day I walk outside my apartment I'm reminded, just by the architecture, of all the faces that Russia has had in the last hundred years. Here's a picture that I took in downtown Moscow. The contrast of the Russian orthodox church, the European-style apartments in the foreground, the large Stalinesque monstrosity, the concrete condos, and the newly constructed western skyscrapers in the background remind me that Russia is changing all the time and her people are running to keep up. -drc

Are you tired of chewing your candy bars? Do the layers of chocolate and caramel being broken down by your bicuspids take time and energy away from your enjoyment of your treat of choice? Don't you hate how chewing your candy bar annoyingly negates the calorie intake for consuming it in the first place? Do you ever wish you could just sip on your candy bar at your leisure rather than chewing precious minutes of your day away? We have the product for you: Drinkable Mars bar! That's right, available now in your grocer's refrigerated section: Drinkable Mars bar. The perfect pick for anyone who's ready for the easiest possible way to enjoy fine Mars products. I'll drink to that!

A little on the chilly side, but still fun.

This year our Humanitarian State University English club ventured to a children's home to share our Christmas celebration. We had a wonderful time there and we're already looking forward to our next opportunity to return. Here are some of the things we did: First, we prepared what you might consider a classic Christmas pageant, complete with Shepherds and Wise Men following the Christmas star to find the Christ child. A show of hands demonstrated that of the children in the audience, very few actually knew the original Christmas story - they'd never seen this kind of pageant before. Our student actors did an amazing job! Then we played some games together. It's always a kick to see similar children's games no matter what country you're in at the time. This is a game very similar to our own hand clapping games like Miss Mary Black, Down by the Banks, Miss Suzie, etc.. As you may be able to guess, the game counts to a determined number (like 10) and if your...

Life is full of questions, some much more compelling than others. Nonetheless, moving to a big city, Dan and I have been exposed to an inexplicable phenomenon of nature unobserved in suburban areas: the pigeon, a crowning jewel in the evolutionary process. These fine, feathered friends, who are neither fine nor friends, eat anything from tin cans to cigarette butts. They bathe lavishly in refuse water. They drink, it seems exclusively, from discarded beer bottles. Last night the Moscow temperature dropped from 32 F (0 C) to -4 F (-20 C); yet, there they were at sunrise, standing on our window sill, their beady little eyes staring into our warm apartment as if to say, "you'd best give us your bread if you knew what was good for you, spoiled little aristocrats." Why won't the pigeons die? What is their secret? What biological purpose can they possibly be serving by continuing on in this manner? The pigeon: one of the 7 greatest wonders of the world. I guess not all mi...