July 15, First workshops and kickball rules

Between the Lines updates (international writing program)

During the writing workshops American and Russian groups split. The Russians were asked to introduce themselves in 5 sentences using numerals in each sentence.

In the evening we went to play kickball, which is close to baseball in rules with the only difference that you don’t have  a bat and kick the ball with your foot before running to the base. Americans seemed pretty familiar with game while explanation for Russians  had to be more detailed as the rules of baseball were not familiar either. Somebody though got it right away as it reminds our lapta.  Karaoke night followed in eager attempts to choose a Russian song to sing. Finally Ivanushki international were chosen with their  Poplar Fluff. As most of the audience could only guess through the movie and music what was going on, holding the mike close to the mouth was not necessary. The movie shot at the beach with a pretty girl and bravery of 4 Russian students caused a round of applause.

July 14, Touring Iowa city until bunny-o-clock

Between the Lines updates (international writing program)

As breakfast in our dorm wasn’t served on Sunday we went to downtown. Garden Market. Organic food. I took fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice following student’s choice and an almond croissant. The note on the juice said ‘The product is not pasteurized, it may contain harmful bacteria and may not be suitable for people with weak immune system’. A tiny Thumbelina from our group took a high-calorie peanut butter cake (scotcharoo) and left the half of it. American style.

A tour of Iowa revealed the literary artistic background of the city. Benches were covered with drawings, sidewalks with quotes on the background of prairies, cats, binoculars and what not. Old piano was right in the middle of a pedestrian mall, sit down and play (the students actually did so).  We dropped into the Haunted bookshop selling used books (great bargains!) and antique store Artifacts full of old photos, ceramics, jewelry and Spanish hats.

And in the evening Iowa city is sparkled with fire flies – little lightening bugs raising from the ground. Raccoons cramp near the river, chipmunks climb the trash bins and bunnies cross the sidewalk leaping away as soon as you want to take a picture of it. It’s bunny o’clock. Rabbit time.

Between the Lines, Iowa City, University of Iowa, 2013

(Between the Lines (BTL), a program that brings high school writers, aged 16-19, to the University of Iowa for creative writing study and cultural interaction)

July 13, Welcome to Iowa City

We left Chicago in the morning in two University of Iowa vans. It is about a 4-hour drive from there to Iowa City through endless corn fields with intermittent barns and scanty cows.

Upon arrival we were lucky to catch the Summer Arts, Jazz, Movies and Music Festival. Somehow jazz stands along with music, apparently having a distinguished role in American culture. Two events were scheduled for the evening – open doors free concert and film showing. Leaving the suitcases in the rooms, students went to explore the surroundings. Downtown of Iowa City is really small but nice and cozy, with 12(!) bookstores and vintage clothing small shops like “White Rabbit”.  Iowans keep special folding chairs for such festivals and people unfold the chairs right in the middle of the street in front of the only high building in the city – Sheraton hotel – turning the Pedestrian mall into a performance hall. It is hard to imagine such a multi-age crowd enjoying music and frozen yogurt all together in Russia. Infants in strollers, teenage rappers in same-colored outfit, elderly people with fashionable purses and funny labels on their T-shirts, all hang out and have fun.

Frozen yogurt deserves a separate notion. It costs 39 cents per ounce, you grab a plastic cap and pour it as much as you want sprinkling nuts, chocolates or fresh berries. Before choosing a flavor we tried several ones in miniature cups – yummy! – and that was a mistake because after tasting we can’t but take a little bit of everything. That ended up in a full cup worth about 5$ and half an hour indulging in gluttony.

Between the Lines, Iowa City, University of Iowa, 2013

(Between the Lines (BTL), a program that brings high school writers, aged 16-19, to the University of Iowa for creative writing study and cultural interaction)

July 12, Exploring Chicago

Chicago! Finally. Students’ excitement was bursting out of windows of the van that brought us to the city. I got a message in the morning. We are downstairs having breakfast. Heading to walk around straight away. Gosh! You were given time for relaxing and rest in the morning, guys! The first group left the hotel at 7 a.m. to climb the 103d floor of Willis Tower, famous Chicago sky deck. It was Sears Tower when I was an explorer there myself, 8 years ago, on a weekend trip with a group of internationals. I couldn’t stop smiling. The streets of the Windy City (or Paris of the Prairie, as   ran a familiar bell though I didn’t recognize anything except for the Water tower (the only stone building that preserved after Chicago fire in 1871. The first thing we visited with the second group of BTL (those who slept till 7.30 a.m.) was public library, and impressive 4-story building in an ornate antiquated style with green sculptures on the roof. The first thing that drew students’ attention was a rack with plastic covers for wet umbrellas at the door. And my first pictures was at a rubbish bin with a sign ‘Recycle your flag’. So typical of 

Americans.

The whole group had a scheduled tour of Poetry Foundation where we got by subway (not underground!) with a daily transit card. Poetry Foundation has open door policy (meaning that everybody can have free access to new, astonishing, tried and true, children, funny collections of poetry) and runs social programs like Poetry Out Loud, which is a contest for schoolchildren nationwide.

Art Institute ‘run’ followed, with late admission at half-price, and a lengthy walk in Millennium Park and along the Michigan lake full of yachts and begging swans.

To finish the intense day we took a boat cruise exploring Chicago architecture. Well, not all the skyscrapers are the same. Some are built in contextual style, that is they reflect the history or surroundings like a bend of a river or give you a hint what they have inside with a small statue on top.  Some are modern, postmodern, triangle (and built by Mr. Triangle – yes, that’s the nickname of the famous Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright). They reflect the vigor and perplexity of the city built on a swamp in the early 19^th century that first became a major transportation point, then a center of meat-packing industry, and now is a cultural center with Art Institute, summer festivals and Taste of Chicago gastronomical extravaganza.

Between the Lines, Iowa City, University of Iowa, 2013

(Between the Lines (BTL), a program that brings high school writers, aged 16-19, to the University of Iowa for creative writing study and cultural interaction)

July 11, Running through JFK

The group successfully flew out of Sheremetyevo congratulating Inna, one of the students, at the airport as she was turning 19. Indeed, the longest birthday ever – she celebrated it for 33 hours crossing over the Atlantic.

We arrived at JFK and had less than two hours to change for Chicago flight. Right at the entrance we got an orange Quick-connect ticket that saved us from missing the flight. The queue was enormous but we were shown straight to the officer who took our fingerprints and corrected our pronunciation – ‘Iowa (stress on the first syllable), not I’owa (not on the second as in Russian). At the customs again Quick-connect pass helped us join the shortest line. We had to receive our luggage, go through the customs, recheck the luggage, take an airtrain to Terminal 2 from Terminal 4, go through security again. We wouldn’t have managed to do it all in 2 hours in a group of 11 but for the constant help and directions from the airport staff. JFK bears the name of the 35^th US president John F. Kennedy not in vain. In 2011 more than 47,5 mln passengers flew through  contributing about $31.5 billion in economic activity to the New York/New Jersey region, generating approximately 224,000 total jobs and about $11.3 billion in wages and salaries. The  36,000 employees of the airport do their job well.

I'm just a simple Russian girl

Song that makes fun of stereotypes about Russians