September 24th | 24 сентября

8.19 a.m. - Hostel

Slowly getting accustomed to normal sleeping hours.
Making a TO-DO list and starting to make an evaluation of my first month in Russia and the usefulness of the telegram channel.

9.39 a.m. - =

11.47 a.m. - =

I think about what anthropologists says: You have to plant your tent in the middle of the village. The hostel is in the middle of Blagovechtchensk. And withing the hostel, the kitchen is a great place to meet people. I'm starting to think that I'm staying in the right place, for this preliminary ethnography project. I will stay at least three more days here.
I look for an anthropology online forum. I want to target a "scientific" audience to share my telegram channel to.
While doing this, I end up on the website of a Russian review, in English. I start to read an article of Andrei Kuznetsov about Latour and the heritage he left. I think it's the first time I read an article from a Russian anthropologist.

1 p.m. - =

A programmer from Moscow arrives and put his stuff in the room. He's name is Yuri.

4.30 p.m. - =

Yuri and I have been discussing for an hour. He speaks english. I talk about my projet. He talks about his job, his career. We talk about the benefits of cold water swimming. He will go work in China for some time. He already has. China pays well. He knows about the Confusius Institut of Blagavechtchensk.
Cold water swimming makes me think that there might be something to dig around the use of the Amour river waters. Maybe the use of water is conflictual between China and Russia. The advantage of a cable car is that it does might not touch water, unlike a bridge. I really do not know. I'm just being imaginative here. Anyway, water is probably an important factor to consider in the Blagovechtchensk-Heihe relationship.
He indicates me a club location.

9.42 p.m. - =

I explore the second floor. There is a TV anda couch up there. Dima Luda and I try to make it work.
I start cooking meat pelmeni in the kitchen.
A young girl walks in the kitchen, and we start talking. Her name is Elif. Soon, the friend she is staying here with, joins in the kitchen. Luda and Dima are also present. A long conversation starts with the group. They are in Blagavechtchensk for a competition. They represent their people in it. I ask various questions. They live by the Okhotsk Sea. The competition is a language one. I misunderstand some things. I thought the competition was a dancing one. So I ask if I can come with them tomorrow. I can.
They will be going to Heihe for two days.
Reindeer herding, is a national traditional activity. But people prefer to go work in the city. They are her to show their identity, continue tradition. They learn different languages at school, English, German, native.
I ask what institutions help them for this task. Some universities take part in this process. The Herzen Institute in Saint Petersburg is mentioned, as well as a State University in Yakutsk.
They are around fifteen years old. We talk about bear hunting, and fire arms.
We talk about the Russian artist called "Shaman" and what they think about this name. Two of them discuss witch kind of shaman they belive in.

A bag of goods is brought by Elif. We look at them. I get offer a talisman made off of a reindeer hoof. They are meant to be sold.
They a not many shamans because of USSR repression. But many still belive. Shamans heal, protect, use energy and can tall future.

Report Page