REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK

Let’s start a conversation about a period in life when moving back home after living abroad can be an emotionally distressing experience. The struggle to re-acclimate to the previously familiar surrounding that has become unfamiliar affects more people than you might realise and is also known as the REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK.  In the age of globalisation (slowly dissolving in front of our eyes), travelling or living abroad for a lengthy period of time is not an unusual occurrence. Perhaps, you are a college graduate going on a gap year in hopes of finding yourself as you dive into different cultures or you are working professional, who has been given an opportunity to learn from the leading experts in your field abroad and vice versa. One way or another, you find yourself packing your bags and leaving the familiar behind.

You will never forget the first few months it took to settle into a new place being far away from home. Once you get through that part, the foreign soil becomes the most familiar thing you have ever encountered. But, like everything else in life, eventually it will come to an end.

Psychologically speaking, moving back home can be an equally distressing experience as it is moving abroad. In any case, the longer the time is spent overseas, the greater the shock factor upon the eventual return home. I came into experience with the reverse culture shock when I moved back to Russia after living abroad for over ten years. Prior, I have already had two immigrations under my belt, first from Russia to Spain at the age of 12 and then to the UK when I was 19. To be honest with you, I thought I knew what to expect. But, in the past three months I have never felt more foreign in my life. For the longest time I could not pin a term that would describe exactly how I felt and I did not know whom to reach out to.

Another factor that may influence the magnitude of revere culture shock is the extent of the difference in cultures between the expat’s home country and the foreign country. Usually, I am quick to pick  up local habits, lifestyle and get acclimated with the norms and surroundings. However, the hardest challenge to moving your life to a different place is starting over anew. It generally narrows down to finding the best places where to get food, what bus to take, which documents to apply for, where to go, whom to ask for help when you don't know anyone in town, how to get a job interview.. it quickly becomes overwhelming.

Down below you can watch a video where I go into detail about my journey coming back, help you draw out the important steps to re-acclimatisation as an expat and more. If you have any questions or are seeking advise, leave a comment down below - let's chat!

Modern Art and All That

This week I visited a Multimedia Art Museum (MAMM) in Moscow and naturally I got opinions to share.

MAMM is considered to be one of the most popular curators of art exhibitions here in Moscow (as far as I gathered) and I love discovering creative platforms at every opportunity I get. The museum has two locations in the city, one on Ostozhenka street and they also curate at the "Central Exhibition Hall Manege" for those of you who might be interested in visiting.

Every third Tuesday of the month has free admission rates! So if you happen to be in the area on the day, don't miss your chance to pop in.

At the moment, MAMM on Ostozhenka is curating a fair few exhibitions and I got to share a couple of recommendations myself:

- Albert Watson Dreaming Pirelli Calendar 2019 featuring model Gigi Hadid as "the wealthy socialite", actress Julia Garner as "the photographer" was my personal favourite collection of shots, Misty Copeland as "the dancer" and actress and model Laetitia Casta as "the painter".

Have a peak for yourself from the series of Julia Garner.

- Erik Madigan Heck (ironically) has definitely added a pop of colour to the monochrome theme running throughout the museum at the moment. I have picked to shoot this piece as undoubtedly my most liked. You can see the original picture in colour on my Instagram.

- Still Art Collection. Selected Works
I am a huge admirer of the 20th century fashion photography and this particular exhibition features icons such as Kate Moss, Karl Lagerfield, Angelina Jolie, The Beatles shot by the masters of their craft Annie Leibovitz, Giovanni Gastel, Elliot Erwitt, Guy Bourdin and if you are not familiar with those names then oh boy, here's your reason to make an appearance.

Having said that, I can't quite commit to the feeling of fulfilment after exiting the doors of a museum. I am not sure whether it is a case of a personal mind frame or a consequences of us, as a collective society, going backwards and re-living the trends of the previous century. After all, what is so contemporary about that? Maybe I came to the wrong place.

Getting off topic

As a creative mind myself, I hope to see museums collaborate with contemporary photographers and artists whose works truly evoke emotions in today's day and age. David Uzochukwu, Can Dagarslani, Laura Zalenga to name a few of my favourites. I mean, it is great that through social media contemporary creatives can get recognised not only amongst the minds alike but in the industry too, however wouldn't it be so great to come face to face with their works just hanging there behind the glass-proof frame?

For today I am going to leave it at that. Let me know on your thoughts. Perhaps, we or I can dig a little deeper in a newly featured post covering the contemporary art industry in the digital age.

TOP 5 FILMS TO BINGE WATCH THIS VALENTINE'S

In the spirit of Valentine's day approaching, in today's blog post I will be sharing with you some of my favourite romantic films tailored to all tastes and interpretations of love. Whether you are in a mood for a light romantic comedy or are ready to bawl your eyes out, look no further - you will find it here.

P.S. There are a lot of beautiful films that I watched in my time, as I can't feature them all in-depth, I will try and leave a suggestion for 'Similar' film/s and genre that bring much the same vibe.

He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

[Love Actually, Valentine's Day]

I really want to start off with something light, and there is no better company for your Galentine's evening than a series of entertaining love stories. The five Baltimore lovers, who just like you are in their 20's and 30's, navigating their way through the complexities of modern relationships. 

The title of the film speaks for itself, really. Most of all I really appreciate the short anecdotes inserted in between the scenes that word for word repeat the excuses we often tell ourselves or advise others, when they tell us that they have been pied. "You are too pretty and too awesome. He can't handle it.", "He's not asking you out because he's intimidated by your professional success", "Trust me. It's because he's never had a serious relationship". When in reality we hate to admit that.. He's Just Not That Into You.

Not to mention the film has a star cast featuring: Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Affleck, Justin Long and Bradley Cooper.

La La Land (2016) 

[The Greatest Showman]

I said that there is going to be a variety of genres for all tastes, and musicals are no exception! Besides, is it really a Valentine's season if you don't watch at least one film featuring Ryan Gosling? There really isn't a musical quite like this. I must confess, when I was watching it at the cinema, the first half hour of the film I was thinking "this is too Hollywood for me". The story line seemed too cliche and predictable, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a struggling jazz pianist and Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress, both trying to jump-start a career in a spotlight of Hollywood fame. Things happen in the middle, success, failure, financial struggles.. Wait until the end. No seriously, do, so we could talk about it.  

Personally, I did not foresee the ending to go the way it did but I am glad that the director Damien Chazelle chose to go in this direction. The ending made a musical, in my eyes, go from a Hollywood cliche to a real life story accompanied by some jazz, singing and dancing.

Before Sunrise (1995)

> Before Sunset (2004)

> Before Midnight (2013)

[The Dreamers, Waking Life]

Before Sunrise (1995) is a first part to a trilogy that captures love over time. The trilogy is filmed over the course of 19 years during which the natural ageing on screen intensifies the sense of lived-in experience. We first meet Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) as two young strangers heating it off on the train bound to Vienna. They initiate a spontaneous decision to spend an evening together, walking around the town of Vienna and making conversation about their take on love, life, break-ups and relationship from a perspective of young adults in their twenties. You really have to watch all three films in order to grasp the bigger picture and meaning that love carries through different stages in our lives. I hold this film so near and dear to my heart, I hope you get to connect with the characters as much as I did.

The films are directed by one of my all time favourites directors, Richard Linklater, also known for his works Waking Life, Boyhood, Dazed and Confused (to name a few).

Carol (2015)

[ Call Me by Your Name]

The ever so elegant, alluring and sophisticated Cate Blanchett plays, Carol, a suburban housewife, trapped in a marriage as she must hide the romantic interest she has for women. Her co-star, Rooney Mara, portrays a lonely young woman, working in a toy store and looking for her chance to set her career as a theatre set designer. Together, they tell a love story of two women, attempting to escape from the social prejudice and judgement of homosexuality in 1950's.

The film Carol is based on the romantic novel by Patricia Highsmith. It was first published in 1952 under the title "The Price of Salt" pitching a true story from Highsmith's life. Highsmith - was already known as a suspense writer - published a novel under a pseudonym, Claire Morgan, to avoid being tagged as a "lesbian book writer", which consequently would 'discredit' her previous achievements in literature.

The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004)

[The Notebook, Vanilla Sky, 500 Days of Summer ]

Get your tissues ready. Not going to lie, originally I intended to mention "The Notebook" but it felt like cheating featuring two Ryan Gosling films in one blogpost. I went for another one of my all time favourites. 

If you could erase a memory of a person or an event from your life, would you? The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind explores the intricacy of relationships and the pain of loss. After a painful break-up, Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergoes a procedure to erase her ex-boyfriend Joel (Jim Carey) from her mind. When Joel finds out that Clementine went to the extremes to forget their relationship, he too signs up to do the same. However, during the erasure procedure, Joel is reminded of the happy memories that he and Clementine shared together and attempts to hide those far into his conscious in order to save them. This is as much as I can share without giving it all away.

As always, I hope you liked today's blog post. And I look forward to hearing from you - have you already seen these films? Which ones did you like and which ones you did not? Share your recommendations down below!

All love,

S.

NEW BEGINNINGS

New year (2019) is a year of new beginnings. Recently, my life has come full circle - ten years ago, I immigrated with my family to Spain then alone I moved to the UK in pursuit for higher education. At the end of last year, I graduated from the University with a degree in Anthropology and International Relations and consequently moved back to Moscow and in with my parents to figure shit out.

After having spent the last sixteen years in education, an advantage that you find being in the system is always knowing what’s coming next. I imagine the process like climbing up a ladder. I get to reach the next rung as I hit every milestone - I climb past primary, then secondary, college, uni..there is always a year/s plan to follow. Except this time, as you reach your arm out to get to the next set of rungs, SNAP, it splits in half. There will be many times that your rungs will creek and snap on your way up, the question is:

Do you keep going assuming that it won’t destabilize the rest of your journey upwards or do you take a pause to repair the rung to secure yourself from falling down?

I am going to give you a moment to think about it.

Meanwhile, I am no different from any other individual that has rushed their life choices in regard to education and/or employment. There comes a point for everyone when they have to reevaluate their life in order to figure out the direction in which they want to be heading. In my opinion, students as well as graduates are put under an immense amount of pressure to:

a) pursue higher education
b) to land a graduate job as soon as possible

PAUSE IT. Where does one find the time to think and decide that beyond doubt this is the path/career field they are going to flourish in?

I know that I make it sound far too idealistic because most people choose a job out of need and not choice BUT the thing is - if you have an opportunity to take a step back in order to make two forward later, wouldn't you take it?

At the age of 23, I am no longer rushing things to happen and therefore will be taking time to figure myself out and become adjusted to my new environment. When I was living in the UK, I was juggling my studies and a part-time job like most students. I genuinely enjoyed working in retail, so when I graduated I had the time to work full time and get the real taste for the potential career path. I really liked the security of having a job, I became very familiar with the brand and knew the perimeter of the store like the back of my hand, and I loved the people that I worked with. But, there was a day when I caught myself thinking that all days blurred into one and my being was narrowed down to the same pattern: work, sleep, get paid, spend money.

I already had retail stores offering me full-time employment. They were down to sponsor my work visa (which honestly is a miracle for any international student out there) but I just couldn't imagine myself following the same routine for the next year. So there, I decided that I am not going to give myself an excuse “this is just temporary before I land the job I really want” to avoid any regret I may express about my chosen career/life path later. I am pausing to fix the ladder and if anything, one thing that I know for sure is no matter what happens next -  I got my own back.

As always, lots of love

-S

The meaning of Christmas in Russia and how its celebrated

The most frequent conversation starter for me in the month of December is the topic of Christmas. Growing up in a Western society with an orthodox background meant that I, unlike my friends, did not participate in the frantic shopping marathon leading up to December 25th. Instead, I had to always specify that I had to wait a couple of days later to exchange my gifts with family on the New Years Eve - this is our tradition. Meanwhile, Рождество Христово (Rozhdestvo Khristovo), otherwise known as the Orthodox Christmas, commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ every year on January 7th and has absolutely nothing to do with gifting or the involvement of Father Christmas in the scene. From what I have witnessed personally and in my own experience of celebrating Christmas on the 25th of December, the celebration had lost its previously honoured holy significance in the modern age and in effect carries a capitalising consequence for Christmas themed commodities such as gift sets, clothing, drinks etc. An Orthodox celebration of Christmas, on the other hand,  is a private ceremony, carrying a deeper religious significance to those who celebrate it. The orthodox believers would fast for a period of time leading up to Christmas, meaning that they have to refrain from consuming dairy, meat and eggs. This year, the Nativity Fast lasted from November 28th 2018 until January 6th 2019. On the last day, there is a feast in celebration of the end to a fast. At night, the believers would make their way into their local churches where they would stay through the night, listening to a divine service commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Why is Orthodox Christmas celebrated on January 7th and not on December 25th?

First of all, before you get yourselves confused, Orthodox church, like Catholic and Protestant churches branches out from Christianity. It is NOT a separate religion.

The reason why we celebrate Christmas on two different dates is explained in the variation of solar calendar counts (the way we count days, months and years). There are two variations of solar calendar counts: Julian calendar - was the first solar calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC and the one that the Orthodox church chose to remain today when counting the dates for celebrating Christmas and specifically in regard to Easter; Today, however, we live by a different solar calendar called, Gregorian calendar. It was introduced in 1582 and was first adopted by Catholic countries, such as -  Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The difference between this new adaptation and the one introduced by Caesar was in their method of counting leap years. The Gregorian calendar also added new rules for calculating  Easter dates, and 10 days were dropped in October 1582, and so as a result, the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ fell into a new date that happened to be the 25th of December according to their calculations.

What do Russians do during Christmas:

This holiday is a brilliant juxtaposition of paganism and Christianity celebrated at once. Although, the orthodox church does not approve of acts associated with pagan traditions today, it has been a part of Russian culture for many many moons prior to the christianisation of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century. For the reasons that I am going to refer to later in the post, on the week leading up to Christmas, the superstitious believers (mostly women) gather around at night to perform cartomancy, share spells, carry out rites to attract a good fortune.

During this week and especially on the night of Christmas eve in the pagan times our ancestors would cast spells and perform a number of rituals in hopes for a good year without draught, wishing their loved ones good health and so forth. They believed that this time of year carried a mystic energy, so they would dress up, sing songs in celebration of a new sun, not the birth of Jesus.

When the christianisation of Russia happened in the 9th century, the transition from paganism to Christianity brought its own adaptations into history of celebrating Christmas. Once Christmas was celebrated instead of a pagan honouring of a new sun, activities that involved spells or divination were forbidden and more so were associated with a practice of dark magic and evil. Nonetheless, due to the collective superstition of people and belief in supernatural these traditions found their place in todays celebration of Christmas.


Growing up, I remember my nan and mother telling me stories from their childhood celebrating Christmas. Both of them were born in the USSR, when the government propagandised anti-religious campaigns, and for this reason people remained their interests in magic during this time of year. Today, I am going to share with you a couple of ways in which you too can predict (using this term very loosely) your fortune in the new year.

divination by the book - choose any book that you own at random. Name a page number and a line number (from top or bottom; ie: age 86, 3rd line from the top). What you read is going to be an answer relating to a question that you might have had on your mind but overall, it is down to your own interpretation 

fortune-telling - on separate pieces of paper write down various wishes or events for a new year, those could be predicting you: a move to a new place, new life opportunities, a new relationship, money and what ever else comes to mind but do not forget to include an blank piece of paper. A blank piece of paper will signify no changes in your life for this year. Put the pieces into a hat and let others pick their fortunes.

Another great entertainment for this time of year is reading. My favourite choice of the season is a selection of folklore tales called "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka" by Nikolai Gogol. The tales are written between the years of 1831-32 and perfectly convey the mood of Christmas Eve back in the day. I actually managed to find a couple of translated copies available on Amazon, so you can definitely get your hands on those.

I hope you are all enjoying your Christmas break and if you have any additional information, leave your comments down below.

Love,

S.

Organising your mental space

Your surrounding is a primary reflection of what goes on in your head -  my mother used to say to me for years. Oftentimes, I have been compared to a hurricane that causes destruction and brings chaos on its way. *Looks back on the state of her room* Yep, sometimes I don't know how it happens but it does -there is a somewhat distinguishable shape of the chair peaking through a pile of clothes that haven't been hanged back into the wardrobe, yet another stack of folders is scattered across the working table; there you could also find a yellowed from age 'to-do lists' ..  where are we? sounds relatable yet? The real talk captures disorganisation of your surroundings created by your mental state.  My head always feels heavier with the constant flow of thoughts; oftentimes when I leave my living space in a mess, I begin to overthink and clutter my mind with unnecessary stuff, for example the yellowed 'to do list' that once reminded me of appointment times that has no relation to what I am today, two weeks later. The truth is, you don't have to wait until the New Year's day to start with a clean slate -you live today, you do it today.

In this post, I wanted to share with you some of the steps that I take morning and night to keep my living surroundings and head decluttered. Hopefully, there will be some that relate to you too. And now, without further ado, let's get into it!

Tip #1: Making your bed in the morning and your room in the evening

I know this sounds like a very logical thing to do when you get out of bed, (especially when  one is  22 years of age) - it is. However, there is no denying that there are times where we find ourselves having a rushed morning because our alarms have been snoozed for the past hour or because it is a day off and there is no intention of purposely leaving the bed in the first place. Making my bed in the morning, regardless of its start, has helped me to mentally tick off a chore that I don't have to face after a long day at work. Let's be honest, coming back home to a tidy made bed is the warmest welcome you will ever receive from yourself.

For an evening routine, I get to tidying the entire room. I dive straight into the task whilst there is still a portion of productivity left in me after I have had my day out. Once the job is done, I know I can enjoy some 'me time' and plan my next day. Plus you get a BONUS! Going to bed with a tidy room leaves you only with one chore in the morning, so there are no excuses of forgetting to make that bed of yours!

Tip #2: Shut down your technology

There are two parts to this tip and both relate to my evening time routine.

It might have been two years since I got into a habit of setting my phone on an airplane mode when I decide to call it a day. Sleeping next to a gadget that passes through electric waves near you has had an effect on how well I could sleep through the night. I have been used to waking up multiple times in a night no matter how tired I felt. Setting my phone to an airplane mode has helped my sleep to go undisturbed.

The second thing that I got into a habit of doing is shutting down my laptop. Usually, I would keep up all my tabs and gently close the screen of my device. Again, the issue that I found with doing that is that my brain did a good job of keeping track on the tabs - I would actually overload not only my device but my brain too with overthinking that I left jobs undone for the day. You end up in a vicious cycle of constantly trying to catch up with all the tabs you left opened from nights before. Shutting down my laptop before bed has helped to start the day off with a fresh tab and a new to do list, helping my brain to focus on task at the time.

Tip #3: Yoga

This is my third and final tip that I have recently gotten in a habit of doing. Let's be honest, our lives can sometimes get pretty hectic, with a never-ending list of agendas to do and keep track of, our bodies can naturally loose balance. Not going to lie, I wish I had the discipline to do yoga everyday, but at the moment I just don't. Now, without trying to sound like a hypocrite who recommends a tip, she herself cannot fully commit to - I love myself for when I give my body a time. Yoga helped me to pace my mind and stretch my muscles. I truly get to connect with my body. If it isn't yoga that you are into, doing any exercise will get your endorphins flowing through. So find your groove and go with it.

These are all my latest discoveries for today. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and are now welcome to share your advice in the comment section below.

- S

whats good?

I am back!

I can't help it but write my thoughts down by hand, which is why I have been away from blogging for over a year. Besides, not that I was ever dedicated to it before but rather found it as a way of connecting my thoughts and opinions, advices and even life stories that lead you, my reader, to be skimming  through this post right now. But I shall not let my thoughts to take me away on a tangent.

What did inspire me to share this post with you tonight, you might ask yourselves. Well, my dear reader, why don't you put a kettle on and get yourself comfortable.

***

Here I am, back to my family's nest with no family. Ironic, huh? Whilst the rest of my kin gathered themselves in the far northern land of Russia for a family reunion, I, without a doubt declined their invitation in support of binge drinking as I know thus far won't be frowned upon. Currently, I have tucked myself into bed with some snacks and a hot beverage placed to my left on the bedside table. One minute I get myself set for bed, the next my mind is already jammed with a list of 'chores to complete' for tomorrow's day aka the perks of adulthood. Don't get me wrong, staying or living alone has its convenient moments too. For instance you could express the moments of solitude through an aesthetic appreciation of Wes Anderson's movies all day long without unnecessary inputs from the ones who surround you every now and then. I enjoy my own company and do I rarely appreciate getting distracted from what I am doing. Did it sound convenient enough?

Moving swiftly from one thought onto the other, I picture in front of me a perfect scenario of my life in 5 years time. Would I be so lucky to once again catch myself thinking of how much I hate to handle chores for a three bedroom apartment? Would I be able to afford the lifestyle my parents have been creating for me for as long as I can remember? Would I get to walk in Carrie Bradshaw shoes (Manolo's iconically) literally as well as metaphorically? To enjoy and get carried away with the things I call my guilty pleasures such as writing and film production. To create and inspire.

My daydreaming has escalated to so many rhetorical questions that I couldn't bring myself to brush off. After this post goes live, I will return to writing the list of my errands and set my alarm for the morning. But tonight, I am still waiting for a moment when there are no thoughts to disturb my bed time peace, getting back to watching Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Peace and Love,
Forever yours

-S