My Graduation Day

It was the day of my graduation.

It started out as anyone else's graduation would start.

Wake up.

Get ready.

Get to hall.

Take pictures.

Listen to boring speeches.

Take certificate.

Take more pictures.

Hang around waiting for time to past.

Only after that did the fun start.

I took my parents for a ballet!
Russia is quite famous for its ballets, and I thought that since they are already there, they should got for one, at least.

I managed to get them tickets for the Bolshoi (although not the original Bolshoi because it was undergoing some renovation).
We went for Giselle (I think that is how it is spelt).

My parents really enjoyed the show, I think.
They liked the beautiful hall and the beautiful costumes and dance and everything.
Some pictures taken on that day:

that was our graduation hall (at the back)

I just love this picture of us, for some reason!

Officially no more a student

At the Bolshoi entrance

Going up to the hall

(not allowed to take picture in the hall itself)
After the show, took parents home in a cab - the night view of Moscow was superb!!

Today, I learnt that there are names for different generations of people.

The silent generation - refers to the generation coming of age around 1951, born during the Great Depression or World War II. It defined the generation at the time as born from 1923 to 1943, found its characteristics as grave and fatalistic, conventional, possessing confused morals, expecting disappointment but desiring faith, and for women, desiring both a career and a family.

The baby boom generation - portrays a generation born during the middle part of the 20th century

Generation X - commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is a term used to refer to a generational cohort of children born after the baby boom ended and usually prior to the 1980s.

Generation Y - also known as The Millennial Generation, is a term used to describe the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as "Millennials" or 'Echo Boomers') . There are no precise dates for when Gen Y begins and ends. Most commentators use dates from the early 1980s to early 1990s.

OK, fine, I know, all these is not interesting. But there was another thing that I received in the mail which was quite interesting- why do we call generation Y 'Generation Y'?

My Graduation Day

My graduation was on the 24th of June. I have only been to one other graduation previously, Rajiv's diploma graduation last year in UTM Skudai. When I compared both the ceremonies, they are extreeemly different.

1. My brother and his friends didn't have to do anything for the graduation - just pay a little bit of money for the photo and attend the graduation.
I had to pay A LOT and although I didn't have to do anything, the committee had to do EVERYTHING!

2. The graduation in UTM was a dignified affair.
My graduation was a little more than a pasar malam.

3. The UTM graduation hall was HUGE!!
Our hall was small and crowded.

4. My parents could understand the all the speeches given in UTM
99% of the speeches during my graduation was in Russian. My parents (and all the other parents) clapped hands whenever we (the students) did.

5. My brother's graduation photo is him walking down the stage.
Mine is a nice, posed photo (:P)

Actually, overall, the graduation was OK (as long as no comparing is done). My day started early since I tied a saree, with my Mum's help, of course. We went to the graduation hall, which is actually a small theater, by a chartered van. I did not want my parents taking the metro during the morning rush hour and there was NO WAY I was going to enter the metro in a saree during the rush hour.

My parents kept looking out for flower shops (while I kept telling them not to), but Russia being Russia, we couldn't locate a flower shop when we really wanted it (I mean, they really wanted it). By the time we arrived at the hall, there was already a crowd of people there, congratulating each other and taking pictures with everyone. I joined in the excitement, naturally, and about half an hour later, we were all asked to put on our robes and enter the hall.

The ceremony itself, surprisingly, started exactly at 11am, as planned. Thousands of speeches later (at least, that was what it seemed like) - there were speeches from the Dean and other MMA staffs, speeches from ambassadors (it is a weird tradition in Russia. If even one student of a particular country is graduating, the ambassador of that country would be invited for the graduation and would be invited to give a speech) and speeches from student representatives.

Once that was over with, we were given our certificates. Archana was the first one to receive her certificate since she was the 'Gold Diplom' holder. Then, it was the Red Diploms, and after that it was us, the English Medium Medical Faculty students. One by one, our names were called, we walked up the stage (trying our best not to trip), took our diplom from the Dean, posed for a picture, walked a few steps, posed for another picture, walked down the stage, collected our yearbook and walked back to our seats. Once everyone had received their certificates, we sang the MMA song (which I have never heard before) and mumbled the Hippocratic oath in Russian.

After that, the ceremony was officially over and we were invited to have finger food outside the hall. The food was HORRIBLE so most of us opted to take more pictures instead.

However, that was not the end of the day for me and my parents. I bought us tickets to go for a ballet at the Bolshoi Theater that night. It was the 3 of us, Puspha, Anand, Yee Gin and Yee Gin's parents. As I told in my previous post, I had been to 2 other ballet shows previously, but for my parents (and also Yee Gin's parents) this was their first time. I am not sure about Yee Gin's parents because I didn't see them after the show (their seats were quite far away from ours), but my parents definitely enjoyed themselves. My Mom, especially loved their costumes and doll-like faces. Because the internet was not working, I couldn't read up about the ballet before the show, so we were trying to make out the story, which was quite fun as well.

After the ballet, we took a taxi back home. My parents kept insisting that they wouldn't mind taking the metro, but then I didn't want them in the metro that late at night and I was pretty sure that they were tired after such a long day. The ride back was worth it though. The taxi driver went to the city center and so my parents had the chance to see the Moscow night view (which is really, really beautiful).

A day to remember, definitely. Not just because it was my graduation day, but also because that would probably be the last day my friends and I would be in the same building at the same time for a long, long time. Some of my friends I don't know whether I'll ever meet again. Some I won't be able to meet as often as I would like to. I am already missing them!!

Ballet

Most people who have read about Moscow have heard of the Bolshoi Theater. I only heard about it in my first year when mentioned by my Russian language teacher. 6 years have passed, and all I know about the Bolshoi is that it is big (that's what the name means, bolshoi=big), presumably beautiful and it has been under construction for a few years now. While it is under construction, they have built a temporary Bolshoi Theater, a smaller one, just beside the original one so that one can still say that they went to the Bolshoi while in Moscow.

My friends and I have never been to the Bolshoi Theater. Although we have been to 2 ballets in Kremletski Dvorets (yes, there are many theaters in Moscow) - Swan Lake and Nutcracker, we thought that a visit to the Bolshoi is a must. From the beginning of this academic year, we have talked about going for a ballet in Bolshoi. We have tried to find out about the shows they have and the ticket prices on a few occasions. Each time we find that the seats are too expensive or the tickets have been sold out. Eventually, the plan was forgotten especially when everyone became busy with planning their parents' trip to Russia (for our graduation).

When my parents confirmed that they are going to come for my graduation, I thought that one of the things that I should bring them to is a ballet. Since the Bolshoi is too expensive, I thought that the Kremletski Dvorets will do. Since the dates of the ballets are out only 60 days beforehand, I started checking for shows since last week on www.parter.ru. My plan was to get the tickets as soon as I can.

A few days ago, I saw that the only available ballet was Giselle, on the 24th of June in Bolshoi. The cheapest ticket is 1342rubles. I was a bit disappointed, but then thought, 'well, at least there is a ballet to watch'. After talking to my friends, we decided that we would go get the tickets after class today. Between us, we needed 21 tickets.

The Bolshoi Theater is located just beside Ohotny Ryad metro station. The moment we (Swee Hung, Fen Fang, Von Yen, Yee Gin and I) exited the metro station, someone approached us and asked 'would you like tickets to the Bolshoi for today?'. It took a few moments for us to realize that the person was selling tickets on the 'black market'. We said our no, thank yous and went to the official ticket counter.

We saw that two counters were open. We approached one and asked about the tickets for the 24th of June. The lady said 'come back in June, it's too early now'. My friends and I were flabbergasted. In June? The tickets would all be sold out by then. Then we saw a guy (American? British?) approaching the other counter and asking about the tickets to watch ballet tonight. I don't know what the lady told him, but he didn't seem very happy and claimed that he checked from a website and in that website they said that the tickets are affordable. Then, we heard one of the 'black market' guys telling him that they have tickets for the day and the guy left to bargain with the 'black market' guy.

We then decided to ask about the ballet in the other counter. When asked, the lady told us that there are only few tickets left, and the cheapest is 3000rubles. And then, she took out her handphone and started talking. We were confused and for some time, couldn't think of what to do next. We finally decided to ask about the tickets in some other ticket selling booth. As we were leaving, another 'black market guy' approached us and we told him we needed 21 tickets for the 24th of June. He told us to wait and after some time, came back and told us that he has 17 tickets for now, each costing 1500rubles.

After lots of discussion and a walk to Kremletski Dvorets and back (to make sure that there are no shows available there), we finally decided to get 8 tickets - Von Yen, Swee Hung and Fen Fang decided that they don't want to go for the ballet. We managed to get the tickets for 1400rubles, but the seating is not as good as we would like it to be. I might just ask my parents to get binoculars so that they can see the stage clearly. I just hope that we were not cheated, that the ticket price has not been hiked up that much. I hope the stage is not that far away. And I hope that the ballet is a good one.

seating chart :
















*our seats are circled