At The Pool Blog

Because we have such awesome people on At The Pool, we like to brag about them every so often and share their awesomeness with the whole At The Pool community. 

Today, we’re gonna brag about Adam who’s got a pretty amazing blog and of course, a proud At The Pool member.

Adam provided us with a little auto-biography about himself and was kind enough to answer some of our wacky questions. So without further ado, I give you Adam!

“Right, hello! I’m Adam Emerson, and I’m addicted to adventure; it’s been that way ever since I was a kid climbing trees in the Tennessee countryside. Having just conquered 4 years of Psychology and International Relations classes at Middle Tennessee State University (with brief breaks in Prague and Moscow wedged in there), I was itching to get out into the world and do something new. That’s when I found the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship program, and the rest is recent history. The Fulbright folks sent me out here to Izhevsk, Russia, where I basically am paid to have fun conversations in English with university students. 

Of course, this wasn’t quite enough adventure for me, which is why I started the Izhmash-Mish-Mash blog.

Each picture you see was taken personally by me and depicts some aspect of graffiti and street art culture here in Russia. At times, I’ll muse on what the pieces mean; other times, I’ll riff on various aspects of life. In the future, I may even have some guest entries written by friends here in Russia, including other Fulbright fellows. Regardless of the text content, the pictures are a good opportunity to see a unique form of artistic and political expression in a country that often restricts such displays.

Check out the blog, and let me know what you think!

Hot chocolate with a layer of marshmallow so thick at the top that it’s impossible to come back up without foam on my nose. That or a tumbler full of scotch.

Unspeakable horrors of Russian cuisine, like kefir. Also some tasty pelmeni, perepechi, and a few local cheeses recommended to me by a homeless guy outside the grocery store (thanks Артём!).

After spending some time in the cold Russian winter, I started pining for some warm American literature, so I’m currently reading Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” for the first time. Reading it in Russia led me to the realization that it’s basically an American reimagining of a classic piece of Soviet literature, Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita.” Both are well worth a look, if you need something new to read!

Neil deGrasse Tyson would be a good choice right now. He’s well-respected, has science practically flowing through his veins, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have just an epic mustache, rather than an epic full beard.

Oh, there’s going to be a movie? Can we please cryogenically preserve Jeff Bridges until they start shooting? Or maybe by then Disney will have perfected that young Jeff Bridges technology from the newest Tron movie. Either way, Mr. Bridges, if you see this, you’re my hero. Please adopt me.

(que awesome bridge photo)

All I want is the power to instantly transform Russia’s bland food into something with a modicum of taste. Call me… Tobasco Man!

Barbed Wire: The Story of a Guy Who Probably Shouldn’t be Alive (Long story short, barbed wire has attempted to kill me numerous times, and I have the scars to prove it.)

Grab the person that means the most to me at that point in life and spend the rest of our time, money, and health seeing the places in the world that they don’t put on TV.

The idea of ignorance as a choice, rather than a condition produced by a person’s environment. Nobody chooses to be ignorant, so stop blaming people for things they don’t know.

The toothpick is the mark of an expertly crafted culinary masterpiece (or at least a sandwich with a whole lotta meat on it). It’s not a proper sandwich unless it needs a toothpick to keep it all together. 

My Russian adventure is limited by the terms of my visa and my career goals, so, unfortunately, I have to return to the States in June. When I get back, I’ll be packing my stuff up in Tennessee and driving out to Pullman, WA to start my PhD. Moving cross-country is easy enough, but the thought of knowing nobody in the Evergreen State was a little bit intimidating. Luckily, I found At The Pool, which has allowed me to make quite a few contacts in the area! Thanks to the site, I’m even doing a pen-pal kind of thing with a few folks from Wazzu. Of course, I’m always interested in making more friends out there, so if you see me on the site, send a hello!

(The views expressed here do not represent the views of the US Department of State or the Fulbright program.)

See?!

Isn’t he awesome!? Be sure to check out his blog for more awesomeness and you can check out his At The Pool profile here and connect with him.