Where In The World Am I?

Portrait of a native inhabitant of Novosibirsk, Siberia

Sending a big, heartfelt thanks to everyone who reached out to say happy birthday yesterday. I’ve been receiving a lot of messages from friends and family recently, including something to the effect of “Well, I don’t know where in the world you are right now …”

So to clarify: I’m in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Novosibirsk is Russia’s third-largest city, located in the geographical center of the Russian Federation, north of Kazakhstan. Yes, it’s cold here—snow started falling shortly before we arrived, in mid-October. It’s also an interesting cosmopolitan place where my listening activities have brought me into contact with people from all over the world, for example: Uzbekistan, Japan, Germany, France, and Cuba.

If you’re curious about where else I’ve been in the past year, I’ve created this handy map for your perusal: http://arcg.is/2dYmTnr. In total, I’ve visited about 23 cities (and 12 jazz clubs) in 9 countries on 4 continents! Needless to say, I’m quite worn out from all the traveling, but incredibly grateful for what I’ve learned along the way. I had entered into this year with the intention of sharing more about it on this blog, but alas, that aspiration hasn’t come to pass. I did want to post this update, though, to say thank you to everyone who I have met!

Alex in Novosibirsk

I’ll be here until this Monday, when I’ll begin the long journey back to the United States. I look forward to seeing my ethnomusicology friends at the Society for Ethnomusicology Conference in Washington, DC, from November 10-13. I’ll be helping with the Improvisation Section’s roundtable event on Thursday evening, and then reuniting with my Conn tenor trombone (which has been staying in DC with my cousin since June) to play with the SEM Orchestra on Friday night.

Then, I will be back in New York City for a week, from November 15-21. New York friends, I hope to see you there! After that, Marina and I return to Portland, Oregon, where we’ll be settling in for the next year while I write my dissertation. After 13 years away from the city where I grew up, this seems like just the right time to be coming home. I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time listening to KMHD and otherwise digging into what the local jazz scene has to offer.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make my 32nd year on Planet Earth an unforgettable and transformative one!