My 20+ Years In America. Tatiana Shymanova

one Invention by J.S. Bach. Along with studying this repertoire, at the same time each student was obligated to fulfill two weeks of free labor in the agricultural field that they were sent to. At the end of the two weeks, Ludmila Innokentievna met with all her students and asked them how they liked their repertoires and if anyone knew them by heart. No one answered, but instead they smiled and looked around the class at each other. Ludmila Innokentievna then said, “All right, let us make a class schedule.”

      Every student was required to have individual lessons with the teacher, and Ludmila Innokentievna had to fit two lessons per student a week for fifteen to sixteen students.

      Tonya came to her first class shaking slightly; she was extremely worried about the quality of her playing. Nothing was as important to her existence as her studying piano and becoming an accomplished pianist. She wanted to look perfect for the occasion. She dressed in her favorite blouse and skirt. It was not new; however, it was immaculately clean and ironed. She was overwhelmed with her emotions like a girl on her first date with her beloved…

      After knocking on the door at the exact start time of the class, she hesitantly stepped into the room.

      “Come in, come in,” said Ludmila Innokentievna. Tonya took her music books from her bag, put them on the table and sat down at the piano.

      “So, what pieces were you able to familiarize yourself with?” Ludmila Innokentievna asked.

      “All of them” Tonya answered.

      “Interesting. Well, what piece would you like to start with?”

      “I don’t know – any.”

      “So, let’s start with the Sonata,” said Ludmila Innokentievna, taking a music book from the table.

      Tonya looked at her with surprise and said, “Do you want me to play by looking at the music?”

      “What are you trying to tell me, that you know the Sonata by heart? And the rest of them?”

      “Yes.”

      “What modesty! Why didn’t you tell me this during the student’s meeting when I asked if someone knew their repertoire by heart?”

      “I was sure that everyone knew theirs by heart.”

      “Congratulations, then, you have the memory of an international piano competition winner.”

      From that first class onward, Tonya received much more attention from her teacher than the rest of her classmates. Whenever Ludmila Innokentievna took a day off from teaching, she would call and invite Tonya over to her apartment for piano lessons. Sometimes she would give Tonya the keys to her apartment and allow her to go there while she taught at the college. This happened during the winter and greatly alleviated Tonya’s plight as a student from out of town. Students in her predicament only had the chance to practice at night, after classes were done for the day or early morning. Also, the temperature in the classrooms was so low that one could barely move a finger. A student could only play for ten to fifteen minutes before running to the stove to warm up.

      The college was a truly ugly, wooden building with two wings that were poorly insulated. A few elderly women managed the upkeep of heating the classroom; the ancient round stove was heated with coal, and they would have to bring in heavy pails from outside twice a day, in the morning and afternoon. This was completely insufficient to warm the classrooms, and it was still always so cold.

      In addition to the women’s daily heating chores, Tonya brought her own pails of coal during the day, and even after the coal was put in, two or three steps away from the stove it was still so cold that students were able to see their breath. Tonya sometimes wondered how her beloved teacher tolerated those two cold winters in Siberia. Most of the time during class, Ludmila Innokentievna stood next to the stove and justified her position by joking that she was “trying to prevent herself from becoming an icicle.”

      For the most part, Tonya’s memories of college were masked by the intense Siberian cold. When it became intolerable and her body craved warmth, Tonya and her girlfriends would spend their last pennies to visit the beauty salon. That and the cafeteria were the two warmest places near the college, and the students flocked there most faithfully. Until they were caught and not allowed to enter the salon anymore, the girls would stand in line, as if waiting for their turn, but at the last minute before having to accept a service would pretend to check their watches and excuse themselves with being late for class. Although the cafeteria was also utilized as a place to warm up, it was impossible to spend as much time there because someone would undoubtedly stand behind those lucky enough to have finally gotten a seat and wait for their turn to eat and warm up.

      Tonya lived in a single house without any modern conveniences. It had two adjoining rooms and a separate single room. She lived with four girls and two boys, three of the girls in the bigger room and two more in the adjoining room. The boys lived in the separate room by themselves. Tonya was the oldest at the time, 16 years old and straight out of high school. The others were fourteen years old, having had just finished the eighth grade. They were all from one town and from the same school of music. Tonya was the only pianist; two of the girls were violinists, the other two were choir masters and the boys were percussionists. Tonya’s house was cold as well, and in the winter, everyone took turns bringing water and coal from the barn into the house. There wasn’t really time to cook, and if someone was hungry, they would make tea and have either bread or a bun with the tea. A small convenience store was located right across the street, and the women who kept the store would often give away some food on credit. The students would pay the store back upon receiving their student stipend.

      Tonya, however, never borrowed anything. She abided by her mother’s strict rule: “Live according to your means, and learn to make ends meet.”

      Tonya never bothered with strict budgeting and often would find herself without money for two or three days. She preferred having a drink of water to borrowing money to be able to eat. It was not that big a deal to her, but simply a matter of temporary inconvenience. Actually, many students found themselves in the same circumstance and joked with one another by asking if one was “drinking or eating today.”