Первый день занятии, РГГУ, Саша

I really don't have that much to write today.  We had our first day of class, and it was pretty good.  I really like my instructor - another Irina.  She's really funny and her comments make our discussions a little more lively.  It's just Mackenzie, Eli, and I with this Italian guy named Luca.  He's been living in Moscow for a few months already. Then Danielle is in an intro class with an English lady.  She's been here since January.  Her husband is a chemical engineer and he's over here for work.  She's got kids in school, and she said they're picking up Russian really quick, especially her youngest one. In the middle of class Sasha came by and dropped off a ton of Russian candy for all of us. It was wonderful seeing her for the thirty seconds it lasted.

We ended around 12:45, then went over to the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH, or РГГУ). The whole school is a huge art museum! It's very beautiful.  We ate lunch with Irina and then Sasha came to meet us with some of her friends.  They were really sweet. We ended up going to a really huge park, sort of like Central park, but much cleaner and with more interesting stuff.  For example, there were these really weird banana chairs and pianos that were used as flower pots. AND there was a rocket.  Afterward, we went to Kropetinkaya metro station, so we walked along the Moscow River and actually crossed the bridge this time.  The weather was really pretty.  It sort of reminded me of Charleston, SC, in the early spring, like around March.  Eli converted a little bit of his money, and a Kenzie and Sasha's friend Katya got bubble tea at a Beard Papa's.  Apparently, bubble tea only got here about a month ago.  That's so weird for me to see because bubble tea was a huge thing when I was in high school in Hawaii. In fact, I hadn't seen a Beard Papa's since high school, so I got really excited to go.  We went and sat in the park just behind the metro station to talk, finish bubble tea, and catch up.  Apparently Katya knew a lot about me already from Sasha, so it was really funny watching her face when she realized who I was. 

After that, we all began to head home.  I got home and had kasha for the first time.  It's not as bad as people say it is, it just needs a little ketchup (or honey if it's breakfast).  I also need to go back and finish my soup; I came to write the blog to let it cool down a little bit.  When I finish with that I'm going to head back out again with Eli.  We're going to just chill over by his metro station, otradnoe.  It's only  a few stops down the line from where I'm at, Dmitrovskaya. Так, будет весело.

 Playing the flower pot

 A hotel boat on the Moscow River

 A Karaoke Bar boat in front of the ridiculous Peter The Great Statue that doesn't fit in with Moscow and that nobody else in the world wants, but Muscovites hate it just as badly as everyone else.

 And who can blame them?

 Sasha and I, after spending half a year a whole world away.

 Oh, Eli.

Possibly the Second Longest Day of my Life

Today was rather awesome.  For breakfast again, my host mom, Marina, made me aladi.  I freaking love aladi.  Marina does not have a coffee pot at home, so I think finding a place to get a huge cup of coffee before class (most likely by my metro station or the on the way to class) will become a part of my daily routine.
Anyway, we met up well after one o'clock, and we went to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.  That's another reason why I'm up late, I did homework tonight, and it took me about an hour.  The homework assignment was really simple - just write ten phrases about the Cathedral.  But I made it hard on myself.  I made complex sentences so it looks a lot more like an essay than it probably should, and I re-wrote it like, three times.  I have Professor DeBlasio to thank for that.  I can't write ten phrases without thinking it's a blog assignment.  Well, I didn't know that women have to wear headscarves in East Orthodox Churches, so I bought one in the metro on the way over. So today I bought something on my own in Russia for the first time (the cell phones don't count because Irina (our program director) told us what to do and we forked over money)  AND I bought something in the metro for the first time. Two first-time blocks are now checked off!

On our way over to lunch, we went down the main bridge over the Moscow River.  There was a lot to see and we didn't finish crossing it. We just sort of turned around. Afterward, we ate pelmeni, had tea, and went over the program details. It was good stuff.  I was also excited to find out Regina Spektor is having a concert here . . . then I was disappointed to find out it's not until July 15.

From there we went close by Red Square. In the garden outside of it I got to see the Changing of the Guards at the (Soviet) Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  I didn't get really good pics because it happened really spur of the moment and it was overcast from rain outside.  I'll go back when it's sunny and I'm early so I can get a good spot.  But overall, it was really exciting because I remember going to our Changing of the Guard Ceremony all the time when I was a kid, and now I know a lot about our Drill and Ceremony because I'm a cadet. It was interesting to see it all done differently. Then we went to a mall.  It was absolutely beautiful in there.  Irina says it has THREE FLOORS and each floor is decorated in it's own style.  I think it's that the bottom floor is done in eighteenth, second floor in nineteenth, and third floor in twentieth century styling, but don't quote me on that.  In the center of the mall there's a big stained glass dome that has a map of the globe on it. I found Dallas and it made me real giddy.  Also, there was a picture of a buffalo right next to Dallas.  That made me giggle.  And so, on top of the dome, outside and off to the side of Red Square is a statue that was on our textbook for sophomore year.  Irina asked if we wanted to go over to get a closer look, and I said, "No, for me that thing is an eyesore." Which, it really was at this point.

Outside the gates of Red Square it reminded me of the DC mall a little bit. There were lots of souvenirs, people taking lots of pictures, and tour guides trying to advertise.  There were also these Lenin and Stalin look-alikes you can get your picture taken with. Needless to say, I'm going back.
Inside the gates, I saw Saint Basil's for the first time (check) and all the other pretty buildings and things to see there. It was really beautiful and very exciting.  I had to keep reminding myself it wasn't a picture and that I was actually there.

Then we went to Tomorok, which is Russian fast food.  They sell blini there and make it in all different ways. They also sell a lot of other traditional food and drink, like kvas and borsch.  I loved it.  And also, it was strange because I learned fast food adds its own little flavor to things, no matter what country or style the cuisine is.

After that, we went to the Russian circus.  I liked it a lot better than the American circus.  I think it's because it's not the spectacle that the American circus is.  Ringling Brothers is the only real circus in the US, and because they travel and they're SUPER expensive, they make it a super-huge flashy thing and it's honestly just not as fun.  Here the circus is still flashy, but it is more commonly accessed and just more fun overall.  Don't get me wrong, there were some parts that were boring.  However, those parts did not involve Chinese yo-yos, balance boards, bears, monkeys, dogs, bunnies, foxes, and lions.

Then we went home.  It was close to 10pm when we got out of the circus but it was still light outside, so I didn't feel tired at all.  I kind of wish the sun would stay out for as long back home.

That's really all that happened for today.  Well, tomorrow I've got class and I need to wake up on time. That means I need to upload my photos from today, change into some jamas, and hit the sack. Споконой ночи, мир!

 

Us on the bridge

 

 

Us still on the bridge, "talking" (posing) for Irina

 Памятник лева. Люблю.

 Danielle and Mackenzie standing with Dostoevskii and a million pidgeons as he slouches and pouts through all the ages.

 Changing of the Guards.

 Goose Step, March!

 Good luck for Eli and Kenzie, and some other Random guy posing for his own picture.  So who's photo-bombing who here?

Why, yes, that is a fancy statue inside a mall.

 The dome

  

The US

 

Detailing around the dome

My picture. That's the one (of millions) I took. Because I was there. And not just seeing a picture.

A pretty church on inside the gate in Red Square. Apparently, it's one of the oldest churches in Moscow (if not Russia).  There was a service going on while I was taking this, and it sounded beautiful.

The gates.  Covered in East Orthodox iconography.

Stalin!

An Il'ya for Il'ya (Илья для Илью!)

Just your typical Moscow Metro station. No big deal.

Children posing with a famous clown/circus director outside the circus.

The Circus Ring

Bear! I took a million bear pictures for my friend Shawn.

And this lovely lady for my friend Flo

Monkey!

Now back to the bear. And I guess he found himself a girlfriend.  I think the cop is jealous.

He most definitely is.

Aww he's a sleepy bear!

Hey Dickinson kids: it's hard to see but look, he's got DPS written on his butt! haha

Professing his love.

The Longest Day of my Life

I finally have the internet up and there's just so much to talk about I honestly have no idea where to begin. So, chronologically, maybe, is a step forward in the right direction?

It all began on Thursday night back home in Virginia. I got back from buying everything at 9:30 pm. And still had to pack. Holy shnikes. So I spent all night (with the help of my dad) getting packed and ready to go. We were supposed to leave at 5am: Dad needed to drop me off at the Franconia-Springfield metro station in enough time to drive back and get the kids to school.  Anyway, we didn't leave until 5:35. Needless to say, my dad wasn't pleased in the slightest but he got over it quickly enough.  Then I took the metro to the Washington Reagan Airport stop, bought my host mother some DC memorabilia, and waited for my plane, which by the way, was over an hour late in takeoff.  I never sleep on planes, but today was an exception.  I passed out after we takeoff, and didn't wake up until we were prepping for landing. I figure I got half an hour of sleep, maybe 45 minutes on that flight.

Then it took forever to finally get to my terminal.  At check-in, this family of three with a million bags and a nasty yap dog cut in front of me. Wasn't pleased, but got over it soon.  On the plane, the flight attendants talked way too fast for me to understand anything they said, but there were shocked and pleased when I answered their questions in Russian.  The lady sitting next to me left, so I had an extra seat next to me.  Danielle, Mackenzie, and I spent the flight switching seats so we could talk to each other and look out the window.  Danielle was obsessed with seeing Sweden, and Mackenzie Iceland.  In fact, she wanted us to take pictures with her and Iceland together, in the plane, while she was leaning all over Danielle and me (which honestly didn't bother much). Needless to say we tried.  We also tried to take other pictures but they failed epically.  For breakfast we had our first Blini on the trip, so we also commemorated that.

The three of us took a taxi over, and the driver made sure we got to our host mother okay.  My host mother's name is Marina Nikolaevna, and she has a daughter and a really tiny, peculiar dog.  In fact, Masha, the dog, just made her way in my lap.  She's a long-haired chihuahua, but she is far from a yap dog so we get along famously.  She's 8, and really smart for her breed. According to Marina, she's really picky about people, but if I look her in the eyes (or she can't find me), she'll whine.  What's really interesting about her is that her tongue sticks out on the left side of her mouth all the time.  She's also got a lazy eye.  I feel like there's a sad story behind this, but at the same time, I find this quirkiness about her really cute.  My host sister, Nastya, seems awesome. She's been nothing but nice to me since we've met, and she is fluent in German after going to school there.  And my host mom has traveled all over Europe, and she's one hell of a cook.  And we're all going to be eating yummy salad and homemade chicken soup all the time. I'm quite honestly looking forward to it.

I met with Irina, our professor, Danielle, and Kenzie later in the afternoon. We swapped out our currency (34 rubles to the dollar today, baby!), bought phones, got coffee, and walked around some more. Poor Kenzie was so tired she napped at the cafe. We later got Eli, got him his cell phone, and walked around some more.  I have never been anywhere like this before.  I love it, and in an odd way, I feel very at home here in Moscow.  I love the metro and all the underground tunnels/markets you have to go through to cross the streets.  It's amazing, a cigarette vender was right next to an old lady selling bras. It's so bizarre, but I find it amazing and I love it.

Tomorrow we're going to the circus and a church. Super-looking forward to it.

 

Iceland Attempt #1

  

Iceland Attempt #2

 

 Mackenzie's pretty red hair.  As she was climbing over me and Danielle for Iceland

 

Mackenzie's beautiful lips. Photography at it's finest right there.

Now that's much better.

 Danielle and her breakfast.  Her first blini on the Russia trip!

 My first breakfast on the Russia trip! (Even though I'm not a big into taking pictures of my food, Danielle really wanted to commemorate the moment.)

 How do you check in three kayaks in the first place? Total weirdness.

The taxi. Fresh outta the airport.

The Coffee House.  Good times.