More Weather!

Sorry to talk about the weather again, but it's one of those things people talk about. I just checked the forecast for the next 10 days...

Up until about Thursday, highs are supposed to be around 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. Then at the weekend, they're supposed to take a nasty nosedive to highs in the lower 40s. THEN, at the beginning of the next week, we're looking at temps around freezing. UCK! Hopefully I'll get to see some snow, that would make it better.

We do the best we can

Tonight, Henrike was in the entrance of her dorm room, looked at the litter box, and proudly announced to all of us hanging out in her room:

"The cat made a shit!"

What a proud parent.

I thought I was going to a tennis match…

but instead, I found myself at a football match. But football matches last 90 minutes, not 5 hours.

Yeah, I am talking about the Davis Cup on Sunday. I was totally pumped to see some good tennis. In fact, I didn’t go out the night before because I knew I had to get up at 10am. I guess I should have known something was wrong when they handed out Thunder Sticks at the door. You know, those long tubes you blow up and bang together to make a lot of noise? At a tennis match. And that set the tone for the whole match. Granted, I knew watching Russia vs. the US in Russia, the crowd would be biased. But this crowd was out of control. All Andy Roddick had to do was fault on a serve- not even double fault- and the crowd would go wild. He shared a few words with the chair ump, but I’m surprised he didn’t just give up and walk out. Tennis matches are supposed to be reserved and polite- this really was more like a football match. All the noise gave me a headache.

As far as the playing went, it was disappointing. It was Andy Roddick vs. Dmitri Tursunov on clay. On any other surface, Roddick would have smoked Tursunov, but apparently Roddick really sucks on clay. It’s just too slow for him- Tursunov even had more aces than he did. (Tennis fans, let that one sink in). So Roddick dropped the first two sets, but he took the third and fourth sets. So we came to the fifth set. Apparently the Davis Cup doesn’t do the whole tiebreak concept. Which is very bad when players hold their serve. Roddick and Tursunov held serve through 31 games. Thirty-one games. Then in the 32^nd, Tursunov broke Roddick and finally ended the whole thing. By the end I didn’t even care who won, because the entire match lasted 5 hours. Just watching them made me tired. In fact, we didn’t stick around for the second match, which was James Blake vs. Marat Safin, I think.

Tuesday was my friend Henrike’s birthday, so Terri and I spent our Monday off shopping for her- and us. I actually bought a notebook which cost like $10, but it’s a really awesome notebook. Anyway, we ended up buying her a cake and some flowers, and made her a banner in Russian. Then at 10pm, us four ladies went up to her room and sang “Happy Birthday” to her in German. We had a fun little girls’ party: eating cake, listening to the radio, and drinking wine. Then Irina showed up and brought another cake, and we ate that with tea. Henrike’s parents were in town visiting her, so they brought German board games and sweets. We stayed up until 3am playing Bluff, eating Haribo Goldbären, and cooking up revenge on our noisy neighbors. Nice night.

Indian Summer

I’ve been hearing that the weather back home has been kind of icky lately. Not so in Moscow! Last weekend it was blustery, but since Monday it’s been sunny and warm every day. The temperatures have been in the high 60s or low 70s. So I’ve been trying to spend as much time outside because I know soon enough I won’t want to go outdoors. I’ve been walking to class, which is a 25-30 minute walk, even though I’ve also been lugging my laptop with me. We even walk back from the Metro station although there are buses there that drop us off basically at our door.

I took a really nice walk Friday with my classmate (and friend) Terri. We were in search of the elusive Sedmoi Kontinent supermarket, but we found something else really neat. We got off at Kropotkinskaya station, and literally standing outside the station was the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This is a cathedral that was originally built in the 19^th century, but Stalin demolished it because he wanted to erect a huge “Palace of the Soviets.” Basically, he wanted to build a really big building with a really big statue of Lenin on the top. Instead, it became the world’s largest swimming pool because they only got as far as the foundation. Then in the 1990s, they decided to rebuild this cathedral. It’s huge, made from white stone with huge gilded domes, and it’s just really neat. It also sits on the river, and there’s a little footbridge that crosses the river. This bridge is neat, because one can see the cathedral, the Kremlin, and a huge monument to Peter the Great from it. So this was a pleasant surprise in addition to finding the supermarket, where I found American salad dressing and Pringles!

Then Saturday, us ladies did our “traditional” (it’s only the second time we’ve done it, but we plan on making it a tradition) Saturday meal. Last weekend it was Caucasian food, and this weekend it was traditional Russian food. Anyway, after lunch, Alissa said she wanted to see this cathedral, so I took her to it. I was telling her about this traditional art of bell-ringing along the Volga, where one or two guys ring like 10-12 bells and they sound really pretty. Just as I finished telling her about it, the bells starting ringing! It was surreal- one of those “I can’t believe I’m really here” moments.

McSplurge

Well, the sting of homesickness was tempered yesterday by a very productive day on my part.

This weekend the Davis Cup semifinals are taking place in Moscow- Russia vs. USA, and although I planned on going, I still had to buy tickets. So I decided to go buy tickets, and I took Megan with me because she likes tennis too (even though she calls Andy Roddick “Andy Rodderick”). I had only a “vague” idea of where the Olympic Stadium was located, but I wasn’t really worried about finding it once we got off the metro- how can you miss a whole stadium?! Well, it wasn’t so easy, and I had to ask a few people before I finally found the ticket office. And luckily there was a very helpful woman in line who spoke some English and helped us out a bit. But we bought 2 tickets to the Sunday session!!!! We could have gone for the 100 or 200 ruble tickets, but we decided to go wild and buy 600 ruble tickets. That’s about $23, which is a bit of a splurge for me. Now I just have to figure out who I am going to root for- Marat or Andy?

Then came the second splurge and the second success- McDonalds! McDonalds is pretty straightforward in Russia- a Big Mac is a Биг Мак and Chicken McNuggets are Чикен МакНуггетс- phonetically, they’re the same. But the first time we went, they couldn’t understand our English/ Russian accents and they pulled out these little picture cards and I just pointed to what I wanted. It was pretty humiliating and I felt like such an American. Fast forward to today: I ordered in Russian, and they didn’t pull out the picture cards! I was very proud of myself. To tell the truth, I wasn’t planning on ordering anything but a Coke, but I decided to give it another go and I was superbly rewarded. Unfortunately, that bit of pride cost me 125 rubles, or about $5. But McDonalds in Russia really is better than in America.

Also, Meghan and I went to the rinok again today (that’s the market outside our Metro stop) to get some cookies. I swear, my sugar consumption has gone through the roof since I got here. Actually I am eating a lot of fruit too, because it’s cheap and you don’t have to wait a week for it to ripen. Anyway, we went to this one fruit stall that I go to often, and the woman was really friendly. She came off her perch and showed us where the ripe fruits were, and then started a little conversation with us. I’m getting really good at small talk in Russian- everyone asks where I’m from, what languages do I speak, why am I here, how long have I studied Russian, where am I living. The rinok is the easiest way to practice Russian, because you’re forced to speak it at some point.

Also, thanks to everybody who has left comments and sent me e-mails. I appreciate every word you guys write, so please keep writing me. I know I am awful at replying quickly, but I’m trying!

Requiste Red Square Photo

This is supposed to be a picture of me in front of St. Basil's, but St. Basils got cut off. So it's just a picture of Alissa, Meghan, and myself in Red Square.

Not much is new. I don't have much battery left, so I'll keep this short. Generally, everything is going fine here. I am a bit homesick at the moment unfortunately. Basically I miss knowing where things are- like a supermarket and Target- and the familiar comforts of home. Also my bed and general Cincinnati-ness. But I'll be okay soon I hope. I think I am coming down with a cold, so that's not much fun either.

I decided to go ahead and get the internet hooked up in my room. I think they charge for bandwidth, so we'll see how expensive it gets. I've also heard that it can be unreliable and slow. But I'll try it, because I NEED the internet. Hopefully that will be in by the end of the week. Otherwise, I'll try to e-mail you all on Thursday.

Things I miss

I miss two things about America:

1. Water Fountains. Water here costs money, even if it's 5 rubles for tap water. And mineral water is expensive. The other night I got blinis at a cafe for 55 rubles and mineral water for 60 rubles. Sometimes all you want is a sip of water!
2. American salad. Here a salad is a mix of vegetables, maybe some meat or fish, sour cream or oil, and some spices (usually dill). I am craving some romaine lettuce with good caesar dressing, or a real American Greek Salad.

Okay, next time: some things I like about Russia!

Lauren: can you e-mail me your e-mail address? I keep meaning to e-mail you, but I don't have my address book with me, and I can't get it from your blogger profile!

One week already!

I'm finally back on the internet! We have free WiFi on the 5th floor of the building where I have class, and luckily class was cancelled for today, so here I am writing this up. The connection is pretty poor, so we'll see how this goes.

I haven't been doing too much, but at the same time I am doing a lot. The past few days have been spent trying to get settled in and meet new people. Saturday, the ladies in my group and a few from the university went to the Eternal Flame and inside the Kremlin. The Eternal Flame was my request because all the newlyweds visit the flame and lay a bouquet as tradition, so I wanted to see that. Inside the Kremlin, which sounds really neat, was a little underwhelming. It's a lot of cathedrals and then lots of buildings you can't go near. I also walked down Stary Arbat one day, which was pretty fun too. It's a street with lots of souvenier shops and artists and performers.

I've also gone out exploring a few times. I like to ride the Metro and look at the pretty stations- some are really fancy- and the people. Yesterday I got off at one stop and walked all the way to the other one. It took me an hour, but the neighborhood was really different and nice- lots of families, kids, and green space. Yesterday and today the weather had been beautiful, in the upper 60s/ low 70s with lots of sunshine. However, tomorrow it's supposed to be a LOT cooler (8 C) and stay that way for a few days, then warm up again!

As far as my language abilities go- they're getting better, sloooowly. One thing that's important to remember is that if you can't say it in Russian, it's better to not say it at all. It confuses and annoys people to hear a mix of English and Russian. I can read it pretty well now, (and thus sound out the words) and I can even understand a conversation if people speak slow enough. You have to remember that there are lots of people who grew up in the USSR for whom Russian is not their first language, so they speak it slowly and simply enough to be understood.

What's very ironic is that I have been speaking a TON of German. A lot of the people I have met are German or Austrian- or they speak German- so there's no language barrier there. One of my Russian acquantainces speaks German very well, so for us it's easier just to talk in German rather than English or Russian. When we go out in a group, it's fun to transition from one language to another to yet anouther. I always thought I was weird for not speaking any Spanish in America (one American said to me last night, "How do you survive in America by not speaking Spanish?") but here it's definitely an asset to speak English and German, and to know even just a little Russian.

Well, I guess I have said enough for today, so I'll leave you with a few pictures I've taken lately.

It's official: I'm definitely in Moscow

I went to Red Square today.

It was pretty emotional at first. I couldn’t believe where I was. It felt very surreal, and I was trying really hard not to cry or skip around in joy. We are going back tomorrow for a Kremlin tour, and so I can see all the newlyweds. It’s a tradition for newlyweds to visit Red Square and pay their respects at the Eternal Flame, and they’re all there at the weekend. We walked into GUM, which used to be the state store, but is now a huge fancy mall, where some woman mistook me for a Russian!

After that, we rode the Metro (subway) at rush hour. It was crowded, hot, and smelled like sweat. I like the feeling of being surrounded by so many people. You can’t do anything but shuffle your feet and let the people behind you push you along. Irina helped me pick out an electric kettle (chainik) for tea. Tea is the social activity here, to make new friends, so it’s important to have one. Then we went to Кафе Хаус (Coffee House, I kid you not). Oh and I bought a mug for my tea- it’s an MSU souvenir mug!

MSU (the main building at least) is amazing. This building is HUGE and has everything a person could ever want. In the core of the building are at least 3 cafes, a food shop, and a shop for all the non-food stuff. There are also 3 ATMs, some bookstores, bathrooms of course, a copy center, a shoe repair, a laundry. And I’ve heard there is a gym and a computer lab somewhere, but I have yet to see those. Forget UC’s crowing about the CRC being a building where “theoretically” a student could spend their whole student career- a student definitely could do that here, easily.

So far, I have to say that I am enjoying Russia very much. It’s true that I’ve only been here 2 days, haven’t had to rely on Russian (thanks to Irina and others), and haven’t really done much. Russia is a lot like America in some respects, and totally different in other ways, both good and bad. I’m looking forward to being here- I can’t wait until this place feels like home!

I'm in Russia!!

Here I am, safe and sound in Moscow! So far, it’s been challenging but better than I could have imagined.

First, the journey: Got out of Columbus fine and on time. Surprisingly, I wasn’t very sad when I left my parents, even though I only cried a bit. The real test came at JFK. I had 2 bags, weighing 50 pounds each, a tote bag with my laptop, and a duffle that weighed 20-25 pounds. So I was (and am) very sore from lifting and pushing those things around. As soon as I got in line at the Aeroflot ticket counter, I left the US. Almost everyone who talked to me spoke in Russian. I was totally unprepared for it- it was almost like an early culture shock. Then on the flight I was seated in a cramped coach seat next to a huge bear of a Russian. Luckily, he was friendly even though we both spoke little of each others’ languages. On the plane, reality hit me in the face- about being gone for so long, how difficult it would be, the people and things I’d miss. That plus my physical exhaustion made me feel so defeated, and I started questioning my ability to do this. Then, close to landing, I picked up my Moscow guidebook, and it gave me the lift I needed. I remembered that this was my dream and I had worked so hard over the last year to get here. So I felt much better. Then after I got off the plane, I saw my classmates in passport control. We made it through customs without any problems, then met our on-site coordinator and other classmates.

We arrived at Moscow State University after sitting in traffic for an hour. That huge building with the spire in all the pictures? That’s where I live! It’s overwhelming and just as awesome in public. Wow. Our rooms are nice. I am sharing a suite with my classmate Megan. We each have our own tiny bedroom with bed, desk, table and chairs, and wardrobe. Then we share a bathroom and toilet room. The décor and feel of the place are a little antique, but it feels very homey and cozy. We had to wait about 2 hours to get into our rooms because our OC (Irina) had to go some bureaucracy things.

After we unpacked and showered, we were all supposed to meet up with Irina to take a walk and get our cell phones. Well, Megan and I ended up being the only ones who came. The three of us sat in the lobby and chatted and played with the cell phones, and then decided to walk through the building. This place has everything a person needs. We visited a quickie mart that’s open until 1. Then we went to a small café in the basement of the building, where we ran into another girl from the program, an Ukrainian- American, A German, and an Austrian. We joined in and it was so fun- at times we spoke English, other times German, and Russian. I ate my first bliny (crepe/pancake-type things, with different savory or sweet fillings). Yum.

On the way back, we ran into Stefan’s (the Austrian) neighbor, from Azerbaijan. He invited us over for some chai (tea) and I had my first experience being hosted. He made us tea, pulled out lots of candy and fruit, and we sat in the common area until the floor mother yelled at us. Since he only spoke Russian, most everything was in Russian. It’s amazing how much Russian I can understand and read. Ever so slowly, I gained more confidence in speaking. I really am surprised at how well I’ve done with the language. I haven’t had too many surprises yet- everything is basically how I’d imagined it.

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get to move beyond MSU and see more of Moscow. Irina mentioned riding the metro tomorrow, so maybe we’ll see Red Square!