Today, we started our first week of classes. Russian language and statistics. Our Russian language teacher, Vera, is a kick. She's an older little Russian lady who is very nice and works at a good pace. Statistics is nothing fun to speak of but it was a good chance to meet the Russian girls, who are also very friendly.
I've been feeling under the weather since Saturday. I don't know if it's just a cold or what but it's been slowing me down and I don't like it. Yesterday, Maksim and Lilia took us to this mega mall in downtown Moscow for the day. We rode the metro-I felt like such a city slicker! It was an odd blend of Western/American and Russian. But as the evening drew on, I was getting really tired and felt like I was dragging everyone down.
Today, I woke up feeling pretty bad, too (I'm pretty sure I might have dozed off in statistics). I was very tired and a little woozy, hopefully just a symptom of lack of sleep-although I got almost a full night's sleep last night. Right now I feel better (yay meds) but I hope this bug goes away-I don't want to miss any of the Russian experience!
Katie, our final fellow American student, arrived today so it looks like this evening we will be taking her around Moscow. And by "around Moscow" I mean we will take her to the grocery store right across the street and maybe the street shops just down the street-because those are the only places we know how to get to by ourselves...
пoка!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Lunch with Lenin
So today we took a bus tour of Moscow. We saw Red Square, Lenin's Tomb, and a few other sights around the city. It was pretty cold, the coldest day so far-the wind and overcast sky didn't help. We met some more of the students we will be having class with, all of whom seem very nice. I got my picture at Lenin's tomb, something to write home about. On the square, we saw a couple of guys dressed as Stalin for people to take pictures with, which I found very amusing for some reason.
Today, though, I was feeling a little overwhelmed (again, the gray atmosphere didn't help). Between the rushing around to see the sights, meeting a lot of new people, and the general helpfulness-almost-to-a-fault of the Russians, I came back two hours ago and kind of just wanted to crash. Seeing more of the city was great-in a way, I feel like I've been here for a long time already. I credit that to the Russians who have been so friendly and welcoming but it is nice to have a little down time (especially since my sleep schedule still hasn't caught up).
Later tonight, the Russians are hanging out with us in our rooms and we will drink a few native beers and they'll show us how to cook some Russian food. It should be fun and a good way to end this otherwise somewhat hectic day. One more day to relax and then we begin class--hello Russian language and maybe statistics! Man, talk about a trip of the unexpected.
Speaking of unexpected, I still can't believe it's all happening. While I feel like I've been here forever on one hand, on the other I feel like it's all been a dream and I'm just happening to inhabit the body of some other lucky girl. It's literally a dream come true.
Oh, and finally, revelation for the day: I figured out why Russians don't smile. It's not because they don't like to, it's because they can't! When we were walking around Red Square, we'd stop to pose for pictures and I felt like I literally could not smile because my face was frozen! I'm sure the Russians feel this way, too. So, the mystery behind the Russian sternness is solved and I can sign off feeling at peace now.
пoка!
Friday, January 28, 2011
A City of Gentlemen (and Starches!)
Second day in Moscow and it has gone by so quickly!
Today we went to the аптека (drug store-Denis had to help me figure out how to type in Russian!) with Sasha and Denis to buy a few items, my first time having to figure out how to price things in rubles. It was a little crazy, Russians don't abide by too many pleasantries like "excuse me" or "sorry for almost knocking you over in the aisle." But luckily our guides watch over us like hawks. This is both good and bad. Good because they help us navigate this unfamiliar foreign city, bad because they don't let us do much of anything unsupervised-including open doors, carry items, or walk down snowy pathways (I haven't opened a door or carried my own things since I got here!). I suppose a better person should be glad to live in a city of such gentlemen and don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. But it is a little overwhelming at first, especially for a person who is used to being a little more independent.
We are learning Russian at a fast clip and all of the Russian students are eager to help us practice so they want to improve their English, too. I just spent a good hour going over the alphabet and how to write in Cyrillic. My brain feels ready to explode but it is good, they are all good teachers.
We have yet to get on a normal eating schedule (one meal a day so far) and I haven't quite adjusted to Russian food yet but I expect that will change very quickly, especially when we start spending more and more time outside in the cold! The food is greasier or starchier or something and it is hard to find vegetables that aren't cooked in rice or with cheese. A lot of the meats are stuffed with starches, too. My chicken tonight was stuffed with potatoes. Can you say carb overload?
Tomorrow, we are going to Moscow Center and I am very excited to get to see it. Hopefully, tonight I will go to bed at a reasonable hour and start adjusting to the new time zone but we shall see. We have spent all of our evenings so far hanging out with the students and it's an opportunity I just can't bring myself to miss-even if it does result in only 4 hours of sleep!
пoка!
Today we went to the аптека (drug store-Denis had to help me figure out how to type in Russian!) with Sasha and Denis to buy a few items, my first time having to figure out how to price things in rubles. It was a little crazy, Russians don't abide by too many pleasantries like "excuse me" or "sorry for almost knocking you over in the aisle." But luckily our guides watch over us like hawks. This is both good and bad. Good because they help us navigate this unfamiliar foreign city, bad because they don't let us do much of anything unsupervised-including open doors, carry items, or walk down snowy pathways (I haven't opened a door or carried my own things since I got here!). I suppose a better person should be glad to live in a city of such gentlemen and don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. But it is a little overwhelming at first, especially for a person who is used to being a little more independent.
We are learning Russian at a fast clip and all of the Russian students are eager to help us practice so they want to improve their English, too. I just spent a good hour going over the alphabet and how to write in Cyrillic. My brain feels ready to explode but it is good, they are all good teachers.
We have yet to get on a normal eating schedule (one meal a day so far) and I haven't quite adjusted to Russian food yet but I expect that will change very quickly, especially when we start spending more and more time outside in the cold! The food is greasier or starchier or something and it is hard to find vegetables that aren't cooked in rice or with cheese. A lot of the meats are stuffed with starches, too. My chicken tonight was stuffed with potatoes. Can you say carb overload?
Tomorrow, we are going to Moscow Center and I am very excited to get to see it. Hopefully, tonight I will go to bed at a reasonable hour and start adjusting to the new time zone but we shall see. We have spent all of our evenings so far hanging out with the students and it's an opportunity I just can't bring myself to miss-even if it does result in only 4 hours of sleep!
пoка!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
To Moscow We Go!
Well, I made it to Moscow!
Even though we've been here for almost 2 full days now, it doesn't seem real. From New York to Moscow took us roughly 9 hours and right away, I realized how little Russian I actually know. Everyone speaks very quickly and although the Russians in the airport were stereotypically intimidating (totally lacking anything resembling a smile), our experiences since arriving have been nothing but pleasant.
Our hostel is better than I expected, two of us to a room with a shower, toilet, and hot water, too! It appears not to have been updated since the Soviets were in power, the halls are dingy and yellow (like the toilet paper). Not really all that different from my old dorm room, actually...
We have met many Russian students already and they are all wonderful, very friendly and anxious to learn English and to help us learn Russian. Last night, we spent hours with many of the Russian students living in the hostel drinking tea and eating cake. We bantered back and forth in "Runglish"--a phrase Roma coined for his mix of Russian and English. Today we spent most of our day with a few of the Russians, especially the twins Denis and Aleksander (called Sasha), who are hilarious. Sasha referred to himself constantly as a "professional" in everything from locking our dorm room door to translating phrases into Russian. We went to one of the street markets and the grocery store to pick up a few things. After that, we spent a day marathon-learning Russian vocabulary with the twins--the trick now will be to see if I can remember any of it. But the students are great about helping us so I really hope to come back with a decent understanding of the language.
It's been a wonderful day (not even too cold-sunny and around a whopping 13 degrees). Now I'm going to go and spend some time with the Russians!
Dobri Noche!
Even though we've been here for almost 2 full days now, it doesn't seem real. From New York to Moscow took us roughly 9 hours and right away, I realized how little Russian I actually know. Everyone speaks very quickly and although the Russians in the airport were stereotypically intimidating (totally lacking anything resembling a smile), our experiences since arriving have been nothing but pleasant.
Our hostel is better than I expected, two of us to a room with a shower, toilet, and hot water, too! It appears not to have been updated since the Soviets were in power, the halls are dingy and yellow (like the toilet paper). Not really all that different from my old dorm room, actually...
We have met many Russian students already and they are all wonderful, very friendly and anxious to learn English and to help us learn Russian. Last night, we spent hours with many of the Russian students living in the hostel drinking tea and eating cake. We bantered back and forth in "Runglish"--a phrase Roma coined for his mix of Russian and English. Today we spent most of our day with a few of the Russians, especially the twins Denis and Aleksander (called Sasha), who are hilarious. Sasha referred to himself constantly as a "professional" in everything from locking our dorm room door to translating phrases into Russian. We went to one of the street markets and the grocery store to pick up a few things. After that, we spent a day marathon-learning Russian vocabulary with the twins--the trick now will be to see if I can remember any of it. But the students are great about helping us so I really hope to come back with a decent understanding of the language.
It's been a wonderful day (not even too cold-sunny and around a whopping 13 degrees). Now I'm going to go and spend some time with the Russians!
Dobri Noche!
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