Yesterday was relatively uneventful with class in the morning and another visit to Парк Културы. That evening, however, we did go back to the Red Square to take some more pictures in the evening. We had heard that the city is far more photogenic at night and that certainly seemed to be the case. Here are some of the pictures I took that evening:

Most memorable part of the night was a drunk man finishing his beer, throwing his can and diving (fully clothed) into a nearby reflecting pool. Many people took notice but no one seemed to care. I guess I might have to try it at some point...

Yesterday was the the first day of classes and it was certainly like being thrown into the deep end of the pool. We started at 9AM with a placement exam which was, many parts, way over my head. After being thoroughly reminded of how much Russian I don't know, I was placed into the 2nd level class which is what I had been hoping for. The class is very intensive, is completely in Russian and relies on mostly oral exercises which are difficult but definitely prepare you for speaking in public. I already feel far more confident talking to shopkeepers and food servers and I haven't even been here a week. The class goes from 9AM until 12:40PM on Monday through Thursday. We had class this morning but it was much of the same. Homework is not too intensive but it does take between an hour and two hours to finish.

Here are some more pictures from yesterday. We took a boat ride down the Москва Рыка (Moscow River) and were able to see some of the sights along the way. Definitely a good experience though I may have gotten some sunburn...

The past two days have been very busy so I've been unable to update the blog recently. This also means that this is going to be a long one!

We've been very lucky lately with fantastic weather as yesterday and today were sunny and in the mid- to high 70s. We left the dorm around noon on Sunday and headed straight for the metro. Our first stop was to Парк Культуры и Отдыха Горького or just Парк Горького (Park Gorkova). It is, in some ways, similar to New York's Central Park but only in that it is a large park in the middle of the city. There were many bikers and people on roller blades riding around but mostly just near the entrance. The rest of the park was full of people laying in the grass and even some street performers. We stopped at a small food stand by a fountain and ordered some блинчики (blinchiki) which are similar to quesadillas but softer and with far more on the inside. The prices were a little expensive (150 roubles or 5 dollars per) because of the tourist nature of the location but the food was incredible and filled us up. We also stopped by a full size model of Буран (Buran) which was a Soviet equivalent of the US Space Shuttle. It only ever made one flight in the 80s but it was done completely unmanned and it remained the only spacecraft to take off and land automatically until 2010 with the launching of the US X-37 space plane. The name comes from the Russian word for 'blizzard'.

After we left the park, we took the metro over to see the Храм Христа Спасителя (Cathedral of Christ the Savior) which is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the World. It was originally built following the Russian victory over Napoleon under Czar Alexander I but it was completely leveled by the Stalin and the Communist Party in 1931, along with all of the other churches in Moscow, because of the Soviet adherence to atheism. It was rebuilt in 1995 and is supposedly an exact replica if the original. We took plenty of pictures from the outside but were not allowed to bring cameras inside. The interior is gorgeous with an incredible level of detail over every inch. Russian and Latin text can be seen on almost every surface along with images of biblical scenes. It truly is an incredible sight. They have service everyday at 8AM and another service at 5PM.

We left the cathedral and headed back to the dorm for a little rest and then went back out to grab some food. A national fast food chain, Картошка (Cartoshka meaning 'Potato') had been recommended to us  and we headed down the road to the nearest one. As can be expected with a restaurant called 'Potato', everything was made out of potatoes. The main meal is basically a baked potato that has been mashed up on the inside and mixed with meat or cheese. I went with cheese and it was actually pretty good. definitely better than the fast food back in the US.

Just realized that this is only yesterday but I think its long enough. More to come!

Today we went to the Russian Circus (Цирк) which is right off of Проспект Вернадского (Prospect Vernatskova) and not far from our dormitory. The circus is a pretty big source of entertainment for Muscovites and certainly differs from circuses back in the United States. For one thing, it is a permanent structure that holds the events and they take place every weekend and most Thursdays and Fridays. They are also, in part, much more like musicals rather than just showcasing balancing acts and animals. The first act is similar to an American circus but with a much faster pace. Acts seem to fly on and then off again during the entire performance and each of them have a very high level of skill attached to them. The acrobatics were incredible and the final trapeze performance was outstanding. When the first half was over, we took a 20 minute intermission and then returned to see a musical performance of Zorro. It was pretty interesting and certainly had a lot of action that I would not have expected with cap guns and horses racing across the 30 foot ring. The whole circus lasted about 3 hours and we left the building around 5PM. After a quick chicken wrap from a street vendor (who asked us to give him English lessons in exchange for free food), we headed back to the dorm.

Alright everybody! Get out your cheap combs and polo shirts, it's picture day!

After eating some cold pizza from the night before, we met up with our professor and left the dorm. Our first stop was to the nearest super market where we can go to pick up any supplies that we may need. Definitely helpful and I will be using it in the future. Afterwards, we went to a huge mall that was down the road. It included a кенотеатре (movie theatre) and I was very surprised to see that one of the movies advertised was "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer". Since he was an American president and the movie is completely fictional, I have to wonder what reason Muscovites might have to see it. I would compare it to Americans seeing something like "Czar Nicolas: Werewolf Hunter".

Anyway, the majority of stores in the building were American and even used english predominantly. this was certainly the only place that I saw this, though it is common to see english sub-text on many signs. We left the mall soon afterwards and headed for the Metro Station. I had been previously led to believe that the entire system is very ornate but that is not quite the truth. The train platforms are much farther underground than those in Washington D.C. and not all of the stations are that impressive looking (though many are, especially once you get farther into the city) but what truly is impressive is the rate at which cars are shuttled through the tunnels. If you happened to miss your ride, don't worry because another will be along in a few seconds. The platforms are usually packed and full of people that are willing to do anything to shave a few seconds off of their travel time. The metro certainly is the primary method of transportation around the city and it does not surprise me that they are that busy.

We got off the metro at a station almost directly outside of the Red Square (Красивая Площадь) and continued past the Исторический Музей (History Museum). The square was much smaller than I had imagined it and was full of cobblestone. There are lines that run along it marking the progress for military parades but the area is completely closed to traffic. The history museum lies on one end of the square and the other end is occupied by St. Basils Cathedral. To one side is the wall of the Kremlin and opposing it is a high priced mall called Муг (Moog). We did see the inside of Муг because it started raining pretty hard and we had to get inside.

When we came out, the weather had cleared up quite a bit and we could get a few more pictures and walk to the other side of the Kremlin where there was a very nice park and a few other things. The most incredible part is the war memorial for the Great Patriotic War (Великая Отечественная Война) which is essentially the World War II in Russia. This distinction between the Russian front of the war and the rest of the World War II is very important to Russians because the death toll was so high (25 million) and it was fought on home soil. It still has a significant impact because nearly every Russian alive today has at least one grandfather or grandmother that was killed. The United States has nothing that really compares to this so the memorial really is awe-inspiring. There is a flame in the middle that is kept lit constantly and guards are always on watch, rotating out on the hour. There is also a few blocks to the right that have the names of the main cities involved in the conflict on them and they are referred to as "Hero Cities".

After the Red Square, we walked to Арбат (Arbat) which is a shopping street full of cafes and shops. It is one of the oldest streets in the city but is not that large. We looked around for a while, grabbed some dinner at a Russian chain restaurant (called 'Му Му' or Moo Moo) and took the metro back to the dorm.

Red Square side of the Исторический Музей

The Kremlin

Inside of Муг

Outside of Муг

Front of the Исторический Музей

Front of St. Basils

Sign infront of the War Memorial. It reads "Fallen for their country".

The outside of my dorm

The War Memorial


For those of you wondering, I did take a ton more pictures but I didn't think I should put them all up here. I might post them somewhere else but there are a lot of them...

After getting to bed around 9PM last night, I awoke nearly 13 hours later at around 10AM. I definitely needed some good sleep and I did sleep pretty well. The bed is comfortable and the sheets were clean. I did wake up for a little bit at around 10:30PM and was surprised to see that the sun was still up! Since we're so far north, this doesn't surprise me but time will tell how it messes with my sleep patterns.

I was able to take a hot shower this morning which was very pleasant. Brushing my teeth this morning was a little bit of a surprise... The water was initially a deep rust color but it slowly faded back to clear. I had been warned about this and I plan to use bottled water for all my hygiene needs for the remainder of the month. In regards to bottled water, you have to ask for воду без газа ('vadoo bez gaza', water without gas) when you buy it because carbonated water is far more popular here and is the standard when you order. Most drinks come bottled and you are served a glass along with it. I did try my first traditional drink, квас (kvas), which is a non-alcoholic bread based drink. It tastes kind of like a dark beer but with a bit more sweet. It is still a little bitter for my taste and I probably won't be drinking it often.

For the most part, I'm all settled in to the room. Everything seems to work and there is nothing to complain about!