Started off the day not really knowing what was going on. There were some potential plans with Petr's family because tomorrow is Easter and all, but I felt I would be intruding on their family time and it would have been weird with me not understanding anything, so I abstained. Headed into the city about 11 or so and got to the dorms about 13.00. Met with Лёша for about 2 hours and then we headed down into the shopping center near his dorm to make a xerox of my migration card before I turn it in (always keep copies of all documents in this country, no joke... anything can happen in Russia). We walked around his part of the city, going to then pond which was frozen over still. Lots of ducks sleeping on the ice and parents playing with their children on the jungle gyms. We headed around to the next metro station where we were supposed to meet Katya at 16.30 and we had about an hour to burn so we went to a pizza place and got ... quesadillas. I guess they're kind of like a Mexican pizza? They had the "American" pizza which was ham and mushrooms... which amused me. The quesadillas were alright... not as good as the ones in America.. but then again, I can understand how it's kind of hard to stack up to Del Taco, yes?
Met with Katya on the platform at the metro and gave her migration card so she could get it filed so I won't get deported (always a good thing) and Лёша and I parted ways. I headed to the southern end of town to meet with Ksana again and despite a horrible series of miscommunications, we eventually met up about 45 minutes after we planned to. We headed to Arbatskaya which is where Hard Rock Café Moscow is located and is apparently tourist city. There were thousands and thousands of people bustling through the streets and it was nearly overwhelming. There were tons of musicians and actors performing, skateboarders doing tricks and people singing for money. There were dozens of arts stands selling some really beautiful pieces, and at least 50 places where artists would sketch your caricature for a hefty sum... there was certainly no shortage of lines for all of the above. Not to mention the 100 shops selling nothing but Matroshka (the wooden stacking dolls) for small fortunes to idiots that didn't know any better and Ushanka (the big fur hats that no one wears anymore but are probably one of the first things most Americans think of when they hear the word Russia).
We finally managed to navigate the crowds and headed to the Moscow House of Books, which is the largest bookstore in Moscow. The square footage was easily the same size of a standard Walmart or Sam's Club, but divided into two floors. They sold so much stuff it was crazy! They had tons of souvenirs, toys for kids, CD's, DVD's, all kinds of stuff. Think Joseph Beth Booksellers on speed. Bought 2 books for the incredibly long commutes since I don't have anything else to do. At least I'll be able to get some reading done now.
We ate at a restaurant that I can't recall the name of to save my life, but I'll let you know tomorrow. The food was pretty awesome, and I tried Shashlik for the first time (lamb). All things considered it's just a shishkabob really, nothing different except the peppers and tomatoes, etc weren't grilled with the meat. They came separately and it was actually kind of a nice contrast to eat fresh tomatoes with the lamb. Very, very good.
I'm really not used to walking this much and my legs feel like they're about to explode. By the time we got to the metro I was ready to pass out, and once I got on the train, I actually did. I totally missed my station and didn't wake up until the train got to the final stop, pulled into the maintenance bay and locked the doors. I woke up on an empty train with the lights out and doors locked. The internal lights were on still, but needless to say I panicked. I pressed the help button and they announced on the intercom to wait a minute. The train pulled back out, and I got off. I got out of the metro and took my bearings, trying to figure out which direction to head. I started walking back towards the Plaza where the shuttles left from, but I only had about 25 minutes and I knew the walk would easily take twice that long. I took out 150 rubles, held it out on the side of the street, and the first car that passed pulled over. I don't speak Russian anywhere near fluently, but I knew enough to explain where I needed to go and he gave me a ride to the mall.
Got to the mall a few minutes before the shuttles stopped and caught a ride home. I would learn later the the metro doesn't stop, and if I had stayed on it I would have been back to my station a lot faster... but whatever, you live, you learn. I've been cautioned to never let my guard down again today. The second you let your guard down, something horrible will happen to remind you where you are. So .. I guess that's true; it took less than 20 minutes.
A few observations for the day. In no particular order: you hardly ever see female drivers; although not the majority, there are a decent number of right-side drivers; clothing here is unique... for the most part it's much thinner than American clothing, and although it's more stylish, it's also much more revealing and doesn't really leave much to the imagination in most cases; I've learned why Russian women dress like super models all the time.. it's because parents dress their daughters like this from the time they're old enough to go out in public... these little girls are all dressed up so cute it's almost sickeningly adorable; on a mildly related note, I have never heard anything cuter than a little Russian girl talking ... hearing Russian children talk is almost so cute I can't stand it and I have no clue why; skateboarding is allowed wherever you want to and there's no rules about making too much noise or anything like that so on busy streets they're pretty common; roller skating and biking are much much much much more popular here, and pretty much everyone does one or both it seems; not surprisingly, soccer is the major sport that people love here, and accordingly, when you pass a field, you never see kids playing football or basketball, they're all in team jerseys playing soccer.. it's not unusual, just different I guess.
Now I'm sitting at home on Saturday night listening to club music pumping from half of the surrounding apartments and listening to tons of kids outside screaming so loud it's ridiculous and somewhere a few floors down it sounds like some guy is angrier than anyone has ever been since the Hulk warned you that you wouldn't like him when he's angry. I'm slightly worried he may be murdering someone. I would call the police, but they would just show up and take everyone's money and then tell us no one actually died while pulling a rug over the body. What can you do? This is Russia!
My plans for tomorrow are to spend the day with Petr and his family celebrating Easter, and I'm really looking forward to it! Sorry my day wasn't more exciting today and that I didn't really elaborate more than I did, but it's 2.15 and I'm about to pass out. Hope you all have an awesome day, take care!
Met with Katya on the platform at the metro and gave her migration card so she could get it filed so I won't get deported (always a good thing) and Лёша and I parted ways. I headed to the southern end of town to meet with Ksana again and despite a horrible series of miscommunications, we eventually met up about 45 minutes after we planned to. We headed to Arbatskaya which is where Hard Rock Café Moscow is located and is apparently tourist city. There were thousands and thousands of people bustling through the streets and it was nearly overwhelming. There were tons of musicians and actors performing, skateboarders doing tricks and people singing for money. There were dozens of arts stands selling some really beautiful pieces, and at least 50 places where artists would sketch your caricature for a hefty sum... there was certainly no shortage of lines for all of the above. Not to mention the 100 shops selling nothing but Matroshka (the wooden stacking dolls) for small fortunes to idiots that didn't know any better and Ushanka (the big fur hats that no one wears anymore but are probably one of the first things most Americans think of when they hear the word Russia).
We finally managed to navigate the crowds and headed to the Moscow House of Books, which is the largest bookstore in Moscow. The square footage was easily the same size of a standard Walmart or Sam's Club, but divided into two floors. They sold so much stuff it was crazy! They had tons of souvenirs, toys for kids, CD's, DVD's, all kinds of stuff. Think Joseph Beth Booksellers on speed. Bought 2 books for the incredibly long commutes since I don't have anything else to do. At least I'll be able to get some reading done now.
We ate at a restaurant that I can't recall the name of to save my life, but I'll let you know tomorrow. The food was pretty awesome, and I tried Shashlik for the first time (lamb). All things considered it's just a shishkabob really, nothing different except the peppers and tomatoes, etc weren't grilled with the meat. They came separately and it was actually kind of a nice contrast to eat fresh tomatoes with the lamb. Very, very good.
I'm really not used to walking this much and my legs feel like they're about to explode. By the time we got to the metro I was ready to pass out, and once I got on the train, I actually did. I totally missed my station and didn't wake up until the train got to the final stop, pulled into the maintenance bay and locked the doors. I woke up on an empty train with the lights out and doors locked. The internal lights were on still, but needless to say I panicked. I pressed the help button and they announced on the intercom to wait a minute. The train pulled back out, and I got off. I got out of the metro and took my bearings, trying to figure out which direction to head. I started walking back towards the Plaza where the shuttles left from, but I only had about 25 minutes and I knew the walk would easily take twice that long. I took out 150 rubles, held it out on the side of the street, and the first car that passed pulled over. I don't speak Russian anywhere near fluently, but I knew enough to explain where I needed to go and he gave me a ride to the mall.
Got to the mall a few minutes before the shuttles stopped and caught a ride home. I would learn later the the metro doesn't stop, and if I had stayed on it I would have been back to my station a lot faster... but whatever, you live, you learn. I've been cautioned to never let my guard down again today. The second you let your guard down, something horrible will happen to remind you where you are. So .. I guess that's true; it took less than 20 minutes.
A few observations for the day. In no particular order: you hardly ever see female drivers; although not the majority, there are a decent number of right-side drivers; clothing here is unique... for the most part it's much thinner than American clothing, and although it's more stylish, it's also much more revealing and doesn't really leave much to the imagination in most cases; I've learned why Russian women dress like super models all the time.. it's because parents dress their daughters like this from the time they're old enough to go out in public... these little girls are all dressed up so cute it's almost sickeningly adorable; on a mildly related note, I have never heard anything cuter than a little Russian girl talking ... hearing Russian children talk is almost so cute I can't stand it and I have no clue why; skateboarding is allowed wherever you want to and there's no rules about making too much noise or anything like that so on busy streets they're pretty common; roller skating and biking are much much much much more popular here, and pretty much everyone does one or both it seems; not surprisingly, soccer is the major sport that people love here, and accordingly, when you pass a field, you never see kids playing football or basketball, they're all in team jerseys playing soccer.. it's not unusual, just different I guess.
Now I'm sitting at home on Saturday night listening to club music pumping from half of the surrounding apartments and listening to tons of kids outside screaming so loud it's ridiculous and somewhere a few floors down it sounds like some guy is angrier than anyone has ever been since the Hulk warned you that you wouldn't like him when he's angry. I'm slightly worried he may be murdering someone. I would call the police, but they would just show up and take everyone's money and then tell us no one actually died while pulling a rug over the body. What can you do? This is Russia!
My plans for tomorrow are to spend the day with Petr and his family celebrating Easter, and I'm really looking forward to it! Sorry my day wasn't more exciting today and that I didn't really elaborate more than I did, but it's 2.15 and I'm about to pass out. Hope you all have an awesome day, take care!
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