So today was a pretty awesome day. We were planning to get started about 7.30 and I managed to somehow wake up at 6.00 and couldn't get back to sleep. I think the time difference is probably going to mess me up again today. Additionally, I didn't really sleep well; I attribute this to sleeping in a bed I wasn't used to. So even though I usually get about 6 hours of sleep and I got a little bit more than that, I was still exhausted all day, which was kind of a bummer.
We walked the short distance to the bus station .. and I have to say I really love this about Troitsk; it's such a small city that everything is only about 5 minutes away at most. We had the option of taking a city bus to Moscow or a taxi-bus. Fare on the city bus costs 50 rubles (roughly $1.60) and takes longer because they have to make stops along the way. The shuttle buses are smaller; similar to the shuttle buses at airports, holding about 20 people (although you're packed in against each other), and cost 60 rubles (roughly $2). So it costs a bit more, you don't have as much room, but it's much quicker. So... we opted for the shuttle because 10 rubles really isn't very significant, even for dual fare.
We made good time getting into the city and we purchased a metro pass for me. 45 day duration, 60 rides, only 1 250 rubles (roughly $41.60). Not too bad at all. First off, I want to point out that I really love Moscow's rail system. When you go into the underground, there are signs in between each column leading off the platform onto the loading platform. Each sign has what stops the train will be making, and has them in the correct order. There are also clocks at the head of each tunnel showing the time since the last train left and when the next is due, and the wait is never longer than 2 minutes. It made navigating the Metro tremendously easy. I never got lost once.
Now, I know that I've already talked about how Russians kind of ... well they do whatever the hell they want really. But really, I need to emphasize this; on the metro it became tremendously obvious that Russians have no sense of personal space. They are just as comfortable pressed up against you face to face as they would be standing 200m away. Also, it doesn't matter if someone is pressed up against you face to face, there will be no eye contact. From what I can tell, Russians don't really tend to acknowledge the existence of anyone around them unless you're hanging out together. Furthermore, they'll look at you like you just tore your button-up stripper pants off in front of God and everyone if you don't behave the same. Laughing or .. well, even smiling will put you at the business end of the awkward gun quicker than you can spit. It's taking more practice than I care to admit not acknowledging anyone around me on the metro. Just staring at the wall blankly for 20 minutes waiting for your station is harder than you can imagine.
On that subject, men don't talk at all it seems.. likewise, women talk constantly.. and loudly. It has also come to my attention that Russian women ... well, I don't know if they're aware of the stereotype that they're the most beautiful girls in the world, or if the stereotype exists because it's true, but these girls dress to kill. I haven't seen a single woman yet that wasn't dressed like American women would only dress if they were going on a date with the boyfriend of 12 years hoping tonight would be the night he was going to propose. These ladies dress to steal hearts when they go to the grocery, it's crazy. Another side note, I have no earthly idea how anyone wears a skirt that short in weather this cold and doesn't get frostbite in between their legs.
Anywaysssss, sorry for the tangent. We stayed at the institute and Petr worked and I got some writing done before Sasha came in (different one from yesterday; this is a student, not Petr's cousin). He helped me to find a good priced phone that would suit my needs and we went out into the city center to find one. Sorry, but it's time for another tangent. You can find anything you could every possibly need in the middle of the street in Moscow. There are kiosks EVERYWHERE selling everything from soda and chips (by the way, crab flavored Lay's potato chips are the BOMB... also, Mt. Dew bottles have the weirdest shape ever, pictures to follow later) to fresh bread, any magazine known to mankind, beer, fresh produce... you can buy a bag of potatoes in the middle of the road. It's craziness.
There are cell phone stores everywhere and their system works differently than ours. Technically I think our system works different from theirs since America is one of the only countries in the world to offer phone plans. Here, phones come with different plans, but it costs only a nominal fee to activate a SIM card (200 rubles: $6.60) and then you can put it into in phone you damn well please. Want a new phone? Just buy a new one and stick it in. The only different as I see it is that the phones are more territorial. My phone works when I need to call people in Moscow, and that's fine.. as long as I'm in Moscow. When I go to St. Petersburg and Saratov, I'll need to buy a new SIM card in those cities when I get there. My phone only works within range of Moscow's towers. That being said, there are small machines in the grocery stores where you just type in your phone number, insert your money and it refills your account balance.. SOOOOO CONVENIENT! Need to know your balance or fees? Just dial 'баланс' (balance)... it's right there in your phonebook when you turn on the phone for the first time. Phone time costs about 4 rubles (~$.13) for the first minute and 2 rubles (~$.06) per minute after that with texts costing fractions of pennies (I may have gotten some of these details wrong, but this is more or less my understanding of the system so far).
After I got my phone I got a text from a friend that wanted to show me the Kremlin and Red Square, so Sasha and I chose to walk downtown rather than take the metro since we had about an hour or so to burn. We got to the Red Square and the mall nearby about 20 minutes there and I stepped in to have a look around while I waited. The mall seemed to be a popular hang out for younger folks, and I thought it was interesting how many jobs were available in the malls. There were people stationed all around just holding dustpans and sweeping up any tiny thing that hit the ground, and there was even a woman that collected 20 rubles (~$.66) from anyone who needed to use the restroom.. I wonder how much money the mall brings in each day just from that =P
Speaking of stores... another brief tangent. In the metro stations and in the undergrounds crossing under major roadways, there are TONS of small shops lining the corridors. I mean, really REALLY small. The shops are typically no more than 10 feet in length and no more than 4-5 feet from front to back. It's pretty much just a display window with a tiny girl packed in behind a tiny window like a sardine. You tell them what product you want, they pull it out for you and pass it through the window. Literally brings new meaning to the term window-shopping, but it's a pretty cool system. No shortage of jobs here (I don't actually know what the unemployment rates are in Russia, I'm just making an observation that they seem to have gotten pretty creative with finding work for people).
Back to the story. Anastasia showed up and we went to see Red Square. Since Victory Day is approaching quickly, the police were out in full force in Red Square. There were hundreds of workers trying to prepare the roadways around the Kremlin for the the parades, and hundreds of police in full uniform were marching around rehearsing their show for 9 May. I think it's already been mentioned that Russians are a very proud people, and this holiday, День Победы (Day of Victory) is a military celebration commemorating the victory over the Nazis in the Великая Отечественная война (Great Patriotic War) WW-II) in which over 20 million people in the former USSR were killed, and it is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in Russia. Needless to say, these guys were intimidating.. totally hardcore.
She took me on a brief walk around the downtown are and we looked at some monuments and artwork in the parks around the center of the city and then we parted ways at the metro and I headed back to the institute to catch the shuttle back to Troitsk with Petr before the sun went down. We headed into the mall and ate at a place called Крошка-Картошка... a rough translation is like .... uhh, well it's Potato, but it's stated in an affectionate way to sound cute if that makes sense. Anyways, Petr just called it Potato. He advised me that it's very expensive and the total bill for both of our meals came to a whopping 456 rubles (~$15). I explained that the same meal in America probably would have cost about the same amount, so really the more expensive foods apparently cost about as much as our standard fare.
So I'll let other decide on whether it's really as expensive to live here as people make it sound, but I haven't been having any problems affording anything. My legs were killing me by the time we made it to the bus about 21.00 (9pm for those that aren't big on military time.. it's what most people seem to prefer to use here) and I fell asleep on the shuttle ride home. We made it back around 21.35 and I'm amazed I managed to stay awake long enough to type all this out. In a nutshell, I'd have to say that Moscow did a pretty solid job of winning me back over today. I definitely need to make sure to get a map tomorrow, but overall the day went by without any hitches. I hope to have the energy tomorrow to post some of the footage I shot today, but no promises.
I know it's only about 3pm for most of you all, so hope the rest of your day is awesome!
We walked the short distance to the bus station .. and I have to say I really love this about Troitsk; it's such a small city that everything is only about 5 minutes away at most. We had the option of taking a city bus to Moscow or a taxi-bus. Fare on the city bus costs 50 rubles (roughly $1.60) and takes longer because they have to make stops along the way. The shuttle buses are smaller; similar to the shuttle buses at airports, holding about 20 people (although you're packed in against each other), and cost 60 rubles (roughly $2). So it costs a bit more, you don't have as much room, but it's much quicker. So... we opted for the shuttle because 10 rubles really isn't very significant, even for dual fare.
We made good time getting into the city and we purchased a metro pass for me. 45 day duration, 60 rides, only 1 250 rubles (roughly $41.60). Not too bad at all. First off, I want to point out that I really love Moscow's rail system. When you go into the underground, there are signs in between each column leading off the platform onto the loading platform. Each sign has what stops the train will be making, and has them in the correct order. There are also clocks at the head of each tunnel showing the time since the last train left and when the next is due, and the wait is never longer than 2 minutes. It made navigating the Metro tremendously easy. I never got lost once.
Now, I know that I've already talked about how Russians kind of ... well they do whatever the hell they want really. But really, I need to emphasize this; on the metro it became tremendously obvious that Russians have no sense of personal space. They are just as comfortable pressed up against you face to face as they would be standing 200m away. Also, it doesn't matter if someone is pressed up against you face to face, there will be no eye contact. From what I can tell, Russians don't really tend to acknowledge the existence of anyone around them unless you're hanging out together. Furthermore, they'll look at you like you just tore your button-up stripper pants off in front of God and everyone if you don't behave the same. Laughing or .. well, even smiling will put you at the business end of the awkward gun quicker than you can spit. It's taking more practice than I care to admit not acknowledging anyone around me on the metro. Just staring at the wall blankly for 20 minutes waiting for your station is harder than you can imagine.
On that subject, men don't talk at all it seems.. likewise, women talk constantly.. and loudly. It has also come to my attention that Russian women ... well, I don't know if they're aware of the stereotype that they're the most beautiful girls in the world, or if the stereotype exists because it's true, but these girls dress to kill. I haven't seen a single woman yet that wasn't dressed like American women would only dress if they were going on a date with the boyfriend of 12 years hoping tonight would be the night he was going to propose. These ladies dress to steal hearts when they go to the grocery, it's crazy. Another side note, I have no earthly idea how anyone wears a skirt that short in weather this cold and doesn't get frostbite in between their legs.
Anywaysssss, sorry for the tangent. We stayed at the institute and Petr worked and I got some writing done before Sasha came in (different one from yesterday; this is a student, not Petr's cousin). He helped me to find a good priced phone that would suit my needs and we went out into the city center to find one. Sorry, but it's time for another tangent. You can find anything you could every possibly need in the middle of the street in Moscow. There are kiosks EVERYWHERE selling everything from soda and chips (by the way, crab flavored Lay's potato chips are the BOMB... also, Mt. Dew bottles have the weirdest shape ever, pictures to follow later) to fresh bread, any magazine known to mankind, beer, fresh produce... you can buy a bag of potatoes in the middle of the road. It's craziness.
There are cell phone stores everywhere and their system works differently than ours. Technically I think our system works different from theirs since America is one of the only countries in the world to offer phone plans. Here, phones come with different plans, but it costs only a nominal fee to activate a SIM card (200 rubles: $6.60) and then you can put it into in phone you damn well please. Want a new phone? Just buy a new one and stick it in. The only different as I see it is that the phones are more territorial. My phone works when I need to call people in Moscow, and that's fine.. as long as I'm in Moscow. When I go to St. Petersburg and Saratov, I'll need to buy a new SIM card in those cities when I get there. My phone only works within range of Moscow's towers. That being said, there are small machines in the grocery stores where you just type in your phone number, insert your money and it refills your account balance.. SOOOOO CONVENIENT! Need to know your balance or fees? Just dial 'баланс' (balance)... it's right there in your phonebook when you turn on the phone for the first time. Phone time costs about 4 rubles (~$.13) for the first minute and 2 rubles (~$.06) per minute after that with texts costing fractions of pennies (I may have gotten some of these details wrong, but this is more or less my understanding of the system so far).
After I got my phone I got a text from a friend that wanted to show me the Kremlin and Red Square, so Sasha and I chose to walk downtown rather than take the metro since we had about an hour or so to burn. We got to the Red Square and the mall nearby about 20 minutes there and I stepped in to have a look around while I waited. The mall seemed to be a popular hang out for younger folks, and I thought it was interesting how many jobs were available in the malls. There were people stationed all around just holding dustpans and sweeping up any tiny thing that hit the ground, and there was even a woman that collected 20 rubles (~$.66) from anyone who needed to use the restroom.. I wonder how much money the mall brings in each day just from that =P
Speaking of stores... another brief tangent. In the metro stations and in the undergrounds crossing under major roadways, there are TONS of small shops lining the corridors. I mean, really REALLY small. The shops are typically no more than 10 feet in length and no more than 4-5 feet from front to back. It's pretty much just a display window with a tiny girl packed in behind a tiny window like a sardine. You tell them what product you want, they pull it out for you and pass it through the window. Literally brings new meaning to the term window-shopping, but it's a pretty cool system. No shortage of jobs here (I don't actually know what the unemployment rates are in Russia, I'm just making an observation that they seem to have gotten pretty creative with finding work for people).
Back to the story. Anastasia showed up and we went to see Red Square. Since Victory Day is approaching quickly, the police were out in full force in Red Square. There were hundreds of workers trying to prepare the roadways around the Kremlin for the the parades, and hundreds of police in full uniform were marching around rehearsing their show for 9 May. I think it's already been mentioned that Russians are a very proud people, and this holiday, День Победы (Day of Victory) is a military celebration commemorating the victory over the Nazis in the Великая Отечественная война (Great Patriotic War) WW-II) in which over 20 million people in the former USSR were killed, and it is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in Russia. Needless to say, these guys were intimidating.. totally hardcore.
She took me on a brief walk around the downtown are and we looked at some monuments and artwork in the parks around the center of the city and then we parted ways at the metro and I headed back to the institute to catch the shuttle back to Troitsk with Petr before the sun went down. We headed into the mall and ate at a place called Крошка-Картошка... a rough translation is like .... uhh, well it's Potato, but it's stated in an affectionate way to sound cute if that makes sense. Anyways, Petr just called it Potato. He advised me that it's very expensive and the total bill for both of our meals came to a whopping 456 rubles (~$15). I explained that the same meal in America probably would have cost about the same amount, so really the more expensive foods apparently cost about as much as our standard fare.
So I'll let other decide on whether it's really as expensive to live here as people make it sound, but I haven't been having any problems affording anything. My legs were killing me by the time we made it to the bus about 21.00 (9pm for those that aren't big on military time.. it's what most people seem to prefer to use here) and I fell asleep on the shuttle ride home. We made it back around 21.35 and I'm amazed I managed to stay awake long enough to type all this out. In a nutshell, I'd have to say that Moscow did a pretty solid job of winning me back over today. I definitely need to make sure to get a map tomorrow, but overall the day went by without any hitches. I hope to have the energy tomorrow to post some of the footage I shot today, but no promises.
I know it's only about 3pm for most of you all, so hope the rest of your day is awesome!
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