Sunday, May 24, 2009
first week kinda
Ok guys. I’ve fallen in love with Russia already.
I love it here!!!! I’ve kind of got a schedule now which is helpful. I wake up and go running (Yesterday I ran to red square, then along the river, then picked a random metro stop to go home on!!!! SOOOO FUN!!!!) then I come home, get ready, zaftrokat with Lidiya, and head to the metro. School and then hmwk, and then EXPLORING!!!!!!
OK, so I will probably only get online once a week because it takes up a lot of time and I find that once I sit down, it takes at least an hour and that is just not cool to be spending all that time on the computer…anyway, it seems like after classes all the students spend hours on the computer and I just peace out and have fun!
Anyway, highlights of the last couple of days.
Tuesday was our first day of real class. The teachers are cool (I have two-one for practice and one for grammar). Anyway, we were divided into two groups and I was in the more “advanced” one and well, the discussion we had about the division of the classes was a good demonstration og Russian teachers. Our practice teacher Vladmir asked us, “are you’re other classmates lazy? Why don’t they understand Russian.” We thought it was a rhetorical question but he wanted us to answer it. We kind of all looked around awkwardly and didn’t know how to respond. Anyway, we heard he completely chewed out the other class and we all felt bad for them, but whatev. We also learned some new Russian vocab when listening to his theory of the CIA blowing up the twin towers ;) haha, that class is pretty entertaining to tell you the truth…Vlad Vlad and I get along great…haha…it’s funny because I think he’s a really nice guy, it’s just that if he were to say the things he says in the states, kids would be going home crying.
So later that day we checked out the grocery store-why does food (especially sweets) look so good in foreign countries???? Holy crap they have amazing breads and sweets.
New favorite pop: Fanta asian apple. Seriously. Вкусно!
OK, so later that day Chandler and I wanted to do a walk from his house to downtown. We walked for an hour and a half until we ended up on the northwest by the zoo which is probably in the most opposite direction of downtown we could have gone ;) It was fun though and we almost got a two hour walk in there!!!! I think I’m going to go to the zoo on Friday or something cause it’s way cheap and looks fun.
Wednesday I did more exploring with chandler…it was fun but I forgot my scarf to go inside some churches which was kind of frustrating, but whatev, there will be time. And we stumbled across this building which was well, when you look at it it is the “great and spacious.” We tried to go in but couldn’t and it was pouring outside so we were going to try and find the metro. So I went and asked this man where the metro was, and once he heard my accent he started asking us where we were from and stuff and invited us to go in the building with him. (he was obviously a man of connections) anyway, we went to the highest floor which was a restaurant that looked like it was probably a million dollars to order anything. Men in business suits were just lounging around these beautiful tables in the ground and couches as benches smoking hooka…it was crazy. Anway, the view from that building was seriously the best view in the city. You could see everything. When I walked out, I said that it was so cool, and Chandler said he was sad that existed. It got me thinking…it is crazy to me that Moscow can have the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor.
OH ya, and we had our first politics lecture which was pretty cool. Russia is just one big revolution…the history is so rich…sometimes I forget how young of a country America is.
Thursday, well, after class I did my hmwk and jst about collapsed when I was walking to the metro…I needed some serious sleep. When I got home I felt like I could sleep for hours but I knew that would be bad aso I got up and went to this free English play later that night about the life of a Russian poet. All I can say is that there were some amazing lines like, “You Russians are just a bunch of vampire poets” and “your lonliness makes me hot.” Anyway, I was trying to contain my laughter the whole time-the heavy Russian accents didn’t help either, neither did Chandler writing distracting notes the whole time. Anyway, she hangs herself in the end, and I walked out of the theatre laughing. I may have missed the point of the play.
Later we went to red square. I will probably say this a thousand times, but it is heavenly.
Friday I got up and ran then met up with those Russian girls at 1 to go to (umm I actually forgot the name) but it was another kremlin or fortress in the northeast. There was a huge “flea market” and there were some pretty cheap things…my highlight of this was definitely the vodka museum. Seriously, I didn’t realize what a huge part of their history vodka played. And still plays. When I come out of my apartment in the moringn to run, there’s always someone there drinking still from the night before.
Anyway, after that we went to the look out point of the city on the south…I keep forgetting the names of these places, but I’ll get them down when I visit again.
Saturday, running and then we all went to Grant Lundbergs to have dessert and discuss and problems we may be having. It was fun, but we spent like 4 hours there, and then when we walked out to have dinner together, we had to switch back to Russian which messed with my mind. Later we went to “diskotyeka” for the young adults and it was SO fun. It was funny because it was like way worse than any church dance in the states because there are like no members, but the elektronika music is so fun to dance to. The Russian girls I met this week are going to show me where to go dancing on the weekends and I’m stoked…it reminds me of that scene from Good Will Hunting (if you remember) when he’s describing to the psychologist the way he feels when he goes dancing…
So today we did a tour of the city so we didn’t go to church. It was the only time to do it because Sunday is the only semi-reasonable day to drive around. It was also necessary to do it as soon as possible because they basically helped us give direction to our exploring.
I’ll take pictures of the red square mall later, but it’s freaking high class. I got to go inside Armani and look at 2000 $$$$$ shoes. Haha. Ya freaking right.
Tonight we went to a fireside of a new area authority (who used to be atheist) and it was about marriage. Hmmm…everywhere I go.
And here I am…I’ve been on this computer for two hours. So I’m just going to do this once a week and use it as a journal and kill two birds with one stone…
And here are some pics.
Oh ya, of course I love you all!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
OK. So I'm going to try and post something that is somewhat comprehensible, but hey, I haven't really slept in a couple of days so we'll see what comes out!
So yesterday...
I went to exchange money to pay my months rent and I could tell that Lidya was on edge being out of the house, but the real story was in my first Russian "argument" that I had in leaving the house!
The weather was cool but by cool I mean it was fifties and I put on my dress and high heels because I was planning on getting straight on the metro once I bought my pass. I put on my coat and then the fun began. Lidya looked me up and down with strong disapproval and asked if I was going to be cold. I said I wouldn't. She then said that I was going to get sick. I said I wouldn't, then she said "posmotrim" which is "we'll see" but really what she meant is "I hope you get sick so that I can show you that I am right." Anyway, we stood at the door for about 10 minutes with her asking me if I wanted to change and me saying no because I needed to wear the dress for church...When I met up with everyone at the metro station every other girl had the same story with their babushkas!!! They are so protective! Anyway, I was just fine and walking home I actually felt like I needed to even take my coat off...The second I walked in the door she asked me if I was cold. I could see the tangible disapointment when I said that I was fine.
so the metro. I have never experienced anything like it. The stations are actually quite beautiful but it is crazy how many people are underground in Moscow!!!! The metro will be my second home-i've already spent hours down there
church:
unfortunately I didn't get to interact with a lot of Russians at church because our whole group went together so we kind of just sat by each other. Sacrament was great as far as understanding (I learned some new vocab from context-church is great for this because a lot of what people would be saying in English is predictable( in a good way ;) ),so what they are saying in Russian is also predictiable and is so much easier to pick up on unknown words). Sunday school was a little harder to focus and RS was just a disaster because there was a woman who got sick and they had to call an ambulance to come get her...I didn't really understand what happened with that, but I could tell that it was serious.
after church we went to red square. can I just say that pictures do not do it justice!!! The buildings are incredible....we passed lenin just chilling in his tomb, but we are going to explore the kremlin more later. I'm excited that I can just hop on the metro and go to red square whenever I want...it is really breathtaking!
so on the way back from red square I got lost on the metro (but just a little ;) ) and I was able to put my Russian to use and get help from this woman that I approached-she was super nice and gave me her number and ended up inviting me to go to her church on saturday...i don't know if i'll go yet but she was super nice
hmmm...so I went to bed at 9 last night and got about 3 hours of sleep between 9 and 4 am this morning. I ended up playing games at 4 on my laptop in bed and then by 5 it was light outside so I decided enough was enough and I got up and got dressed to go running and by 5:30 I was on the streets for my first run in Russia. It was so fun!!! moscow is just starting to wake up at about that time-people are sweeping the streets, shopkeepers are bringing in new produce from their trucks, and gradually there were more and more cars popping up on the street. Running was a great way to see moscow...I ran for about an hour and was entertained the whole time looking at all that was around me-I even saw another runner on the way back. I felt pretty safe because it was completely light outside and most little produkty stores were getting ready for the day, and there weren't a bunch of people on the sidewalks which actually made it possible for me to run. The only scare that I had was coming back into the building I just about crapped my pants when I turned the corner in the stairwell and there was a homeless man gathering his things...I almost screamed, but I just turned around and went straight down the stairs to use the elevator. ahhh, that run was so nice...I'm planning my run for tomorrow by the river in the afternoon...I saw tons of people walking on the trails there when I went to school today so I think it will be a great place to go and run and explore.
so school. hmmmm...our russian teacher is definitely soviet style ;) I will wait to say anything more until I really get to know him...
when I got home today I was exhausted but I needed to stay up because I need to get on the right schedule so that I don't have repeated nights like last night...anyway, it was really nice because Lidya and I ended up talking for about an hour and a half...we talked about russian literature, medvedev, and even abortion (we covered a wide range of topics)...mostly I listened because my vocab as you can imagine is pretty limired on said subjects but I was happy to talk to her and i think it was nice because when talking about Russian television and her favorite programs it was the first time I saw her true smile and laugh and it put me at ease.
anyway, i don't even know if this makes sense and i'm not even going to read over it because i just don't have the energy! Hopefull i'll be able to be a little more put together on the mext post.
and a very funny note: all the girls in the group have already had crying sessions except for.....ME!!!! Haha, I think I'm adjusting quite well-at least my eyes have been absolutley tear free and I've had no big problems with lidya even though there will be some things to get used to-there are already two girls who have to be moved from their homes because they've had awful experiences. But man, my body needs some rest!!
ok...enough rambling
So yesterday...
I went to exchange money to pay my months rent and I could tell that Lidya was on edge being out of the house, but the real story was in my first Russian "argument" that I had in leaving the house!
The weather was cool but by cool I mean it was fifties and I put on my dress and high heels because I was planning on getting straight on the metro once I bought my pass. I put on my coat and then the fun began. Lidya looked me up and down with strong disapproval and asked if I was going to be cold. I said I wouldn't. She then said that I was going to get sick. I said I wouldn't, then she said "posmotrim" which is "we'll see" but really what she meant is "I hope you get sick so that I can show you that I am right." Anyway, we stood at the door for about 10 minutes with her asking me if I wanted to change and me saying no because I needed to wear the dress for church...When I met up with everyone at the metro station every other girl had the same story with their babushkas!!! They are so protective! Anyway, I was just fine and walking home I actually felt like I needed to even take my coat off...The second I walked in the door she asked me if I was cold. I could see the tangible disapointment when I said that I was fine.
so the metro. I have never experienced anything like it. The stations are actually quite beautiful but it is crazy how many people are underground in Moscow!!!! The metro will be my second home-i've already spent hours down there
church:
unfortunately I didn't get to interact with a lot of Russians at church because our whole group went together so we kind of just sat by each other. Sacrament was great as far as understanding (I learned some new vocab from context-church is great for this because a lot of what people would be saying in English is predictable( in a good way ;) ),so what they are saying in Russian is also predictiable and is so much easier to pick up on unknown words). Sunday school was a little harder to focus and RS was just a disaster because there was a woman who got sick and they had to call an ambulance to come get her...I didn't really understand what happened with that, but I could tell that it was serious.
after church we went to red square. can I just say that pictures do not do it justice!!! The buildings are incredible....we passed lenin just chilling in his tomb, but we are going to explore the kremlin more later. I'm excited that I can just hop on the metro and go to red square whenever I want...it is really breathtaking!
so on the way back from red square I got lost on the metro (but just a little ;) ) and I was able to put my Russian to use and get help from this woman that I approached-she was super nice and gave me her number and ended up inviting me to go to her church on saturday...i don't know if i'll go yet but she was super nice
hmmm...so I went to bed at 9 last night and got about 3 hours of sleep between 9 and 4 am this morning. I ended up playing games at 4 on my laptop in bed and then by 5 it was light outside so I decided enough was enough and I got up and got dressed to go running and by 5:30 I was on the streets for my first run in Russia. It was so fun!!! moscow is just starting to wake up at about that time-people are sweeping the streets, shopkeepers are bringing in new produce from their trucks, and gradually there were more and more cars popping up on the street. Running was a great way to see moscow...I ran for about an hour and was entertained the whole time looking at all that was around me-I even saw another runner on the way back. I felt pretty safe because it was completely light outside and most little produkty stores were getting ready for the day, and there weren't a bunch of people on the sidewalks which actually made it possible for me to run. The only scare that I had was coming back into the building I just about crapped my pants when I turned the corner in the stairwell and there was a homeless man gathering his things...I almost screamed, but I just turned around and went straight down the stairs to use the elevator. ahhh, that run was so nice...I'm planning my run for tomorrow by the river in the afternoon...I saw tons of people walking on the trails there when I went to school today so I think it will be a great place to go and run and explore.
so school. hmmmm...our russian teacher is definitely soviet style ;) I will wait to say anything more until I really get to know him...
when I got home today I was exhausted but I needed to stay up because I need to get on the right schedule so that I don't have repeated nights like last night...anyway, it was really nice because Lidya and I ended up talking for about an hour and a half...we talked about russian literature, medvedev, and even abortion (we covered a wide range of topics)...mostly I listened because my vocab as you can imagine is pretty limired on said subjects but I was happy to talk to her and i think it was nice because when talking about Russian television and her favorite programs it was the first time I saw her true smile and laugh and it put me at ease.
anyway, i don't even know if this makes sense and i'm not even going to read over it because i just don't have the energy! Hopefull i'll be able to be a little more put together on the mext post.
and a very funny note: all the girls in the group have already had crying sessions except for.....ME!!!! Haha, I think I'm adjusting quite well-at least my eyes have been absolutley tear free and I've had no big problems with lidya even though there will be some things to get used to-there are already two girls who have to be moved from their homes because they've had awful experiences. But man, my body needs some rest!!
ok...enough rambling
Sunday, May 17, 2009
I made it!
hey guys-
I just finally figured out that I can get a wireless connection in the room of my apartment (I hope I'm not using some poor family's wireless...hmmm...) anyway, I'm here.
my flight was pretty uneventful except I sat next to a really nice Russian guy who I was able to talk to when I was staring at the back of the seat in front of me wanting to go to sleep...haha. It was cool though being able to see NY from the plane, and even cooler was flying up over iceland because it was barely light outside the entire flight and the ocean was so beautiful with the sun just barely on the horizon making the ocean look red.
Interesting note: The flight was mostly Russians (there were only a few Americans) and I was able to immediately see the difference in people at the gate in NY. Russians are very stylish and seriously all the women were in high heels.
wow! I was the first to get here and I had to wait about an hour for other students to show up (but there were people there to meet me-so no worries mom, I wasn't alone ;) )
driving to Lidya's was about another hour and a half because we had to drop another kid off before me and the taxi driver couldn't find the place. Moscow is HUUUGGGEEE. It will be about an hour commute for me each way to school on the metro (and that is a straight line with only one transfer)...that's how big it is. It was cool just reading the bilboards and stuff and seeing everything while driving but I haven't gone exploring yet because Lidya didn't want to go do anything which was fine, but I didn't get to go to red square with everyone else because I just had no idea where to start on the metro and how to get my pass but I'll probably go there tonight Lidya is definitely a Russian babushka and I can tell that she doesn't leave the house much...she's a collector of things like plastic bags ;) haha, she seems like she'll be fun and she will help me with whatever she can,. It's cool too because she just talks at full speed and I've been able to understand the jist of what she says...I'm understanding pretty well, but I need to get the groove of speaking-I've already started the charades game ;)
food-well, Lidya asked me if I liked chicken..haha, i should have said no! I had a pretty bad stomach ache yesterday after eating it...I watched her pour about a cup of oil (I'm not exaggerating) over some chicken nugget things and some noodles and she let it simmer for about 5 minutes and then placed in front of me and well, I ate about half of it but knew right away that it was a mistake...she was watching me while I ate it too which put the pressure on...
well, we're going to go together to the atm so i can pay her, then she's going to help me get a metro pass, then at 1 I'm going to make my first adventure by myself to go meet up with other students to go to church...so we'll see if I make it-haha :)
well I love you guys!
Mom and Dad, thanks so much for all your help last week helping me get ready, and thank you for this opportunity! I love it already and I'm just getting started!!!
ok, gotta run!
kensie
I just finally figured out that I can get a wireless connection in the room of my apartment (I hope I'm not using some poor family's wireless...hmmm...) anyway, I'm here.
my flight was pretty uneventful except I sat next to a really nice Russian guy who I was able to talk to when I was staring at the back of the seat in front of me wanting to go to sleep...haha. It was cool though being able to see NY from the plane, and even cooler was flying up over iceland because it was barely light outside the entire flight and the ocean was so beautiful with the sun just barely on the horizon making the ocean look red.
Interesting note: The flight was mostly Russians (there were only a few Americans) and I was able to immediately see the difference in people at the gate in NY. Russians are very stylish and seriously all the women were in high heels.
wow! I was the first to get here and I had to wait about an hour for other students to show up (but there were people there to meet me-so no worries mom, I wasn't alone ;) )
driving to Lidya's was about another hour and a half because we had to drop another kid off before me and the taxi driver couldn't find the place. Moscow is HUUUGGGEEE. It will be about an hour commute for me each way to school on the metro (and that is a straight line with only one transfer)...that's how big it is. It was cool just reading the bilboards and stuff and seeing everything while driving but I haven't gone exploring yet because Lidya didn't want to go do anything which was fine, but I didn't get to go to red square with everyone else because I just had no idea where to start on the metro and how to get my pass but I'll probably go there tonight Lidya is definitely a Russian babushka and I can tell that she doesn't leave the house much...she's a collector of things like plastic bags ;) haha, she seems like she'll be fun and she will help me with whatever she can,. It's cool too because she just talks at full speed and I've been able to understand the jist of what she says...I'm understanding pretty well, but I need to get the groove of speaking-I've already started the charades game ;)
food-well, Lidya asked me if I liked chicken..haha, i should have said no! I had a pretty bad stomach ache yesterday after eating it...I watched her pour about a cup of oil (I'm not exaggerating) over some chicken nugget things and some noodles and she let it simmer for about 5 minutes and then placed in front of me and well, I ate about half of it but knew right away that it was a mistake...she was watching me while I ate it too which put the pressure on...
well, we're going to go together to the atm so i can pay her, then she's going to help me get a metro pass, then at 1 I'm going to make my first adventure by myself to go meet up with other students to go to church...so we'll see if I make it-haha :)
well I love you guys!
Mom and Dad, thanks so much for all your help last week helping me get ready, and thank you for this opportunity! I love it already and I'm just getting started!!!
ok, gotta run!
kensie
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