The NYTimes reports on a topic familiar to anyone who has spent time in Russia during the summer months: a lack of hot water.

For all its new wealth and aspirations, spurred by a boom in oil and other natural resources, Moscow remains saddled with an often decrepit infrastructure. Around now, an apt symbol of its condition is the city's hot water system, perhaps one of the more exasperating vestiges of Soviet centralized planning.

Buildings in Moscow usually receive hot water from a series of plants throughout the city, not from basement boilers, as in the United States. By summer, the plants and the network of pipelines that transport hot water need maintenance. Off goes the hot water. And in homes across the city, out come the pots and sponges and grumbling.

When my classmates and I first arrived in St. Petersburg in the summer of 2002, our program adviser gathered us in our dorm's common room to go over some basic information - nearest metro station, class schedule, safety, whatever. At one point he added, "Oh, and they just turned off the hot water...yesterday. So that'll be about two weeks without it." We were perplexed by this. A centralized hot water system? The buildings don't have individual water heaters? WTF? Still, the announcement didn't really phase me. I mean, how cold could the water possibly be?

I regretted that thought the second I jumped in the shower and directly into a stream of teeth-chattering, goosebump-inducing, oh-my-god-did-I-just-jump-into-the Bering Sea COLD water. And so it went for two and a half weeks (until the pipes were cleaned and the faucets once again magically dispensed hot water). Some students preferred to boil water and use wash basins, but I was much too lazy to wait for water to boil and instead became quite adept at two minute ice-cold showers. One of my friends who was staying with a Russian family attempted to do this as well, until her homestay "mother" rushed after her, basin in hand, screaming that she would die of pneumonia if she took a cold shower. Thankfully, our class experienced no cold water-related casualties. The food, however, was an entirely different story.

Posted by Lindsay at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

This recent post by Cincy prompted me to write about my own experience teaching foreigners English (albeit, in my case, indirectly).

Back in the summer of 2003 I took Russian language classes at Moscow State University's Center for International Education, a division of MGU formed to teach Russian to promising young foreign Communists back in the days of the Soviet Empire. As for me, the American, what better way to spend my summer than sitting in a stifling hot classroom (no air conditioning, comrades!) cramming my head with verbs, vocab, and cases for five hours a day, five days per week.

Moscow State U. - breeding ground for future party bureaucrats

Our only respite from this constant barrage of language was our lunch period, which was spent in the stolovaya, or cafeteria. The decor was strictly Soviet - this was, after all, an educational center for the proletariat. The food, as you could imagine, thoroughly sucked, yet the Russian teachers, police officers, and soldiers seemed to enjoy it. We instead chose to purchase chips, candy, and soda from the outside kiosks, much to to the chagrin of the surly cafeteria ladies. I usually opted for a Fanta and large bag of bacon or chicken flavored chips (yes, they really have chips with those flavors). Nevertheless, it was a time for us to just relax and speak some damn English without our teachers yelling at us. We were an odd bunch - a few Yanks, some Brits, a couple of Spaniards, a south Korean, and a pair of Pakistani diplomats. Most of us were college students with an academic reason for spending the summer at CIE, while others were there because their oil executive or stockbroker fathers thought it best they learn the local language.

So one day we were sitting there when a CIE staff member comes barreling through, speaking so fast I could barely understand. Something about a computer, I dunno. Liz points her finger at me, and the next thing I knew, I was being dragged to the director's office.

"They want you to fix a computer or something. I told them you knew stuff about computers."

"WHAT! Windows is going to be in freakin' RUSSIAN!!"

I got to the office and there was no computer for me to fix. I was thoroughly confused, until they introduced me to a representative from a language software company. She said her company was developing a new program to teach young Russians the vocabulary of their American counterparts and they would just need my help for an hour, hour and a half tops. I agreed, still unsure as to what exactly I would be doing, until she e-mailed me a list of subjects we would possibly be discussing. Oh man, I thought, they're going to record me?!

I had spent the following weekend in St. Petersburg, and arrived back in Moscow on Monday morning, stumbling off the train and rushing to make it back to CIE, all while ridiculously low on sleep. Oh yeah, I could already tell that this "interview" was going to be stellar. I met up with the software representative and we hopped on the metro. The "studio" was located in a stereotypical crumbling office building/factory of some sort. Man, that place must have been buzzing with economic inefficiency back in the day.

They sat me down in front of a mic, gave me a mug of scalding hot tea (it was July, mind you), completed the sound check, and the questions started to roll in. The interviewer was a very nice fellow, and explained we would be discussing sports. Sports, hey! I can talk about sports!

Q: What are your favorite sports?
My favorite sports are soccer, baseball and surfing.

Q: Do you go surfing in Washington?
No, no opportunities for surfing in Washington, only when I go back to California.

And so on and so on. They had me explain the equipment you need to go surfing, so I covered the various types of boards, talked about the importance of a leash, and mentioned that wearing a wetsuit was probably a good idea. This was critical information that young Muscovites needed to know.

The next set of questions centered around a typical day in the life of Lindsay Fincher, student at George Washington University:

Q: What is your favorite place to eat?
We have a favorite place, called 'Lindy's Red Lion', and it's a bar and restaurant, and they have some... some very, very good hamburgers. I eat a lot of hamburgers, so, if a place has good hamburgers, then I like it.

Brilliant, Lindsay...just brilliant. If hordes of young Russians descend upon "Lindy's Red Lion" while strolling around Foggy Bottom, now you know why.

Q: Do you have a vacuum cleaner?
I don't have a vacuum cleaner myself, but each dorm has a vacuum cleaner in it, and if you want to use it, you can go downstairs and get it.

What kind of bizarre question is that?!

Q: What time do you go to bed?
I usually go to bed at two in the morning.

Q: Is this time enough to sleep?
Yeah. It's enough time.

After the interview was finished, they handed me a nice, crisp 500 ruble bill (around $15 back then) as payment for my time. Ooh yeah, I ain't reportin' this to those suckas at the IRS. I promptly spent it on cheesy Russian souvenirs, like Soviet leader stacking dolls and propaganda posters.

I hadn't given the program much thought after I left Moscow. I never knew if they had actually made it until, out of curiosity, I checked the company's website about a year ago and found that it had indeed come out under the title "Frankly Speaking: Real American" (cue theme song from Team America: World Police, please). You can even buy it online for a mere 816 rubles ($30), just make sure you have at least a Pentium 200. Or, you can read the script that I found online (and from which I grabbed all the dialogue from while simultaneously reminding myself of what an idiot I must have sounded like). I'm listed as Lindsay Fincher, USA, George Washington University, студентка по специальности Political Science and Russian History in sections Спорт от софтбола до серфинга and День, как день. (Sorry if you can't see the Cyrillic, but whatev, download the language pack if you are so inclined).

You know, I don't think I've ever told anyone about this...except for my friends at CIE, obviously...but not even my parents. It's just one of those things you forget about, and then remember and think to yourself, "That was pretty odd."

Nevertheless, I hope that at least one Russian learned something from this program...maybe picked up a hint of a California accent, got a craving for a Lindy's Hawaiian burger, or is now poring over a map looking for Russian surf spots. I dunno, surely the oil and gas mecca of Sakhalin has some waves? Just gotta watch out for those ice floes.

Posted by Lindsay at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments? (4) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Here you go...more pics from my summer in Moscow

Chris, Luke, and myself with our inflatable instruments of death - On July 4th we went down to VDNKh, an open air market/amusement park.  While we were there we bought these inflatable toys and ran around the park hitting each other with them.  The Russians thought we were INSANE, but it was fun.  We did look pretty odd holding these things on the long metro ride back to our dorm, though. 

The group at Peter and Paul Fortress - Eight of us took a trip to St. Petersburg for a weekend.  Here we are (minus Liz, who was taking the picture) at Peter & Paul Fortress.  Since we only had 2 days in St. Pete, Liz and I (the only people in the group who had been to St. Pete) ran the group like drill sergeants so the others could see all the major sites.  Whining about the amount of walking, the warm temperature, etc. was NOT tolerated.

Miriam, Liz, and myself in front of the Church of the Spilled Blood - Another pic from St. Pete.  Luke took this picture when we weren't expecting it, thus all of our stupid poses.  We were deciding what to do in this picture...Liz and Miriam said we should do a pyramid and I said hey, now there's a stupid idea...and said we should do the onion dome pose instead.  In this picture I demonstrate the "onion dome" pose.

Liz, Miriam, myself with my cool flag - Another picture from Church of the Spilled Blood, but in this one I have my cool "I *heart* Pityer" flag.  Yeah, you wish you had a flag like that...

Dinner at the Georgian restaurant - This is from my last night in Moscow...awww memories.  For my last meal I chose the Georgian restaurant, which we often went to because the food was so incredible.  There's John, Miriam, myself, and Luke (with the crazy face).  Mmmmm Georgian food.

I miss Moscow and want to go back NOW.

Posted by Lindsay at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Due to school, work, and extracurricular activities I haven't had any time to crop and upload all 240 pictures I took while I was in Moscow.  Maybe I'll get it done after I graduate.

I've uploaded a few, though, mainly those of my Russian friends.  So without further delay, here you go:

Myself and Slava - Slava is an awesome guy.  He works as a security guard at GUM, the mall that borders Red Square.  He speaks English very well, and I met him at GUM while I was searching for a "Russian Santa Claus" to bring back for my mom.  We hung out a lot during my time in Moscow.

Myself and Roma - Roma is a one of Slava's friends that came to Moscow for a few days.  He lives in Smolensk and plays basketball for the Smolensk Bulldogs.  Slava and Roma are HUGE basketball fans and know more about the NBA than most Americans I know.  Oh yeah, they don't like the Lakers ;)

Myself, Vanya, and Nastasya - Vanya, like Slava, is a security guard at GUM, and Nastasya works at one of the stores in GUM.  In this picture we are posing in front of the Kremlin.

Group picture - This is a picture of myself with Slava, Ira (Slava's girlfriend), myself, Vanya, Alena, and Roma in front of the gates that lead to Red Square.  We would usually hang out in Alexander Gardens near the Kremlin or at the Karl Marx Monument acrss from the Bolshoi Theater.  I enjoyed hanging out with my Russian friends...I learned a lot about Russian culture and had the opportunity to practice my Russian language skills (which are still very poor).  I still keep in contact with Slava via email, and he sends me updates on everyone...I can't wait to go back to Moscow and see all of them!

Myself at the Space Monument - This is a picture of myself posing alongside one of the walls of the Space Monument.  Like every monument built during the Soviet era, this one has a huge relief of Lenin leading the way...because even though Vladimir was long dead when the Russians sent the first man into space he still had a lot to do with their success!  Riiight.  Also notice that the collective farmers (along with their wheat) are at the forefront of this achievement, while the scientists that worked on the space program are relegated to the back.  Ah, I love socialist realism!

Posted by Lindsay at 07:30 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Thanks to my one month in Moscow, I think I've acquired enough stuff to open up my very own Russian souvenir store here in the states.  Well, maybe not...compared to last year, I didn't actually buy that much (amazing, I know).  Here are two things that I did buy, though:

This is a chess set I bought at a store on Starry Arbat in Moscow.  I actually saw this chess set at the souvenir market last year when I was in St. Pete, but I didn't buy it because I didn't know how to play chess.  I learned to play last month while I was in Moscow (spaseeba, Luka!), though, so now I actually have a reason to own a chess set.  Anyways, this chess set is US vs USSR.  The board has pieces of a world map on it, and the pieces have US and USSR colors and symbols on them.  The pawns are US and USSR leaders.

This is a matroyshka (stacking dolls) set that I bought at Izmaylovsky Park.  The dolls are (from smallest to largest): Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin.  This is not your ordinary set of stacking dolls, though.  As you can see, each doll is wearing a hat.  I've never seen stacking dolls with hats, and these were so adorable that I had to buy them.

Nothing new going on here.  The desert is boring and I would give anything for another 2-4 weeks in Moscow.  We tried the new Las Casuelas in La Quinta...it was so-so...best to stick to the Cafe in Palm Desert or Nuevas in Rancho Mirage.

Posted by Lindsay at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

After 5 weeks in Russia, I'm finally back in the US.  I really didn't want to leave...Moscow is so incredible.  On Tuesday, my last full day in Moscow, I woke up early to get some last minute sightseeing done.  Sadly, Red Square was still closed, but I did walk down to Lubyanka to see the former KGB Headquarters and notorious prison.  In the evening I had dinner with some friends at the Georgian restaurant and then we went back to Shabalovka for cake and ice cream.

On Wednesday morning I checked out of my dorm.  It is kind of an odd process.  The dzherunaya checked my room to make sure I wasn't stealing anything, for instance a desk or bed.  I had to turn in my propusk (entry card) which I was hoping to save because the stamp they used on it said "MGY - CCCP".  She handed me another card which listed the number of bags I was taking out of the building.  I thought this part was really odd...when I left the building I had to turn in that card to the security guard, who checked it against the number of bags I was carrying out.  Very, very odd.  When I said goodbye to the dzherunaya she kissed me on the cheek like 10 times...no joke, it was crazy, because during my 5 weeks at Shabalovka I had only seen her one other time before I checked out.

A driver from MGU picked me up at the dorm to take me to the airport.  Liz and Luke skipped class that day and asked the driver if they could tag along to the airport.  We finally got to Sheremetevo-2 just in time for me to check in.  Russian airports are odd, as you can only check in/clear customs 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure, not any earlier.  I got in the line that was listed next to my flight number, but it changed, so I had to get in another one.  When I finally got to the front of that line, the customs officer told me to get in a different line.  The entire process was extremely annoying.  They finally screened my luggage and I was allowed to check in and get my boarding pass.  After that you stand in another line for passport control.  I am happy to report that this time (unlike last year) I went through the entire process without being yelled at by an irate Russian border guard.  By the time I got through this process, I didn't have any time to check out the stores or, more importantly, exchange my Russian Rubles for dollars.  So now I have $70 worth of a currency that I can't get exchanged anywhere but in Russia...excellent!  My plane from Moscow to Paris was an hour late taking off, and I was sure that I would miss my connecting flight to LA.  When we finally landed in Paris I had to wait for 15 minutes for the stupid terminal bus to transfer me from Terminal B to F.  The other passengers were really pissed off at having to wait...they kept screaming that they were going to miss their flight, but the airport staff would just shrug their shoulders and say something in French.  Charles De Gaulle Airport really sucks...the layout just seems really stupid.  My plane to LAX was about 45 minutes late taking off and was probably one of the most annoying flights I've ever been on.  It was a fun filled 12 hours of little French kids running up and down the aisles screaming their heads off, the lady in the seat behind me kept putting her nasty feet on my armrest, and one of the male flight attendants kept hitting on the girl sitting next to me.  Well, at least the food was decent.  We finally landed in LA around 11:15.  On the way to customs they have a huge sign that says "Welcome to the United States of America" and under that is a tiny framed picture of George Dubya...haha great.  U.S. customs was even more annoying than Russian customs because the lines are longer and you have to go through like 5 different checkpoints.  The passport control officer spent 2 minutes talking to me about Russia and then I got my bags and went through the USDA check.  The USDA officer asked me if I had any food and I said "no" because I'm sure by "food" he didn't mean chocolate, turkish delights, tea, kasha, and instant borscht.  I got into Palm Desert around 2am.  It feels good to be back, but I wish I was still in Moscow!  I had a great time there and made some good friends.  Pictures will be up in a few days...now I gotta unpack.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

We had a good weekend in St. Pete.  Took the midnight train and arrived Saturday morning.  We stayed at the Herzen student dormitory and it was really nice...good rooms and the location was perfect - right behind Kazaan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt.  Since we only had two days there we tried to hit all the major attractions.  We went to Peter and Paul Fortress, the Kunstkammer, Hermitage, Church of the Spilled Blood, St. Isaac's Cathedral, and the Bronze Horseman.  We also took a sightseeing cruise on the Neva River.

It was nice to see the city without all the scaffolding.  They really spruced up the main areas for the 300th anniversary...there is so much new stuff on Nevsky, too.

Liz and Luke were caught jaywalking by a militiaman and they had to pay him a 100 ruble on the spot "fine", which most likely went straight into his pocket.  Ah, you gotta love the cops here.

I leave Wednesday :( I wish I could stay here a few more weeks.

Posted by Lindsay at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Today was my last day of class, yay!  We are leaving for St. Petersburg tonight.  Our train leaves at around 1am.  We are returning back to Moscow on Monday morning.  Should be fun, although 2 days is not enough time for a city like St. Pete.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

I didn't believe it at first...yes, the Russians have closed Red Square.  They put up fences around all the entrances to the square, so you can't walk on it.  How sad is that?  A security guard at GUM told me the government closed it because they were afraid that a terrorist might try and bomb St. Basil's Cathedral.  Supposedly it will be open on Monday or Tuesday.

Not much else has been going on...yesterday we went to see Khruschev's grave.  It was interesting, as he was the only former Soviet premier that was not buried along the Kremlin wall. 

We bought our train tickets to St. Petersburg.  We leave Friday night and get back Monday morning.  I can't wait to see that city again!

Posted by Lindsay at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

This was definitely a good weekend.  On Friday my class got out at 1pm (instead of 3pm like it usually does).  After class we went to a place called Stockmann's - it's kind of like Harrod's of London, but not as large.  Nonetheless, it is definitely a place where only "New Russians" and expats shop.  We were mainly interested in the grocery store, which stocks Western delicacies such as Goldfish crackers and Pace Picante Salsa.  The grocery prices aren't too bad...they are about what you would pay in the US, but the other goods are extremely overpriced.  We wanted to buy a spatula for pancakes, but there was no way in hell we were going to pay $40 for it.  After Stockmann's we had dinner at TGI Friday's (turns out there is a small one located within walking distance from our dorm).  I had the chicken tenders...very tasty.  All of the waiters spoke English, which was a plus, and also made us wonder if it was some sort of requirement that TGI Friday's has.

On Saturday we went to Tsaritsyno Park, the site of a former palace that belonged to Catherine the Great.  It was never completed though, and was just left to the elements, so all that remains is the shell of the palace.  There is a large lake there, so Liz, Luke, Chris, and I rented a 4 person rowboat and went out on the lake for an hour.  The boat was uhhh...well, it didn't tip over...I'm not quite sure it would pass a US Coast Guard check, though.  We docked the boat just in time, though, as it started raining extremely hard (it's been doing that a lot lately).  I definitely didn't want to be out on the lake in that boat during a rainstorm.  We ran for cover and ended up at this tent outside a church that was selling icons, bibles, etc.  I bought a cool looking icon, and the lady that was selling them told us that some guy started a Russian monastery in California.  Crazy...I'll have to look that one up when I get back home.  Chris was sitting under an awning of the church and a priest came out and started yelling at him.  Then the militsia came over to Chris and asked for his documents.  We went over there to see what was going on, and when the militsia asked where we were from we told them the USA and they said "Oh, fine" and left us alone.  I didn't expect they would just leave us alone like that, but hey, I'm not complaining.  Nonetheless, Chris has the honor of being the first in our group to be hassled by the militsia.

On the metro leaving the park I was sitting on the end of the bench in the middle of the car when I looked down and saw a large duffle bag just sitting there...no one around it or anything...and there were only a few people on the car, since our stop was pretty far out from the city center.  When we transferred trains Luke told a metro worker and she started yelling at some guy on the phone to stop the train at the next stop and check the bag.  Some moron probably just forgot his bag on the train.  They have been pretty conscientous about security due to the current suicide bombers at the concert and Tverskaya Street (and the metro car bombings a few years ago).

We ate at the Georgian restaurant again...the food is so incredible (the Georgians call their cuisine "table scraps from heaven.")  I'd like to go to Georgia someday...seems like an interesting place.  Back at the dorm we had cake and ice cream because it was Luke's birthday.

Today we went to Victory Park, which has a huge monument and museum dedicated to WW2.  We were going to check out the outdoor artillery and fortifications exhibit, but it started raining very very hard...the rain here is insane.  Now I gotta go back to my dorm and study Russian...class tomorrow!

Posted by Lindsay at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

On Wednesday we played basketball at the MGU main campus.  We had a good mix: 4 Americans, 1 Russian MGU student, and 2 Pakastani Diplomats.  We played for about 2 hours and have a game on for next Wednesday...yay!

Today in class we learned to sing some Russian songs.  They have this crazy karaoke setup that has tons of Russian songs you can sing along to.  The video is rather odd, though, as it displays scenes of New York City, Venice Beach, Chicago, etc...not exactly places you think of when singing "Kalinka" or "Moscow Nights."  One of my favorite songs was "Moy Adrec Sovietskii Soyouz", which went kinda like: My address is not my home or my street, my address is the Soviet Union.

Yesterday we ate at a place called Piccadilly's and I had some chicken fajitas...some of the best I have ever had!  Quite surprising...good fajitias in Moscow?  Who woulda thought?  Today we ate at a Georgian place and it was sooo good.  Georgian food rocks...I wish I could find a place in DC with lamb shashlyik, khachipuri, and lavash.

Not much else going on here.  The dorm administrators have had to check our passports and registration for like the 50th time since we got here...typical Russian red tape.  The Russians also have a lot to learn about "The customer is always right", as yesterday Liz and I wanted to buy a caramel ice cream cake for 50 rubles (a little less that $2) but the saleswoman refused.  She told us to instead pick one for 60 rubles because those ones were "far tastier and larger for only 10 more rubles."  So yeah, we ended up with a 60 ruble cake even though we wanted the caramel cake...oh well.

Posted by Lindsay at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

The weather today was HORRIBLE.  We were walking back to the metro station after classes ended and out of nowhere it just started pouring rain.  I don't recall ever being in such a heavy downpour. We had one umbrella between the four of us, and were thus soaked right through. The weather is supposed to be like this for an entire week...ugh!

So apparently if you want to call me on my cellphone you have to drop the 8 from the number.  Don't ask me why, I know nothing about the telephone system over here...if you are calling from the states it is +011 7 (903) 565 - 8687.

We found a McDonald's within walking distance from our dorm.  Hurrah, fried cherry pies and cherry McFlurrys for all!

Posted by Lindsay at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Have I mentioned how difficult the Russian language is?  Yeah, probably about 20 times already.

My teacher is pretty cool, though, and so are the kids in my class - 2 Americans, a Brit, and a Spaniard.  That's what I like about studying here - the students are from all over the world.  Today we had tea with three diplomats from Pakistan that are studying Russian here.  We are going to play basketball with them and some Korean students at the main MGU campus, so that should be fun.  Too bad I suck at basketball!

Posted by Lindsay at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

We finally made it to the Kremlin today.  Saw all the usual stuff - Cathedrals, Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell, etc etc.

The security around here has been tripled.  There are tons of militia men everywhere due to the suicide bombers.  They stand at the top of the escalators in the metro and pull aside anyone who looks remotely Chechen so that they can check their documents.  I saw one cop pull over 3 guys in less than 2 minutes.

In other news, GW Webmail continues to suck.  We took the metro all the way to the mall to check our email and it's not even working.

The metro here is pretty sweet.  It's supposed to be the largest in the world and have the most passengers per day than any other metro system.  Check out the map - it's insane.  Our dorm is located near the Shabolovskaya metro station, so we're not too far from the city center.  The metro stations themselves are works of art - marble everywhere, hammers and sickles carved into everything, statues of soldiers, workers, and peasants.  At the Izmaylovsky Park station they carved AK-47 rifles into the marble columns.  My favorite part about the Moscow metro is that that the trains come every 1.5 - 2 minutes...the metro also has a circle line, so you don't have to go out of the way to get where you need to.  I think DC could learn a thing or two from the Moscow Metro Authority.

Posted by Lindsay at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Well, we didn't have any fireworks, but we did have hotdogs, apple pie, deviled eggs, Russkii Standart, and Baltika.  Good times, good times...

I finally got my passport back from the registration department, and was thus able to get my cellphone.  Yes, kind of annoying that you have to show them your passport to them in order to buy a cellphone.  I'm using Beeline GSM.  It's a pretty nice setup...you buy the phone, then pay them about $3 to activate your simcard.  There are no contracts - instead, you buy scratch cards and add minutes to your phone.  No monthly contracts, etc etc, and you keep the number forever.  So, if you want to call me my cell phone number is 8 (903) 565 - 8687.

On Thursday I saw Rabochy i Kolkhoznitsa ("The Worker and Collective-Farm Girl"), my favorite statue of all time.  Afterwards we went to the omipresent symbol of America - McDonalds.  We also went to VDNKh, which used to be a huge park dedicated to the achievements of the Soviet Union.  Now it is a large outdoor market and amusement park...a bunch of mini stores surrounding the statue of Lenin...ah, irony.

I think tomorrow we will make it to the Kremlin...

Posted by Lindsay at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

We're at an internet cafe on the main campus of MGU.  The building where I take Russian is actually about 10 minutes away by bus from the main MGU campus.  We just came here to buy MGU shirts (smallest college bookstore EVER) and check out the main campus.

This pic above is the main campus of MGU.  It is an incredible building, but has fallen into a bit of disrepair.  Nonetheless, it's still very impressive.  It took 4 years to build it (slave laborers toiled night and day under the supervision of Beria).  The main building still has a huge Soviet crest on it, which is pretty cool.

I have Russian language class five days a week from 10 - 3pm.  Russian is so damn hard, but I feel like I'm learning a lot here.

Yesterday we went to the Treytakov Art Gallery, which has a huge collection of socialist realism artworks...my favorite...go figure!

Posted by Lindsay at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |

Moscow is so sweet.  I think I like it more than Saint Petersburg.  There seems like a lot more to do here whereas in St. Pete it was Nevsky Prospect, Nevsky Prospect, and more Nevsky Prospect.

Yesterday we went to Sculpture Park, (located in Gorky Park) the final resting place of the various Soviet era statues.  The most well known statue there is that of Felix Dzherzhinsky (founder of the Cheka, the forerunner to the KGB).  The Dzherzhinsky statue used to sit in front of the Lubyanka (KGB Headquarters) until it was pulled down by Russian citizens during the fall of the USSR.  There are also statues of Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, etc.  Afterwards we walked along the Moskva River to check out the ridiculous statue of Peter the Great.  It is one of the funniest statues I have ever seen.  Then we went to the Church of Christ the Saviour, which was recently rebuilt.  The old one had been destroyed by Stalin...he wanted to build a "Palace of Soviets" but that idea never materialized so instead it bcame the site of the world's largest outdoor swimming pool.  Ah, Russia!  After we went to the church we had blini!  There was a blini stand right outside the church...I have had blini for three days straight...that stuff is soooo good.

Today was the first day of class.  Class is alright...I am remembering a lot of Russian from last year...I seem to have forgotten it during the year in between my trips to Russia.  Oh well.

We are at the Time Online Internet Cafe at the Okhotniy Ryad shopping mall near Red Square.  It's an underground shopping mall designed by the same guy (Tserteli, I believe his name is) that built the Peter the Great statue and the Christ the Saviour Church.  As he is the favorite architect of the Moscow Mayor, he has certainly had ample time to leave his mark everywhere.

Liz just told me that Putin was at the Moscow International Film Festival yesterday.  Dammit, we were going to go to that but decided not to!  Argh!  I coulda seen Putin!

I am still waiting to get my Passport back from the government so I can get my damn cellphone.  This place can be really annoying because there is so much red tape...every document has to get stamped (they are obsessed with stamps) and you have like 4 different IDs that you have to carry around. 

Well, I got to write a lot this time because I bought an hour of internet time (yay!).  Hope everyone is doing well back in the States.  The Fourth of July is coming up...I have no idea how we are going to celebrate it.  We have met some other Americans in our dorm, so we were trying to think of something to do.

Posted by Lindsay at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments? (0) | TrackBacks (0) |  Subscribe in a reader |