Well, technically it is National Defender's of the Motherland Day, and it is tradition to give gifts to the men.
But this silly tradition is offset by a Woman's Day, where men give women gifts.
I didn't have anything to give Vasili, but I did make an amazing vegan dinner and am now letting him play his xbox on the ceiling.
I'm so sweet.
So I just started this blog and haven't talked about Moscow at all. I need to get started so that I don't forget anything.
I have been here for a week and a day, and unfortunately almost all of my time has been spent towards settling in. Vas and I moved into the apartment of his late grandmother who lived here for 40 years. I have spent almost every day rummaging through and scrubbing 40 years of living. The work seems endless right now.
I have come across a few treasures.
Some beautiful china, traditional Russian wooden utensils, USSR ("CCP") coins and little porcelain communist bears.
I am a huge fan of traditional Russian stuff. Particularly the utensils and embroidery.
Just so you know what I am talking about, here is a picture of Russian spoons I found on Google:
Yesterday we finally got the internet hooked up. A family friend came to wait with me for the internet guy. I know zero Russian, and I have found that most people know zero English. This particular family friend knows no English, so we spent a couple of hours cleaning and sorting through things together- we developed our own sign language and found some common understanding in the little French that we both know. Not being able to communicate with people is becoming more and more frustrating. Especially when I am developing relationships with people, with out any words. Luckily they found me a Russian teacher, and I begin lessons on Monday.
I will probably begin typing my entries in Russian and English at some point for extra practice.
Last Saturday Vasili, his younger brother and myself went to the Red Square.
It was painfully cold so we didn't stay long. I just had to go as soon as possible.
Here are some pictures from my camera:
St. Basil's
Lenin Mausoleum.
Kazan Cathedral.
Vas & bro at what once was the center of Russia.
Throw a coin for good luck.
Throw a coin for good luck.
The temperature was only -10C, but the wind made it worse- it was so crisp that the skull under my forehead began to ache.
Other than the quick trip to the Red Square, I have spent most of my time at our apartment, the family's apartment, our neighborhood grocery store "Yum Yum" and a visit to the Hare Krishna vegetarian restaurant where I was lucky enough to find faux Russian meats and vegan cakes.
We spent 2 days of last week in Ivanova, Russia. Ivanova is a smaller city about 4 hours north of Moscow. The guys had to go for work, and I tagged along.
Wednesday we drove through a nasty snowstorm- thicker than I have ever seen- so we didn't arrive until late.
Vas wanted to catch the Champions League game at a sports bar, so we took a taxi around the city until we finally found one to show the game.
It was my first time eating at a regular Russian restaurant.
I had a bowl of vegetarian Borsch (a traditional Russian soup made of beets and cabbage), a plate of fresh veggies and 2 beers.
This was a simple meal, but it scarred me for life. I spent the entire night hugging the toilet.
I have never had food poisoning like this. It came on half way through the bowl of borsch and lasted for about 10 hours- until my entire body was flushed out.
This was unfortunate timing because the next day was long and tiring.
First I tagged along for the business half of the trip.
Some local vendors/artists came to sell us stuff after the meeting.
We bought 2 lacquer boxes.
I can't seem to get a picture of ours without the flash ruining the picture, so I will yet again share a Google Image with you:
I don't know much about lacquer boxes, but I do know that they are Russian novelty- hand-made, hand-painted and the gold color is real gold. They are very attractive pieces.
After Ivanova we went to another small city nearby that is famous for it's jewelry factory. The factory hosted our small group for a tour, a shopping spree and the most decadent lunch and drinks. Unfortunately I had no appetite yet, I couldn't bear to make myself eat- which was difficult because I am sure that it was culturally offensive and distasteful.
There was one other American with us. She is a Russian scholar from Chicago- and also a vegetarian. Needless to say, we got along very well.
It was refreshing to be around a vegetarian and an American for the day. Every now and again we would both find something funny about the way Russians are and we would look at each other and chuckle.
On the way back to Moscow we stopped twice, for more food and for more wine.
ohhhhhh Russia.
Traveling to cities outside of Moscow and seeing the countryside was extremely exciting for me.
Beautiful, uniquely colored onion-dome cathedrals are everywhere.
The other towns/cities look outdated and like they are still stuck in the Soviet-era.
Moscow has a little bit of this feeling as well.
Pictures from the trip:
Things I dislike about Moscow so far:
-horrible, horrible roads
-horrible, horrible drivers
-horrible, horrible traffic
-it takes an hour to get anywhere in the city, no matter what transportation is used
-the water is not drinkable
-the food is so stinky it makes my stomach hurt
-everyone drinks more than my college friends back home do
-fresh fruit/veggies from street vendors will make me sick and give me spots all over my body
I thought that a Russian proverb would be appropriate to end this post:
"Better a dove on the plate than a woodgrouse in the mating place."
And sorry about these pictures- click on them and you should be able to view them. I will try to re-size them and edit this post later.
