At least one of my friends loves me enough to visit me in Russia!

Look at me! Two posts in one week!
The truth is, life has been slow. I've been feeling really under the weather and haven't had much responsibility, so I have been taking it realllyyy slowly. I have been spending most of my time sleeping and reading. I just got a bunch of new books and have read about 3 or 4 of them in just 2 weeks.

The last few weeks have been pleasant though, because we have some very welcomed visitors. Right now the "in-laws" from VA are here which has been such a delight. And last week my friend from Richmond, Sarah Beth was here. So she got me out of the house a little bit. We did a few things I haven't done before, but mostly it was just really, really nice having an old friend here.

Sarah Beth took some great pictures and I want to share some of them here. Much of the content you have seen before, but these are from different eyes, so they are captured much differently. It's like hearing two sides of a story, and I really like her version of Moscow:

Pictures from the Red Square at sunset:




Metro pictures:


The dark, steep escalator tunnel in/out of the stations


Waiting for the train at our station, Taganskaya


Lucky dog statue at the metro station of the Red Square


a high ceiling with a painting of the Soviet flag at the top the Taganskaya station


Young boy playing the accordion for money in the metro


Around the city:


Famous graffiti wall for a Russian musician on Old Arbat


Delicious looking greens at the Alexander Gardens of the Kremlin






Sarah Beth at the KGB at sunset

Pictures from our day at the Moscow State University:








The great part about MSU is not only the cool architecture, but this fantastic view that you get of the entire city. The campus is set upon a high hill that overlooks Moscow. Pictures of the view in another post.


A newlywed couple on the side of the hill, about to release some doves.

Behind them you can see the ski slope down the hill that is used, no matter what the weather.


The lift wasn't working so we just walked down the hill to the river.
The walk down reminded me of an old video game I use to play on Playstation.
My knees hurt so badly after walking down this steep hill.


We walked along the river to this metro station that is situated right above the water.

Something I really love about other cities (outside of the ones I lived in for a significant amount of time) is the markets.
Moscow has GREAT markets. One of them is a food market that I had heard of but never been to. Sarah Beth and I went, spent about $40 on fresh fruits and veggies, and I had about 15 conversations in Russian. It was great practice.

But my favorite market is the one in our neighborhood at Izmaylova. Our neighborhood is known for 2 big things: the gigantic park and the market.
The market is indescribable- it's another world where the rules are different, the dialects and languages change at every hall and you can literally get lost shopping.
I like to take people there because it really is like being in another country. Sometimes you are in China, Vietnam, the Caucasus, somewhere in the Middle East- all developing, and nothing western. The entire place is probably as big as the town I grew up in. You think you are in the market before you actually even see the high arched doorway. It is a maze inside. A maze where every hall has a different item. The first two halls as you enter are fur coats. Then some are shoes, purses, umbrellas, jeans, etc.

I usually just stay on the main path and enjoy all of the sights, sounds and smells. For the first time I ventured into the Asian part (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, I really don't know) and bought some delicious tofu!! The only tofu I have been able to find here is the soft silken tofu that's really only good for making pudding or as an egg substitute.

But for $1.5/$2 (30/40 rubles) I found firm and smoked tofu!! This is a huge improvement for my diet since lent ended. This part of the market also has greens that I have never seen in Moscow, and never seen in my life. I can't wait to go back this weekend. They also have some things that are hard to see and stomach- chicken carcasses completely exposed, buckets of live fish bigger than my midsection, crawfish, squid, and all kinds of animal parts. All exposed and butchered how you want it on a piece of cardboard on the ground. Yeah, maybe buying anything from them is risky- but the tofu is pre packaged so I feel okay about it.

Here are general pictures of walking through the market:



They have these vendors that walk through the market and sell food, cigarettes, and even small stationary items. We saw a couple of guys with huge carts holding 10-20 melons, they were cutting them up with big machetes right there and selling them piece by piece.








‘Nothing can stop our independence now’ – breakaway republics

Not much has happened, yet so much has happened...

So I have been in Moscow, Russia for about 3 weeks now. I wish I could say that I have done more than I have. I wish I could say that I have been everywhere in my tourist book by now- 3 weeks is certainly enough time- but so much of this time has been spent settling in, rather than having fun.



Settling sure does take a lot out of you. Trying to create new systems, procedures, routines- in a new city, a new home, with a new person... I suppose the best way to describe it is simply as... "adjusting."



Unfortunately adjusting does not provide a lot of exciting stories for blogging.



But to describe a regular day for Micah in Moscow:

-Wake up around 8 or 9 with Vas, fix breakfast and start studying Russian.

-3 days of the week I have Russian lessons with Olga. Olga is 24, and a very nice, modest teacher. Private lessons don't come cheap, but I think they will be worth it.

-I usually spend my day walking around and learning the neighborhood. Sometimes I go running, sometimes I spend too much time on the internet, mostly I obsessively clean the kitchen and go through old grandmother treasures.

-Sometimes in the evenings Vas and I play football with some neighborhood kids by his fathers'. Running around, playing well and spending time with people in this way has been my source of sanity. Thank goodness for endorphins.

-Recently I figured out how to watch Scrubs and Arrested Development on-line for free. There is another "thank goodness."



I've also been playing around with food a lot. I have been forced to be very creative. A vegan diet does not come easily or cheap in Moscow. But for over 6 years I have been working through it... there is no way that living in another country will change that. Luckily we have that wonderful Hare Krishna veggie restaurant.

I love food, wait- I really love vegan food- so this may only be interesting to me, but here is a picture of the food I am eating on a regular basis:



Pictured: Mueslii, dark chocolate, sugar puff pastry, juice, soymilk, canned cherries, jasmine green tea, instant coffee, rice cakes, dried fruit and nuts, seaweed, fake salami (almost all gone), fake hot dogs, vegan mayo and indian spiced tea.

Not pictured: apples and lots of them, frozen spinach, cucumbers, rice, miso, and other veggies (mostly frozen).



I have been cooking and baking every day- and I think that I am getting better.



I may be starting a job soon, which is FANTASTIC news. If all works out, I will be taking care of a 3 year old boy 3 days a week, and teaching him English. It seems that this family will be taking very good care of me, and I will get to join them in France in the summer for a few weeks.

Let us cross our fingers on this opportunity.



Yesterday I took my first lone trip out into the city using the metro. This is no easy task, I will call it adventerous and even a little bit courageous, because it is much different than any metro I have used before (and I have ridden metros in Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Paris, Madrid, Prague, Rome, etc) and nothing is in English. It's like getting through a maze sometimes. Plus, the entire metro system is humongous. It is bigger than the systems of London and NYC put together:





Here are pictures from my outting, there are many I meant to take but forgot to.



Pictures from the nearby Market:





This is usual for markets here. They are like flea markets, but more official and formal. There are many of these small, privately owned mini stores. There are maybe 10 for fresh produce, 10 for cigarettes, womens clothing, housing, coffee/tea, meat, cheese, salami, some asian, toilettries, the list goes on.

We went to a similar market that was all electronics and it was set up the same way. Some specialized in computer monitors, others in WiFi stuff, and so on.



Walking to the Metro:









Eventually I will be making a post just for the metro. The stations are works of art in their own- and hold so much history.. it definitely deserves it's own post.

Pictures from the Red Square area:





this is the stage in which Putin and Medvedev, Russia's new leader, spoke to the country after the results of the election on Sunday came in.









and I thought you would all be happy/relieved to know that when Vas and I went to Ikea last week, I got a new hippo:


We bought new bookcases, wardrobe, dresser, chair, lamps and a big red couch. I will post pictures of the apartment soon.
I was also informed today that in May we will be going through an entire renovation of the apartment. So the completion of the apartment may not come until the end of the summer.

I began this actual post last week.
Today it is Saturday, the 8th of March.
Unfortunately it is the one year anniversary of a tragic loss- a day when we lost one of the most amazing people I have been lucky enough to know in life, Charles Lewis.
Charles, I hope that you know we will never forget you, and there is still so much love for you that exists here on Earth- from Richmond, VA all the way to Russia. And I can just see your bright, shiny smile right now as I type this. We love you and miss you my dear friend!

On another note, March 8th is a good day for Russians.
It is National Woman's Day.
The last post was Man's Day, and ironically today is Woman's Day.

Every woman in Russia is walking around with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. It's quite a nice sight.



"A little more matriarchy is what the world needs, and I know it. Period. Paragraph."
-Dorothy Thompson

National Man's Day

So today in Russia, it is Man's Day.
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.

Museum.

Ice skating at the Red Square.

Kazan Cathedral.

Vas & bro at what once was the center of Russia.
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.