A Tale of Two Dorms

Goodbye old home...

Hello new home...

And the gypsy cab that brought us there...

Remember that story about the 7 of us who fit into the gypsy cab? Well, this is what they look like. I would also like to point out that there were no people riding in this car (aside from the driver and our on-site coordinator). We decided to just pack up all our luggage into, and ontop of, the car, then we would take the Metro down to the university. Yeah, that's my suitcase on top there in the blue. The guy tied it down pretty well, so I wasn't too worried. Except for the fact that he was driving a heavily weighted down small car, which moments earlier he was making a few repairs to... Oh yeah, that made me feel awesome.

So, anyway, about 2 weeks ago, six of us, including myself, finally were able to move into our proper dormitories in the main campus building, which is a very impressive sight, I have to say. We were told we would be moved in by, at the latest, Feb. 25th. Why the wait? Well...short version: It's Russia. Long version:

We had to wait for vacancies, first (from the explosion situation when--I guess--some chemistry students [I'm lookin' at you chem. majors] decided to throw some small explosives [yeah, bombs] in the elevators, causing much damage, causing students to move out into the dorms we were supposed to stay in...).

Then, once there were free rooms, we had to wait for a signature. See, there're still some old leftovers from the Soviet days running the show, so to speak, in the higher-up levels of the administration here at the university. Basically, these are the people that know how to get work done...the Sovet way. That is, extort money from every possible source, while still maintaining the image that you're getting work done, when really, you aren't. At all. In fact, they tend to create more paperwork for the paperwork they already have, and hand that off to someone else. But at the end of the day, there still needs to be a signature from the guy, the head guy here at MSU (MGU) before anything is official. Well, needless to say, this guy is pretty slow in signing off papers, so it took a while.

And even now, after all this, only half of us are moved into these dorms.

But, I'm glad I was one of them that got to move in, because it's so much nicer than where we were at. There's laundry service (as in, they do your laundry for you; fold it and everything, or you can do it yourself), a nice little cafe with cheap food, etc. etc. Plus, I get my own room. The room is small, yes, but there's a lot of storage space, which makes up for its size. At some point, I'll post pictures of it.

Also, I get to walk to some of my classes now instead of having to take the bus (which could take a while, depending on traffic). It's only about a twenty minute walk, and now that the weather is getting better, I actually enjoy it.

It's sometimes a little difficult now to see the other half of our group now that we have moved. This is mainly due to the fact that it's hard to get into their building where we used to be because the security there is more strict (we don't feel like paying off the guards 200 rubles), and they tend to lack the spirit in coming out to see us. That's alright though. We have more fun than they do, and I swear, this time it isn't because of me. We've met some pretty cool people--other international student studying here--and I've learned some new Bulgarian card game. I'll need to write down all the rules at some point...

All in all, I really like the move, and I hope the rest of our group can move soon as well.

The library, a.k.a. biblioteka. Yeah, I can't go in. I need a stamp on some paper, and we all know how that goes...

Some shots of a few of the Metro stations here in Moscow. These are some of my favorites.

A bit o' leftover Soviet and Lenin promotion/propaganda, which are everywhere throughout the Metro stations. Actually, that's one reason why they were created--to promote the cause of the Soviet/communist agenda by showing off how pretty they could make their budding underground network of transporation look, or some such. Well, it's at least pretty.

Last Sunday, we went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and I was allowed to snap a few shots of some of the artwork there. Above is a painting by Rembrandt ("Assureus, Haman, and Esther"), and below are a few statue pieces (most, if not all, are reproductions/castes of the original), including a room with a bunch of Michelangelo pieces. The paintings I was allowed to take only a few pictures of, and even then, it was hard to get a good shot of some of them because of the lighting. With the statues, on the other hand, I could take as many pictures as I wanted, unless it was specifically marked that you couldn't take any. So, I've got a lot pics of statues, and a lot of memory shots of the paintings. I really liked this museum. Maybe I'll go back at some point.

One of my fav's of Michelangelo's: The Pieta. I'll have to make a trip to Italy at some point...

Another -angelo...Moses.

Cloudy day.

Oh, and before I forget: I've finally started my language class! Woot! It's going to be intensive learning--well, that is, we meet twice a week for three hours per lesson--but the teacher is really nice, so I think it will be okay. I really need to work on my pronounciation though.

More to come...

Lots and lots of love,
Jessica

Who said I was dead?

Alright, so, it's been a bit busy this past week or so, but I'm back with another update from the Motherland. Here goes...

Me and a couple of others decided to go check out the Hard Rock cafe downtown. It was a nice break from soup, bread, meat and cheese diet we've been subjected to for the past few weeks, and as a plus, the menus were in English and the staff spoke English. It was a little pricey, but was worth it for a nice, big meal that lasted throughout the rest of the day. The Hard Rock was also located on Ulitsa Arbat in the center of Moscow. This street is definitely a tourist hot-spot, and I can see why. It's pretty long and there are a lot of cool looking shops along the way (expensive stuff, but cool). Mostly though, it's just a nice place to take a walk through. The street venders are everywhere, and even though it was cold and rainy that day, some musicians stuck it out and played anyway--including the gypsy guitarist (see below).

On another day, all of us went out to a restaurant and bar called the 'Boarhouse'. Basically, from what I know, it was originally a place for expatriots, but then got taken over by Russians. Still, a lot of foreigners (like us) go there. And no, I did not get wasted! How else would I have been able to remember the sketchy Iranians, or the older music they were playing on the dance floor (remixes of 80s/90s stuff mostly; though, that's pretty common everywhere, whether it's supermarkets or restaurants...I think Russians are just trying to catch up). Speaking of which, I've never seen so many men with mullets in my entire life. In fact, a few of the guys were getting a haircut a little while back, and one was asking what a popular style would be. The woman responded with saying that she'd take a little off the front and sides and leave the back. One of the other guys replied: "Dude, she's trying to give you a mullet!" Needless to say, none of them got the "popular" haircut.

Also, on another day, we stopped by the American Embassy, and got to go inside because the parents of one of our group members works there. It was nice, but not as impressive as I thought it would be. Maybe that's because we weren't allowed on any of the other floors. Hmmm... They did have a small grocery store, though, with American products in it. Oh, it was so nice to see Pop-tarts again.

Afterwards, most of the people went to go buy bootleg DVDs, CDs, etc. in a kindof market place area adjacent to one of the Metro stops. I went there eventually (and got two DVDs for 40 rubles a piece; that's less two bucks for each), but at that time decided to go with Felix and Laura in search of a nice cafe. We did some sightseeing first, visiting the GUM (goom), and the area around the Kremlin. Somehow we ended up in cute little cafe under ground that had a tea and coffee shop up above when you first walk in. The people there were really nice and even let us stay half an hour after they were closed. We gave them a good tip and hit the Metro back. On our way underground, we stopped to enjoy three violinists playing in the center of a long hallway, and man, they were pretty good. Felix got some video, which I'll have to get from him later. Once we finally got off at our stop, we ended up wandering into another little cafe for some drinks. (I had an Irish coffee.) We met a nice guy there who used to live in New York City for seven years before coming back to Moscow. He recognized our "American accents" and seemed excited to meet us. After talking for a while, they too were closing, and instead of going back to our rooms, we went to the park right around the corner. It was snowing and really a pretty night. Laura and I threw snow balls Felix, but would always miss due to his cat-like reflexes (he isn't named Felix for nothing!).

And of course, I can't forget International Women's Day! (Yeah, it says 'international' but it's really just a Russian holiday). March 8th marks the day when women get flowers and street vendors who sell them make a ton of money because the jack up the prices 2-3 times the normal amount. Despite that, the guys bought all of us girls a rose, and took us out to nice dinner downtown at a place called 'Uncle Vanya' (Dyadya Vanya). We had a bit of an adventure finding the place, but eventually we found it. Basically, it's off the main streets, and back behind some buildings, attached to a chain of other shops/restaurants.

All in all, a pretty good time this past week and a half.

The Hard Rock Cafe.

Ulitsa Arbat.

Lotsa graffitti in some areas around the Arbat street.

Go...Irish?

There were a lot of these on the street. I guess you can buy a small square, but I really don't know. It was cool though, I thought, to see all the different kinds, all the different people who've come from different places...

A statue of... Ok, I don't know, but I'm sure it's something everyone else knows about.

Gypsy guitarist!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSUlBuKVTX4

The Boarhouse. (Note that the guy on the left has a mullet)

Absinth. 180 rubles (about 7 USD) for 50ml, and it was 3 for 1 that night. NO, I DID NOT HAVE ANY! Though, certain unnamed peeps of mine did.... They reported a burning sensation down to their stomachs, slight dizziness, and one sighted late night paranoia.

Laura, David, Celina, and Alex at the Boarhouse.

Ha! Kolya! (Nick)

Sketchy Iranians (two of them not pictured).

The Russian Circus. Well, a smaller version of the Russian Circus at least. It was fun though. I managed to get a few pictures in before I was shot. I'm convinced that wasn't just a laser pointer they were shining at me.

Up next: Moving Day.

Lots of love,
Jessica

Edit to add the 9 seconds of the violinist I was talking about before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58I3TaQwoCc

Here's some better footage someone else took of the same kind of stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jHT56Tg-2g