Day Two/366

2009

November 19 2009 - this was my second day in Moscow. I had my orientation with the school I was teaching at then, which much to my dismay began with a 9:30am pick up. It was a pretty long journey from where I was living into the center where the school was located. The metro exit was directly opposite the Kremlin - which was such a surprise, since I hadn't ventured to that particular metro station back in 2007. I can see why the school brings new teachers there - it's certainly an impressive first view of Moscow! 

I was told that orientation would only last a few hours, then I'd be free. That was not the case, and I was stuck there all day. Finally free around 8:30pm, I escaped and went directly to Red Square to see Saint Basil's Cathedral, Alexander's Garden, GUM, and the Kremlin - exactly what I'd been dreaming of since I stepped off the plane! It was just as magnificent as I remembered, maybe even more so since it was all lit up at night... I remembered all of it, of course, but one thing was funny - St. Basil's seemed huge! I guess after spending two years only seeing it in pictures, I forgot just how big it was! I wandered around a bit more, then got myself a blini (like a crepe) for dinner. Blini were definitely one of the things I was looking forward to eating when I got here, and I figured that it would be an appropriate first official meal in Moscow! It was just as good as I remembered, and it was even from the same chain - Teremok. 

After that it was time to make the journey home... and what a journey it was! Going by metro was no problem - I had a map and figured out where to go, that was easy. I'm pretty sure I even took the right exit out of the metro. The problem was remembering which paths to take to get to my building, because from the metro to the apartment you basically needed to navigate through parking areas and other buildings. Jet lag and an unplanned very long day are not a good combination, and due to that it took me a good 30 minutes to find my building! Once home, I contemplated unpacking a little, but decided in favor of going to bed :)

2010

Today was a nice and relaxing day. My 8:00am lesson was cancelled, which meant that I got to sleep in! It was a grey and cold day, just like last November, so I decided to just stay in and relax. I cleaned my apartment a bit, baked some peach and cherry muffins, and taught my only lesson for the day. It was nice to just do nothing and unwind at the end of what's been a rather stressful week. To celebrate my anniversary of surviving one whole year in Moscow, I did exactly what I did one year ago - walked around Red Square and Alexander's Garden! Yes, I'm familiar with everything there now, but I still love seeing it just as much as I did last year. Now I'm off to enjoy a little piece of America, Grey's Anatomy... stay tuned for more on my adventures!