Spring comes to Moscow

Spring has arrived here in Moscow at last! The snow is gone, and the temperature is finally consistently above freezing! It still goes down to around 2-5C (32-27F) at night, but the days are reaching temperatures around 9-12C (47-54F). We're in the annoying period of spring where the temperature gets drastically warmer in the sun/during the day, but still cold in the mornings and at night, and even in the shade, so you still need a warm jacket. Oh well, in a few more weeks it should get warm enough to finally put the winter coat away!

It's interesting for me to watch the city go through its spring transformations. Growing up in the suburbs, things are different. Spring in the suburbs means people working outside on their yards or maybe preparing their gardens, doing some repairs on their houses, and the first signs of children playing outside. Public parks get flowers planted and some things get painted, if they really need it. Here, children play outside all year round (which I think is wonderful – kids shouldn't just sit around during the winter!), so the sound of children playing doesn't associate with spring at all. All the work is done by migrant workers, it seems, rather than the citizens. Moscow doesn't like its workers to be idle. Two weeks ago, they were chopping ice and shoveling snow, now they're painting things. Literally, anything that can be painted is being painted! They're even painting the manhole covers and trashcans!!!

Everything really does look nice with a fresh coat of paint – but the smell… well, that is anything but nice. They're using a really heavy duty oil based paint, and it's got such a terribly strong odor. The places that they're painting in the sun are the worst – the hot sun just exacerbates the smell! Add that to the pollution from all the cars… UGH! Moscow is not good for the lungs, I think.

Daily sights and sounds

I suppose when I look back on my first winter in Moscow many years from now, a few things will stick out in my memory. The snow, of course, is one of those things, but there are a few other sights and sounds that are distinctively 'Moscow'. The first is the sound of a shovel scraping the ground. It's what I woke up to at least half of the days this winter, and what I heard all day for the better part of the past two months! If it wasn't scraping, it was chopping to break up the thick layer of packed down snow, from everyone walking on it. Moscow is nothing if not efficient at snow removal!

The other memories are all sights. One, the huge force of migrant workers who are out all hours of the day and night clearing the snow. Two, babushkas brushing snow away with an old fashioned broom made from twigs that looks like they've had for the past five decades. Three, men on roofs clearing off the snow and icicles, typically without any kind of protection whatsoever - just standing and balancing, perhaps leaning against a small railing at the edge of the roof.

Sosnoviy Bor

I've just returned from a week in the Russian countryside, where I was teaching English at a Russian camp for kids during their Spring Break. It was held at a former Soviet vacation complex located in the forest. It goes by the name of Sosnoviy Bor, which means Pine Forest. True to its name, there were a lot of pine trees in the forest – and they were massive! I've never seen trees so tall before. It was wonderful to see the green of the trees – it's been months since I've seen anything that's colored green here!

The complex itself was nice enough - it was basic lodging (which I'm pretty sure hasn't been updated since its Soviet days) but each room had it's own bathroom with a shower, which was nice. In true Russian form, the rooms were all over-heated, and lacked good ventilation. They all had balconies, but for safety reasons (kids can't be trusted not to fling themselves off the 8^th floor balcony, I suppose…) the doors and windows to said balconies were bolted shut. The only ventilation and relief from the heat was a small window above the door. After wrestling with mine a bit, I managed to get it open. It helped a bit, but I really would've liked to open the door and get some fresh, non Moscow polluted air in. Believe me, I tried everything to get that door to open, but judging by the coats of paint that were dried in the gap between the door and the doorframe, it hadn't been opened in a very long time, and wasn't going to be opened in an equally long time!

We got fed while we were there, which was both good and bad. It was nice not having to spend money on food, or cook and clean, but it was the same food every day. All meals were served buffet style. Breakfast options were blini (crepes), cottage cheese pancakes, porridge, and various greasy meat. Lunch options were pasta or watery mashed potatoes with too much butter, some type of kotleti (a ground meat patty), more various types of meat, and soup that started out pretty good in the beginning of the week, but got progressively watered down as the week went on. Dinner was an assortment of Russian salads (of which I only ate one, since the others were all meaty and mayonnaise-y), and the same choices as lunch, without the soup. We got a piece of fruit each day as well, and something sweet for a snack in the afternoon. There was always homemade kompot, a Russian drink made by stewing pieces of fruit and sugar in water. For lunch there was an apple and spice flavor, and for dinner it was some kind of berry flavor. The drinks were by far my favorite part of the meals!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat red meat or pork, and I'll only eat white meat skinless chicken. There certainly wasn't any of that at camp! I managed to force feed myself a few kotleti, as I figured the protein would do me good – but after a couple days I just couldn't do it anymore. So, I ate carbs with sugar for breakfast, carbs with carbs for lunch, and carbs with carbs plus a tiny bit of vegetable for dinner. That one piece of fruit a day didn't make up for the carbohydrate overload!

The teaching part of camp was quite enjoyable. I had three groups, 7-8 year olds, 11-12 year olds, and 14 year olds. The lessons were all based around different themes, and the kids seemed to enjoy all of the lessons, which was a plus! It was a lot of hard work, as we had to prepare all of the materials ourselves – but I was with a great group of teachers, so planning the lessons ended up being half the fun! We certainly had a lot of laughs during our planning sessions, which made all the time spent on it more than bearable. Plus, now I've got lots of ideas and things that I can use back here in Moscow!

The two best things about camp were the fresh air and the cats! There were probably about a dozen cats roaming the complex – half of them were afraid of humans, but the other half were just overjoyed to get attention. I had a couple favorites, but doled out love and petting to all of them who wanted it. I miss my Dascha kitty from home so, so, so much – all these kitties helped make up for my cat-lessness life in Moscow. The fresh air was just as enjoyable as the cats – we don't have fresh air in Moscow. It's all polluted by cars using diesel and leaded gasoline. All the cars, and the snow (which is almost gone now) are black from the pollution. Lovely, no?


*I'll add pictures later - I haven't had a chance to sort through all of them yet!*

The weather has ADD

Here in Russia it's been "spring" for three weeks now. Russian spring begins on March 1st - although I can't for the life of me figure out why! We've only had temperatures above freezing for 3 or 4 days, and just last week the temperature was back in the -15 to -10C (5-15F) range for a few days. Craziness - and COLD!

Currently, the weather can't seem to make up its mind about what it wants to do... and therefore every day is a surprise! Monday was a perfect example of this - when I woke up in the morning it was wonderfully sunny and the sky was a nice shade of blue... then a few hours later it was white and snowing.... then blue/sunny again... then grey and cloudy.... then snowing heavily... and finally by nightfall it stopped snowing and the sky was clear except for a few clouds! I've never experienced weather quite like that, with so many changes all in one day! On Sunday, I was out for a walk, and it had been a bit overcast for a few hours, but the sky certainly didn't look like it would snow soon. But the next thing I know, it's a blizzard! About 20 minutes later, not a single snowflake is falling from the sky! Today it decided to snow again - but it was a real snowfall this time - I think we ended up with about 8cm/3in in total!

Another very interesting thing for me is snow showers when it's sunny! This happened on two separate days, actually. It's sunny out, the sky is blue, there are some nice fluffy clouds in the sky... and it's snowing! Just flurries, but still...! I much prefer flurries to rain showers :) So there you have it - the beginning of "spring". At least today it was above freezing!

The new 'normal'

After being here for almost four months, a lot of things that were once new to me, are just ways of life now. Here's a list of the five biggest changes for me.

• The metro. Three months ago the metro was a brand new concept for me. I lived in the suburbs in America, and had a car since I was 17. Now, I go through the metro on autopilot. I know which part of the train to get on, and I don't even need to read the signs anymore to know where to go, as I take the same route every day. I don't need to hold onto anything anymore, although I tend to take my preferred place leaning against the doors. There's the most room back there, and you don't need to shuffle around any time people want to get on or off. I usually don't sit, because chances are I'll give up my seat for an older person 2 stops later, and by then my place by the doors is already taken!

• Having to go to three different shops to buy the foods I want. Yup, just another part of daily life now. It was annoying at first to have to stop at two or three stores just to get what I wanted, but now I'm used to it, and I plan accordingly (well, most of the time :-D) so that I don't have to go to the stores in the same day. The good thing is, they're all on my way as I walk to my apartment from the metro, so even when I need to stop, it's not such a big deal.

• Just because the food store has something one day, doesn't mean they'll have it the next time I'm there. This took a bit of getting used to, and it still frustrates me, especially when I'm really craving something, only to find that it's not there... Take note of the point above - it's not like I can just pop into another store, since they probably don't carry what I want. But for the most part, I've learned to just sigh and roll my eyes, remind myself that I'm in Russia, and then find something else to eat instead!

• Waste. Unfortunately, this has become a part of life. Everything is wasted here, there's no recycling or even re-using of anything. Everything goes into the trash - papers, glass, plastic, and cans. Glass bottles are at least salvaged by old or homeless people, as they get a tiny amount of money for turning it in somewhere, at least that's what I assume. They are always digging through the dumpsters to see what they can find. Many people (myself included) leave the bottles out of the dumpster so that can get to them easily. 

• Getting bumped into and/or pushed. This too, is just part of daily life now. You will get pushed, shoved, or bumped into at least once per day living in Moscow. And don't expect any words of remorse from the pusher/bumper - after all, you were apparently in their way, so it's your fault. The pushing tends to only happen in the metro, but the bumping happens everywhere - supermarkets, the street, and even art galleries and museums! I think that people forget that they're not still on the metro...

Yup, it's still winter...

Today's weather was really strange, and just proved to be a reminder that yes, it is still winter here in Moscow. While it started out beautiful and sunny, it ended up snowing! No accumulation other than a dusting, but still, it was snowing!

The weather right now seems to be a bit of a tease. About a week and a half ago, we had our first day above freezing since December (or perhaps November?)... it's been cold for so long that I just can't remember! It was wonderful and sunny, and some of the snow started to melt. That's fun, let me tell you... There are puddles everywhere, and half the time you have to tiptoe your way down the street to try to find the relatively dry patches, or in some cases, the shallowest puddles! Fast forward a few days, and we're back to temperatures well below freezing, in the -12C/+11F to -6C/+20F range. Guess what those puddles turned into?

The worst part about the change in temperature is that -6C/+20F actually feels cold now! When it was -15C/+7F, -6C felt nice and warm! Now however, it just feels cold, as I suppose       -6C probably should feel! On the plus side, -2C/28F feels fairly pleasant, and +2C/36F feels warm, especially in the sun! As a matter of fact, I just opened the window in my apartment, and as the breeze blew in, I thought to myself, "this feels quite mild, temperature wise." Then I looked at the thermometer and realized that it's only 0C/32F! How's that for acclimation?

How's this for a difference in scenery?
(click to enlarge)

How Moscow Does Snow Removal

This is how Moscow does snow removal. Shovel all the snow, pile it up in a dumpster, and then dump it somewhere else! They only do this for walkways and roads, parking lots still have traditional mountains of snow that children turn into slides! I'll take some pictures of how high some of the snowpiles are and post them within the next couple of days. 

Now the real question is, where do they take all of that snow?

Maslenitsa

giant lady Maslenitsa in front of Red Square

Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week as it's often referred to, is a Russian holiday that dates back to pagan times. It's meant to celebrate the end of winter and to welcome the upcoming spring. It's also tied in to Orthodox Easter, as it's celebrated the week before Lent. However, since holidays are observed based on the Julian calendar - this year Maslenitsa fell on February 8 to 14 - and we're certainly not at the end of winter yet! I found it rather amusing that it was snowing for the past two days - the biggest days of the festival! Traditionally, on the last day, a big straw Maslenitsa doll (see picture below of the smaller ones they sell at the festivals) is set on fire, to burn away the last of winter. They used to do this at the festival on Red Square, but due to safety reasons they've stopped. Since I didn't stay until the end of the festival tonight, I'm not sure what they did instead... so it will have to remain a mystery! It was cold, and I didn't feel like staying out so late :) 

Maslenitsa celebrations are held in all of the big parks in Moscow. The festivities include singing and dancing performances from folk groups, carnival style games, drinking medovukha (honey mead), and of course eating lots and lots of pancakes (blini, as they're called here)!

Maslenitsa dolls. These dolls were being sold as all of the Maslenitsa celebrations around the city. They're made from straw, and are meant to symbolize the sun.

A blini stand in Red Square. In honor of Maslenitsa, I made sure to eat at least 1 blini per day :) I figured that was a good excuse to eat lots of them!!! I also tried sample as many as I possibly could at all of the fesitivals! I tried them with many different kinds of jam and honey. They were all delicious 

Maslenitsa ice sculpture. Russians seems to love their flashing lights, and this was no exception. She alternated between glowing blue and purple, and the red heart in the middle appeared to be beating.

January/February update

To answer the question I proposed in my last blog entry - how hard is it going to be returning to work after nearly one month off? - the answer is it's HARD! I've never had a vacation that long in my life, nor do I want another one for quite a while. It's one thing when you're changing jobs, because then you have a new adventure to look forward to, and the time doesn't seem so long. It's another when you're simply not working for a month and then you have to go back to the usual daily grind... or in my case, a lessened daily grind due to lack of work.
I'm the strange type of person who absolutely despises having nothing to do. Now don't get me wrong - I certainly enjoy it every now and again - but not on a regular basis. Right now, my workload is extremely light, and I'm bored. I have lots and lots of free time, and nothing to do with it. I can't just sit around and read or study, or do something that doesn't require any activity. I blame it on the fact that I was a competitive ice skater for most of my life - I certainly never sat around when I was skating! Top that off with the fact that I used to teach ice skating as well, which is not a job where you sit around. In short, I've never had to just sit around until now. I'm not good at it :)
I know that in a few weeks everything will go back to normal, but that thought isn't really making this time period any easier. It's hard adjusting from life in the US to life in Russia. Even though I was only back in America for two weeks, I hadn't been in Russia long enough to not miss and long for some of my American comforts. This too will pass in a few weeks - but I'm just not enjoying the readjustment period. Stupid visa laws, this is all your fault!

For some good news - it's snowing today. We're certainly not getting snow like everyone was getting back in America - Snowmaggedon, as it was dubbed - but it's still snow nonetheless. It's starting to coat the layer of snow we've had since December, which was starting to get a bit shabby from the dirt and pollution. I must admit, I am very jealous off all the snow my parents and friends got this weekend. The year I'm not in America, it finally snows! Being in Russia, I shouldn't be envying the amount of snow back in America, but there's been more snow there than here!I would certainly enjoy a good snowstorm here.

10 day vacation

Sorry for the hiatus! I was enjoying my 10 day vacation by sleeping in late and doing tourist-y things with my friends. I didn't spend much time at my computer at all, which was nice. We happened to have wonderful weather here in Moscow, including five sunny days!

This is the first time I've had an actual vacation from work - when I was teaching figure skating, I would only have a few days off - and I would actually work more over the holidays because kids were off from school. This ten day break was quite nice, but it was VERY difficult to get back into the work mentality on Monday. Now I'm finally ready to work, and I leave in three days to return to America to get a new visa! I'll be there for two weeks. My grand total of working days in January is four... yes, four! It's nice on one hand, but on the other, how hard is it going to be to start working again in February?

I'm off to work now, actually - and I promise I'll post more regularly from now on! I'll update this later with some pictures and descriptions of the places I visited over the holidays.

Hello 2010!

For me, the new year began by watching fireworks over Red Square. My first moments of 2010 were spent surrounded by friends, looking at St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin, taking photos, and dancing to live music. For me, that's perfect. It was also snowing - an added bonus! It's all great, really. I'm living in Moscow and I got to start my new year in the center of the city. I've never done anything like that for New Year's before - I usually just go to a party and we all watch the ball drop on TV (a US tradition - it's a ball made of lights that is lowered down a pole to countdown to midnight). This was definitely something different - and it's my favorite New Years Eve to date.

My friends and I in front of Saint Basils - officially 2010!

Not a bad sight for the beginning of a new year, is it?

Sorry it's a bit blurry, but one more of St. Basil's, a bit of the Kremlin, and the concert stage.

I'm very ready for the new year, and I'm excited to see what is has in store for me. My only resolution this year is to find at least one way to be happy every day. I've found many things to be happy about today! Number one is the fact Moscow feels like home now, and that's truly a wonderful feeling. I know exactly where to buy good fruit and veggies, which store has good bread, good prices, plain yogurt, etc. Taking the metro is second nature now, and I even know which part of the train to get on depending on where I'm going most of the time. I don't mind the time I have to spend in the metro now either, as long as I have my iPod touch to play with or something to read, the time actually passes pretty quickly. All in all, I feel settled, and that's the best feeling in the world.

Tomorrow I'm going to Izmailovsky Market with some friends - it's rumored to be the best place to get souvenirs and traditional Russian stuff in Moscow. I'll get in some good Russian practice, which always makes me happy. I savor any opportunity I have to speak in Russian - teaching English doesn't really lend itself to much Russian speaking!

Goodbye 2009!

Well, 2009 certainly has been an interesting year - many changes and a very exciting new beginning! I'm finally in Moscow, and I couldn't be happier. I'm about to spend New Years Eve watching fireworks over the Kremlin - how wonderful is that? I'm looking forward to what 2010 has in store for me - many adventures I'm sure, and certainly lots of pictures!

So, farewell 2009, Happy New Year, and С новым годом!

Internet!

I finally have internet in my apartment, on my own computer! I've never felt so free!! :-D You don't realize how much you miss something until you are forced to be without it. Now I can finally post regularly on here, and my other two blogs! *insert shameless self promotion*
Reasons I Love Europe - photo blog with pictures from my travels
Moscow Daily Photo - self explanatory :) I share this site with another photographer, Irina.

It doesn't feel like the holidays here yet, most likely because we work until December 30. Some of the teachers are getting together and having a Christmas party tonight. Everyone is cooking some kind of traditional food from their country, so I'm looking forward to trying lots of new food! Maybe that will foster up some holiday spirit? I think we're all really looking forward to the New Years break - we're off from December 31-January 10. I'm personally looking forward to wandering around the city and finding more churches, and I'm hoping to get some pictures when it's snowing too.

Speaking of weather, it's quite a change from a week ago - it's now +1C/34F and raining. It's still cold enough that the rain leaves a layer of ice all over, unfortunately. I much prefer snow - a lot prettier to look at, and not so slippery! I am enjoying the mild temperature though - after my class finished on Thursday night, I spent an hour and a half taking pictures, and I didn't freeze! I'll post more later, but for now here's a picture of the New Years tree in front of Red Square.

Visas suck!

The title says it all, but I'll reiterate just for the emphasis - VISAS SUCK. Russia decided to change one of the visa laws/actually pay attention to it, and that means that I can't get the visa I was supposed to. I came here on a single entry visa that was supposed to be changed to a multi entry 1 year visa upon my arrival - sounds good, right? Well, the law basically got rid of the type of work visa I have, meaning it can't get changed now.

So, I'm in Russia until January 16, when my current visa expires. Then I'm back in the US for two weeks to get a new visa. The thing that really sucks is that all I can get now is a 3 month business visa... so in 3 months I have to leave Russia again to get a new visa! There are no other options, as the multi entry business visa only allows you to stay in the country for 90 out of every 180 days. I miss the gold old days of true 1 year multi entry visas :(

I don't have to go back to America to get my visa, but it's the easiest option. I could go to Ukraine, or another non-EU country, but between the tickets, hotel, and food costs, it would probably cost me close to what it's costing me to fly home to America! Plus, what would I do by myself for two weeks in Ukraine?

It's not all bad, really. I was planning to go back to America in March or April anyway, so it's just a bit earlier now. This way I can bring stuff back with me that I already have, rather than buying it new here (for a lot more money!). Also, some of the things I was going to buy here either aren't available, or cost a lot more than I was expecting - so I'll be buying those and bringing them back with me too! I am going to take full advantage of my 100lbs of luggage :D

I guess my biggest problem is the time frame - I have two weeks off (Dec 31-Jan11), then I work for a week, then I leave for two weeks again. I won't need a vacation after only one week of work! I could fly home sooner, but I want to be in Russia for New Years, and the flights are hellishly expensive for that time frame. Also, I might as well stay as long as possible to make the most use out of my precious visa!

One Month in Moscow

As of today, I've been in Moscow for exactly one month. In some ways, it feels like so much longer, and in others it still feels like I've just arrived. I guess I'm unpacked, but since my suitcases are serving as my closet right now, I'm not sure if that entirely counts as unpacked or not! I've learned how to light the stove without burning my fingers - woohoo!!! I've also learned that not only does the oven work, but the temperature indicator works too! I don't have to guess what the temperature is when I want to bake something, how great is that? Small luxuries.

Teaching is going very well. I'm enjoying all of my classes, and I love the feeling that I get when my students are able to speak more and more in English. I have one student, a complete beginner who I work with daily, and he's making so much progress. Maybe I'm a complete loser, but it's the greatest feeling to listen to him actually speaking in English! To be able to give someone a language is pretty awesome, and it's a gratifying experience, to say the least.

It also appears that nowhere in the world is safe from kitsch. I'm sitting at my usual cafe (they're playing Christmas music again, ugh) and outside there's a woman dressed as Snegurochka handing out flyers for something. Snegurochka is Dyed Moroz (Russian Santa's) helper/granddaughter or something like that.

I'll leave you with a picture of a winter-y and cold Red Square, complete with ice rink and New Year's tree.

Things I've learned in a month

#1 - Eating dinner at 10:45pm is not good at all! Last night, I made myself a nice dinner of pasta with homemade sauce and stir-fried veggies, and had some bread with cheese to go with it. Great meal, and I was nice and full. You know how you always read about not eating big meals before bed, because it disrupts your sleep pattern? Well that's true, based upon how I slept last night. I managed to go to bed around 1:45am, but I woke up a few times, and when my alarm went off I felt like I hadn't slept at all. Previously, when I've been lazy and just had salad and bread with cheese for dinner, I've slept better.

#2 - Temperature is all relative. On Monday, -14C/7F felt absolutely freezing. Fast forward to Tuesday and Wednesday, and it's -20C/-4F! Today, it's -14C again, and it feels quite tolerable. I actually walked around a bit before needing to seek out some warmth!

#3 - I heard more Russian my last month in America than I do here. I get maybe one or two chances to speak in Russian each day, and that's just ordering food, or sometimes giving directions on the street. Mondays and Wednesdays are better, because I speak a bit more, but I find it harder each week, since I'm getting no practice or even exposure. I don't have a TV or internet on my computer in my apartment, so I only get to hear Russian at home if the people that live above us have their TV turned up loud enough. It really sucks, and I've got to find a way to change this!

#4 - I can't get away from Christmas music, even in Russia. I'm sitting in a cafe right now, and they're playing a Christmas song... Russians don't even celebrate Western Christmas!! *edited 5 minutes later* Oh great, now they're playing another... and it's a combination of a Christmas song with a rap chorus... what the hell???

#5 - The joys of having hot AND cold water at the same time. In my apartment, you have to choose :) The water is either boiling hot or ice cold, nowhere inbetween. If we leave the hot water on, the cold and hot taps both run boiling hot. Boiling, as in fill up the electric teapot, and the water is at a full boil in 40 seconds! That's painful. The solution is to turn off the hot water when we don't need it, which isn't perfect, because now the water is like ice, but anything is better than scalding hot! I give myself full credit for that solution, since two plumbers came out to look at the pipes, and they both said they couldn't do anything, and we would just have to live with the hot water only! Perhaps I could have a successful career as a Russian plumber?

3 Weeks

I've been here for 3 weeks now, and I'm finally feeling almost completely settled in. Life is interesting, to say the least. Something unexpected happens pretty much every day. We've had snow since Monday, and it won't be going away anytime soon. I still don't have internet in my apartment, so I'm spending ridiculous amounts of money at this one cafe, McD's just really isn't working for me anymore. At least the cafe is nice, and I can spend a while there.

I'm happy with my apartment, and it's nice to actually like the place I come home to every night! It's a giant step up from the first apartment I was in when I was here. It's rather sparsely furnished - I'm currently using my suitcases as drawers!  Eventually I'll drag my butt to IKEA to get some kind of wardrobe type thing... but it's a huge pain the butt for me to get to from where I'm living. Plus, the suitcases are free, and a wardrobe costs money :)

As of this week, I have a full teaching schedule. It doesn't allow me much free time, and I'm quite pleased with that. I could wish for a bit less travel time, but such is life. I've mastered standing on the metro without holding onto anything, so I just bring a magazine and read, like most people do. As long as I'm reading, the time passes fairly quickly. I can't say I'm completely adjusted to getting home anywhere from 10:00-10:30pm, but it starts to feel more normal every day.

Overall, I'm really enjoying life here. I spend my weekends wandering around the city, discovering new places everywhere I go. I've even managed to find a couple of the churches that I've been wanting to see since I was here in 2007! It's feeling very winter-y here - there are New Years trees popping up everywhere, and buildings are being decorated with lots of lights. There's also a nice layer of snow on the ground, and it snows a little bit every day now.

A handful of photos from my facebook: Moscow Nov-Dec 2009

снег!

It's snowing! And accumulating rather nicely, too. It's cold enough that it's accumulating on people's hats and backpacks as they're walking too, turning everyone into mini snowmen! My black hat was nearly white by the time I reached the metro!  This is so much better than the rain we were having last week - rain isn't very pretty! I would take a picture, but I don't have my camera with me. I'll try to get one tonight and post it here if I can get on the internet again. I'm at a cafe using their wifi - it's quite a step up from McDonald's, although the food is much more expensive :( But I was hungry, and I don't eat anything from McD's, so I decided to splurge. I won't be home until around 10:15 tonight, and I left at 9:00 this morning, so I certainly can't go without lunch! I just want internet in my apartment - life would be so much easier...

But anyway, yesterday my friends and I went to the Kremlin and spent a couple hours there. We ended up buying the wrong tickets, so we couldn't go into any of the churches, but it was still nice. I haven't had time to look at my pictures yet, but I think I got some good ones! We then spent another four hours wandering around the Kuznetsky Most area, as well as the area around the Tretyakov Gallery. I found more churches, including one I've been dying to see ever since I was here two years ago!

Well, that's it for now - time to run off to my next class. More later, or tomorow!

Life in Moscow so far

I've been here for 16 days, but it feels like I've been here for months already. I'm not really sure that that's a good thing, because I'm certainly not settled in yet - after all, I just moved to a new apartment last Friday!

I'm a bit frustrated....

The Joy of Shoes

I have winter boots that are not only comfortable, but warm and heel-less! And, not horrifically expensive. I can't go so far as to say they were cheap, but they were a good price for Moscow, so I'm happy. And have I mentioned they're comfortable? They also have nice grippy soles for the ice that the streets will be covered with soon enough.

Shoes and I don't have a good relationship - I have ridiculously narrow feet, and finding shoes that fit is such a challenge! I'm also really picky about what I like and don't like - and this time, shoes without heels was a must. My friend took me to one of the small shoe places by her house, and I tried on half their winter boots, literally! The ladies just kept handing me pair after pair of boots - and besides not liking a bunch of them - NONE fit. Last night, we went to another store, and I got lucky! I got the display model of the boots, as it was the last pair that they had! I even got a small discount because one is missing a string at the top, which doesn't matter because it's just there for decoration.

So, now I'm set for the impending winter. After being +9 C (48 F) on Wednesday, the temperature has been dropping slowly. It looks like it will be hovering around -3 to 0 C (26-32 F) for the next week or so, with a chance of snow on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to snow, rather than the miserable rain we've been having. At least then things will look pretty until it melts all over everything and turns into slykat, which is a mess of snow, pollution, and chemicals... lovely, huh?