So what's Mosow like?

Several people have asked me just what Moscow is like. Now that I'm leaving, I'll answer. It's much like any big city in the U.S. Personally, I think it's a lot like Chicago, with a touch of Washington D.C. thrown in. Chuck is from the Chicagoland area, and he agrees. It's got a strong industrial base, but also a vibrant nightlife, and there are great crowds of people moving throughout the city all day long.

I was also asked if Moscow smells. It does not smell, well, at least not any more than any city does, just the normal smell of traffic, vendors cooking food on the street, and construction. One excellent smell is the smell of fresh baked goods in the subways and the underpasses under the main streets where there are kiosks selling pastries and other goodies. Moscow certainly smells a great deal better than Cedar Rapids, the city we flew out of. If you've never been to Cedar Rapids, your nose thanks you. The sign may say the City of Five Seasons, but the locals call it the City of Five Smells. The only olfactory offense in Moscow is cigarette smoke, which is much more prevalent than it is in the U.S. these days. MISA is actually a bit of an anomaly, as they don't allow smoking, and Chuck and I got some amusement listening to Alexey grumble about this when he'd leave to go take a smoke outside.

The Metro or subway system in Moscow is unique as well. I've ridden the one in Washington quite a bit, and it's the only one I can compare it to first-hand. Each Moscow Metro station is unique, and they're usually decorated in a neo-classical style, with lots of marble and columns, much nicer than the drab concrete tunnels of D.C. The trains move very very fast, and they're generally somewhat crowded, though not overwhelmingly so. It's very cheap to travel by subway, I think the price is around 10 rubles, or about 35 cents, and, unlike the states, the price doesn't vary based on your destination. That 35 cents gets you anywhere you want to go on the Metro system, which is quite large. There are two things to beware on the subway, one is the doors, which I found out close quite fast, they caught me half-in, and I had to squeeze through pretty quickly, as they don't open back up. I'm surprised I didn't get bruised. The other thing to watch out for is pickpockets, as they like to strike in dense crowds where they can escape and you have a hard time chasing them. I caught a kid of about 12 years old trying to pick my back pocket when I was in the Subway one day. Fortunately, my wallet was in my front pocket at the time, with my hand firmly around it, so all he got out of the deal was a handful of my chubby butt. Even if he had gotten my wallet, he'd have gotten about $40 and my UNI ID card. Not such a big score.

Moscow also has a lot of restaurants (spelled PECTOPAH in Cyrillic) which are just as expensive as anywhere in Chicago or any other large U.S. city. There are a lot of young people who frequent them, and there seem to be a great number of wealthy people in Moscow as well, and there'd need to be, to support the large number of clothing shops that are too expensive for me to shop in.

As I've mentioned before, the streets are full of luxury cars, though traffic is chaotic. Several of our tour guides mentioned that they don't drive, and have never learned, because they're too terrified of the traffic. I can't say I blame them, and I know many New Yorkers feel this same way, as well as they don't want the hassle of having to find parking spaces for the car. If I was a Muscovite, I can't say that I wouldn't feel the same way, though the Beltway in DC has its share of bad drivers too.

Muscovites dress up somewhat more than the average American does, but they'd be right at home on Manhattan. I've taken some notes, wondering exactly how well I blend in, and I'm sorry to say that I don't at all, though a 10-year old girl did think I was a Russian in a shopping mall the other day, so that counts for something. Anyhow, if you're coming to Moscow, and you want to blend in, first you're going to need to darken your wardrobe. Black is by far the dominant wardrobe color here, and I didn't bring anything black with me. Also, shave off your facial hair, I haven't seen anyone under the age of 50 with facial hair here, other than myself. Next you're going to need to drop that extra weight you're carrying, as Russians aren't nearly as fat on average as we Americans are. In a given room, I'm probably the biggest guy around, both in height and in girth, so I don't think we'll be seeing an NFL expansion team in Moscow anytime soon, unless they find some husky country boys to play on the line.

I've also noticed that jeans with vertical wear lines are hot here, sort of like vertical stripes of lighter and darker denim around the jeans. I think I've seen these in America as well, but they're much more prevalent here. Women here also are very fond of the mini-skirt (hey, so am I) and they're generally dressing to impress. Men tend to wear a lot of dress shirts and pants, though jeans are pretty prevalent too. You'll see almost no T-shirts though, and no khakis. I've literally not seen a single person wearing what would be a "standard" business casual outfit in the U.S., such as khakis and a blue button up shirt. Of course, that's what I wore the other day when I was giving my little presentation, which is exactly when I noticed that no one else dressed that way.

I've watched some Russian TV in my room, and while I was disappointed to discover that this model of TV wouldn't let me select an alternate audio stream, it was still fun to watch some. Chuck watched more than I did, so he can probably post a comment with more info, but I've got to say that Russian MTV is waaaay better than our sorry old MTV station. First of all, they play Music Videos, and I mean they play more than a half-hour a day. Almost every time I turn on MTV here, it's videos, both American and Russian in origin, though I did catch Ren & Stimpy one day, in Russian. Many American shows are shown here, dubbed into Russian. The funny thing is that the English soundtrack is underneath the Russian one, so it's like the actor has two voices speaking at once. I caught an episode of the X-Files the other night, and I've seen the Amazing Race as well. I also caught an episode of Russian Idol, which has the exact same theme music as American Idol, but seems to have two hosts, and no trace of Ryan Seacrest or the rest of the cast. The most shocking thing about Russian TV, to a typical prudish American, would be the late-night movies that, well, could probably best be described as soft-core porn. Nothing too shocking, really, just the sort of stuff that Cinemax shows at night in the U.S., I'm just not used to seeing it on broadcast channels.

Other than that, Moscow is your typical big city, more like any big city in the U.S. than it is different. I'm looking forward to St. Petersburg, which Alexey tells me is much more beautiful than Moscow, though as a native Petersburger, he's obviously more than a little biased, which he readily admits. There's a bit of a rivalry between the two cities, since Peter the Great moved the capitol from Moscow to St. Petersburg, then the Soviets moved it back to Moscow later, both cities feel that they are the "true" jewel of Russia.

Everyone also asks me if it's cold here. The answer is a definite no. It's no colder than it is in Iowa this time of year, it's been in the 40s or 50s all week, and though we were told to expect rain, the only rain we saw was today. It's been pretty pleasant weather for walking long distances in the city, not too hot, not too cold. Moscow is not in Siberia, and it's really no colder than the upper midwest of the U.S. as far as I can tell.

Well, it's time to sign off from Friday's and catch a late-night train to St. Petersburg. Da svedanya!

Last Call

It's our last night in Moscow, and, also, our last night at Friday's. Today started with a bit of drama. After breakfast, Chuck and I thought we'd do some laundry. Chuck got a load done, and I had two going when I found an angry Russian woman at my door. I went and fetched Alexey to translate. Apparently, we weren't supposed to use those washers and dryers, as they're only for washing the hotel linens. Oops. It was an honest mistake, I'd seen other guests in there using the iron and the washers too, so I thought it was okay. They left the door to that room ajar the whole time, so it wasn't like I snuck back somewhere to do it. Oh well, another lesson learned. Chuck already had gotten his laundry out, but I had two loads there. As Alexey moderated, I apologized profusely, and she offered to do my laundry for a fee, to which I agreed, though really, they only needed to be dried at that point. Alexey said it was going to cost me 50 rubles each (about $1.75) which I thought was a bargain, all things considered.

Later, that fee turned out to be 900 rubles, or about $30. Ouch. At least she neatly folded and ironed my clothes, so all I had to do is drop them in my luggage, but $30 seemed a bit steep. I'll have fun explaining this on my expense report.

At noon we met Katya and Galina, who were going to take us sight-seeing today. Irina was there too, and she gave Chuck and I some Russian nesting dolls, a honey-based food product that I don't understand yet, and a Russian pincushion doll. We thanked her, and then left with Katya and Galina for the Metro station. We decided to skip the cemetery tour, because it was raining today, so our first stop was the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. They had a lot of neat ancient Egyption, Assyrian, Greek and Roman artifacts, as well as many paintings from the 16th Century on. Artists such as Matisse, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Rembrandt were featured throughout the museum, and we walked all of it, though Alexey remarked that the museum was small, which makes me fear the amount of walking in store for us once we get to the Hermitage in his hometown.

After the Pushkin, we went to the Church of Christ The Savior, and toured the inside, which is very beautiful. It was interesting to compare the interior of this church, which is only a few years old, with the ancient cathedrals elsewhere in Russia. Same ideas, just much more modern and opulent, it's probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world.

We left the church behind, and began a long walk to find a restaurant. We wound up eating at something called "Drama" or perhaps "Drava", (I didn't get a clear translation) near Red Square. Actually, almost on Red Square, which was open today, and filled with people. This was a fairly upscale restaurant, and they had menus in English. We all opted for the buffet, which thankfully was also labeled in English, and was pretty good. I started with a Korean carrot salad, which is long shreds of carrot, almost like spaghetti, but covered in a spicy sauce or oil. I also had a pepper salad, made of green and red bell peppers, that was good too. Next I tried an Uzbeki dish, which was purported to be a cheese pastry, though mine turned out to be of the meat variety, it has been placed in the wrong dish on the buffet, but it was quite good. Think of sort of a hot-pocket, filled with sausage, but this was much thiner, like a quesadilla, without the cheese. It looked good to Chuck too, he went back and got a cheese one, which he also said was good. I had a potato, and tried some of the buckwheat and bacon, which helped me realize that the grain we were served the other morning was buckwheat. There wasn't much bacon in it though, so I was glad I didn't take much. For dessert, I tried some poppy seed pastry, which was good, not very sweet, sort of like a coffee cake. I also had some "Honey Cake" which was excellent, also not very sweet, but quite tasty.

After lunch, we took the Metro back to MISA and began packing for our train. We're being driven to the station at 10:30 tonight, and the train leaves around midnight for St. Petersburg. Apparently, Chuck and I have either a compartment each, or we're sharing one, we're not sure which. Alexey wasn't fortunate enough to get a compartment, but we're hoping we can smuggle him back there if we've got separate rooms.

In any case, my next post should be from St. Petersburg, though I don't know how long it will be until I get internet access.

Friday's on Friday

We finished up the testing with UNI, our project was declared a success, so Chuck and I watched at the MISA staff disassembled everything so that they can re-assemble it when the renovation of the classroom is complete. With Alexey and our now-empty equipment cases in tow, we made our way to Formis, the on-campus bar, and had our last meal there. They must have heard about the feast we had at lunch, as they only had one plate for us, with chicken, kidney beans and french fries. It took me a bit to figure out what part of the chicken it was, because they don't serve the unnecessary bony part of the drumstick, so it was only the top part. There's nothing wrong with that, there's nothing to eat on the rest of it anyhow, it just didn't look right at first. After our light dinner, Alexey went off to bed, and Chuck and I came here to our usual haunt to get online, and update you all on the day's successes.

Project Complete

Today is the last day of the installation of our video conferencing system, and everything is ready to go. The day started with the usual breakfast ingredients, with an omelet. Before we left for the classroom, I wandered around until I located washing machines and dryers. Now that I know where that is, I can wash my clothes before packing them for St. Petersburg tomorrow.

We headed over to the classroom, where we were greeted by the arrival of a new computer and projector to complete the set up. It takes a few days, but eventually it all comes together.

Chuck worked on setting up the final componenets, while I messed around on the internet and played some Civilization III. Pitr came in shortly, and presented Chuck, Alexey, and I with gifts of Vodka, chocolate, and what I think is seltzer, though I'm not sure, I haven't asked Alexey to translate the can yet. We presented Yuri, Andrei, and Pitr with some UNI-branded gifts that we'd brought along, things like playing cards, shot glasses, and other assorted knick-knacks, as well as a pound of Twizzlers candy. All of which were well-received.

At 1:00 Alexey took us over to meet Tim & Holly from UNI, the folks from our International Programs office, as well as Olga, the head of the same program here, and Vladimir, their Vice-Rector for...something that escapes me at the moment. He was an outstanding host, and we were treated to an unbelievable meal. I started with some Savingon Blanc white wine, and bread and cheese (which is always good here). Next we had some pork, potatoes, and some fish which was excellent as well. Vladimir came around the table, and before I'd realized it, had deposited about 3 oz. of black caviar on to my plate for me to try. I'd never had caviar before, and being faced with what I'm sure is an expensive quantity of it made me somewhat nervous, but I was determined to be a good guest so I gave it a shot.

I got a laugh from everyone for putting it on my bread with my cheese at first, before I realized that it was butter you were supposed to use, rather than cheese. Tim took over, and instructed me in the proper way to eat it. It wasn't nearly as strong as I'd feared it might be, it's very mild, and not at all unpleasant. You can tell it has a high fat-content, as it's very rich, though I thought it tasted better after it had warmed in my mouth. I ate all the caviar I was given, using about 4-5 pieces of bread to do it, and wound up consuming almost 3/4th of the bottle of white wine, as everyone else was drinking red.

For dessert, Vladimir presented us with some "sugar-melon" which is outstanding. It's a white melon, which tastes like cantaloupe, only with two or three times the sugar content. It's very sweet and juicy and practically melts in your mouth, I don't know why I've never seen it in the U.S., it's delicious. After dessert, we toasted each other some more, and talked about our experience in Moscow. I mentioned how much I had enjoyed the Vodka that Alexey had ordered for me, and Vladimir insisted I take the bottle of Vodka that was on the table for dinner. I graciously accepted, and noted that it was of a different brand than the stuff Pitr gave me. I'm glad we have plenty of room in the equipment cases for our gifts.

Vladimir also insisted that we try the unique Russian garlic pieces, which he said were fermented or pickled, I didn't quite get it clearly, and he said the process used to do it is a closely guarded secret. They were quite good, and I ate the whole garlic clove before I quite realized how strong it was. Chuck was amazed I'd eaten the whole thing, but I'd already had most of a bottle of wine by this point, so it went down fine. After another toast by Olga, we broke up to return back to the classroom to test with UNI.

We stopped back by our rooms, so I could deposit my vodka, and attempt to brush my teeth, as the garlic I'd eaten had remained quite strong in my mouth. I like garlic, but man, I could kill a rhino with my breath at 30 paces. My toothbrush didn't do much to dull the taste, but we headed back across the courtyard (Chuck walked, I sort of staggered, being a light-weight when it comes to drinking alcohol).

We arrived in time to be presented with some gifts of chocolate by Andrei, which he said were the best chocolate in Russia. We then sat around watching a Russian-dubbed copy of The Matrix Reloaded on the projector while waiting for UNI to come online.

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