Classes Coming to a Close

This week we have already taken two finals and are set to take our last final on Wednesday. Our Russian language final was given in a very Russian way: orally. Apparently oral exams are much more popular in Russia than they are in Europe, but I find them much more intimidating. Overall though the exam went well and I think everyone was satisfied with their grade in the class. In addition to having my Russian language exam on Monday I had my exam in Russian Culture. While there have been a variety of difficulties taking a class in America abroad I really enjoyed this cultural class. I think one of the best parts has been talking to Russian students about the stories and concepts I am reading about in class (and the Russians' typical encyclopedic knowledge of such stories). On Wednesday we have our final in Dr. Buffington's class, and then it is off to St. Petersburg on Sunday. Its strange to think how quickly our time here is passed, but I will do my best to get as much enjoyment as possible until the very

U.S. Embassy

So yesterday Isaac, Dave, Dr. Buffington, and I visited the US Embassy in Moscow. It was a very cool experience. After initially having to wait to get through a bit of security we were met by Morgan Haas an Agricultural Attache for the embassy. Then we ate dinner in the embassy's food court which had an amazing spread of food, and many of us were delighted to find the best hamburgers, pizza, and even donuts we had eaten in four months. They did taste a bit ironic though. After eating Morgan and one of his colleagues talked to us for about two hours on what they did and how they worked to meet the US government's needs in Russia. Overall a really good experience. Also, stock photo because we were not allowed to bring cameras inside the embassy so we ended up leaving ours at home.

Yuri Gagarin

Forty-nine years ago yesterday Yuri Gagarin was the first man in orbit. Forunately, this past weekend we had the opportunity to go to Yuri's hometown, Kaluga, and see a space museum dedicated in his honor. The picture is one Michael took at this particular museum. The shuttles and rovers were mostly the same ones that had gone into space with a few replicas mixed in. One particular highlight from this museum visit was the Americans' opporunity to chide the Russians a bit for not having the first man on the moon, and they took that as an opportunity to make fun of America's 1 million dollar development of a pen that could work in a vacuum while the Russians just used pencils.

CLAAS Agriculture

Today our group visited Claas's headquarters in Russia. It was located two hours, by bus, out side of Russia. Before leaving we had an hour long presentation on the various tractors, combines, and combine headers we saw on our excursion. Claas is a Germany company that now has strong roots to Russian agriculture. Whereas John Deere is generally considered the world's largest and best tractor manufacturer Claas is the world's largest and best combine harvester. It was also interesting to see the wide array of headers that are used to harvest crops on the combines.

Shooting on Location

Today my groupmates and I went to various locations around Moscow to shoot video and photos for a 5 to 7 minute movie we have to make. First we visited Tchaikovsky Concert Hall which was pretty cool and we were able to get good footage and picutes there. Next we visited Pushkinskaya metro station and shot a scene in front of a rather large statue of Pushkin. Finally we went to the Triumph Arc in downtown Moscow which was roughly a forty minute metro ride away. There we got to see some really amazing scenes and take some really cool pictures. Hopefully some time soon I will get a chance to upload the photos and footage we took, but for now you will have to settle for a stock image of the Triump Arc.

Ride on a Big Green Tractor

So our weekly field trip took us to Ekoniva, one of the largest John Deere suppliers in Europe. We took a pretty cool tour and got to see a wide variety of tractors and other combines they sell. Then we got treated to a presentation by the president of the company, Mr. Stefan, and this was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Not only were we treated to tea and sandwiches (again) it was interesting listening to a man who took a huge risk by investing in Soviet Union and early Russian federation agriculture and having it pay of huge dividends for him. Mr. Stefan spoke fluently in three languages and he had the guts to explore an area of the world that very few of his classmates in university did (he was from Western Germany). After that we got to drive one of the big green tractors that Ekoniva sells, and courtesy of Dr. Layfield he is a picture of me in front of the tractor.

Arbat Street

Yesterday Isaac, David, Dennis, Galya, and I ventured down to Arbat street in central Moscow. Arbat street is one of the oldest streets in Moscow, and home to many of the city's finest shops and cafes. We walked by one of the flats Pushkin lived in before he died, and there was also a statue of Pushkin and his wife across the street from the flat. This statue is pictured at the top of the page. We also got to see the Prague restraunt which is the nicest in all of Moscow and considered one of the finest in Europe.