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.

Russian Bureaucracy

I very clearly remember before coming on this trip my Russian Politics professor telling me that Russia was considered a "backwards" country as far back as its inception and some of that "backwards"-ness persists today. Since arriving in Moscow I have kept this thought in my mind and found very little evidence to support this "backward" claim. Until today.

Today, Maxsim, one of our Russian classmates, took us to pick up our metro passes. These metro passes are incredibly affordable and will alleviate the 2 dollar fare every time we have to ride the metro. Getting your metro pass is not as simple as using it though.

First, we had to go down the line two stations and fill out a form detailing the usual - age, address, where you are studying, etc. When you are done filling out the form they give you a 1x4 inch slip of paper to bring back in two weeks and pick up your pass with. Of course, unbeknown st to me, I threw my slip of paper away sometime during the last two weeks. When we went back two stops down the line to pick up our passes not having my slip ended up not being that big of a deal. After I wrote a letter saying I was sorry for losing it. Once I gave the lady my handwritten note she gave me my pass and I went on my merry way, but it blows my mind that the second most used metro system in the world does not have a computer filing system. This metro has to make hundreds of thousand of rubles a day on passenger fare, and they would make a few hundred thousand more if they ever bothered to stop anyone who jumped the entrance and rode for free. Yet, they havent bothered to invest in a computer system? Seems kind of strange to me.

Even though this post has a definite tone of anger/unhappiness I did not intend it to. The metro has been one of my favorite things here in Moscow, and I am still loving Russia. Most likely this is all to do with the fact that I slipped on a rather large sheet of ice today and ate it.

Also, the photo is courtesy Dr. Layfield's blog. He takes more pictures than anyone I have met in my life and if you want to see more pictures of what my classmates and I are doing in Russia check out his blog at layfieldinrussia.blogspot.com.

Defender of the Fatherland Day

This past weekend when the Russian students in my class told me we had a holiday coming up and would be off school for a couple of days I was suprised and excited to find that they celebrated George Washington's birthday in Russia.

I soon realized that instead this holiday was "Defender of the Fatherland Day", and I have since been told that it commemorates the day in 1918 when the first mass draft of the Red Army occured.

Katya, one of the students who was in the program last year but has still been hanging out with us was nice enough to invite us to her boyfriend Stas's dacha for the long weekend in which we celebrated this holiday. The dacha was probably the most enjoyable experience I have had thus far in Russia. This particular dacha is equipped with a banyan, essentially a Russian sauna. I had never been in a sauna of any sort before so it was a very unique experience, and because we are in Russia we all partook in sprinting from the banyan, jumping into a pile of snow, and sprinting back into the banyan. Truly an experience I will never forget.

Pictured: Isaac and I enjoying a game of post banyan checkers.

Russian Cuisine

So after spending roughly three weeks in Russia I feel like I am finally qualified to write about some of my favorite Russian foods and how the food is different from what I eat in America. My favorite thing I have eaten so far would definitely have to be the borscht. This is a traditional Russian soup you can get at the canteen which consists of very tasty broth and beetroots. Also you always get a healthy dollop of sour cream right in the middle. Another of our favorites is the Doner-kabob which roughly translates to rotating roast, and we have affectionately dubbed it "mystery meat". Honestly, I am not sure what meat is in the center but it is wrapped in this amazing flat bread packed with vegetables. Interestingly enough, this also comes with a healthy dollop of sour cream on top.

The biggest change Russia has brought about in my diet has been that I am eating much healthier. The fatty foods, heavy sugar use, and synthetic colorings simply do not exist in Russian cuisine and also make for some very tasty foods. I must admit I still have some American indulgences and have on occassion been known to buy a bottle of Coke every now and then.

Tretyakov Gallery

This weekend we visited the Tretyakov Gallery, the state art gallery of Russia, which houses the finest collection of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery was enormous and in our two hours there I am sure we did not even see half of it. The art gallery I am most familiar with, the Museum of Fine Art Houston is almost the polar opposite of the Tretyakov Gallery. The gallery has a distinct fine art appeal and the rooms seem just like they were in the 1700s. Pictured is one of the masterpieces featured in the gallery, a portrait of one of my favorite authors: Fyodor Dostoevsky.

An aside: The trip to the gallery was the longest metro trips I have taken to date and each stop seemed like an art gallery itself. All stops on the metro have a unique and distinct feel, and they are all unique in their own way.

Moscow Bus Tour

Recently me and my fellow class mates went on a bus tour of Moscow to look at some of the city's most famous sights and to look at attractions that might not be in your average tour guide. First we visited Red Square again, this time during the day when it was not so cold, and it was just as breathtaking as the first time we saw it. Next we hopped back on our tour bus and visited the Russian World War II memorial. I can say that this sight is easily one of the most amazing sights I have ever been to. As far as war memorials goes this one is easily the biggest and most grandeur that I have ever experienced. Once again we got back on our bus and drove over to Moscow city center. There we saw a theater where cats are trained as actors, a giant wine cork, and the main offices of the KGB. We also walked through a giant glass tunnel to look at Moscow's still developing financial district and that is where this picture of David, Isaac, and I takes place. All in all a very fun day and it was good to get out of the hostel for a while and explore Moscow.