tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63634326946784568582024-03-13T09:12:58.976-07:00Anthony Tsar --- Антон ЦарьAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-34034202518111782162012-12-17T02:20:00.000-08:002012-12-21T11:11:47.891-08:0012/17 - Last Classes, Dinner with Professors, End<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe my abroad experience in Russia is about to come to an end! Tomorrow at around 7:30AM MSK (Moscow time) our Lufthansa flight leaves Russia heading for Frankfurt Airport in Germany. I've already packed up all my belongings, and exchanged gifts with my host mother and host brother. Other than my American friends who I spent time with here - all the culture shock, language setbacks, and other tough abroad issues - I'll definitely miss my host family the most. These people were fantastic - making me meals, helping me with my language homework, and even just carrying out conversations with me. How slow I must have sounded when I spoke! I'll be saying my goodbyes today to them as well. At 6:00PM MSK, I'll be moving into the university dormitory for just one night. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we had our final classes, even though we had already completed all of our exams and other assignments. It was more of a fun day if anything, the teachers more or less wanted to assure us of our progress. For example, my grammar teacher, Tamara, showed us our initial placement tests from the first week we arrived in Moscow. When my group started to look over the mistakes we made then, we laughed at our own errors! We had made so much progress since August! I also took at Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) with a program staff member this week, and I felt like I did extremely well. Compared to my OPI in August, it was outstanding, I could barely understand the questions back then. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>My host mom Elena and I</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night we finally got to eat some authentic spicy food in Moscow! But that's not the important part, this was our final dinner with all the students and our professors from the International University. The teachers wanted to thank us for our hard work and dedication with many Russian toasts, such as "За дружбу!" (Za druzhbu) or "To Friendship!" My favorite toast was from our Geography teacher Alexander Ivanovich. After saying that the United States and Russia are technically oceanic neighbors, he said "За наши соседы!" (Za nashi sosyedi) or "To our neighbors!" It was a fun night filled with goodbyes, gift-giving, great wine, and awesome Georgian food.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following the final dinner, we had a final get-together at our favorite bar in Moscow, Вокзал (Vokzal). We realized how close we had actually grown as a group. This trip had been especially frustrating for us due to cliques forming and passive aggression which probably resulted from our homesickness and culture shock symptoms. It was great to have one more night to drink all together and celebrate our friendship. Its amazing how fast I got attached and depended upon my American friends to get through the hard times during our journey in Russia. I'm happy that I got along with the majority of my group, and I hope to get together with them again when we are back in the United States!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, this will be my last blog post. The journey has come to an end, as all good things do at one time or another. I am beyond thankful for my time here, and the opportunity to study Russian in Moscow for one semester. Thank you for reading just this post or any posts that I've put up in previous weeks and months, I really appreciate sharing my journey with you. I'll be leaving Moscow in less than 24 hours!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 1 day</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-4650891089919616992012-12-08T11:51:00.000-08:002012-12-08T12:29:14.748-08:0012/9 - Dynamo Hockey, Chocolate Factory<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realize in the past few blog posts, I've been saying how I can't think to much about returning home, or I won't enjoy my last few weeks in Russia. However, its almost impossible at this point. We've spent over three months in Moscow, and we are starting to get homesick especially with the holiday season. I'm always the one complaining about the shopping rushes or the overplaying of Christmas music on the radio, but this year - I actually miss it. Finals are coming up this week in our classes, final program evaluations, written/oral proficiency exams, our final goodbyes, and then we are heading home. I can easily say that the general consensus is that we are ready to head back. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Wednesday evening, seven of us attended a KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) or КХЛ Хоккей (pronounced the same in English) game near the old 1980 Olympic Stadium in Moscow. After the NHL, the KHL is considered the second-most talented hockey league in the world. This season, its seeing a growth in popularity primarily because NHL players are choosing this league as a Plan B until the NHL ends its lockout period (all the games are canceled due to salary issues). We saw Moscow's team HC Dynamo Moscow (Динамо Москва) play against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (ХК Локомотив). Also we got to see Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, both players for the NHL's Washington Capitals, play for Dynamo in Moscow due to the lockout! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my opinion, it is necessary to see a hockey game in Russia more than any other sport. This country has a strong hockey tradition, and its also interesting to compare the sport in the US and in Russia. For example, there are hardly any player-player fights or hard checks that happen in the KHL. If the referees see a fight start to boil up, they will rush in to stop it before it gets any worse. Whereas American spectators will expect and often promote fights in hockey games, the exact opposite happens here. Also, if you've experienced or heard about the famous 1980 American-Soviet Olympic hockey game, you should ask how a Russian experienced this event at the time. I asked my host mother about the Russian reaction to their loss in 1980. She said the Soviet people were devastated, and it was shocking to everyone who followed sports at the time. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Yaroslavl and Moscow teams shaking hands Alexander Ovechkin (Александр Овечкин) </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>at the end of the game (seems to be an international in action</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>tradition)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we had our last program-sponsored excursion to a famous Chocolate factory in downtown Moscow. There's not a whole lot to say about this excursion except... well, this place produces a lot of chocolate and candy products. However, the content of the excursion exceeded my expectations, our tour guide started by showing us the origins of chocolate in Central and South America back thousands of years ago. Then we learned of the process of how a Cocoa seed is ground up, mixed with butter and sugar, compounded into shapes, and then wrapped for our convenience. Then we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the factory and its production processes. Moreover, we got to taste test their products as our tour guide walked us through. It was delicious chocolate!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Carsten, Nick, Seth, and I in our factory uniforms before </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>entering the production area</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Museum portion of the factory</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading again! Unfortunately, my next post will be my last in Russia. This journey has been amazing and eye-opening, but all good things must come to an end. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 9 days</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-55140930755282180112012-12-02T10:08:00.001-08:002012-12-02T10:08:24.668-08:0012/2 - Base, Snowstorm, AIDS Benefit Concert, VDNKh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big news came my way this week! Yesterday, I found out that I'll be stationed at Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina as my first assignment as a Logistics Readiness Officer in the U.S. Air Force. I received my sixth choice out of six for my base, but I have already realized that you can't have high expectations for job and base placements in the military. However, I definitely consider myself lucky to be stationed here, its a beautiful town with a strong military community and culture. The base itself is famous for the 440th Airlift wing, which is one of the finest and largest in the Air Force, and has over 16 C-130 cargo airplanes. As part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure program, Pope Field was combined with Fort Bragg (controlled by the U.S. Army) - the home of the Army Airbourne and Special Forces training. It's great news, and I'm excited to go on active duty. The last piece of information I'll need is my EAD, or the date I need to report in for duty. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend started with one of the longest snowstorms (or метель/metel) that I've ever witnessed, even as a kid who grew up with Nor'easters in New Hampshire. It was snowing nonstop for almost 2 straight days, and it was so much that my host family was even surprised. Some news agencies reported that they hadn't seen a snowstorm of that longevity and caliber in over 50 years. However, it made the Moscow landscape look beautiful, except for the streets, which were covered in a dark brown slush and often got extremely icy. It inspired me and my friend Dan to go explore Red Square, and we got some awesome pictures in front of St. Basil's Cathedral and the adjacent mall. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>In front of St. Basil's Cathedral (Red Square) in the snowstorm</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSHqudc8joaayI9k_W-msOG2fn-4HyfGf2j5V9f5oNnhHXF34qAlOoLlLlxgodMs0I1TcuNvjeGR8jUaGEeqZEAlPE4yjG1uOLbC7Jetdc2eQGxynFJHSNgYwObXTJJ3YbnpHMvS5f28/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-12-02+at+21.38.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSHqudc8joaayI9k_W-msOG2fn-4HyfGf2j5V9f5oNnhHXF34qAlOoLlLlxgodMs0I1TcuNvjeGR8jUaGEeqZEAlPE4yjG1uOLbC7Jetdc2eQGxynFJHSNgYwObXTJJ3YbnpHMvS5f28/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-12-02+at+21.38.13.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>With Dan and Lena (Лена) with a Coca-Cola polar bear (белый медведь)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Friday night, our friend Jesse was gracious enough to invite five of us to help volunteer at the Russian Entertainment Awards at the Драматический театр (Dramatichesky Teatr) or Drama Theater in downtown Moscow. This was essentially the Russian version of the MTV music awards, and featured some famous Russian singers and TV personalities. Unfortunately, the Americans hardly knew any of these celebrities, but how would we have known? We aren't avid viewers of Russian entertainment television. The concert was run by the United Nations and the organization Красная ленточка (Krasnaya Lentochka) or "Red Ribbon" to help fight the AIDS (ВИЧ) epidemic. It was an honor to help volunteer with such an important organization with an extremely bold cause. Before the concert I had the responsibility of escorting some of the music stars to the main part of the theater where the awards ceremony and concert were to be held. It was nerve-racking because some of the stars only spoke Russian, but others only knew English. Obviously, I was more inclined to help the latter!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>From left to right (Me, Jesse, Becky, Gizem, Amanda) on the Red Carpet!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dFU0dG_pkg5t2djjzkLYOfaBcuPaycpbmShyfcg5K98OIglnZM1Z9NLB3PSBW2UaSH6GZmNDWoCEk-fRbjTKSpavQ_TaX87xIO3W-Tf14kRCxXZkgBQThc3xksf6oYYJUpfSyS5G5AE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-12-02+at+21.57.48.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dFU0dG_pkg5t2djjzkLYOfaBcuPaycpbmShyfcg5K98OIglnZM1Z9NLB3PSBW2UaSH6GZmNDWoCEk-fRbjTKSpavQ_TaX87xIO3W-Tf14kRCxXZkgBQThc3xksf6oYYJUpfSyS5G5AE/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-12-02+at+21.57.48.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Saturday, we made a short visit to the All-Russian Exhibition Center or VDNKh (ВДНХ) to do some browsing, shopping, and enjoy some holiday fun. The biggest shocker to me was this center was formerly a Soviet Union Republics memorial that has been converted into a market and amusement park. For example, the Soviets had built a huge memorial to the Russian Soviet Republic called the "House of the People of Russia" or Дом народного России (Dom narodnovo Rossii), which is covered with hammer/sickle logos and has a huge statue of Vladimir Lenin in front. Now its simply a souvenir shopping center for tourists. As we continued to explore, we saw some old Soviet relics, and other buildings dedicated to the former Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, and others. We even got to see the old Soviet Vostok rocket, and a small Christmas concert. It was definitely an interesting place...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>House of the People of Russia (Дом народного России)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>In front of the USSR Vostok rocket (СССР Восток)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading my blog post! My journey is coming to a close soon, so I'll probably only have time for a few more adventures. I can't believe how much I've seen and learned about this language and culture. Finals are on the horizon, so I'll be focused on studying for those. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 16 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-46167513138641213432012-11-25T06:03:00.003-08:002012-11-25T06:03:56.101-08:0011/25 - Thanksgiving, Dance Studio, Novodevichy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I am reaching the conclusion of a 4-day weekend here in Moscow, and it was certainly eventful. We were fortunate enough to get Thanksgiving off from classes here because our professors knew that none of us would actually go to class anyway. Plus it's a chance for them to get a break from instructing on a holiday from which Russians are gaining an increasing awareness. Happy Thanksgiving is said in Russian as С днём благодарения (or S deyom blagodareneya). Like in the United States, this holiday signifies the start of the holiday shopping season, as Russians see the shopping craze unfolding every year on Black Friday or Чёрная пятница (Chornaya Pyatnitsa). Decorations start to go up, local stores offer sales, and Russians get excited about their New Year (Новый год) celebrations. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time in 21 years, I was not home in New Hampshire for Thanksgiving. Instead, our resident director, Jon Smith, invited us to spend the holiday in his apartment. The majority of us had a wonderful time, we stuffed our faces with food, and watched a bunch of movies - Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Mulan, and The Lion King. I have to thank my friends who cooked for us because they did a wonderful job. Surprisingly, it was not difficult to find the ingredients for our Thanksgiving favorites such as cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and macaroni 'n' cheese. However, the turkey is normally a cheap part of the meal, but not this year. Our turkey cost over $50, and it was only 10 pounds! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The abroad group for Thanksgiving (день благодарения) at Jon's apartment</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Feast</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Friday, we got an exclusive free viewing from the Moiseyev Dance Academy downtown. The performance was only about an hour long, but we were able to witness some traditional Russian dances, Tango, and more. This was only made possible by our director Jon because he toured with Academy's students when they came to the United States. Also, I think we could appreciate this performance so much more because our group is taking weekly dance classes as part of our course curriculum this semester. Our dance teacher referred to dance or танца (tantsa) as гордость России or "the pride of Russia." The founder of the school Igor Moiseyev (1906 - 2007) would have agreed, and his name is one of the most famous in the Russian dance, choreography, and music industries to this day. Moiseyev was awarded countless Soviet state honors, as well as the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) Mozart Medal for his contribution to world music culture. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>With the dancers of the Moiseyev Dance Academy (wish my eyes weren't closed here)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>On the metro imitating a monument</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Saturday, I was lucky enough to complete my Christmas shopping at the Ismailovo Market in Northeast Moscow. Following our shopping spree, my friends Jesse, Amanda, and I went on a self-guided tour of another part of the Moscow metro. On Sunday, Jesse and I went to the famous Novodevichy Cemetery or Новодевичье кладбище to see the graves of some of the most famous Russians and Soviets who ever lived. We saw the graves of Boris Yeltsin (first President of the Russian Federation), Nikita Khrushchev (former Soviet premier), Raisa Gorbachova (wife of Mikhail Gorbachev), Anton Chekhov (writer), Nikolai Gogol (writer), and many others. It is a must-see for all tourists and students studying abroad in Moscow. Its strange to think that I've already seen the graves of every Soviet premier, which are all located in Moscow. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXpMsWXcikd0zfkGmurNOu581Pme2x1aMtblx0Xw4hkCXOKtb4xl3bw0yeKdQzjiP-UZUbX-666c4PkuprojXJrPx0kXlSvIfVwy7rRMvqXKW_Z2b-L5ihXOE1qFsHTOns3MjCtc6O4o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-25+at+17.19.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXpMsWXcikd0zfkGmurNOu581Pme2x1aMtblx0Xw4hkCXOKtb4xl3bw0yeKdQzjiP-UZUbX-666c4PkuprojXJrPx0kXlSvIfVwy7rRMvqXKW_Z2b-L5ihXOE1qFsHTOns3MjCtc6O4o/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-25+at+17.19.35.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Grave of Boris Yeltsin (могила Бориса Ельцина)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNa21UpYEBaYc8R6uWeN3qKE_0JF6o_6ikXt10WAi2DdvvA30DbMhxh_N0Rxsrl-HGxa5VETdyYPjiz1pG9Uk_kXKCa1VjMk-bQ1QKO0kkXVvz6LBwT1LMfs-xNqU3aY9GGJhq6slRBY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-25+at+17.19.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNa21UpYEBaYc8R6uWeN3qKE_0JF6o_6ikXt10WAi2DdvvA30DbMhxh_N0Rxsrl-HGxa5VETdyYPjiz1pG9Uk_kXKCa1VjMk-bQ1QKO0kkXVvz6LBwT1LMfs-xNqU3aY9GGJhq6slRBY/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-25+at+17.19.55.png" width="242" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Grave of Nikita Khrushchev (могила Никиты Хрущева)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This journey has treated me well thus far, and I've seen my language ability progress and develop faster than I ever would have expected. In the final few weeks I hope to make trips to the provincial towns of Yaroslavl and Vladimir. There's not too much time left, so I have to make haste!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 23 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-91295537530365443032012-11-17T07:19:00.001-08:002012-11-17T07:19:15.309-08:0011/17 - Beer Factory (Ochakovo) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With all of the scandals happening this week including the accusations against Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Allen, I'm happy none of the higher-up Air Force generals are accused of anything. It's unbelievable that I only have about a month left in Moscow with my departure date scheduled for December 18. Our resident director John was telling us that students begin to daydream of home in these last few weeks, and I want to try to avoid this symptom at all costs. I'll most likely only visit Russia a few times in my lifetime, so I want to make the most out of these final weeks. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week felt like a huge linguistic accomplishment for me. First of all, I had always had trouble with the Russian "verbs of motion," and to give you a sense of how difficult these are, instead of just having the words for "to go," it changes based on the vehicle you're riding in, or if you're going on foot. On top of all that, there are prefixes to identify the direction of the motion. I finally conquered my fears and got an A on the test this week on verbs of motion. Moreover, I met with my tutor, Maria, this week and we went to a Mexican restaurant. Maria always is willing to help me with my Russian, and our entire conversation at the bar was in Russian. She pointed out that she observed tremendous progress, and it definitely calmed me down and gave me more faith in the American Councils Study Abroad program. It is truly one of the best ways to learn Russian.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we had our fifteenth excursion to the Очаково пивзавод (Ochakovo Beer Factory). All of us were excited because, well, we are college students and we love all kinds of alcohol. Its also important to note how the beer scene is exploding in Moscow, and its almost at the point of overtaking vodka in terms of consumption. We had a fantastic tour guide, but unfortunately, the factory was sort of boring. We got to see the areas where beer is produced, but we never actually saw the process happen before us. The highlight of the day was definitely the beer-tasting at the end. We got to try their award-winning German-style beer, plus many other light and dark flavors. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJlogQqM7NBPsADQDd8dOKKoi53wie9wAWssANg2x0YmBEtRu-mR2bBjTfSsZCVZchEaRr1euCsc2mJ4ImyG6qMzNzYFZ8ybCeSngrBJ6dr_V3RpZtp9o9HPhOHrmYbDRnN6ZbB4-oQc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-17+at+17.33.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJlogQqM7NBPsADQDd8dOKKoi53wie9wAWssANg2x0YmBEtRu-mR2bBjTfSsZCVZchEaRr1euCsc2mJ4ImyG6qMzNzYFZ8ybCeSngrBJ6dr_V3RpZtp9o9HPhOHrmYbDRnN6ZbB4-oQc/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-17+at+17.33.34.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is the earliest I've ever started my Christmas shopping, and I went with my friends Amanda and Gizem to the market (рынок) near Измайловский парк (Izmailovsky Park) to start buying gifts for my family and friends. I know my loved ones will appreciate an authentic Russian gifts this year, plus its always a bonus to avoid the craziness of the shopping season in the United States. Only about a month left, and there's so much left to see! Not only in Moscow, but around the region. I hope to inform you of more adventures soon enough.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 31 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-34463876549231766512012-11-10T03:34:00.003-08:002012-11-10T03:34:48.203-08:0011/10 - Obama Wins, Bond Museum, Presnya Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, starting with news from the USA, as I'm sure you all know, President Obama won a second term in office! For me, this was amazing news, and I was shocked how he took almost every battleground state except for North Carolina. In addition, only two states switched parties from the 2008 election, Indiana and North Carolina. It was a blowout by electoral college standards. In addition, it was a groundbreaking election - the first openly gay senator (Tammy Baldwin) was elected in Wisconsin. In my state, New Hampshire, all of our federal representatives will be women after their respective inaugurations in January 2013. Here is the lineup - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">G</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">overnor Maggie Hassan, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Senator Kelly Ayotte (only Republican), </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Senator Jeanne Shaheen, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Rep. Ann McLane Kuster. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">This weekend in Moscow has gotten off to a fantastic start, and its only just started. On Thursday, my friend Dan and I went to the James Bond Museum/Exhibit in Китай-Город (Ketai-Gorod or Chinatown). It was a relatively small museum, but it has some great exhibits and collectables from all the movies back to the Sean Connery era. My favorite part of the museum was a screen that played all the opening credits from all the Bond movies simultaneously. James Bond is more of a recent fad for Russians, as the movies were typically banned during the time of the Soviet Union. The government would never permit one of the prominent symbols of the capitalist world to be shown in theaters. The funniest part of this museum was a "sex-scene room," that had a continuous roll of the Bond sex scenes from all the movies. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMFwzjD8KWQvAhIMHb1t54sNNNC72oJVwrvslDRMUNeIOC0kVuTNMFeM8qnxc1YiZ4gbVEjdGPIyq7YjWztcqN61cNue4RpUUBm4WBUfYpT39wioaTkWw2HRqSMD7gDInYjKyhHC6RgM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-10+at+14.45.15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGMFwzjD8KWQvAhIMHb1t54sNNNC72oJVwrvslDRMUNeIOC0kVuTNMFeM8qnxc1YiZ4gbVEjdGPIyq7YjWztcqN61cNue4RpUUBm4WBUfYpT39wioaTkWw2HRqSMD7gDInYjKyhHC6RgM/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-10+at+14.45.15.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know this is kinda lame to get excited over, but I finally found a Dunkin' Donuts or in Russian - Данкин Донатс in Moscow. It was a beautiful restaurant, unlike some of the ones around Massachusetts. Also, I find it amazing how much their corporation has grown, from a tiny doughnut shop in Quincy, Massachusetts to Moscow, China, Western Europe, and beyond. I would even argue that this store is cleaner and better-kept than some in the US!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Dunkin' Donuts - Данкин Донатс</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we had our fourteenth excursion to the Presnya Museum or Пресня музей, which was a decent 20th century Soviet/Russian history museum. It primarily focused on the events surrounding the events in the early 1990s, when the country was making its transition from a communist to a capitalist economy. In 1991, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and Russian President Boris Yeltsin were in a power struggle before the Russian government completely took over. More violence boiled in September 1993, when Yeltsin and the first (and only) Russian Vice President Alexander Rutskoy led opposing sides in a extremely heated constitutional crisis that resulted in the deaths of over 200 Russian citizens, police, and soldiers. Our tour guide gave us a well-rounded summary of these events, and it came to life when we saw the memorials around the Белый дом (Beliy Dom) or "White House." Yeltsin ordered tanks and soldiers to fire upon the White House, which is the meeting of the Russian Legislature or State Duma. Shows how difficult it actually is to transition to a completely different style of governance. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"<i>Героическая Пресня 1905 год" - Диорама - Heroic Presnya 1905 - Diorama</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="font-size: small;"> </i>Lastly, today - Seth, Carsten, and I all went to a market in the Northeast part of Moscow to pick up some winter weather gear, specifically Russian hats. We were bargaining with the sellers (in Russian, I might add). Originally some of these hats cost 2500 rubles (=$79). After browsing through many of the kiosks, we both found hats that we wanted. I bought mine for 1700 rubles (=$54), and its made from actual rabbit fur or мех кролика. It's extremely warm, and will do wonders in the Russian (and American) winter. Check out the picture below!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Carsten and I with our Russian шапкы/shapki/hats</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading again, only about 5 weeks left in Moscow. Soon I'll be traveling to the eastern city of Vladimir!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 38 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-44429079457814407322012-11-04T11:07:00.001-08:002012-11-04T11:10:12.809-08:0011/4 - Moscow State University, Exploring the Metro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe its already November! It's unbelievable that I've been in Russia for two months, and the Presidential Elections are on this Tuesday. With daylight savings time happening in the US, that leaves me 9 hours ahead of EST (Eastern Standard Time) as of this week. That being said, I'll probably be missing at least half of my school day to see the final results come in. Either way, I'll probably be drinking with my American friends here to either celebrate or complain about the result of the election. We have a drastically liberal abroad group (including myself), so we are hoping President Obama wins a second term in office!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, we had a long weekend in Russia (well, longer than normal). Our normal three-day weekend became a four-day weekend because our professors wanted to celebrate the holiday on November 4, known as День народного единства ("Unity Day"), which celebrates the day in 1612, when Muscovite heroes Minin and Pozharsky drove the Polish out of Moscow and started a new era of Russian Imperial dominance. More importantly, it signifies the strength in unification that defines Russian culture today, and November 4, 2012 marks the 400th anniversary of that day. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Sunday, we were lucky enough to be able to see James Bond 007 Skyfall before it came out in the USA. Moreover, we saw it in Russian, which was definitely awesome, but also ironic at the same time. It was my first movie in Russian that I saw in theater, and it was really interesting to see the Russian crowd's reactions to different scenes in the movie. For instance, they laughed whenever someone was shot or killed, which came to a great surprise to my group. Regardless, I was happy that I understood a lot, and enjoyed another fantastic Bond film. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Poster for the Художественный кинотеатр (literally "Art Movie Theater")</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Friday, we had an excursion to Москва государственный университет ("Moscow State University"), which is Moscow's most famous and oldest university, founded in 1755 by Mikhail Lomonosov. He's known to many Americans as the Russian Benjamin Franklin, due to his groundbreaking achievements in a variety of fields from physics to chemistry to geology to art to history, and even math. Just to give you a gist of how big this school is - it employs over 4,000 academic staff, 15,000 other staff members, and the student body consists of around 40,000 undergraduates and 7,000 postgraduates. Its enormous, and this tour gave us a great idea of how large it actually is. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The key thing to see at MSU (МГУ) is its main building, which is one of the Stalin "Seven Sisters," built in his famous Wedding Cake Architecture during the 1950s. I've seen the other Sisters around Moscow, but this is the first we were able to enter and explore. It's built around hundreds of massive marble columns, still decorated with Soviet symbols that were forced into the infrastructure. Its a stark reminder of how Soviet propaganda was not only influential in society, but also in the Soviet educational system. My favorite moment was our journey to the 31st floor of the building where we got a panoramic view of the city, seeing the Moscow River, the 1980 Olympic Stadium, among many other sights. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today was probably the least eventful day of the weekend, mostly because of disappointment over a trip me and some friends wanted to take. We were trying to get early morning train tickets to the city of Yaroslavl or Ярославль, but trains were unfortunately booked until the afternoon, which made a day-trip impossible. However, I made alternative plans with my friend Amanda, and we did a self-guided tour along to the well-known metro stops along Moscow's Red Line, and we saw some awesome sights!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More adventures from Moscow to come soon, we might be taking a weekend trip to the city of Vladimir next weekend!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 44 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0Moscow, Russia55.7512419 37.618421755.4652944 36.9867077 56.037189399999995 38.2501357tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-7750277264767546392012-10-27T03:30:00.000-07:002012-10-27T03:30:45.522-07:0010/26 - Halfway Point<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to believe that I've already made it halfway through my study abroad experience in Moscow. It's already October 26, and my departure date is scheduled for December 18. Midterm grades are starting to come our way, and I've been extremely satisfied thus far. I have mostly A's (5's in Russia) and B's (4's in Russia), and my professors have taken note of my progress thus far. I'm humbled by their remarks, since I've been logging in a ton of time outside of class to do homework, and work on vocabulary without being asked to do so. Even my host mother, Elena, has been mentioning that my speech has quickened and my vocabulary has grown substantially. In this post, I will talk about two excursions, since I did not post last week. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, on Friday, October 19, we went to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (Великая Отечественная война), which is named as such to commemorate the victory of the Allied Forces and the Soviet Union during World War II (1941 - 1945). Soviets take great pride in this war because millions of their forefathers sacrificed their lives to defend the homeland. Moreover, the Nazis had invaded some of the USSR's largest cities including Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Our tour guide took us on a tour of these dioramas, that depicted the sights and sounds of the war. It was extremely interesting, but also disturbing at the amount of death that occurred during that time. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last weekend was also a great time because I celebrated two birthday parties with my friends Bridget and Dan, who both turned 20 on back-to-back days. Seeing as I'm almost 22, this made me feel old! However, we went to a few bars around the city and had a few drinks. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I had one of the most exciting excursions to date (besides the Volga River Cruise), and the location might surprise you. Not Red Square, not the Kremlin, and not some historical Russian cathedral - it was a Middle School or Средная школа (srednaya shkola). Unlike American schools, these middle schools usually host children that are aged equivalent to elementary age all the way up to senior year of high school. We had the unique opportunity to attend three classes, and essentially audit the students. Well, we thought that we would only sit an listen but, it went almost exactly the opposite in two of the three classes. I'll outline the happenings in detail.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Class 1: English (Английский язык) - Grade 9</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the surprise of Bridget, Brooke, Amanda, and myself, we were going to be the highlight of this English class. Primarily because the professor wanted us to speak about the United States to the class, and then engage in dialogues with the students individually. I had the opportunity to talk to two students, which was highly enjoyable. They were given a short script (in Russian), and they had to start the dialogue with me - it was simple things - like playing sports, going out to eat, etc. The students that talked to me had excellent conversational skills and grammar, even after the teacher warned us about simplifying our vocabulary and use of slang words. It was the favorite part of the day for me, and it made me want to teach English to Russians someday!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Class 2: Mathematics (Математика) - Grade 4</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a great experience to see elementary age children learning math skills early in the Russian classroom. The teacher even wanted us to take a short exam with the students on writing out numbers and doing obtuse/acute/right angles! Thankfully all 4 of us received 5's (or A's in our system). But the elementary-age classroom is much more participation heavy, and students are highly active. They had to draw the problems on the board, and were active in singing songs/doing small activities amongst themselves. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Class 3: Russian (Русский язык) - Grade 7</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This class kind of scared me in a lot of ways. The Russian students (around middle-school age) were working on Russian grammar, and doing really well at it. In fact, they were working on techniques that English-speakers often take years to master. However, our resident director, Jon, warned us that oftentimes it will take years to achieve fluency, and to not be discouraged when you hear children speaking better Russian than you. Regardless, it was a great experience, and I learned some grammar techniques myself. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeI0O_cwItSJnjHm6Nsc9_Z7MzH3O7JIFfeLe1AhT2kml-OPIzJhvEq345ZAVs1yC3-3NozZooW6oxYjH11DUQY8hQcipTtpvLeqaGobQTqJ-P-Iyw0MwkkMi8OW6FlnJjgRVF7myMMg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-26+at+18.03.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeI0O_cwItSJnjHm6Nsc9_Z7MzH3O7JIFfeLe1AhT2kml-OPIzJhvEq345ZAVs1yC3-3NozZooW6oxYjH11DUQY8hQcipTtpvLeqaGobQTqJ-P-Iyw0MwkkMi8OW6FlnJjgRVF7myMMg/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-10-26+at+18.03.49.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, yesterday was the first snowstorm in Moscow this season. It was freezing, but the snow hardly stuck to the ground. As per usual for a first-of-the-season snowfall. I missed it though. Thanks for reading, and I'll continue to post these on a weekly basis.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 52 Days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-89260489484130381682012-10-15T10:43:00.001-07:002012-10-15T10:43:09.663-07:0010/15 - Volga River Cruise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always start with news from home in my blog posts. Just today I submitted my choices for Air Force bases, and where I want to work when I complete my undergraduate studies. I decided that it would be best for my family, girlfriend (Daniela), and my family to stay on the East Coast, which has always been my home. Although I had the option to choose bases in Japan, England, Germany, and Italy, I decided against it. Here is the list I submitted this afternoon: </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Bolling Air Force Base, Washington (DC)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Langley Air Force Base, Virginia</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. MacDill Air Force Base, Florida</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Dover Air Force Base, Delaware</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Pope Field, North Carolina</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This end of this week was the conclusion of probably the longest, and most eventful foreign journeys of my entire life. I was fortunate enough to visit 6 Russian cities over the course of this week. Starting with Nizhny Novgorod and ending in Volgograd, I want to share some of the most memorable experiences on this blog with you. At the beginning of the week, we boarded a cruise ship (теплоход), and it was absolutely gorgeous. We dined like kings, getting three course meals for lunch and dinner. Every day, we would go to the roof of the boat, and look out at the beautiful natural shorelines along the Volga River. At night we would stargaze (often after a few drinks at the bar), and the lack of light pollution even allowed us to see the Milky Way. The Volga River (Волга) is the longest and largest river in Europe, and it is over 2,300 miles long. It were hardly able to sail over all of that. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RiuCQ-28UH-Cjm6mN3HpRBS-AWygilUfJJpfT8ZOlDCZEbPYqgTeEppOWG_s3ZxZOuSzY6tsqb_g6F0kk7yQIGwrRKVw-k2xsN2XToYJkQehSDLJpLk0f6OZgOZUxgAMDVQVP7UK7o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.29.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RiuCQ-28UH-Cjm6mN3HpRBS-AWygilUfJJpfT8ZOlDCZEbPYqgTeEppOWG_s3ZxZOuSzY6tsqb_g6F0kk7yQIGwrRKVw-k2xsN2XToYJkQehSDLJpLk0f6OZgOZUxgAMDVQVP7UK7o/s640/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.29.13.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <i>Map of the Journey (minus Volgograd)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTHwMMqtQc9M1D-DEDL4gPOx6QGKjvsVJGgXSamKhjWnfEFhtFn-PQonQE1qT2Uj5pl2k7gA-mQHr1J-cjqSOxQpTvkIERKh_J4PQTdEcW0SA11nSMDRtWaHGYCSZlGcZi2FlukO24is/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+19.59.04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTHwMMqtQc9M1D-DEDL4gPOx6QGKjvsVJGgXSamKhjWnfEFhtFn-PQonQE1qT2Uj5pl2k7gA-mQHr1J-cjqSOxQpTvkIERKh_J4PQTdEcW0SA11nSMDRtWaHGYCSZlGcZi2FlukO24is/s640/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+19.59.04.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Our Cruise Ship named the Anton Chekhov (Теплоход имени Антон Чехов)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I. Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nizhny Novgorod is literally translated to "Lower New City" in Russian. It is the fifth-most populated city in Russia, and we got to spend nearly an entire day there. Highlights included seeing the Nizhny Kremlin (Кремль), which is translated to "citadel." They had a beautiful version of "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," where guards paid reverence to the fallen soldiers in World War II. Our most memorable moment was a race up the staircase in the middle of the city to overlook the Volga River. Our sea voyage began here.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mw2QW4jgRQohe9CbEKOn4qy87H_LnjkrypM2JxYz8005Wqn39rWRvOdKESy6BjpZax29BYw1-my_pMGHt-4yVCOb9xUpyq4p-677okVRiuT_NWdH9xuiPzXBC2jmj9scOhCPIWhbP64/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.02.02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mw2QW4jgRQohe9CbEKOn4qy87H_LnjkrypM2JxYz8005Wqn39rWRvOdKESy6BjpZax29BYw1-my_pMGHt-4yVCOb9xUpyq4p-677okVRiuT_NWdH9xuiPzXBC2jmj9scOhCPIWhbP64/s640/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.02.02.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpoDU24V4aheSZMZuc4fQtdYgQsplJ5ELWTC7ChZ9QCIDYwufINYz1azEzkHMg1KCCu99JzWurmNmlTI1f55OGDChBJVvTYnOzb7DxbhWhhyphenhyphenrwACUlx2XqyDbJMBVyJS9oX-lrbT2M6eU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.48.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpoDU24V4aheSZMZuc4fQtdYgQsplJ5ELWTC7ChZ9QCIDYwufINYz1azEzkHMg1KCCu99JzWurmNmlTI1f55OGDChBJVvTYnOzb7DxbhWhhyphenhyphenrwACUlx2XqyDbJMBVyJS9oX-lrbT2M6eU/s640/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.48.57.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Within the Nizhny Kremlin, on top of an Old MiG aircraft</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>II. Kazan (Казань)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kazan is the capital of the Tatarstan Republic in Russia, and is the eighth-most populous city. It was easily my second-favorite city on the trip. Not only because of its beautiful summery weather, but the city offered a new perspective on Russia. The Kazan Kremlin was designated a World Heritage Site in 2005 by the United Nations, it represents an area where Christians and Muslims live in harmony. Also, Russian and Tatar are both spoken by many of the Kazan inhabitants. I'm not a soccer fan, but the city is going to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, so its consistently gaining attention. My favorite experience was seeing the Kremlin, and the giant Mosque that stood there. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fXv-0z5ITuLpBI3ziDd_sru2bQPgCwfN1y93bxXOSLv_IPG17xSrUP_XBUR3LAMX0_tH-TtNU86BzAQV_oOAxkZ6KJzOz-C9bcLUSW52mArGHzkzTNPNyaUkyK8_8vFGJS08KksTUws/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.49.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fXv-0z5ITuLpBI3ziDd_sru2bQPgCwfN1y93bxXOSLv_IPG17xSrUP_XBUR3LAMX0_tH-TtNU86BzAQV_oOAxkZ6KJzOz-C9bcLUSW52mArGHzkzTNPNyaUkyK8_8vFGJS08KksTUws/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.49.35.png" width="305" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Near the entrance to the Kazan River Station</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLTJ_5K2G0W19SWdIcTwC_PP_NG5mClJsD3FFzmaSSEFc9T6fiAtbDB9K3-yrJx7DX_ohNiP25v-r_KWyQCoOxCvZZ30s-gEFGHWDmLizya7ZK0dU9VVT8x3cSRb1fquFb8t_0hItADk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.00.26.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLTJ_5K2G0W19SWdIcTwC_PP_NG5mClJsD3FFzmaSSEFc9T6fiAtbDB9K3-yrJx7DX_ohNiP25v-r_KWyQCoOxCvZZ30s-gEFGHWDmLizya7ZK0dU9VVT8x3cSRb1fquFb8t_0hItADk/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+20.00.26.png" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Kul Sharif Mosque (Кул Шариф Мечеть)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>III. Ulyanovsk (Ульяновск) </b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ulyanovsk is not known for its huge skyscrapers and urban appeal, but for its name and its former dwellers. It is best known as the place where Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the creator and leader of the Soviet Union's Communist Party, was born and raised. Everywhere, we saw statues of Lenin, and we were even able to visit his former home. He was raised in a moderately wealthy family, and his childhood inspired him to create the Bolshevik Party that would eventually overthrow the Imperial regime in Russia back in 1917. Interestingly enough, Lenin's birth name was Ulyanov, which is why the city was called Ulyanov(sk). We were also able to the museum that was built to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Lenin's birth. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Nick, Seth, and I imitating Lenin and his comrades</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Here Lived Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin (Здесь жил Владимир Ильич Ульянов-Ленин)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next stop on the Volga River was Samara, the sixth-largest city in Russia. It is most well-known for being "the second Soviet capital" after Moscow during the early years of World War II. Between 1935 and 1991 it was known as Kuybyshev (Куйбышев). My most memorable moment was our time spent in a Cold War bunker built for Stalin, simply known as Stalin's bunker (Бункер Сталина). It was 8 floors deep, and even had a war room, and bomb shelters built at the lowest levels. In case the Soviet Union was ever bombed, former Soviet Premier Stalin had a place to hide. As we ascended the stairs, many of the students fulfilled the spirit of the area by singing the old Soviet national anthem. I would have joined in if I knew the words!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Amanda and I near a Soviet Space Shuttle</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0X50lBFCFa1Z03oy7in81P-Fqgak7I1D-Gxw2Zr2umnQdzUR0NTgjnsw90fmJuoBrFZ9AHCXQj_JfQqqMkPOKuV6WiWRsX-NR_2KC6QwvbRnrV-1eD5FOZieriwy4y-7AKXoKSYpLpU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+19.59.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0X50lBFCFa1Z03oy7in81P-Fqgak7I1D-Gxw2Zr2umnQdzUR0NTgjnsw90fmJuoBrFZ9AHCXQj_JfQqqMkPOKuV6WiWRsX-NR_2KC6QwvbRnrV-1eD5FOZieriwy4y-7AKXoKSYpLpU/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+19.59.34.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Stalin's War Room on the bottom floor of his bunker (бункер Сталина)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of all the cities we visited, I was the least impressed by Saratov. It is the 16th most populated city in Russia, but it had little to offer. We went to a park, and visited an art museum, which basically comprised our entire tour. The one interesting thing is that thousands of Germans (Немцы) migrated to Saratov, and has a enormous German influence. In addition, my second-year Russian professor at American University was born and raised in this city. During the Soviet years it was considered a "closed city," as it was a shipping point for military ammunition and supplies throughout the USSR. One famous person of note lived in Saratov. Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, lived in the city for many years. There are not many pictures of note to post, so I will move to the next city.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>VI. Volgograd (Волгоград) </b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By far, Volgograd was my favorite city on this trip. Before we left, one of the ACTR professors gave us a lecture on her father's experience in Volgograd (formerly known as Stalingrad) during the years of World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted for 5 months between 1942 - 1943 is the city's shining moment, and often most horrific memory. It was a decisive during point for the Soviets, and ultimately the Allied Forces in driving the Nazis out of Eastern Europe. At the end of the Battle in February 1943, the Soviets won, but took over 400,000 casualties, with the Nazis accumulating over 750,000. Currently where the battle took place stands the second-largest statue in the world, known as "The Motherland Calls!" or "Родина мать зовёт," which stands at only two feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty in New York City. I wish I could have stayed a few more days in Volgograd, it was amazing. In addition we witness a changing of the guard at the Battle of Stalingrad memorial, the Russian soldiers looked as sharp as ever. It was great to watch and allowed me to reminisce about my marching with the Air Force. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hOhWkTTRPWqG7TeA6Al4OvjbTd7XexsGL47yrRTxNoR_xhVtwbATVLro2wezUHMPrH3FSAKgAvjoEazq0jwLM5IMAqtmTRM7E4C_ARSYePdRFni_0O8sBaYfv67V27dI31zVAtQnlrs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.51.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hOhWkTTRPWqG7TeA6Al4OvjbTd7XexsGL47yrRTxNoR_xhVtwbATVLro2wezUHMPrH3FSAKgAvjoEazq0jwLM5IMAqtmTRM7E4C_ARSYePdRFni_0O8sBaYfv67V27dI31zVAtQnlrs/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-10-15+at+18.51.36.png" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Motherland Calls Memorial (Родина мать зовёт!)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm proud of you if you made it all the way through this post, but I had to document as much as I could about my journey while it was still fresh in my mind. This was one of the most rewarding journeys of my life. I feel honored and privileged to be able to see sites that some Russians never get to see in a lifetime. Thank you for reading!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 64 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-14168502172230124872012-10-06T05:57:00.001-07:002012-10-06T05:57:29.831-07:0010/6 - AFSC, Retro Cars, Sakharov Center<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week brought fantastic news - I finally know my job for the next 4 years in the United States Air Force. Surprisingly, I will be unlikely to use my Russian language skills in my awarded position. I will be a Logistics Readiness Officer (21RX) upon my graduation from American University. After completing training at my assigned base, I will be working with other officers and airmen to distribute fuel, airplanes, and direct the management of these operations as needed. Within a week, I have to submit my base preferences next week - my top three right now are Andrews Air Force Base (Maryland), MacDill Air Force Base (Tampa, Florida), and Bolling Air Force Base (Washington, DC). I even have choices to work at bases in Italy, England, Japan, and Germany, but I prefer to stay close to the area where I went to school. Also, the chance to live and work in Andrews or Florida would really be a dream come true. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Tuesday evening, my tutor took me to the Retro Automobile Museum near Ilyich Square or Площадь Ильича. This museum featured an array of foreign cars from Western Europe, and the United States. Moreover, the largest exhibit featured cars built during the Soviet era, the majority coming from the times of Stalin and Khrushchev. There were too many cars that I liked so I decided to not post all of them here. However, it was a huge accomplishment for me to talk almost the entire time in Russian with my tutor. To go an hour and a half straight in my second language is a big deal.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we made a trip to the Andrei Sakharov Center (Сахаровский центр). It was a great historical experience, as the museum highlighted some of the key moments of the early Soviet Union era, especially the repressions and terrors that occurred under the infamous rule of Soviet Premier Josef Stalin. Millions upon millions of Soviets were killed, deported, and exiled in the 1930s and early 1940s if they were considered "enemies of the state." </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4goW93bsOouCczsodAMsn6HACy0zjjWe_X529K7IkFuyGMRDZYE2nDuz8hy-sRp8uOxc6dtXfig_8qJ4Hz-MvP9ygqSGvukt4PJGAyKzeIwDpPvI8bVSnfO9-9GMX2_Vz-YpIjtQvnk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-06+at+16.29.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4goW93bsOouCczsodAMsn6HACy0zjjWe_X529K7IkFuyGMRDZYE2nDuz8hy-sRp8uOxc6dtXfig_8qJ4Hz-MvP9ygqSGvukt4PJGAyKzeIwDpPvI8bVSnfO9-9GMX2_Vz-YpIjtQvnk/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-10-06+at+16.29.08.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sakharov Center Poster (Сахаровский Центр)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SUfDyidP67xipQTsR_UQ81eqrWTA4FKZkaqWtjp-Yypfwr6fF3Cn1-1_ziLqdJP4FZe7_G98zcoNLK_UzsvY0SCHHbA6nU7FhWE6jpLWf7bMJcVtXGIAKSUUuEmOYilRqcZ-C12lArQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-06+at+16.31.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SUfDyidP67xipQTsR_UQ81eqrWTA4FKZkaqWtjp-Yypfwr6fF3Cn1-1_ziLqdJP4FZe7_G98zcoNLK_UzsvY0SCHHbA6nU7FhWE6jpLWf7bMJcVtXGIAKSUUuEmOYilRqcZ-C12lArQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-10-06+at+16.31.35.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Lists of those executed during the Stalinist Terrors (Расстрельные Списки)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moreover, why is this museum named after Andrei Sakharov? He is best known in the Soviet Union as a nuclear physicist, but also as a human rights activist in a time when it was the hardest to hold his ground. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 for his work to advocate for civil liberties and civil rights reforms in the Soviet Union. He often stood at a ideological disagreement with Nikita Khrushchev over the use of nuclear weapons as a form of defense during the time after the Cuban Missile Crisis. He thought that this would eventually lead to nuclear war, which he described in his manuscripts. In the 1980s, Sakharov was arrested, and put in to exile. In 1984, he began a hunger strike campaign to advocate for his wife and human rights missions. His legacy lives on today.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"Andrei Sakharov, Thank you!" - Андрей Сахаров, Спасибо!</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A Piece of the Berlin Wall outside the Museum</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week, I will be embarking on one of the most eventful journeys of my life. We are taking a weeklong cruise along the Volga River, seeing multiple Russian cities from Kazan to Hizhny Novgorod to Samara to Ulyanovsk, and ending with Volgograd. I will be mostly out of contact this week, but I'll try to update the blog if I have time. Its a beautiful cruise ship that would be equivalent to a 5-star liner in the USA. Some Russians wait their whole lives to see these sites, and we are lucky enough to be seeing them in our first trip to Russia. Its really an honor. Below, you can see the trip map of our journey, it is in alphabetical order of the trips starting on 8 October and ending on 14 October. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! I'll look forward to updating you on my journeys next week.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 74 Days</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-5305547565232763192012-09-30T03:47:00.001-07:002012-09-30T03:47:48.497-07:009/30 - MosFilm - First Month Concludes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't believe that a month has already passed in Moscow, and the amount of things I've seen and explored in this month has been truly amazing. Back home, I just got notification from my Air Force ROTC detachment that we will be hearing about our AFSC selections (job selections) this week. I am hoping and praying that I get my number 1 choice, Intelligence. If so, I'd be able to utilize my Russian language skills acquired during this study abroad and at American University. Secondly, I've been growing a beard for the first time in my life! Its really my only chance to do so as I'm on a leave of absence from ROTC for the only semester in college. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week, we had to miss our first day at school due to our train arriving from St. Petersburg in early afternoon last Monday. Other than that, this week at the university was productive. I attended two Russian-American seminars. The first was a weekly meeting of the Russian-American club, where only 2 Russian students showed up, but we covered a ton of cultural questions. I remember one issue in particular, we discussed alcohol culture in Russia and the United States. Russians were perplexed about the American concept of "pre-gaming" or getting drunk early in the night before even getting to a club or bar. Moreover, how we will hardly show empathy to our friends who have drank too much. Russians hardly ever intentionally binge drink (much to the surprise of Americans). If they happen to get drunk, they always offer to walk each other home.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, we had a 4 hour seminar on "the Russian mentality," which was required. We got to speak with 8 or 9 Russians (mixed gender) about a myriad of cultural questions. The major point was the concept of the "locus of control," where Americans possess a more internal, individual locus of control. Meaning, we are strict about our personal space, and we are more concerned with ourselves over others, but we are willing to take blame for our personal mistakes. While Russians possess a more external, collectivist locus of control. They have no concept of privacy/personal space (there's no word for privacy in Russian), they always rely on each other to get by, and they never take blame for their own mistakes. In addition, we discussed the concepts of "yes" and "no", or "да" and "нет" in Russian. While "yes" in the United States can mean "yes" or "maybe," it is always 100% confirmation in Russia. If you tell a friend you will meet in the future, you are always expected to follow through. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My next topic was our trip to MosFilm (МосФильм) on Friday morning. This excursion took us to the largest and oldest film studio in Russia and Europe. It's cinematic output possesses some of the most widely-acclaimed, and Oscar-winning films in history. The studio began its operations in November 1923. We got a behind-the-scenes tour of the production rooms, makeup areas, and even a few sets. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>In front of the MosFilm Poster in the basement</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYrQM4XbA3qoF2XsUYgJ9zmQ9ahXhOiwRXIjmFz7esTrXvh_eN7hFcXYhmGw9HfgWjdKQI2SPHgPn1MOvGGBtnnuOwKHDVAwi6hB9f7FpucfnWqgPMCTPuAHZIC1P2od1Af6TSO02zPA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYrQM4XbA3qoF2XsUYgJ9zmQ9ahXhOiwRXIjmFz7esTrXvh_eN7hFcXYhmGw9HfgWjdKQI2SPHgPn1MOvGGBtnnuOwKHDVAwi6hB9f7FpucfnWqgPMCTPuAHZIC1P2od1Af6TSO02zPA/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.57.png" width="241" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIfZDhj6zTO_cbLbHGXZOAoAWxTt5hz4dTItcle9Afq5ZQAd7d6pufhBmb08cSLUKIBVzqUcX-JzumJIsprJ5czoU1FoULq0ePtXTx9aznb19yO77iVZf3O4e5JF-dmBhPlUGWZHuhdI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.02.50.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIfZDhj6zTO_cbLbHGXZOAoAWxTt5hz4dTItcle9Afq5ZQAd7d6pufhBmb08cSLUKIBVzqUcX-JzumJIsprJ5czoU1FoULq0ePtXTx9aznb19yO77iVZf3O4e5JF-dmBhPlUGWZHuhdI/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.02.50.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MosFilm is essentially the "Hollywood" of Moscow. It doesn't necessarily compare in size and notoriety of Hollywood, but its cinematic production and influence definitely does. I've had the pleasure of watching some MosFilm movies for the Initiative for Russian Culture at American University, and in my classes in the US. I'd highly recommend watching "Ballad of a Soldier" (Баллада о солдате) - 1959, a love/war drama about a Soviet soldier during World War II. Another favorite is "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears," (Москва слезам не верит) - the 1980 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, which is about three women who move to Moscow from three rural provinces. There are hundreds of other films I'm neglecting to mention, but its a way to experience Russian history and culture, without having to come here. The majority of the films have English subtitles as well!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE74TFNcN4D-uwHgpiNgJYQph9oMwqZEzBXx-RbaoREEcU5Hp-1SgYqq8-xKsm1soYCBU0SYR5wthQNCsr4HivJfVTaf0a4kyFLnC8yDNqWF0kMfdNBqpKpJ8RX384-sjTjvsEh4SEW8w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.26.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE74TFNcN4D-uwHgpiNgJYQph9oMwqZEzBXx-RbaoREEcU5Hp-1SgYqq8-xKsm1soYCBU0SYR5wthQNCsr4HivJfVTaf0a4kyFLnC8yDNqWF0kMfdNBqpKpJ8RX384-sjTjvsEh4SEW8w/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.26.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Screen shot from "Ballad of a Soldier" (Баллада о солдате) - 1959</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46uvSs-AlAIsQLtwP1E-UUmUwxVkFgLlFCqjZ2ysatRSa82LVlg3NU2Vo_Qz-JFcz6DmAbLrVU7fV0vD-M7ju5qfUWILVpmrh6_HjwMa03xFlx40UHPKjisgYwvHIEXFUYwq67VGC2a8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.42.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46uvSs-AlAIsQLtwP1E-UUmUwxVkFgLlFCqjZ2ysatRSa82LVlg3NU2Vo_Qz-JFcz6DmAbLrVU7fV0vD-M7ju5qfUWILVpmrh6_HjwMa03xFlx40UHPKjisgYwvHIEXFUYwq67VGC2a8/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-30+at+14.03.42.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The adventures only continue - next weekend we will be starting our weeklong trip on the Volga River. We are taking a cruise and stopping everyday at a new Russian city - from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan to Ulyanovsk to Samara, then finally, Volgograd. I'll make sure to update the blog before I leave. Thank you all for reading, I hope its been an interesting blog so far!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 80 days </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-51646078733749129692012-09-24T08:59:00.000-07:002012-09-24T08:59:12.936-07:009/24 - Санкт-Петербург (Saint Petersburg)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At noon today, I just returned from one of the most amazing, and breathtaking adventures thus far. A group of 9 including me took an independent journey to Saint Petersburg, (Санки-Петербург) this past weekend. We left on Friday morning on train that left at 2AM, and returned to Moscow today at noon. We were able to successfully navigate the major sites within the city, in only about three and a half days time. So my first impressions of the city were much different than Moscow. St. Petersburg is extremely Westernized and definitely benefitted more from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It also inherited a much younger population, and more people speak English as their second language. However, almost an hour into our arrival after an overnight train, we were struck by confusion. Our friend, Seth, had booked a hostel nearly a week before, but (in typical Russian fashion), we could not find the place. Thinking it was a scam, we settled on a hostel, which allowed all 9 of us to live in one room for two nights. And it was only $50 per person!</span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our first adventure on Friday took us to the famous "Church on Spilled Blood," or Собор Спаса на Крови. It was built in 1883, to commemorate the death of Tsar Alexander II, who was murdered at that spot in 1881. Other than the bloody history of the area, the church is as beautiful as St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square. Secondly, we walked to the most famous tourist attraction in the area - Tsar Peter I's Winter Palace, or Зимий Дворец. The history of the palace dates back to 1732, when it officially became the residence for the Russian Tsar. It also was the site where the Soviet Red Army stormed it in 1917 during the revolution, leaving it heavily damaged. Today, it remains a Russian State historical site and art museum. It was truly beautiful. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Church on Spilled Blood - "Собор Спаса на Крови"</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Winter Palace - "Зимий Дворец"</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Saturday, we did our best to see the top exhibits in the Winter Palace. As it is one of the largest museums in the world, this was nearly an impossible feat. However, my favorite part of the weekend was our trek to St. Isaac's Cathedral, or Исаакиевский Собор. From the top of this building, we could see nearly every point in the city. Reaching the top wasn't easy, we had to climb over 200 steps to get up and down. Elevators were not an option here. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Dan, Brooke, and I on the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral (Исаакиевский Собор)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FF-Cc6xtAlJ2VvHo8aA7sWiZ7R08dxI75xOejBCu5yrbn5VXvCESvP0SDhcswMsER5C6qcMRM7hhK39KptS0cFN-NPeRJYqXaSsgz61ADNe3pjNOvKdBI9frks6ys33QIS7aA54eTH4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-24+at+19.35.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FF-Cc6xtAlJ2VvHo8aA7sWiZ7R08dxI75xOejBCu5yrbn5VXvCESvP0SDhcswMsER5C6qcMRM7hhK39KptS0cFN-NPeRJYqXaSsgz61ADNe3pjNOvKdBI9frks6ys33QIS7aA54eTH4/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-24+at+19.35.10.png" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last day in Petersburg was extremely rainy and cloudy, but that did not stop us. Even with the thought in mind that we had to board another train at 2AM on Monday morning. We made our way to the Russian State Museum or Российский государственный музей to view more beautiful Russian imperial, Soviet, and modern art. At this point, I had seen enough paintings for the whole weekend! Then we made our way across the Neva River to the Peter and Paul Fortress (Петропавелская крепость), which was built under the guidance of Tsar Peter I as a defense post in 1703. Later in its history, it became better known for housing prisoners, and as a burial place for some of the Tsars, including the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Outside the Peter and Paul Fortress (Петропавелская крепость)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, it was a fabulous weekend in St. Petersburg. I wish I was still there. In many ways, it has some of the attributes that are missing from Moscow. But it also made me appreciate the cultural education and linguistic gain that benefits me living in the capital city. I hope to go back later in the semester, we are aiming for early November! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 86 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-62807339046964504072012-09-20T06:25:00.000-07:002012-09-20T06:25:05.915-07:009/20 - Cruise on the Moscow River, Zoo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know its been a while since I've posted on the blog. Its been an extremely eventful week, and due to my slow internet at home, its been next to impossible to put up anything new. I just finished my third week at International University in Moscow, and its going really well. I have some awesome professors here, and I can already see that my Russian is improving through constant use of it at home, at school, and on the street with natives and friends. So my favorite class so far is called SMI, essentially current events review. My professor is hilarious, he was telling us that Russians only like Michelle Obama and Condoleezza Rice because they have "nice legs." This is one of many ridiculous things he's said, but we have to remember that Russian humor is ofter more crude and direct than we're accustomed to in the United States. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Friday, we went on our fourth excursion on cruise on the Moscow River (Москва река). We got to see all the major sights along the river, including Red Square, the 1980 Olympics Stadium, Church of Christ the Savior, and the burial place of Nikita Khrushchev and Boris Yeltsin. It was a beautiful day, and about 65 degrees in Moscow. In addition to the city tour on our first weekend, this excursion provided us with a bigger picture of the city, and a way to connect the dots, if you will. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>In front of the Olympic Stadium - Home of the 1980 Summer Games (Олимпийские игры)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjln0zy9xuZX-eNDfzT-Ir2YF-IMvaHQQK7fLSddbVNt5Z1-RVS1xUnSE8-xOafjOdulbESVtEhV3Is7SM2F0Uf8Z9XuDpA1DOImxwbm92UWZmC9DSxW5X3c1GjT_dd0DAC0gOEgWdoVMA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-20+at+17.08.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjln0zy9xuZX-eNDfzT-Ir2YF-IMvaHQQK7fLSddbVNt5Z1-RVS1xUnSE8-xOafjOdulbESVtEhV3Is7SM2F0Uf8Z9XuDpA1DOImxwbm92UWZmC9DSxW5X3c1GjT_dd0DAC0gOEgWdoVMA/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-09-20+at+17.08.35.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Near the Kremlin (Кремль) and Red Square (Красная площадь)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Saturday, we ventured to the Moscow Zoo. It had just about as many animals as the Washington National Zoo (where I interned this past summer), but it was in terrible condition. In addition, it was unsafe for visitors. The cheetah, tiger, and bears weren't even contained by an electric fence! Only a chain-link fence held the animals within, and kids were sticking their hands through. EEEEK! But regardless, we engaged in some great conversation with some native Russians while we were there. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sign for the Moscow Zoo (Московский зоопарк)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last mini-excursion this week took me to Kolomensky Park in southeastern Moscow. It was one of the biggest, and most beautiful parks I've ever been to. It seemed to have endless trees, and sat on a quiet part of the Moscow river. My tutor was nice enough to show me around, and help me with my speaking and listening comprehension as we walked along. It was very European in nature, and had about three or four cathedrals that were scattered throughout the park. I'm definitely going there again. Also, my tutor helped me discover the first McDonald's in post-Soviet Russia, which I went to with my friends last week. It was delicious, and reminded me a lot about home!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A Big 'n' Tasty (Биг тейсти) at McDonald's (Макдональдс)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Kolomensky Park (Коломенский парк)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know that my blog is supposed to only focus on my abroad excursions, but I wanted to draw attention to two special events that happened on September 18th. Firstly, my parents (Judy and Dennis King) celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Since 1982, they've lived a happy, healthy, and prosperous marriage that I want to model my future marriage after. Secondly, the United States Air Force turned 65 years old on the same day. I wish I could have been home to celebrate the date with my friends in ROTC. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend I'll be taking an 8-hour train ride to St. Petersburg, so I'll be letting everyone know how the trip went when I return on the 24th! Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 90 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-71779686603382820092012-09-11T10:08:00.002-07:002012-09-11T10:08:40.653-07:009/11 - Red Square, Tretyakov Art Gallery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend was full of adventures - starting with the tour of the Russian State Library on Friday, Red Square on Saturday, and the Tretyakov Art Gallery on Sunday. Again, like it always goes in Russia, nothing comes easy. In order to get prime admission to see Red Square and Lenin's mausoleum, we showed up early, so we could get through security. We weren't allowed to take pictures when we got through, but we saw the gravesites of some of the most famous leaders and innovators from the Soviet Union era. Included were the graves of Josef Stalin, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstanin Chernenko, and other Supreme Soviet leaders who have passed. In addition, the grave site of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (the first man to be in space) was a popular site. Of the weirdest sites of seen so far, Vladimir Lenin's grave has topped the list. Lenin died in 1924, and his body is STILL on preserve, making it just over 88 years old. Another student informed me that his body has decomposed up to the chest area, which makes it even more eerie to look at. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Area outside Vladimir Lenin's Mausoleum (Мавзолей Ленина)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our next site to see was around Red Square or Krasnaya Ploshad (Красная площадь). This is easily the most famous area in Moscow, and it has the widest range of Russians I've seen to date. From clowns and pirates to entertain children, to soldiers on horseback, and a ton of foreign tourists speaking a myriad of languages. We saw another famous site, known as St. Basil's Cathedral or Prokrovsky cabor (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Покровский собор)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with its multicolored, twisted domes. Littler known is the statue in front, which depicts the heroes of the Russo-Polish wars of 1612. These two men, Minin and Pozharsky, gathered an all Russian volunteer army, which helped expel the invading Poles from Moscow. Its amazing that the historical references in the square run from the Russian Imperial era to the Soviet Union to the current Russian Federation. <span id="goog_1859561328"></span><span id="goog_1859561329"></span> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Monument to Pozharsky and Minin (Памятнк Минину и Пожарскому)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday, we made a trip to the Tretyakov Gallery, which features art from the pre-Soviet era in Russia. Before photographs were able to be taken, this gallery featured some of the most beautiful art I've ever seen, it depicted paintings of writers Alexsandr Pushkin and Fyodor Dostoevsky. There were also religious themed paintings of Jesus Christ, the angels, and even some of the Tsars like Peter the Great. On top of which, we took a bus tour around the city to get acclimated. Lastly, I wanted to end this post with an update on classes and my host family. The former is going great, there are always struggles, since my classes are completely in Russian. However, my language skills are improving, and I'm only on my second week. My host mom, Elena, and her son, Volodiya, have been helping me greatly with homework and being my conversation partners around the home. The only real way you can learn this language is being in the host country. Its such a great experience so far!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A home-cooked meal from my host mom (моя хозяйка)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>My room (моя комната) in the apartment</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>In front of the Moscow skyline</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 98 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-53874443202732022792012-09-07T10:01:00.002-07:002012-09-07T10:03:37.458-07:009/7 - Russian State Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today was our group's first excursion, we have eight to complete during the course of the semester. Our trip took us to the Russian State Library, Rossiskaya Gosudarstvennaya biblioteka, or Российская государственная библиотека. This library is enormous, its the second-largest in the world, and home to millions of books published in 247 languages. Its also quite old, the foundation was laid in 1862, and was renamed to the V.I. Lenin State Library during the Soviet Union times. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Entrance Columns to the Russian State Library</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>In Front of the Statue of Fyodor Dostoyevsky </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The library has books from every famous Russian author, like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gogol, and the like. In addition, we got a great tour around the private reading rooms, which featured some ancient texts, including Russia's largest (and smallest books!) There are thousands of musical records, military records, visual arts and illustrations, maps, a exhibit on the Russian-French wars of 1812, and others. Too bad our libraries in the United States aren't this exciting! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I met my academic tutor yesterday. Her name is Maria, and she's half-Kazakh, half-Russian, and knows both English and Russian fluently. In the coming months, she will be a great resource for homework assistance, speaking practice, and she's even offered to introduce me to sights around Moscow. In addition, my abroad group is awesome and I'll continue to connect with them. We went to a bar and restaurant called My-My, literally translated to Moo-Moo. Its almost considered gourmet cafeteria food for an extremely affordable price. It was delicious.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>My meal at My-My ("Moo, Moo") - Курица с грибами, картофель фри, и салат ("Chicken with mushrooms, french fries, and salad)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Countdown to returning home: 102 days</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-77449861157902121722012-09-04T11:13:00.002-07:002012-09-04T11:13:52.221-07:009/4 - New Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings! So this is my first blog post from Moscow. I finally arrived in late afternoon on Saturday, September 1st! As I walked out of the plane and into the Customs Control Zone at Moscow Domodedovo Airport, I was immediately hit by culture shock. All the people around me were speaking Russian, and every sign in the airport was covered in Cyrillic. At that point, I knew that I would need to use my second-language skills gained at American University to survive for the next six months. In this blog, and in future blogs, I'll be sure to add in some Russian that you can learn from me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first two nights were spent at my abroad university - known in English as the International University in Moscow or<i> Международный университет в Москве</i>. As we walked through the streets, we realized that Moscow is not a clean city. My brand new white Champion-brand shoes were covered in mud within the first hour. As we walked into the dorms, it became evident that these were "second-world" living conditions, similar to what a student would have experienced during the era of the Soviet Union. There was no toilet paper, the rugs were torn apart, and some of the light fixtures were extremely difficult to turn on. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8V6WK7s2DIdGc4LIzaDlqbXFgX09Asx71omykiGsl0GgT48FAzd4TIw-I5k9Fgr_Wv0TR-S6nrVCRysO-rJ6ZNVAQYUm4tHwYASzldvi1ogAhKTlTShPQZTIyEBLLIeBjTWZW86ZucIU/s1600/%D0%A1%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA+%D1%8D%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0+2012-09-04+%D0%B2+21.49.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8V6WK7s2DIdGc4LIzaDlqbXFgX09Asx71omykiGsl0GgT48FAzd4TIw-I5k9Fgr_Wv0TR-S6nrVCRysO-rJ6ZNVAQYUm4tHwYASzldvi1ogAhKTlTShPQZTIyEBLLIeBjTWZW86ZucIU/s320/%D0%A1%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA+%D1%8D%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0+2012-09-04+%D0%B2+21.49.43.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Международный университет в Москве</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_bqVB_RdvEwr51b1F7Rbw3d2Dypa2-EpNhaBq3aFARhG1YzNqbYzRfVIXfSMdYoDnxMioQ6dQuqMnJGeYhNjKr5trwAELqdLGG09zaYgsiYhJQOa_q_o8qtcNgeVz9-dvqrxyWOxvBw/s1600/%D0%A1%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA+%D1%8D%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0+2012-09-04+%D0%B2+21.49.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_bqVB_RdvEwr51b1F7Rbw3d2Dypa2-EpNhaBq3aFARhG1YzNqbYzRfVIXfSMdYoDnxMioQ6dQuqMnJGeYhNjKr5trwAELqdLGG09zaYgsiYhJQOa_q_o8qtcNgeVz9-dvqrxyWOxvBw/s320/%D0%A1%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BA+%D1%8D%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0+2012-09-04+%D0%B2+21.49.34.png" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>International University in Moscow</i></span></div>
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I happened to arrive on a special day for Moscow known as<i> день города </i>(den goroda) or "the day of the city." It was the 865th birthday of the city, since it was first founded by Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1147 AD. We were lucky enough to arrive on time, and our Resident Director John Smith walked us down to Red Square and the Kremlin area to view fireworks that would start at 10pm that night. Thousands of Russians from around the city gathered to watch the show. The Fireworks only lasted a few minutes, but it was all worthwhile by the end of it. Signs everywhere read С днём рождения Москва! (S dnyom rojzdiniya) or "Happy Birthday Moscow!"</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Fireworks at Red Square</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxc4TsjOLIRMXmGbKEkyhj-d0c2A9g5pNVGTPtISvaq6xRC7BvvHkSJOOM0nZFkyynhfNcwxjpxuvqX6w7yPy-NJiD6PB17bdbok7RAM65k2gWyhqcz8hvoOzjGIHjVD7IC3glsvRPsY/s1600/%25D0%25A1%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BC%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BA+%25D1%258D%25D0%25BA%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0+2012-09-04+%25D0%25B2+22.02.11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcxc4TsjOLIRMXmGbKEkyhj-d0c2A9g5pNVGTPtISvaq6xRC7BvvHkSJOOM0nZFkyynhfNcwxjpxuvqX6w7yPy-NJiD6PB17bdbok7RAM65k2gWyhqcz8hvoOzjGIHjVD7IC3glsvRPsY/s320/%25D0%25A1%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BC%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BA+%25D1%258D%25D0%25BA%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0+2012-09-04+%25D0%25B2+22.02.11.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Москвa с днём города (Moscow's Day of the City)</span></i></div>
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To conclude, my final post is about my new living situation. I was switched last minute to live with an older woman and her son. So far, Elena Publyova and her son Volodya have been amazing people. They provided me with my own room in their apartment, as well as feeding me large meals twice per day. Elena is an amazing cook! After every breakfast and dinner, I always say <i>Сиасибо, это очень вкусный </i>(Spasiba, eto ochen vkusna) or "Thank you, this was very delicious." Even though I only understand about 50% to 75% of what they are saying to me, they have been great in understanding that I'm adjusting to the country and its language. </div>
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This is already been an outstanding adventure. There's so much more to learn and see!</div>
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Countdown to returning home: 105 days</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-13060704877251394352012-08-31T09:10:00.004-07:002012-08-31T09:10:41.884-07:008/31 - Strike!!!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this is my first official blog post abroad, I'm currently on a layover that has gone crazy. I landed at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany at 5:45AM, and we're still here. It's 6PM on the same day - I just want to go to Moscow! Long story short, my airline (Lufthansa) is experiencing a flight attendant strike, which as resulted in a slew of delays and flight cancellations. We've already had to cancel three flights, I've boarded a plane and a bus only to be kicked off due to another cancellation. The only salvation here is the German beer, and some European food. They even sell beer at McDonald's here!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may end up staying the night, and at least that will cure some of the anxiety from my jet-lag. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wilkommen to Deutschland!!!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363432694678456858.post-61569520503348431572012-08-27T18:28:00.001-07:002012-08-27T18:28:43.587-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to my blog! I'll be updating this blog every week or so about the events and sites I see in Mother Russia. I'll keep this post short, but I'm leaving from Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. at 3:05pm on Thursday, August 30. Upon my arrival to Moscow, I'll be residing with a host family near the Yugo-Zapadna (South-western) Metro Station. I'll be enrolled in classes at the International University in Moscow (founded by Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President George H.W. Bush in 1991). Wish me luck as I embark on one of the greatest adventures of my life thus far!</span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, a shout-out to my former roommate and SigEp brother, Robert Pines, for helping me design this webpage!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14661153068303966638noreply@blogger.com0