Blogs from Moscow, Northwest, Russia, Europe - page 67

Yesterday Renee and I decided to find Gorky Park. We to the metro station Park kulurniy and then crossed the Moskva River. The Moskva River is gorgeous. Beautiful golden domed churches and monuments line the river. When we crossed to the other side, we looked down from the bridge and saw about 50 booths with paintings. Wanting a closer look, we took the stairs down and entered the art market. Every piece there could have been in the Ann Arbor Art fair. Most of the paintings had beautiful nature or village scenes. There were a few modern paintings as well. All the prices were much less than they would cost in America. The most expensive painting I saw cost about $500 and was an enormous with amazing detail. Every painting sold there is an original. I ... read more

Last night was the last night for everyone to be in the dorm together so we had a huge party. I got drunk for the first time in my life. Gabby and Erica turned up the boom box as loud as it would go, playing Cher and Brittney Spears. They danced in the room and Alex thought it was hilarious so he joined them for a while. There are video cameras in the hall and apparently the guards were watching them from the cameras. When Erica left to go to a club the guards commented that they thought she would have been sick of dancing already. Today we went to the huge outdoor market at izmaylovski park. As we came in we saw tame bears. The trainer had the stand up and clap their hands. When ... read more

Today Johnathon, Kate, and I all went to Red Square. There was a huge communist demonstration going on. People were wearing tee shirts with Stalin on them and waving the USSR flag. We tried to stay far enough away to watch but not get in trouble. We weren't worried about the protestors (they're all very old), but worried about all the policemen surrounding them. It is amazing so many people are still communist. There were a couple people from Belorussia there to support their crazy president too. Signs of the past still surround Moscow. There are statues all over the place of Lenin and other soviet leaders. Lenin's body still lies embalmed on Red Square. Very few people of the younger generation are communists. Many old people have suffered because of the change in government so ... read more

It was a cloudy day in Moscow and lovely for walking around the sites. Andrew (an English lad that we met in St Pete's), Dad, and I went to a cemetery and convent. The cemetary was very interesting. The head sotnes had either pictures or carvings of the person burried underneath. It was a great way to remember the person. Krushchev, Gorbachev's wife, and many other Great Patriotic War (WWII) hereos were burried in the cemetary. Next door was a small fortress around two churches and a convent. The walls and buildings were being restored and it was interesting to see the differences. The small church was lovely. There were even signs in English so we actually knew what we were looking at. Later in the day we all went to a market where they sell ... read more

During orientation they told us that Russians will know we are Americans even if we don't speak English around them because we use such different body language. So, in my attempt to fit in, I have been trying to mimic how Russian women walk. They generally have very good posture, usually keep their eyes on the ground, and always have a serious expression on their faces when they are not with friends. I seem to be able to pass for a Russian now (until, of course, I open my mouth). During the past few days, five different Russians have stopped me to ask for directions. I always spend a good part of my day walking. Probably at least two hours of every day. Moscow has very good public transportation but one still needs to walk to ... read more