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When I came to Moscow I was looking for a challenge, something different, and this city has certainly provided that so far. I'm really not sure what to make of this place. People say 'you love it, or hate it', and I'm currently erring to the latter. That's not to say it isn't an interesting place - far from it. But I can't feel any warm fuzziness here, the kind that makes you feel at home. Moscow has overwhelmed me somewhat and, to a large extent, has left me unable to articulate my feelings. 'Great. This will be a short Blog update!' I hear you shout to yourselves. Unfortunately not. More like a long, inarticulate Blog.
It's been a while since I've lived in a city of this size, which has been the biggest shock. I honestly don't know how people do it, or how I managed it for 4 years. I admire all of you. There are so many people here. Everywhere. It seems there is nowhere where you can escape to. Moscovites traditionally spend most Summer weekends in their 'Dacha', or country house, and I can fully appreciate why. I'm dying to see some greenery and it's only
been 5 weeks.
The city is beautiful though, and parts of it are absolutely stunning - at least the centre is. Some of the architecture, especially the more modern variety, is just unbelievable. My camera work really does it no justice at all. As for the architecture of the walking variety, I'm sure you've heard the rumours, and I can confirm they are true. There's been many an embarrassing time where I've bumped into something or someone whilst admiring it.
Another rumour you've probably heard, touted by many of the papers in the build-up to the Champions League game, is that Moscow is the most expensive city in the world. From my experience so far, I cannot see the evidence for this. It's not cheap by any means, but at 2.50p a pint sitting outside in Red Square and 5 quid for a meal in some places, there's not great deal to complain about. The rumour probably has something to do with the 'basket of goods' used to calculate the cost of living index. This would include the Moscow property market which has increased tenfold over the past 10 years. One of my students informed me that this
Red Square
A rare picture of a deserted Red Square. is because the mayor of Moscow's wife is a property developer here and they are building up the price to make more money. At least it's not a bubble then.
The Metro system is the also the cheapest I've ever seen and by far the most efficient. Unfortunately, it's incredibly badly signposted and so it takes a while to get used to it - I managed to take 1.5 hours to travel 3 stations by getting embarrassingly lost. It made me feel just slightly better when I heard that this is quite common for foreigners in Moscow. In any case, it gave me more time to admire the Metro stations - I've seen many museums that are not decorated as nicely.
(Those 3 stops took me to 'Independent Media', the company where I had my first lesson. A colleague pointed out that I got lost because that kind of company doesn't exist in Russia)
The teaching is going well. I thought I'd really miss teaching kids, but I'm finding teaching business english really interesting - and far less tiring! The students, because of the booming economy. are pretty motivated to learn about business issues. Whereas in China
Red Square
Outside St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square. it was a challenge to get students to talk, here it's a challenge to get them to shut up! I have some fairly interesting students - CFO of the largest Media company in Russia, an ex-Soviet swimming champion, an ex-body builder. I feel I've learned more about the place through them than by any other means. Sometimes I have to remind myself they're paying me, rather than the other way around.
Things I've learned so far:-
- You can't look more miserable than a Russian (someone said I didn't look Russian because I smiled too much)
- You can't talk more than a Russian
- You can't drink more than a Russian (from hearsay, not personal experience)
The language has surprised me somewhat. The common consensus is that Russian, whilst being flipping difficult, is far below Chinese in the difficulty scale. Well, certainly that is not proving to be the case so far. I found Chinese fairly accessible - it was quite easy to pick up the basics, and you could have a semblance of a conversation in a few weeks. Russian on the other hand is a different animal - the pronunciation makes me look (extra)
Kievskaya Metro Station
Even the Metro stations are worthy of exploration. foolish, and the grammatical necessities in all sentences mean basic sentences can be a challenge. However, I shall persevere, and will be able to order 'two cold ones' in no time at all.
Finally (hurrah!), the experience so far has reminded me how tough I find moving to another country. Memories of China have inevitably faded to leave only the positive ones, and I struggle to remember how challenging the first few months were. But the last month has brought back those memories. Luckily, these days we have Blogs, where we can spin everything into whatever light we wish!
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tom
non-member comment
you're not giving us the 'real' moscow yet. nightlife? entertainment? do tell....