Week 1:

Oбщежитие No. 5 - The Hostel

Wednesday marked the end of our first week in Moscow. University classes officially start on Monday and we are gearing up for the semester. This past week we have had Russian language classes everyday to help jump start our learning process. Starting at 9:00 each day, five Americans and one French student stumbled down the hallway from our rooms and into the small classroom on our floor. After three or four hours of instruction, we would once again stumble down the hall with the intent of taking a nap. Oddly, sleep has been hard to reach, and we would eventually give up and set out to explore the city.

After half a dozen trips on the metro, I now know the name of the nearest metro stop (Петровско-Разумовская), the basics of getting around, and how conversely to how they drive, you enter the metro on the left and exit on the right, then again I have yet to understand the flow of traffic and driving laws, much less parking which seems to be a free for all. The metro stations here are each unique,with plenty of marble and other ornaments such as statues, murals, stained glass, and gilding. 

In our spare time we have done a little exploring around the hostel, walked thirty minutes to the national park nearby, gone shopping with some of our Russian classmates for essentials such as coats, boots, and toilet paper, learned to ice skate and play what was described to us as an old Soviet skating game, gone to the movies, cooked Russian food, and begun learning how to cook American food with Russian substitutes. All-in-all it has been an interesting time.

National park. Many Russians come here for cross-country skiing and other forms of exercise.

Aптеке (pharmacy and grocery store) across the street from the hostel.

The five American students.

Pancake breakfast.

Possible outings for next week:

• Арба́т Street - Arbat Street. Pedestrian walkway. Hopefully good for gifts and souvenirs. 
• Дом книги - House of Books. Supposedly the largest bookstore in Moscow.
• Art and historical museums. Not sure which ones yet.
• Buy student passes for metro. Yay!