Wrapping Up

The summer is coming to a close here in Moscow. The weather is cooling down which is great because my flat does not have air conditioning. The cool weather is also good for the metro. It can get really hot down in the metro during the hot spells. (The metro in Moscow is mostly deep underground.) Yes, believe it or not it can get hot in Moscow. There were a periods of a couple weeks when the temperature was over 90 degrees. This doesn't seem too hot, but when many of the older apartment buildings and the metro do not have air conditioning...look out. Well, I don't want to make it seem that there is no air conditioning here. Most office buildings, hotels, and modern apartment buildings have air conditioning. Unfortunately, I live in an older apartment building, and they typically do not have air conditioning.

(This is a picture of Victory Park where Hitler's army was stopped.)

During this summer I have noticed something interesting with the people in Moscow and their reaction to drafts in metro or in a building or a breeze of air while outside. In general they do not like drafts. They fear drafts will bring sickness, even if it is 85 or 90 degrees outside. It is amazing to see people wear jackets or sweaters inside the metro while I sweat. They will also turn off the air conditioning in the offices at work. Maybe I'm crazy, but usually when the body sweats it means that the body is trying to cool itself down. It's also funny because I would expect the opposite from people in Moscow who have 6 months of cold winter. I would expect them to break out the bathing suits when it is 65 degrees. Of course, this is just in general. There are many Russian people I see that do not wear jackets or sweaters when it is hot outside.

Also, the hot water has been turned back on in the building where I live; however, I am continuing to take ice-cold showers. Again, my apartment doesn't have air conditioning, so when I take the ice-cold showers it is the only time when I am not hot at my apartment. There is a special technique when taking an ice-cold shower that limits the amount of pain and/or shock to the body. The following steps are the special technique:
First, point the showerhead to the wall, so when you get in the shower it does not immediately spray you. Next, get into the shower and stand away from the water. Third, put only your legs and arms in the ice-cold water first. Once your legs and arms are numb, then use your hands to gentle splash small amounts of ice-cold water on your body. Once your body gets acclimated to the ice-cold water (Really your body never gets completely acclimated. The water will just feel cold and not ice-cold.), it is time for the big move - put your whole body under the shower.

My Russian is getting much better. I have completed 3 months of intensive Russian courses. My communication breakdowns are not happen as often. I understand much more. The communication wall that stands between the Russian people and me is getting shorter. It's a really cool feeling to be able to communicate. My confidence is increasing too.

(This is a picture of a metro train and the doors of doom.)

Now let me tell you about my experiences in the metro over the past 2 months. One day I was going home after my last English lesson of the evening. I sat down on the bench in the metro train, and started to read my Russian book for the trip home. In the metro trains, a voice announces on the speakers when the doors for the train will open and close. Well, I heard the voice over the speakers that the doors for the train will be closing soon. Right at this moment a man sitting to my left stood up and decided he wanted to exit the train immediately. This when I noticed he was extremely drunk. He could hardly stagger towards to the doors. As he was falling forward to pass through the threshold of the doors on the train, the doors slammed shut - on his head! There was nothing to impede the doors shutting on his head. For example, he didn't put his hands up, or slide his shoulder between the doors. This was nothing but his head and the two doors slamming together. The doors opened slightly two times and slammed back on his head. With his delayed reaction, he jolted backwards, stumbled, fell down, and sat on his butt. He was not hurt. He didn't have cuts on his head. He stayed there until the next metro stop. At the next stop, he successfully exited the train. It is important to note that the doors on the metro trains in Moscow do not gingerly shut. These babies slam together with force. The only thing on the doors that slightly help to cushion a hit is the rubber seal on the ends of each door. Regardless, when these babies close it will not feel like soft balls of cotton. I could not believe what I just saw. I started to laugh so hard. I did not even try to hold back. The lady across the idles also laughed. The funny thing is that he probably didn't feel a thing nor remember anything about it. I laughed the entire way home.

(This is picture of an escalator down in the metro. You feel like you are going down into the center of the earth.)

The second metro experience occurred while I was traveling to my last evening class. I was waiting in line down in the metro to get on the escalator that takes you up to the metro exit. As I was waiting I noticed two men jogging down the metro. (The rule when on the escalators in the metro is to stand on the right and allow people to pass on the left. Sometimes people run down the escalators.) Well, these two men were jogging down the escalators. One was in front of the other. I guess the man in front was not jogging down the steps fast enough because I saw the man behind him push him. The man in front obviously did not appreciate this. He yelled something in Russian to him. I could not understand what he said, but I'm sure it was not something nice. Well, about five steps later the man in back pushes the first man again...a hard push. Now, the first man is really pissed off. He stops and turns around and yells at him. Again I didn't understand anything. So the man in front continues to jog down the stairs, but at a faster pace. Once the first man reached the bottom he turned around, lifted his arms and waited in the classic boxer's stance for the second man. Ohh...it was on now! I knew a fight was emanate, so I stepped out of line. Next, I looked up for the second man. The second man was not even fazed. He ran right down the steps to meet the first man waiting. When the second man reached the bottom of the escalator they immediately began to fight. They started to punch each other and wrestle, but it didn't last long because two grandmothers stepped between them. They didn't want to hit the grandmothers, so they stopped fighting. It was great! Now this is a way to add some spice to your daily commute in the metro.


Of course it would not be a worthy blog entry without my lessons learned. So below are the lessons learned:

Don't decide to exit the metro train at the last second while being severely intoxicated. You could get your head smashed in the door.


Don't push another man while walking down the escalator in the metro because you might go to fist-to-cuffs with the man at the bottom of the escalator.

(This is a picture of the amazing architecture down in the metro stations.)


Along with the summer coming to an end, my time in Moscow is coming to an end. I am returning back to America at the end of August. At the end of August will have lived here for 8 months. It is a pity because I can really see my Russian rapidly improving. However, I am ready to return home to my family and friends. From my travels around Moscow to my travels to other neighboring countries, I have had a great adventure. I have enjoyed teaching my students, and my students are also my friends. I will keep in contact with them. I will also continue to study Russian. It is one of my life goals to speak a second language. My time here in Moscow has been a wonderful, memorable experience. The Russian people are very warm and kind. Everyone at the school and my students has been very helpful. They are always willing to help the crazy American from Texas.


-Till the next adventure

6 Months

Well the 6 month mark has pasted by. Sometimes I can't believe that I have lived here in Moscow for that long. I also just finished my first month of my more intense 12 hour of Russian lessons a week. The lessons are really good. My teachers are tough, and they make sure I do my work. I have learned so much in the last month; however, each lesson I realize I have so much more to learn. I guess it is just apart of the process of learning a language.

It is Summer time here in Moscow. The weather is really nice. It isn't too hot. (This is very good since the apartment I live in does not have air conditioning.) Also the summer is when the huge hot water pipes are cleaned here in Moscow. Each building here has a huge hot water pipe running into it. This pipe provides hot water for the building. This hot water is not only used for the hot water in the faucet or shower, but it is used for heating. The heating system uses the hot water to heat up the flats. In turn the hot water is heated by natural gas. So the heating system is completely centralized. No one has a heating bill. However, these pipes need their annual cleaning. The cleaning crews work on regions of the city at a time. When they are working in your region....you have no hot water....at all. It takes them about 2 or 3 weeks to finish each region. Well, the cleaning crew started cleaning the pipes in the region I live in near Shabalovskaya metro last week. So at best I have one more week of ice cold showers, and at worst I have two more weeks. At first, it was very difficult to take an ice cold shower. Surprisingly, I am starting to like taking ice cold showers. It might sound crazy, but my joints and body feel good after taking it.

Now let me tell you about my latest traveling adventure since the last blog entry. Giorgio, another teacher here at the same school, and I traveled to Odessa, Ukraine. We wanted to visit a place with warmer weather and access to a beach. Some other teachers told us about Odessa, so we decided to go and visit the city. We decided not to travel by bus after our adventure when traveling to Tallinn. Instead, we traveled by train to Odessa. Actually, traveling by train is very common. It is the most popular means of transportation for far distance travel in Russia and nearby former Soviet republics. Trains are reliable and cheap but not fast. Our train ride from Moscow to Odessa was 24 hours long. So in the morning before our train ride, me and Giorgio bought finger foods and drinks for the long ride. Our train did not depart until 6:00 p.m. Then we each went home to get our bags. While at home I had the bright idea of cooking a big meal. I thought it would be good if I ate a big meal just before leaving on the train. This way I wouldn't get really hungry if the finger foods weren't enough. So I cooked some chicken and vegetables before my trip. I was running late, so I turned up the oven temperature to speed up the cooking. Well, this just cooked the outside faster. The inside looked almost fully cooked. It tasted good and it seemed Ok, so I ate it all. Next, I met Giorgio at the train station, and our journey to Odessa had started. Well, about two hours into the trip I got sicker than a Cocker-Spaniel. So the remaining twenty two hours were not fun. (Also we did not get off the train one time. Giorgio and I have learned our lesson after the Tallinn trip.) We arrived into Odessa and checked into the hotel. I still felt terrible. I was out of commission for two days because of the stupid chicken. I stayed in the hotel trying to getting better while Giorgio was sightseeing alone. Finally, I got better on the last two days of the vacations. Two out of four days were aced, so I had hurried to see as many sights as I could. Odessa is a great city. It is a big city, but not the monstrous-sized city like Moscow. It was nice to have a slower pace. On the last day we went to the beach. (Odessa is located on the coast of the Black Sea.) Many people spoke English and Russian, so we had no communication problems. We spoke Russian most of the time on the streets, and people would comment on our accents. I didn’t know this before, but people in the Moscow area pronounce unstressed “o” as “a.” I thought it was a general rule in the entire Russian language to pronounce this letter like this. According to the people we talked to, it is just the people in the Moscow region that pronounce this letter this way. So when I say “Odessa”, I say it as if it were spelled “Adessa.”




(To the left is a picture of a square and garden outside of the hotel in Odessa.)





(Below is a picture of the Port of Odessa from the top of these large stairs that lead down to the water.)









(This is a picture of the Opera House. Unfortunately, they were doing some renovation work when I took this picture, but nonetheless it is an amazing building.)



(Below is a picture of the beach we went to. It is called Arcadia Beach.)
















Now for the lessons learned since the last blog entry:

When going on a long train ride, do NOT try to quickly cook chicken in order to avoid being hungry later on the train. This way you will not be the idiot spending two days in the hotel room while on vacation asking yourself..."Why did I eat the chicken?"

4 Months

Time is flying by. I can't believe I have been here for 4 months now. Things are going well. I have negotiated with the school to lighten my teaching load to allow me to study more. So, I am very grateful for that. Starting in June, I will increase my Russian courses from 4 hours a week to 12 hours a week. It's going to be great because I really need lots of studying. It will also be difficult, but I am motivated to take this course, so I think I will be Ok. My Russkie is getting better. I am understand much more now than when I first arrived. I still have communication break downs, but they are not as often. Many times I understand about 75% of what a person is saying, so this helps me to have a basic understanding of what is going on, which is much better than 2 months ago. However, I am not fluent by any means. I’m close to intermediate level. I have also successfully given 3 people directions over the past two weeks. They actually stopped and listened to my directions in Russian without walking away bewildered.

(The picture above is from the base of the hill in Old Tallinn. On top of the hill is the castle wall and all the buildings.)

Also, I forgot to mention a "Lesson Learned" item in the previous blog, so let me quickly discuss it. It is important to know that when the snow begins to melt in Moscow, a person should not walk directly below the roof-line of a building. I saw a poor, unsuspecting guy get destroyed by a mound of melting snow that fell from the roof of the building he was walking next to. It was like Niagara Falls on this guy. (Of course I was laughing since it wasn't me.) Now this rule can apply to any city that experiences large amounts of snow during the winter season. I have only seen this in Moscow since this is the first city I have lived in that experiences so much snow.

Ok, so now I will move on to what I have experienced since the last blog entry. Last weekend me and two other teachers at the school took a vacation. There was me, Dave, another American, and Giorgio, the crazy Italian. Our plan was to visit Tallinn, Estonia for 2 days and St. Petersburg for 2 days. Quickly, let me give you our travel plans. We were to travel by train from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then to take a bus from St. Petersburg to Tallinn the same day. After 2 days in Tallinn, we would return to St. Petersburg via bus and spend 2 days there.

(This picture was taken on one of the roads in Old Tallinn. From the narrow cobblestone road you can see one of the towers along the castle wall.)

Ok, now let me tell you about our journey. So the Friday when we were leaving on our journey, we received an bad omen. Riots broke out in Tallinn that day. The Estonian Government removed a statue of a Red Army soldier from the center of the city. Well, this went over like a lead balloon from Russians living in Tallinn and the country of Russia. So some young Russian boys created a riot in the center of Tallinn. They broke some windows, burned some car, and I think one guy was stabbed. Needless to say, we were concerned about traveling to Tallinn after hearing about this. We're gambling men, so we decided to go ahead anyway and travel to Tallinn. We got on the train to go to St. Petersburg at about 9:00 Friday evening. The train ride was good. We arrived in St. Petersburg at 7:00 on Saturday morning. Next, we found the bus station to catch our bus to Tallinn. We all got on the bus and fell asleep immediately. We woke up when the bus stopped for the border control stop at the Russia/Estonia border. We went through customs and everything was cool. So we all fall asleep again. About 45 minutes later me and Giorgio wake up because we feel the bus stop. The bus has stopped at a gas station is some small town in Estonia. We saw the bus driver get off the bus along with other passengers on the bus. So we thought this is a great time to get off, stretch out, and walk around. I grabbed my coat, and me and Giorgio went into the store while Dave was still sleeping like a rock on the bus. I went to the bathroom for a maximum of 2 minutes. I walked out of the gas station door and onto the bus parked outside. As I looked at the people on the bus I noticed that none of them were familiar. I didn't remember any of these people. Then I looked at the color of the bus, and I realized I got on the wrong bus. I walked off the bus and looked to the back of the bus. There I saw Giorgio waving his arms. I will never forget his face as he looked to me and yelled, "that's not our bus...ours is gone!!" Then he immediately took two quick drags off the cigarette that he just bought. I looked at the empty spot behind this wrong bus and realized...."our damn driver just left me and Giorgio in some small city in Estonia!!!" All of our bags were on the bus. I guess the driver just stopped to buy some cigarettes. Me and Giorgio went through a state of denial for 15 minutes. We walked around the gas station thinking that the bus just pulled around to one of the sides. Nope...there was no bus. Next we thought Dave, who was still sleeping on the bus, would wake up and notice that we are no longer sitting next to him and make the driver stop the bus. So, we waited by the road looking for our bus to return. As we saw buses drive by our hopes would rise only to be shot down be reality...the bus is not returning. Dave is going to sleep the entire way to Tallinn. After 30 minutes of waiting by the road, me and Giorgio decided on move to Plan B. By the grace of God, I grabbed my coat before I got off the bus. In my coat I had my visa, wallet, and cell phone. My cell phone didn't work in Estonia, so I couldn't call Dave and wake him up. Giorgio wasn't as fortunate. He only had the cigarettes and banana he just bought at the gas station. He had no visa or any kind of documents, no wallet, and no cell phone. We were lucky that the gas station we were at was also a small bus station. I bought 2 tickets for me and Giorgio to Tallinn. We caught the next bus and arrived into Tallinn about 1 hour behind our original bus. Dave had no idea what had happened to us. He told us that the bus arrived in Tallinn, and he woke up to discover that he was now all alone. Dave got all of our bags off the bus, so everything was cool. Also the riots were only on the previous Friday night, so everything was calm.

Let me tell you about the city of Tallinn. It is a city that has two major sections of downtown. There is a old Tallinn and a new Tallinn. Each section is separated by a major street. There is a castle and many very old, small buildings in old Tallinn. It reminds me of a fair tale city that I would read about in a book. The castle has big walls that enclose about 2/3 of old Tallinn. You can look over the castle walls onto the old city. You see many tiny buildings very close to each other. You can't see all the roads because some are so narrow. It is great to walk around the old city. There are no cars. It is very peaceful. You can walk and sightsee without any hassles. When you are tired, you can stop at any of the many cafes and relax. Another cool thing is that there are small archways that open up to courtyards with more restaurants and shops. New Tallinn is like any western city with large office buildings and cafes. The city of Tallinn is also very clean. English is widely spoken, so there was no communication break downs. We stayed in Tallinn for 2 days, and then we returned to St. Petersburg. You know what that means...another bus ride.

(This is a picture of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. I couldn't the whole building in the picture because it is huge.)

We returned to St. Petersburg on the bus, and this time everything was fine. I didn't get off the bus...hhaaa. St. Petersburg is a really cool city too. It has a completely different feel than Moscow. Moscow has the feel of a big, busy, industry city while St. Petersburg has the feel of a smaller European city. St. Petersburg has many canals running through the city. It is cool to walk down the smaller canals. If you walk down the smaller ones about 5 blocks you can get away from the major tourist area and relax at a local neighbor cafe or bar. You can get more of a local feel of the city. Of course, you can take boat rides along the canals too. St. Petersburg also has the Hermitage. This is a huge art museum that would take a person 1 week to see everything inside. So, after 2 days in St. Petersburg, we returned to Moscow. Our journey was finally over. Our vacation got off to a rocky start, but it turned out to be a good journey.

Now for the lessons learned since the last blog entry:

- Do NOT get off the bus unless you ask the bus driver that it is a stop for everyone. (It might be a stop just for the driver to buy a pack of cigarettes.)

- If you travel by bus with 2 or more people, then only 1 person get off the bus at a time because if the bus driver just leaves without checking to see if all the people have returned, there is someone on the bus to try to get the driver to turn around. At the very least, there is someone to hold your bags until you meet up again.

- When the snow starts to melt don't walk directly below the roof-line of a building.

Two Months

So I have completed 2 months in Moscow. Well, it has been a little over 2 months. I can now say that I have survived my first Russian winter. Although I did miss November and December, my students tell me that January and February are the coldest months.

The following are ways to know that you are in Moscow, Russia during the winter:
When you walk outside your face begins to burn within 3 seconds.
Everything within your nose freezes...I mean everything.
When you buy bottled water from the grocery store by the time you walk home it is frozen solid.
When you open the freezer you actually warm up.

My Russkie is slowing getting better. I think it would be much better if I were a student in some language training program. I should have just sucked it up and paid for the language training programming rather than trying to save money by teaching at a foreign language school. In hindsight the teaching job was a bad idea. On average I work about 66 hours a week, and I get paid approximately $22.00 a day. I am always planning a lesson, walking to a lesson, or teaching a lesson. I'm taking a Russian class twice a week. I also study my Russian every night, but I usually fall asleep. (Note to self: Never teach at a foreign language school.)

I had my successful communication with a person asking me for help the other day. That was really cool. I told a lady how to get to a specific intersection. Almost everyday someone asks me for help while walking on the sidewalks (99% of the time it is a failure). The problem is that they speak so fast that I don't hear the street/building they are looking for. So, I ask them to please repeat and slow down. It is extremely funny to see their reaction. They hear my accent, blind a couple times, shake their head, and immediate walk to ask the next person they see for help. I laugh every time. I know what they are thinking. They are thinking "what the..." I would do the say thing in America. If I asked someone for directions, and their response was "can you repeat and speak slower please" I would find someone else too.

(This is a picture of Smolenskaya street near Old Arbat street.)

I took my first excursion 2 weeks ago. I took a train to St. Petersburg. It was really cool. I took the 8 hour, over-night train. When I returned to Moscow I took the express train. It took about 5 hours. The trains were nice. St. Petersburg is a pretty city. It has a more of a Western European feel to it. There are canals with cafes and boats. I visited the Hermitage and Nevsky Prospect. I am planning another excursion to Tallinn, Estonia in May.

Ok, I have mentioned the ill-tempered old ladies in the metros here in Moscow in a previous entry. Well, I need to talk about them again. Every morning I am in the metros at 7:15 a.m. The metro system in Moscow is really overcrowded. Millions of people rush through the metro tunnels everyday. Other than the millions of people, there is another bottle neck - ill-tempered old ladies. I do not understand why on Earth they are traveling in the metros at 7:15 in the morning. Are they compelled to travel on the metro early in the morning? They are like the cars driving in the far left lane on the freeways in America going 60 MPH. They never get over to right and let the faster traffic pass by.

6 Weeks Completed

Now I have lived in Moscow for 6 weeks. The time is going by fast. I'm in my routine. I know where all the companies are located. I know what metro stations to go to. Also, the security guards at the companies know me too, so that is cool. They just let me walk in, and don't ask me tons of questions. They just say to themselves, "There's that crazy American teacher."

Even though I am in a routine now, I am still confused everyday, all day. My Russian is slowly improving. Honestly, I wish it would improve faster. I'm taking a Russian class twice a week. I also study my Russian on my own almost every night. It would be wonderful to know what people are talking about as I walk by them. Sometimes it can be frustrating not understanding simple conversation taking place around you. Many times when the people talk it is like a fast mumble of words that blend together. I listen really hard to understand. Shoot, most of the time I just try to listen for the verb so I know what action may or may not happen. I believe these feelings are the usual pains one must go through when trying to learn a second language. I'm working through it.

This is a picture of the building that I live in. My flat is the balcony with the green plastic wrapped around it. It is on the 4th floor in the middle column on balconies on the left side of the picture. I've never gone out on the balcony because it looks very unstable.

Well, it is official. I have slipped on ice and fallen down in the streets of Moscow. It was a tricky patch of ice. When I walk I am always scanning the sidewalks and streets for shiny patches. Watch out because the shiny patches are ice. However, I did not see this patch on the sidewalk because it was covered by some snow. So, I was walking to the metro station close to my flat early in the morning. It was around 7:00 in the morning. I was going to my first lesson of the day. I took a step and dropped like a lead balloon. Don't worry; I sprung back up like a puma. I immediately looked around to see if anyone saw me hit the ground. (Never mind that I could be hurt. We're talking about public humiliation here.) I was lucky because there were just two ladies walking about 30 yards behind me. I could see that they were giggling. It could have been much worse though. This sidewalk is the main sidewalk that leads to the metro station. During the afternoon and evening, this sidewalk is packed with people. I wasn't hurt, but after about 15 seconds of walking I started laughing at myself. I can only imagine how funny I looked when I hit the ground.

Some of the great food/candy I have tried since moving here:

The Big Datskee Hot Dog - Yes, that's right. They make a mean hot dog here in Moscow. They sell these all over the city in these little kiosks on the side of the street. I tell you what there is nothing like a Big Datskee Hot Dog after a night at a bar or after a cold day of walking around the streets. I'm not sure what "Datskee" means, but I think it might mean..."Hmmm good." They have the usual toppings like ketchup, mustard, and pickles. What makes them so good is the chopped up, fried onions they sprinkle on the hot dog as they remove it from the oven. It has the equivalent impact of the two pickles on the Chic-fil-a sandwich. They provide that extra push over for the edge..."when you need to go one louder...to eleven."

Chicken Shnitzel - I have eaten this dish at a couple restaurants, but there is one cafe in particular that makes it extra special. This dish is grilled chicken wrapped up with a fried egg. The Coffee Den adds cheese with the eggs to make it so delicious. Now, I am sure this dish is also made in America, but I just haven't had it before until here.

Kondeterskaya Fabrika Chocolate Bar - Wow...how do I describe this amazing chocolate bar. There are no almonds or anything like that. (There are many different kinds that do have almonds and other nuts.) It is a milk chocolate bar, but there isn't too much chocolate. I personally like chocolate to not be too heavy and rich. It is about 40% chocolate. What makes it so great is that somehow when they bake the chocolate they put tiny air bubbles all in the chocolate. What is so great about this is that when you bite into the bar it just gently breaks apart into your mouth. The chocolate isn't too strong and overwhelming, so it is just a little piece of heaven. I can't help myself. I eat one bar every two or three days. I need to eat these damn things. Ohh...what have I done? I need to go to the refrigerator and grab a bar right now and eat it.

First Month

I have completed my first month in Moscow! It doesn't seem like a month. It seems much shorter. I completed training, and now I am teaching during the weeks. I travel to companies all over Moscow to teach English to employees of the specific companies. I am getting to see many parts of the city. I am also learning my way around many places that I would otherwise never see.

(This picture is of a Russian Orthodox Church just down the street from my flat. It nice to hear the bells chime when you walk by.)

Let me describe some of my classes. Some companies have a group of students, and other companies have only one student. All of the students are cool. They want to learn English for their jobs and for traveling. I teach many different levels. Some classes are upper intermediate, and other classes are beginner intermediate. All my time during the days is spent either preparing for a lesson, traveling to the company, or teaching the lesson. Some companies are located fairly close to my flat while other companies are on the complete opposite side of the city. Usually it takes me an hour to get to a company for a lesson. Although there is one company that takes me one and a half hours. After a certain metro stop, I have to take a trolley bus to this client. That adds more time to the trip. Ohh...quick note...trolley bus drivers hate it when you do not have exact change. Hhaa...one day I didn't have twenty five rubles exactly. I think I gave him 30 rubles or something close to that. It was no big deal...five rubles change. Oh no...he didn't like that! So, I have learned my lesson. I also make sure I have twenty five rubles for the trolley bus.

I'm making good contacts by teaching at many different companies around Moscow. The companies vary from a oil/gas to railroad shipping to up-scale real estate development. It is interest to ask the students about business in general in Russia. In many ways it is the same as America, but in other ways it is different. It seems so far that they like to really know there customers or clients. Almost to the point of being friends before business partners. They get to know each other over many lunches and dinners before deciding to do business.


Now, we should talk about the weather in Moscow. Of course, it is very cold and windy. It has snowed about 3 - 4 inches over the past two days. It seems that whenever I walk outside, I am always walking against the wind. Your face and hands begin to burn after about 15 minutes. Then they get so cold that you don't even feel them anymore. The coldest it has been so far is negative 20 degrees Celsius. (That is about negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit.)

(This is a picture of a street that I walk down to get to the metro station Shabolovskaya. It is about 15 minute walk from the flat to the metro station.)

The next couple of pictures are from the flat that I am staying in. One picture is of my bedroom. Another pictures are of the kitchen and bathroom.






















The next two pictures are from the school. One is the main entrance into the central school location. The other is a picture of a classroom.



















Funny things witnessed over the past two weeks:

I saw a guy slip on some ice and fall while walking on the sidewalk along a busy street. It was so funny because I saw the big patch of ice he slipped on just as he stepped onto it. I said to myself..."oh man...that doesn't look good. He should slow down." Within 500 milliseconds after saying that to myself, this guy dropped like a bag of rocks. He fell so fast. He didn't even have time to catch himself or break the fall a little with his arms. He drove his shoulder right into the concrete. I know I shouldn't have laughed, but this guy thought he was too cool, so he wanted to walk fast. He slowly got up and walked to the side of the next building to gather his thoughts and put his pride back together. (I am bound to slip on some ice sooner or later too.)

Another funny thing that happened was that I was pushed in the back buy a tiny 4 foot 9 inch old lady on the escalator in the metro. Apparently, I was not walking up the escalator fast enough for this lady, so she pushed me in the back. I was shocked when I turned around to see this tiny old lady standing there. She looked innocent enough, but watch out! It is all fun and games until you get pushed in the back by a tiny 4 foot 9 inch old lady in the metro in Moscow.

First two weeks

First let me describe arrival into Moscow. My flight arrived in Moscow at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night on January 14, 2007. Everything was great. My flight was on time, and all my checked bags made it to my destination. That was a nice surprise after hearing the horror stories about Heathrow airport, and checked bags disappearing or being rifled through.

The weather was really warm for the time of the year. There was no snow in Moscow for the first week. The temperature stayed around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. It was really nice. It all came to an abrupt end on the beginning of the second week. It snowed for about 3 days straight. Now, there is snow everywhere.

I started training the next day. I was so tired and jet-lagged. The time difference was 9 hours. Looking back I would have arrived in Moscow about 2 days before training. Training was good. There were 9 people in my training class. Peter is from California. Catherine is from Wisconsin. Georgio is from Italy. Esme is from England. Jenn is from Pennsylvania. Laura is from Massachusetts. Lee is from Maryland. Logan is from California. Allyson is from Massachusetts. They are really nice and friendly. Many of them speak really good Russian. (Much better than my Russian)

I have just completed the first two weeks in Moscow, Russia. Today was my last day of the intensive two week intern training program at the school where I will teach at. (This is a program available for people who have no classroom teaching experience.) It's exciting to finish training, but now I am getting nervous about actually beginning to teach. I will be traveling to companies around Moscow and teaching employees at the specific companies.

Things I've learned:
Cars don't slow down for pedestrians crossing the road.
When riding a metro train, stare straight ahead with a blank look on your face.
The mullet seems to be a cool hair style for Russian boys. (That's right...the Tennessee mud-flap is making a come back.)

I also had my first experience with the Russian police at the end of my first week. I was walking home from my training class at about 9:30 at night. I was walking by a van parked next to the street when a guy said, "Hey...stop." (In Russian of course) I looked over, and it was a police man. I thought...maybe he is talking to someone behind me, so I kept walking. Then he walked towards me, so I knew he was definitely talking to me. He asked from my passport. I thought I was in deep crap because my passport was at the central office of the school getting registered. I had a photocopy of my passport and visa which were accurate and valid, but I didn't think it was going to go over well with this guy. I showed him my copies of my documents, and he let me continue walking with no problem. He was an honest police man in Moscow. There are countless stories of foreigner getting stopped by the police in Moscow, and having to pay them money in order to avoid getting taken to jail even their passport and visa are valid. I have to give credit where it is due. This man let me go without any hassle, so that was cool.

Let me describe my apartment. It is a one bedroom apartment, but the living room has been converted into a bedroom. I have a roommate. He is nice and quiet. He has been teaching here in Moscow for about a year now. He is also an American. He kept to himself, so I really don't know much about him. I go to training in the mornings, and he goes to him classes while I am gone. So we really don't see each other. The bedroom is small, but I was expecting that. The kitchen is funny. It's like it is in a time capsule from 1950. There are very little appliances, and the appliances that are there are really old. Everything works, so that all I care about. The bathroom has recently been renovated, so it is actually really nice. It looks great, and everything works well. There is hot water, so that's cool. Oh...the toilet is in a separate little room next to the bathroom. That was interesting to see for the first time. There is a washer machine, but it is terrible. It never finishes a cycle. You can put clothes in there, but you don't know if the wash cycle will finish or if the spin cycle will ever begin. It is French washing/drying combination machine. It is a piece of crap! Kenmore or Frigidaire or someone like this should build a manufacturing plant here in Russia. They would make a fortune. Ohhh..I just thought of another thing in the apartment. All the light switches are located high up on the wall. I am still trying to get use to reaching up for the light switch.

Ok, this is all I can think of for now. I will post another entry next week. My digital camera broke, so I will also post pictures up once I buy a new camera.