Monday, September 11, 2006

In Moscow, almost to Samara






So we're here! Actually as I write this, I'm in a hotel at 9pm trying to stay awake after an extended wussy nap and Jeremy is out painting the town. His secret is that he only drinks water. Who would have thought one of his "Monk"ish quirks would be so handy? Anyway, we're safe and are getting acclamated to our new home. Since arriving I have noticed two things. One, 90% of the people are white. Two, a lot of men don't feel the need to use deodorant. The latter could just have caught my attention because of the stress of flight. Anyway, for most of the year everyone will be wearing winter coats- no armpits exposed to smell!

Above is a view from our hotel window

Focusing again on impressions, the lobby of our hotel is standard but our room on the 10th floor smells like a greasy diner, weird huh? I was super cold since a cold front has come to welcome our arrival, so my bed felt extra stiff and my hips hurt from trying to stay warm while sleeping. Another impression is that Moscow is in some ways like Europe with it's elaborate buildings speckled throughout the city and Japan with these said buildings' first floors flashing garishly like a pachinko parlor!

I have to get a few things under my belt now that we're here. One, get down and dirty with basic Russian phrases. Two, stop smiling! Actually it's easier since I'm tired. I've only smiled once at a taxi guy and I think he though I was joking because after I said, "no" he just stood there like he was waiting for some mysterious punchline. I suppose I should explain this whole nonsmiling issue. Most Americans think of Russians as being pretty stoic, especially with first encounters. This is mainly due to the idea that smiling makes a person look pretty ridiculous when interacting with strangers. I've been reassured by an actual Russian that once a person gets to know you, they're all smiles. Any grins by chance can be treated with a content sigh, atleast that's what I will be doing.

1 comment:

nicole said...

I remember hearing somewhere that attitudes towards women (in Turkey) are similar to the 1950s attitudes towards women in the US. So, if a woman smiled at a man, he thought she was coming on to him. I'm not sure this translates to women in Russia or not, but it made me think about my behavior when I went to Turkey the second time.

Read the description of your apartment on Jeremy's blog. I want pictures!

Oh, how I want to visit!

Talked to my advisor today about student teaching abroad. My options are Argentina, Australia, England, and Namibia (Africa). Ay!