Final Hours as a Muscovite

Today is our last day in Moscow. Last of the last. It's bittersweet to be sure, but I definitely won't miss the walk to the metro but I will miss living in such a historical and grand city. The packing is done, lessons have been learned, and the final Russian dinner is being made. I'm greatly looking forward to my peanut butter in the airport terminal (thanks, mom!) and being home. In 12 hours, the bus will be here to take us to the airport and then we're all homeward bound!

Hannah and I wrapped up our last day here by people watching in Alexander Garden outside the Kremlin and visiting my favorite place in Moscow, the Red Square, one last time. We drank Coke and talked loudly in English, not caring a single bit. The highlight of today came when a group of young Russian soldiers walked by and Hannah experimented with the surrounding population by yelling "DAT ASS" to the general vicinity. And no one noticed. We thereby concluded that we we're the only Americans in a decent radius.

I've lived here for 10 weeks, learned lots, and become a little bit more Russian than I was before. This was a fantastic experience, but now it's time to head back to American soil! 

See you all on the other side!

(12 hours left in Russia!)

"The All-Russian Exhibition Center"

Things are winding down very quickly and successfully here. Now that we finally have time to sleep (and sleep in), our exhaustion is catching up with us. The result is 20 tired American students running around Moscow for a final couple days, attempting to see the city we have grown to love just one more time. I have managed to see everything I wanted to see here in Moscow, so today Hannah and I took the opportunity to do something a bit lighthearted. Following lunch, we headed down to the metro and rode all the way up to ВДНХ (VehDehEnKhuh or the English VDNH) to the All-Russian Exhibition Center. The center was originally established as a trade post during the Soviet Union, but today it's home to several exhibition pavilions and a myriad of children's amusements. We mainly went to see the cool architecture and fountains that ВДНХ is home to. And we most definitely were not dissapointed! The Soviets may have created the most boring, cookie-cutter apartment buildings known to man, but when it came down to it, they could build some beautiful buildings!

On the way home, we passed by the Memorial Museum to Cosmonauts, and I got this awesome picture of the monument outside. Made of out of steel, it's a rocket taking off from the base of the museum. (Being here makes you aware to just how proud the Russians are of their space program.)

And now, once again, we're back in Vikhino, eating shwarma for dinner and enjoying the cool Moscow summer evening! Anticipation is running high! 

Love and hugs to all!

(1 full day left in Russia!)

Whatever Floats Your Boat (Hopefully)

We are done, done, done! Classes and finals finished today, leaving our teacher impressed with our work and us very happy with being done for the summer! We've been in for the long haul these past 10 weeks with intensive Russian every day, and we've made it out alive and smarter! For your viewing delight, here's a picture of Group #2 (my level) with our instructor, Ludmilla! (She's the beautiful Russian woman in the middle.)

After a short class day, a small graduation (during which we got diplomas and matryoshka keychains!), and lunch, the whole group headed down to the metro and over to Kievskaya. Our mission? A cruise down the Moscow River! What a lovely way to end our hard earned educational mission! So we spent the past few hours slowly making our way down the river seeing the sights from the water, enjoying the cool weather and the down time. And, as usual, there are pictures abound! 

Me screwing around in the Kievskaya metro station

Our boat, the bank, and my head

Kelly, myself, and Hannah in front of "New Moscow"

Khram Khristos Spasatelya from the river

"It feels like we're flying, Jack!"

The Kremlin from the river

The Moscow River

Seven Gothic Sisters: Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building

Hannah and Austin tradin' shades

I greatly enjoy trench-coat weather

The boat tour really was a great way to wind everything down. We finished around 7pm, so Hannah and I took the metro back to Vihkino and bought ice cream on the way back to campus (of course). Since then, we've been dinking around, enjoying having nothing to do, and PACKING! I'm all packed now (save for what I need til Sunday) and ready to hit the road/tarmac. I even totaled up everything I'm bringing back to the States for my customs declaration form. Tomorrow and Saturday are both free days, but we have plans to fill them up. Then Sunday, it's on to the airport and home! I'm excited!

Love and hugs to all!

(2 full days left in Russia!)

P.S. The title of this post is in reference to the cruise-tour boat that sank on the Volga River during our 2nd week here in Moscow. I hope you can swim!

Parking It

Today was an off day for us, the first of many during this final week in Moscow, so Hannah and I decided to venture out into Moscow and see something new. After lunch at 2:30, we went on a quest to find Gorky Park (also called Park Kultury). This was tricky because the Park Kultury metro station is currently closed for renovation (whether or not this has anything to do with damage from the previous metro bombings, I don't know). So we wandered off the metro at Oktobraskaya and picked out the visible landmarks of Gorky Park: roller coasters. (Russian roller coasters, just dont' ride them.) Gorky Park was created in the 1950s and still is absolutely beautiful! The park itself is about a mile long, so it's safe to say we didn't make it all the way through. But what we saw was very pretty and well worth the leisurely stroll on a warm/cool summer day. 

We have a massive conversation class project due tomorrow, so I'm going to hop off the internet now and go do my work. Wish me luck! Finals are almost over!

Love and hugs to all!

(3 full days left in Russia!)
 

Winding Down

We're halfway through our last week here in Russia, and the weather has taken an unexpected turn, but for the better! This week we're studying our asses off for our finals, so, as a result, we're not doing much of anything until Thursday. But today is Austin's 21st birthday! In order to make up for being in a country where the drinking age is 18, we're going to throw a party in the other dorm.

As one would expect, we're excited to come home! But now I'm about to dash off to celebrate, so I'll leave you all with two entertaining pictures of this week's shenanigans.

What Hannah and I wore today...

And the hilarity of budgeting in Russia...

 

Ahhh, thus is the expat/traveling student life! Expect the unexpected and be prepared to drink! Now I'm going to spend the evening in good company!

Love and hugs to all! xoxo

(5 days til the States!)