Tuesday, September 21st

First, I’d like to apologize for my inactivity with this blog. I’ve been somewhat unsure of what constitutes a “blog-worthy” post and it’s made me a little hesitant to write anything. I’m realizing, though, that the daily experiences that I have are actually noteworthy because they are so different from the way I live my life in the US. I’m in the process of compiling a list of these observations, but I already have a few ready…

Laundry

This is rather fresh in my mind because right now it’s Tuesday morning and that happens to be the day that the “dezhurnayas” come to pick up the laundry. (“Dezhurnaya” is the American alphabet spelling of a Russian word that is sort of a cross between a housekeeper and a guard – essentially, they oversee the cleanliness of both the building and the activities therein) One of the benefits of living in this dorm is that our linens are washed and replaced every two weeks and literally all we have to do is take them off of our bed and set them outside the door. If it so happens that you forget to do this, they simply come into your room and take them off the bed. I, for one, am not diligent enough to wash my linens every two weeks when I’m at home (and there are a few of you reading this blog that can attest to that fact…) so this is a huge luxury. It’s also quite interesting to me, culturally. At Beloit we do have housekeepers (and yes, they, too, are all women) and their work is fairly similar to the dezhurnayas here in that they clean the hallways, kitchens and bathrooms of the dorm, but in the US there is also a separation between community and individual space. At this university, there is none. Last week my roommate and I were sleeping and we heard a quiet knock, the quick opening of the door and a rustling of our trash being replaced. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest, though, as I’ve had a few interactions with our floor’s dezhurnaya and she’s very brisk but always stops to say “Good Morning.” Also, having had the benefit of hearing from past study abroad students that some dezhurnayas will scold students for having a messy room I’ve tried to keep my room neater on days I know that they will be working.

Cooking/Grocery Shopping

Before coming to Moscow, one of the things I was really interested in doing was compiling a list of recipes into a cookbook that I could use to first, impress everyone from Beloit and second, make friends with students from other countries by demonstrating my impressive cooking skills. I’m glad I didn’t waste my time with that for two reasons. One, there is no way on God’s green earth I could afford to eat the kinds of things I am used to eating at home and second, there is a French-Canadian named Maxime who is already worlds beyond my cooking level and he’s doing a fantastic job of making food for everyone.

I learned quickly that if I was going to survive off of more than drinkable Activia and the occasional fresh fruit from the grocery store across the street I was going to have to try my hand at buying and cooking actual groceries. That was a problem for me because my card was eaten by an ATM on one of my first few days here, so I teamed up with Hana and she’s been buying our groceries since then and until I can get access to my money. Our first shopping trip together was hilarious because we were trying to buy literally anything that looked cheap and edible. We bought the cheapest eggs ($1.00), the cheapest corn (50₵), the cheapest salmon ($3.00) and so on. We also found frozen beef and chicken patties that we’ve since used as our main source of meat and can basically be identified as “beef” and “chicken” by their color. Fortunately, we are beggars and not choosers so it’s really not an issue yet. Maybe after four months of eating non-descript meat I’ll be singing a different tune, but they’re so easy and cheap and right now I’m attracted more to price than taste.

Cooking was a whole new adventure for me. The first few times we cooked the frozen meat we took it immediately out of the freezer and put it on the highest setting in a frying pan. The outsides would burn to a crisp while the insides would stay totally lukewarm. It took an embarrassingly long time to realize that thawing out the meat would produce better, less mushy and less burned results. Rice has been another source of trouble for us, as it’s been next to impossible to cook rice without overcooking it or undercooking it. Again, it was an embarrassingly long time before either of us thought to ask about the right water/rice ratio.

Finding foods that are reminiscent of home is also difficult. I never in my life thought I’d miss avocados, green peppers, green beans, cheddar cheese, deli meat and fruit as much as I do right now. Fortunately, I haven’t really had to do without peanut butter as David, a fellow Beloit student and resident life-saver for everybody in this dorm (seriously, I could list a page of kind things he’s done for all of us here), saw some the other day and bought me a jar. I had tried previously, but ended up buying some sort of chocolate/butterscotch hybrid spread that, while tasty, was definitely nothing like peanut butter. Chocolate here is also substantially more delicious, so when I crave it I’m in luck because it’s cheap and there is an incredibly diverse selection at the grocery store right next to campus.

Night Life

Finding things to do on the weekends in Beloit is incredibly easy. There are always at least two parties on campus with the same start time and within about a block of each other. If you don’t like one, you can go to the other and you never have a hard time getting in provided you have your school ID (and sometimes even if you don’t, depending on the venue and who’s working). For those of us under 21, it’s even easier because we don’t have the ability to walk down to the bars that are conveniently located 10 minutes away from the school.

Moscow could really not be any more different. From face control at clubs (which is the confidence-building practice of bouncers deeming you either attractive or well-dressed enough to get in the door or not) to the difficulty of getting from one club to another after the metro closes at 1 AM, being a club-goer in Moscow isn’t the easiest job. I’ve had the fortune of being with a group of people that doesn’t care where we go as long as it’s a fun place to be, so we’ve found a few clubs and bars that suit us a little more than the clubs that cater to the well-dressed unsmiling masses that seem to fill them. One club/bar that stands out is Sixteen Tons, which hosts a wide array of performers, has been full of people that don’t look as though they belong in the pages of a fashion magazine and actually smile and seem to enjoy dancing. One of the things I have missed most about Beloiters is their readiness to have a good time without really worrying whether they look hot enough. When I want to dance, I want to dance, not stand awkwardly and painfully in 4-inch heels (which I did when I went to Propaganda the night of the city’s birthday). Finding an environment that feels nonjudgmental and focuses on enjoying music and dancing has been a really great experience.

That’s all for me for now. I’m looking more to experience the historical side of Moscow as soon as possible, now that I have money. There are some museums and parks that I want to check out before it gets too cold (the parks, I mean) and those are the perfect places to take pictures. Philipp also has some photos from nights we’ve all gone out that I will ask if I can post here. They are absolutely beautiful and since I was actually there when he took them I can explain where (and hopefully what) they are.

Poka,

Emily