Pitt UHC Mongolia Program, Summer 2007

Moscow seems to be a city of both incredible beauty and incredible decay. Even in their own right the huge apartment complexes are rather dingy, but after the fierce colors of St. Basil's or the Kremlin's many gold-topped cathedrals it's even more startling. The billboards also have incredible swathes of color, but the average buildings and people themselves aren't so brightly arrayed. It's an interesting contrast.
Moscow is also more European than I had anticipated, menus in English, the expensive mall, some of the pop culture. The food shows other influences though: sushi, Chinese-like dumplings, and of course the wonderful Georgian cuisine. The metro is lovely but very mechanical. Most stations are marble, and some also have chandeliers or stained glass, but people never look up. I suppose that's universal though, you take beauty for granted. The metro however is really fun to ride, just odd because people are very blank. No smiles.
Outside of the metro though, we've met a lot of very friendly people at Moscow State University. Their english is very good; it makes me feel bad that I know extremely little Russian in return. I know they don't really expect it, but in some ways I wish they did. I feel sometimes that people make too many allowances for Americans or are just too accept our ignorance. Really, I just wish the American education system held us to a higher standard that the rest of the world seems to follow.
Overall, Moscow is an interesting but intimidating palce. So many unfamiliar names and events, particular customs, and the language. However, many parts of it are still so very beautiful to the eye and ear. And in this case at least (and for the amount of time we've spent), that's enough for the mind.

When we first arrived in Moscow, we were moved surprisingly quickly through the customs officials and began our trek to the hotel. The check-in to the hotel was a good preview to how our communication with the vast majority of the Russian population would go. We didn't know much Russian, they didn't know much English- enough said. After getting ourselves situated, we decided to wander around and try and find dinner. In walking around the areas by the hotel, I found that the city was a lot different than I had expected it to be. It was a lot cleaner- and definitely a lot larger than I was expecting. When you tell people you're going to Moscow, you get a mix of opinions about the country. What I was expecting to find was largely based on these opinions of other people.

The city though, is dramatically different than the country side (Lake Baikal). The city is fast-paced and expensive with large buildings and catherdals as far as the eye can see. The country side has a more simple atmosphere, and the people are more willing to talk with you. I preferred the lake much more than Moscow. The architecture and the culture was amazing to see- especially when you are able to compare it to the exact opposite way of life in Siberia.

Moscow was a quick trip--I felt like one second we were there, and the next second we weren't. But it was interesting, to say the least. It was such a city of contrasts--so beautiful, so ugly, so clean, so dirty, so rich, so poor, so modern, so primitive. One second you are walking amongst high-end, expenseive shops and buildings, and the next you find yourself in the midst of a bleak, soviet-style high-rise housing development. It was a strange feeling to be surrounded by such old, rich, historical sites like the Kremlin or St. Basil's Cathedral while trendy attired young Russians walk by. Russia is a country in an obvious, somewhat awkward transition, and it makes me wonder whether or not these vivid remnants of the past will ever be able to blend smoothly into the modern present. I feel as if this two camps are at constant odds with one another. Yet, the city is certainly humming with people, with culture, and with history. Perhaps this strange combination of old and new has come together in a way that works, or perhaps it is simply a matter of time before one side gives way to another. Time will tell...

It was good to be back in Moscow! Since I spent some time there last summer, my "first impressions" are slanted all over the place.

Anyhow! The city is large, fairly austere, and at first glance very unfriendly. No one talks on the metro, smiling person = foreigner, and there's no "please and thank-you" in everyday conversation. Evidence of inequality is everywhere. There are drunk school kids riding the metro next to professionals in $2000 suits. It's a harsh reminder that Russia has a lot of developing to do.

Despite all that, however, I'm still charmed by the city. I love the parks, the bizarre Soviet architecture, riding the very efficient metro, and short to-the-point conversations like:

"Young lady, what do you want?"
"A sausage."
"This one?"
"No that one."
"Here."

I was even starting to get used to the hilarious "old lady knows best" culture: "Young lady, you don't want sausage. You want this one." And of course they're right. It was, however, pretty hard not to get irritated when Ilana was told not to sit a certain way. Yikes. It's hard to keep your pride tucked away THAT much.

Also, I'm glad to be shedding my "translator" duties. Few people in Moscow really speak English, so getting around can be a little rough. But we made it.

I'm nuts. I can't wait to go back.

Most of my preconceived notions about Russia come from Fiddler on the Roof and Chekhov. The former doesn't really apply to Moscow, other than the whole importance of tradition and history thing. First impressions of any city on a diet of sleeplessness and cold rain are bound to be at least a little unfavorable; our hotel was far from centrally located, and the metro station hard to find. I get the feeling that it isn't easy to navigate the city if you're at all removed from the hub.

Once you're in the city proper, though, things are different. Seems there's something to look at around every corner: churches with swirled roofs like chocolate kisses, statues of Lenin, monuments, government buildings. I'd heard vaguely of the Kremlin before but didn't know what it was -- interesting to think that Moscow was once just what was bounded within those red walls.

Stray dogs are abundant, store clerks often impatient with pointing and broken Russian-English hybridizations, and cars don't stop for pedestrians. You have potato, sour cream, dumpling, you make good Russian meal. I think I'm a lot better at reading Cyrillic now.