Carly is here!

Guess who came to visit?!?!

Well, you probably have guessed as I wrote it in the subject line.

MS. CARLY, class of '09, fellow Russian major!

Evidence:




Anyway, we are off to do fun things about Moscow. I will update later with our activities, and I will put up photos from our excursions yesterday to the MXT Theater Museum and the Conservatory Concert.

-- E.B. & Carly

TGIF

Today right after classes we left to go on a tour of the Moscow Art Theater, the same place where we saw the interpretive dance performance of Karmen. Chekov's plays were first produced there and it was interesting to see original costumes of those, and many other famous plays.

Next, we talked with a journalist who specializes as a theater critic. Most interestingly, she compared the two famous theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg: the Bolshoi Theater and the Mariinsky Theater. Her perception is that while the Mariinsky Theater stays very true to original works of both music and dance, this risks of a lower standard of performance where parts are very difficult, while the Bolshoi risks nothing for a perfect performance. This is, of course, comparing two of the world's best theaters, we have to keep in mind, so I'm not sure I would spot a misstep at the Mariinsky Theater! But a few of us shall try to get tickets to the Bolshoi again on Monday, to see for ourselves.

Our final excursion of the day was to a concert by the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic. The entire night was superb and they performed two pieces by Elgar and two by Strauss. The important work of the night, though, was a the Elgar Cello Concerto, performed by the husband of a current Wellesley senior. I can't stop talking about how stunning this was, some of the best cello playing I have every heard (and this means something as I have attended quite a few music festivals from my years of music study). The symphony experience was slightly different than in the US, as the main lights were left on, for example, the concert itself lasted three hours, and included an orchestral encore.

We ended the night with cocktails and bruschetta at Corriso on Tverskaya, which we enjoyed to the sounds of live music (including a cover of Mama Mia by Abba).

Well it's late here and it is the end of a long week. We have no plans for the next two days, so we shall see what other adventures come our way.

Happy Weekend!

-- Aisling (Ася)

Photos from yesterday's adventures:

(aisling and her new bangs!)

(an evening stroll through red square...)

(showing off her new bangs.)

(showing off my new nails.)

(ok, fine, a nice one for my mother.)

(galina in red square.)

(jess in red square.)

(inside the GUM department store.)

(nail color: "an affair in red square" by O.P.I.)

(hot chocolate in the GUM.)

(at the georgian restaurant: they had a turtle.)

(khachapuri.)

("prom photo.")

(will smith.)

(condi rice.)

(mike tyson.)

(in the RGGU courtyard, outside of our dorm.)

-- all photos by E.B.

Ой, мороз, мороз!

One of our classes -- meeting for one hour, three days a week -- is devoted to learning just Russian folk songs. A special favorite, already dear to many of our hearts (it was a popular one in Phonetics at Smolny in St. Petersburg) is "Oy, moroz, moroz." Below are some links to versions of this folk song.







-- E.B.

Adventures, Adventures

Wow what a day! We attended classes as usual, but then decided, not quite consciously, that the rest of the day would be devoted to adventures. Well, as we all know, the best way to experience a culture or a city, is to go out, experiment, and expose yourselves to adventure.

First, two of us decided to test out a famous Mowcow salon chain. But since E.B. is in charge of photos, I will let her reveal the result of this adventure. (Be sure to ask her about which color is called "Affair in Red Square.")

Our second venture was to the Bolshoi Theater, where we hoped to get student rush tickets to Swan Lake. After dressing up in our dresses and tights, carrying our indoor heels in our bag, we arrived at the Bolshoi and stood in line. But not five minutes after arrival, a man in a loud voice told all students to go home, as there were only two free tickets. It took us a few minutes to process the fact that our efforts had been in vain, but deciding that our night was not yet wasted, we proceeded to walk to GUM, the famous shopping center by the red square.

This third adventure was my favorite of the night, for there is absolutely nothing like wandering around the Red Square during a light snow. E.B.'s photos will reveal this sensation. (BTW, it was actually only 6 pm at this point, but since it gets dark very early, it might as well have been night.) When we started to freeze, we went inside GUM for some coffee or hot chocolate which we ordered from an awkward waiter. I think he, and maybe many other of our Russian waiters and waitresses, must think we are crazy, for we are inclined to sit around tables for very very long periods of time, talking about our collective experiences and laughing incessantly.

The fourth adventure consisted of dinner in a boat, which was really a Georgian restaurant on the Arbatskaya Ulitsa. Though the boat-theme reminded us of the Pirates of the Caribbean, the restaurant served what seemed like every important business man (dressed in suits) in the city. Apparently, it serves celebrities as well, for the photos that lined the wall included Will Smith, Condi Rice and Mike Tyson. This was an adventure, as we were seated next to an indoor stream in which lived a very large fish and even a sleeping dirty turtle. We all ordered Georgian soup, khachapuri and Georgian lemonade, and listened to live Georgian music (which contains some nice harmonies!). We were sure to take a "prom" photo on the nearby bridge, and you will know what this means soon.

Our final plan was to end the day at Cafe Bilingua, which is an artsy book store with live music and a restaurant. After a trip on the metro and a stroll through a rather desolate neighborhood, we saw first-hand the effects the economy has had on Moscow (this Cafe is listed in the most recent Lonely Planet Guide, but sadly, it is now closed.)

But our adventures were not finished, even with the decision to return to the dorms, for we are ending the night with some more laughter, a bottle of shampanskoe, and...oh yeah, we can't forget the homework!

Do zaftra!

(until tomorrow)

-- Aisling (Ася)

Happy Old New Year!

Busy, busy, busy, busy!

Since classes have started, we've been having very full days, so pardon my inconsistency of posting. Yesterday we met a few Russian students at RSUH who gave us a tour of the campus. It was a little awkward, as all of those blind date "paid friends" kind of situations are, but the information they had to tell us was helpful, even if a little late in arrival.

Today we had more class -- we have class every day until 2:30pm now -- and then three of us went on an excursion to the Kremlin. We saw the interiors of three of the churches, one palace, and the armory museum. Memorable items from the armory included Ivan the Terrible's saddle, Peter the Great's fur-lined boots, Catherine the Great's tinnny tinnny dress from when she was 16 years old (perhaps she had an eating disorder?) and a lot, a lot, a LOT of fancy silverware.

Here are some photos from our excursion:

(knocking snow off the roof)

As for tonight, currently, we are celebrating the new year according to the old Russian calendar -- thirteen days after the modern New Year. We are making sure to celebrate it Russian-style with a little of this:


С Новым годом!

-- E.B. (with Galina, Aisling & Jess)

Galina's blog!

For another perspective on our Wintersession program, check out Galina's own personal blog:

http://studenkavmoskve.blogspot.com/

She has a lot of nice photos on there too!

-- E.B.