Moscow! Days 2-3

So we arrived in Moscow at 6:30 in the morning on the night train, and arriving there was like arriving in New York City for the first time. So much activity, so many people, huge buildings and activity, even early in the morning. (don't forget you can click on the pictures for a larger version!)

We met our guide, pictured above, who was really one of the nicest, sweetest ladies I've ever met. And she knew everything about the city and you could tell she loved it, so her enthusiasm was infectious. I really enjoyed my time in Moscow, and she's probably responsible for a lot of that. Taking the bus, one of the first things I noticed is the utter insanity of Moscow driving.

Россия! Russia! Day 1

I was going to wait in the hopes that I would be able to transfer the rest of my pictures from my camera, but it's been too long and I want to post while the trip is (relatively) fresh in my mind.

As you all know, I was in Russia last weekend (EDIT: Holy cow, it was actually two weeks ago! Time flies!). This was the result of a very lengthy and tedious process that required entirely too much time, paperwork, and money. But who knows if I'll ever visit again, so it was worth it. The trip was organized by a local travel agency and was a whirlwind tour of Russia's two major cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the smaller but still very significant town of Pskov.

We set out on our five day trip and spent our first day at Pskov at the nearby monastery.

Russia blogpost/s coming soon!

Sorry it's been so long since my last update: After returning from my 5 day trip to Russia on Monday my computer's hard drive died and I have just gotten it working again! Now I need to try and get the rest of my pictures uploaded and then maybe I'll be able to make a decent post about the trip. It might not be today but there'll be something as soon as possible.

Cultural Differences

Well, it's coming up on two months since I've left the US and began my year of study abroad. It's been a slow week here, not much to update on, although next week I'll be in Russia, so that should provide more than enough material for a blog post! Anyway, what I thought I'd do instead of talk about my life is post some random cultural differences that I've noticed since coming here. These can be European generally, Estonian, or even Tartu specific. Also I tend to notice the bad over the good, especially when it comes to differences, but hopefully that doesn't come across too much. I made this list a week or two ago and most of them seem obvious and trifling to me now, so take that as you will. Cultural differences are just that: differences, and are generally easy to overcome!

A Visitor from WVU, or How to Have a Great Time in Tartu

I don't think I mentioned it in my last post, but this weekend Professor Josh Arthurs is visiting Tartu from WVU to assess the progress of the program, give a guest lecture, and meet with us on an official and unofficial basis. So we decided to show him around and enjoy himself after our official lunch. He's a really fun guy so it was a good time. I also got to snap some photos around Tartu that I for some reason hadn't taken before.

We went to dinner at the Georgian Restaurant again (one of my friends' birthday was on Wednesday and we ate there) but I didnt complain because it's actually very good and not unreasonably priced. I sampled the Georgian beer my first time and this time I was able to try a couple Georgian Red Wines, which were incredible. Mom will be pleased to know that I took a photo of the food as well!

Afterwards we went out for drinks and I was able to meet some (slightly) older Estonians who were extremely nice and outgoing. They were in for a reunion of sorts. One of them was the youngest mayor in Estonia, and I was really interested to hear him talk about Estonian small-town politics and hear about his life. Afterwards we went to a nightclub that was basically for Estonians, particularly 25 years and older, called Maasikas (Strawberry). It was kind of a stereotypical European nightclub and played a lot of dance remixes of ABBA and things like that, and I'm usually not a club kind of guy at all. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't help but enjoy myself and had one of the best nights I've had in a long time.  It was a fantastic atmosphere, everyone was having a really great time and it was contagious, not to mention the people I was with. They were fun and I had fun dancing quite badly to music I wouldn't really be interested in in any other circumstances.

Anyway, enough about that. I may fit another entry in soon but before long I will be making my journey to Russia. It's a little bit intimidating but I'm pretty excited. Before I go I will leave you some photos I meant to post earlier and some other ones of interest.