Moscow Never Sleeps

Oh hai readers,

This is my first post since I got here. It was nice to arrive in Russia and get rejected by a banker lady as a FLUENT Russian speaker. That was sarcasm, it doesn't work very well in text. Either way my general impressions of Moscow is that it is very business orientated. Almost everyone is all about business. They even have things called business lunch(pronounced exactly as is but with a Russian accent) in all restaurants. Yesterday Fedya(thomas) and I experienced our first business lunch, and we fell in love with it. It is so cheap. Usually you get a salad, soup, a main dish with a side, bread, and a drink, for 7 to 10 dollars. I have not been let down by the food in Moscow. Every restaurant has impressed me in some way, but back to my cultural observations; Many Russians seem very stern. It seems very out of place to smile in public. The youth are often seen hanging out inside of a metro or underground crossing, huddled together drinking beers. With that type of situation, it seems like Moscow might be ignoring some the younger generation.

I have met a few interesting characters here in Russia. I met two Irkurtzkies who told me many stories about how Moscow has changed. He basically argued that Moscow has no Russian culture left; its all about business, and does not hold a correct image of Russian culture. He also suggested to me that I pick a random Babushka in a metro, give her 100 dollars, and live with her for a month, then I will experience culture.

Well, my business lunch is ready to eat, so I will cut this one a little short.

We saw a play yesterday, K.I from Crime. Almost all of our group loved it. The acting was absolutely astounding. It was basically one wonderful Russian actress, and she would often interact with the audience. At one point, she ended up talking to me. She just stared into my eyes, and there was so much fire and passion in her eyes. I thought the play was mediocre, I dont know why, but I left with the feeling of mediocrity. Nonetheless it was the best acting I have ever witnessed, and I whole-heartedly appreciated K.I from Crime.

Jenushka Bashirov