Tetrad entries.

June 2, 2008

11:11 Flower shops are everywhere.

11:45 I just took a Russian language placement test and guessed almost all the answers strictly on word endings.

16:00 Russians love making out on escalators.

22:02 Just outside the metro stop I met the same 16 yr old blonde Muscavite girl who was dancing to punk music on her headphones for 15 mins on the metro last night at 00:50. She spoke to me in English, asking me if I would give her money for beer (I just bought a Stella Artois from a street vendor). She told me she had an English exam soon. She was completely ridiculous.

22:15 On metro headed to the Red Square with a bunch of FSU students we just met. We're going to the English Pub.

22:30 Just informed that Gogol Bordello will be playing in Moscow in July.

00:30 On metro back to MSU and there is a homeless couple sitting across from me. The homeless are different here than pittsburgh. They stink much worse but are dressed much nicer.

00:58 Just got shushed for the second time by the Babushka. The FSU kids have been gossiping too loudly in the hallway.


June 3, 2008

15:35 Couldn't sleep again last night. Woke up at 4am, went to CafeMax and went back to bed at 8:30am.

16:16 "Holy shit! Look at this rock!" I got really excited in the rocks and minerals museum in the Lomonosov and yelled that; the security guy didn't like it I don't think. View is amazing up here.

17:35 In the Cafeteria. We just witnessed a Babushka pick up a poppy seed pastry that rolled off the serving tray and put it back with her bare hand. Then it rolled off again only hitting the table then the dirty, soviet floor with a splat. The Babuska ran away embarrassed. 30 secs. later she picks it back up with her bare hand and places it back on the serving tray. Looks like someone will get the lucky pastry after all! Just one example of Russian sanitation practices.

17:36 I just drank the "milk." I don't think it's milk. It doesn't move; not at all. It's more of a white sour paste... hmmm, think I'll get another.

22:22 Location: FAQ Cafe What: cool; hip; underground (literally); hookah; dark beers; tight spaces; everything looks like a piece of art.

22:38 "Do you want to smoke a Hookah? If yes, which one?" That was the text message the short, dark-skinned little man who works here brought over to us; he had some English speaking friend of his type it into his phone, then brought it over to us because we couldn't understand him. Quite funny really.

22:55 A local Muscovite with a blond mullet has sat next to us. He's hitting on this girl that's obviously not into him, so he has started buying us shots of tequila instead. He speaks broken English and starts telling all of us to come back to his place for a dance party. He writes this in my notepad:

(8916) 676 5379
Begovaia 7/9
flat 130
call me

This mullet is ridiculous and I might be the only one that refuses to go to his place. He's a good laugh though. That's probably what he thinks of us too i suppose.


June 4, 2008

5:30 Can't sleep again. To pass the time here's a list of things i've observed in Moscow: Mullets everywhere//Time is ambiguous//food is so-so//everything's very expensive//it's only dark a few hours a day which screws with your head//Floridians talk a lot of trash on eachother//There are 100 museums here//I would like to make a russian friend-- that's not named Alec//I've been conducting a staring experiment on the metro. Supposedly the Russian stare lasts longer than the American. So i do it a lot to see what happens. I think people just think i'm weird. But sometimes I get the stare back and it's awesome. Everyone should experience staring into the eyes of a complete Russian stranger// I like to eat a lot of mushroom sandwich thingys that go for 19 rubles on the street (<1$)//If you are not literally touching the person in front of you in line, someone will cut in front of you//I live in a museum.
Things I need to buy: 1)Gallon of voda (water) 2)Snacks 3)Handsoap 4)New freaking mattress and/or memory foam.