Anyway, we kicked off yesterday with a bus tour. But first it got pushed back an hour and I had to make my way from the spot we were supposed to meet to where the group actually was - always an adventure in Russia. Luckily it's always an adventure with the Mayer family so I wasn't too flustered by the sudden change. We finally got going on our 3 hour tour. (three hour tooooour) But we didn't end up on a deserted island, thankfully. It was a little disorienting, but we did see some cool stuff like 3 of the 7 Sisters (famous buildings built by Stalin) and a whole bunch of brides.
The brides: Apparently when you get married in Russia you go on this progression through all of these famous spots in the city and take pictures with the wedding party, drink champagne and generally party it up. Since we were on the general progression route as well, we saw a lot of brides. One spot involves a famous statue of children surrounded by the vices that corrupt the world. It's right by a bridge across the Moscow River that has all these metal trees on it. Tradition is for the bride and groom to put a padlock with their names or initials and date of the wedding on the tree. It's really cool to see all of the locks and we even got to see a couple putting their lock on.
After the tour we met up with our peer tutors. I was really looking forward to this as an opportunity to tailor my Russian learning a bit more to my interests - politics and international relations. I know a lot of Russian words about food, travel, and studying, but nothing about politics. We'll have to see how it goes, but I don't think that's going to happen with this tutor. She doesn't seem interested in it at all. Then again, I have no idea what she said because I could understand about 6 words she said. Maybe it was her accent or that she was talking too quickly but even when I said I didn't understand, it didn't help. We're meeting together with another person in the group, Joe, and his tutor, which is more comforting. Joe and I are at the same level of Russian so maybe that will help. Who knows. I'm keeping an open mind, but I was definitely at a low point after that.
The rest of the day was free time and I used it in some much needed relaxing. I took a nap, read a little, and hung out with my dad. We went out for dinner and I taught him some simple, useful Russian. Конечно - of course, можно - can I have... , может быть - maybe. Then we went to his favorite local bar for a drink and I met a bartender, Olga, who doesn't speak a word of English. But we were able to communicate!! I told her where we were from, what I study, and we made small talk. She said I speak better Russian than Daddy and that she likes that because I can translate for him. When we left she said I was pretty and Daddy should bring me back because she liked talking to me. I was exhausted but it was a definite high end to the night because I felt like I could actually communicate in Russian. I only had to ask her to repeat herself one time. Maybe she was just using simple words and speaking slowly because she knew I didn't speak perfect Russian, or maybe that's just how she normally talks, but it was awesome to talk to her. After meeting my tutor I felt like I had completely wasted 2 years of studying Russian; after meeting Olga I felt like my hard work was paying off.
Today is a completely free day (yay!!!). I slept in deliciously late and spent a lazy morning on the couch reading. While I don't plan to make a habit out of it, I think I really just needed some relaxation. I don't want to get run down or sick and I've pretty much been going constantly since I got here. This afternoon Dad and I are going to Ikea, the grocery store, and maybe to an art gallery. Tomorrow starts class!
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