Crazy Day Comes to an End

Hello loyal fans,

First off let me once again just say that I, and everyone I know in Moscow is okay and was unaffected by the terrorist attacks on the metro today. When I was leaving the apartment for class this morning, Sergey told me there was an explosion on the metro and I better have all of my documents on me today...however, it wasn't until I got to class that I learned the explosions we bombings by Chechen terrorists. Both metro stations that we bombed were not stations that I regularly go through, but I was in Park Kultury (the second bombed station) yesterday...thank goodness not today.

Aside from the bombings, today was a pretty normal day. There were certainly more police officers (militsiya in Russian) at each metro stop today, so I still felt safe. After classes I went with a few friends to a bar to have a couple of brews, watch some Russian sports, and talk about the craziness going on in Moscow.

It's now 12:21 in the morning and I have to get up early again for class so now it's time to sign off...no pictures to post, but on Wednesday we have a tour of the Kremlin (which I'm super excited for) so expect so photos after that.

P.O.G.S.

Bus tour of Moscow

Hey y'all,

It's about 1 in the afternoon on Saturday, I'm just waiting for Sergey to get home and then I'm going with him to work on his friend's boat...I don't think he knows that I know absolutely nothing about boats, but nonetheless I'm excited to meet his friend.

This past Thursday my group took an hour and a half bus tour around Moscow (although about 30 minutes of the tour was us just stuck in traffic) ha. I took tons of pictures so here are some of them. Enjoy!

Me in front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square

Walls of the Kremlin

View of Red Square. GUM on the right and the History Museum to the left

Inside GUM (Big Mall)

History Museum

Wall of the Kremlin along the Moskva River

Lubyanka. Former Residence of the KGB

Statue in Victory Park.

Moscow State University.

Moscow Stadium. Built for 1980 Olympics

My Apartment

Hello again,

It's 6:30 in the morning and my room is so bright that I can't sleep any longer, but it's okay cause I went to bed at about 10:30 last night. Last night and this morning I took some pictures from my room so these are it. As you can see my bed is a pull-out-couch, but it's not terribly uncomfortable. Our apartment is on the 16th floor so we have a nice view of this huge city. It's a small, but cozy apartment. There is a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, and my room. It's kinda weird to not have a living room.

Last night, before I went to bed, I watched a Russian tv show (kinda like a soap-opera, but more awesome) with Larisa. It was fun cause she would explain things to me that I didn't understand.

Today I have a placement test at 11:00am then we are going on a bus tour of Moscow after lunch. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures from that when I return.

Alright, that's about it for now. So I'll talk to you guys later.

Peace.

MADE IT TO MOSCOW!

Hello from Russia,

I just got finished eating dinner with my family. Larisa (my host mom) made a Georgian soup that was really delicious. Her son, Sergey is a 22 year old med student. Neither of them speak much english so this should be one heck of an experience :-)

Right now it is about -1 degrees (Celsius) outside with lots of clouds...a typical day in March.

Well I am very tired from my flight so I am going to lay down for a little nap. I'll post some more when I wake up.

Over and out,

Ben

At JFK

Hey again,
I am sitting in the world club now at JFK airport just waiting for my flight to Moscow to board. It is scheduled to leave here at 5:35pm and arrive in Moscow tomorrow around 10:00am. I'll be sure to post something once I get over there.
Keep checking back.

Last Night in America for 10 Weeks

Hey Guys!
I am all packed and ready to go. Hopefully I didn't forget too much :-) I'll be sure to let all of my fans out there know when I arrive safely in Moscow, Russia on March 24. I'm am all ready for 10 weeks of education, fun, sightseeing and of course vodka. Ha.
Check back every so often to see the new photos and stories I have about my adventures across the pond.
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