First post from MOSCOW

September 3, 2009

I’ve now been in Moscow a couple days and I’m starting to get settled in. We live in a dorm with Russian students all studying at the Higher School of Economics. Everyone shares rooms and there is a shower room on the first floor with no doors or shower curtains which has proved to be interesting. I’m looking into joining a gym here so I can work out and then shower there.

The 19 other students in the program seem very nice so far. People are all interested in getting to know each other and we all have a common interest of math. There is a wide range in our ages since many of the students started college around age 14 so they are now only 17 or 18. There are also some “traditional” students, so I don’t feel TOO old. I have not yet met my roommate, but she is due to arrive tomorrow.

Today we met all our professors which was a lot of fun. I am intimidated by their intelligence and by the intelligence of my classmates, but I think we will all end up working together well. One of the professors is taking us on a walking historical tour of Moscow on Saturday which will be a great way to become more acquainted with the city. We’ve managed to find a grocery store with good prices as well as the nearby ATMs and are getting better with the metro so things are off to a good start.

I’ve only gotten to explore a small part of the city, but it has been very interesting so far. There is a huge gap between the very wealthy and the very poor in Moscow. The stores on the streets are all very upper class (Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, etc) but most locals cannot even afford to eat out, much less shop at these designer stores. I have also been warned about my loud voice, laugh, and smile because these things easily mark me as an American which can cause some hassle. We also must keep our passports, immigration document, and student cards with us at all times because it is completely legal for the police to stop you at any time and ask for your documents. Pick pocketing is also supposed to be common. This combination has me very worried about having my passport stolen, but we have copies and I’m going to the American Embassy tomorrow to check-in.

I really look forward to spending more time exploring the city and to start my classes. Hopefully, by this time next week I will be much more settled and have a good idea what I’m in for in the next four months.