Journal 39

2-21-10; 12:23 AM

Curses, I've done it again!!! [E.g. -- Not sat down to write the day's journal until the "day" has changed over.]

Notes on 2-20-2010

Moscow Bus Tour

The icy grip of winter descended on the city in earnest today -- so much so that, as I was walking to the Dorm to meet for the tour, the water in my water bottle started to freeze!!! I realized this when I took a drink, and it was like drinking a slushy! So cool! (I tried to get a picture of the ice crystals that had formed in the bottle, but my camera wouldn't cooperate... Darn.)

I took mostly video while on the tour, as I'll be here for at least 4 tours (this one, summer, both semesters next year) -- and had decided that I could get pictures on another tour. However, I did take a few pictures (look for them on the "Photos" page).

I was quite thrilled when we stopped at one point on the trip -- because just down the street was the bridge with the "Lock Trees" on it!! [First mentioned in Journal 26, on 2-8-10.] So, I traipsed out to go get my pictures -- and about froze my hands off in the process… =>_<= Ouch!!

Another stop put us in front of a long row of "Tourist-Trap-Tables" -- which is to say, tables full of all the touristy-souvenir stuff you could possibly want, at exponentially-outrageous prices! I have to say though, the Political Matrioshki (Nesting Dolls) are rather tempting buys. Mostly because they make me think of "Agent" Hitchcock. =^__^=

(Note -- As I'm flushing this journal out, at a very late March 14th… I've forgotten the list of interesting facts that I wrote down from the bus tour, so I'll have to post that later…. Ha ha ha, sorry!)

After the tour, I meandered on over to the Internet Café, to take care of some of my "online work" -- which is to say, things with photos and the blog [3-14-10: this is all old news, obviously…] -- and I also had to write my first article for the Fulbright Program, which gave me some of my funding for this trip!

[For everyone to whom the article was emailed -- you already know that it contained a few errors, much to my chagrin. The most embarrassing one of course, being that I gave an incorrect number to the amount of time I'd been in Moscow -- due to my inability to do mental math. For the sake of it being Pi Day as I write this, I'm going to repeat the correct time -- at the time of my writing the Fulbright Article, I had been in Moscow for 22 days -- divided by 7… I had been in Moscow for PI TIME!!!! 3.14 Weeks. Welcome to my lovely world of Geekiness… Happy Pi Day!]

Once I'd finished at the Internet Café for the day, I came home and had a late lunch -- and was STUFFED! I also got to try the bigger Baranki, which my host family had bought. They're quite delicious! They're softer than the small ones, but still sort of dense. For anyone who has missed my extolling the wonders of Baranki, overall, they appear to be in a similar family as Bagels. The little ones are very dry and crunchy, while, as I said earlier, the bigger ones are a little bit softer. Think, like the density of a soft pretzel or something. Infinitely better! =^_~= (I don't like pretzels, for those who don't know…) I also got to have my beloved Ovsyanoe [Oatmeal Cookies]!!

Then -- a nap!!!

Dinner was late for me (As I was taken by said nap, to paraphrase Shel Silverstein… ["The Nap Taker"]) -- and consisted of Blini c Tvorogom (Crêpes with [sweetened] Curds) -- They're SO tasty! And SO pretty, the way they are wrapped! I told Olga (host mum) that I wanted to learn how she did it, because they're just beautiful!

[3-14-10 Note: I learned how it's done, btw… They're frozen!!!!!! I laughed so hard, but was still kind of disappointed when I realized this. I saw them in the freezer. I still did unfold one, at a later date, to learn how they did it… Ha ha ha…]

After dinner, it was Phone Call time!!! I have now called *almost* everyone on my "to call" list -- I just have a few phone calls left to make. I have to say, the initial realization that it's me on the other end of the phone [in Moscow] is *pretty* priceless, I won't lie!!! Tee-hee. =^__^= -- Of course, my phone ran out of money (on the phone, not the phone card) before I finished chatting with my friend Cam -- sorry about that Cam!!! I'll be taking care of that tomorrow [feeding my phone again].

I've been working on the journals ever since I finished with the phone -- and I'm SO tired, but I knew I needed to finish one last journal, AND write today's stuff as well! No alarm for tomorrow! I'll get up when I wake up.

Love,

Moscow Kitty; 12:34 AM

=^__^=