Show and Tell

Yes! There are some pictures but they are a bit amateur-ish...apologies

The first restaurant we went to for lunch

No clue what this says but this is THE coffee shop

New favourite coffee shop!

Day 2: Mall day

Day 3: Sushi tasting. Amazing

Waiting for bus 116 and showing off some furrr

Body heat works

Soooooo much of snow

Sites on the way home from the bus windows

Sneaky post from Maree - My new boots! Totally cute AND waterproof! Take that Moscow!!

The Little Things

While being in a city that is so vast, you begin to feel like part of an ant colony and just part of the system because things function like a well oiled machine. When you take on this perspective life starts to feel a little daunting and so it's important to zoom back in. You zoom in on your little functioning life and how you cope with how you have to function in your own oiled machine. We are still working on oiling the parts at the moment to be clear.
Throughout the day I have been noticing the small changes in everyday ant life that are different to that of life in South Africa. These changes and things are miniscule but they make all the difference to the oiling process. Strange how much the little things can have an impact on the bigger things.

Our location for today's adventures was set in a mall where we set out to do some grocery shopping as well as find shoes for Maree in order to keep her around a bit longer.

The grocery store was fascinating to me.
(The details which follow could highlight how little I've been exposed to in my life or how different life is for people elsewhere in the world but either way, I'm gonna write them down. If all else fails, my parents will still love me.)
Firstly, the trolleys are even on a higher functioning level. Baskets with wheels and can move around very easily because you merely pull the basket in the direction you want it to go by moving the handle. No awkward trolley reversing in aisles for me anymore!
However, the weird and annoying part of this shopping experience was that before you go into the grocery store, you have to bag EVERYTHING in this huge clear plastic bags and seal them. Much to our dismay, we had done a fair amount of shopping before which led to us having to be there a while. My comment was that we didn't even have to do that in South Africa and crime is supposedly much worse; to which Jackie responded that maybe this was why. -_-
In South Africa, it is someone's job to weigh veggies and pack groceries. Here, you look up the code and weigh things yourself as well as pack your own groceries once they've been rung up. I felt somewhat disillusioned and naive thinking that it was definitely harder than it looked. The range of products is unbelievable and would probably be far more impressive if we could actually read the labels but just judging by the pictures and look of things, Moscow's not too bad off.

The different shops that we've gone in and out of all day have been the best I've ever seen. I have already spent my pay mentally and I know that birthday present shopping is going to be the most fun.

Speaking of small changes making all the difference, we found out pretty quickly that even a slight change in the number of the metro buses obviously can be a matter of being lost in the big city. We were absolutely set on our bus 116 which would bring us straight home. We ended up running across a road (note: not in Moses fashion) in order to climb on, only to be told around the corner that we had to get off. At least that's what we assumed when everyone who was on the bus got off leaving only the three of us sitting there alone. The driver then had to get up and tell us (at least we think) that we had to get off, much to our amusement. The only option was to laugh at this point and once we were done, we sat on the side of the road and began to wonder if we would ever see the faces of Dean and Freddie McFly again. A Babushka (which is the Russian form of a Gogo I guess) came over and attempted to help us. Due to the communication failure (which happens all the time and makes us seem rude and stupid) this was difficult but she very forcefully managed to make us get onto another bus by pointing in the general direction of the next stop and holding up two fingers. We felt very obliged to do as told because she watched us all the way and when the bus arrived made very insistent gestures toward the bus. We got to the next stop and onto our dear 116 route again. We also made a huge show of our excitement when it arrived I might add.Slowly beginning to recognise small things close to where we're staying also helps and brings about feelings of comfort and familiarity.

Another thing I noticed which made my heart warm (helpful in this weather) was that you can pay for an extra coffee or meal when you go to a restaurant which can be collected by a person worse off than yourself later. They will come in at some point in the day and enquire if any meals or coffee has been placed on order for them and can happily receive a coffee or meal. Imagine an entire world where people who could afford to buy one other person a coffee would do so...everyone would have coffees in cold weather.

Like I said, the small things can really change the bigger things.

First Day: No Slip Ups

It has to be said that when people spoke about the freezing weather in Russia...they lied. It's worse. Think about the coldest you've ever been and then double it- you're still no where near. However, it adds to the challenge of the adventure...which has been incredible so far. Day one and I can already feel my eyes widening. Whether that's from the shock of the cold or not, we shall see. Here are a few things we have learnt so far:

1) Russian people like tomato juice...
unless that was just the Russian people on the plane but the air hostesses certainly went through enough boxes of it.

2) All the pavements are slippery. I found this out very quickly while dragging my 29.1kg bag behind me and found my face very close to the pavement, which brings me to the next point...

3) The people aren't as bad as they are made out to be. A kind man helped me up from the floor and we've met some more along the way. There are a couple people who can speak English and are friendly and helpful. If they can't speak English, they just kind of pretend you don't exist. Haha.

4) It is socially accpetable to stare at others. We are constantly being stared at which could be because we're very loud compared to everyone else, or we are constantly cursing the cold or maybe we just look weird to everyone else. Either way we are apparently fascinating. In a coffee shop today- we were the entertainment. However! It makes life easier to stare back at the people because I guess they are rather different looking.

4) There is no being scared of heights in Russia. The escalaters are like a free lift up to the Monument. Its scary steep, but its incredible.

5) Being polite is nice, but you can keep it as it won't get you home. I attempted to use my well-taught manners in the Metro and was almost left behind. Maree and Jackie were pulling me into trains and pushing me through doors. Thank goodness for rude friends ;)


6) Time is not wasted. Its not walking, its running and if you really want to save some more time, you can always run up and down the escalaters in the Metro, there is a running lane for your convenience. We ran for our lives across a 12 lane road as the little green man does not stick around. Needless to say, we are going to have amazing legs and be bikini ready by the time we get home.

7) Learning Russian will be very helpful. To function in everyday life here, its going to be a necessity. Our first challenge for survival handed out by Dean was to buy our Metro tickets. We wrote the number 60 and showed it to the lady behind the glass, much to her amusement. Apparently we're not only fascinating, but offer a laugh or two along the way.

8) Marees feet do not fit in Moscow. Upon purchasing our new attire (hence the wiping at the station), they did not have Marees shoe size because her feet are too big. She was made to try on the ugliest pair of orange and brown men shoes, but decided against those. We're sending her home.

9) Bomber jackets are allowed. I was once a person who laughed at people who wore them. I purchased myself the biggest one today. There is no shame in keeping warm. Plus, everyone else is rocking them so when in Moscow...
PS. Its down. That's how warm.

10) As Dean described it, we become Moses when crossing smaller streets. Cars stop and wait for you while you cross the road. Not the hundred lane roads, obviously, but the smaller streets. You walk, they stop. Unbelievable.

11) There are truly amazing people in the world. This is where Dean comes into play: he has been the best guide, friend, teacher and host we could have ever asked for. 'Classic Freddie, Freddie Prince Junior, the Fredmeister (who is Deans British roomate) has also been the greatest help with everything and offers a refreshing perspective when its needed.

12) There will be many coffees consumed here. We found a wonderful coffee shop near the metro where we had the best tasting coffee we have ever tasted. After taking our first sip, we sat there in awe staring at each other.

13) White South Africans are not supposed to exist. When a taxi driver enquired where we were from we were met with the follow up question, "Why you no black?". I feel it is not the last time we will hear this question.

14) We might survive this. You laugh, I wasn't too convinced of this last night. But tonight, after a day on our own in this huge but magical city- we are going to be okay :)

Matryo-whaaaat?

Matryoshka dolls are the well known nesting dolls which fit inside each other and are very typically Russian. They follow a relationship of “object-within-similar-object” which is similar to the make-up of an onion. As Shrek would explain, “Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.”

Embarking on this journey to Moscow, I hope to uncover some of these layers which exist within myself through travelling and immersing myself in a completely different life other than the one I’ve been comfortable nesting in for the last 22 years.

As a little girl, I remember the feelings of absolute curiosity and delight as you discover that within this bigger wooden doll, there is a medium sized doll and within that doll, another could be found. Each doll with their own character and design; you could line them up and play “spot the difference” between them and test to see if the different top halves could fit on another bottom half. The solid, tiniest doll right in the centre is the one that intrigued me most. She was protected by all the other dolls that encompassed her so she must have been special.

Unpacking the layers of this Matryoshka doll is probably going to be the most interesting experience of them all seeing as the little doll has not ventured too far out of those protected layers before. So minimising her belongings to 30kgs and leaving who and what she knows behind, she’s taking the leap with two amazing (and very lively) friends to one of the coldest places in the world where the alphabet looks like little scribbles and all she knows about the people is what she’s seen in James Bond movies...we will probably have many “Matryo...whaaaat?!” moments so watch this space, it should get very interesting.