Moskva Plus

Hey, don't have a lot of time to write, because we're about to run to lunch, but it turns out that the window next to the elevators in my dorm is a WiFi hotspot. So I will definitely be able to keep in touch. B) I have some anecdotes about my wacky trip over here, so prepare for hijinks abound. :I /shot XD Later!

That is a weird place to have wifi XD glad you got there alright B) all I can say about New York (because this is the first time I've been here and haven't been sick and out of my mind on Benadryl--) is that most of it smells like pee. Most. :'I /SOB XD but I went to the met and saw two Klimt paintings and it was the coolest museum I've ever been to :')

Lol, apparently most of Moscow smells heavily of smog and B.O., but hooray for me, because I cannot smell it. B) XDD Let me tell you, this is a pretty not beautiful city. Especially compared to Piter. :I I still like it, though, and I'm glad you're having a seemingly good time thus far, too. Didn't have time to do any replies, but here are those little journal/anecdote-type things I was talking about:

On my way to Frankfurt as I write this; I figured if I type it now, I won't have to worry about having enough time to do so in the airport. Also, I'm terribly bored. :I I just so happened to meet a business student from Iowa on our flight who's also studying Russian. He's going to be staying in Kiev, with a Ukrainian family, and will be taking a side trip to Odessa. B) ...Unfortunately, beyond that, he didn't say anything noteworthy enough to mention (not that he wasn't a nice guy), because he's never been to Ukraine before, nor has he ever stayed with a host family. But anyways, it was an interesting coincidence. XD He didn't seem to know much about Ukraine, so I did my best to fill him in on some of the history. I don't feel like I did it justice, but oh well. :|

I just watched the newest Sherlock Holmes again, and am dying to draw Lev and Therese. XD But I'm in the middle seat (which I personally prefer over the window, though I do wish I has the aisle instead), and the people on either side of me are sleeping, so I don't want to turn on the light and bother them. But whenever I get the chance, I want to work on the design of Lev's hair. :I No major changes, but it's just such a bitch for me to draw, I need to do something about it. XD

Ugh, we still have three hours left. Time does not fly when you do. :I XD I tried to watch Hunt for Red October, but I was so baffled by the 'Russian' characters speaking something so obviously not Russian, that I had to stop the movie in bewilderment. :I

Finally get to Moscow after much motion sickness, and what do you know? Ten in our group never received their luggage, including myself. Great first adventure in Moscow. But I must say, it does make for quite the exercise in emergency language skills when a hoard of American kids are trying to negotiate with Russian officials. Our luggage will be delivered to our dorms sometime tomorrow, I'm told. [Update: Still is not here, will supposedly arrive today. Welcome to Russia. :I] Until then, we have to make do with no spare clothes, no toiletries (although I was lucky enough to have at least a toothbrush/toothpaste and some contact lens solution in my carryon), no spare shoes, no makeup, no...nothing. :| Also our bus driver got lost on the way to our dorm, and it took 2 hours and three or four circles around downtown to find it. I was so exhausted from no sleep in over a day and no food or water in ~9 hours, that I kept dropping in and out of consciousness. Let me tell you, it is utterly bizarre to fade in and out at intervals in a foreign country, only to see the same landmarks passing by each time. :I XDD

Also, my debit card is not working for withdrawing money from atm machines here, because apparently my pin # is too long for Russian standards. (Nobody ever told me that it's only supposed to be 4 digits, wtf--/sob) Thankfully I have several hundred in emergency cash that I can exchange tomorrow, but today I was totally broke in a country that virtually never uses credit cards. And I thought I would surely pass out from not eating or drinking anything, but my friends got me dinner. THANK YOU--/WEEP XD

Oh my god, Russia has the best avaloo (sour cherries). :') I bought a kilogram of them, and I admit that they are probably going to go bad if I don't share them with my roommate, but you know what? That bitch won't even let me borrow a t-shirt, even though I only have one set of clothes. So fuck her, these are my cherries. :I

Today, we toured the Moscow river, and of course, all the sights were beautiful, but I got what I really wanted: the ugly statue. Ohhhhhhhh yes, and it was ugly. B) What makes it even worse (or arguably better) is that it was originally intended to be a gift for America, celebrating the 500th year anniversary since America was discovered. So it was not Peter the Great, but Columbus who was on the statue. But America refused to take it, and so finally they had to sell it to Moscow, by changing it to the 300th anniversary of the Russian empire. So it is basically just Peter the great's head on Columbus's body. The clothes are hilariously inaccurate for the time period. :I XDDD

After the boat tour, they sprung a surprise Russian-speaking situation on us by taking us to a restaurant and sitting us with some Russian graduates. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable trying to communicate, but eventually we were able to get a conversation going. One of the girls was originally from Armenia, and she wanted my email address, so I'm hoping I made a good impression. :')

This evening some of the bags came in, and the guy I like got his, but third wheel and I didn't. So we were basically groveling at his feet to lend us some clothes. :I XD He gave me some pajamas to wear so that I could wash my day clothes for class and let them dry overnight, and... I would never do this normally, if I were wearing someone else's clothing, but I really could not stand to not wash my undergarments, so... :| I don't think I have ever done something so racy as sleep without underwear in the clothes of a guy I'm interested in. What he does not know will not hurt him. /SHOT Of course, I am going to wash them before returning them, but it still felt awfully bold, for me. XDD I have to say, while my biggest complaint is not having a razor, I do enjoy the dingy conditions of my dorm and, in a way, temporarily not having my luggage. Russia is a good lesson about living with less, and lesser quality. Which I really like-- XD

On the contrary, everything except the museum (remind me to attach pictures on the next one--) has been pretty terrible :I my parents have been fighting non-stop, it's been like 100 degrees outside, we've been walking 5+ miles a day, and people are very impolite-- not face-to-face, but just on the street people are rude as anything :I my fragile Midwestern psyche--/sob XD (there are also like, 3 gentleman's clubs and 5 porn shops on the street of our hotel and i keep thinking, like, "He's his father's son--!" XD And at the Met they had alot of pre-Colombian (I don't know if this umbrella phrase applies only to North America?) stuff from Java, so finally I got to see things like that B) ) I'm glad Moscow is.... All you expected it to be? XD 

FFFFFF A business student going to Ukraine? I guess if only for the sake of studying Russian that makes sense... Although I'm jealous of him, I really want to go to Kiev-- it's a big city but it's so colorful X) 

The rest of that sounds nightmarish though, I would have broken down to tears and refused to go on by then :I but maybe you are like me, and the bad luck always happens to fall on us. XD But that's weird, that you have to pay for your own food (as opposed to having your own dining plan paid in advance or something), but I guess they just do things differently in Russia, the "just take care of that shit yourself" kind of differently XD I hope you get your luggage soon, or at least I hope you're able to have luggage shipped to you and money wired to you ]: but I feel like once all that is over it's all downhill from there XD

LMAO I KNEW there had to be a hilarious story behind it-- XD that cracks me up, omg.  I wonder if it's the same time that the French gave the statue of liberty, that would make it even more funny, that it was just rejected XD That day sounds awesome B) 

And no, don't wash them, because that was probably his plan all along when he lent you those--/SHOT XD and I will take your word on that, because that all sounds unpleasant to me-- simple living is one thing, not having the minimum of what you're used to is another, to me XD

(Just to let you know, I'm not dead; I've had absolutely no time to sit down and write anything. :'I Maybe this week I'll have more time, since things have settled down a bit, and we've gotten the initial kinks of living in Moscow straightened out-- I can't wait to show you the photos I've got, though; I finally got to see some of the older parts of Moscow. B) )

OH good :') I was a bit worried, since last I heard from you you didn't have luggage or money, and I think one half of my brain's function... Is only worry :I but rationality persevered in the end XD and cool, can't wait to see B)

But HERE are just some things that aren't relevant enough for the longer conversation and that I'm afraid of forgetting so here they are-- Gonna have to draw Citra in the 60's, it is inevitable-- http://vanillaandlavender.tumblr.com/post/26664021402/bad-dominicana-two-indonesian-girls-in --especially since there was a big marriage reform movement by feminists in Indonesia at the same time XD but beehives B)

And I just realized what I see in my head for Piter. Maybe it's off, but Adrian Veidt from the Watchmen (movie--) looks... Scarily like him to me. Just... Bleached :I XD http://a3.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/9/b94a0c992d154194961635a0b8f7f320/l.jpg Not to mention he bills himself as "Ozymandias", the smartest man in the world and feels little to no empathy about destroying the world, aka, everyone who is less than him XD

And it took me forever to find this again because for some reason it wasn't in her archive :I but I don't think I would be a good friend if I didn't show you this XD http://fuckyeahlanguage.tumblr.com/post/20818559358/crime-and-punishment-comic-by-kate-beaton

Anyway, have a great time! B)

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(MOMENTARILY WORKING WIFI OH GOD MUST MAKE THE MOST OF IT--)

Nah, it all worked out in the end, although I did have to crack a few skulls at my bank (well, technically, over the phone--). It was not pretty. I may have gotten some people fired. :I /SHOT jk Although it really was quite the episode, lol. I had to pull a Darya. BI XD

FFFFFFF I swear, I just saw a lady in the metro yesterday with a beehive (not quite as fierce, of course; it was much smaller XDD) that I was digging so much. :I I can imagine Citra looking so cute with one, this needs to be drawn-- B| XD

HOLY SHIT. When I get home, I need to alter the colors on that photo, because it would be Piter, exactly. 8| You don't even know how much my eyes bugged out when I saw this-- XDD Also I love you forever for these Kate Beaton comics, words cannot even describe how wonderful they are. :| I think I almost cried from laughing at the one where he faints. It is so sadly accurate. XDDD

Btw, I was at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War yesterday and saw so many things I have to show you. They actually had a hall filled with the records of everyone who died, and these amazing murals, and monuments and--/SOB TOO MUCH-- /shotdown Seriously, though, I can't wait to spam you with pictures. :'I I got some Odessa- and Ukraine-related things, too. B)

(Just try to find people with plug-in hotspots and casually sit real close to them, sshhh--- XD)

You know, you have to crack a few skulls to make an omelette. Or that's what I always thought that saying was until someone corrected me-- XD

OMG I HOPE YOU GOT PICTURES OF THE PRETTY METROS. 8I but it turns out the beehive is actually canon-- because in the 1960s there was a huge feminist movement in Indonesia called Gerwani that was about (LOL) marriage reform... Which ended terribly but it got me to draw this-- https://2img.net/h/i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff481/baroquebaby/2e9c06a1.jpg Idk if it's cute, but-- XD

I was looking at a bunch of watchmen stuff (because aside from the horror that is Malin Akerman, it was a pretty good movie match to the book) and I saw that and was like, IS THIS REAL DID I WATCH THAT AND NOT SEE, HOW???

Speaking of lookalikes-- and I know I'm notorious for picking out one trait or so and saying they look so much like whoever-- I *finally* found the one person who has all the traits for Vesna, minus the color, of course XD the only problem is she was an actress in the 50s and 60s and thus was popular at every age and there are pictures where she looks different because she's older BUT... Vera Tschekowa!!!!!! http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/truusbobjantoo/7211019912/in/photostream/ I cannot contain my happiness :'I XD I must learn to draw as close to her appearance as possible BI

What, that should not even be a "btw--", it should be an "OH MY GOD I GOT TO SEE THIS--" XD Shame on you for saying all this and not presenting the pictures BI /shot XD but that sounds so awesome :') I bought that Odessa catacombs commemorative pin, along with a cheburashka one from 1970 and a ww1 one and another I can't remember XD

And speaking of Great Patriotic War, I here's Vesna before it-- https://2img.net/h/i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff481/baroquebaby/8f0d94a9.jpg -- when she was head of the Young Pioneers.... Which pretty much indoctrinated Cosim to communism but also to busty blondes in uniforms :I XD
But more seriously just shows how drastically she would have changed, after it... Plus the fact that the Romanians took over the Young Pioneers headquarters (Vorontsov Palace) and made it their base of war operations in Odessa, so isn't that just poignant as hell :I

I have been listening to a whole lot of young pioneer songs-- and this one, "May there always be sunshine"... The YouTube version has kids singing and then all of a sudden this guy with a deep booming voice sings about soldiers (soldat, right?) or something... And every time I just burst out laughing because all I see is Lidiya and Cosim singing together :I XD

Also I have been thinking of something to write about with Vesna and Piter as children where she convinces him or more likely forces him to do the kids' ritual Blood Brothers (where they cut their hands and put them together in like a bonding thing XD)... And I'm trying so hard to connect it to something modern or contemporary with them but it's so, so difficult when one of them doesn't have a conscience :I XD idk why I'm telling you this when you probably won't be able to get back to me for a while but I miss texting you when I could get instant inspiration or suggestions-- XD I'm also half done with a picture of those two as kids-- piter is "laughing" and vesna is just copying him because that's probably what she did to annoy people 50% of the time XD

Anyway, next reply better be ALL pictures, Shayesteh, or ELSE :I /SHOT XD uuggghh I am still so happy for you, you have no idea :') have fun-- even though I have probably said that 1000 times XD <3

(And sorry this is SO LONG it is just so much information backed up that I couldn't just text you-- XD)

Don't worry, I got your text can't wait to talk to you again! <3

Oh shit, I hope you didn't get it multiple times; I kept resending the text because it said it wasn't going through. :| /shoots self in the foot Anyways, I'll be back soon! <3