Siberia to me always sounded like a desolate, cold, uninhabited place with little to no vegetation. The areas we drove through and cities we visited certainly did not have all those traits, but they certainly still felt Siberian, even though I have no accurate or even correct idea of what makes a place actually “Siberian”. […]
I tried my best to go for a run frequently in Russia, and I am a little disappointed with how infrequent it actually turned out to be, but the times I was able to were extremely memorable. In Moscow, all my runs were along the Moscow river, and I usually would run northeast toward Gorki […]
At my last piano lesson of the winter term this year, I had a discussion with my teacher about how I want to improve as a pianist, and the main thing we both decided to improve during my next two years was how to do more than simply play a piece. I had played in […]
I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect to think or feel when visiting the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery or the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. I figured that because I have no personal connection to anything related to the war in Russia, I would not be able to connect with either of these two […]
The Presnenskii neighborhood is located right in the center of Moscow. It is a large neighborhood, home to many interesting buildings, parks, and monuments. The first time we went to the region, we got off the metro at 1905 Street, and were immediately confronted by a huge monument to the 1905 Revolution. It takes up […]
Vladimir and Suzdal were a breath of fresh air from the constant bombardment to the senses that is Moscow. The differences in density, structures, and building usages all vary between the cities, and I think understanding these differences, albeit very obvious ones, were crucial in my shaping my experience in both Vladimir and Suzdal, and […]
A great way to start making generalizations about the differences between Russian and American cultures is to compare their politics, economies, and media. I’m not qualified to write about any of that, but if it makes it any better, my sweeping generalization is something rather superficial, and perhaps non-controversial. In my short time here in […]