Having had to adjust to many changes since arriving in Moscow, I’ve found that some aspects of the life of a college student here are familiar to me, while others are quite foreign; finding something to eat is one area of daily life that embodies this simultaneous similarity and contrast. MSU is both familiar and […]
When I arrived from the airport and first saw Moscow State University’s campus, a little more than two weeks ago, I was thrilled by the sheer size of the main building, looming above the gate, emblazoned with lights in the darkness. Coming from a small liberal arts school in a small town, I knew that […]
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 […]
I have never been abroad before, so as I flew over the Atlantic on FinnAir, there were many things on my mind. Chief among them was my language ability. Having not taken an intense Russian language course in over a year, I was worried that upon arrival I wouldn’t understand a word anyone said, that […]
Although the amount of food I have grown to like has certainly expanded since I got to Carleton, I would still consider myself a picky eater. At Carleton I could get away with being somewhat selective when I went to the dining halls and I almost never had problems finding something I wouldn’t put in […]
Moscow State University’s main building at night. Owen Yager photo. On the top floor of Moscow State University’s main building, a 790 foot Stalinist behemoth, sits the Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University (Muzei Zemlevedeniya MGU, in Russian). I realize, as I walked around the museum, how odd it was be looking at something […]
Walking to my dorm from class at Moscow State University: A Photo Guide One of the first things I notice when I walk out of our class building is the large monument right outside. It is very tall and noticeable, and I have yet to see the fire inside go out. I like how “in […]
“Where are you from? Why would you ever want to study Russian? Do you like Moscow? Who are you?” These are the questions I’m greeted with each day as I make my way around the city, talking to servers at restaurants, coaches at gymnastics gyms, Russian students who live on my floor at МГУ (Moscow State […]
After a couple of weeks at Moscow State University (MGU in Russian), I still find it crazy that I live in a skyscraper. Our dorm rooms are in the massive 31-story “Glavnoye Zdanye” (GZ), or Main Building, of the university. I was convinced for the whole first week I was here that the path between […]
MSU is decidedly not Carleton. Of course, you have the obvious differences. Московский государственный университет (МГУ, or Moscow State University/MSU for you Westernizers) is home to approximately 47,000 students, undergraduates and postgraduates. Carleton, small but mighty, enrolls around 2000 students. To put these numbers in perspective, the building/dormitory in which we’re living at МГУ, Главное […]