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 your face” it is. The monument is dedicated to the students who fought and died in World War II.
This is the view of our dormitory from in front of the WWII monument. It’s pretty grand, and even after two weeks here, walking up to it intimidates the small-town Minnesotan girl inside of me.
The blue fenced in area in front of our dorm, similar to the bald spot at Carleton, is a place meant for outdoor recreation! When I took these photos, there was about two feet of snow inside the arena though, so it’s probably more commonly used in the spring and summer. The walls look a lot like a hockey arena, but there are basketball nets all along the outer edge. The day that I’m writing this is one of the first very warm days we’ve had since we arrived, and there were students playing basketball out there today. It had the same refreshing feel to see those boys playing basketball as it does to see the first frisbee bros out on the bald spot tossing a disc around. You know spring has arrived!
Just past the basketball “courts” is a little jungle gym! It’s been very entertaining to see the kind of people who use the jungle gym, because unlike what I expected, the target audience seems to be adult men. And I mean any adult, from students at Moscow State University, to men who look to be in their 50s or even 60s. The jungle gym isn’t really a playground it seems, but a workout gym for these men. I’ve seen a lot of them doing pullups (the most popular) and have seen some tricep dips, leg lifts, situps, etc. Maybe as the weather changes more kids will appear.
There are a few garbage cans lining the sidewalk on the way back to the dorm, and most of the content within looks the same: miscellaneous trash with a lot of cigarette butts. Smoking here is very common. When we first arrived, the students showing us around told us that smoking was prohibited anywhere on campus, but that everyone did it. And low and behold, I can almost guarantee that anytime I look out my dorm window, there will be someone smoking outside.
МГУ also feels like a very safe place to me. From the security guards in our academic building, to the security guards outside of the main building, to the other security workers on the bottom floor of our building, to the kind ladies who live on our floor and are always around if we need anything, I feel like this campus has got us all pretty safe. The foreboding gates surrounding our main building and other parts of campus make it feel more secluded and safe though.
A beautiful sight to see! Green transportation! This little bike rack is located immediately to the right of the door to our dorm. I can’t wait until the weather is warm enough that people will start taking out their bikes and using them. This is probably the most alike-to-Carleton view I’ve found. I wonder if bike theft is common at all on this campus…
Ah, and last but not least: a photo from our dorm lounge of my favorite resident: Archie the cat! Yes, his owners are Russian and named him Archie, a definitely not-Russian name. He’s kind of like the resident Lyman of our floor, but a bit more loving and with a bit more character. He has a limp in one of his front paws from when he fell (jumped?) out of a window. I didn’t actually hear the story, but we live on the ninth floor, so if he jumped from there then he’s quite the survivor. He likes to try to escape into the elevators and make his owners worried. (Sounds a lot like Lyman in that respect, no? Not the elevators part).
