About My Blog

It seems as though when most Americans think of Russia they think of the USSR, the GULAGs, Siberia, and the Cold War. When I tell people that I'm going to be studying in Moscow this semester, the range of responses has been from How exciting! to Why? to Isn't that scary?(with a lot of the isn't that scary responses coming from my mother, but from a fair number of other people, too). It seems as though the public perception of Russia is of a country that is cold and backwards and is filled with people who are cold and uncaring.

And, really, this isn't entirely untrue. My guidebook talks quite a bit about how Murphy's Law seems to pervade small parts of everyday life in Russia (the Museum you're planning on visiting is closed even though the website said it would be open, the hot water in your apartment might randomly shut off, etc.). It also warns against smiling too frequently, as this will mark you as a foreigner. And so, it is because of all of this that I've decided to name my blog "A Dark, Dangerous Trip of Danger and Darkness," with the color scheme consisting of black and white and grey.

And yet, hopefully it's obvious that the title is tongue-in-cheek. I would not be going to Russia if I didn't think it would be a lot of fun, if I thought it would be truly dangerous, or something that I wouldn't enjoy. Right after the guidebook warns against smiling in public, it explains that Russians have, in general, learned to put up a stiff front when out in public as a guard against the endless bureaucratic red-tape, their history of having a secret police, the bitter cold winters, overly expensive groceries, etc. HOWEVER, the guidebook continues, despite that Russians appear cold, "Russians are very warm and giving once you get to know them in their apartments on a more personal level."

This is what I hope to represent in my blog. I have put up a guard of a title that sarcastically mocks the idea that my trip to Russia could be anything but wonderful and fun (I default to sarcasm, being an American 20 year old), but I hope that behind the exterior of black, white, and grey this blog will be a genuine representation of my stay in Moscow.

I know that I will get lost (Moscow is supposed to be HUUUUGE), and I will get homesick, and the food will upset my stomach (this happens pretty much whenever you travel anywhere with different dietary norms), and then some of those unforeseen bad things my guidebook keeps warning me about will happen. And I will blog about that. But I'll also blog about my host family, and how getting lost on the subway led me to this really cool restaurant, and all the excursions I go on. So, it'll be fun. This is me inviting you to follow me as I continually get lost in Russia (over and over again), and as I find things along the way.

This is a map of the Moscow Metro. My college is on the yellow line, on the ride side of the map (around Perovo, if you can read the small type).