стоп

стоп means stop. It's actually pronounced that way as well. That is how the signs at intersections are marked in moscow. My Russian alphabet skills have come in handy so far. The weather here is gorgeous, and since my flight got in about eight hours before everybody else's, my professor, Gwynn, and I are being given a private tour of the motherland's capital by a local guy that works for CCUSA.

Almost all of the metro stations have some kind of monument marking them. My roommate in the hotel is another program participant from Australia. Should be interesting. Can't drink the water here. No windows in the airport, but the city is much brighter than I had imagined.

Once again, this 800 year old city boasts a fascinating blend of ancient and contemporary architecture. So far we ate a restaurant called my-my [moo moo]. I had some weird Russian wild mushroom salad and these little cheesecake things with strawberry dipping sauce. I really need to pull my camera out and start taking pictures.

After lunch, we walked up the street to see the old KGB building and a beautiful little russian orthodox church. There are hundreds of some kind of tree here that are giving off small wisps of cotton-like seed pods, so although it is a clear sunny day, it looks like its snowing. Next I believe we are headed to red square. I'm excited to see Lenin and the Kremlin.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post another entry, but I will try to do so sooner than later. Certainly I will have had some time to be able to offer a better sample of writing.