Summer in Moscow

Back to the Land of Crispy Bacon

I suppose this will be my last post. I can’t believe the last ten weeks have gone by so fast. I’m writing from my parents’ apartment in Ankara. My last day in Moscow definitely made me tear up a little bit. My boss had a goodbye party as his apartment for me with everyone from our office and the other interns. His wife and him have their own sandwich business on the side, so there was fresh bread for all of us to eat. He then made a speech for me. It was the nicest thing someone has said about me in a while. I’ve learned so much this summer, about the State Department and about myself. Talking with my colleagues and the other interns has really helped me figure out what I want to do with my life. I’ve decided that I want to join the foreign service. Actually, I knew that before this summer but it has reinforced that decision. I’ve met a lot of great people this summer, gotten some helpful advice and had the time of my life. I bet I’ll be back in Russia next year. I can’t seem to stay away. Thanks for reading my blog. I’m back to the US tomorrow and back to William and Mary on the 26th. Can’t wait! 

The Last weekend

So, my last weekend in Russia got off to a great start. On Friday, I had interview in the Moscow Zoo and then a reporter from the German Chamber of Commerce interviewed me. Ha. So back to the Zoo interview. Yup, it was actually in the zoo. I interviewed a representative from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service on their small grants program to Russian nature reserves… in the ZOO. USFWS has formed a strong relationship with the Moscow Zoo over the years, so they allow any representatives to stay in their dacha at the zoo. This place was sick. Then, after the interview he let me out the back door so I could enjoy the zoo бесплатно (Freeeeee!).

The interview with the reporter from the German Chamber of Commerce was really interesting. He asked me a variety of questions about my internship here, what I want to do after graduation, whether i like Russian culture etc etc. I couldn’t keep myself from sweating, I was surprisingly really nervous. I think a made a few good comments… The rest were rather embarrassing, but luckily the article isn’t only about me. The reporter is interviewing interns from other countries as well. Whew.

After a day of interviews I had dinner at the American Embassy Bar (oh yeah we have one) with some lovely people. Due to my disaster last weekend (the whole stolen wallet thing) this couple let me borrow 500 dollars for my remaining 2 weeks here. Funny enough, they taught me how to scuba dive in Greece 6 years ago. One should always remember, never burn bridges because you never know who will help you out.

Saturday was a hilarious day. I spent the morning at this Russian market a little outside of the city. Due to my lack of funds, I was looking for cheap gifts for my boyfriend and everyone else. I came back successful. After the market, my friends and I jumped on a river boat cruise around the city. It was a hour and half trip full of great sights. I forgot my camera of course, but I plan to steal pictures later from the other interns.

Following the boat tour, we all went to Starlight Diner for an American feast! I know what you’re thinking, I’m in Russia why exactly would I want to eat diner food? Easy. Because it’s delicious and growing up in Moscow, it was the big hang-out spot for my friends and I. It was definitely a good way to spend my last weekend here.

I’m heading out to the Tretyakov Art Gallery in a few minutes. I love art, particularly Russian art and especially by myself. I think big groups of people visiting art galleries ruins the experience. This gallery has a lot of famous artists and some of my famous paintings. Wish me luck!

It’s the final countdown….

*cue dramatic music*

So I’m coming up on my final week in Moscow. I’ve been here for 9 weeks now and I can’t believe I’m almost done. That being said, I’m ready to go home. Last friday, my wallet was stolen out of my purse at a club. Thus you can understand…..

 As much as I felt violated and well rather inconvenienced… part of me feels like I’ve officially spent a summer in Russia. I’ve had friends get pick pocketed, mugged or something stolen. It’s like a right of passage for those interested in Russian affairs and culture. So I’m not going to let it affect my last weekend here. My parents wired me some money, so I’m good to go.

Things around the office are getting busier and busier. It’s strange to think that I have only a week left here, but my boss is not letting me go so easily. I’ve been assigned a report on environmental education so through out the next week, I’ll be interviewing various NGO leaders and government officials. In fact, I’m attending a meeting with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to discuss their contact with Russian Nature Reserves. I expect that I’m going to have barely any time next week but I’m excited. This report will actually be an official document sent to Washington. Talk about something cool that I can show for my summer here in Russia….

Tomorrow, I’m getting interviewed by a German news magazine. I’m not even kidding.

Back when Obama was in town, I helped out with the Public Affairs section. The officer that I worked with primarily in that section, forwarded my name to this magazine… and there ya go. I’m looking at the interview questions as we speak, “Where are you from?”, “Are you russian nerd?” “What are the biggest differences betwen Russian and American culture?”…. This should be interesting. Maybe I’ll get a copy of the article?

 IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!

Welcome to the Circus

Last night I attended the Britney Spear’s concert here in Moscow. It was simply amazing!!!!! The tickets were overpriced, from about $60 dollars and up. Thus with my salary of $0 dollars, my friend Alison and I went for nose-bleed seats. That being said, it didn’t really matter. Britney’s concert is so extravagant, that you have to sit far away to really get the full experience. (which we did ! There may have been some chair dancing involved…) I was suprised to see the concert so full. Who knew that Russians were so obsessed with Britney as I was. Strangely enough, a lot of them were just standing still. I looked with envy at the dance floor audience just to see them standing. Really? For britney? Not cool. Either way it was a fantastic concert. Britney’s experience in Russia on the other hand was not that fantastic. Check out this article from the Moscow Times:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1013/42/379682.htm

 Also, for all those Obama people -

Thats me in the right corner laughing at Michelle’s joke. *Squeal!*

Best Week Ever!

Hello all! The past week here in Moscow has been the most fun I’ve had all summer! It kept me from posting, but it was amazing. I’ll give you a run down of the events. In the past week I have:

•  Celebrated the Fourth of July…Russian Style in a huge park just outside of Moscow.
  • There were fireworks, hamburgers and gaudy American costumes. On a slightly negative note, due to our diplomatic plates… our tires were slashed. However, we danced to Michael Jackson until the tow-truck arrived.
• Met the President of the United States and the First Lady!
  • No joke. President Obama arrived in Moscow on July 6th, and began a whirlwind trip here around town. Graciously, Obama made time to do a meet-and-greet with US Embassy employees. Thus, yours truly got to shake his hand and ask Michelle Obama how she liked Moscow. I still can’t believe it.
• Heard President Obama speak on human rights and civil society.
  • One of the nice (or bad) things about the Embassy here in Moscow is that its understaffed. Thus, when I volunteered to help with the Presidential visit, I got pulled into the Public Affairs section instead of helping with EST. I was tasked with helping P.A accommodate Russian press for President Obama’s speech at the civil society summit. It was amazing to 1) meet and talk with reporters and white house staff and 2) hear our president speak on things our country holds dear. Barack Obama began his career as a community organizer, and developing such work here in Russia would be extraordinary.
• Greeted WM Russia Study Abroad Students at the US Embassy
  • Many of my Russian Studies classmates are currently studying at the state university in St. Petersburg, Russia. Last Friday, they arrived in Moscow for the weekend. (IT WAS GREAT!) As a child of foreign service diplomats, I sometimes think I don’t realize the opportunities I have for free advice about careers in the Foreign Service. Thus, I invited my classmates into the embassy for various briefings on what we do and a tour of the grounds. It was really cool to show them what I’ve been doing the past 6 weeks.
• Went to a Russian Rap Concert.
  • Totally not kidding. Russian rap is about the coolest thing to listen to while here in Moscow. That and some serious techno/trance. My roommate told me about the concert and then I hooked up a few of the WM kids. KASTA is a four person rap group that raps about anything from love to Obama (strangely enough I’m pretty sure I heard his name… or maybe I was still star-truck from meeting him :O) The concert was amazing, and I promptly went out and bought their CD.
• Attended a Russian National Dance Extravaganza!
  • The WM kids ended up with an extra ticket to a HUGE dance show highlighting Russian dance from every region. I of-course jumped at the chance, and was delighted to witness a dancing chicken (who knew?!)
• Purchased Britney Spears Tickets!
  • Also not a joke. Britney is performing on the 21st of July here in Moscow for the FIRST time EVER! Mocking aside, she’s an amazing performer and I’ve wanted to see her in concert since I first heard her music back in 2000. More on that after the concert
• Purchased Tickets to St. Petersburg
  • The WM kids left Sunday after a wonderful weekend. They did get me thinking that its about time I headed up north to visit St. Pete. I studied there at the same university in 2007, and I had the time of my life. I arrive in St. Pete at 11 pm on Friday, and I can’t wait! Interestingly enough, I’m traveling by myself. However, I prefer it that way. Its more of an adventure that way…. My dad backpacked around Europe when he was in college by himself. Its actually my goal to do the same after I graduate. (I’ll figure out money later :O)

And that catches you up to today!

That donkey’s dreams just came true…

On Sunday night, I went to a showing of the ballet Don Quixote at the new stage of the Bolshoi Theater. My parents used to drag me to the ballet all the time when I was younger, so this definitely wasn’t my first show. However, seeing ballet and or opera as a grownup is a completely different experience. It was FANTASTIC. Many of you have probably read or heard of the story of Don Quixote…..well the ballet is completely different. Don Quixote is a minor character, who leers, points and stumbles his way around during very short moments through out the show. Its mostly a mix of Spanish inspired dance and ballet. The show is centered around two star crossed lovers and how their worlds want to tear them apart. Either way, the costumes were amazing.  I got a few pictures in during the bows at the end, but other than that Flash cameras are strictly forbidden (seriously ).

Three weeks ago, one of the interns from the political section invited me on behalf of one of her colleagues. This political officer had actually seen the show four times before, and wanted to show it to us interns as well.  This sort of guidance and help is something that’s become a typical thing here at the embassy. At intermission, the officer and us three interns had a wonderful glass of champagne and some caviar. I always feel classy at the ballet no matter what I do.

So, I know this post has been completely cultural and has no mention of my internship…. But it was necessary. The ballet show used live animals (thus the title of this post). A huge white horse and a cute little donkey carried Don Quixote and his sidekick onstage.  The donkey’s little tail went back and forth in almost glee. Seeing the ballet this weekend reminded me that I should be careful to not forget about exploring Russia. This internship has been amazing and has given me a lot of experience. But I’m not sure when I’ll be back in Russia. So… I’m buying train tickets to Nizhny Novogorod on Saturday and ballet tickets to SPARTACUS!

Old Friends, New Memories

So, I know my blog posts are getting further and further apart. Sorry about that. I’m on my fourth week here in Moscow and work is getting busier and busier.  My boss has tasked me with writing various briefing papers for the Presidential visit in two weeks. Yes, Obama is coming to Moscow. (squeal!) I’ll have to write more on that later though. The embassy is working real hard to prepare for his arrival, and luckily that means more work for me to do. Such as going to the Ritz Carlton last night in place of my boss for a reception because she was too busy talking to main state in D.C. Oh Poooooor me! LOL!

The title of my post doesn’t refer to Obama, as much as I would like him to be my friend….. Sigh… But actually, this last week I was lucky enough to meet up with an old friend from high school. My friend, Anthony and I first met in 1998 in 5^th grade at the Anglo American School of Moscow. Strangely enough, Anthony and I met again in high school when our parents returned to Moscow from 2006-2008. We graduated high school together and have kept in touch ever since.

As a foreign service kid, a diplobrat if you will, its been hard for me to stay in touch with friends once I leave post especially the international kids who often ended up going to college outside of the US. Anthony is British and ended up attending SOAS University in London specializing in Middle Eastern studies, specifically Arabic. As someone who is specializing in Russian and Eurasian studies, I didn’t expect to see him again. However, I was able to meet up with him in London in January on my way back to the US. He’s a great guy.  

Once I heard that I was headed back to Moscow, I immediately sent Anthony an email hoping his dad was still working in Moscow. He was and Anthony was already going back to see him! Thus Anthony and I spent a fun week meeting up during his visit. We also had lunch with his dad who is a very powerful and interesting man. Mr. Zielicki is works for a Russian firm that controls BP Oil here in Moscow, so it was so cool to pick his brain. I’m planning on inquiring about another lunch date with him to introduce him to some of the other interns here.  Anthony’s father has a lot of powerful contacts….

Anthony and I did a lot of things during his time here that we actually did in high school. Boy was that trippy.  Being the youngest intern here, I feel so young most of the time. But going back to my old high school hang outs with Anthony made me feel old and professional. Guess this is what it feels like to be a senior in College. Time to be important… Sigh.. Poor Me. Haha. Anthony left Sunday, so now its back to the grind for me. The other interns and I are having a group dinner tomorrow, and I’m going to make one of my  mac – n –cheese boxes that I brought over from the US.  I can’t wait!

Scientists, Academics and Food.. Oh my!

Whew! What a week I’ve had. Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of scientific cooperation between the Russian Academy of Sciences and the American National Academy of Sciences. My office (of Environment, Science and Technology) isn’t a member of either academy, but we were still vital in the celebrations this week. There have been meetings, lunches and receptions all this week at the Russan Academy of Sciences. All of the presentations have been really interesting, on anything from climate change to stem cell research. One Russian scientist even exclaimed how happy he was that Obama was going to federally fund stem cell research again.

 Last night was the big shebang of the week. The US Ambassador John Beyrle held a reception at Spaso House (his house which is really old and full of history). HE SPEAKS AMAZING RUSSIAN. Seriously. He was his own interpretor, switching back and forth in both english and russian. Ambassador Beyrle is also fluent in Bulgarian and probably numerous other languages. He’s brilliant. For the reception, my office was able to successfully organize a message from Secretary of State Clinton congradulating both academies for their cooperation. In my opinion, Ambassador Beyrle’s was as impressive. But it was cool to be there witnessing a message from Hillary Clinton herself.

 Thanks to the reception, I’ve realized that I need to work on my confidence when speaking Russian… and well at all receptions in general. My bosses were busy canoodling and greeting guests. So I was left mostly to my own devices. At this reception were hundreds of brilliant and talented scientists in various fields from US and Russia. And well, I was intimidated. I’ve never had to use my Russian with scientisits before, especially those with Ph.Ds. I’m not sure why I was so nervous, but I was. Therefore I occupied my time by sampling all of the delicious hors d’oeuvres that were availabe thanks to the Ambassador’s personal chef. I’m in a social sorority at William and Mary where through recruitment, I’ve perfected “mingling” at parties. I’m going to get my confidence back…. Soon.

 Ya know, there has never been a female ambassador to Russia. Check it out :

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Ambassador_to_Russia

One could get used to those hors d’oeurves……

Dinamo! Dinamo! Dinamo!

Dinamo is the name of the local soccer club here in Moscow, and yesterday all of us interns (there are now 8 of us) trudged out to see the second game of the season. For some reason, I’m not a big soccer fan in the US…. But when I’m overseas… You can’t keep me away from a good football match. I think its because over here, the aura truly is contagious. For a lot of these fans, they live, drink, eat and breathe football.

I spent two weeks in Turkey before arriving in Moscow, and I was lucky enough to score tickets for the UEFA Final cup (Between Germany’s Wender Bremen and the Ukraine’s Shocktar). My friend and I bought scalped tickets for a ridiculous price but it was definitely worth it. For yesterdays game, us interns were able to score free tickets from the Embassy.  A word to the wise, if you are a new state department intern at an embassy overseas… don’t forget to check out the Community Liason Office (CLO). They always have a good idea for what to do on the weekend, or even free tickets to well anything.

The day started at the military language specialist’s house (He’s hired through a different system, and isn’t really an intern since he’s paid. He speaks fluent russian.)  He made borsch, blini (russian crepes) and salad (A delicious russian meal!). We knew we had to eat up because it was going to be a long day. After, we left for the game which unfortuanately was really far out there. The usual stadium was under construction, so we had to take the metro one hour out of the city (MOSCOW is a huge city, let me tell ya…) We all stayed pumped up, so we barely noticed the distance.

I was expecting seas of fans storming their way to and through the stadium. In fact, there was barely anyone there at all. I guess most russians (maybe all europeans?) aren’t interested in the first matches of the season. Dinamo was playing Kuban, a team from out in Siberia, but even they had a small contingent of fans.Either way, it was a great   experience for us. Because after the match began, we are able to move way down to see more of the action. Dinamo actually played a little poorly, and lost the match to Kuban. Before the game, a lot of us were able to buy jerseys of Dinamo so commiserated along with all the other bummed out fans. Even though we lossed, it was a fun day.

What is this Climate Change you speak of?

In my section at the embassy we focus solely on policy and issues concerning Environment, Science and Technology in Russia. For the summer, I’ll be working on Environmental issues (something that I don’t know much about, but I’m learning). But my title isn’t in regards to my own knowledge, its to how we take for granted our own knowledge of ways to prevent the emission of greenhouse gases.

Today, I was tasked to summarize a current briefing paper for visiting dignitaries on Climate Change in Russia and US-Russia bilateral cooperation on it. I was surprised (but not too much) to find out that there are barely any domestic programs to combat CO2 emissions in Russian homes. On my every day jaunt through the metro, I’ve seen a few ads against smoking or littering but not much about energy conservation. For one of the greatest producers of oil (besides Saudia Arabia) you think they would be concerned with conserving their resources. In the documents I read today, it was all about energy efficiency, not decreasing pollution. In fact Russia is the third largest emitter of green house gases, the largest of those under the Kyoto agreement.  You think our SUVs are damaging, lets talk about post-soviet factories… Granted, its not all disappointing. The Russians have done a lot in recent years to save the Arctic and to conserve their lakes, streams and forests. Logging for instance is one of the big emitters of CO2, but the Russians have taken steps to decrease that. My office has a strong relationship between Wildlife Without Borders (Based in Alaska) and various Russian Environmental Ministries.