Moscow 1 Million : Abby 0

Monday I skipped ballet to run some errands.  I am sure you are wondering why I have to skip something that is an hour long to run errands.  It takes at least 30 minutes to get to ballet and then to get back, so that is an additional hour.  Also, for me to run my errands it takes at least 30 minutes to get to my destination and then home, so that is also an hour.  Not to mention that you are exhausted by the time you are done, the metro and the rude people are enough to make you feel the need to relax when you get home.  

We are going to a Halloween party on Saturday.  I was in hopes to find Owen a Halloween costume other than the horse that was handed down to him.  No such luck.  I am not sure if he will be the horse (with a broken neigher) or if he will go as a Hog fan (lots of Hog gear).  I obviously didn't put much thought into Halloween in July when I left the US.  The only thing I found in his size was a neon orange fox.  I will leave you to ponder that one.  I had very little hope to find anything so this did not get me down.  So maybe instead of Moscow 1 we will give her 1/2.  

What did defeat me those was the fact that I was not able to find any of the goods I wanted to make Halloween appropriate treats to take.  There are so many fun ideas out there; mummy dogs, voodoo cookie, eye of newt.  But NO I live in a country where it is hard to find the ingredients that I need.  I really wanted to make mummy dogs.  Hot dogs, check!  crescent rolls, no check!  So plan B:  pumpkin dip, out of pumpkin, no cool whip, no vanilla pudding mix, no nilla wafers.  Okay so plan C:  eye of newt, eggs, yep!  mayonnaise, of course, sweet pickle relish, NOPE!!!  Sweet pickles yes but not relish.  (and no I am not making it).  At the same note there is no food coloring for anything.  So I left Stockman's very defeated.  I will be making apple smiles.  Cute yes but not what I wanted to bring.  I will be stopping at the bakery on the way to bring something in addition.  So after this visit I feel that Moscow was at probably 5 billion.  Okay maybe just 3 but still.  

Now on to the Metro.  After riding the Metro you always feel like you have hit bottom.  Okay not always but a good portion of the time.  And yes I keep submitting myself to it, but compared to the traffic here I will gladly take the metro with a few complaints.  Walking into the metro station this woman was in front of me.  She held the door open just long enough to let it slam in my face.  And with the wind here it is a true slam.  So I then think let me move quickly to push her out of my way.  Of course I am thwarted at every turn.  She cuts me off to get on the escalator then to get on the train.  Then a woman gets up I move to sit and there she is again stealing my seat.  I am a bit frustrated at this point but I wait and a seat opens up so I sit for the next two stops.  At this point vengeance, sweet vengeance came along.  A man that was too large for the non existent spot came along and crammed his way into sitting by the woman.  Ohhh!!! She gave him a bad look!  The Lord kept telling me:  Abby do not retaliate!  :)  

So all in all I felt depleted.  Moscow has won again! I have a feeling this is not the last battle either!

Ballet

The opportunity became available for me to take private ballet lessons from a professional ballerina that performed at the Bolshoi Theatre.  I loved dance when I was growing up and this is an opportunity that not everybody gets, so I thought sure why not.  I do believe I am a in a bit over my head.  She teaches in her apartment and it is a small wooden floor space with a bar.  This small space is more than enough to do the techniques that she went over.  If only I was a good dancer to learn these techniques.  Even though I can say I took lessons for 13 years DOES NOT mean a thing.  She is way more advanced than this girl that learned ballet in little ole Conway, Arkansas.  I will be sure to tell you that I was not in shape growing up and taking dance after 10 years of not dancing and having a baby, I am surely not in shape now.  She would show me where my grande battement should be.  Let me tell you my grande battement didn't go there when I was younger.  I will do this a bit more but will actively look for group class.  I am a bit sore in places I did not know I could be sore in.  Great lesson and will always remember, but boy I am out of my league.

Oh the toys!

I love Fridays.  No longer because it is the end of the work week but because I get to take Owen to baby playgroup.  Most of the kiddos in there are around the 2 year mark but that doesn't stop Owen from having fun.  One he gets to play with new toys and lots of them.  We have not bought a lot of toys here for the shear fact that you need to take out a loan to buy them.  Okay not that bad but they are still much pricier than in the US.  For example, we bought a bag of 100 play balls for Owen.  In the US it is $9.99 at Toys R Us here it cost 1300 rubles which is roughly $40.  Don't worry Owen is not deprived on toys!

So on Friday we arrive at Mommy Renee's and sweet baby girl Arianna's (14 mths) house.  She has toys that Owen is in love with.  He played with basketball hoop set to make his daddy proud.  Then he moved onto the tunnel and tent set.  He wouldn't get out of it.  So I do believe this will be our next purchase.  He loved a pull along Brio duck, and a Mickey Mouse that moves and dances.  Mickey did attack him a bit so he is not so sure about him.  Owen will play with some of the kids and then just does his own thing too.  He is such a good boy.  Of course while we are there he is the only kid that decides to venture to an outlet instead of the mass amount of toys nearby.  Hmmpfh boys!!!

I love baby playgroup too.  There are a great group of women there.  It is nice to talk to them each week and get ideas and advice on raising your baby in a foreign country.  Some of their kiddos are getting older.  I will hate to see them go when it is time for them to go to school.  Maybe we can convince them to have more :)

Monday Monday

Mondays are easy days easing into a busy week.  owen and I play all morning and then he naps for a while and then plays some more.  The most difficult thing on Mondays is my Russian lesson.  It is an hour and a half long.  That is about an hour and a half too long.  It does not take long for my brain to be taxed.  I am picking up conversation but I can tell you that unless somebody asks me my name I will not be able to answer them.  This is a very tough language.  Not to mention my brain is apparently against learning.  And I sure don't have any discipline to actually do the homework and study.  I am glad I am not taking a test in Russian.  I think Owen will pick it up way before I do.  I am working on numbers and hello and goodbye with him.  But did I mention I am also teaching him the basics with Spanish.  You know start them early.  :)  Of course maybe I should give him a little bit of a break, he is only 9 months old.  

He is becoming very independent.  Feeding himself the bottle and finger foods.  He loves to grab the computer and do everything he is not supposed to do.  

I guess I will go ahead and write about today, Tuesday.  I am not sure which days to write about since everybody reads this much earlier than me.  Today I went to Bible Study.  We are studying 1 Peter.  A great book.  I am amazed at Bible Study to see all the nationalities together to study the Lord's word.  It is quite a trek to the apartment that it is held at.  You take the metro and switch colors and then walk for about 15 minutes.  Metro green line (where I live) is fine it is the red line that I switch to that is not so great.  There are way too many people on it.  You are crammed in so much that you sway together as the tram moves.  Not to mention a woman stepped on my foot today with her spiky boots.  And then she gave me a bad look when I bumped into her.  Because I can control that!  Walking 15 minutes is not bad it is the fact that soon I know this will be the artic tundra and then the walk will be bad.   I remind myself that Bible Study is worth any obstacles to get there.  And today I met a friend that lives near me so we will be able to hold each other accountable.  

After Bible Study I come home and play with Owen.  It is some more play hard and nap hard time.  More him crawling away and me chasing after him.  We are both getting a good workout.  He is now getting into dancing.  It is quite a fun site to watch.  It is amazing that no matter how you feel, who you miss, or what you have done in the day one look at him and your heart is elated.  Oh how I love him!  Even when he keeps trying to help me type this post :)

Lazy Days

I have really come to love Sundays here.  Besides being the Lord's day it is a great day to spend with my family.  While football season is going on we choose to be lazy on Sunday.  David doesn't get out of bed until 1 pm and we all stay in our pajamas all day long.  Of course, Sundays are better when the Hogs win.  If they do not I have a very grouchy husband.  Though Owen is so happy to be with the both of us.  His face just lights up.  He would never no that the Hogs lost.

I get so tickled watching David and Owen play.  David says he going to get him and Owen lets out a squeal from anticipation.  Then he starts moving fast from David.  It is one of my favorite things to watch.  Owen is getting so big and I wonder where my little baby went.  I love to sit back and watch him play and explore.  Yesterday David had chased him out of the corner with one of the sockets and told him no.  We both watched Owen take a different route under two chairs (quite the obstacle because the chairs have a bar that he has to go over) to get back to that corner.  It is funny how he thinks that if he goes a different way that we won't pick up on it that he is going over there.  He is such a turkey.   He looks at you and smiles big.  Oh to be a kid again and care free.  His only worries are where is my milk and my pacifier.

So it was a lazy happy day.

Oh the honey

As I write the title of this post I can hear Winnie the Pooh saying it.  Honey is a very serious matter her in Moscow.  They love their honey.  We went to one of the many honey festivals that take place in this city.  It was a large group of women from the AWO that went.  I met some really nice women.  We get all the way to the festival, where all the way out is I am not sure, but apparently this is where all the old tsar's used to live.  

As we walk up we get our group picture taken by someone that seems to act like they are a professional trying to tell us the picture can't be taken because of the sunlight.  Well when you see the final picture where nobody was paying attention I am not sure what kind of professional this is.  Now I am sure each of you can already imagine this but it seemed a bit lost on me.  There are bees at the honey festival.  Yes bees.  I don't know why it didn't dawn on me that there would be bees there, but I was not the only one to have this revelation.  Maybe I did not expect bees because I have never been to a honey festival or because my idea of honey is the one you buy at Wal-Mart in the bear shaped jar with the yellow lid.  Then someone tells me that surely these bees are honey bees and not stinging bees.  Because there is a difference.  (please note sarcasm)  Okay so there apparently is a difference but I thought all bees were stinging bees. Anyway, I was not worried about me but more so worried about Owen.  Fortunately there were no bee stings reported.  

So you walk around booth after booth tasting honey trying to decide what to buy.  I am not a honey connoisseur.  I did not know there were so many different kinds and that they came from different flowers or grass or trees.  Now of course I couldn't ask about the honey origins because I don't speak Russian but you could tell by the pictures.  Besides honey, there was also beeswax candles and soap.  Another thing that didn't cross my mind till I was there.  Anyway, so you go around and taste all this honey and are on the verge of honey overload.  I tasted one that tasted like cough medicine.  Didn't buy that one.  Nope!  But it is apparently used for medicinal purposes.  Some of it was good some of it was the same thing I am used to.  I ended up buying some nice honey with a subtle raspberry flavor.  It is quite yummy, even though I haven't eaten it since.  So everybody be prepared for some honey are your Christmas gift.  :)

After the festival I went to lunch with some very nice women.  They are from Britain, Greece, and Colombia.  It was nice to be out with people from such different cultures.  In all honesty I never pictured being around so many different cultures when I was growing up in Arkansas.  Wow how I have branched out.  

I am learning something new here everyday.  I do not know that I will be going back to the honey festival but I will not say never since I have learned that is not ever the case.  

Media Overload

When we got here we had to do things a bit differently with our phones and plans.  I managed to leave my phone on the airplane, so I was phoneless.  David's iphone was not unlocked so he went and bought a cheap basic phone to be able to use for work.  After about a month we decided to get an iphone 4 and I would take his other phone.  The basic phone reminded me of what I used when I first had a phone.  It is amazing how quickly you forget how to use the thing.  Texting was about impossible for me with the auto spell and hitting the keys until it figured out what word you wanted to spell.  The phone did not have a camera built in.  And it used the old nintendo graphics for pictures.  And do you remember the old ringtones of samba.  So after some annoyance we decided to get his old iphone unlocked so I could use it here.  In order to do this we had to go to Gorbushka.  Gorbushka is an electronic warehouse.  It is bit like a flea market setup.  Booths everywhere with different people selling electronics, cooking stuff, phones, wires, etc.  It is massive.  I must say I am not a fan of this place.  David being a guy said he could spend all day there.  Ugh!  And of course I had to use the restroom.  That was an experience that I will not forget.  There was no toilet it was a hole in the ground.  Yes you read that correctly a hole in the ground.  Gross beyond means.  

We decided to take the Metro out there.  It is nearly the last stop on the Metro.  So of course for us to be on the Metro when it is above ground surprised us.  We sat where there were three seats so we could sit and the stroller would take up the other portion.  Well of course at one stop even though there were other seats there was this lady who pushed David out of his seat and pushed me over to be crammed with the stroller.  I mean seriously.  Coming back the ride was bit easier, although we did see this young couple that got me wondering.  He was wearing a very white crisp button down shirt with very white tennis shoes.  Either the shoes were brand new or he had to stop every five seconds to brush dirt off of them.  Not sure which.

Anyway, we wondered around for awhile trying to find someone that spoke English so we could unlock the phone.  We did finally find some very nice people and with the help of our Google translation app we had success.  And surprisingly the price was same as it would be in the US.  When we finally left I told David that I would not be going back.  I just went back last week.  My friend had some electronics she needed to get fixed and I was looking for a crock pot.  She had a very successful trip while I did not.  So this time I will not say that I will NOT be going back instead I will say that I have no desire to go back and I will try not too.  

The Boat

Since day one that I moved to Moscow I had been waiting on my shipment to arrive.  Or the boat as I like to call it.  We were told it would take 6 to 8 weeks to get here.  And that was a pretty accurate time assessment.  When the boat finally arrived I had forgotten half the stuff that I packed.  You get used to living on the basics but it is not something that I recommend.  The boat arrives at Customs and takes about 2 weeks to clear.  So Monday morning here I am waiting on it to arrive at my house.  The movers show up and start bringing boxes in.  Well I was not aware that they were going to unpack everything too.  This is good and bad.  Good because you don't have to worry about where to put the empty boxes and paper and you get to see all your stuff laid out.  Bad because all your stuff is laid out with no home.  And in the middle of all of this Owen is napping so all of his stuff is in the living room.  I have to say it took more than a few days to get everything organized.  Actually, I am still trying to get everything organized.  

Where to start?  I tried very hard in Lafayette to go through and tell the movers what to take and what not to take.  Of course things got packed that I did not want.  For instance, yearbooks.  I mean really they aren't even all mine.  I have a couple that belong to my sister and then the same one that belongs to my brother.  My yearbooks are the ones from elementary and middle school.  I tried to throw them away but David would not let me.  Memories I might want to see later or show to Owen.  I seriously doubt that.  Of course my elementary school pictures are cute.  It is not until later that girl we don't recognize now made an appearance.  Also, something else that got packed that I did not care to see about was my boot that I got when I broke my foot sophomore year in college.  Maybe the Lord is telling me that I may need that thing again here in Russia with all the snow.  I sure hope not.  Dad never would let me get rid of it in case I needed it again.  I think I am just asking for my foot to break.

One thing that I have way to much of now is hangers.  When I told the movers to pack what was in the closet they took me literally.  Thankfully they did manage to leave the wedding dress.  But I got tons of hangers. I have a huge box full of them.  And I am not sure what to do with them.  And of course I have no closet space so I have even more hangers from clothes I am forced to fold now.  Ugh!  Oh and now Owen has no closet so I have baby hangers out the wazoo too!  I mean seriously.  If I never see or step on another hanger it would be too soon.

And now here comes the next step. Where oh where do I put everything?  It takes a bit of creativity to come up with some solutions.  Let's move this desk so we can get a dresser because we have no closet space.  At this time I am trying to move some stuff around so if we do have a guest they can put their stuff somewhere.  And of course there is no home for my shoes.  Shoes are everywhere.  And NO I am not getting rid of any of them.  So don't even suggest it.  Of course in the process of putting everything away I only hit my head about 50,000 times.  I had  headache for days.  And if you know me well you know it does not take much for me to hit my head.  I manage to do it in places that nobody else would ever hit their head.  I did have a friend in college that said I should wear a football helmet.  

I think the best thing about getting the shipment was all the toys for Owen.  He had toys everywhere.  Toys that were too old for him when left and toys that he has not seen in awhile.  It was like Christmas morning for him.  He did not know which way to go.  He crashed hard that night and for a few nights after.  Toy overload.  I was putting away one of his play mats and he got mad at me.  I had to tell him that he was too old for it and that he had plenty of others.  The good thing about Owen is that he protests for a second then is like Okay, Mom!  Of course, now I realize I should have saved some of the toys because now he is bored with them.  Figures.

All in all I was very happy to have my shipment.  We went to IKEA to buy some items and are still working on it.  Hopefully my last trip will be soon.  There are a lot of things that I didn't pack that I wish I would have. I would have packed just about my whole kitchen.  And many foods that I love in the US.   This first move international has been a huge learning experience.  Well next time I will be better prepared.  And of course if any of you ever move you can always ask!  :)

My Firsts

After I posted about Owen's firsts I realized I never got to all of my firsts (not that they are as interesting as Owen's.)  Being here is the first time that I have truly traveled out of the country.  It is definitely the first time that I have lived outside of the US.  The hardest thing is the language barrier.  You do start to get used to it after awhile.  You just need to learn one key phrase.  Я не понимаю русский язык  (I don't understand Russian.)  After saying this I will have one of the two responses.  Either I continue to get a lot more Russian spoken to me or they get all mad and wave their hand at me and exhale loudly.  You learn to except either response.  I do have to say that there are many things I took for granted living in the US and after living abroad I will proudly say and say loudly that I am proud to be an American.

This is also the first time that I have not worked.  I have worked as long as I can remember.  I remember going to mom's store and working and helping dad out at his office during the summers.  I thought it would be an easy transition but boy was I wrong.  I truly admire the stay at home mom.  I am still not sure how they do it all.  I am glad to not be working and not having to stress about the money being raised or doing a good job.  I know that Owen loves me no matter what and that the two of us will learn everything together.  I guess this is a good way for us both to learn patience.

It is the first time for me not to have a car since I was 16.  And I LOVE it!  I love not being car sick when David is driving.  I love not having to deal with his road rage.  I love not having to drive and worry about getting in wreck.  I love not having to fill my car up with $4 gas all the time.  It is absolutely great.  And my waistline loves me not having a car as well.  I love pushing Owen in his stroller and going for walks.  There are tough spots to get around with the stroller here but after a week or two you figure it out and make do.

I would say these are my major firsts.  There are many small things that I have done for the first time but I can't seem to think of them in enough importance to write about them.  I do enjoy being here.  It is a great experience so far.

Who's on first?

There have been many first for Owen and I since we have been here in Moscow.  I think a foreign country is good for us.  I am not sure where to start.  Since Owen is the focal point of everything these days I think I will start with him.  I am proud of everyone of his firsts (well almost all of them).  

• Owen got his first tooth.  We had been waiting for this tooth for about 3 months.  We have all been on tooth watch 2011.  You could see these two little white nubs for his teeth for the longest time. David and I were on the metro coming back from the mall.  Owen was a bit fussy so he put his finger over his gums to rub them and looked at me in surprise to find something sharp.  From that point on I have to say it hurts to have those little teeth make contact with you.  They are sharp little suckers.

• Living in Louisiana we had a brick floor so Owen didn't spend much time on his tummy.  He did his allotted tummy time each day and hated it.  But it was not till we got here that he spent the most time on the floor.  We only had his play mat for entertainment.  Within no time we was rolling over from his back to his belly.  He had mastered the reverse of belly to back a long time ago.  And I have to say for a baby that strongly disliked tummy time I cannot keep him off of it.  He would roll over and after awhile get tired and frustrated and scream at me to roll him back.  So I would and then flop he would go right back over.  And now he is army crawling all over the place.  

• We had been trying for awhile to get Owen to say dada.  I am no fool and knew that he would say dada first.  Within a day of being here out comes the words.  Now I am confident that did not know that the word referred to David because he would say it quite randomly.  And just recently he has started saying mama.  He doesn't say this as often as dada but he does say it.  And I am sure he does not realize it is me either.  But it is still sweet words to my ears.  

• Two things Owen and I do are noseys and piggies.  I love to give him noseys for kisses.  I love his kisses too.  But I will say when you ask for a kiss he opens his mouth wide and they are a bit slobbery.  Every time I give him noseys he gets all smiles and giggles.  It is so very sweet.  As a kid I loved it when dad would do "This little piggy…"  So O and I have done piggies since he stopped sponge baths.  He gets all giggles and smiles.  Anytime he is fussy I can ask him if mama is going to get his piggies and he smiles immediately and scrunches up ready for the wee wee wee.  So one day I asked Owen where the nose was.  Before I knew it he grabbed onto mine.  So I asked next where his piggies were.  He bent over and grabbed them.  I was so proud.  All this time I was playing games and loving on him it didn't dawn on me that he would remember the parts of the body and point them out to me.  So we are now working on ears and eyes.  And now he showed me my mouth.  So only 50,000 more things to learn.  :)  YAY!!!

• Here is the time that I am not necessarily proud of my bundle of joy but do find this quite funny and am sure most moms have been there.  Owen pooed in the tub.  He takes his bath in the big bath tub now and has no problems with it.  I was worried he might find it scary but of course not he has his mom's no fear attitude.  He is laying on his back blowing raspberries and playing with his stacking cups.  He just figured out that if he puts a cup over his mouth while blowing raspberries it sounds different than without the cup.  So I yelled at David to come in and see how smart is boy is.  I am so preoccupied with this new talent that I don't even notice the mishap at the other end of the tub.  David says "did he just poo in the tub?"  I said no.  Then I look down and say "OH MY GOSH HE POOED IN THE TUB.  GET HIM OUT!!!"  And this is not a small poo either.David gets him out and takes him to the other room.  So here I am trying to figure out how to get the poo out of the tub.  Yes I am sure most of you have the answer to this already but here I am in panic mode and not thinking clearly.  So I take out the toys and set them to the side.  I use a stacking cup to fish out the offensive item and then can't figure out what to do with it.  Toilet DUH!  But no I did not think of this.  I try to wrap it in toilet paper and throw it away then I look at the toilet and realize I am a dummy and finally throw it away.  This is where I am thankful to be staying a hotel and I don't have to clean the tub.  

• I am sure other moms have looked at the book to see what their child should be doing at a certain month and then realized their child is not doing it and starts to think how can I get them on track.  Well when Owen turned 8 months in the book it said he should be able to sit from tummy position.  Within a day he started doing this and I didn't prompt him at all.  It was just like clockwork.  I should be doing this mom so I think I will start doing it.  Now the funny thing with this is that Owen was scooting or army crawling all over the place and when he would get tired he would rest his head on his arms.  Now he will crawl for a couple of paces and then decide to sit up and rest a spill.  I can't get him to go more than 2 paces at a time.  He must also get his mom's laziness attitude.  I think we will have to try to nip that one in the bud.  

• Owen had his first playmate.  We did go to a playgroup with other kids but they were all around 2 1/2 years old.  But after that Owen and I went to meet Anders and his mom Lori.  Anders is 9 1/2 months old.  He is part Canadian and part Swedish and looks all Swedish.  Anders is pretty cute.  He has lots of curly blonde hair and has big feet and hands.  Neither baby really knew what to do with each other.  They both just kind of drafted to the moms.  Anders came to me and Owen went to Lori.  After awhile they would play or try to take each others toys or snacks.  Or more like Anders would take Owen's.  Owen hasn't quite figured out the assertive thing yet but he also doesn't care that the item is taken from him.  He is like whatever here is another toy I can go to.  All in all it was a good day.  They have played together again since then and I see many more in the future.  The only downside is that they will be moving from Moscow soon.  Not sure where to. 

• Owen is crawling.  I am not sure why I was so impatient for him to start crawling.  He is everywhere and into everything.  He constantly tries to make his way to the outlet.  I tell him no and he stops then thinks oh its been a second she is paying attention and he starts going again.  So I get a stricter tone and say no again.  This goes on for a bit and then he turns and gives me this smirk.  Like I know this is funny and I know you will laugh and not find this serious.  I have to cover my mouth to try to hide the laughter.  It is the funniest thing when he smirks at me.  What a busy busy boy.  I am exhausted.   

That sums up most of the firsts.  I am sure there are other things that are slipping my mind at the moment.  Owen is learning fast.  We are currently working on clapping.  Sometimes you get two fists, one hand open and a fist, and occasionally both hands open but then they get stuck to each other when they clap.  Mostly you get the arms flapping in excitement like a bird.  Funny thing I noticed tonight was how Owen seems to understand everything crystal clear when there is something he wants.  Owen LOVES yogurt.  David pointed out to him that I was eating some and he turns to me like a hawk.    I said okay but you have to sit up.  He sat up right away.  Then he reaches his hand up to grab the spoon and I said hands down.  And they both went down.  Then for the second bite it was the same thing with the hands.  So now I know that when he doesn't do something he is just being stubborn like his parents.  Little stinker!

Cooking 101

I do not think that I am meant to be a cook.  Tonight I decided to make spaghetti.  Easy.  That is why I chose it and I don't have to try to figure out what I am buying at the grocery store.  The reason why I say I don't think I am meant to be a cook is because I always think of things last minute.  Oh yeah I have onions maybe I should dice some and put them in with the meat.  Of course I forget until I have already started browning the meat and all I can think of is I can't have crunchy onions in there.  I keep picturing my brother David's face and reaction when he eats crunchy onions.  So I saute separately and add and of course this is more mess and more time.  Did I mention how tiny my kitchen is.  And then when the food is done and ready to be served I realized I forgot to make my vegetable.  Too late now.  And did I mention that I have Owen in his exer-saucer and is a bit fussy.  I am not sure how moms cook with their kids.  He is too young to be left alone and too active to not be in something.  So I am at a loss.  If there are suggestions out there please share.

So all in all I either need to stay out of the kitchen or go to cooking school/classes.  Maybe then I can figure out how to chop onions, how and when to remember to make what I need to, not forget steps until it is too late and you can tell when eating that a step was an afterthought.  Yes I am sure after reading this post you are all thinking that I am not eating what she is cooking and that you feel terribly bad for David.  Poor Owen when he gets older.  Maybe I will have something figured out by then.  

In the meantime I think I will stick with baking.  Oh yeah I don't have a mixer.  I can't tell what ingredients I am buying and they have every variation of flour known to man but not one that says ALL PURPOSE.  Eeeekkkk!!!! I think there will be lots of trial and error here and a few cereal nights.  

Different Strokes

So there are many things here that I have noticed that are quite different from in America.  Some of the differences are good, some are bad, and some are just different.  I will you decide for yourself, of course there are few that I can't help commenting on :)

• pay phones still exist
• When in shoe stores there is never a pair of shoes on display.  Always one shoe
• men wear speedos to go swimming (I told Owen this was not acceptable no matter what country he is living in)
• you go through a metal detector everywhere (I am sure my radiation levels are high)
• there is always a security guard at every store
• stores tear the receipts (I don't get this one)
• you purchase your plastic bags at the supermarket
• you bag your own groceries
• the cashier is always sitting
• you leave your trash at the table in the food court
• stores hire a separate person to clean
• they don't use dryers (they air dry everything)
• cash is the preferred payment (sometimes the only payment option and mainly at grocery stores)
• can't read what you are buying (hopefully this will change with language lessons)
• not wheelchair or stroller friendly
• people push (shove) you around
• cutting in line is the norm (stand strong)
• you can buy corn on the cob ready to eat at a vendor stand and it is always a long line
• there are beer stands and Nestle ice cream stands everywhere
• the American restaurant chains are always packed (I think Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell would be a huge hit here)
• Mixed meats is common (hamburger and lamb for example)
• Everybody smokes (which a pack of cigarettes is like 20 rubles.  It is 28 rubles to the dollar.  so cheap)
• People park on the sidewalk (It is okay to walk in the street because a car is on the sidewalk)
• If it is asphalt people drive on it.  Lines and signs don't mean anything.
• Milk is prepackaged so you can buy it warm and keep it in the pantry until opened
• To eat you have to take out a loan (okay not really but it is pricey so you just cope.  but buying and cooking is not any cheaper)
• There are very few obese people here (I think I have seen 3)
• I have learned not to go to the bathroom when out (they are tiny and usually down stairs so there is no way to take Owen with me)
• Cars have the right away not the people even in the cross walk
• you buy all condiments (ketchup, sauces, etc)
• you don't drink the water
• Mayonnaise is huge here. There is a huge section in the grocery store of different flavors for your dressings. (Jordan we will stay away from this for you :)
• free wifi is everywhere here
• I have seen tons of luxury cars (tons of Bentleys)
• all the babies are bald (maybe not all but a lot of them)

There are a few things that I will probably always say differently from here on out:

• lift for elevator
• toilet for bathroom
• time in military time
• temperature in Celsius
• date (day/month/year)

I am sure there are many more things that are different but that is all I can think of for now.  When I first came it was all different.  After a couple of months I see the differences a bit better and the similarities.  So now I feel a bit more like a pro, so visitors welcome!

Trends?

After being here over a month I have decided to write again about the fashion while we are still in the summer.  This time I will not focus on the 80s but instead on poor choices.  I guess talking about fashion and the differences may make me seem superficial or that all Americans are but living in Moscow is not like the rest of the country.  This city is very concerned about their looks and is very westernized.  

First let me talk about a positive.  

The shoes are amazing here.  I have only seen the same pair of shoes twice.  You hardly see duplicates and the shoes are always taken care of well.  Now I am a bit surpassed to see so many women wearing such high heels.  And this is not only during the work week.  I could understand if I was still working and I would wear heels to work with no problem.  But no these women sport them all the time.  And let me tell you these streets are not really meant for that kind of shoe.  There is cobble stones and grates.  And for you men that don't understand the problem is that heels don't walk well on this kind of ground.  Your shoe gets stuck and you stumble.  Now I do have to say no matter what kind of ground these women know how to wear their shoes.  You don't see them stumbling and falling all over the place from lack of inexperience on heels.  No they are pros.  And I can guarantee you these shoes have to hurt but they don't show pain.  I am amazed.  It makes me want to pull out my serious shoes and then when I do my feet remind me that I have taken a hiatus for a bit too long.  I guess I will have to build up my tolerance again.

Okay so now onto the rest.  

Men:  I do not care to see your chest or abdomen!  Please button up your shirt or please wear a shirt.  It is not like they are young buff men either that are going shirtless. Apparently the no shoes, no shirt, no service rule does not apply here.  I will be out and men just don't wear shirts.  I realize it is hot but seriously!  Now I assume they wear shirts to work but I am not at work to see this.  I am out and about, in the mall, walking down the street, etc.  Unless you are at the pool there is no reason why you can't wear a shirt.  And we all know they are not doing yard work here.  

Note:  Just because a shirt is see through does NOT mean that you have to wear it that way!  Apparently tank tops do not exist here.  Women like to wear the see through top and some really like to wear that bright colored bra underneath it.  Please not that not all these women are young either.  I did see an older woman the other day with a  crochet top and no undershirt.  Maybe this is a trend too in the States and I have been gone too long or am too old school I don't know.  But I do know that I want to have a mass amount of tank tops and hand them out to people.  

And here is the last thing today and I will hop off my soapbox.  The women here are very tiny.  Now saying that they make poor choices in clothing.  You are a size two that is great please wear the size two not the size zero.  If they would wear the correct size then I would not feel the need to introduce spanx here.  But of course that is not the case.  

They are not always far behind on trends.  They have really embraced harem pants here.  I do not enjoy the fashion trend but they seem too.  Not just women but men too.  I have seen a few women wear them well but overall I think I will stay away from this fad and stick to normal fitting pants.

Anyway,  that is all I have for today.  Just because I make fun does not mean I don't enjoy my time here.  I really am liking it and it is already feeling like home.  It is really not that different just a huge language barrier.  I do make fun but that is how I adjust to change.  Embrace it, make fun of it, and love it.  

Home Sweet Home

David and I have finally found an apartment.  We moved in last Thursday afternoon.  This was no easy feat.  David and I have two different views when looking at places.  I see the potential and positives while David picks up every negative.  With every move we have had it is by the grace of God that we are still married.  I know that we can survive anything with each move.  When we lived in Tulsa we were newly weds so of course the place was perfect.  When we moved to Arkansas that was our first real home search. I think we looked at every home in Northwest Arkansas.  It took about three months and we finally decided on one.  The one we picked we saw a month before and our realtor was a bit shocked and wanted to make sure we were all talking about the same place.  I loved our house in Rogers.  Of course buying a house in Rogers was tough because David is from Fayetteville.  The NWA people want their kids to go to school where they did.  That is great but I had to remind him it would be awhile till we had to worry about that.  After buying the new house I learned that we need a fairly new house with a list of small improvements.  David always has to be busy and loves projects.

Next we moved to Houston.  That was when I learned that there is no such thing as temporary.  We decided to move to an apartment for a few months while we looked for a house.  A year later we were still in the apartment when we found out we were moving to Lafayette, LA.  The apartment in Houston was nothing to brag about.  We had a full size mattress, a card table, and a big tv.  After that I learned that college living was a bit better.  At least in college you don't know better and you really have no choice.  And I truly feel bad for our realtor in Houston, for he showed us around everywhere for a year with no result.

Lafayette was a blessing.  We were in crunch and had one weekend to look for a house so there was no time to wait for something better.  And it turned out we loved both our places there.  We had to move when I was eight months pregnant because our landlord sold the house.

And now I am in Moscow.  We physically looked for a month.  David started looking way before then on the internet.  I have learned now to let him lead the house search.  Let him pick the ones we see and then we decide together after we have a few good options.  Before we moved David fell in love with this one particular apartment.  It was very modern, so modern that the bathroom had naked people etched into the tile.  YES, NAKED PEOPLE!  I was not as thrilled with this.  How am I to teach my baby boy that it is not okay to show your private places?  Fortunately for me the people that were asking too much would not lower their price.

We lived in the hotel for a good month.  That was a month too long.  It was an extended stay room but I was ready to branch out.  The staff knew us too well.  They looked for Owen every morning.  The room service guy knew where to bring the food and all the extras we asked for to the point that we didn't have to ask anymore.  And nearly everyday I had to ask for extra water so the guy would bring us four just so we wouldn't call again.  They were extremely nice but it is no place to live.

Now I am glad that we were here a week and that Sheri and Luci were here so that I could see more of Moscow and that we could make the decision as to where is the best part of Moscow to live in.  Originally we were looking close to David's office and then we moved our search to the City Center.  We live in a very convenient location.  We are about a 15 minute walk from Red Square.  Anything we need or want is in walking distance.  It is right off the metro line for David to get to work quickly.  And we live by one of the better, nicer, cleaner metros.  And to boot the metro has ramps on ALL stairs.  The landlord works for the Russian Congress and has received neat gifts from different parts of Europe.  We have a picture from Saddam Hussein up and a gold plated desert dish from Saudi Arabia.  There are many more things that will stay locked up in the cabinet so that Owen can't get to them.  The last thing we need is to have to replace something like that.  The apartment is furnished a bit fancier than we would have picked but it is perfect.  We have rearranged to make it fit us better.  It is two levels and upstairs David claims is the man cave.  I think I am only allowed when Owen has a dirty diaper.  :)

All in all we are happy with where we are.  Of course there are things you could always change with anywhere you live but you have to love what you have and make it your own.  Now only if the boat will get here with all of our other stuff.

AWO

Today I went to the American Women's Organization meeting.  It was nice to finally meet some other women.  I got a chance to really talk with a few women.  One of them is an Alabama fan and was trying to teach Owen "Roll Tide" so we might be keeping our distance from her.  I finally got away from the crazy Tigers and the Bulldog brother.  :)  Of course it is nice to be around some avid college football fans.  I also met a Longhorn.  I will currently keep my opinions to myself.

I went to lunch with a couple of women, Megan and Kim.  Megan is expecting a little boy in January and Kim a new grandmother of a little girl in Amarillo.  Everybody loved Owen.  Of course, how can you not.  He was being his naturally charming self and with no fuss, even though he was tired.  Kim especially connected with him since she misses her grand baby.

I am excited about my new friends and the friends I will continue to meet through the AWO.  I am playing scrabble tomorrow.  Yay!!!!  And we will start working on the Arts and Crafts Festival soon.  I will get to start doing all the things that I have always wanted to do but never had the time.

So watch out Moscow,  here comes O and me!

Puppy Love

I figured today I will write about my four legged babies, being that today is Razor's birthday.  I do miss my puppies.  It is odd how you get so used to them that once you are not with them all the time how empty some things feel.  The room is always quieter without Ginger's snoring and breathing.  There is a void in the space around me from where Razor always had to be touching me.  And I even think Owen misses Razor.  He spent a lot of time having Razor near checking up on him.

We got Razor a few months after we got married.  I still remember the trembling puppy that wouldn't eat as David brought him to work to show me.  It was love at first sight.  We did everything wrong on training him.  We put him in our bed and we didn't kennel him.  We did take him to PetSmart and he graduated with flying colors.  Razor is a true showboater.  He will do the tricks to impress and then forgets them when he is away from the audience.  A couple of years later, after all the doggy prozac we decided to get another dog to help Razor with his separation anxiety.  My brother Josh was looking for a home for Ginger, so it was perfect for both.  Razor and Ginger hit it off right away.  Razor had a friend and Ginger had Razor's food.  From that day they have been inseparable.  Even when they go to daycare they won't leave each others side.  We used to take them to the park and Razor would stand and supervise Ginger to make sure the swimming was going okay.

My puppies have been great even with the arrival of Owen.  I think Razor knew before I did that I was pregnant.  It seemed immediately he was beside me even more and put his head on my tummy.  Ginger was close to follow.  Nothing was going to happen to Owen.

When we brought Owen home Razor was protective from the beginning.  He would stand and watch Owen.  If you held Owen he had to check you out to make sure you were okay to hold his baby.  Owen would cry and Razor would look at you and then Owen to see if you were going to get him.  I even remember one night during baby bootcamp that I was letting Owen cry himself to sleep and Razor heard him.  He looked at me, I said no, he looked toward the stairs and took off.  "Nobody is going to let my baby cry.  Come on Mom!"  Ginger from day one would just sit to the side and think "maybe I should just stay out of the way."   Even as Owen has gotten older, him and Razor have bonded.  We would be sitting on the couch and Owen would reach over and pet Razor.

They are staying with David's parents temporarily until my sister is able to take them.  I am so appreciative of the help and love that is shown to my puppies.  As big as a dog as Razor is he is a big chicken.  He is scared of Janey's Chihuahua, Jake.  He sleeps on the floor now because Jake sleeps on the bed.  Once when I was there I saw Razor go the long way around to get some water because Jake was in the middle and he didn't want to cross him.  Obviously, Razor doesn't understand that he is 90 lbs and Jake is 7 lbs.  

I do love my babies and I do miss them.  I know they are in great hands and I can't wait to see them again.

Mall Madness

So there is fabulous shopping here in Moscow.  Many of the stores you dream of seeing in little ole Arkansas or Louisiana are at your fingertips.  And when Luci was here I really do think we hit everyone of them.  Not just at the mall but also on Tverskaya and in the GUM.  But today I will focus on Metropolis Mall.  Now just like anywhere in Moscow, you need two credit cards to buy anything.  This is where you do have to be realistic about sticker shock.  It is not like you really need the shirt live unlike food and drink.  Not all stores are overpriced.  Many are reasonable.  But many stores that are in the states you will end up paying double for the same item.  So unless you really think that you won't find that item in the States, just wait to buy.  The two shops that we have that Luci has wanted to go to and are rare in the US are Top Shop and H&M.  Luci spent a good long time in Top Shop and left with some really great purchases.  H&M, however was a bit disappointing.  There was nothing spectacular and as the game "Mall Madness" would say "Ooh long line, try again later."  Sheri and I were tired and the line to the dressing room was not enticing.  Ah to be young again and be able to withstand a whole day at the mall with repetitive trying on.  I guess once you get out of high school and you no longer do the back to school shopping, long days are gone.  Unless of course you are the last minute Christmas shopper and must buy everything on Christmas Eve before the mall closes at 6.

Now as I have mentioned in just about every post so far it is hot at the mall.  You have to go into a store for a little bit of coolness.  And then once you start trying on clothes any coolness you may have felt is long out the door.  Poor Owen was sweating up a storm.  But he is a trooper.  He is always happy at the mall and never fusses as you push him from store to store.  Of course that could be because he does get attention everywhere he goes.  Remember he is a celebrity.

The mall is three stories and very wide.  I have been several times and still have not been to every store.  The mall is right beside David's office so it is a convenient place for us to meet up.  Also, there is a large supermarket (similar to Wal-mart) on the ground floor, and I visit the baby stores on the top floor for O goods.  Not to mention we are a bit tired of hotel food and there is not anything near by so we have frequented the food court quite a bit.

I am trying to think if there is something this mall does not have.  It has a bowling alley (yes inside on the 3rd floor), a movie theater, an electronic store similar to Best Buy, and an awesome department store called Stockman (this store even has a few American grocery items).  And what is really nice about this mall is that categorizes the shops for you.  There is no failed attempt like in the malls in the States.  All baby and kid is in a corner and you will not find a similar store somewhere else in the mall.  And like in any mall this is where you can do some serious people watching.  And some of the people watching leaves you speechless (or with a whole another post).

So when you come to visit I will take you here to see all the stores, and then you can decide what you can't live without so that you have to sell your plane ticket home to buy it.  :)

Babies and Russia

So i have come to learn that buying baby stuff here is very difficult.  Not to mention the fact that I can't read any of it.  It took me a couple of weeks to be able to find the organic baby food.  So check found it.  Of course it is twice the price of the baby food in the States.  They don't have the formula I use here.  So I am having David's parents ship some over.  Fingers crossed I actually get it.  I tried to go online and order stuff from Amazon but they don't deliver here and the European Amazon doesn't have the stuff I need.  So yay me!  Owen is at the stage that he can start eating the yogurt melt aways and cheerios.  Besides getting him ready for bigger food this helps with his fine motor skills, to be able to pick up the small item and make it to his mouth.  Well guess what; they don't have either here.  I can understand the yogurt melts but cheerios.  Seriously.  Even a comparable option they don't have.  I am a bit bummed by this.  

Some other differences:

• wipes come in small packages and of course are more expensive
• I have to buy a monitor here because the adapter and voltage difference; and of course it is more expensive than the one I bought in the US and it is the SAME monitor
• they have water bottled specifically for babies here.  Not sure what that is about.  I mean isn't bottle water bottle water?

These are what I have noticed so far.  And soon I will have to purchase a high chair and possibly a smaller stroller.  So all in all what I have learned is that I will need to take out a loan to raise a child in Moscow.  

Cajun Country

Okay so after doing this blog for a whole two weeks now I wish that I would have been blogging all along with all my moves.  I try to think back on things and this would have made it ten times easier.  I guess David's favorite place was Houston.  While I enjoyed Houston and have some great friends I might have to say I enjoyed Lafayette more.  My stay in Houston didn't lead to many stories.  We had a one bedroom apartment with a full size mattress, a card table, and a huge tv.  So not much there.  And most of the time I was at work.  And I am not one to share my work stories with the whole world, especially since it was non profit and I wouldn't want to hinder their fundraising.  

Now Lafayette or South Louisiana for that matter gave me something to be the bane of my existence.  I cannot pronounce a single thing there.  Everything has been frenched up so you can't say the name.  Take one of my best friends name.  It is DeRouen.  It took me forever to spell it and I still can't pronounce it.  You don't actually say the N.  I mean what is the point of having an N on your name if you don't say it.  This is not the only one.  I also have trouble with Boudin.  It is a food and it does not sound the way it is spelled for all you non Louisiana folks.  Beth would try to get me to say it correctly on a daily basis.  I have given up.  At this point I think it would be easier to learn Russian.  There are many words that will continue to thwart me or at least give my tongue a sprain trying to say them.

• Atchafalya
• Butte
• Boudin
• Cher (not the singer, pronounced more like Sha with a long A) (like O's outfit; see below)
• Bouillon (pretty sure I did not spell this right)
• Kaliste Saloom
• Pourciau
• Billeaud

I am sure there are more but this where my brain stops for today.  I am sure as my Louisiana friends read this they will have more to add.  Now I failed to mention that besides these I cannot say you must make a normal name very fancy by making it French.  For example, Richard.  It is not pronounced like the first name but more like Reechard.  And when my friend Laura tries to say something that is more country it comes out all pretty and french and I tell her she has to make it a bit more country.  

I wouldn't trade my Louisiana time and Cajun lessons for anything.

Dining Out continued

I forgot to add something on dining out.  I have not seen any babies when eating out.  I guess Muscovites don't let their babies out.  At least not when dining; I guess they see it as their time?  Every time we go out we get looks.  Either bad or the look "did you really bring your baby here?"  When Sheri and Luci were here we were at a "restaurant" in the mall and these group of men said something to the waiter and pointed at us then moved.   And most places don't have high chairs.  It is just an odd concept here.

Now when Owen and I go down for breakfast each morning at the hotel; all the women stop to see him and even take pictures :)

Dining Out

Well the dining experience here is what I would call an experience.  I have mentioned a few things in other posts but will touch on them again, for I just don't think this post would be done justice otherwise.  Everything here is very expensive, the food is no exception.  Luci, Sheri and I went to lunch one day it cost over $100.  That is just plain ridiculous.  We did finally find a neat little street with a lot of restaurants on it with quite a variety.  These eating places were much more reasonably priced.  Not much different from the States.  Some things I learned quickly when eating out in Moscow:

• you can find English menus
• But that does not mean the server understands you
• if you can't point to what you want then you need to find another place to eat
• all pickiness goes out the door (if you don't like tomatoes  - tough!  Pick them off!)
• There are no refills
• You pay for ketchup
• They have not heard of Ranch Dressing
• all drinks are about the same price (so cheap doesn't matter; choose the coke or big kid drink if you want because water costs just as much)
• don't count on your drinks being cold
• always sit outside because the A/C is not what we are used to(now I have not hit the season for the Arctic Tundra yet so I am this will change soon)
• if there are pictures of the food on the menu you are much better off understanding what you are ordering
• there is no non smoking sections here.  They claim there is but the table beside you being smoking does not count.
• all food is what you have heard of before

Besides all of that we do have several of the fast food places we all know and love:  McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Subway, KFC, Sbarro (we are missing Taco Bell :(  

Mexican food seems to be something they have not grasped onto here yet.  Sheri wanted Mexican so we looked in my book at the three whole places they suggested.  It was good but not great.  My cheese for nachos was the cheese you get a the ballgame.  Sad yes!  And then the "Mexican" place in the mall we ordered cheese dip and it was a big thing of shredded cheese melted poorly.  They bring you a tea light to put under the dish to keep it warm.  Well unless I have been using tea lights wrong all this time they don't really heat much they are more for decorations.  

Now apparently the people here love Sbarro.  It is not the small section in the food court back in the States.  No this place is big everywhere it is.  It is in the malls but it has a huge pizza option, along with a huge salad bar, dessert bar, and drink center.  I do find it interesting the love with Sbarro.

All food is available here so need to worry about starving.  Luci primarily ate Sbarro and sushi the whole time.  I have not strayed far from that.  David has been in love with the club sandwich.  It is made slightly different here:  mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon, fried egg, and chicken breast.  The egg is quite yummy on it I have to say.  

So now you all know that when you come visit if my cooking has not reached par levels then we will be eating out and you can manage.  No starving here!

Moscow Metro System

Today I shall write about the wonderful metro system here in Moscow.  This really is a great system.  I have attached a map of it for you to see how easy it is.  Now don't let the language and names confuse you.  David took us on it the first time and since then Luci mastered it.  She could get us around on it with no problem.  The whole system connects so if you are on one color but need to be on another simply ride to the connecting spot.  The metro is very inexpensive so it is a great way to travel. 

Now of course there is a catch.  I think I might have mentioned once that Moscow is not wheelchair or stroller friendly.  It is a bit more stroller friendly than wheelchair.  In some parts of the city they built ramps to get to the metro system other parts they added steel bars (that may or may not fit the wheels) on top of the stairs.  These bars are extremely steep.  So it is tough.  Now they might but a ramp on one set of stairs but the next set of stairs your on your own.  No rhyme or reason to it.  Some metro stations have a wide enough pass through for a wheelchair/stroller some don't but once you get through you have this steep escalator.   You have to go down a very steep escalator to get down to the trains.  The first time I rode them I had a bit of vertigo.  Sheri mentioned she had a similar problem after having her children.  So I wonder if this is common for all moms with babies.  I had to fold up the stroller to get down it.  So thankfully people are with me.  There was always one holding the stroller and one holding sweet baby Owen.  And then someone to help carry the stroller up the stairs with Owen in it.  So obviously this does not work if I am by myself.  I will have to rethink how to travel the metro.  Maybe when my front pack comes in on the ship or even a small umbrella stroller would work.  

Now the southern gentleman is long lost here.  People rush onto the train; don't let you sit; and push you out of the way to get off.  Luci was standing and this guy sitting next to her kept elbowing her for being near him (mind you this is a packed metro car.)  Luci stood her ground.  The guy gave her a dirty look when he left but she held her stare to let him know it was not okay.  Go Luci!  

We did ride the light blue metro one day (this is the day that Sheri was sick) and we had someone offer to help carry the stroller; give us directions, and offer us a seat.  We were a bit shocked.  Of course the person offering directions didn't help much because she was speaking in Russian.  But the thought counts.  

So that is the metro.  I do enjoy and will have to figure out a way to travel on it.  A bonus is that Owen always falls asleep on it.  The movement and the noise is soothing to him.

Harry Potter

As most of you know I am an avid Harry Potter fan.  I have read the books so many times and yet still want to read them again.  So of course the release of the final film comes out after I have moved to Moscow.  So I went on a search to be able to see HP here.  When I first looked I saw that it released on the 14th here, but found out on the 13th that I was wrong and that it actually released on the 13th.  So two days ahead of the US.  Great, Luci and I will be ahead of the game.  Only problem is that the English theater here gets movies a couple of weeks after they have been released in the US.  So Luci and I decide "Why Not?" Let's go see it in Russian.  Sheri watches Owen for us and we jump on the metro to the mall.  The mall is only 3 stops from the hotel.  So about 10 to 15 minutes.  We eat in the food court have some ice cream and head to the theater.  It was a bit more troublesome to order tickets than I thought.  The guy understood Harry Potter.  Which in Russian looks like Frappen Notter.  But I did not understand the time.  He asks the girl beside him.  She tells him to write it down.  He does not have a pen.  Finally he starts to write the time and I try frantically to point and say yes that one.  Da!  Then we learned that they assign seats here, no first come first get like in the US.  So we pick our seat.  This is good to the fact that you don't have to stand in line and fight to save seats but on the downside people come in late to the movie because "Hey I know where I am sitting."  We also saw it in 3D.  That was the only option.  All the previews were in Russian.  Out of the 6 or 7 previews you could tell that 2 of the movies were original Russian films the rest dubbed over in Russian.  

The movie was great.  I have read the 7th book only twice so I am a little rusty on it but I did understand what was happening.  The only words we understood were Harry Potter and any other name in the book.  We missed all the jokes when the rest of the theater was laughing.  And we bust out laughing during a serious scene due to the accent.  I am anxious to see the film in English.  I will be watching the English theater for the release there.  Luci on the other hand gets to see it much sooner.  I am a bit jealous.  And the books are on the ship coming here so I will have to wait even longer for a refresh on HP.  

Now I will have to hope that I am in the states for the Hunger Games release.  

TV

So there is one thing that I truly do not understand here.  We have about 7 channels in English.  The ones I seem to watch the most are BBC Entertainment, Vista 1000 (movie channel), Euro Sport, and Disney Channel.  David does watch the National Geographic Channel but I cannot seem to get into this.  So what I don't understand is that these channels have the shows in English but they take the time to dub the coming up next in Russian.  Do people understand the tv shows then?  Why do they take the time to dub all the commercials for shows and movies in Russian but not the actual show?  Then there is also the radio stations/music channel.  They play English songs on there.  I saw Taylor Swift and Pink the other day and listened to Bon Jovi on our way from the airport.  Do they understand the songs?  or is it like me listening to a Russian song and show?  This baffles me and maybe soon I will be able to ask someone about it but for now I will still continue to contemplate it.  

Arbat Street

So the three of us and Luci decide to see Arbat Street.  Hard Rock Cafe is also on this street.  Sheri is not feeling well this morning but tries to come along.  Such a trooper.  After we get off the metro she has turned for the worse.  We realized she drank the water by accident this morning.  So lesson learned "Don't drink the water."  Luci has never been to a Hard Rock and was curious about them.  So I thought sure lets go there.  Ha!  only if it was that easy.  We took the metro to Red Square because according to the map Hard Rock is near there.  So, so far so good.  Well as we are trying to navigate there we (or I) realize that I am not very good at reading a map in Russian nor am I very good in English.  I am trying to read the roads and am making up familiar names to try to find out where I am going.  So yes today I named a Russian street Oklahoma because it started with Ok.  So in the end it took us 3 hours to find the Hard Rock Cafe.    Once we found the place we went bold and asked for ice for our hot drinks and we slurped the drink down in one big gulp.  The ice was quite refreshing.  And a better achievement is that we are not sick from it.  i think we did a big circle to find out exactly where we were going.  I do feel that I know the Kremlin and the area around it quite well by now.  Today would be the third day that we have been there.  With this day I am tired.  We have walked sooo much and taken many many stairs.  I do have to say that Moscow is not stroller friendly or wheelchair for that matter.  I am thankful that Luci and Sheri are there to help with all the stairs.  There answer to a ramp for the stairs to the metro is to put two steel bars for where your wheels should go.  If they don't fit then your screwed.  Not to mention how steep it is.  This week has taught me that I will have to rethink how I take Owen out.  Or really that he needs to learn how to walk tomorrow.  

At the end of the day Luci says to me "Do you realize what we did today?  We left to eat lunch, we found the place and we came back to the hotel.  All in six hours!"

One great thing about the Hard Rock Cafe was that everything was in English and we had a server that spoke very good English.  It is amazing how you take your language for granted until you are in a foreign country.