Şerefe!

Original post: October 26th, 2013

(I'm headed to Abu Dhabi/Dubai for a few days so I figured I better get this published because I owe ya one. I'll post something else after the UAE.)

The past few times I've been traveling around, I've personally enjoyed learning how to say "cheers" in as many languages as possible. The title of this post means cheers in Turkish, and it's one of my favorites I've learned yet. It literally* means "to honor", but it's used specifically for when you're drinking and in the context that anything you say at the table, stays at the table. Thus, feel free to drink up and speak your mind. I like that.

Anyway, I claimed in my last post that this post would be a follow-up/part 2. It still is to some extent but with everything that's happened between now and then, it's really more of it's own post. Plus I've been busy/preoccupied/outside/blahblahblah and it's been a little while. Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. Not that any of that matters anyway, the content is the same. And I know this is a common feeling for people traveling/living abroad but in 4 days I will have been here for a month, and that is unbelievable. 

In the past few weeks, I've been exploring Moscow. I feel less likely a tourist gawking at the sites and more like an outsider trying to assimilate. I've sort of plugged myself into the life here, part of the reason why it seems time has passed by so quickly. After all, I think the goal of anyone living or traveling abroad should be to immerse yourself into the local culture and see how you can learn and grow from that. If you want to really expand your world view, try living like a Muscovite, or a Congolese, or a Chilean, or a Laotian. That's how you can really gain a real global perspective, I think.  

Luckily, there is no shortage of things to do here to let you experience the culture. There are two things that have really stuck out to me as I've been wandering about the city. The first, of course, is the food.
The foods here certainly are a great reflection of the foreign people in Moscow. While Russia has a reputation of being somewhat adverse to cultural diffusion ( ~92% of people in Moscow are native Russian), people come from nearby countries for work, a new life, or simply to be in a major city (as much of the world is doing), and their presence is certainly felt. I'm personally always interested in new foods and cuisines, and the food here has been almost entirely new to me and very satisfying. I've found food from the Caucasus region  in particular to be some of my favorite I've had anywhere. Now the Caucasus region encompasses a few different countries and many different cuisines, but from what I've observed they are all basically linked by the same style and elements- very meat-centric (particularly lamb), lots of eggplant, savory spices and plenty of bread.

A typical Georgian spread

It's very rustic food with seemingly simple ingredients, yet it's still complex and very new to me. Georgian dumplings are particularly amazing, and if you've never had khachapuri then you are really missing out. Outside of this I've also enjoyed Ukranian food, Turkish food and the occasional pop up shwarma/kebab place, and although Russian food is kinda weird (as I mentioned before), it's still pretty good too. New York is a wonderful city to try new foods and I didn't know what to expect moving here to Moscow after having so many great options at home, but so far I haven't been let down. 

The second aspect of the city that I've really come to love are the parks. I have always sort of had an affinity for parks and luckily, so have the Russians. Parks have been an important part of Russian culture for some time. In the Communist days, they were one of the only open and free parts of life, and they played a large role in shaping life here. There are dozens of beautiful parks around the city and I've made a point of visiting a new one every free day I have. They are spacious, clean, and popular, and they offer a great opportunity to escape the sprawl and urbanism of the city. And even more luckily for me, autumn is a truly beautiful time to walk around here. 

Sokolnicki Park

Patriarchy Prudy ("Patriarch's Ponds")

Tverskoy Blvd.

Gorky Park

Ethereal and arboreal

Loafin' around at the Ponds 

As you can see, there is great beauty in these parks. There is no better place for a bit of tranquility, solitude and self reflection. Some of the highlights of my stay here so far have been reading my book beneath the falling Autumn leaves, stumbling on a little tea house tucked away in Gorky Park and taking a nap by the Patriachs Ponds. Most people would agree that regardless of where you are in the world, a taste of the outside air and a little mother nature are a must. Even though I haven't left yet, and there is plemty more for me to see, I'm certain I will remember the fall chill and the smell of the parks in Moscow. 

On top of these things, I've discovered and rediscovered plenty more about the city.

The architecture and layout of the city seems to take on a new definition at night and for some reason, it almost makes more sense. Like New York, Moscow has a vibrant night life. Something about the darkness drowns out the somberness and dreariness of the cloud cover, and people feel more free to less loose. Whether it be driving around, walking home after dinner, grabbing a few pints with my coworkers or going out for a night on the town, there's a liveliness and atmosphere that I don't feel during the day. More on this to come.

Here are some other collected photos I've taken since I've been here. I never really focused too much on the look of my pictures before but I've given some new care to photography since I've been here, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. 

Smolenskaya, the gateway to the city.
(my metro stop)

The Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat

 Pushkinsky Pedestrian Bridge

These are some of the things I love most about living here, and I've enjoyed spending my time wandering about Moscow and discovering for myself the beauty of the city. After being here for some time, my view of Moscow has changed significantly. When I first came here I saw an industrialized, commercialized sprawl with a sea of stern faces and a language that I could barely write or prounounce, let alone speak or understand. But there is more depth here than at first or second glimpse: centuries-old historic buildings, trees and trees and trees, the tastes of unique and unfamiliar cultures, beautiful and complex people, a clash of preserved nature and the ever-growing built environment, little children babbling in a language I may never really understand, a universal feeling of pride and individualism and the constant reminder that we can always change. Twenty three years ago the people of Russia were forced to change their government, their world view and their culture. While, like many people in the world, they still struggle to steady their ship and continue to discover their new identity, there is immense depth at each turn of the narrow, crowded streets. And if an entire people can change, who's to say there aren't a few new things for me to learn? Russia is more than just cold weather and vodka, it's a beautiful city and most importantly, it's my home, for now.

Signing off,

Eric

Recommended listening

Arcade Fire- Reflektor (was released as I was writing this!)

Bill Callahan- Dream River

Dan Deacon- America

*In case you didn't know, most cheers don't actually translate to "cheers" but something else valuable to that culture ("to honor" or "to health" or "to life").

**I've been noticing there are a lot of similarities between here and New York. Fashion, range of food, woman, parks. The atmosphere is pretty different but the heavy metropolitan aspect of each of them bear a lot of similarities.