Friday I was incredibly depressed. I hadn't seen Oleg since Wednesday morning, and had had to work, so I wouldn't see him until Friday. Plus, it was all gray and rainy. I debated going out that night, and finally decided I needed to stop moping.
My friend Pierina has been mentioned before. We decided to go out. Apparently there were some Brazilian boys new to town, and we had to show them around. We started off at their apartment, right next to Pierina's family's. Amazing. Much bigger, with expensive furniture. We played King's Cup for awhile, before leaving to meet Victor to go to some club.
This club was the Starie Telegraph. It apparently markets itself as a "Sushi-Rumba bar." More in a minute on what that means.
There were about 12 of us, but they were only making the two less well-dressed boys pay the 500p cover. I didn't have my passport (for visa reasons) and they couldn't figure out my age. So, if you ever go to this club... you are 21. If you mistakenly tell the truth, you have to pay 500p cover. Which isn't too bad, because that goes to a card where you get 500p drink credit.
As we walked in, a big table emptied, so I talked us into getting it. We had a bar menu, and I ordered my usual cheap staple. But I saw some girls at the next table with a cocktail menu. I asked 3 different servers for one, to no avail. Finally, I went to the bar and asked for one sucessfully, but he had no food menu. I stole one off a table...
The music was pretty ok... Not the best I've heard, but not Propaganda-weird. You could dance to it. Some odd Russian guy tried hitting on me at the bar ("Are you here alone?" "NO! THERE ARE TWELVE OF US!" "Girls?" "NO!!!!! WE HAVE MEN WITH US!!!"... and then I fled)
The drink menu had something called Green Fairy Lemonade, which was vodka, rum, and absinthe in lemonade. Alas, they wouldn't let me pay the difference of the balance over my card, so I settled for a Sex on the Beach. The drinks here aren't very strong, but are pretty pricey, at 220-550p apiece.
Food Menu... Japanese and Mexican. Yes, you heard that right. You can get a chicken burrito and green bean tempura. Also, green bean tempura is only 100p. Its my new fav place.
Alas, I didn't get to eat there. As soon as I was able to look my menu over, I was told we were leaving.
"Can we get food on our way?"
So, we got in a cab to head to our as-yet-to-be-determined destination. Meanwhile, I sat with one of the Brazilian guys, who was mildly intoxicated and who explained to me he dislikes Americans because they think they know everything, and I explained to him that his $1500/month proposed allowance from his diplomat father would be MORE than adequate here.
We show up at a Mexican restaurant. I get out of the bathroom, and everyone has disappeared. I go exploring, to find everyone with their parents on the second floor. Yep. I somehow got to a party of South American diplomats at a 4-star Moscow Mexican restaurant. And yes, I was the only gringa there. I got to practice my Russpanol on a very nice Uraguyan diplomat. Everyone drank (FREE RUM), and we sort of ran a train on the chips and guacamole. Eventually, the parents realized it was 2am and we were seconds away from eating the guacamole with a spoon (having devoured all of the chips) so they ordered us food. And we danced until 430am there. WE TOOK OVER THE DIPLOMAT PARTY.
And Rafael, one of the Brazilians, cursed us. He complained about how he arrived too late for snow, and had never seen snow. And it started snowing. And hasn't stopped. Its fucking April. Just want everyone to know.
After that, we got a ride back to the complex. I stayed at Pierina's. Her and her sister are so amazing, and take such good care of me! I keep thanking them, and they feed me and claim that their house is my home now.
I made it back to the university in the late afternoon, and just had time to change and waste a little bit of time before Oleg fetched me. And I burnt the shit out of my finger pan-toasting bread.
We were thinking of going out with the South Americans again, but Oleg just wanted to stay in. The next morning, we got up bright and early for my acupuncture session. This time, it hurt a lot more, but I wasn't nearly as tired afterwards. We then fetched Stephanie (and Oleg talked to the MSU guards, learning we can have visitors, they just have to sign in somewhere...) ad went to a mall outside the city.
Huge mall, even by American standards. We probably weren't supposed to be there (not having our passports on us) but nobody checks... Most stores are incredibly expensive. Oleg made fun of us for going in a store called "Jennyfer" which caters to teens, but, lets face it, thats how American girls dress. I think he was just bored as there was nothing for him to look at. I bought a red spotted blouse for 1000p (Oleg response... "Darling! You forget you already have a boyfriend!" I had to promise not to wear it in Moscow without him) and a pair of espadrilles. When you come to Russia, make sure you have all your footwear covered... its so expensive here! I fell in love with a pair of 4" Zara heels... They were about 5000p. I couldn't really walk in them anyway.
Something to keep in mind here... Many dressing rooms are co-ed, and you are allowed in them with other people. This kind of threw me when Oleg called me to come into the fitting room in Zara to see how his pants looked on him. This is nice for that reason.
We also finally went to a Russian clothing store called Твое. Really cheap clothes. I bought a little jacket on sale for 359p. They even had t-shirts for 99p! Poor Oleg just wanted jeans and sneakers, and he got dragged around by us girls all day. Luckily, he finally found sneakers at a sporting goods store.
We ended up at the Ashan at this mall. Scariest place ever. It is literally the size of a Wal-Mart, with all the items that entails... a gardening section, an entire aisle of bicycles, and clothing. I found a cropped cardigan Oleg bought me... I think it was for children, but it was only 99p, and I mean, its cute. But, yeah... scariest place ever. People literally ride your ass with their carts. I had to walk with my hand held behind me to keep from being run over. We ended up just having one of us watch the cart in the middle of the store while the other two grabbed what they needed. Liek Wal-Mart, with Sunday at Ashan traffic.
We were so tired after all of this we didn't make it to Ikea. Oleg needs a box or something for his car, so we are going back before my class Wednesday. Which is fine, because I LOVE home furnishings. I have a month out of school before I return home, and I keep teasing Oleg I am going to redecorate his apartment all in pink, with a new kitten every week.
Which reminds me... we are discussing going to Turkey on vacation. Sounds epic.
I am looking into getting my TEFL over the summer. From what it seems, I can find a job here teaching English without it, but it doesn't hurt to be more competitive! I'd rather find a nice corporate job, but teaching seems to be a pretty easy gig to land.
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