It has been almost a month since I arrived to Russia. Before I went, I was told about the three stages of adjusting to a new location - first, one experiences a "honeymoon stage," then a "culture shock" and finally a "cultural adaptation." I came prepared to feel all these, but just the opposite happened to me. First two days were wonderful - I was excited to meet new people, my new place was great, I felt brave and independent. But then everything seemed to go wrong - because of the time change I slept no more than two hours a night, everywhere I went I kept going the wrong direction and getting lost, everywhere I got I didnt see what I had expected, and I had a very hard time speaking Russian (before I thought I was fluent), plus the weather kept changing hourly and I got a very bad cold. But then I got better, finally adjusted to the time change, bought a map, tried not to build up any expectations, and I stopped speaking in English and started to speak only in Russian (however funny and at time incomprehensibly I sounded).

Few days ago, map in hand, I went for a walk around the city, without any destination in mind, any purpose. I walked around  Patriarshue Prydu (shoutout to all Bulgakov fans), walked down the Old Arbat where I stopped for an awsome Starbucks latte (taste of home), then I passed all the exciting things there were to see on the Old Arbat and just kept walking when I saw this amazing, grandiose church - Church of Jesus the Savior. It was trully magnificent - something similar I saw in Paris many years ago. Walking across the bridge and down the riverside, just when the sun was settign down, I got to the Kremlin and the Red Square. The Red Sqaure during the day and the Red Square in the dark when it is lit up by thousands of lights is something I will never forget. And just like that I fell in love with Moscow and all my troubles seemed to fade away. 

True thing they say that Moscow never sleeps and i would add that seven days a week there are million things you can do. On a Monday  eve I went to hear some classical music and a quire, on a Wednesday eve I went to see "Master and Margarita" play in the famous theatre Na Taganke, on Thursday I went to get a haircut at 9:30pm! And next week I am planning to go on a nightly walking tour around Moscow - 1am to 6am! 

And if you get tired of Moscow, or you think its too Westernized (I think it is, but then I do appreciate they have a Starbucks ;-), you can take a train and just in two-three hours you can get a feel of a true Russian culture and life. Couple of weeks ago I took a train to Sergeev Posad. After two hours of train ride I found myself in some Russian village - nothing remarkable, just small stores, crooked houses. And then 15 min walking from the train station I found myself looking down the old kremlin. Numerous churches, surrounded by a wall, built centuries ago - trully breath-taking. And while inside I could try the tastiest Monastery Kvas - traditional Russian drink. Definitelly worth two hours of a not-so-somfortable train ride.

Few words about work. In a few weeks that I have been here, I learned more about the non-governmental sector more than I have during my university years. And I got to learn it from wonderful and dedicated people that I work with, representatives of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance, representatives of the UN and World Bank, academics and others who decicate their lives and careers to bring people a better life. There is a lot of work - getting ready for the G8 and G20 Summit, attending seminars, and helping with anything I can. But everyday I go to work excited and inspired. For the longest time I wondered what exactly I want to do, but now I have little doubt. Shoutout to those awsome people who gave me this oppportunity - in Toronto and in Moscow - you know who you are :D

Today is Russia's Independence Day so I am off to join the celebrations on the Red Square! Rummor is they have a huge pie there for everybody to taste. More about that in my next post. Enjoy your day whenever you are!