Welcome

Professor Konstantin Malashenkov and a fellow student named Sasha greeted me at the airport. I met Konstantin Malashenkov when he was visiting Clemson University in late October. During this meeting, I was wearing flip flops, which he laughed at and said I wouldn’t be able to wear in Moscow. So, of course when he saw me he pointed and said he was happy I wasn’t wearing flip flops (because 4 inch heeled boots are a much more practical choice).

They told me that today was a “warm” day, the temperature was only 0 degrees. Now, upon first hearing this my stomach dropped. Warm at 0 degrees is insanity. Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when I walked outside and didn’t turn into an ice cube. Actually, the sun was shining and the wind wasn’t bad, so compared to the heat of the airport the cold felt nice. I was a excited- little southern girl thinks 0 degrees is refreshing. (Yeah, about that, they use the Celsius system Russia so 0 degree is more like 32)

Anyway, Professor Malashenkov was very nice as well as the boy Sasha. Sasha did keep trying to hold my arm so I wouldn’t fall on the ice. I suppose my concept of chivalry is non-existent because at first I thought he was just being creepy. Haha, I need to meet new guys apparently. We first went to the administration building to register my papers, then we went to the dorm. I was exhausted after not sleeping but I was so excited to meet everything that I was hyper. It’s amazing how things work out because the people I’m staying with are some of the nicest and most interesting people I’ve ever met (both Russian and American). It’s going to be a fun 4 months, I can already tell.

I’m living by myself, as this was the only room left. I’m not complaining though because I can listen to my music without having to worry about displeasing someone else. The rooms are basic but surprisingly comfortable and cozy. I like it here a lot. I haven’t felt homesick or sad yet, which I might attribute to the non-stop activities we’ve been doing.

The first night I was here, we all stayed up late talking and listening to music. It was an absolute blast. It wasn’t until I realized that I had been awake for nearly 36 hours that I decided to go to bed. I slept in until about 4 pm. Considering we were up until 6, this wasn’t a completely absurd amount of time if you think about it.