Cuisine, Condi, and Cheburashka...

I’m sorry it’s been so long. Things have been slightly crazy around here and it’s easier to do big updates than lots of little ones. 

I suppose a lot has happened since I last updated, I’ll start with last weekend. Last Saturday night all the interns went to a nice dinner at this Indian restaurant called Aroma.  I had a chutney, mint, curry chicken dish something, a mango lassi, some great Nan, Indian tea, and a weird dessert I don’t know the name of.  It was a great experience, the food was great, the staff was amazing, and it was a wonderful atmosphere.  Afterwards we all went back to the guy’s apartment and hung out and drank vodka.  I was on antibiotics so I was only sipping a screwdriver, but everyone else was knocking the shots back pretty fast. It got interesting in a hurry.. interesting, but fun.  Around 3 am we ran out of vodka and the metro didn’t open until 5:30 and I didn’t want to sleep on their couch so I convinced them to go buy more. You know, it’s Russia, I just assumed you could buy vodka WHENEVER you darn well pleased. Well I guess that pretty much used to be the case, but they recently passed a law and now the amount of time in which you CAN buy vodka in Russia is smaller than in Wisconsin. Someone please explain to me how this makes sense? It’s Russia!?! So you can only buy vodka from 10am-10pm so at 3 am, we were stuck with wine, beer, or champagne. Of course, we picked champagne. Two bottles.  On our way out, these two obviously drunk guys started coming up to us, yelling in Russian (I had noticed them  on the way, but paid no attention). I told them I didn’t understand them and kept walking across the street. When I got to the other side I turned around and Aaron, Josh, and Olivia had stopped to talk to them.  I was mad for two reasons, first, why stop and talk to two belligerent drunk guys while you yourself are also drunk, and second, I had to go to the bathroom like crazy. So here I am yelling at them from the other side of the road, no idea what in the world is going on and finally I walk back across and grab Olivia and start pulling her across the street. Turns out they had said something to her on the way in, but she couldn’t make it out and just responded with random mumbling and it pissed them off. Which is why they came straight up to us after we left the store.  She was afraid they were going to try and fight us and/or follow us home so she was trying to sweet talk our way out of it, the whole time I’m standing on the other side thinking she’s flirting, lol.  They didn’t follow us and I assured her our two champagne bottles and the fact that we outnumbered them would probably keep them away.  We got back to the apartment, had some champagne, then some Georgian wine, talked about the most random things and then around 6 am I got on the metro and went home. By the time I got home, got ready for bed, etc… I didn’t go to sleep until 8:30 Sunday morning. 

That day, I didn’t eat a single thing (mostly because I slept all day).  Our friend Ben Richards and his friend visiting from Germany, Josh, invited us out for Ukrainian food and of course, we said yes.  It was probably the best dining experience I’ve had since I’ve been here.  First, we had AMAZING borscht and wonderful bread.  Lots of garlic.. mmmmm.  Then we had a really good salad which was pretty much like a potato salad with chicken in it (that’s kind of the texture of most salads here) and then the most amazing holubtsi, a Ukrainian stuffed cabbage roll.  MMMMMM. The best part of the night, though, was the honey pepper vodka shots.  Wow. It’s homemade vodka and you can only get it at this restaurant.  I only took a sip, again antibiotics, but wow. The most amazing sensation.  I can’t even explain it.  I’m bringing some home for sure.  It was a great experience all around and I left feeling nice and full. 

Last week was pretty uneventful.  On Thursday I was helping Olivia escort some Stanford MBA students onto the compound for a quick briefing before their reception at the DCM’s townhouse.  After we got them on the compound, all the escorts left and Olivia still needed help with the Stanford alumni that were coming not long after.  I helped her escort them, only they went straight to the townhouse and part way through that, Baron, Olivia’s supervisor and the control officer for the entire visit, asked me I would be able to stay and help escort after the reception. Now considering this was a reception for the Stanford group, of which a certain former Secretary of State (yes, Condoleezza Rice) was a part of, it took me all but .102 seconds to agree.  I was able to hang out with some of the MBA students, listen to Condi give a little toast, and then shake her hand and get a picture taken with her as she left. She told Olivia and I that she had once been an intern for the State Department and that she understood the need to be nice to your interns.  J  (I don’t have a copy of my solo picture with her yet, but it gets better).

On Friday night there was a little fireside chat event with Condi and the Ambassador that all the interns except Aaron and I were going to. We tried to get in, but were told the list was too full as it was.  SO, me being resourceful and all, talked to a good friend of mine who happens to be in charge of those access lists.  Magically, mine and Aaron’s names showed up on that list.  Unfortunately, the person who told us we couldn’t come saw us almost immediately. She came up to us and reprimanded us for coming after she said we couldn’t. We pointed out that our names were on the list and so we thought something had changed and it was ok (hehe).  Really, she was just worried about not having enough food, so we assured her that we would not eat anything.  She also told us we had to be working guests if we were going to stay, meaning we had to mingle with all the guests, not just embassy workers.  By this time, we had seen the MBA students numerous times and knew them pretty well, so “working” turned out to be super easy and really fun.  It was great to listen to her talk and she did a decent job fielding questions.  We were able to get an intern picture with her afterwards, which I will post.  It was pretty exciting to get to meet her… twice.  For those of you who don’t know, Condi is the reason I was ever interested in the State Department in the first place, ultimately, the reason I am here.  It meant a lot to get to meet her.

After the event at Spaso House, Olivia and I went out with Ben and Josh and their friend Tim.  We were suppose to meet up with the Stanford students, but when we got to the club, the bouncers asked us if we had a reservation and we said no and then they asked the Stanford guy if we were with them, and he also said no, so we didn’t get in.  Maybe it’s because they’re from Stanford, or maybe it’s because he’s just an ass, either way, we were pretty put off by the whole thing.  On top of it all, I didn’t have my wallet and was super scared I had left it a restaurant earlier in the day. So I was not exactly the life of the party that night.  On Saturday, Olivia and I did some shopping, went to Ismailova, and then we went to dinner at this little hole in the wall place on the corner across from the White House called 317.  It definitely ties the Ukrainian place for my favorite place in Moscow.  I had tomatoes with grated garlic cheese as an appetizer.. YUM. And then Beef Stroganoff (go figure) as my main entrée.  SO good. Again, though, the best part was definitely the vodka. They are called Nikolayshkas.  The vodka is super smooth, but instead of just getting a lemon for a chaser, you get lemons covered in ground coffee and powdered sugar. I was GOONNNEE before we left the restaurant, AND I was eating. That’s how good they were, we just couldn’t stop.  I spent about a half hour at the club (one mojito) before I decided I needed to head home. Stephen, the intern from the Foreign Agricultural Service (why didn’t I think of that??), left with me and we grabbed a cab (I was able to tell him where we needed to go and negotiate a price… my Russian is so much better when I’m drunk) and headed back to the compound.  Sadly between the club and the cab and the cab and the compound (lots of c’s there), I feel twice.  I had been bragging about making through winter in Moscow without falling once and I fall twice in the same evening. Stupid Karma. L

Sunday was pretty uneventful, we left the house only to go to the gym and pick up our takeout Indian food (Aroma delivers anywhere in Moscow for free).  And then we went back to bed.

This is Olivia’s last week (sniffle) so last night we went to her favorite restaurant, Kish Mish (it’s the Uzbek restaurant we went to my first night) and I had amazing borsht and shashlik.  Then we walked up old arbat again and I found Breanna her Ovechkin jersey, finally.  AND Aaron, Olivia, and I got matching Cheburashka shirts. For those of you who don’t know who/what Cheburashka is, he’s the main character of a Soviet cartoon and very popular in Russia. The episodes are really short and all on YouTube, if you’re curious.  Anyways, if you look at his name, it’s become pretty common for some people to take liberty with it… like CHE Burashka.  Our shirts are pretty epic in that sense. Let me see if I can find a picture of it online…. And nope.  I’ll get a picture up soon.  Pretty much we each got a different color shirt (red, white, and blue) and on the front it has Cheburashka, but he has the Che Guevara hat on and is holding a gun and his name is split up like Che Burashka.  It is absolutely adorable. We had been looking for our sizes all night and we found them in the last store. Sorry, super excited.

Anyways, time to actually get some work done.  Bye for now.

Also, all the interns went to Swan Lake last monday.  I just wanted to add that in the blog... I know most of my facebook friends knew this already, but for those of you who don't have facebook... it was at the Kremlin Theater and it was AMAZING.  It made me miss ballet SOOO much. :( Also, a dream come true...

My poor legs and arms... they hate me.

Hey guys, 

The last week has been pretty uneventful.  We went to the Anglo-American School of Moscow yesterday to participate in a college fair. The school is CRAZY! Tuition is expensive (it's an elementary, middle, and high school) and most Russian kids there are kids of like... the Oligarchs... so the facilities are NICE. The college fair was pretty fun.  I met a couple people from WI. One lady grew up in Ashland, went to UWEC for a semester, and now lives across HWY 2 from Amnicon Falls. And her son graduated from UWEC.  Then the other lady, Peggy Smith (Mom ask Tom Potterton about her, he knows her, as well as Mr. Dvorak).  She graduated from UW Madison and before she left for Moscow a year ago to be the Director of Curriculum at the Anglo-American School, she was the superintendent of the Ashland School District and before that worked for CESA (I think) and with Tom.  She also mentioned knowing Mr. Dvorak really well and then asked if I knew him. Pfffff... crazy small world, he's only my best friend's dad.  It was pretty cool.

Other than that I've been working out a lot. I am super motivated and I feel GREAT!

I booked my flight home and I'm hopefully booking my flight to Scotland today, which means other than train tickets I am set for coming home!!! Yay!

That's about all for now. We are going to the Kremlin this weekend so hopefully I'll have more to update on afterwards.

For the record, I do not adore Putin, I did not come to Russia just for him, and I DO NOT think he is better than Obama. F*** journalistic integrity, this is Russia...

Where to start, where to start?  First, I'm sorry it's been so long... it really has been a crazy week.  


I guess I'll go in order.  


So last Sunday we decided to go to Club Raй (Heaven or Paradise) for this Pro-Putin Party that some of the guys in my section mentioned would be an interesting thing to get "information" on.  So I thought, "it's one of Moscow's top night clubs and it's a Pro-Putin Party, let's go see what this is all about."  Oh boy.  I had an amazing time, but I was so out of my league.  Honestly,  I can't even explain to you what this club was like.  There were half naked girls everywhere, tons of different bars, a whole bunch of VIP seating, etc.  It was in an old chocolate factory on the river.  In order to get in we went through the VIP entrance and had to pay 15,000 Rubles... which is approx. $500 for 11 people.  BUT the money went on these cards that you spent on drinks.  So essentially it was a guarantee that you would spend money and if you didn't spend it, it was like you paid a cover.  When we first got in, there were cameras and reporters everywhere.  I guess the party had attracted a lot of attention because Putin was reportedly against the use of his name as such an event, BUT the party happened regardless.. .so it leaves you to wonder, if Putin were really against it, would it have happened... you know, what Putin wants, Putin gets.  Some even think it was the beginning of his 2012 presidential campaign.  Wouldn't doubt it, actually.  At the main entrance they had this cardboard billboard type thing... one of those face in the hole type things... with Putin on a motorcycle and a woman behind him... obviously I couldn't resist getting a picture of myself, but at the same time some of the press was filming it.  Afterwards, when she realized I was an American, a reporter came up to me and wanted to interview me, so I said yes. Mistake #1, 2, 3, and 150,000.  Just a bad idea, I've learned now.  She asked me a whole bunch of random and leading questions, most of which I shrugged off or said "I don't know" to.  But in the end, "I'm from WI, but I live in Moscow right now" turned into "she flew in from WI specifically for this party."  And everything I said was either cut out of the video or covered up with a Russian voice over that says "I adore Putin. I am here just for him. He's better than Obama" in Russian.  FML. Stupid lifenews.ru and their love for Putin.  (For the record, I said I love Obama and he has a great personality (it was a question about his personality that prompted me to answer in such a way)).  Most of the people who saw it, including the internal section chief, laughed and said I didn't have much to worry about, but that I should learn from my mistakes and stay out of the way of Russian cameras and their sneaky reporters.  Believe me, lesson learned.  Other than that, the night was amazing.  I danced a lot and got to sit in a VIP table that was just there for us, but we never ordered it... hmmmm?? Didn't drink because I had to work the next day, but also didn't get home until 4:30 am... that was a LONG day at work.  But worth it, really.  First ever clubbing experience = major success (minus the press problem).  Since I can't explain to you how awesome and over the top this club was, I'm giving you their website and also including the video.  Just an FYI, the video is kind of xrated, so if you're worried, don't watch it.  It's just funny to see how excited I look for being misqouted, and the Russian voice over, and the fact that they named me Ashley Boil (but it's in Russian), and just the general atmosphere of the party.


http://www.raiclub.ru/


Use Google Chrome and/or search in Google and choose "translate this page"


And I'm just going to include the link for the video so you can also translate the article to see what they wrote about me: Video of me professing my adoration for Putin over Obama.

Apart from some interesting conversations at the office, that's the majority of what happened surrounding that party.


These last few days have been CRAZY!!! We just had our Wheels Up party, meaning Biden left this morning.  I got to meet him on Weds, he told me to get back to WI and straighten out my governor.  That's one thing I caught after seeing him speak a few times, he really isn't afraid to say what he thinks... as we all know, it's gotten him in trouble, but it's still kind of refreshing. I was able to help out with and witness his speech at Moscow State University last night.  It was a very good speech. Very bold, but very good.  He definitely butchered some Russian names, namely Mikhail Khordokovsky, but hey... they're all tongue twisters to us English speakers anyways.  And he had a good sense of humor about it.  He made some bold statements about human rights and freedoms... actually got an applause from the crowd in the middle of it.  There was another incident with the press, this time Russia Today, an english language network, but super anti-American.  I guess they sent a couple reporters, one of which was suppose to actually cover the event while the other one created a scene.  Something about asking her for her credentials and being discriminated against. I don't know exactly. I just know she got thrown out and is making a big fuss over it. Screw the press in this country,  I have a deep-seated hatred for them. (sorry to all you honest journalists out there, I just need some time lol).  I also had a great time as the gift officer... I actually got to hold the gifts that the VP gave to Medvedev and Putin.  I transported them to the MFA protocol officer.  Yep... it was pretty cool. They were uber heavy, but it was still cool.  The whole thing was pretty stressful, but it went pretty well.  Now we have to get ready for Secretary Gates's visit.

I think Olivia and I are going to Ismailavo tomorrow to buy our official Russian furs.  Can't wait.  I think we are both looking at silver fox throws!  


Other than that, I've been pretty lazy at night, but well deserved laziness, for sure.  Can't wait for my mommy and daddy to get home, I miss talking to them. I also made my first hair appointment in Russia... but at Town and Country... for when I get home. lol.  I think I'm just gonna chill for the rest of the night.  Sorry for the delay in this update.

I think I have officially become a member of Putin's cult of personality... St. Pete's update part 2

Alright, first things first, I forgot to mention the attack of the snow removal machines in my last post. Apparently, they really don't give a crap about pedestrians who are crazy enough to be out on the streets at 5 AM, especially on a street like Nevskiy Prospect.  We were headed back to the metro from the Winter Palace (all 11 of us) and all of a sudden we heard a honk behind us and right at our heels there were like five snow plows/spin brush thingys.  We all scattered (mostly into the street as they were taking up the whole sidewalk) and they went past us one by one, but the spin brush thingys flew dirty, yucky snow half way across the street so then we had to figure out if we were going to run into traffic to avoid it or try and jump in front of them to get on a stoop or something.  It seriously became a game of cat and mouse and it was our responsibility to avoid them because they sure didn't care what happened to us.  AND they kept stopping and starting again so we would get in front of them and then have to do the whole ordeal over again 5 minutes later. UGH. It was annoying.

After we got settled at Shirah's, we left for the metro station and decided to grab lunch around her place instead of paying for an expensive lunch around Nevskiy.  We ended up at a small little Russian bar and I ordered a Greek Salad.  It was good. Different. Small.  The thing about salads here. They generally don't include lettuce.  They are more like deli salads I'd say.  After that we got off the metro at Nevskiy and walked around the Church of Spilled Blood (AMAZING) and the little park to the side of it.  We went through a little sovenouir fair and one of the vendors asked me where I was from in America and I told him Wisconsin.  Then, as we were walking away he yelled after my friend Joe (forgive the vulgarity, this is really what he said) "Hey Nigger, hook me up."  After we looked at each other quizzically, he followed with "I'm hustling every day."  Yes we don't know.  Maybe that's the extent of his English?  We went back there on Sunday and saw the same guy, he again referred to Joe in the same manner and when Joe tried to explain to him in Russian that the word was очень плохо (very bad), he said, "Нет, нет, это нормально" (No, no, it is normal).  Hmmmm?

After this great experience, we headed toward The Hermitage (Winter Palace).  As I mentioned, the day before we got there the King of Spain was in Peterburg to kick off the Year of Spain in Russia and the opening of the Prado exhibit at the Hermitage was on Saturday.  We had VIP tickets so we got to go in early and walk through the exhibit. It was pretty impressive.  Afterwards we walked through some specific rooms in the Hermitage, including Da Vinci and Ancient Egypt.  I got to see Da Vinci's Madonna Litta and one of my favorite paintings that I didn't even know was at the Hermitage. So many times I've seen the Return of the Prodigal Son painting used in sermons, but to actually see it in person, unexpectedly.. it was amazing. And huge.  It made my day.

The Hermitage/Winter Palace

Madonna Litta - Leanardo Da Vinci - The Hermitage

The Return of the Prodigal Son - Rembrandt - The Hermitage

After we left the Hermitage we walked across the street and headed towards St. Isaacs Cathedral.  It's a huge Cathedral and you can pay to walk up to the top of the tallest tower. So we did. It was amazing.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

It was sincerely beautiful. (ps. I'm sorry I'm using some itnernet photos here, I just dont' have access to my friends' cameras yet so instead of waiting for my pictures I'm just using other ones so you can still see what it looks like.

After this we went back to Shirah's appartment to shower and freshen up before dinner.  We met Olivia and her family and intended to find an Indian restaurant for dinner, but failed and ended up at a pretty intense Chinese Restaurant.  It was exceptionally good.  And the Mojitos? Oh-My-Goodness.  I've never had anything like them.  They were like $8, but I still had two.  After dinner we all went to bed as we were exhausted from the train ride and running around town all morning.

In the morning, Shirah and Joe made us a fantastic breakfast and then we hit the sights again.  We went back to the Church of Spilled Blood, but this time went inside.  The entire inside (walls, ceiling, floor) was plastered with amazing Mosaics that (from what we could tell) depicted virtually every Bible story.



After we were done here we walked accross the river and went to the Peter and Paul Fortress (weird feeling).  The Cathedral is the tallest in St. Pete's because of the Golden Spire at the top.  When we were there we went to a museum on the history of St. Petersburg, but it was hard to get into it because it was all in Russian.

The walk back to Nevskiy was really long, but worth it. We got to see the Winter Palace from accross the river and then walk through that area one last time.

Before we got back on the train to head back to Moscow, we had one last meal in St. Pete's.  Neither Shirah nor Aaron knew what Stroganoff was so we decided we were going to have a traditional dinner for our last meal.  We tried to go to the place where stroganoff was invented, but it was $60 for venison stroganoff (the original). Instead we went across the way and had it for $20. It was amazing! Different in that it was served with rice, but amazing!

The train ride home was slightly uneventful. I didn't sleep very well and work ended up being really long.  I found out they cancelled the Gorbachev site as a visit for the VPOTUS visit so I no longer have a chance to meet him, although today is his 80th birthday.  Yesterday was extremely busy for me and I was barely at my desk at all.  AFter work I went grocery shopping on my own and bought way too much.  Walking home was intense.  Today Olivia and I took a bit of an extended lunch and ran some personal errands at the mall :)...

I think that's most of what I have to update.  Shirah is coming to Moscow this weekend so I should have a lot more to post about next week.  I know we have been asked by our section to go to a Pro-Putin Party at the RAI club this sunday.  I want to go SO bad.  Seriously. But I guess it's really hard to get in.  We will see.

TTFN