russian reggae in china town! and more! moscow is crazy!

So, I decided I'm pretty bad at this blogging thing...it's been over a week.  I'll try my best to update what's been going on here since then, though.

I've finally decided what classes I'm going to take: combinatorics, complex analysis, and advanced linear algebra.  While I would love to take more classes, I don't want to spend my time in Moscow overwhelmed with work; I want to be able to get out and enjoy being in a new place.  Also, hopefully taking only 3 classes will mean I'll be able to really focus on the material in each class instead of feeling scatter-brained.

Besides classes, I've enjoyed getting to know the city better this past week.  On Saturday night, a few of us went to a bar in China Town that had a reggae concert. That was probably the biggest cultural clash I've ever witnessed--Russians playing reggae music in China Town.  Moscow continues to surprise me.  Everything is SO different.  From the way people act, to the way they dress and look...not many specific details are coming to me right now, but I'll try to take note of them as they happen and remark on them in my next blog.

Last night, Allison and I bought some plain blini (a pastry very similar to crepes) from a bakery and got some traditional Russian toppings to fill them with (as well as some fun ones) and laid it all out for everyone to try.  The usual topping for blini is caviar and sour cream, and while I tried a bite of that, I preferred my nutella/banana/cherry jam combination.  Below are some pics of the night.

the setup

caviar and sour cream

banana, nutella, and strawberry jam

Well, that's it for now! I'll try to update more frequently because I know I'm forgetting a lot when I wait so long between posts.  More later!