Since we're getting ready to take our first getaway next weekend, I figured I should get a quick update in now. The biggest news this week is in the area of natural phenomena. First is the arrival of pookh. Apparently, every year the city is beseiged by these 'harmless' white puffs that take to the air and seem to defy gravity and the laws of physics. They also can wreak havoc on allergy sufferers so it's a good thing we have our netty pots.
When the pookh is heavy, it's like being in a warm snow shower, except it doesn't melt and it seems to make a concerted effort to get in your eyes nose and mouth. Even when it rains, the pookh survives, and continues to float around, which looks really bizarre. Unfortunately I haven't had my camera on me for any of the good pookh moments and in its lighter form, it doesn't show up well in photos. I've been told that the pookh comes from cottonwood trees, but I have yet to see any of these trees or their seed pods, which only adds to the mystery of pookh.
Aside from being attacked by floating powder puffs, the weather itself has been all over the place. Apparently this is normal too. One day it's 80 degrees, the next it's in the 40's. One minute it's sunny and the next it's pouring rain, literally, the next minute, and then the sun is shining five minutes later. The weather forecast is all but worthless, so we've learned to always have an umbrella with us, even on short trips out of the house. While that can be annoying, it does make for some very dramatic scenes when the weather rolls in and out. Apparently the weather is a bit more stable in autumn and winter, but that remains to be seen.
In other happenings, I had a neat encounter with a local at lunch the other day. I went to the soup kitchen at the church next to the embassy and it was pretty busy so I ended up sitting with a little old lady, who would most accurately be called a 'babushka' in Russian. It technically means 'grandmother' but is often used for stereotypical little old ladies here. I thought she would just ignore me, but instead she struck up a conversation. She told me that the food there was real, home-cooked Russian food, and that she, herself cooks there from time to time. From there we discussed American cuisine, whether people in Moscow are nice or not (rest assured my answer was diplomatic), and whether McDonald's constitutes real food or not. It was very pleasant to have a conversation with someone local where I wasn't deciding whether or not they could come to the United States.
On Friday, after work, the Embassy held a Hail and Farewell to welcome newcomers and bid outgoing officers 'so long'. It was a very nice event complete with hot dogs and a veritable smorgasboard of pasta salads and desserts. We had a great time and Aiden charmed the pants off of everyone he met. Luckily, the weather held up for the cookout.
I can't say the same for the weekend, which was almost entirely rainy. It was just as well as we all ended up fighting off colds. But we still got out for a little trip to a nearby mall across the river. It was actually a pretty nice place, with a lot of stores and some restaurants that we want to go back and try. Best of all was the giant matryoshka exhibit. Not that the exhibit was giant, but the martryoshka's were - over 20 feet tall. It was on the top floor under the glass canopy roof, which made for a very surreal setting.
When the pookh is heavy, it's like being in a warm snow shower, except it doesn't melt and it seems to make a concerted effort to get in your eyes nose and mouth. Even when it rains, the pookh survives, and continues to float around, which looks really bizarre. Unfortunately I haven't had my camera on me for any of the good pookh moments and in its lighter form, it doesn't show up well in photos. I've been told that the pookh comes from cottonwood trees, but I have yet to see any of these trees or their seed pods, which only adds to the mystery of pookh.
Aside from being attacked by floating powder puffs, the weather itself has been all over the place. Apparently this is normal too. One day it's 80 degrees, the next it's in the 40's. One minute it's sunny and the next it's pouring rain, literally, the next minute, and then the sun is shining five minutes later. The weather forecast is all but worthless, so we've learned to always have an umbrella with us, even on short trips out of the house. While that can be annoying, it does make for some very dramatic scenes when the weather rolls in and out. Apparently the weather is a bit more stable in autumn and winter, but that remains to be seen.
In other happenings, I had a neat encounter with a local at lunch the other day. I went to the soup kitchen at the church next to the embassy and it was pretty busy so I ended up sitting with a little old lady, who would most accurately be called a 'babushka' in Russian. It technically means 'grandmother' but is often used for stereotypical little old ladies here. I thought she would just ignore me, but instead she struck up a conversation. She told me that the food there was real, home-cooked Russian food, and that she, herself cooks there from time to time. From there we discussed American cuisine, whether people in Moscow are nice or not (rest assured my answer was diplomatic), and whether McDonald's constitutes real food or not. It was very pleasant to have a conversation with someone local where I wasn't deciding whether or not they could come to the United States.
On Friday, after work, the Embassy held a Hail and Farewell to welcome newcomers and bid outgoing officers 'so long'. It was a very nice event complete with hot dogs and a veritable smorgasboard of pasta salads and desserts. We had a great time and Aiden charmed the pants off of everyone he met. Luckily, the weather held up for the cookout.
I can't say the same for the weekend, which was almost entirely rainy. It was just as well as we all ended up fighting off colds. But we still got out for a little trip to a nearby mall across the river. It was actually a pretty nice place, with a lot of stores and some restaurants that we want to go back and try. Best of all was the giant matryoshka exhibit. Not that the exhibit was giant, but the martryoshka's were - over 20 feet tall. It was on the top floor under the glass canopy roof, which made for a very surreal setting.
There were also a bunch of little kiddie moon-bouncers for the kids. Aiden tried one out but didn't seem too sure about playing on a soft, squishy floor. Apparently the mall has things to do for kids every weekend, so we'll have to check it out from time to time.
Now we're getting things together for our upcoming trip to St. Petersburg next weekend. It will be an adventure, that's for sure. I'll look forward to seeing how it goes.
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