Send me to Siberia I'm so damn hot!

I haven't yet learned the word for sweating profusely in russian, but i'm sure it has few vowels.

Moscow has been treating me well. My hosts, Yonchik and Masha, have been treating me very well and showing me around the city at night. Yesterday (Tuesday), I spent my morning walking around two neighborhoods, Arbat and Kropotkinskaya, checking out some of the architecture (ooh, and I found this adorable cafe in the back of a store that I now love). Then in the afternoon I took a guided tour of the Kremlin and the Armoury, where I saw more faberge eggs than i knew what to do with. Fortunately, all i had to do was stare. I need to do a fair write-up of Moscow, but now I've got to run out to dinner. So I'm going to put up a few pictures instead.


That would be me (sideways-sorry, low tech here) in front of St. Basil's in Red Square.










Me and my rubbery ice cream cone.






Yonatan and his soggy ice cream cone. actually, it was more like rubber. but the ice cream tasted good.








Ok, this has not done Moscow justice, I promise more. Full stories, pictures (turned the proper direction), commentary, and much much more. But for now, I leave you with this multiple choice question:

How do you know that Communism lost during the Cold War:
a) The Citibank/McDonald's/Coke Stands all opposite the Kremlin Walls
b) Louis Vitton and every other designer having a boutique in the shopping center* on Red Square
c) T-shirts for sale that say CCCP** or something else soviet and young entrepreneurs selling this stuff

* The shopping center used to be known as GUM and was notorious for having long lines, poor service, and little to offer. Sound like the Soviet Safeway on 17th and Corcoran?

** Don't think for a second that I didn't buy one. I did.

From Moscow With Love

I arrive safe and sound in Moscow this morning. This will be a shorter post, because a) I'm jetlagged and have been up for many hours due to kid kicking my seat for the duration of my flight and b) I'm not on my own computer.

It's amazing how authority is embedded into the lives of lots of the people here. For example, at JFK after they checked my visa, I needed to go and get my boarding pass. So I waited at the desk. Everyone else was free to enter the lounge area and/or board the plane. Yet, every Russian who passed through the visa checkpoint queued up behind me. For no other reason than I was in line. I cannot comprehend.

Never before have I seen such a stark difference in behavior/dress/appearance between different generations. You have armani jeans next to an elderly woman with a headscarf. And the younger generation looks so much more vibrant. I'll elaborate more on this I'm sure as I spend a few more days in this city.

After arriving and dropping my bags I went straight to Red Square. Actually, first I had to learn how to navigate the metro. Then I went to Red Square. It is huge...and relatively empty. But coming around the corner and then seeing St. Basil's, it was breathtaking. I must admit I always thought it looked a bit "kitsch" in pictures, but it's amazing in person. Of course, naturally, I then proceeded to take lots of pictures. Some of which I'll post later when I'm on my own computer.

I spent the rest of the day wandering around the city center and then lounging in a park outside of the Kremlin. It was way too hot to do anything else. But I'll keep you posted on my adventures here.

Questions? Comments?

The Eagle has Landed Yet Again

My first foray into the world of cyberspace was a remarkable failure. I tried keeping two blogs and in the process kept none. But it's two years later. I'm two years older. I'd dare say two years more mature. A blog is what you get before you acquire a plant or dog. It requires less maintenance and so I'm ready to give it a second chance.

I'm getting ready to head overseas for 6 weeks. I'll be in Central Asia a.k.a. "da Stans." My first encounter with this region was in Ms. North's 7th grade Social Studies class. We had these geography tests on all the regions of the world. I aced every single one. 100 on each test. And then came the test on the Former Soviet Union. I couldn't tell one stan from the next and I bombed the exam. I'll never forgive you stans! But seriously, how is a 12 year old supposed to tell the difference between Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan? How are you supposed to know the difference??? Read this blog and find out on the Adventures of Dina in Pick-Your-Stan as she follows the Silk Road...

Here's a map to help you get started












Then it all changed. That one fatefull afternoon during my second year of SAIS when I walked into the Rome building and into Starrmanbashi's "Modern Central Asia & the Caspian Basin" course. I knew my life was about to change. Some would argue for the worse. 13 rambling lectures on the virtues of Central Asia and I knew two things:
1) Starrmanbashi was full of shit
2) I had to check out this part of the world for myself

And so I'm going and I plan to blog in the process. My plan is to start in Moscow and then fly to Ashgabat (that's the capital of Turkmenistan, duh - didn't you know that?) and work my way from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and finally into Kyrgyzstan. I'll be on my own for most of the trip.

I've got a reading list up the wazoo if you're interested in following along. Here are a few suggestions:
The Great Game, Peter Hopkirk
Eastward to Tartary, Robert Kaplan
Genghis Khan, Jack Weatherford

I'm going to the ends of the earth (which happens to be landlocked) and I'm psyched. I hope you'll read my blog and make comments along the way. Thanks for joining me on this trip!

Dina
a.k.a Chief Strategist