Brisk Fall Day

Photo from the movie I saw today at the art museum

Lately I've been continually brought to the realization that I have so little time left in Moscow. Up until now, I've gone to school, gone out with friends and on excursions, but generally kept to home, reading books or watching Russian tv. So I decided that I needed to get out in Moscow, visit more museums or just see more of the city, because god knows when I'll be back in Russia again with so much free time. I tried to orchestrate a trip to Izmaylova but that fell through, so I decided to go to the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. No one wanted to go so I ended up going myself. It was a really great place, tons of Zurab Tsereteli sculptures. There was a room full of huge christmas light sculptures and a tons of little speakers. There was a microphone you could speak into and a computer would mix it with music and send it into the room for a few minutes. I saw a few friends, all Russian, take turns saying things and laughing at each other. There was also an exhibit of French movies, which was my favorite part. And, of course, because this was a modern art museum they were the weirdest, most fucked up movies I've ever watched. I flitted from room to room but eventually settled on watched a movie called "Body Double X," a drama about French transvestites, all played by one man. It was incredibly creepy and fascinating. For this reason, I'm glad I went alone, because I doubt any of my friends would have sat with me for an hour watching one man playing 10 people having a huge orgy, and then rehearsing for a transvestite Hamlet and having a dinner party. 

I also enjoyed that I was one of the very few people in the room who understood the whole thing. It was in French with English subtitles, and at one point two older Russian women came in the room and sat next to me, looking blankly at the screen until the word "Yes" came up. One woman nudged the other woman and said "YES!" then came a masturbation scene. The giggled nervously and then quickly got up and hustled out, probably to go watch the movie that started with a 30 minute scene in complete blackness with only noises playing "BUH! SEEEE! TUMMM."

I bought a shirt and then went off to the Arbat. I checked out a souvenir store and then went to Starbucks. I wanted to buy a coffee cup there that I really liked, and figured I'd get a coffee while I was at it. I got a mocha and when they were ringing me up, the girl only rang up my cup. Thus, I got a free mocha. I should have pointed this out, but I'm a pretty crummy human being.I like to think that had it been in English, I would have pointed it out, but my insecurity with Russian left me helpless. That's a bunch of bull so I'll just say I didn't mind getting the 8 dollar mocha free. Yeah, 8 dollars. Moscow is crazy expensive.

I headed back to the metro. At this point, I should mention I decided to wear a skirt today. The skirt is sort of wispy thing, and I probably won't be able to wear it again without freezing. I bought it when I first got in Moscow and was boiling to death in my jeans. This also means that it is prone to fly up if there's a slight draft. That means that when a huge metro train comes whooshing by, it REALLY flies up. I caught it and tried desperately to keep it from showing my goodies to everyone on the platform. I turned around and a guy was laughing at me. Not in an obscene, sister I just saw what you got going on under there and I approve way, but rather a friendly laugh, like he had warned me when I was putting on the skirt that  this exact thing was going to happen, and when it did he couldn't help but laugh. I grinned back and then took a fistful of skirt and forced the skirt to behave itself so I could board. Then I sat across from him for 5 stops. He then disappointed me by indeed giving me the creepy metro "up and down" where you feel like someone is undressing you with their eyes, and I did my best to ignore it.

So that was my day. A pretty awesome one if I do say so myself, and it just goes to show the fun that can be had should you decide to take Moscow on all by yourself. I hope to do it again soon.