What do you think of your experience in Russia?

Thanksgiving Dinner, picture stolen from Jen 
Mongolian contortionists, picture taken illegally by me
The group of us on Thanksgiving, taken by Nastia.I have no idea why Carlos and I are making terrible faces
Dessert, also stolen from Jen. Mmm it was good
Circus, another illegal picture. Please don't tell the circus authorities on me

The title today is a question my tutor Masha asked me earlier. We met and took a walk in a park near Moscow State University. When I started asking questions about the university, where Masha studies, she led me up a steep incline to get a better view of it. I've seen it before but I just love the building, it's beautiful. Stalin had it built in 1953. It's ENORMOUS, in a 1930's new york skyscraper style. It's got tons of statues and marble with a giant, red soviet star on top that I've heard weighs a few tons. So we hiked up this little hill to get a better look. The hill was steep but not crazy steep, and much of it had stairs. I was embarrassed by how much I was huffing and puffing, but then I looked over and Masha had the same look on her face, and she said "this is a lot of stairs." We reached the best look out point in Moscow, a panorama of the city in front of you, and Moscow State behind. Masha pointed out all the steeples and domes of the churches, and pointed to the Moscow Radio Tower, on the north side of town to show how far away everything was. 

We walked around the university and then went and got some coffee and dessert. We talk in a mix of  English and Russian, she's a linguistics major and has been speaking English for 12 years or something, so she's really good. She got a scholarship to go to Moscow State, the most prestigious university in Moscow, by winning an English language "contest," which basically sounded like a really grueling series of tests. The girl is really smart, and so nice. She then asked me "So... what do you think of your experience in Russia?" This is a hard question to answer, especially when a Russian is asking you. I mean, all the students gripe to each other about it a lot, some have legit reasons, others (like me) don't really. It's just a form of bonding, I suppose, because life here isn't exactly easy, especially when compared to life in the States. And that's what I said, that things were so hard here, a lot of it for me is language, but other things are also hard, but I like it. I can't exactly say that I had fun here like I had fun when I studied abroad in France, but at the same time I have had fun here. It's such a different place that it's almost impossible to explain how I feel. The history of the people and the people themselves are so compelling, their attitudes towards their country and their past.  There's almost a sheepishness to everything, but I don't mean that to be insulting. I like it. And when bad things happened here, it wasn't that we exactly expected it but it wasn't as shocking as it maybe should have been. Like, they took our passports away, said they would give them back in a few weeks, and then we almost didn't get them back for more than a month. Of course, it's Russia. Like, the heating doesn't work in our school and we wear our coats and scarves and have been doing this for more than a month. Well, it's Russia. Like bread costs less than 2 dollars but jeans cost upwards of a hundred.  I don't know, I forget where I was going with this.

All I could say to Masha was that things have been very, very hard here, but I love it. She smiled and said "That's how Russians feel too."