It took a while, but I'm here. I was fine with the flight until about eight hours in, when it started getting tedious and the last hour was probably one of the longest of my life. I still think watching the sun set and then rise thirty minutes later is one of the coolest things in the world - and no, I'm not so far North that I can do that on a daily basis here. Sunset, I think, was about 11:00 PM last night, and when I woke up at 7:00 this morning, it was well after sunrise.
After spending less then 30 minutes in customs, I spent nearly 2 hours in van with three other people in the group getting dropped off one by one. I can only imagine how much time the two people who were left when I got out had to spend getting to their summer home. Sheremetevo Airport (where we flew in) is actually the closest one to town at about 11 km I think, but we all live on the opposite side of town. Thankfully, my neighborhood, Замоскворечье ("Zamoskvorechie"), which means "Acros the Moscow river," is precisely what it's name implies - directly across the river from the Kremlin, Church of Christ the Saviour, etc . . . (although our apartment is a little further down from being directly across, it's still close to the center and not nearly as far away from things as some people are). Yesterday was also a national holiday (they're a bit of a predilection here). I can't remember, but it may or may not extend to Monday. It's their День Независимости or "Independence Day," which meant that the streets were even more crowded than usual, despite the fact that dacha season is starting and many people have left the city for their summer homes.
After a walk through the Neskuchnyj Sad across the street yesterday, I found myself fading very quickly, so I determined to take a two hour nap before catching the US/UK game at 10:30 PM local time. Only when 10:30 came around I was still tired, so I went back to sleep - looking up the scores after I finish this.
So, in short, I'm in Moscow. It's pretty cool (actually, I should say it is REALLY HOT AND HUMID). Much different from what I was expecting, but very cool nonetheless.
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