МакДоналдс

McDonald's in Russia offers free wireless for 15MB or 30 minutes, whichever comes first, so it's not exactly "free," but I thought I'd post an update. The cathedral was gorgeous, and I hung out with some people afterwards as we checked out the Дом Книги (Dom Knigi; House of Books--or perhaps more accurately, House of the Book). I bought (for something like $3.50) a small collection of Mark Twain aphorisms written in both the original English and in very good Russian translations.

Hope all is well. Time now to go get dinner at host-home, then work and sleep. Tomorrow we have phonetics class, as well as the regular. Choir (really just a group of us getting together and singing Russian songs) on Thursday, Theatre class on Friday (we're doing Chekhov's Three Sisters), and this weekend we're going to Pskov! Should be fun. Don't have time to write more now.

The City That Never Sleeps

It's 4:07am local time, and I'm in Manhattan. Tonight's post will be rather short, but I'll just say that I love the energy of this city. Earlier this evening, I was walking up 14th street near Union Square, and as I was on my cell phone with a good friend, all of the crowds and sirens and insane taxi drivers gave me a good feeling, a feeling of forward motion. I was moving with the city. It wasn't a herd mentality; rather, it was a feeling of being connected while being a total stranger with the person next to me. It was about having shared individuality, if that makes sense, sharing the feeling of going somewhere.

I realized that I didn't bring shampoo, which I should probably have no matter what, so I got some nice Herbal Essences at Duane Reade. I've stopped using conditioner altogether because I think my hair looks better without it. On a related note, I kinda forgot to get a haircut before leaving. Maybe I'll find a barber in St. Petersburg? On a related note, I forgot to bring an alarm clock or watch of any kind, but I don't like watches anyhow. I'll be resourceful and use my computer as my alarm clock. I may still need to buy an ethernet cable, though.

I was fortunate enough to see some relatives who live nearby, and I got the brief chance to chat with them and partake of some delicious homemade spaghetti. Afterward, I went to a rooftop party in Brooklyn with my NYU hosts. It was a beautifully indie/hipster evening, but not in an annoying way. I truly didn't know any of these people yesterday, but it was a great time. With every experience I have, I tend to feel that I am growing as a person and further developing my idea of myself and how I feel about life. It's an interesting process to be aware of.

After all that, I wanted something American--something I won't be able to get for the next ten weeks. As luck would have it, we came off the Q train at Union Square right across the street from a McDonalds. As it turns out, the McDouble is predictably underwhelming, and I won't be interested in McDonalds food for a while.

Also, the rats in the NYC subway are unexpectedly cute. Still, I wouldn't go near one.



Here are a few things:
My Skype name: rednaxela88
My AIM screen name: rednaxela1120
My Twitter (warning: I don't like Twitter): rednaxela4
If you're wondering, "rednaxela" is Alexander backwards. That's really all it means.
While I'm in Israel, I may not be able to update much, so be aware.

I also encourage you to check out my last.fm page. It chronicles the music I've been listening to, and it updates constantly. On the plane I listened to The Album Leaf (I tend to always listen to them on planes) and afterward to The Arcade Fire. Good stuff.


Tomorrow at 2:30pm EST, I will leave the United States.