1. Dr. Loder – There was no such thing as a regular gym in our neighborhood so I was “forced” to join a fancy health club. It ended up being a great investment, as my extended gym visits were always a highlight of my day, as well as a key source of my limited Russian vocabulary. I bravely attended a wide range of group exercise classes including: “Spinning” (Cycling), “Impact” (Kickboxing), “Hot Iron”, “Sculpt”, Dance Aerobics, Step, Aqua Aerobics, Yoga and Pilates. The instructors were kind enough to keep an extra eye on me to make sure I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself due to my inability to understand their instructions. After a few weeks of persistence, I felt wordlessly accepted by my fellow regulars; one of whom even invited me for lunch!
2. The Kremlin /Red Square – We lived only a few blocks away from this happening place, so it became a familiar sight. During the day, it was buzzing with locals and tourists alike, and at night it was quiet and majestic.
3. Eliseevsky Gastronome – As luck would have it, our neighborhood grocery store was also a gorgeous historical site, with palatial origins. I was a frequent customer at this 24 hour shop but never tired of its spectacular, opulent decor. This seems like a good place to make a confession: I’ve turned from a tomato-hater to a tomato-lover! I don’t think a day passed when I didn’t buy a box of cherry tomatoes…In my defense, Jerel and other experienced tomato eaters have told me that Russian tomatoes are among the best in the world, and far superior to what North America offers.
4. Shopping Stalls – I was also a regular customer at the portable stalls half a block from our apartment, and will miss the ultra-convenient access to a small selection of drinks, produce, dairy, and nuts. I will also miss the ubiquitous cheery UBETBl stalls (flowers) and the pastry stalls where I treated myself to “C-makom” (translation: with poppy seeds), as well as the wide range of underground stalls where I could always pick up nail polish or a pair of fishnet stockings in a pinch!
5. Coffee Bean – I became a regular at this spacious yet cozy café a block from our apartment. The staff’s English skills were variable, but this is one place where they consistently made an effort to communicate with non-Russians. I became addicted to Frappes, and at one point they were able to guess my order when I came in for my daily visit.
6. The Moscow Times – I enjoyed a leisurely read of this English paper almost daily during my visits to the Coffee Bean. The articles were an interesting mix of propaganda (“Medvedev Scores at G8”) and reality (“Medvedev Vows to Fight Corruption”). I became well acquainted with Russia’s oil and steel companies, as well as with the scary extent of Putin and Medvedev’s influence.
7. People Watching – Just when you’d think you’d seen the most outrageous outfit of the day, another would come along to take the cake. Miniskirts, daisy-dukes, sheer or midriff bearing shirts were the norm.. Unfortunately, I think I missed the ultimate prize winner – Jerel told me he saw a woman at Coffee Bean wearing an utterly sheer dress so that her lingerie was on display for all to see!
8. Cyrillic Signs – Even though I prefer to be surrounded by signs that I actually understand, the Cyrillic signs appealed to the detective in me as I loved the satisfaction of deciphering them. One funny moment was when we realized that the ubiquitous and diverse restaurant chain that we loved called ‘PECTOPAH’ was actually just a sign for “restauran(t)”.
9. The Seven Sisters – There’s something about these buildings… you could almost always see one or more of these imposing towers in the distance, reminding you of Stalin’s oppressive rule.
10. Random Acts of Kindness – The list isn’t very long but the typically stoic nature of Russians made these moments extra special. I already reported on the flowers incident. A more recent one was when a regular at my gym piped up in my defense to the instructor telling her that I spoke a little Russian when she seemed concerned that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Dance Aerobics class that was about to begin!
After a nomadic summer, Jerel and I have been enjoying staying put in Shanghai for the last few weeks. Labour Day weekend was especially fun, as we celebrated Jerel's birthday with a busy weekend including: a trip to the Grand Theatre where we were amazed by Swan Lake; an evening at Cloud 9, one of the highest restaurants in the city (87th floor!); and an extravagant champagne brunch at our hotel (which was more of a 'brunchinner" given how much we ate)! We also had an entertaining walk along the famous Nanjing Lu and invented a game - guess how many times you will be approached in the next block by someone trying to sell you something.
This past Sunday (September 14) China celebrated the 'Mid-Autumn Festival' when, as the hotel staff told me "the greatest joy is to share mooncakes with your friends and family and look at the moon". Well, neither of us was too taken by mooncakes (typical flavours are 'lotusroot' and 'red bean', often with an egg yolk center), and the moon was rather hard to make out, and but it was still fun to share in the excitement around this holiday. The locals really get into their mooncakes - in fact, things can get a bit out of hand, with perpetual long lines at the best bakeries, and scalpers getting busted for selling mooncake coupons (see article in the Shanghai Daily: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=373210).
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