Operation: MOSCOW – Peoples of Moscow

Entry 22: 7 November, 2011

In the evening on Friday, after we got back from the Tretyakov gallery, Phil and Brenda's neighbors came over to visit. Mario is German, and his wife Olga is Russian. They are a delightful couple. From the conversation I got to have with them, it seems to me that Olga is one of those individuals who is very intuitive/perceptive about people. Mario is the type of person you could have an intellectual discussion with for hours on end. They are both very intelligent and cultured, and I hope to see them when they come to Alaska for a visit.

On Sunday after church, a large group met at a small cafe for lunch. Brenda and Phil found the cafe right after it opened and were surprised to see that it advertised no smoking. Brenda told them that if they stuck to that, she would make sure and bring her friends...and she has a lot of friends in Moscow. It's now become the typical lunch spot for ICF members after church, and it was actually the same cafe Nastya and I had raced into briefly the day before. A bunch of tables were all pushed together, and I sat at a table with three Russians. Therefore I got to practice my Russian. Sergei, the gentleman next to me, and I discussed all sorts of things. We talked a lot about literature. He asked me who my favorite writers were and didn't seem to think too much of my favorite Russian works. He told me what he thought I needed to read and mentioned a few works I hadn't heard of before and will have to look into when I get back home and have time to read in Russian. He asked what sort of American literature I liked, and was surprised to find that I do not really like any American literature. I had thought I was going to make it through my time in Russia without someone bringing up Mr. Jack London, but alas 'twas not to be, as Sergei broached the subject.

I find that my normal conversational Russian has seemed to improved being here. I definitely speak a whole lot faster than I used to do when I'm speaking on a topic with which I feel comfortable or on which I have a firm opinion. Granted, literature is probably one of the easiest things for me to speak on, but it's still progress.