Friday turned out to be a fun day, but the weather didn't reflect this! Grizzly and drizzle everywhere. I visited the bank firstly and checked out the ATMs. Because of the large denominations here in Russia you can take out 1000, 5000, 8000, 10000, 15000 or 25000 roubles. I saw a lady take out 10,000 and she got 2 crisp 5000 rouble notes. SUPER COOL.
After this excitement I met up with my russian "buddy" (or sleeper cell as some family members helpfully put it). She's a lovely, sweet girl and she's even taller than me! Her English was good and we spoke in Russian & English. I explained to her all my stresses about class and she agreed to help me out.
We went to campus and had lunch in the canteen. First we had to find the canteen which was hidden away in the basement of one of the buildings. I think we asked about 4 or 5 people for directions. The food was pretty plain and only a few choices and there weren't even sandwiches on offer! The concept of pre-made sandwiches just doesn't exist here, people have proper meals for lunch at work. Sort of sweet really. The canteen was stuffed with students all nattering away, some even sang and cheered for a fellow students birthday.
She took me to the Faculty of World Economy & World Politics and we spoke to a couple of professors who said that their classes are all in Russian but there is the MA programme starting on September 19th & 22nd which I can join. So whilst we didn't manage to sort out classes for me, I at least got to meet the people who have been sending me emails (and being unhelpful...).
Then we took a stroll around the neighborhood of my university. The architecture is very French and there aren't any buildings made of red brick like in England. We spoke about a number of things. She said she really wanted to visit London but the British visa restrictions on Russian tourists were super high and that it was rare to get a visa. Her friend who was supposed to be studying in London was rejected! Apparently they have to give finger prints and all, and I thought having an HIV test was bad! But we did discover a gorgeous little church tucked away, it was painted a bright aqua color and had a large & 2 small golden domes. Very pretty!
So that was a nice day and I came back to my dormitory to have a "welcome dinner" with the HSE crowd. Basically a dinner of smoked salmon, crepes, caviar, cucumber and ravioli. Interesting to say the least. We had a talk from the Director (useless man) welcoming us to Russia and to the programme and were reminded again not to drink excessively.*
p.s I survived eating my first apple here! AND today I ate half a tomato!! I'm thinking I might slowly introduce the tap water into my routine. I wash all my plates & cutlery in it & rinse my toothbrush in it too. My friends have been using it to brush their teeth too. I'm probably just being parnoid, however I do like to follow advice that the Embassy gives me. :)
