This morning I had a bagel - cream cheese, cinammon and banana. From a shop that only sells bagels. It was delicious. I'm pleased to report that the coffee here is also excellent although I'm told that is not the case in new York City. Slowly getting the hang of the tipping phenomenon, I don't really mind as all the service and food so far has been great.
My days have involved a lot of lounging around, listening to music, reading and talking with friends. It's very relaxing but almost bizarre to be on holiday - time seems to go much slower than it does at home, and I keep catching myself thinking I have something to do or somewhere to be.
I'm really enjoying my reading material, swapped Germaine Greer for the first chapters of Natasha Walter's 2010 work, Living Dolls: The return of Sexism. She discussed how women can now freely engage in sex work such as 'glamour modelling' and pole dancing, things which have become mainstream in today's sexualised culture. This is exactly what the angry second-wave feminists wanted, but these women say they do not feel empowered. They are still objectified and disillusioned, discovering that the sex industry is not what it promises. Some of it was a little hard to relate since it focuses on the UK where glamour modelling has a huge aspirational following in young women through Zoo magazine and Jordan. I also enjoyed the title chapter where Walter discussed how young girls are encouraged not only to play with dolls, but to look like them. Pilot Barbie has been replaced by the Bratz with their fishnet stockings and heavy makeup. An over-exaggerated vision of sexual liberation?
I went with Bethany to her social anthropology class which I enjoyed. At the start a professor gave a presentation on the annual cultural immersion trip he takes students on to Ghana. I wanted to sign up but you have to be a U of I student, or 'Vandal' as they are affectionately known.
The students here seemed very interested in what they were doing, answering questions and starting a lively discussion about the theory being presented, which continued after class. A lot of people I have met here are so passionate about their field of study, do extra work, read books, meet with their professors and actively seek internships and summer work here or overseas. I've found that at home many people go to university because they are expected to, or everyone else is, and do something generic so they can get a job. Some people I know don't understand why I read cultural studies or advertising books 'for fun' and often don't enjoy their classes at all. I find that incredibly sad, especially coming here and seeing how motivated everyone seems to be. I can see why Bethany chose to continue her study here, especially when she heard me lamenting the 'Cs get degrees' attitude which is so prevalent at home in some groups.
The other big difference here is the public attitude to students. All around Moscow there are signs saying 'Go Vandals', advertisements for U of I, Vandals clothing and student discounts. Everyone is involved, directly or indirectly, with the university and they are very proud of it. I find that at home some people seem to quite dislike students, complaining about the cost to the government, the drinking and troublemaking and the loud parties held by our future lawmakers and politicians. I've always found it ironic the number of noise complaints and 'bloody students' attitudes by older people who choose to live on streets that have always been, and will always be, full of student flats. Why live there if you don't like students? People here seem to have a very different attitude, and as a result the students don't cause too much trouble, support local businesses and try to keep the music down a bit.
On the way home we walked past Greek Row and saw the ridiculous, huge grand houses with pillars and balconies and flagpoles with the American flag. I'll take some pictures when we go for a photo walk tomorrow.
Last night after dinner at a cute Asian place we went to a party with Jen. It was very American, lots of people, beer pong and red cups. They had a big bucket filled with sweet, syrupy punch which you had to pay to fill up your cup but they gave some to me for free. There was a really diverse mix of people there which was interesting, and I chatted to a few before we left. Then we went to a housewarming party for the new international students, hosted by the hilarious duo of Peter (UK) and David (Spain). Everyone there was really friendly, varying degrees of intoxicated and keen to talk about their country and course of study.
It made me want to travel even more. We took some pictures which I'll add soon!
I also met a guy from here who was studying feminist literature and we had a good chat. People here are so interesting.
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