Day 6: Beautiful people

This afternoon we had falafel pita breads at Mikey's - yet another small, friendly local establishment serving quality food. People are very much into international food here, lots of Mediterranean and South American cuisine and influences as well as sushi and Asian. I haven't yet had takeaways or unhealthy, greasy food which is what I imagined American food to be like. I did have pizza and curly fries for the first time today. My only complaint with the food here is that a lot of things are high in salt, artificial flavours or sugar and the servings are large. But then again there are plenty of vegan and low-fat options everywhere you go. Also, morning and afternoon tea aren't big here since the meals are often pretty big.

One thing I've been really impressed with here in Moscow is the environmental initiatives. The university is powered by a big steam plant, and they run the pipes underneath the main footpaths so that the snow melts off them. So simple and energy efficient. Also, a lot of recyclable packaging, recycyling and compost bins everywhere on campus. However, I have seen way too many huge SUVs and utes, which apparantely are the vehicle of choice for many frat boys.

Before I came here I thought that much of America would be fairly similar socially. However, often when I ask people about how something works here they say it completely depends which state you're in, as each one has different laws and different ideas. They don't just differentiate between North and South either, but specify certain areas. The way I see it most things here work on polarity - states are either very conservative, or very liberal. People are either very open-minded, or very traditional. Americans say they feel like a stranger in some states far from their hometown because the whole culture is so different, which made me realise that New Zealand is pretty homogenous. Although I've never loved the sound of America because of its world domination and apparent wrongdoing, I've realised that the images of this country we see from the outside are definitely not representative of the country as a whole, because it is so diverse. The stereotypical American culture seems to be a bit of a myth which is very dependent on geographical location and perhaps education or social class. I now definitely want to come back here, and travel around because there is so much to see.

I got a tattoo done at Untamed Art which is an amazing studio: http://www.untamedartonline.com/

Steve is a super talented and enthusiastic artist and a really interesting and friendly person to talk to. Like others, he's always wanted to go to New Zealand and wonders if we see many Hobbits.

The Lord of the Rings jokes continued that evening when we had people over for Katrin's birthday party. Sadly the co-op did not have sponge or custard so we couldn't make trifle. It was awesome having so many international students there as well as some very cool Americans. People started sharing travel stories, comparing accents and drawing tourist maps of San Francisco. Travel fever is well and truly on the rise, and I am so annoyed I can't fit any Spanish papers into my schedule next year. Speaking of, most degrees here are 4 years so students get way more electives and are encouraged to ta and take a wide variety of interest classes and extra-curricular activities for credit. Makes so much sense.

So about 20 people crowded into the jungle, sprawled on the floor, shared dessert, amazing cheese and wine. We talked, planned trips, exchanged Facebook friend requests and numbers, welcomed the new Kiwi girl and just enjoyed the company. I have to say basically everyone I have met here has been inspirational, welcoming and genuinely friendly. People like Nathanael, who is a fountain of knowledge on everything from history to food. Lena, who talks about German films and Belgian festivals in her lovely accent. Katrin, who was raised speaking both English and German. And so many others who have welcomed me into their lives and definitely changed mine.