We have Internet service in our apartment now, which has made things quite a bit easier. We now have the ability to use Google Translate whenever we would like, and also to look up locations of various places in Moscow. Additionally, we can be more connected to people back home through venues such as Facebook, blogs, Skype, etc. We have done some sight-seeing around Moscow and hope to do more soon. Two weekends ago we did a little exploring in the Arbat Street...

I have wanted to update this blog, but we don't have Internet at our new apartment yet. We were living in a temporary place for about a week and that one had Internet, but it is slow to get maintenance-type things done in our new apartment. In Moscow, most people live in small apartments which are rather expensive. We are paying the equivalent of about $1400 per month for a one bedroom apartment. Many things do not work right in our apartment! The one that need...

We made it to Russia! The flight was pretty greuling, as was expected. Our layover in London was 2 hours, but that was almost not enough time to take a bus to another terminal and go through immigration there. I slept for almost the entire 4-hour flight from London to Moscow. Then we were met by a taxi driver and two men at our apartment who showed us how everything works (lots of keys). This is a photo of our kitchen! We will have a new place soon, so I'...

I just got an idea that I could take some ballet lessons in Moscow. It would be awesome because the Russians are known for their ballet skills and I used to do some dance myself as a teenager. Also, it seems that joining a gym would be very expensive anyway in Moscow. Here are some of the dance ideas I found: Russian Ballet Camp: A program for adults, lasts about a week. It looks like it is for any ability level. Moscow Irish Dance School: I would lov...

I've been working a bit harder to learn Russian before we go, and it's been a challenge! The alphabet is a lot different than English and I even made flashcards to quiz myself on the letter sounds. Some of the pronunciation is challenging as well. Hopefully once I'm there and immersed in Russian every day I will be able to pick up on more of the natural language sounds. David and I are engaged now so I've also been working on planning for our wedding, which ...