I have been in Moscow for two weeks now. Somehow, these two weeks have been the longest and shortest of my life. Each day I learn something new about Moscow. I feel currently confident enough to explore on my own. Thinking back to my first day, I felt like a lost puppy. Before my arrival, I had almost no expectations of what my life was going to be like as a university student here. I scanned various articles, trying to imagine and depict what my new life was going to be like, but failed to grasp it.  Even now , most of my beliefs I had about living here have been completely false.  However, some still stand true, including the most obvious differences between life at Carleton and life at Moscow State University. For example, Moscow State is a vastly larger university, with around 36,000 enrolled students. It is located in a large metropolitan area with most students live off campus in apartments.  On the other hand,  Carleton is a small, residential college located in a quiet town. In Moscow, students explore the city, go to bars, eat out, drink at cafes etc. In Northfield, social life consists of going to class, the library, and your dorm. Not to say I do not love Carleton, but living in a metropolitan area does have it perks.

Similar to most European universities, most students do not live in dorms, but rather in apartments throughout the city. However, there are dorms available, like the one I am currently residing in.  This dorm houses mostly international students. For example, my first two days I was rooming with a Danish girl who was studying journalism. In my dorm. I live with a German girl who is studying psychology. I have met various other students on my floor, ranging from a PHD student who has been here for three years to a French teacher who has been here for only three months.

There are noticeable differences that have stuck out to me since arriving. My first day, I noticed,  in order to get into the building, students have to go through a security bar scanner and present your student ID to a guard there. Honestly, this took me aback at first as it wasn’t anything I had experienced at Carleton. However, now I know that going through security scanners are pretty common here and are found in shopping  malls, museums, or any other school building. Following this I walked to my dorm building, again where I had to present my student ID to a guard to enter the elevator. The people who work here take their positions very seriously. I have exited the building, made eye contact with the lady working at the desk, and returned within one minute and she will look at my ID for a good forty five seconds as if she has never seen me. Following this, when I arrived at my floor, in order to obtain my keys to my room, I had to meet with the floor woman who has a desk in the middle of the lounge. There is someone always working in the lounge and I have even seen mine sleeping on the couch here in the middle of the night. She then took out a big notebook and flipped through it to write down my information before handing me the keys to my room. At this point, I was becoming familiar with the non-electronic system the university uses. This is in stark contrast to Carleton, where almost everything is done electronically.

In terms of classes, the building in which I take all my classes is about a seven minute walk from my dorm. Surrounding the building are students hanging out in circles, talking, some smoking in proximity to signs that say, “Don’t Smoke”, running, and even playing sports. When you first enter the building, on the left is a huge area with hangers for students to hang up their jackets . These wardrobes are common throughout places in Moscow including restaurants, museums, buildings, etc. At first, I was very hesitant to use it as I was scared that I was going to lose my belongings, but now I feel accustomed to it and appreciate them. I even wish they were used in Northfield, so I would always have a place to store my ankle-length coat every time I entered a building.

My final observation are the elevators, currently, the bane of my existence. Elevators here do not wait for anyone or anything. They are ruthless and consistently close on people. I am now getting used to preparing for my sprint in and my fight out of them. While nervously waiting for one the other day, I encountered the Lyman of MSU. Being used to Lyman’s warm greetings, I immediately approached him for a pet. In return for my affection, I was greeted with a nice, loud, hiss. Following this the floor lady told me not to let him get onto the elevator. So, I very bravely picked him up and carried him off. This was a proud moment for me as the whole time the cat was complacent and didn’t fight back. So, hopefully, like Moscow, we will gradually warm up to each other.