Champignon

On Tuesday we visited a mushroom factory. You can check out Dr. Layfield's blog for a more detailed look at the tour. I just wanted to say that thanks to that tour my love of the humble fungi has been reawakened. I've had mushrooms in some form for 3 of the last 4 meals I've eaten.They're incredibly simple to prepare. From the advice of our guide, I just saute them in some butter or oil with onions and serve with Smetana.

American Cuisine

A few weeks ago I mentioned how our Chinese friends Micahel and Stacy had us over for an incredible dinner. This last Saturday, Joey, Isaac, and I attempted to return the favor and cooked some "traditional" American dishes for them.

Pancakes, fried chicken, and shrimp and grits were on the menu. Cooking in the hostel was somewhat of a challenge, but to our delight, everything turned out quite well, including the pancakes which were made with kefir (due to the curious absence of baking powder in Russia).

Arbat Street

March 8th was Women's Day, and so we had the day off of classes. Later in the evening Denis, Galya, Isaac, Joey and I took the metro down to Arbat Street to take a walk.

Arbat Street is in the historic center of Moscow near Red Square, and is one of the oldest surviving streets of Moscow. The place reminded me of downtown Charleston, and like historic Charleston, the Street was bustling with tourists and pocketed with coffee shops and cafe's.

Pictures:

1. Isaac, Joey, and I in front of a stautue of beloved Russian poet Pushkin and his wife Natalya
2. Galya, me, Isaac, and Joey on Arbat Street
   
3. Arbat Street at Dusk (from Wikimedia Commons).
   

Chinese Hospitality

A few weeks ago at the cultural exchange dinner I met a Chinese student named Michael (this being his chosen English name). Since then Michael has started hanging out with Joey, Isaac and I, and so we've had the opportunity to experience Chinese tea, more Chinese cuisine, and Chinese hospitality in general. Last Sunday Michael and his girlfriend Stacy (again, this being her chosen English name) were generous enough to prepare an incredible Chinese dinner for us.