An Evening of High Class Dinning

I'M DONE!! I'M FINALLY DONE!!

Library Hall

Today was my last class at MXAT and in Moscow. I finished up Russian Cinema History and realized all that was left was to watch and support NTI's finals over the next two days. Thursday was my Acting final and it was also the last final I would take in Russia. How did I celebrate finishing up finals? Yesterday, I dined at Cafe Pushkin with a few of my friends to celebrate my classmate's birthday. It was more of a celebration for my friend, but I also thought of it as treating myself to completed hard work. My opinion: it was the fanciest place that I have ever been to. Period. First, you aren't allowed in the restaurant if you are not dressed nice and fancy; after entering it I realized why: everywhere was so clean and punctual, they gave metal tags for your coat checks (Oh yeah, coat check rooms are a big thing in Russia), the room we dined in was called the Library Hall which made you think you were being catered to inside of a library itself. At all times we had a waiter on hand to serve us and take our fake plates - it's so fancy that they have plates just for show when you sit down at the table; and water and wine glasses. This place was also very expensive, depending on what you wanted - a main course meal could cost as high as 5,000 Rubles (which is roughly $83). Since I'm a college student, I ate cheap: I ordered a Stewed Cabbage Home Made Pie, which rough is about the size of a bread roll, and Mushroom Dumplings. For any future travel to Russia, if there is one food to try while in Russia it's their dumplings: Pelmeni's. These things were deliciously satisfying; they were not served in a large portion, but I would buy them again just to get the tasteful delight that is the essence of Pelmeni.

PELMENI!!!!

As the night went on we were then serenaded by a beautiful harpist and a lovely flutist. They didn't play solely for us, they were playing for the entire hall, but we just happened to have the table right next to where they played. So the night went on and we talked: we talked about our finals, health, fitness, acting, and held conversations that flowed so unceasingly that you couldn't consciously acknowledge how fluid it was while you were in the discussion. When we finished we grabbed our coats - and this was the pinnacle of my evening - I handed my tag to the man behind the counter and he grabbed my coat, got out from behind the counter...and put my coat on me! He held out my coat and helped me put it on! I have never been to a place, or had the luxury, to have an experience such as that. It is a small moment, some would probably consider it insignificant, but coming from a living situation where I had to be grateful for the money that was given to me and that I earned - it made me feel like a man about town!
After leaving Cafe Pushkin, we went back to our dormitory and held a freestyle rap session in my friend's room; as a birthday present to my classmate. That night only lasted for about three or four hours, but eating at that restaurant made me feel like a person of great esteem, a person of wealth - that is something that I have never had and never wanted. To this day I still don't want what I had last evening, but it was an experience I hadn't explored and I was excited to trail this different social environment. As a final result: I am glad that I was given the experience of this evening; I had a great time, but I think I will stick with my daily breakfast of fruit-filled oatmeal and simple-living style.

Outside of Cafe Pushkin

I'm leaving in less 50 hours, now is the time to say my last farewells and goodbyes to the cobblestone streets and the non-existent outside heat. Also to pack. Packing is very important.