Many of you are probably wondering what I do for a living here in Moscow. I suppose I could just say I teach English, but that does not give you much of a picture of what my day to day life is like here, so I will go into a little more detail about my job.
I work for an American owned English institute here in Moscow. These sorts of businesses are legion here these days and there is no small demand for native English teachers all around the city. In fact, these sorts of schools bring in loads of money. This further testifies to the fact that English is the international language of the world and probably will be for a very long time (much to the chagrin of the French).
Our institute is located just a few blocks away from Red Square. Today between lessons I went down there to walk around a bit. Summer is an exciting time in Moscow. Spring/summer fever is in the air here. In the summer you really see how populated this city really is. During the winter folks seem to go outside when they have to go about their business. In the summer people go out just to go out.
The air is electric and the crowds are thick with people strolling around the city eating ice cream, hot dogs, shaurma (a Middle Eastern wrap with meat and vegetables) and drinking beer. People seem to be more relaxed than they are during the winter here. Despite the scores of ugly Soviet era buildings around the city, the lush green vegetation somehow makes the city easy on the eye. The scores of beautiful women in summer dress strolling arm in arm also make the city a thrilling place; at least that is if you are a guy. The emotions that I feel on the streets in Moscow are like nothing I have ever felt in any city I have been to in the world. My impressions of this city have changed so much since my first time here almost two years ago. Whereas before I did not care for the cold character of Moscow and its people, I have come to realize that there are decent people here. Sometimes you run into folks who are rude, but I suppose that is a world-wide problem.