The academy is located in a small, lower income part of Moscow, called Frunzenskaya. If you look at a map of the Moscow Metro you'll see the red line, and almost all the way in the lower left corner is Frunzenskaya.

The roads in most Moscow neighborhoods are one way and so getting the academy is a challenge by car. It's in the middle of many tall apartment building and rather than street signs,  Russia displays street names on the sides of buildings. However Frunzenskaya is rich with trees often obstructing those signs. A few times I've been in a taxi and the driver had to let me out a few blocks away from the academy, simply because it's that hidden of a building and he couldn't find the right street to turn into. 

     

Any time we need groceries, the nearest Billa/Билла (basically the Russian version of Albertsons) is about a 5 minute walk away. And if you want to walk a tad farther the nearest Azbuka Bkusa/Азбука Вкуса (basically Russian Whole Foods) is also an option. But I usually just walk to Billa, because I've gotten so used to the exchange rate that spending more than the equivalent of 3 American dollars on an item is too expensive to me. In the bread section at Billa (for those of you who don't know me well, I love bread and basically all forms of carbs) you can buy this small loaf of what my friends and I call, Crack Bread. Because it's the most addictive thing you could ever taste. It's dark brown, just short of pumpernickel and covered in crushed nuts and seeds. It's so freakishly good. I wish I could bring some back to America but I'm not in the mood to violate customs.

 

In the opposite direction of the two grocery stores, is Gorky park (see previous posts) and in ANOTHER direction is the Frunzenskaya Metro Station and Starbucks. I head over to Starbucks about once a week. Mainly for wifi but also because they have the best carrot cake you've ever tasted. 

 

Just past the Metro Station is a park with a small, three animal zoo. Through the zoo is a restaurant called Black Market. Black Market specializes in brunch and the best waffles you could ever eat live there. These waffles are big and fluffy, covered in sliced bananas and strawberries. And for a finishing touch, tons and tons of whipped cream. It's a well deserved treat for a Sunday brunch after a long week of classes. 

     

 

And that was a long post, basically about the food I eat here in Frunzenskaya.

In Russia every student is issued a navy colored, folding identification card. They're called (phonetically spelled) studiyenski cards and we can use them to get student discounts in places like bookstores and select coffee shops.

However, there's a certain perk to to cards that we dancers especially appreciate. On days that The Bolshoi Theatre has performances students can line up outside the ticket office and hope for extra tickets at an extremely reduced price of only 100 rubles (that's only $1.50 in U.S. dollars. In comparison, I saw the Bolshoi in NYC this summer and it cost $25 for a student rush ticket for our $155 seats!)

So my roommates and I lined up at 4pm at the end of an already very long line. Turns out we showed just a hair too late. With only about ten people in front of us, the ticket office closed with no more student tickets to sell. We were slightly disappointed but we knew that we were cutting it close with the time and had only ourselves to blame.

Standing outside of the Bolshoi Theatre.  The wind chill was about 2 degrees!

However on the bright side, The Bolshoi Theatre is located in a very beautiful part of Moscow. It's close to Red Square and many American stores like Zara and Tommy Hilfiger. Full of statues, intricate buildings and sparkling light displays still up from the New Year festivities, it's easily my favorite part of Moscow. While we were out walking I spotted a Hyatt Hotel and I thought to myself, "Someday when I have a family of my own I'm going to bring them here and we will stay in that very hotel."

 

Anyways, to reward ourselves for the long commute from the dorms, we walked around until we stumbled upon an Italian restaurant. I had an amazing pasta dish with a cream sauce and for dessert I had these doughy pastries with candied fruit and chocolate inside. All in all, not a bad way to spend your Saturday afternoon/evening.

 

One day this week, we were served this tasty soup. 

In fact, we are served this soup regularly.

Cabbage, pickles and something like spam in a more than slightly oily broth. 

I ate the bread that was served on the side.

Okay so Kasha is basically just gross. And since that's all we eat, breakfast just isn't fun. But with the different varieties it's kinda like something new everyday. I definitely have favorites, and least favorites. Consider this your guide to kasha served at The Academy.

    #1 Corn kasha. Which is funny because I HATE corn alone but this kasha has a taste resembling corn bread. That's been mixed with hot water. And run through a blender. Yeah. So that's the tastiest one.

 

    #2 Rice kasha. This one is basically whole white rice, soaked in sugar water and somehow boiled in a cauldron to assume an oozy, gooey, lumpy mush. It looks like meal worms, so if you don't look too closely, it tastes really good with jam.

 

    #3 Chunky corn kasha. Resembles #1 but with chunks, of course. I thought these were the same. I was wrong. Chunky corn kasha has oil on the top. Yummy.

 

    #4 Wheat kasha. This is sad that it's number 4 because I always talk about how much I hate it. It's kinda like oatmeal? But made with the shells of wheat berries. And it tastes burnt. And sometimes there's a bit of a hard chunk in there. Again, if you don't think about it, this one is good with butter.

 

    #5 Oat kasha. Lumpy, gluey, slimy, burnt tasting, oatmeal. I only eat oatmeal if it's in quaker oats cups with nuts and berries and spices and yummy stuff. This certain kasha is a brutal shock to my First World Princess Taste buds.

 

    #6 And the award for the Worst Kasha goes to what we call, Cream of Wheat Kasha. Not sure how we came up with that name because it's not creamy, nor is it made of wheat. It's soupy, rehydrated powder the consistency of sugar scrub with extra oil. Absolutely NO taste. It's served piping hot, and since its so thin, it's basically hot water. Absolutely no nutritional value and you're hungry ten minutes later. 

Note to self: If you're a vegetarian don't study ballet at the Bolshoi. Three weeks in and I cant even call myself a vegetarian anymore. It's all about survival. If it's edible, you eat it. 

At the academy, we are fed three meals a day.  Breakfast is the same.  Every. Day.  Kasha with bread and a slice of meat (left column, second photo from top).  Lunch and dinner are the same 7 meals, served in a rotation.  The rotation doesn't mean that we are served something different every day, though.  We had the same lunch three days in a row. 

I've learned how to say "no meat and sauce, please" in Russian. Now I can eat my rice/pasta in peace. Без соус и мяса, пожалуйста. So I used my new skill, and the dinner guy understood me so well that Sophia, my roommate standing next in line, also was robbed of her sauce.

Most of the soups are tasty, and I enjoy my almost daily cabbage salad with apple and celery.  The yogurt cups, drinkable yogurt and box of milk have taken some adjusting to, as they are ultrapasturized.  My almonds, almond butter, tea bags and nasty-tasting protein powder and vitamins that I brought from home are a good addition to my diet.  There's a grocery store about 5 minutes from my dorm and we've bought bananas and jam.  And Diet Pepsi.