Goodbye Moscow.

Well, tonight I had the perfect goodbye to Moscow. Kennikki, Beth, Mo, Dave, and I went to my pond. We sat there and listened to music, looked at the stars, the water, and had a half an hour before the dorm closed. It was beautiful and amazing. We each then stood at the water's edge and said our last words to Moscow and did a curtain call. It was such an amazing moment, and one I think I'll hold dear forever. The look of my friends, the water, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the buildings, the trees. Such a vivid picture emblazened in my mind. Perfect.

This morning we went to the most beautiful cemetary I've ever been to. We saw Anton Chekhov's grave, Nemirovich-Dachenko's, and Stanislavsky's. It was definitely really cool and I'm glad we were able to go. Afterward, Beth, Ted, Mo, and I went to eat. We went to this place called Temple Bar, which I think is amazing because that is the name of the hole in the wall bar in Detroit by the Masonic Temple that we go to. It's cool that we went to it, but a lot nicer of a version, in Moscow. P.S. When you order a salad, it's like shredded beets, not the green lettuce we get home. FYI. I got a salad and chicken in marinara. Chicken = good. Salad = disgusting.

Matt, Beth, Mo, and I went to the Banya after. The Banya is like a spa. Apparently, it's the thing you do in Moscow. There's this sauna, which is sooooo hot and wonderful. In it, you take these birch sticks/leaves and whack yourself with them. It doesn't hurt, it's actually very relaxing. You soak them in water and they wrap around you and loosen up. It feels so good on your muscles in the sauna. Then you go outside of it and there's a cord you can pull for a bucket of water to dump on you to cool you off, or you can go into a tub of cold water. There's also a pool there to swim in and cool off in which was so cool. I felt like I was an Emporer or something because of how magnificent this place was. In the pool there were white columns surrounding it, a fountain which squirted into the pool, a skylight which was all stained glass, and black and reddish marble on the walls. I felt like I was royalty. Matt and I repeated this maybe four times. So worth it, and a nice reward for ourselves after a crazy month. I seriousl felt high afterward. The girls had a good time, too. They ended up getting body mud masks, though, which they enjoyed.

Afterward, I headed over to Red Square and got my last looks at Red Square, the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral. I saw a park to the side of it and went in. There was this really cool horse fountain, and a little canal with statues in it of fairytales. I'm so glad I was able to go here one last time and while the sun was setting. I got some great pictures. I really wish you could be here to enjoy it with me.

In Russia, it's custom to give gifts. Well, as I had said earlier, I gave the Wayne State bracelets to our favorite Russians - Polina and Sasha. Today, they gave me this little tiny book with dolphins on the front and seashells and it's in Russian. On the front of it, it says Good Luck. It was just really cool that they thought to give it to me. Also, that they saw this and thought of me because dolphins are my favorite animals and I obviously love the beach. I'm going to miss them.

So, in a couple hours we leave for Paris. Moscow was great, but it's time to move on. Thank you for everything. Bonjour Paris.

Well, I need to finish packing. Have a good night. Love you all.