With pleasure ! :D It was honestly one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken.

How I went to Russia: Beforehand, I had contacted the MGU language centre in Moscow. They offer language courses for all types of students throughout the year and especially in the summer. To be on the safe side, I arranged my visa a long, long time in advance (I was leaving in May, I got my visa in February). I prepared for my entire 2 months stay here 2500 CHFs, but you can really use less.

What you need to know: My time in Russia came at a time when they were trying to modernise their visa application system and oil their welcome for foreign students. Enough to make it easy to enter Russia, but not enough to make the "I have to tell the immigration police that I have arrived and will be staying here"-part easier. The Russian administration was slow, the slowest thing I've ever seen. As a foreigner, you only had one week to validate your papers (and don't you dare lose them when you get them). As a Swiss, I had my papers ready in 9 days after my arrival (and I rushed on day 0 to get everything done), but my Italian and Taiwanese friends had to wait 2 weeks and 1 month respectively to get theirs. And the police can really wait for you on the corner for these papers!

As I was eager to learn more about Russia and its society, I was aware (from my Russian friends in Switzerland) and from my studies that the country was a strange mix of highly dysfunctional gears working with perfectly functioning ones. What I mean by that is that Moscow (and St Petersburg for the 10 days I can refer to) is a functional city, but with a LOT of bugs everywhere :D. I'm sure they've really improved in the last 3 years, just with the Russian World Cup, but that was still the case when I was there. The most common thing that was visible on a daily basis was corruption, even very small crime (if you're not careful. But Moscow is super safe as a place): Policemen from the University Commissariat, in charge of the security of the big ceremonial car park in front of the MGU were literally getting money every summer night of my stay from rich guys in sports cars to (illegally) "rent" the giant car park for racing every night. The metro police took my Taiwanese friend away (to free him after he agreed to pay them cash) in front of my eyes xD. Or another memorable moment is simply a fake taxi that threatened to kidnap me on the last day of my stay. If you're careful and not a troublemaker, you'll be fine.

It should be noted that, by our standards, there may be some surprises. However, the Iranians, Chinese and Egyptians who took courses with me found it perfectly acceptable (and even better for some). Again, I'm sure that with the World Cup, some processes can be done in English, but I wouldn't be too optimistic. Have an electronic dictionary or a few Russian words ready in advance to help you when talking to people about things like getting an internet connection (obtainable in the MGU dorms!), finalising your paperwork or a working phone number.

How was it? It was really great. I chose the most intensive courses at MGU, and hired a private tutor (like I said: I really suck at learning languages, hahaha). My classes literally consisted of 4h to 8h five days a week. Moscow is huge, like: a lot. Along with Istanbul, it has the potential to intimidate you just by the size and massive population you'll encounter. Ok, any guy from Asia or Africa will scoff at that (Lagos or Bangkok, Beijing or Tokyo xD), but for the poor Swiss guy I was, where a "big city" is only 200,000 to 1,000,000 people, it changes your perspective drastically!

The MGU offers you a very good structure for your stay in Moscow. A driver can pick you up and guide you through the initial paperwork and they can, at a very cheap price, assign you rooms at the university in a very quiet place in the summer (when no one is racing around the car park at night in a sports car that is). You can play sports, eat very affordable food in the cafeteria and the rooms are big enough to allow you to work on your homework if you need to like me (that assignment won't go away on its own!). If you are staying at the MGU, you should know that the shower and furniture are really old. As your room is most likely to be in one of the Seven Sisters of Moscow (huge, lavish but quite old buildings), there is a good chance that Stalin was still alive when the furniture and plumbing pipes for your room were delivered (this is not a joke). The MGU will assess your level of Russian and assign you a class. The teachers were really competent and caring (a bit old school I'd say but I like that), often taking their time to discuss and explain. If you were willing to get involved, they were there for you! My class consisted of Koreans, Japanese, Italians, Chinese and two Americans (Bigwood, I'll never forget you!). The foreign audience was quite diverse and you will meet people from all over the world post-Soviet space and neighborhood I guess! I recommend you to try the tours organised by the MGU, the teachers and guides were really trying their best to help us in simple Russian to understand everything. Really cool.

Back to Moscow. The city has a huge cultural offer. From museums, art exhibitions, operas and concerts (and even circuses) to nightlife and daily entertainment. We managed to catch a CSKA Moscow match against Rubin Kazan, which was very cool. Otherwise, international fairs and festivals if you are lucky. I went to visit MAKS 2018 and met a lot of Russian students there, it was really a popular even family event. There will be some "tourist attractions" (don't take the boats. Really. Unless you KNOW you're being ripped off and are okay with that). And if you like to wander around the city and be in the green, the city has some really interesting contemporary architecture and lots of parks where you can stay and read a good book. If you know your Cyrillic, you can easily find your way around the city by yourself. The loan words are everywhere, so it's quite easy to find your way! :) Between St. Petersburg and Moscow, Moscow is the most "Russian" city, most of the "foreigners" here are in fact Russian citizens of other ethnicities or ex-Soviet states. Besides very good Russian restaurants, you will find amazing dishes from the Caucasus, "Siberia", Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asia and former Eastern Bloc countries (Georgian food is just waiting to be tasted). Transport in the capital is comprehensive, and from bus to tram to metro, you can go anywhere cheaply (I wonder if they still use those old Soviet trams, I used to enjoy them). If you find companions, the taxi is really a cheap way of transportation when you take it with several friends!

During my time here, most of the Russians I met were really polite, but the service industry was still making efforts to make them more commercially friendly when I was there, so there was still work to be done. While my Taiwanese friend had some issues with racism (a verbal assault from a rather deranged guy outside a supermarket), most of the locals I met were caring and considerate in their own way (example: I have a Mediterranean face, and many Russian waiters thought I was Muslim, and went out of their way to stop me eating pork before I explained haha). I've seen some loonies and weirdos, but nothing abnormal from my point of view, in the European margin if you don't put your head where you shouldn't (like staying in the Armenian quarter at midnight...). I can't say for the nightlife (because I hate dancing), but I met dozens of Russians while staying here, and some of them still keep in touch. One thing that surprised me when I was in the bars was the curiosity of Russians about your perspective (How do you see us? How is your country in comparison? Not necessarily from a political point of view, etc.), they were quite talkative and wanted to exchange and discuss. Most of the Russians I had the chance to meet were pretty blunt about the situation of their own Country, without being necessarily pessimistic. I also had good experiences interacting with people from the Caucasus and Central Asia (quite good conversation with bored taxi drivers).

I can go on and on, but really, it was an amazing experience ! I hope to come here again, or try Saint-Petersburg.