Around a wooden table embossed with an unfamiliar script, we drank oolong tea far into the night to the sounds of a gently strung sitar. By the midnight mark, our tea cups were emptied, our souls stirred, and our hearts filled. 

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Hey Let's Go fans! We're in the business of connecting travelers to all the information they could possibly need to enjoy themselves while abroad. To that end, we've partnered with with our fellow travel bloggers at Pause the Moment.

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Editor's note: While we love cultural outings, Let's Go does not condone illegal activities of any kind, including "borrowing" another student's ID to get discounted tickets. If anything, we present the following as a cautionary tale.

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The past week has been an overload of activities and school. My day starts with three hours of one-on-one Russian class, an hour break, and then almost two hours of politics on the Soviet Republics. By the end of the day, my brain has been beaten to a soft, mushy pulp that more resembles goulash than a working organ.

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After being in Moscow for a couple of days, taking some classes, wandering around, and socializing with my new Russian friends in the dorms, I was starting to get a little restless. I've heard of the city's dangerous and expensive nightlife, but I refuse to let that prevent me from discovering that on my own. The two other Americans and I decided that once we were able to navigate the Russian Metro we were going to go out on our own for one night. Side note about the Russian Metro: Its beautiful. Think if Putin, Peter the Great, Stalin, and all the Czars got together to design a way for only the elites to travel underground and you'll start to get the idea. Marble covers the walls,  six-feet high bronze statues of good communist workers rest in arched alcoves, all of which are well lit with the brightest, most opulent chandeliers. In history you'll learn that the Soviets spent 20% of their GDP per annum on the military. Well, I know exactly where the other 80% is, and its buried under Moscow. While their investment strategies were questionable, they did build some really pretty toys.

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The prospect of going to Russia for January didn't seem to be the best idea I ever had. My friends said I was crazy. First there was the snow, then there were the numerous warnings I received that Moscow is dangerous/expensive/filled with gangsters and large men who would kick my ass if I looked at them wrong. No one I knew in Europe wanted to come visit. It felt like I was alone in the club with Napoleon and Hitler (not the best of company) who decided that it was a good idea to conquer Russia in the dead of its most notorious season. Although I wasn't going just for the fun of it. I was going to study during January at the Moscow Higher School of Economics with two other equally dumb Americans who want to learn Russian and take a politics class on post-Soviet policy and development. Okay, well that doesn't sound very exciting to most people either, but it is to me, so humor me.

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