Week 9

By:

Alejandro Romero

Published:

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The most interesting place I visited this week was the ” Tretyakov” art gallery. The art gallery is one of the most famous in the world, and is home to many original masterpieces. Paintings that are often seen in books and on TV can be found there. The gallery is named after Pavel Treyakov who was a rich art collector. Pavel treyakov loved collecting paintings that he thought were amazing, and proudly displayed them in his house. He became so well known as an art collector with good taste, that whenever he bought a painting from someone, they would become famous. When he was an old man he asked that they turn his house into a museum for everyone to be able to see his fine collection. Today the gallery is open for all to see, and continues to exhibit the best Russian paintings.  I really love paintings, as they help me see the world through the eyes of the painter.

 

I also went to a place called “Statue Park”, which was the inspiration for the 007: Goldeneye Movie intro. It was an interesting place with all kinds of old soviet statues and modern art mixed. I was able to take many good pictures.

 

As usual I used the metro and marshutka to get around. Using the Marshutka helps me feel like a real citizen of Moscow. Pushing my way into the small van, paying the driver 20 rubles, and acting like a Russian is all part of the experience. Now that it is getting cold, it is especially convenient to use the marshutka.

 

Alejandro Romero

My name is Alejandro Romero, but my friends call me Alex. I was born in Hialeah Miami, to a Costa Rican father and Puerto Rican mother. When I was young my parents divorced. I was raised primarily by my mother and my Irish-American step-father in Hollywood, FL. I have two younger siblings, a brother on my mother's side, and sister on my father's side. Growing up, English was my first language and Spanish was my secondary. In middle school, I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Costa Rica with my father. While I always had an interest in foreign languages and cultures ever since I was young, I was amazed with how different daily life was in another country. In high school, I became fascinated with the Japanese language and culture and started teaching myself before having the opportunity to take it as a class. I studied Japanese for 4 years before finally getting the opportunity to participate in a student exchange program in the summer of 2009. To this day, I say that was the greatest experience in my life, and it has allowed me to see the world in a different way. Recently I have fallen in love with the Russian language and culture and wish to pursue the same great experiences I had during my Japanese Studies. My goals in life are to use my skills of languages and cultures to help improve international relations, and change some of the misconceptions people have towards other cultures.