So, the journey has begun! The first stage is complete - we flew from Kaliningrad to Moscow, and now we are sitting at Sheremetyevo-2 waiting for check-in for our flight to Rome.

I love flying; the acceleration and the feeling of flight are indescribable! It's amusing how elegantly they curtain off business class from economy. You can really feel the sharp difference in social classes.

Upon arriving in Moscow, we took a long shuttle bus ride to the city center, specifically to Belorussky Railway Station, to drop our bags in storage and buy tickets to Sheremetyevo Airport. The AeroExpress train service is really cool. Just three hundred rubles and you're at any Moscow airport.

Moscow is a contrast of rich and poor, a kingdom of wealth and miserable service. While standing at the station, we saw a couple of policemen shaking down some Caucasians: Nighttime Moscow is not the same as daytime... We grabbed a bite at the very first and largest McDonald's in Russia. Next, we have a flight to Rome at 6 AM, then a 2-hour layover, and a direct flight to New York.

The layover dragged on for 9 hours; cursed AlItalia kept delaying our flight to New York. In the end, they fed us for free at a local restaurant for the inconvenience. Despite the anger and fatigue, the Italian airline redeemed itself in our eyes with the food on the flight to New York: it was incomparable!

Right now, I'm sitting in the New Yorker Hotel, and there are three other students in the room with me: two Poles and one Bulgarian. Everything is fine, but I'm worried about the safety of my belongings; it's a good thing I have locks.