From Russia with Love

I'll take a strawberry machiatto with a shot of Internet

While Moscow is a ginormous city, I haven't yet explored it in its entirety. I find myself spending a lot of time at Moka-Loka, a cafe not far from my apartment or University where one may use WiFi free of charge (well, that is with the purchase of some drink/slice of cake, etc.). Because of my addiction to the internet, I go to the cafe nearly every day to check emails, share pictures, and of course, write blogs. This has turned me into a sort of a regular at Moka-Loka, someone I've never been at any restaurant or cafe but secretly always dreamed of becoming. In my life, spent in the suburbs of Kansas City and rural Vermont, I haven't had many opportunities to become 'a regular' anywhere (indeed, I've had no need to. My Dad's a wonderful barista and college coffee's free); it just wasn't practical to invest so much time and money in drinking coffee and building relationships with the coffeemakers. Moka-Loka's free internet was definitely a selling point in my decision to make a second home there, but during my first month in Moscow, I never expected to become 'a regular'; I gave up on such a dream years ago. That's why when sometime in early October I was utterly schocked when Oleg, one of the waiters, approached me and asked, "The usual?" I had 'a usual'! (Black forest cherry capuccino, incase you were wondering). Unable to control myself, I smiled broadly and said, "Da, pozhaluista." I had arrived.
At the realization that my baristas succeeded in matching my face to my 'usual' drink, I made it a point to get better acquainted with them. Of course, I'm shy, especially when speaking in Russia, so I didn't plan on starting up any conversations, shooting the shit and the like. I tried to keep my goals a little more realistic, taking it upon myself to learn their names (thanks God for nametags!) and how they each prepared my Black Forest Capuccino. So far, Lena make's the best drink; it's creamy and has just the right combination of chocolate and cherry. She is, however, not the nicest of the Baristas, often yelling at me for smoking on the wrong side of the cafe or using certain forbidden outlets for charging my computer (out of the cafe's four outlets, customers are only allowed to use two of them. The cherished tables near these 'approved' outlets are always taken by other regulars, who, like me, grace the cafe with their presence and money often for hours at a time). In general, I like the male baristas much better than the women (surprise, surprise). During my first few months, I thought Oleg was a complete ass. When taking my order (that is, when I still had to order), he'd often nod his head and smile tauntingly at my less than perfect Russian. With time, I came to realize that the guy's just goofy and he wasn't laughing at me; he was just being his usual friendly self. On the other hand, I never had problems with Vlad. He's a professional and always treated me with respect and the somewhat distant friendliness that is required between server and patron. I never felt that he was smirking at me, mostly because he's fond of nodding his head with squinted eyes and a friendly smile (no teeth, of course) when taking my order. He also makes the most artistic designs in my coffee with the frothy creme. The first time he served me my capuccino with a symetrical heart poured on top, I felt like a giddy schoolgirl who received her first gift on the playground from cutest 2nd grader in her class. Of course I was disappointed to realize this was standard practice for Moka-Loka; a little flirting with the patrons is never bad for business, right?
Moka-Loka is also a great place to meet other foreign students. The free, biweekly expat newpaper "The Moscow Times" is always available, and most foreign students from my university pass through at least once a week to pick up their copy. The Times isn't the only reason there are so many foreigners (students and otherwise). The Moka-Loka chain is owned by the same man that owns the TGI Friday's chains in Moscows, and above my cafe is one such haven of American pop-culture. Just like in the States, all the waiters wear funny hats and 'flare' (although I don't think they always understand the buttons they wear. For example, half the waiters have a "It's what's for dinner" button. I alway's want to ask them what exactly IS for dinner, that is - beef, but I'm not yet brave enough to ask and subsequently have to explain, especially since we never covered the word for 'National Beef Council' in Russian class). Friday's doesn't only offer American cuisine (or, at least a Russian version of it) but also celebrations of American holidays. They haven't started advertising for Thanksgiving '05, but they've already covered the restaurant in fake cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns and shreaded, black trash bags in preparationg for their annual Halloween party. I'm still desparately trying to find this year's costume since Friday's is offering free drinks for the best ones, but I'm not very hopeful. For one thing, there are no costume shops in Moscow and cloths in general are expensive. In general, I don't think I would be brave enough anyway to make the five minute walk from my apartment to Fridays dressed like the Grim Reaper, a ghost, or even a pirate. My Russian friends tell me that every year, more and more people celebrate Halloween, but unfortunately, it's still not common enough to walk around town dressed like Rupaul on October 31st.
On another note, the waiters in Friday's are overall quite nice, although I can never convince them that I speak Russian. All it takes is me saying, "Two for lunch" for them to give me menus in English. It's a little disappointing, but I've gotten used to being 'a stupid foreigner.' (see previous posts regarding cell phones)
to come....did i just go on a date, or did I miss something?

posted by Misha Molodoi @ 4:34 PM