Being a foreign student in Russia is a challenge in many ways: acclimating to the weather, the food, and a completely different pace of life for starters. We deal with the same mundane things that we did in our home countries: shopping, traveling, working, and so on, but these things take on a new meaning in our host country, they take a new effort.

Naturally, being a student of anthropology, I find this very interesting. So I spend most of my time watching people and occasionally working up the courage to ask them a question in my very broken Russian. It seems to me that the most important aspect of acclimating to a new country is finding places where you feel comfortable, places you can retreat to. Many students find these places in bars, restaurants, or cafes; having spent most of my life studying archaeology and Ancient Egypt, my comfort place is the Egypt Room in the Hermitage.

Of course, there is something to be said about any museum that has an unwrapped mummy for an exhibit; but I love the collection because it is a precious mix of the mundane and the exotic. For all those who have endeavored to study the language of the Ancient Egyptians (in which ever form), there is something to capture your attention.

And since all labels are Russian, this exhibit also gives your vocabulary a wonderful boost.