Like Jim in this chapter, we are slowly discovering the ins and outs of life in Moscow, Russia's largest and most eclectic city. As we know from Jim's letter in Part Two, he has the privilege of being shown around the city by an expert – Илья Ильич himself. Since we can't have профессор Петровский as our tour guide, we will resort to the next best source: the Web. One of the best guides to life in Moscow is the bi-weekly magazine "Aфиша" (the Russian word for 'poster,' 'flier'):

http://www.afisha.ru

1			Look at the bar located under the title of the site. It contains links to the main sections of the magazine and the online guide. Most of these words should either already be familiar to you or resemble the English words (for instance, фитнесс). Do you remember what "выставки" means (Hint: Jim mentions in his letter that he and Илья Ильич went to a выставка)?
2			At the right-hand end of the bar there there is a link called “Шум.” The word ‘шум’ means ‘noise.’ What might this link refer to? Check your guess by clicking on the link. What is the Russian word for this type of online community? Hint: it is a cognate, and it is used several times at the top of this page (see, for instance the heading beginning “Самые популярные...”). What kinds of topics seem to be discussed here? By whom?
3			Go back to the home page. On the left-hand side of the screen you'll see another list of links; some are identical to the ones at the top bar, but many are new. Can you decipher the titles of some of the additional categories? Remember that you can always follow the link to see if your guess is correct. Why, in your opinion, did these links not "make" the top bar? The links on the left are grouped into several categories. As best you can tell, according to what principle have these links been divided into categories?
4			You and a friend want to catch a play at one of Moscow's theaters tonight, and would like to grab dinner before the show. You'll notice that the information for the two categories you will need (театр and рестораны) is organized differently: the restaurant listings are organized by the type of cuisine and proximity to a Metro (subway) station; how are the theater listings organized?
5			Because of the way the restaurant listings are organized, you will first need to find out the location of the theater you will be visiting tonight. Glance through the listings for shows playing tonight and pick a title that looks intriguing (for whatever reason). When the information about that production loads, look for a link with the name of the theater where the show is being produced. Follow that link to the theater's address and, most importantly, the nearest Metro station (marked by "м.").
6			Now you're ready to locate your restaurant. Look through the list of the types of cuisine. What names do you recognize? What types of cuisine are you not likely to find in a large American city? If you find out that no restaurants that offer that type of cuisine are located next to the Metro station you need, try the option that will give the listings for all cuisines. What information is listed for each restaurant? What additional information would you prefer to have?
7			А ЧТО ДАЛЬШЕ? There is a number of English-language sites with extensive information (and lots of photographs) on all things Muscovite: http://www.moscow-guide.ru http://sunsite.cs.msu.su/moscow http://www.infoservices.com/moscow/index.html