And unfortunately, I had no camera...

My dad and I had a Fantastic time yesterday! We went to this pretty interesting... "festival" I guess you could call it. July 21 is the day that this water in a Russian village is blessed and holy, so people come from miles around to collect it.

It was in my dad's assistant/translator's hometown. Just some back ground on her family: Her father was able to acquire some land during perestroika (the Gorbochov reconstruction era where they basically gave away land as initiative for people to become private farmers), so they have a lot of land and a pretty nice house for Russia. Of course like 16 people live there!

I think the story of the water is something like Maria the mother of Jesus was also the protector and she appeared at different times to protect stuff and if there was a spring there it became holy, so July 21 was the day that she maybe appeared at this spring and so on this date everyone comes to collect its water. Genia's family is actually Protestant, so they didn't think too much of these people coming to their little village... and yes it very much is a village in the strictest sense. There's like 1 road with houses and every body knows everyone and is a farmer. Everyone in Genia's family asked if we had been there and the made a comment on how ridicules the whole thing is :-P

We walked through the hills (Genia said this part of the region is called "Little Switzerland" because of all the hills) to the spring. The spring was at the bottom of a valley, so as we were walking down the hills through the wild grass and wild flowers, I could see others coming from other parts of the hills. It was seriously like a scene from a movie, where there are pilgrims as far as the eye could see. At the bottom of the hill was a little little little shrine on top of a big pile of rocks. There were stairs going up both sides of the rocks leading up to the shrine, so the water was kind of surrounded by a half circle. The shrine had a tile portrait of Our Lady of Kazan and under that was a big pipe with water flowing out and under the spout a Huge crowd of people were in their bathing suites holding buckets and jugs of water. Genia said we'd also see pieces of cloth on the trees because the old pagan religion taught that if you cut a piece of clothing and hung it on a tree you could make a wish. Syncratism. We stood on both sides of that stairs and watched it. I was so sad I didn't have my camera! This was a sight like you'd see in National Geographic! Genia said that as it got later it would be more and more young people, sitting in the hill with "bonfires and guitars and things like that." If only my RSP comrades had been there. I was seriously missing them at that point.

After hanging out there for a while, we went back to Genia's for Russian pirogie (pastry pies) :-D Her babyshka made them. I'm going to miss that about Russia! When we were living in the Russian dorm, sometimes the Russian kids would give us food their babyshkas had made. Oh yum. It was Genia's cousin's 9th birthday, so we brought her a present too.

So the rest of this week will be going to Moscow today (Sunday), and the US on Wednesday!

PS. I had no camera :-( So all these pictures are from other random places on the internet.

Life, Death, and when Amy doesn't know what to do

I had a Russian lesson this morning, and about an hour into it, Marina was reading my homework and suddenly asked for a glass of water. Now I offer her a drink every time she comes and she has never wanted anything. Her face got really pale all of a sudden. I got her the water and she sipped it and tried to go on, but it was like she couldn't focus.

She said she needed to go outside for a minute to get some air. She opened the door and leaned on the door frame. I was just really scared, because her English isn't that good and if there was something wrong I didn't think she could think to remember any and my Russian's not too amazing, so I followed her out and asked if she needed any medicine.

She didn't say anything and kept fanning herself, and just stood there, like plastered to the wall and then all of a sudden she started falling! I caught her, but she's not a light woman, so we both ended up the floor and my foot was stuck underneath her (and now I have a bruise, but that's really not the point right now. I only tell you this because it's the only thing that really is indicating to me that this really happened).

I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!!!

Her face was completely white and she wasn't conscious, but her eyes were open. I was just like "oh God, oh God" and after a few seconds she felt like she could sit up and I dashed back inside to get my phone to call my dad. I went back to her and held her sitting up, and was just like, I don't know, trying to fan her and wipe her face with her handkerchief. She said something about calling Artoom, her son, and that there was no need to bother my dad. I got her phone for her and helped her back to the table. She called Artoom, talked to him, and then hung up, but she just had this distressed unfocused look on her face. I asked if Artoom was coming and she said, yes, but their car is in the shop and he'd be coming by bus.

She tried to continue the lesson, but really couldn't focus so I told her she could lie down on the sofa. I helped her over there and she opened the book we were using and just told me to read and answer questions. So I did, but by this point I seriously was on the verge of crying. I had no idea what to do. I read a little bit and then she suggested we go for a walk to the front gate to let the guards know Artoom was coming. I helped her up and we went and I held on to her the whole time. I think that was good, because she seemed a little better when we got back and Artoom came soon. But this is the weird thing that made me the most... I don't know... anxious? NO One seemed to care that she had fainted!!! Artoom came and brought her some medicine and then she sat on the sofa and had him finish my lesson. I could hardly think! Then they left because Marina had to proctor an exam at her university. As they were leaving Nina came and Marina just kind of laughed and told her what happened and I tried to tell Artoom to really be careful with her. And he just laughed and was like "Oh yes I always take care of my mama!"

I was just like WTF? And I didn't know how to communicate it to anyone. And it's not like she seemed that much better when she was leaving, she still had that kind of panicky look on her face. After they left I was just really frustrated and took Xiao Mei for a walk and then fell asleep. I have no idea what it was. I thought she was having a stroke or a heart attack. She said that it was the first time anything like that's ever happened to her. I've calmed down now, but after they left I just started crying. I don't know what happened or what I was supposed to do, and now it's like it never happened, except that my foot's all purple.

Так. Россия очень странно

A New Purse and a Holiday in Spain

Today I had a 2 hour lesson with Marina. She told me sentences in English and I translated them into written Russian. It was kind of interesting, because I kind of needed to translate her English into English and then into Russian :-P

She just got back from Spain, where she told me that all the fashionable girls had matching headbands and purses. So when she got back the knitted (crotched?) a set for me. Aw.

Frustration and Transformers

Yesterday was very russian-frustrating. On the way to church, I kept missing buses and getting lost and ended up being late. And it was freaking jharka so I was kind of gross by the time I finally got there. After church, Maggie and I wanted to go see Transformers because Oktybr on Novy Arbat is showing it pa-anglessky. We got a little lost and ended up by the Moscow Zoo and were like 10 mins late which, in the States, is No Big Deal. I was finally able to communicate to the ticket lady that yes I did want tickets for the show that already started, so the gave us them and also a map in English for getting to the Zal 11, which was all around the other side of the bulding. We found a bunch of doors but they were All zamok-ed, so we went back and finally got to talk to the administator who had someone go unlock the door for us. So the English theater has about 30 seats and you def feel like a leaper or something because the whole kinothear complex is really big and nice, but they put us Anglessy ludy in the poor back closet. After the movie, which wasn't too hard to figure out dispute being 20 mins late, we went to dinner which was good, but then we had a long way to go home with lots of metro transfers and I had to take a bus I'm not used to taking and got hit on by a hair styler named Misha and his Modolvian friend. Tak.

In other news...I have to take a Russian placement test when I get back, and I just found out that on a section of it, I need to translate English to Russian. I'm so bad at that. Russian to English is fine, cuz I just make it make sense, but I don't understand word order in Russian... cuz there isn't really any, but it matters a little bit, I just can't figure out when...

I woke up at 6:30am to the sound of Christiney calling. We talked for a long time and then I called my mom and ate breakfast and my dad called so I talked to him too and took a shower AND THEN I made the mistake of getting back in bed to read Brothers Karamazov... I later regained consciousness at about 11am. I've spent the rest of the day reading or talking online. I think I'm needing a facebook fast for like a month... Maggie's coming over tonight :-) And I go to Novo Wednesday and the next Wednesday back to MeiGuo!

70's Jesus Songs

One of the things I've been doing this summer is playing guitar. I actually think I've gotten worse though since I was about 17 :-P Anyway my mom has all these worship songbooks from the 70's, before a lot of Christian songs were written. Therefore, they include some favorites such as, "We Will Overcome," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Puff the Magic Dragon."

My favorite are in the section entitled "Songs to Scare Adults."
Here's a sameple from a classic that was given the title "Maybe for Teenage Christians," by the Dept. of Education Church of Scotland

If you're looking for an answer, If you're
looking for a way, If you're looking for a
formula to tell you what to say, If you're
looking for an exit or lesson how to pray,

then there's nothing for you here, You'd
better go, You'd better go.

If you're looking for a heaven, Like a
fairy painting scene, With battlements in
Omowhite and pearily gates all clean, If you
shrink from all the dirt and sex and sin you've ever seen,

then there's nothing for you here, You'd
better go, You'd better go.

If you think church if cozy And a
nice place to belong, If you don't want to go
marching or to sing a rebel song, If you're
scared to let your hair down or ashamed to wear it long,

then there's nothing for you here, You'd
better go, You'd better go.

:-)


And here's one called "Jesus, White Boy"

Jesus, White Boy, holding out your hand,
Can you ever really understand?
If I can't shake your hand, it isn't right;
I'm too black and you're too lily white.

Black is what men used to label dirt;
The expect us all to be unhurt.
If you love us all, as we have heard,
You've got to find another word.

Sin is black and night evil too;
Jesus, White Boy, what are we to do?
If I take your white hand with my black,
Will you help me up, or hold me back?

Dream... Are you a dreamer?

Cincinnati->Minneapolis->Amsterdam and now I'm

back in the 'scow! I didn't sleep at all on the flights over so I had been awake for like 30 hours by the time I finally went to bed last night at 7:30pm. I think I remembered what was said in all conversations post-sleep... But, man, I felt so crappy when I got home yesterday. I think I ate something funky on one of the planes, or maybe it was the 6 cups of coffee. Gross.

Thoughts while in Amsterdam:
I feel like writing a lot more when I'm flying places. Maybe I get inspired by the people-watching, ransom assortments of airport archetecture, or overhearing people with funky accents give their opinions on how my country should operate. Maybe it's the fact that I'm half-aleep, eyes glazing over and mind racing trying to process the the 3 emotionally driven movies I just watched. I kind of wish I could have a smoke right now. After all, I'm in Amsterdam. I fell in love on my last flight. Twice. I fell in love twice on my last trans-Atlantic flight, too. I choose movies like that on purpose, I think, because it helps me pass the time, and remember that I'm a girl and that there are a million types of guys to fall in love with out there- that I am young and the world is big and exciting. I'm staring at my cafe au lait steam in the early Amsterdam sunrise. The mournful sounds of jazz come floating into my ears and the sun is in my eyes. My flight leaves in two hours and I am falling asleep. I want to learn to do so many things, and to go so many places, but this summer has taught me one thing- I don't want to do it alone. Oh look at the time- 7:16am. Maybe in an hour I'll think about thinking about going to find my gate. They're so complicated in this airport with gates and security.

I want to paint. I have a vision of a swimming blue sky with golden stars that needs to find its way to a canvas asap. I want to be very creative in decorating my house this fall. I want to really get to know my friends. I want to keep writing to the RSP kids and to really pray this year. I want to do my homework and really learn. Sometime soon I want to learn how to shoot a gun, to skateboard, to find a way to dance, to make things beautiful, to keep reading for fun, to learn to cook better, to keep track of my expenses, to really be a friend to everyone, to love even though it hurts, to be optimistic, to make a mistake and learn from it, to be a better Christ-follower, and to let Him take control of all of me.

7:20am. What to do, what to do? How gross my teeth feel now.

Back to today.
I had the most wonderful suprise right as I was going to attempt to take my second Historic test online at 7pm last night. I had an email that said it would be posted another day! So I promptly put myself to bed and proceeded to sleep for like 10 hours :-)

I'm going to the Soup Kitchen today and then going to attempt to straighten the house that I've managed to put into a state of disaray after only being here a few hours. And take my Historic test.

Well I'm flying to Russia today

My time in the US has been ok... and Russia will be fine, and then I'll come back to the states that that will be good, and going back to Taylor will be wonderful. We went to Kings Island yesterday and rode rollar coasters (hm maybe thats why my neck is sore this morning...). I'm too tired to think of whatever to say. I'll have about 5 days before my dad comes to the'scow, so I'll probably write more then. Until then, I'll be studying like crazy for Historic as I cross the Atlantic...

Tut tut, looks like rain

As said by Clegg: "In the Netherlands it either just finished raining , is raining, or is about to rain."

Right now it is raining. I found a nicer and cheaper internet cafe and voila! here I am. I got up early this morning (7:ooAM!!!) and got on the train to get to the Anne Frankhuis by the time it opens at 9, before the crowds. Of course I got lost and didn't get there until 9:25am. I didn't have that long of a wait though, maybe 12minutes. After that I wasn't sure what to do and was kind of in a holocost-museum-haze, so I started walking ("just keep swimming..."). If you're even in Amsterdam, and after visiting the Anne Frank museum, keep walking down Raadhuistratt and you'll run into a delightful little cafe called Bagel/Beans. I recommend the ham-cheese-tomato bagel and a chai latte. And after that, keep walking down the same street and you'll run into a little Christian bookstore. I bought a book by Corrie ten Boom (being in a WWII kind of funk) called "Tramp for the Lord." Isn't that a great title? I think I will like this book. I'm kind of a tramp (by which I mean the travelling vagabound kind of tramp) and I need to start doing it more for the Lord. As it was raining by this time, I just walked around until I found a good little cafe to read in. My dad gets in at 8pm tonight, so I told myself I'd stay out until at least 3pm. It's about 1:30pm now and I think I'm going to call it a day. I thought about wandering around the Jordaan district, but the rain is making me tired. Plus, I got an earlier start this morning.

Other Amsterdam recommends: Van Gogh Museum (duh), The American Bookstore Center on Spui Square, Spuistraat Street (but perhaps not with children. It's like Amsterdam in a nutshell and doesn't showcase the most moral of establishments), Dam Square, Amsterdam Historch Museum (don't pay to go it; just walk around the buildings. It's a nice break from the crowds), Nieuwendijk Street for shopping, and go check out the Red Light District if you so desire. It's not as creepy as you'd think (which I've decided isn't necessarly a good thing). Watch out for whips.

I amsterdam

Oh boy, it's going to be weird going back to the US where I WON'T be walking around for 8 hours a day!

Basically: I loved Prague. It was everything I thought it would be a more, and...

I LOVE AMSTERDAM

Completely unexpected! There's way more to do in the way of wanding here. And have I been wandering! Prague has a Museum of Communism, which puts it a bit above Amsterdam still. But this city is ochin interestnee. It's full of bums!!! With dreads! I even bought a hat so I'd fit in to the artsy scene this place has going :-P

Except I'm in a creepy Indian internet cafe now.

Вчера и Сегодня

Yesterday and today I've had a routine! My routines tend to last less than a week, but I enjoy them as they come.

Here's yesterday's schedule:
7:30am- Я встаю to the sweet sounds of Michael Buble and the smell of coffee that my dad's preparing in the kitchen

7:38-8:23am- Take Historic Christian Belief test online. Ok this part of the day kind of sucked. But I got a нормално so it wasn't too bad.

8:30-10:00am- Take shower, get ready, walk Mei, check email, etc

10:00am-12:00pm- Russian Урокы с Мариной

12:00-3:00pm- Tour around Novo, Children's Train station (see Facebook for photos), lunch at Marina and Artoom's apartment

3:00-5:00pm- Отдыхаю! Make dinner, read, waste time on the internet watching Colbert.

7:00pm- Dad has Russian lesson with Marina and I read Brothers Karamazov. Afterwards my father and Marina play jazz duets on the piano.

9:00-11:00pm- Take Mei for another walk, TV and popcorn with dad, and finally- bedtime!

Today was pretty much the same, but we went to the ринок (market) and bought some veggies, toured Artoom's university, and the childrens music school where Marina's sister teaches. Tonight Dad and I going to their apartment to play Monopoly. I wonder how they played this game during Soviet-times...

Finally using my Russian keys

Oh boy, oh bo-hoy! I bought a new чайник for чашек чая :-D This purchase single-handedly made my life 100000x better. You each have an individual invitation to come to my новый дом to partake from my страшное зло (that should be "wicked awesome," but google translate will tell you something different) chalice of чай.

(I'm finishing up my Japanese Blossom from НН btw)

Around the World in 80 Days

I just finished my "transportation book," Around the World in Eighty Days. This little copy was read on metros, buses, marshroutes, and cars.

I love the ending:
"...Passepartout rapped vigorously at his master's door. Mr. Fogg opened it, and asked, "What's the matter, Passepartout?"

"What is it, sir? Why, I've just this instant found out--"

"What?"

"That we might have made the tour of the world in only seventy-eight days."

No doubt," returned Mr. Fogg, "by not crossing India. But if I had not crossed India, I should not have saved Aouda; she would not have been my wife, and--"

Mr. Fogg quietly shut the door.

Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he had employed every means of conveyance--steamers, railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges, elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?

Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!

Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?"

After a week of silence

I'll admit it- yesterday was a BAD day. Very uneventful and practically wasted. I took a 2 hour Russian lesson, drove back to Moscow for 3 hours, watched TV for 4 hours (old movie fest on TCM), went to sleep. I downed some Русский Стандарт at some point. But I don't feel too bad about my day. I went brain-dead like I needed it. Today was awsome. I woke up a little late and went to the soup kitchen kind grungy. Still, one of the old men who refused to tell me his name and insists I call him "papa" said I was an angel. I love those old people. There was a little girl there with her grandfather and we gave her chocolate and she gave us chocolate and it was beautiful. I had lunch at Euromall and came home, took Mei on a walk, and took a nice bath. Then I met up with Maggie at Tushinskaya and we walked around. We found a pretty cool cafe, and I had a cafe latte and piece of Tiramisu cake. It's just so good and relaxing on the brain to walk around with someone from Taylor. So it has been a good day.

Stuff that happened in the last week:
- Thursday: Didn't do much. Helped Mom pack up. Finished a paper on demonic oppression for Historic

- Friday: Mom and the boys left! I went to RACU and helped Maggie teach an English lesson. Pretty fun. I like teaching. I'm probably not the best example of a disciplined person though. Afterwards, Maggie came over and we watched "Babel," ate dinner, read, and went to sleep. I know, we're the life of the party.

- Saturday: Moscow Zoo with Maggie! It was FREE for students :-D I def am going back this summer! We ate blini and ice cream from the street stands. Then we couldn't figure out what to do, so we got on the metro and picked random spots to get off at and look around. It was way fun, but we walked around for like 4 hours! We finally got home, made dinner and awesome peanut butter chocolate cake, and watched "Hitch."

- Sunday: Father's Day. My dad arrived in the morning, we went to church, and out to lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. That night, Dad, Mei, and I drove to Novomoskovs.

- Monday: Russian lesson with Marina and then tour of Novomoskovs. I met her son, Artoom, and we had lunch at their house. After that I went home and did some Historic homework, and made Dad dinner :-)

- Tuesday: 2 hour Russian lesson, 3 hours driving back to Moscow, and the wasted day.

That brings us to Today. And what a good day it was. I'm going to make some dinner now :-)

This headline says it all

Russian 'ninja' arrested in Italy

Why I love Russian

One of the most beautiful songs ever written. This is Кукушка ("Kukushka"- cuckoo) by Кино ("Kino").

And these are the English lyrics:

How many songs are there yet to come?
Tell me, cuckoo, and sing…
Where am I to live, where am I to die?
Lying on the ground, or flying like a star in the sky?
Flying

Sunshine above, come look at me
My hand has now turned into a fist
If there's a way out, then show it to me
Like this…

Who will tread upon these lonely steps again?
Who is strong and brave? Who will pay the price in battle
With their lives?
Very few remain in our memory,
With a sound mind, and a strong hand in the ranks
Alive

Where have you gone now, my freedom, where are you?
Who's the lucky one meeting you again this morning,
Tell me…
It's good with you around, but it's bad without
But my head and shoulders can hold out underneath the whip
You see


And here's the song being sung in the dorm I lived in:

What a cool city

Beautiful days to make things better. Walking around (and chincy rollar coasters) Gorky Park, real Chinese food, Кафе Хауз, getting the future figured out (well, Бог разполегает) with good ol' Mom and Dad.

Having an off day

And I've noticed that most of the friends I've made over the past seven months- yes, seven- have been the sort of friends who cling to each other because we are both in the midst of very turbulance time and space. Unpredictability, danger, fear, and newness. There is excitement, passion, love, joy, and compassion that never really wears off in the time we knew each other. We get on each others nerves, of course, but it is mutually understood that everyone gets a break on their off -cultural shocking- days. So how silly is it that I miss people I've only had one lunch with, or coffee, or a game of pool, or 3 hours naked in the баня, or a three minute conversation while checking email? Because the thing about these relationships is that they generally don't last that long. Yet everything is understood in the underlying semantics which are always the same: If you speak my language, we can talk. Now is all we have. Now I'm lonely.

It's 11:29pm where I am now and everyone I want to call should be up and moving. But I miss most my friends whose phones are currently outside their coverage area or who are taking naps.

Что's Happening?

Here's a quick run down on what I've been occupied with-

New favorite movie: The Painted Veil. Now this is love that can bring me to tears. Plus, I was excited to have understood 80% of all the Chinese spoken. But I also thought they said something in Russian during a French song. I have many languages floating around my head right now.

Photo story that's rocking my world

New interest: researching political candidates. I liked that Brownback guy, but considering that only 8% of the of the Registered Republicans' choice for nominee in 2008 are voting for the "Other" category (source: cnn.com), which includes him, I've been considering McCain. He's pretty All American (being born in Panama and all), was a POW, adopted a child, seems pretty realistic. I'm just trying to be a good, responsible American.

Baking victory: satay! skewered the chicken and everything. Served over coucous. Get ready, Souphouse and friends.

Biggest time waster: watching internet videos (youtube, cobert report, too many debates, music videos, etc) And that one day when I sat through Fantasia from American Idol's biographical movie on Hallmark...

I didn't: go to the Linkin Park concert. Not that I cared too much, Ben was disapointed though. But I do regret that the same night was Pushkin's 208th birthday and I should have gone to some cafe giving poetry readings.

Missing: friends. Anyone really.

Contemplating: the future, well my future, education, the spiritual role in and of fashion throughout history, the meaning of marriage in the face of termal diseases, the purpose of my being here, the financially poor, the financially well off, whether or not I am mentally capable of someday speaking Russian fluently, why I should even bother, whether or not I should learn how to skateboard, becoming the spiritual leader and all that entails (Paul's whole "when I was a child" passage), when personal preferences should be fought for or let go.

Quotes: "I am sorry that I cannot say anything more comforting, for active love is a harsh and fearful thing compared with love in dreams. Love in dreams thirsts for immediate action, quickly performed, and with everyone watching. Indeed, it will go as far as the giving of even one's life, provided it does not take long, but is soon over, as on stage, and everyone is looking on and praising. Whereas active love is labor and perseverance, and for some peope, perhaps, a whole science."
~Father Zosima in Dosteovsky's the Brothers Karamazov

"The father of the prodigal son gives himself totally to the joy that his returning son brings him. I have to learn from that. I have to learn to "steal" all the real joy there is to steal and lift it up for others to see. Yes, I know that not everybody has been converted yet, that there is not yet peace everywhere, that all pain has not yet been taken awy, but still, I see people turning and returning home; I hear voices that pray; I notice moments of forgiveness, and I witness many signs of hope. I don't have to wait until all is well, but I can celebrate every little hint of the Kingdom that is at hand."
~ Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son

Outdated Rules, Be Gone.

Dear Taylor,
I am, therefore I need to dance

Source: IHT

Snow Patrol- Signal Fire

So cute! I love this video. I'll admit I'm addicted to (not American) music video stations. The best was MyMyx in the Philippines. They printed words at the bottom of the screen so you could sing along :-P This song is so sweet. It reminds me of Middle School when Mindy and I would discover songs that we could sing to God. Plus, he uses silly string to beat the bad guys!

Sing along!

The perfect words never crossed my mind,
'cause there was nothing in there but you,
I felt every ounce of me screaming out,
But the sound was trapped deep in me,
All I wanted just sped right past me,
While I was rooted fast to the earth,
I could be stuck here for a thousand years,
Without your arms to drag me out,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety

No I won't wait forever(2x)

In the confusion and the aftermath,
You are my signal fire,
The only resolution and the only joy,
Is the faint spark of forgiveness in your eyes,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety,

There you are standing right in front of me (x2)
All this fear falls away to leave me naked,
Hold me close cause I need you to guide me to safety,

No I won't wait forever(x3)

eyes glazing over

My eyes have been hurting lately because of reading all these HCB lectures on my computer screen. I wanted to take a break, so I had Tommy read me a page. I wanted him to read more, but he was like "No way!" So I tried to strike up a conversation with him about General and Divine Revelation, but all he said was "No! That's boring! I'm wanna watch "Napoleon Dynamite!"

So I've been looking up passages about prophecy for the past 2 hours and I think I'm ready to nail down this sucker. It's due on Monday and I do have this 8 hour advantage. But first I did what any MacBook-owning девочка would do. I played with PhotoBooth.

Dear Diary,

Today I began my rule of the дом! The reason for it is that my parents have skipped town and are vacation at (the place next to and with a full view of) the only 7-star hotal in the world, in Dubai. So I woke up to the find the water cooler had freaked out in the night and there was water all over the kitchen floor! After 6 towels, and hanging 2 rugs out to dry, It finally stopped leaking (or maybe it was just because the jug was empty). Thank you, evaporation. Ben was gone from abotu 4pm on because he was an "art carrier" at some ritzy auction. He said he held a painting that went for $33,000. Tommy had a baseball game, so being the supportive sister that I am, I took a book and watched. He was upset that the coach wouldn't let him pitch, but he had a couple great hits that got men home. He fell asleep very early, so I just did homework, and watched TV (I know, I was that bored/didn't want to do homework that much), and took Xiao Mei on a couple of walks.

I've got some serious life decisions I'm working through right now and have spent more time than I probably should have contemplating and hypothesizing about the.

Today I also learned how to knit an iPod case! I found this great website called VideoJug that teaches you "How to" do all sort of great, random, and possibly things in life. I might have also spent too much time on it today, but my family will love me when I make them the worlds greatest donuts.

And last but not least, I did Historic Christian Belief homework. I understand the way A Faith for All Seasons was written, so it's not too bad. I have a paper due Monday and I'm not really sure how to do it, but there's always tomorrow for that.

Goood night!
~Amy

I'm Rich! I'm Rich!

I got this in my hotmail account today. I always did wonder what happened to Uncle Ravia...

From : Jun Xinsheng Reply-To : juunnxxsheng@yahoo.co.uk Sent : Thursday, May 31, 2007 8:59 AM Subject : hello

Good Day To You

I am Mr. Jun Xinsheng of Trade Finance Department,Maybank Hong Kong. On July 6,2004, our client Dr. Ravia Pumin, a businessman, made a numbered fixed deposit for 6 (six) calendar months, with a value of US$16.5m only in my branch. Upon maturity several notice was sent to him and no response came from him. Another notification was sent early August 2005 and still no response came from him. TheBank officially sent two-man delegate to his residence in Malaysia were he reside only to find out that the business mogul and his family perished in the Tsunami Disaster on 26th december 2004. I have contacted you to stand as the next of kin of the said funds. please reply me through my secure email address: juunnxxsheng@yahoo.co.uk I will send you more details once I hear from you.

Jun Xinsheng

Excerpt from a letter to my RSP Семья

To those I miss most in the world,

It’s about 9:15pm here, which means the sky won’t be completely dark for another 2 hours. Eleven ‘o’clock walks with my dog have become a favorite part of my day. I appreciate this letter writing thing we’ve started, so here’s my take, although you will have to judge of whether or not it lives up to the epistle we’ve already received.

I don’t know if you all have heard, but Moscow is sweltering! The temperature on my birthday was the highest in over a century, according to The Moscow Times. It’s not even what they consider summer yet! And let me tell you, this is not a country prepared for a heat wave. It was 90*F all week, but it’s supposed to be like 69*F this weekend. Some guys have been riding the metro bez shirt lately. Ew…

I’ve been taking 4 hours of Russian group lessons at a place here for the past two weeks. Next week I’m going to take some 3-hour private lessons. There are 7 people in my class and they are hilarious. We range in age from Charlotte from France who got to come to Russia for 2 weeks for her 20th birthday, to Amir a businessman from Israel in his 60’s, there’s also Georg a lawyer from Germany who likes to argue about grammar rules, and Annabel from who just moved in January from Texas because her husband does consulting with oil companies. There’s Patrik who is dating a Russian girl and he’s here for a month. I said it was nice of him to learn Russian for her and he said that she has to take German when she comes to see him in Switzerland in July. And then there’s Martin who must be in his late 40’s, speaks 6 languages already and has given himself 5 months in Moscow to learn Russian. My ocheteal is Andrei who used to teach refugee kids from Kazakhstan Russian. He’s a brown belt in karate. To get to class every day I take a free shuttle, usually with all the US Embassy guys, to a metro stop and go about 3 stops to where my classes are held. With all these hours you’d think I might be getting good at Russian or something, but I have basically NO friends to talk to in Russian! I’ve been going up to the guards at the international school and trying to strike up conversations, but eta MockBa, tak they just answer me pa-Englussky.

I should back up a bit and tell you about this alter-universe I’ve found myself in. It’s called Pokrovsky Hills- a neighborhood where children play in the streets until 11pm and ride their little scooter things to the international school every morning, and soccer moms have drivers take them to sight seeing tours in the city, and even high school seniors aren’t allowed to ride the metro. It’s crazy to be honest. And it’s a little sad too, because you get this sense that people here are very fearful of things outside the gates. I really can’t blame people for not diving into something like we did if it wasn’t even their decision to move here, but I think it’s sad that people seem so afraid. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but I won’t bore you with the details, at least in this letter.

Thoughts on Summer books, and I do plan to read a few: I just finished “The Return of the Prodigal Son;” it was a gift for me before I left for Russia again. I was so excited to get it, because of how highly Harley praised it. I plan on reading Crime and Punishment as well, but in between the two, I’ve begun something a little different. I picked up something from the genre “Chick lit,” and not only chick lit, its Christian chick lit. It’s a novel called “Everything’s Coming Up Josey” about a journalist from Minnesota whose ex-boyfriend marries her sister, so she goes to Russia to teach English and to find herself. So far, it has given a pretty humorous but accurate descriptions of things like the airport, metro, etc.

Again, thank you so much for letting me know what’s going on in your lives! Thank you for the best semester! If you ever feel like calling Russia (via a number in Iowa), I can be reached at (###)###-####.

Love,
Amy

On the Eve of...

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train."
--Oscar Wilde

Ah, I'm having trouble booking a train in Europe... this is difficult, more difficult than I anticipated.

Tomorrow is a special day and I baked myself the most beautiful cake. Actually my mom baked it and I decorated it with green spray-paint-frosting and sprinkles. It's beautiful.

Pentecost Sunday

My church here is pretty awesome. For Pentecost Sunday, we had groups from all over the world (primarily: Africa) give special music from their countries. Oh how I was blessed. Today I was reminded of something. First, that I seriously need to get to Africa one of these days, and second that I need to get out in Moscow more. I'm very bored, actually. I supposed I'm being "challenged" or whatever, but I have no life. I kind of was in a "oh Russia, why am I here? I have not friends and no one even cares if I learn this stupid language or not." One line of the sermon stuck out to me:

"Reach out to people in their own language"

The pastor was probably being metaphoric about reaching people in a relational way or whatever, but to me I instantly wanted to cry, so strong was my realization that this is why I'm doing what I do. This is why I love learning languages: I love people. God loves people. He will give me the mind to learn what I need to even if I don't know why, what the end result will be, or how I will need this whenever/if ever in life. I'm being blindly prepared for something, which to be honest freaks me out becaue I'm a map-loving person. I read maps to know where I am, where I'm going, and to find the best way there. God doesn't always work with my preferences though, but he's God so I'm being Ok with that more and more.

#2 awesome thing: a girl from Taylor, Maggie, miraculasly showed up at my church today! I knew she was coming here ot teach English this summer but I had no idea when or how we'd see each other and there she was 3 rows behind me. We actually don't live that far from each other, too.

Tommy has a baseball game tonight that I'm going to go to. I'll probably read for Historic most of the time though. Oh, being "challanged..."

Weekend.

Remember at the end of the school year in like High School when there are all kinds of banquets and awards ceremonies and how cool it was to see your friends get awards or even you get an award? But if you didn't know anyone at all, except for your sweet action little brother who won an award in every sport he played in, yes it would be BOORING. And that's what I did tonight :-)

The food was good.

Yesterday I made friends after Russian class! I made friends! But they're both leaving tomorrow to go back to England... all day in my center's main office on Fridays they serve champaigne and chocolate to celebrate the weekend, so I talked to Dan, a British banker who used to work delivering boats and who has also gone bungy jumping in New Zealand, and Maria, a Japanese girl with light brown hair and green eyes (due to a Russian father) who studies medicine in Oxford and comes to Russia periodicially to get in touch with her Russian roots via language lessons. We went out for coffee and tea and then lunch. It was nice to hang out with people. Like other than Mom, who is wonderful, but after 3 weeks... we watched a movie last night and ate girl-food and shared a bottle of red wine. Yeah, we do have good times.

Russky Yezzik and stuff

"I'd better tap out an email to my collegues," as the Brit standing next to me just said. I am in Linden and Denz, the center where I'm studying Russian. I keep getting the shuttle/metro thing wrong and getting here a lot sooner than I ever expect. But better early that late I think... it's about 9:40am and I have lessons from 10:00am to 1:50pm. To fill the extra time, I take walks around the Belaruskaya area, or do email on one of the four computers free to use. Lessons are fantastic. I'm in a class with 8 other people, who are all stories in themselves.

Last night I went to a very nice place for dinner with my mom, dad, and his boss from France. After not having a drop since January (maybe December), dinner with a Frenchman who loves wine kind of put the world in a spin for me.

I'm going to start tutoring a kid from Turkey today. I'm pretty excited about that.

My favorite part is when he starts walking with the guy with the briefcase.

RIP Yeltsin, etc.

Today Mama and I were tourists big time and went on an International Womens Club tour to Novodavichy Women's Monastery and Cemetery. We got lost as soon as we got off the metro (big suprise), but it didn't take too long to spot the golden bell tower. It was supposed to get up to 27*C today! Stupid me wore a jacket and scarf that I ended up carrying most of the time. But it was soooo prettyful. They love flowers in Russia, something I kind of really appreciate. This monastery is very old and historical and there is a lot more to the story than I can remember. I do remember that a lot of Peter the Great's sisters were sent there to be nuns because it was hard to find them husbands of right standing who wouldn't take them away to Europe. And it was able to remain a practicing church during the Communist era. And St. Sofia lived in a tower and if you touch the outside of the tower (and you're a woman) you're supposed to have good luck in marriage and motherhood. All the women there were already married, so I was elected to try to touch the outside, but I was kind of embaressed about the whole thing, so I declined. Plus there were bars on the window. And I think I'll just trust God for that sort of thing.

We went to the Cemetery there where Yeltsin was recently buried. There are all kinds of famous artists, merchants, politicians, and military figures buried there, including Bulgakov, Gogol, Kruschev, Gorbachov, and Chekov.


On Monday it's BACK TO SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL! Ah I miss the RSP kids... and watching Russian MTV c themами... Russian language exam at 9am and then start class. One the same day I begin Historic Christian Belief and my books (ahem) have not yet arrived.
Tonight Mama and I are going to make an apple pie :-D

Escape from Pokrovsky Hills!

Yesterday Mama and I went to Church of Christ the Savior, my favorite собор в Руссии. The main hall was closed. I guess the smart thing would have been to look that up before we went. But I was going to be OK with any excuse to leave Pokrovsky at that point. We toured the museum and then went to Кофе Хауз. We decided to go back a different way, where we'd walk for 20 mins from the metro instead of taking the shuttle bus from the Сокол stop.


2 transfers, 3 lines, and 8 stops later we emerged into the sunlight and did not see the McDonalds that was to be Mama's point of reference. None the less, I was ecstatic about where we had found ourselves. I plan on going back there very soon. We called my dad for directions, still the walk took an hour. But I finally found a bit of Russia in Moscow.



A 30 second walk from my front door is the walkway to Russia. It is a bridge that goes over a canal where boats pass through. We go out there to watch as the sun sets sometimes.

I plan on beginning an intensive 2 week course in Russian next week. I'm also going to start tutoring a Turkish 4th grader in English two days a week. We're going to my dad's place in Ново this weekend, I believe. Mama had to sub today for 5th grade, so I hung around school and read in the library all morning, then had lunch with Mama, came home and walked Xiao Mei, and read out on the deck. And then I uploaded pictures :-)

Мир~*
*~Эми

Really? Russia?

I've just been bumming around the house for the past few days, doing the usual... kick butt kick boxing exercise dvds, walking the dog, making stirfry, signing up Mom for facebook... Ben's play is going on now tonight, and tomorrow afternoon. Last night I helped sell concessions at the play. It's actually a really cute production of Once Upon a Mattress. They have a much smaller theatre than the one at Brent, but at least they do all the all singing без pre-recoding. Hey! I found out my brother Ben can actually sing really well! Tommy has been doing some long overdue homework (= big trouble). Last night he told me he was going to pull an all-nighter. "Whatever... you're only 11," I said. "Save yourself the drama and just write the 9 journal entries in an hour." Really now, all nighters are reserved for like 30 page Contemporary Social Thought Theory notebooks.

Tomorrow I might go for a walk out of Pokrovskyland.

oh Руссия

I'm back in Russia!

How typical of a Taylor student are YOU?

A few statistics about Taylor according to Facebook (you can find top ten lists under the new Network tab)
:

Top Music

1 Coldplay
2 Jack Johnson
3 Switchfoot
I'd probably put all of these on my list, esp Jack

Top Movies

1 Gladiator
2 Braveheart
3 Lord Of The Rings
I've seen all of these used in sermon illustrations

Top TV

1 The Office
2 24
3 Lost
I've only seen one episode of each of these, but everyone always talks about them. To quote a kid from the the Russian Studies Program: "I miss The Office as much as I miss my family!"

Top Books

1 The Bible
2 Blue Like Jazz
3 Redeeming Love
I could have predicted this one. But what's redeeming love?

Top Interests

1 Music
2 Reading
3 Movies
Sheesh we're so boring! God was only #6, btw

Relationship Status

34% Single
26% None Listed
22% In a Relationship
But I think a lot of people lie about this, though.

Indiana is going to kill me...

This settles it: I cannot live in this state.

My head is all fuzzy, I can't start a sentence without clearing my throat, my eyes are dark and burn, and I look like I'm on drugs.

It can only mean one thing.

Spring allergies!!!

Oh Upland, why do you torment me so... Maybe the rain will clear things up.

Anyway today had been so uneventful. Like the only thing I really did was talk to people. Wait... no, it has been a good day :-D

I'd Rather Dance With You?

Het.

Wake up in the morning with a head like 'what ya done?'
This used to be the life but I don't need another one
Good luck cuttin' nothin', carrying on, you wear them gowns
So how come I feel so lonely when you're up getting down?

So I play along when I hear that favourite song
I'm gonna be the one who gets it right
You better know when you're swingin' round the room
Look's like magic's solely yours tonight

But I don't feel like dancin'
When the old joanna plays
My heart could take a chance
But my two feet can't find a way
You think that I could muster up a little soft, shoe gentle sway
But I don't feel like dancin'
No sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Even if I find nothin' better to do
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
I can't break it down when I'm not in the mood?
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you

Cities come and cities go just like the old empires
When all you do is change your clothes and call that versatile
You got so many colours make a blind man so confused
Then why can't I keep up when you're the only thing I lose?

So I'll just pretend that I know which way to bend
And I'm gonna tell the whole world that you're mine
Just please understand, when I see you clap your hands
If you stick around I'm sure that you'll be fine

But I don't feel like dancin'
When the old joanna plays
My heart could take a chance
But my two feet can't find a way
You think that I could muster up a little soft, shoe gentle sway
But I don't feel like dancin'
No sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Even if I find nothin' better to do
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
I can't break it down when I'm not in the mood?
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you

You can't make me dance around
But your two-step makes my chest pound
Just lay me down as you blow it away into the shimmer light

But I don't feel like dancin'
When the old joanna plays
My heart could take a chance
But my two feet can't find a way
You think that I could muster up a little soft, shoe gentle sway
But I don't feel like dancin'
No sir, no dancin' today

Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Even if I find nothin' better to do
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
I can't break it down when I'm not in the mood?
Don't feel like dancin', dancin'
Rather be home with no one if I can't get down with you

A day filled with many turns around the Upland neighborhood

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It kind of felt like it wasn't going to be, so I wrote it on the whiteboard in the kitchen to remind myself. At the Souphouse, we had a goat roast, which ended up very very burnt. But the chicken was really good and by some strange concidence, Josh made "Russian Salad" from Argentina, which lo and behold, was real Russian salat. I didn't have any. Not just yet.

Today will be spent running around doing stuff so my Russian visa can be issued.

How strange it is to be back here. Last night I went to the Souphouse and drank mate with David and Josh. Everything felt so normal, so familiar, which I think is one of the greatest blessings. Familiarity. Even so, I know that coming back in the fall will be hard...

What can I say?

I'm back in Upland and I want to see everyone! I was in chapel this morning and the DC for lunch. I'm staying in the TOPPIT house, across from the Souphouse if anyone wants to swing by. I'll be here till May 8th.

And right now I need to go get tested for the HIV.

For a visa, kanyeshna.

I cried for the first time in Russia tonight

Former president of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin died today.

This is also the last day of the Russian Studies Program.

My heart might break

How am I supposed to leave these people?

Dostoevsky Day

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
John 12:24-25

Let's talk about why this day was amazing.

First off I should say that it wasn't all good. It was actually very cold and rainy. That cold atmosphere-just-sneezed-on-you- kind of rain. Ew. And the metro was giving me motion sickness (I plan on writing a a discussion on the Metro vs Marshrytka. Later.).

But it was Dostoevsky Day and the day began with a splendid dramatic reading of a scene from Crime and Punishment. We walked around the dodgy part of St. Petersburg (because Fydor wrote about the lowly people of society and lived among them) and saw several apartments where he lived, the apartment and place where the pawn shop was from C&P, a cemetary where D and other famous Russian artists are buried. I've come to the conclusion that while I may have a serious crush on Puskin (who didn't?), Dostoevsly writes my heart and soul. Love the poor and outcasts. Confess your sin. Lose your life. Choose Jesus Christ.

And then most of the good things happened in the evening.

We rushed back to the hotel to change, for tonight we attended a ballet performance of Don Quixote at the Mariinsky Theatre!!! It was quite spectacular. Better than the Bolshoy in Moscow, I must admit, although I'm going to need to stop saying things about St. Pete being better than Moscow, since I'm going to be living there this summer. The lead guy and girl were absolutly amazing. I don't really know anything about technique, but they had great stage presence and were not only dancers, but also actors, and I thought they were fantastic. One of the lead girls was absolutly anorexic. It was hard to watch her. It lasted 3 hours, with 2 intermissions. And Pamela Anderson was sitting near my friend Jess. I am not lying. All the men in the theatre were taking pictures of the poor overly tanned woman who apparently forgot to wear pants.

After the ballet it was after eleven and we needed to find a taxivan to get to the metro to get back to the hotel. We saw fireworks in the distance and started walking towards them and ended walking all the way to Nevsky Prospect where the metro is, anyway. We never found the fireworks, but we did walk through a motorcycle gang of Russian youth playing hackysac in rollarblades, almost got hit by cars crossing the wrong street (cross with the green man, not the green arrow!), my shoe fell off in front of the Hermitage. the girl riding a horse outside the Hermitage, a cello player in the metro, and many other strange things. We went to McDonalds for midnight McFlurries (even though it was only 11:15. It closed at 11:30pm). They thought I said Big Mac instead of McFlurry, but when I told them what I really wanted they returned my money and let me keep the Big Mac. I gave it to Andrewshka. They started playing "Kiss By a Rose from the Grave" and "Strong Enough" and I sang to both and was happy.

And right now I'm eating a very delicious plum from the ринок (food market).

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that two days ago we got robbed by a gypsy in Кофе Хауз. Ask me to tell you about that one in person.

Russian weather is bi-polar

I just hope that you will all be able to accept my new affinity for fish net nylons, techno remixes, Дима Билан (Dima Bilan), and tendency to throw random Russian catch phrases into conversation.

You know you’ve been in Russia too long when….

You carry a plastic shopping bag with you ‘just in case’.
When crossing the street, you sprint.
You hear the radio say it is zero degrees outside and you think it is a nice day for a change.
You are pleasantly surprised when there is toilet paper in the WC at work/school
You are relieved when the guy standing next to you on the bus actually uses a handkerchief.
You discover a new love of beets.
You know seven people whose favorite novel is “The Master and Margarita”.
You change into ‘tapki’ (slippers) and wash your hands as soon as you walk into your apartment.
You drink the brine from empty pickle jars.
You begin refering to locals as ‘nashi’ (our’s).
Locals start refering to you as ‘nash’ (our).
You know more than 20 Lenas, 30 Mashas and 60 Sashas.
You haven’t worn your sneakers for anything but offical exercise in months.
Cigarette smoke becomes ‘tolerable’, or, if you’re a smoker, you beginning smoking at least a pack a day more than you did before coming.
You think metal doors are a necessity.
A gallon of milk seems like a foreign concept.
The elevator aroma seems reassuring somehow.
You sit in silence on your bags for a few moments before leaving on any long journey.
You catch yourself whistling indoors and feel guilty.
You never smile in public when you’re alone.
That strange pungent mix of odors of star sawdust, sweat and grime in the metro makes you feel safe and at home.
The word ‘salad’ ceases to have anything to do with lettuce.
Mayonnaise becomes your dressing of choice.
You can recite in Russian all the words to all of the tampon/beer/chewing gum/coke/cell phone/juice commercials.
You do not leave any room between you and person in front of you in line. Ever.
You voluntarily take a stroll in the park, Baltika beer in hand, on a sub-zero day.
You are no longer surprised when your taxi drivers tells you that before Perestroika, he worked as a rocked scientist.
You dress up in your best outfits for work/school.
You laugh at Russian jokes.

I don't really have words today

So you get pictures...

Mama, e ya! Don't you love the "traditional" Russian garb?


Jessica, Katya, Debbie, Me, Devon, Christa, Megan


Mama, Me, Kristina, Babyshka
Sunny in St. Pete!

After a day at the Hermitage I know why there was a Revolution

Oh boy for hotels with free Wi-Fi in the lobby.

St. Petersburg is amazing. Jess says the word to describe it is "distract." And it's true. Here everything seems beautiful and happy. We've had great weather so far, warm and sunny, but they say there's only about 60 sunny days here. Here you don't have to think about leaving the group yet, or Nizhnii, or anything about the future. It's nice to be in places like this. Sometimes.

We went to an Indian place today. Way expensive, but way worth it.

По Моги No More

I just finished my last exam of junior year of college! In Russia! Am I technically a senior now?

Sorry for the long lack of update. Interesting things have happened, but I haven't had much time to be updating about them on the ever-increasingly-difficult-to-get-to internet.

Oh yay for friends getting engaged. And for facebook for letting me know...

My mama comes on the train tonight! I'm going to go pick her up in about 20 mins. Tomorrow at noon are closing ceremonies for the program, 5pm is the closing party (where I will be in 3 dances, and with groups, sing a Russian song called "If You Had No Wife," and chant a psalm in Russian). I love it here, but all good things must come to an end. Lately, I've been dreaming about good American breakfasts...

So we're going to St. Petersburg on Sunday, until April 24th, and then who knows where I'll turn up next...

Ah i just got a text that everyone went to Без Ухов after the exam. It's pretty much the sweetest cafe ever, so tata for now!

I love making new friends

Friday we had a St. Patrick’s Day party at the school where I teach English for the 15-16 year old class. It was so much fun. I love kids that age. And I love St. Patrick’s Day. I held captive their attention while I recounted the story of St. Patrick as I understood it from Adventures in Odyssey and Veggie Tales. I count my years in St. Patrick’s Days. It’s kind of like New Year’s for me. Last year I was learning to forgive myself. Two years ago I was at IHOP wearing a black hoodie and trying to be someone I’m not. The year before I was in the Philippines probably. Senior year. I was probably lying in a ditch at 3 in the morning in a park.

So I didn’t get off campus. Who needs a новоый roommate? Please apply if you do not live in Olson, English, Wengatz or Sammy and are ok with me never being there. I was so ticked off when I found out. I called my mom and considered not returning to Taylor. Good thing I don’t always follow my first instincts. I really miss BeccaRu and Anna and Yenta and Twin and Hannah K, and my Asian daughters. Ah, I really miss them. I need to be careful about missing people because I’ll start to miss the past and not them as they are now. I’ve been gone a while and things have probably changed at least a little. Man, I’m going to be a senior. That’s so weird. I was out at a клуб late last night so I spent the night at my friend Christa's. This morning we talked about how weird it will be to go back and be seniors. She spend last semester in Australia, so she's been gone a whole year now.

In good news, it now gets dark here at about 8pm. It's great.

Finish it...

I’ve been very sentimental again for the past few days. At the very thought of some people, I want to cry and I’m not even sure why. Even as I wrote that last sentence, I my eyes filled with tears. But alas, I was not meant to be a person who can let things out so easily, and not a tear fell. I don’t cry easily, so even the welling up is kind of a bizarre thing for me to experience. Is this what it means to miss people? My earliest memories are of riding tricycles with my friend Megan in the cul-de-sac in Kansas with the statue of a lion in the middle. The next one is the morning I left Kansas, and in my two-year-old mind I couldn’t conceive leaving that place and Megan forever. I remember crying then. I remember being thirteen and crying after Alyse left China and realizing that up until that point I had never felt so much pain in my life. I remember not even being able to stand up; I could only crumble to the floor, clinging onto the wall of autographs, and cry. After that I decided crying produced no results and therefore was not a practical thing to do and decided to stop. And here I am today, so confused at these unfamiliar feelings I’ve kept dammed up for so long.

Oh I sound so depressing right not, but believe me, it feels so good to feel.

Know what makes me happy? The Fountain Soundtrack. Know what makes me even happier? It came to Russia.



Other things that have made me happy today:
Watching TV and drinking tea with my Russian sister and mama
Reading Russian billboards and understanding what I’m being enticed to buy
Going through greeting cards at the Magneet Supermarket and understanding what they say
Basically everything having to do with breakthroughs in Russian Language (Русский Язык)
Being able to type in Russian
Calling cards
Butt exercises in the workout dvd from mom
Mix CDs
Photobooth
Actually getting homework completed
New clothes and looking hot
A balmy 48*F Spring day
Thoughts of summer

Putin's presidency and how his policies have been implemented.

That's not really what I'm going to write about, but I just finished class.

I think I'm supposed to find out if I have off campus one of these days. But I'm not sure. And I'm not "on campus" right not so I can't check out any of the Resident Life pages. Suck. Anyway.

Class was boring so I made an outline of my research paper. My topic is "Why Russian Women Choose Motherhood over Marriage." I know, I'm totally plagurizing a book I read last spring in sociology about poor women. But this is Russia. And in Russia you can only believe. Russia is a paradigm wrapped in a mystery... of a riddle. Or something like that. I'm so tired. I think I want to just go home and take a nap after Bible Study in the RSP apartment.

And I got an amazing package today!!!

Would you light my candle?

I spent the weekend with my rockin cousin Jim who got to experience living in a Russian apartment with no electricity. We did many things, which I shall detail later.

This morning in Russian we talked about summer plans. I think it's the first beautiful day of spring here. I could not concentrate on perfect and imperfect verbs.

Seminar class is about to start, but 4 right now boys are playing hackey with an orange. It's getting juicy...

I got 2 packages today. One from Taylor with 2 Echos in it and one with a CD. I thank thee for both. One still too come...

The orange just hit the chalk board tray. Not good...

Mail!

I just got cyrillic stickers for my keyboard... :-)
воохоо!!! :-)

После другой ночи на Banya...

I went to Jared’s focus group tonight. I love doing research with people. Even the silly consent forms make me excited. It’s all so professional and respectable and I love people and knowing what they think. I think I want to do focus groups for my sociology senior project. They’re less intimidating than one on one and I can kill more birds with one stone. Not that I’m going to kill anyone. I just want to gather information that will be destroyed at the end of the research project.

At 7:00pm I had to leave for the Banya. Although it wasn’t so great tonight. I didn’t have a head wrap, so I think I got a little over heated and dehydrated. I spent a long time just sitting in the first room with fruit juice, talking to people. Naked.

Dear friends and stalkers, I regretfully inform you that I have just made the executive decision to only bring my computer to the school on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is to save my poor new bag, not to mention my already crooked back, from the stress of bursting at the seams and being lugged all over Prospecta Gargarina. Standing for 20mins on a crowded bus in the morning, as you might expect, is not a good way to start the day. Now I understand how most of the world gets where the need to get every morning. We have it so good with our individual cars in the US. I mean except for the fact our grandchildren are going to have skin cancer because there won’t be any ozone layer left for when they have to walk to work because motor vehicle engines can no longer run under the extreme temperatures caused by the melted ice caps. Maybe they’ll sail everywhere. Meanwhile, the poor babushkas will be saying, “And I remember when we had wonderful contraptions called ‘marsh routes’ that used to take me to the university every morning. It only took 20 minutes in those days!”

It’s been a long day. I should go to sleep. Tomorrow is International Woman’s Day! Well, international in the “Internationale” Soviet sense. What a great day. “If only we celebrated women 364 more days a year,” says Harley.

Моя семья

Right now I'm just going to talk about how cool my Русская семья is. I have a hot Mama and Papa. They're probably only in their early 30's. My mom looks like that one girl who was in Dawson's Creek and that one funny movie about Nixon. With red hair. She stays at home and makes us yummy food. My papa is a body guard and enjoys spear fishing in his spare time. His flippers, wet suit, and spear gun are in our living room. Every morning he gets the huge Biola mug for his tea. My sister, Кристина, is 15. Last night we watched a show called Кадеты or something like that about high school boys in a military school. She said its like the most popular show. There was a guy who had a broken arm and I asked Christina how that happened and she said "Auftobus... bam!" I got pretty in to it. After that mama and I studied Russian for a couple of hours. She helped me with my homework and we ran through flash cards.

Ok I need to finish an assignment for Harley's class. I need to read Genesis 3 and find the source of temptation and relate that to The Master and Margarita.

Hey! Теперь я могу печатать на русском языке!

The stupid university just stupid told us that there's going to be a supid fee for stupid talking to people on-stupid-line. Send emails from now on.

In other news, and in spite of this tragic turn of events, my faith in the Russian Idea has been reinforced. Yesterday I got a package (I've never been so excited to get index cards!) and a letter. I didn't have room in my bag, so I just stuck the letter inside the package and was going to carry it back to my квартира. I stopped at the peroskee stand for a вишни pick me up. I savored the delectible treat and then I got on marshroute #144. As the doors were closing I realized I had forgotten my gifts from afar at the stand!!! I still had to pay, so at the second stop, I got off, went under the road to get to the other side and flagged down auftobus #13 to take me back. As we pulled up the the университет stop, I tragically realized that it was no longer where I had left it at the stand. I ran up to the window and breathlessly pleaded "я забыл мое письмо" After staring blankly at me for a moment, Nina cried "Да! Я имею его." And with that she reached behind the counter to reveal my beloved package. I was so happy I almost got hit by a bus crossing the street again to board marshroute #3. I was in bliss even as I was pressed and shoved around the crowded bus for the 20 minuete ride home. Bless Nina.

When in doubt, get naked

Visiting Gorky's house museum and moving in with the new family today!

Yesterday I taught English at the school. There's one girl named Dasha I've been tutoring who is very bright. She's so sweet. Her mom and dad work on a ship- her dad's the captain and her mom's a cook, and they usually are gone sailing around, so she and her two older brothers live with her babushka.
Denton, Erin, and I missed dinner lasdt night, so we went to Broadway Pizza on Prokrovka. It was actually pretty good, much better tha Mir Pizza. After that I went to a sauna with the rest of the girls. We rented out one right behind our dorm. It was pretty sweet. It cost the same as the banya and we just spent hours sitting around (naked) and drinking tea and eating fruit. There was a coat room, a shower, a pool, and the sauna. I love this country.

Guess which one is me...

My Childhood

Ah, I love talking to friends. And I love MuKappa. And I love talking to friends about MuKappa. Life is wonderful.

So Maxim Gorky's My Childhood. It's a good autobiography that isn't very autobiographical. But I suppose people have the right to make up things about their life and publish them, as long as they don't claim it to be the truth (just ask they guy from Oprah...).

Sunshine and snowfalls
Maybe it's getting warmer, but today
it's still pretty cold.
When we're maybe halfway through Harley's class the sun shines on my back, through my hair, and onto my desk. It simulaniously produces a profound contentment with life and the strong desire to take a nap.

We should all write poems about our childhood, dear readers. Send me yours and I'll work on one to share with the world.

Strange things that are now normal...

Russian class is kicking everyone's butt today. It's really sad. It's like we never had the first three weeks of lessons. Oh well.

Two nights ago I was playing poker with a big group of people in my Russian friends room and it started to smell a bit, naturally, with a large group of people who don't shower as often as is accustomed in the New World. So I started getting whiffs of B.O... and suddenly I got a safe, familiar feeling, like I was reminded of people from ... Middle School? Ah the joys of going to school outside the US.

I'm meeting my family tonight...