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