Just Something Random

For the first time on my blog, I am writing about the present. Sure, I may give more details on my actual day in a later post- which means you will all be about two weeks behind on my life- but I will post this on the same day I write it.
I want to talk about some of the little things I have been noticing about the transitions from Autumn to Winter. Maybe they are stupid, but I notice them and don't want to forget, so I am sending it out into the world so that the record is kept.
Autumn is kind of a flash-in-the-pan season here. It is here and then gone. One day, you notice the leaves turning color, and then within three days all of the trees in the city and the trees in the mountains surrounding Krasnoyarsk burst into color. There are some trees that do not change, like the assortment of pine trees and the trees I only know as "those ones with leaves that are silver underneath." For some reason, these trees never turned color, but just dropped their leaves when it was winter. These trees losing their leaves are the first sign of winter coming upon us. The day they fell I first thought someone had flung their garbage on our nice grass plots by our apartment building. The metallic brightness of the leaves actually tricked me into thinking that they were pieces of trash.They fell only a few days from the first snow, so that is how much of a sign they were this year that winter was upon us.
Now, I use the term winter lightly, as it is going to get much colder than it was then and how much it is now (-20C). But I can say the wind is a big constant.
The wind really can make or break your venture onto the streets. The thermometer may say the same temperature whether or not the wind is blowing,  but it does not feel this way. When there is a light dusting of snow in the morning and the wind starts, you just wish your face would chip off so you couldn't feel it anymore!
Now the winter is getting more intense- there isn't snow, but packed ice everywhere. The temperature is dropping at a brisk pace and there are even more changes occurring. People seem, for the first time since I have been here- appropriately dressed. There is a saying that Russians (particularly women) dress for the season, not the weather. But now this doesn't seem correct as it is truly COLD and everyone is in heavy jackets and hats. The trees that had the silver leaves now have seed pods that are similar to what I called in grade-school the "helicopter seeds." They are all so chilled and dried out that they make this intense noise when the wind passes through the large clumps in the trees. It is kind of eerie and  always makes me turn in the direction of the sound, which then gets me blasted in the face with cold wind and small particles of snow(if it snowed during the night)!
I am actually excited to switch over to my even warmer coat and investing in some ski clothes (or at least ski pants). For some reason it just seems thrilling and not miserable to me! I guess it is because it is only one year, a few months, and a memory of a lifetime. And I haven't had my own ski pants since I was 13. So at the very least I will use them once a year on my return to the US of A.
I have also been trying to come up with a comprehensible list of things I want to do in Russia other than visiting cities. I came up with going to a ballet, circus, orchestra, opera, and seeing the Northern Lights. Any suggestions or additions? It can be an activity or simply a food to try. Your feedback will also help me know what you want me to write about. 

All for now. In a couple of weeks I will tell you about my weekend/week- I am off to the circus, an America day at an orphanage, and the Nutcracker Suite!

Interesting Week

I went to a school for Air Traffic Controllers last week. They are required to know English, and so every two years they go to a ten day refresher English course. It was really interesting. I was asked to go and speak so that they could hear the American accent. I think it interesting that they have to know English. It is the Universal language over the airwaves, I guess, so that is how they communicate with all out of country flights. They said they don't get a lot of international flights here, but they come in contact with charter flights that are just passing through the area. I have never really  thought of air traffic controlling as an occupation or future occupation, so it was really interesting looking at all the flying lingo they have to learn and whatnot.
It was just neat to even learn that English is required of these people, let along all of the lingo they must learn for understanding pilots. I wonder if they can understand a Southern accent or not. I am not sure why I am wondering this, as the chance that they would have ever come into contact with one is slim, but still it is an interesting question. They told me that most pilots they talk to are just requesting to fly lower. This is because planes cannot fly in too cold of weather, so they have to come lower to the ground for better lift. The air is thinner in colder temperatures.

The whole group I gave my presentation to.

I also taught them that Americans don't say "minus twenty degrees" but "negative twenty degrees." I hope that is correct and not my mind just flip flopping my language around. It is starting to do that. I kind of wish I had brought some Jane Eyre or something so I could keep my brain muscles healthy. Not studying anything other than language is kind of making it whither. They were all guys and there was one woman. About three of the classes combined just to hear my presentation. There were less than 7 people in each class, so it was no biggie. After my presentation and a time for questions they went back to their respective classes, and I chilled with the one in the room in which I gave my presentation.
How I was invited to this school was from Vlad's father. He is attending the class I stayed in. Once again, I think it was just as cool for me to go  to the school as it was for them to have me. Although, if you will all forgive this negativity, I sounded pretty stupid at times. I would sometimes talk just to hear myself speak, not having a point. It was sad, but I think it is because I have been silent for so long (because of the risk of getting lost in translation or wishing I could say it in Russian) that all these words just spilled out of me. Like this class made the little boy take his finger from the dyke holding back all my words and they just poured from me. I could hear myself thinking after I would talk for like two minutes straight "and the point is. . . oh wow I forgot what the point in my talking even was!" It was bad. But I did feel a heck of a lot better afterwards. Now the word (get it, instead of water because I am sticking to my metaphor?) level is down again.

Fall Holiday

One of my fellow exchange friends in the Czech Republic on Facebook- who is more like me than I realized- said this about missing Halloween: "All I really want to do is troll around in some feild untill I find a pumpkin, then take out all the guts, carve a huge ol'American smile on it, and then make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie, then parade around town with it and force people to try my baked goods as the pumpkin stares them down." She has a pretty nice way of summing up how I feel in her statuses. She also said this about her two month mark (she arrived in the Czech Republic only a few days after I arrived in Russia): "Two months ♥ if you ask me about my Czech language ability I will be too busy laughing to reply, if you ask me if I like the Czech Republic I will immediately profess on the top of my lungs that I LOVE EXCHANGE. There are ups and there are downs, but its like the great Miley says, Its the climb."

I felt like sharing these because she has such an elegant way of describing things, and they also coincide with exactly how I feel. Interesting how, although we have completely different exchanges, we feel the same way sometimes.

It was really cool to Skype with my parents and show them all the stuff I talk about in my e-mails. It was funny seeing- and mostly hearing- them.  It was also cool that my two sets of parents were able to meet. Like watching two hemispheres colliding, which I suppose really was happening.

For some reason the weather man is always right. I think that comes with actually liking in an area that is landlocked and surrounded by mountains. You can see the weather coming, and there can be no natural disasters (not really). It has also been getting colder. Probably because it is now fall and turning into winter. Yeah, that is probably why. Whenever it does snow, it snows in the evenings. Although it is cold enough to snow all the time. The precipitation just is particular on what time of day it decides to show itself.  The fall holiday lasts a little over one week.

The first night of the holiday Julia and I tried to open a bank account. She had talked to a bank last month and all they said I needed was some money and a valid Visa. Well, they lied, because now they want a translated copy of my passport. In all those spy movies, they never warned me how difficult it would be to open a bank account in another country! I thought it was easy, and that is why they did it!  So now we have to work on that, so it will be a while because finding someone to do that will be difficult.
 When I was walking to meet Julia at the bank and there was some girl crossing the crosswalk with her pony. He was misbehaving- wanting to be all scared because it was snowing and there were cars, but she just jerked on his halter and yelled at him after they got across the road. He behaved better after that and heeled appropriately as they continued on. I am such a creeper that I keep my camera with me always, and took a picture. It was literally the weirdest thing I have seen in a while.

The Excursion group.

The Sunday of my holiday I went to the national park,called "Pillars." I now understand why. It is kind of obvious now, but then it was my first week in and I think my mind was way too frenzied to really figure out why. At the top of the mountains are bald trajectories of rock. They are in different formations and whatnot, but still just kind of randomly pop up from the ground. So, that is why they are called pillars. I could tell they are going to try to make this park into something. They are putting in more walkways and new playgrounds buildings. The playground I saw was at almost the top of the mountain, if you can believe that!
I think the walkways are like what some of the Western National Parks are trying to do- build a wooden walkway above the ground so that all of the human traffic doesn't harm the environment. The problem is is that they already have a paved road that everyone drives on or has been walking on for years only a few yards from the walkway. But it was nice to have that walkway, even though it wasn't finished in sections. It was way less icy and it usually had hand rails. They also put in some informational stuff along the way. About nests, different animals, etc. They are also putting up more little huts for people to stop and eat or relax in. I think it will be a really interesting place once all of the improvement stuff is done. Maybe then people will feel bad for throwing their trash on the ground, too.
Julia and I were ready kind of early, and so we went down to the street to wait for her cousin to pick us up. Arthur decided that he didn't want to go, and would rather sleep in the morning, so it would just be us. For some reason I had a feeling he was going to sit this one out. Her cousin was late, so we were standing around in the cold for quite a while.
It was okay though, because we got to talk, see someone walking their little dog, the sun rise, and some crows and birds. It was pretty interesting. Then her cousin came. His wife was really sweet, and I would say she has kind of a boisterous personality. But she still seemed to know when to talk and when to not, and didn't domineer conversation. I think it is interesting how there seem to be more people here like that than in the US. It must be another cultural difference. Their nine year old daughter seemed kind of quiet, but just because I was new. She pretty much did her own thing.
Julia and her cousin Andre seemed to talk most of the trip/hike. I also didn't embarrass myself too much on the hike. We went a pretty easy pace so I didn't get puffy or sweaty. Of course, I was my usual clumsy self. My Nikes weren't great on the ice, and Julia said "oh, the BEST Chinese shoes!" which to me is still funny. Especially since Nike outsourced to China but still kind of has the reputation of being American shoes to Americans.

A picture of me after one of the many times I fell.

We went to the top and walked around trying to find the right path to the grandfather rock, but we never did. We gave up after a while.! Julia made bliny to take for food, and they brought sandwiches. Well, brown bread with salami and mayo. They made them for even Julia and I, so we didn't consume all of the bliny.
 The way down was a lot more difficult because we were going with the ice and not fighting against it. We went down arm in arm, able to mostly prevent each other (namely Julia and me) from slipping and falling all the way to the ground. Both Julia and I went to the ground once, our impact slowed way down by the arm-linking technique. Once, Julia slid about a yard, trying to stop but she couldn't get her footing but wasn't falling down.
Slap humor gets to me more now than it used to, since language humor doesn't make it to me as much any more. So, I was giggling or flat out laughing a lot of the way down. I think I almost peed myself a couple of times. We left earlier to beat the rush, and we walked past throngs of people on our way down the mountain.

The next day we went to the symphony with the kids from the orphanage. It was kind of awkward, because I really don't have that much Russian and of course those kids don't have any English. The actually asked me to talk in English for a little while just so all the kids could A.) Openly stare at me B.) Hear what English sounds like and C.) Stall until the doors opened for the music hall.
A lot of the kids seemed pretty happy, but I could pick out 5 from the 15 or so kids that I could tell that they were just angry. You know, the angry at life kind of angry. I think the kids were between the ages of 6 and 14. When we sat down in the theater, we had a whole row saved. One little boy went all the way to the edge of the row and sat by himself. So I went all the way to the edge and sat next to him. All the other kids sat together in the main row, with an isle between our four seats and the big center isle. It was that little boy, me, Julia, and one of the helpers in the four seater row. I was able to ask the boy how old he was, if he likes the symphony. . . and that is pretty much it. He is 8, by the way. Weird to think that I am ten years older than this boy!
There were no Rotarians at the symphony today, so Julia and I were the representatives. There were limited spaces, so it was really kind that they let Julia and I have this outing instead of two Rotarians.
This time there was also different music. And the place was full! It was just for kids, but it still was a full house. Julia said it was because it is a holiday weekend. Instead of the Chello wizard, they had an Opera singer. He had a cool voice but even better faces.

I also found out that Arthur is kind of obsessed with cars. He likes to look up prices and different reviews of cars on the internet. I also found out that both him and Julia think that my father is crazy for having had snakes, tarantulas, lizards, turtles, and even a dwarf alligator as pets. And it is also weird to them that he has these animals in the Church. The Western Church is a completely foreign concept though, I mean the fact that my dad has an office is different to them. Could you picture reptiles in a Russian Orthodox church? I sure can't! That is probably why they think it is so weird!

My Birthday: The Party

First, preparing and not knowing the theme was pretty weird. I has kind of worried all week because the different little things Juila made me do to help prepare for it- painting a picture of a fence, wrapping gifts for our guests (they were cheap lame things with riddles on them so they had to guess what was inside). . .The other preparations only had to do with food, which had me much more excited than worried. Basically, the food was almost all of my favorite meals I have had since coming to Russia, made Grandma Ginger style (my Grandmother in the 'States likes to make enough food for two times the people she will be serving). Juila literally could have fed 30 people with all the food she made. All of my guests came, except for one, as she was out of town. I do hope everything is ok, and am not mad at her.
I learned from one of my friends that it is an insult to wait and open gifts- you should open it all excited like a small child and freak out over it the moment you get it. Pretty much the opposite of what my whole childhood trained me to do! So, once all of my guests arrived (my liaison came, my counselor was supposed to come too but she was sick), Julia gathered everyone in the living room, where we had put a table with plates, nice glasses, and SILVER utensils. I couldn't believe that we were getting out the nice china and all of that when we were setting up, but that just made me realize how loved I am here! Anyways, once all the guests were here I found out that the theme of my birthday was actually saying goodbye to childhood. Which is a really good theme! Although it is the very theme of the party that I have been struggling with lately- I mean, facing the fact that my childhood is gone, over.

So the things we did (other than talk) were all things that we do as children or children-themed. We played twister, tried to spit pacifiers into a bowl of water, were characters/words in a story and had to run around a chair every time our thing was said, and played a word game as well as the present thing. Between all of these were about an hour increment, in which we were either expected to stuff our faces, talk, or both. It would have been better if I could have taken part. Everyone else seemed to get more comfortable with each other as time went on. I mean, my friends from school seemed to be uncomfortable with the friends from Rotary because they are in the class ahead and don't ever interact.
I must say I was a little bit of a boring host, as I couldn't really follow the conversation wherever it went and if they tried to include me it would go horrible wrong because I couldn't understand them really. And, of course, Vlad's mom (Marina, my counselor) was in the kitchen with my родители (parents). They would all come into the living room for the game or activity.
Okay, so from the beginning. Lena came first, bringing a scarf that is really cute but hard to describe.She was pretty eager to see my room and my house.Then Lola, Liza, and Veronika arrived. Liza's gift was my jewelry box, but I thought it was from all of them! I couldn't believe that I got more gifs from them, although I expected some small ones because Lola asked me on Facebook what I wanted. Lola got me a cookbook and a perfume. I really like both! The cookbook is interesting because it has recipes from all over the world, and not just any recipes: recipes with stories behind them! So interesting! Of course I can't understand much of what I read just yet, but I will get there. And this means that I can't lose my Russian- at least for cooking- because I will definitely want to cook from this. It has recipes that different famous people from all over the world from all different eras liked. The title actually says something like that. The fragrance of the perfume is good too- not overwhelming but still good. 
Veronika got me a crocodile skin-textured wallet. It is also purple! She asked me on Saturday if I liked purple, which tells me that the people around me pay much more attention to me than I realize! This makes me feel both loved and paranoid. I love it, so I probably won't use it that much until I return to the states and not hurt it like I will my wallet I brought. The wallet I brought is always at the bottom of my school bag, crushed by everything. And this new one is precious to me, so I will try to take care of it! Then, about ten minutes later, came in Marina, Vlad, and the twins. Marina and Vlad gifted a Krasnoyarsk teacup and plate, which I like and is very pretty. The twins gave me a Russia sports bag, which I LOVE and will probably use a ton when I get back to the states and even here because I don't have a backpack.
Then we got started. We were in the living room for about 15 minutes, talking, sitting awkwardly. Then Julia came in and gave a little introduction thing, telling the theme and all that jazz. The first thing we did was have my guests write on the fence I painted. Like little kids often write on walls or fences, they wrote on the fence I made that was hung on the wall. Like a yearbook kind of thing. Then we did more sitting and awkwardness, and then another game. This one was my favorite, although it was kind of weird. Two people were pitted against each other on opposite sides of the carpet and bowl of water on the floor. They would take turns spitting a pacifier from their mouth and trying to get it into the bowl. I was happy I was the first person to go and didn't have to go to play offs. 
Then, after another break, the food came. I kept trying to help carry stuff out but I kept getting told to sit. So most of the food time I felt like I was being unhelpful and inhospitable by my friends helping my parents serve the food. But I think it is a cultural thing. 
There were a couple of different kinds of salads, a fruit plate, baquet pieces with a cheese-garlic-mayo paste with tomato on top, meat and cucumber, haladiets, mashed potatoes, meat patties sautéed in mushrooms and cream. . .ah, too much! I literally gained four pounds from food weight! 
And for dessert- oh dessert! The dessert was later with the tea, right before everyone (like an hour and a half before and up until the last thing) left. We had tea with two different cakes, one brought out half an hour before the other so we ate a piece of cake from the first and only a few people from the second. Both were chocolate, but one had more chocolate than the other. I was glad the more-chocolate one was first. There were also little gummy bears (not like the ones you know, much larger and resembling dots) and chocolate candies. 
And the drinks! We didn't have water, but there was this soda that tasted like a different version of Inca Cola (a soda in South America and Mexican Markets), and then a Lemonade-like soda that also tasted like a variation of this drink. And, of course, compote (apricot and plum).
After eating we then did the game with the story. Everyone was a different part of the story, and when Julia, the story-teller, said a word, the person assigned the word had to run around the chair. Zhenya had a really common phrase, and often just rand around the chair three or four times even though Julia had only gotten through the first couple of times (but she would say it four times). It was a story about people trying to pull a radish out of the ground, and they can't so they get other animals/people to help them, and in the end when a mouse joins them they finally get it. Then we did a race where we were split into two teams and had to sandwich balloons between us.
After a break, we all put bows in each other's hair and put pacifiers in our mouths and took a picture. After this we played the second to last game with the phrases. I stood with by a chair with papers face down on it, and different guests would go to a second chair with papers face down on it with words on them. They would say "I want to give you a . . .___," using the word on the paper to fill in the blank. I would respond with whatever phrase I picked up. A couple times I got the correct phrase that matched their word, and other times I got the complete wrong one. 
Then we had the dessert and tea. After this we talked for like two hours about different things. Well, they did- I was just proud of myself when I could pick out different words or phrases. I could tell when they were talking about school and when they were talking about other things. 
Then Veronika had to leave, so I asked Julia about the present game. She had completely forgot about it, so Veronika stayed and played it with us. The presents were hanging on a string from a wire that Marina and I were holding. One person would be blindfolded and would have to go with scissors and try to find it. Unfortunately, Marina and I got bored fairly quickly and moved the wire around a lot, making it kind of difficult for people to get a present. Then they all kind of left at the same time, except for Lena. She stayed and helped us clean up, taking all the dishes in and whatnot. This really impressed me. She is a good friend, and very kind, so I can't wait to get to know her better.
Now, for a short bit on my host mom. I cannot express how much I love my host mom. I mean, she isn't my mom-mom, but the lengths she has gone to be kind to me has definitely earned her a very very special place in my heart. She pays more attention than I realize, and is extremely smart. She is pretty much fluent in English even though she hasn't studied it since college. She invests in the stock market well. She cooks food almost every day even after she has been at work all day. She is patient and understanding. She can stop herself from hovering, even though she really wants to. Have I already said that she is a sweetheart?
And she is a poet. On my birthday she said "I think today your soul will be for everyone to see." Really, I think this means "You're happy and we can all see it!" but on a more philosophical level. The other thing she said was everyone is doing all these special things for me so that they can earn a special part in my heart forever, and will never be forgotten by me. 


Apologies for my blog being approx. 2 weeks behind my actual life. It takes time to edit and getting around to blogging.

My Birthday: Part 3

I left for the school at the usual time, if not about 5 minutes later. I got to the school and knew that my class was Math, and being 5 minutes later I needed to hurry and get there (no one else was in the area because they were all in class). When I got out of the coat room there was Liza. She told me that the class was changed because our math teacher is sick, so now we have two Russian classes (this would be like me saying I have English class- it is Language Arts) and then a normal schedule. I knew they probably don't do the whole substitute teacher thing here, so I just followed her to the class. She let me walk in first. I thought this was so I could shield her from the burning questions and chastisements some teachers give for late students, but the lights were all out.

Then it hit me- then the lights turned on- then everyone jumped up from behind desks, and six desks were put together in the middle of the room with lovely table clothes on it and with a beautiful cake in the shape of a Russian Nesting Doll (матрушка) with sugar flowers clumped in the center. Everyone started chanting "С Днем Рождения!" I couldn't stop smiling. I had to cut the cake and serve it to everyone (tradition), and Nastia spoke on behalf of the class and said some really sweet words. One phrase I particularly liked was "Our hopes are. . . that you survive the Russian winter." She listed other things, but that one made me laugh. 

My cake

They gifted me beautiful things made out of the birch bark and with beautiful designs. A mug, a box, a mirror, a brush, a contact book, and Nastia gave me a large Matrooshka doll (Russian nesting doll) and little Matrooshka candies. A girl named Yana gave me a white bear. She sits next to me sometimes in classes and helps me with my university homework and Russian in general. I was really happy and really shocked at, once again, how kind and wonderful all the people are here. I thought that we would do some little celebration, but nothing like this! I was given permission to store my gifts in the Russian classroom.

The rest of the day was pretty much normal. The English teacher gave me some chocolates. And PE was cancelled (you'll like this) because two girls used two different perfumes, the fumes mixed, and a chemical reaction to occurred in the changing room. It became a lovely fragrance of a cross between rotten eggs and mold. After our last class (history) Liza, Veronika, Lola, and I went back to the Russian room to get my gifts. We took pictures in front of the happy birthday sign and then they decided to gather up all of the balloons and have me take those home as well. So, in the end, I was carrying a bunch of balloons, four bags, what was left of my cake, and my school bag. Needless to say Veronika was super kind and helped me carry it all home. 

My gifts from the class.

When I got home I ate and started to get right to work with getting some things ready for the party the next day. Julia gave me two tasks: wrap presents for the guests and paint a fence. So I was wrapping presents (nonsense things that will be funny when they open them) when the mail lady rang our flat.
At the bottom of our apartment building there is a door on every corner (our building is like a square). By each door there is a keypad and a speaker. You can only get to your flat by going through the correct door and putting in the correct code or using an electronic key. If you want to visit someone, you type in their flat number and a phone by their door inside their apartment starts to ring. So, the mail lady "rang" us. For some reason I was hoping there was something for me. I knew there could be a chance it was. She came up to our flat and handed Arthur a piece of paper. 

It said basically to get your butt to the post office right now and pick up a box for a Mrs. Arielle! They didn't even try to do my last name.  So, Arthur said that when Julia got home we would go and get it! When she got home we left for the post office, which is right across the street. I was kind of worried because a passport is required to pick up my box, and since the University had it all I had was the copied laminated version my Dad made me. When we got there, the post office was on lunch break. So we went home, Julia walked the dog, and when she got back it was 1:45. So we went to the post office and waited half an hour (it was supposed to open back up at 2), and they finally opened the doors. 

The Russian post office looks more like the bank in the Mary Poppins movie because there is a fence or whatever around the counter so you can't steal the post or something. The guy didn't ask for my passport until almost the very end of the claiming process. Julia said that all we had was a copy but that "see, it's from America" and pointed to the eagle and the English. The guy really didn't want to fight with her, I think, and we were pretty far through the process (I had singed papers), so he accepted it as a passport. Then he put up TWO boxes on the counter. This made my excitement level go through the roof! It has been snowing lightly (not hard, and not sticking), and for some reason when we left the post office the snow made me even more excited. I think it is leftover from me being a little kid/middle schooler and hoping for the snow to stick for school to be canceled. It has just become a good omen in my life. Hmm.

Love all the surprises and the sweaters and the other stuff my family sent me.My dad put in a wooden-eagle magnet for my host mom and a candle that smells like cinnamon. She really loved the candle, although she hasn't lit it yet. I don't think scented candles are really popular here, so it is going to be interesting to see how much she uses it and if she likes it or if the smell is too overwhelming. Both boxes seemed to be kind of man handled- the corners are all beat up.

I love all of the Americana stuff my dad put in (flag stickers, patches, Oregon magnets, flags of different sizes, a huge pencil with the US postal service logo. . .), and am especially thankful for my shaving cream my family put in, too.  I think Arthur and Julia got a kick out of some of the patriotic things being made in China, and I had never really thought of it before.
My Aunt Michelle sent me hot chocolate- the ultra tasty Umqua kind. I had one of the vanilla ones. I told Julia she could have some, as I really wanted her to try it.
I followed the directions and put the whole pouch in my cup, so when Julia poured herself a little glass from my mug she exclaimed "AH SO SWEET!" and ran over and filled her cup with hot water. Hahahaa. Oh, the wacky Russians and their disdain for ultra sweetness!
My aunt and all of her children also wrote me cards. Jeremiah(one of the younger cousins) sent me a card and a pressed flower inside. Sooo sweet, considering I have a story with him and a flower close to my heart! He also sent me another envelope with just a small square of paper colored blue inside. It made everyone laugh when I opened it. He is such a funny kid.  One of his older sisters sent me a card that she decorated with beautiful hand-sewn flower designs.The other kids also wrote me cards, including the oldest boy. This I was kind of impressed by, since 14-year-old boys aren't usually so thoughtful. I also got cards and letters from my parents, grandparents, my mom's friends, and even my dogs. I really worried about my mother when I saw that I got a card from my two dogs. It was a funny card, but still. I really don't want to come home to a crazy dog lady.

I also love my birthday presents sent to me: a watch, earrings, sweaters, and a bracelet. Oh- and the candy! When I saw Recesses' and peanut-butter filled chocolate eyeball candy I hugged them, and Julia asked what they were.
I sighed "My FAVORITE конфеты (candy)!!!"
Which made her chuckle and say "just candy?!?"
I also got a small bag inside with Mentos and breath mints, as I have many favorite dishes here in Russia, most of which contain a substantial amount of garlic or onion. I must have raved about these dishes too much, because the bag had a little note that read "for your after-garlic breath."  I thought my day was made when I got home from school- and then it got totally made over again! Goodness me! So lucky! My parents didn't put a rush on the birthday package so it is just wonderful luck that I got both and only 2 days after my birthday. I for some reason have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that my family touched every single thing in these boxes! It is just crazy!

I also dreamed in Ranglish the night before. I dreamt that I went to Oregon for my Fall holiday in early/mid November. I kept trying super hard to communicate everyone in Russian, and they kept reminding me that they didn't know what the heck I was trying to say. But I kept forgetting and kept trying to use my Russian to communicate what I wanted, etc.  Weird, huh? I guess you can tell what was on my mind when I went to bed that night- my language! At my outbound Orientation, they said by the third month I should start dreaming in my new language. This is about as close as I think I am going to get for a while!

My host mom is such a character. She told me that the other day she was taking a trolleybus home from work. There was an Armenian boy waiting to get off on the same stop as her. He guzzled a bottle of Coca Cola and then got off. My host mom thought that he was going to throw the empty bottle on the street, so she followed him. Sure enough, around the first street corner he just threw it on the curb.
"Pick that up right now and put that into a trash can. It is just ahead!"
The boy stopped.
"I said pick that up right now!" He turned, picked it up, and stood, looking at her with angry eyes.
"Trash can."

He walked in the direction of the trash can, my host mother in tow. He kept checking behind him to see if she would make him good on his word. They got to the trash can, and he stood there, again with angry eyes, looking at her.
"Put."
He threw it away, and they went their separate ways. My host mom says he didn't talk back because it isn't his country. I wonder if it is because she is older than him and he has been raised better than to disrespect someone older than him. Or maybe it was because he was by himself and wasn't self-confident enough to argue. Either way, it is an interesting story, isn't it?
I really like that my host mother has the opinion that littering is bad. It is a big problem in Russia, but I hear it is slowly getting better. Maybe that boy won't do it anymore, or at least look over his shoulder the next time he does to make sure the Russian woman isn't there to make him do the right thing!

My Birthday: The Second Installation

When I got to the University there was no one from my class there. The class is now separated into two parts: the people who are good at Russian and those who are. . . not so good. That was the group that met at 8:30 on my birthday. I am used to getting to the university and there being a schedule change; I actually just thought that my class would start at 10. So, I studied my homework and wrote a little bit of stuff on turning 18, and how mind-blowing it is. I mean, in all the fairy tales no one is over 18, and if anything happens it is supposed to happen on the 18th birthday. Like sleeping beauty: "On the eve of her 18th birthday she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel!" So, it was weird thinking that I am now older than all of them! And then I started thinking about movies. Now I am officially not the same age as the people in most Disney movies and new pop singers. Weird. What will happen when I turn 30? Then I will be older than everyone on shows unless they are playing someone who IS 30! But that is 12 years from now, so a lot can happen between now and then- and I probably won't care then like I do now. For some weird reason.
I also thought about how, when we are young, our whole lives are targeted for acquiring skills and knowledge that will help us when we are older. "You should know this before you go to college," and "This is a life lesson you will use when you are older," were common phrases at school, church, and home. So, now that I am officially "older," I was thinking about what I have actually learned. Am I really prepared? I know I will learn more and all that, but now my life really shouldn't be geared for "when I grow up." I mean, I am! So, now what? Should it be geared toward getting a great job, a great education, living in Europe? All these things were really throwing me through a loop as I was sitting there, waiting for my class to start. Of course, I over-think everything. A nap usually cures this problem, which I have had since then.
Then the director of the International Education department showed up and freaked out because I was there. Apparently my class had been cancelled for the day and it was even in a new schedule that they had made earlier that week. But they forgot to tell me, so I showed up. I had to bring my passport to the school at 10 anyways, so they really shouldn't have freaked as much as they did. I was made to join the remedial class and given a bajillion numbers and apologies. The remedial class was difficult mostly because of the rough accents. I couldn't understand what they were speaking half the time, and had to rely on the teacher's corrections to properly gauge what page they were on or what they were saying to me.
Then, after the class was over and I handed my passport over I headed home. When I got there, I mostly just looked up a couple of questions I had on Russian grammar and threw myself into making a beastly powerpoint on the non profit organizations in the US. The night before Julia had helped me with the translations, so it was all about aesthetics and writing down what I actually was going to say. My Russian isn't near good enough to talk about a subject like this, so I was going to give more info in English and if the people didn't understand me they could read the slide (which would give the jist of what I was talking about) and look at the pretty and on-topic pictures.
Then I went to the front of the Motkova flat (she is my counsellor), where her son was waiting.We waited for Vlad (my liaison's son) and one of his friends to show up, and then we were off! I really didn't know what place we were going to- because this rotary actually rotates places. We went to a pizza place, but it's name is too much like Chuck E. Cheeze's for me to really trust the food. I didn't have to give my presentation, which I was kind of happy about because it would have been awkward giving it from a small computer screen to 6 people who I knew wouldn't understand all of what I was saying and would really be zoning me out and reading the slides and looking at the pictures. We talked about (I think) what Rotaract actually wants to do, what it will look like, ect.
Then they ordered slices of pizza for everyone and glasses of Pepsi, and we had a little impromptu birthday celebration! The pizza wasn't the usual, all-American pizza I am used to (kind of a "duh" moment, but I figured I would say that). It was almost breakfast-y with chunks of onion and tomato and some ham.
I thought to myself how much my palate has changed since I have gotten here, because I actually really enjoyed the pizza. It also seemed safer to eat than the Chuck E's. I was really interested in watching how everyone ate. Some went super proper and used the super fancy way to handle silverware, one guy picked up his pizza and ate it what I will say is the way I am used to, and yet another person used just a fork to cut it up. I also went with the between-the-two route and used just my fork, but in the end I just ate it with my hands like I am used to. Cutting it up took WAY too long.
The pepsi was also different. It had way less fizz, and tasted almost watered down from the amount of flavor I am used to in a Pepsi. I think that the company must have changed it for the Russian palate. As I have mentioned before, they have a sweet tooth, but super sweet things they can't really handle or just don't prefer. So, I thought about my dad as I drank my bit of Pepsi and wondered if it will come out my nose when I have an American Pepsi in 8.5 months or so.
When I got home it was pretty much as usual, I think. The parrot was let out of the cage and he walked around a bit. Arthur did get home from work rather late (after I got home from Rotaract), so he was really quiet. Well, he is usually kind of stoic, but that night he was quiet.

The 28th I went to the university, and it was a pretty usual day. A lot of my class wasn't there, so I wonder what happened to them. I also was kind of irritated because I worked super hard to study and memorize this text one of our teachers told us to, and we didn't even say it today. It makes me not want to memorize this next piece she told us, but Lord knows she would test us on both pieces next class if I did! After I got home from school I worked on painting this fence for a game for my Birthday party. No idea what game, but I am proud of myself because this thing actually resembles a wooden fence. So YAY! I mean, I am not going to an art school ever but at least it is acceptable. I think Art is the only place I have lowered my standards. The next day I was excited to get to see my friends for a long period of time for the first time in 3 days.