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.
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