“Another day another ruble”

My daily mantra has been the Russian word for ‘good’, pronounced horoshow. Both my teachers use that word incessantly. Plus it’s just fun to say. I say it in response to just about anything and everything. Even as a form of greeting. This last week flew by, surprisingly. The days are picking up and that’s a good sign. The past several days have been super gorgeous here. I don’t feel like it’s Russia. The snow is supposed to start showing up mid Oct. We’ll see about this. Visited the Russian circus on Saturday. Quite the show. Basically, the women were barely clothed and the animal rights within me got a little upset. The tigers were alright. But the bears….not a fan. There’s just something about animal cruelty. Dressing them in human clothes and making them walk on their hind legs, as if they were a human? I felt so bad for them. They’re supposed to be wild animals. Let them be wild. Just like the Tigers. Don’t tame what’s meant to be wild. That’s my high horse (no pun intended). Getting to know the Russian students more. I especially enjoy being serenaded before I go to sleep! A very funny, friendly and tall Russian boy by the name of Roma, sang to me and my roommate last night. Over the Rainbow was a particular favorite of his! Something I find interesting is that Russian students usually don’t like what they major in. They just do it because it’s easy and they can get a good job because of it. They also start college when they are like 16 and 17. And you can’t drive here until you are 18. So we got some youngster’s on our hands. The Babushka’s changed our bed sheets. Nothing that I would normally point out except for the fact that they are PINK! I couldn’t believe it. Some of the boys even got pink. That was pretty humorous. Today was just one of those days. Language was rough. But tomorrow is our Friday! We’re sightseeing this weekend in a couple different cities. I have to add that the Pirogies are A-mazing! Dorm life is fun but I tend to get cabin fever. I miss Seattle.

no banya...HOORAY!

Week two down...a lot more to go! Ends up my mom has to send me a new power chord for my computer. It'll take a couple weeks to receive it. So still no pictures yet...sorry! I've done some exploring and found some super gorgeous spots. Me and Theresa hiked down, litterally a hike with all them stairs, to the river. It had to have been like at least 70 F yesterday. And of course today the rain came, again. Us girls were supposed to visit the Banya today but it was 'in repair' which ends up being the case for many things here in Russia. This is Russia. I was quite excited about that because what you dont know is that the Banya is a woman's spa or sauna. I guess all the old Babushka's go there. You may think to yourself, that doesnt sound too bad. Yeah, except for the fact that everyone is naked. That's the catch. I'm not a fan! So that was my highlight. Had my first paper due today. Learning a lot about the Orthodox religion which is quite interesting and intriguing to me. Language class has its ups and downs. We have two teachers. One for Mon and Tue and another for Wed and Thur. I enjoy our Wed/Thur teacher a lot better. So I end the week on a high note. We learned this song in Russian yesterday and so today, a couple of the students in our group brought a guitar to class and sang it during our break to our teacher. I think she enjoyed it. Then later this evening, they sang the song to the Babushka's who cook our meals. It was pretty humorous. Tomrrow we get blood drawn for AIDS! I guess they are trying to get rid of HIV/AIDS in Russia so they are having everyone get tested. What a great way to start the day. I'm a little creeped out by some of the Russian/Romanian students here. Watch out for them! You dont want to 'make eyes' at them or smile or they will think you want them. My knee is fine, thank the Lord! We ordered pizza tonight and are gonna watch a movie. There are still moments when I have to remind myself I'm in Russia.

matruska's, sport and princess bride

I finished my first full week in Nizhnii. I still feel like the days go by so slow. The second day of language class was rough. I almost broke down and cried, it was last frustrating. Thankfully it got a little better. We have 2 teachers. I like the second one better. Our homework load isnt too fun but I guess that's how you learn! We had some folk singers come and visit our class. I loved it!

We visited a factory where they make what we call Nesting Dolls, crafts and such. The Russians call them Matruskas. It was pretty cool. It's been rainy and gray but for a few hours today it was sunny. Some of us visited a men's seminary where they held an orthodox service. We missed out on the skirt memo and were given a wrap by the guard at the gate. I enjoyed the service though.

We had Sport yesterday. That's what they call it. We played basketball and ultimate frisbee for a couple hours. I had fun playing with bball with the guys. Lucky me, I got to be on the team with all the Russian guys. Totally not fair. But I know it was a work out because today I am SOOOO SORE!! it's not even funny. And I think I tweaked my knee. Which is not good. This is the knee I had surgery on like 4 years ago and so it scares me that it's hurting me.

Tonight we watched Princess Bride at Harley's apartment. First time I watched it all the way through. Well almost. Still dont have my computer registered. My new friend Theresa is letting me borrow hers. We are sitting on the ground next to the girls bathroom against the window picking up wireless.

The Russian students have been visiting us at the dorms and having tea with us. They enjoy when we get the guitar out and sing songs. Everyone smokes here. We'll see kids that look they are 13 with a cigarette. It's pretty sad. It's already been pretty challenging and stretching in more ways than one. I just hope the days start to speed up.

first day of school

I've arrived in Nizhnii! The university is gigantic. There are about 40,000 students. So a bit of a change from little old Northwest. It's chilly and rainy but no snow yet. I like it here must better than St. Petersburg, which was super touristee. This is real russia! We moved into our dorm at the Profilactorium. The international student office had a welcome party for us. They had food and a talent show and then a disco-techa, a DANCE PARTY! Russian's love to dance. The russian students are really nice and friendly and surprisingly know pretty good english. The meals are good but they serve us a lot! Basically potatoes, soup and bread. Major staples! The bathrooms are disgusting! You have to squat to pee and bring your own toilet paper. The first couple days we were here the women's bathroom was in Remont, which mean 'in repair.' There was literally a lake of toilet nastiness everywhere and it stank like a mother! I feel like I'm experiencing the missions trip I never went on. I've done my laundry russian style. By hand and in the sink. Not too bad. Just takes forever for things to dry and it drips all over your floor. We have a close line up in our room drying them. I'll have to post pictures on a later blog. I'm at an internet cafe right now because our computers havent been registered for wireless on campus yet. A group of us walked Pedestrian Street tonight. It's the big hub bub of Nizhnii. I got me a winter jacket!! And it cost me less than $50! STEAL! The buses are an adventure. You literally cram as many people as you can. No personal bubbles here. It's 8 rubles to ride the bus, which is pretty cheap. 25 rubles is $1. Last night we were coming back from our director's apt after watching 'the hunt for red october' (the guys choice) and Lica (our RA) got off the bus and we were all completely oblivious. 19 of us...just laughing as the bus drove away. Thankfully we got off at the next stop and made it safely back to Lica who was still laughing! Fun times! Classes started today. 3 hours of language in the morning with a tea break in the middle. Lunch and then 2 hours of lecture in the afternoon. It's pretty sweet. I have my first homework assignment. Writing and translating in russian! I love how russians will start to talk at you and then you have to just shrug your shoulders and shake your head and usually they just laugh and walk away but then you get the ones who will keep talking to you. Like you understand them the more they speak Russian! The Babushka's are the funniest! They are the old women, grandmotherly type, who serve us our food in the cafeteria and run the profilcatorium. Watch out for them!

i've arrived in St. Petersburg

It feels like the Great northwest! the weather is windy, cold and rainy. Every once in a while the sun will come out but much like Seattle, the weather can change drastically in a matter of hours. It's been quite the culture shock. Mainly because I'm just now learning the Russian alphabet. I've seen some pretty amazing sights. We've been on a bus tour of St. Petersburg, viewed the Hermitage Museum of World Art, The Church of Spilt Blood and today visited the Peter-Paul Fortress. I have never seen anything like this before. I am literally in awe. It's unbelievably beautiful.

There are 19 other students from around the U.S and they're all so much fun. It's pretty amazing how much we get along already. We've eaten at Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Subway already. Really experiencing authentic Russian cuisine!! i guess it's harder to just pop in at Russian restaurants. You have to call ahead and reserve tables. So we just stick with what we know.

A couple nights ago a drunk Russian guy puked in our hotel lobby. It stunk up the whole room! It was pretty amusing to me. Today on the metro we saw a teenage boy steal a man's cell phone while he was sleeping. No one talks on the metro. It's silent. Russians don't smile. Or talk really. If you laugh or smile you're obviously a foreigner. Jet lag is a pain. I'm still not adjusted. It's an 11 hour difference so I keep waking up every couple hours. Tomorrow we go to a Russian orthodox church service which I'm really excited about.

The coffee is good but no starbucks!