Half Brothers?!/Дедушка pt. II

I've been getting a lot of love off of the Obama Moscow visit. Russians are even more fascinated by me now more than ever.

My English is deteriorating. Which doesn't mean my Russian is improving but I just make a lot of mistakes when I'm writing and speaking it. I also will occasionally think to put the soft sign (ь) in certain English words. I'm the first person to notice when people make you're/your mistakes. I've been making them frequently. I also am messing up on punctuation.

At the post office today another old Russian man (between 65-74 years old) came up to me. He was dressed in an old but nice blazer and an old Nike cap and his shirt and trousers also seem to be pretty old too. He was holding a bag of something but I didn't know what was in it. He came up to me and shook my hand... Almost breaking it. He was about 5'8 and showed no signs of ever having any brute physical strength. However, the firmness and strength in his handshake immediately made me take him more seriously and engage in conversation with him. I tightened and firmed my grip appropriately matching his level of strength on my hand.

He asked me an assortment of very random questions in Russian. And I responded as best as I could. He eventually let go of my hand and handed the receptionist a melted ice cream in a plastic bag from the bag he was holding and thanked her for it. He then gripped my hand again. Even harder and I asked me if my father was okay. I told him that my father was fine. He then told me in Russian that I was very strong and healthy. I wished him good luck and health as he disengaged me and walked away.

As if things couldn't get any weirder...

I just had dinner.

When I was washing my hands. My right one in particular. I heard someone playing the guitar in the kitchen/living room. I was preparing myself to meet up with some more of my host moms strange friends or maybe some of her patients (which sometimes come here I think) but instead I go into the kitchen and see two young blonde haired boys. She tells me that they are her half-brothers (in English). I thought she was just misunderstanding so I asked her if she meant cousins or nephews. But it turns out that this 14-year-old and 11-year-old are actually the sons of her father.

The older one plays hockey and he has really nice singing voice and plays the guitar extraordinarily well. He has really good technique and he knows how to play a lot of popular/cool English songs. The younger one according to my host mom is the champion table tennis player of St. Petersburg for his age group. When I first walked into the kitchen the older one wanted to shake my hand but it was still wet so I gave him a fist pound and he seemed to like that. As soon as his brother saw this he ran up to me to get a fist pound too. Dinner was really good by the way tonight. I had been invited to dinner by a friend yesterday and didn't tell my host mom. I felt bad and apologized today but she said that it wasn't a problem.

I offered to take them to the gym with me (I'm about to go right after this) cause they have table tennis there and some hockey training things. My host mom called her dad and set up a play date for us all. I am supposed to hang out with them all on Friday around one o'clock and play sports in their neighborhood... They don't live far from my school. Should be interesting.

As for my host moms father I talked to him on the phone and he speaks perfect English. No accent or anything. I'm sure he's Russian but she told me that he lived in Canada for quite some time. He's a huge fan of sports and I guess that's why both of his sons are both star athletes. My host mom never played any sports... Weirdest thing was that over the phone this man sounded like he wasn't a day older than 35. His voice was so youthful and English so on point that I almost said, "alright homie, later" before I got off the phone with him.

I realize now that my Russian fluctuates depending on how well I'm paying attention to what I'm reading or who I'm speaking with. If I'm completely focused on the person talking or what I'm reading then I can effectively communicate. If I've got other things on my mind or am trying to speak Russian and do something else at the same time then I sound like an idiotic foreigner. I find that I do my best work when I sit in the front row and don't take my eyes of the teacher for a second.

I'm going to go run to the gym now. I have to lift and I'll probably run some pick up games. When I get back I'll sketch out a little bit of my homework and then I'm going to go out with some friends.

Stay Tuned.

Nostalgia

Hard at work last summer doing the journalism thing.

Cheburashka tribute. the Graffiti next to him says "who is president" "а кто президент"

that's funny if you understand Russian politics.

Last summer was interesting. I lived with my parents back in Huntsville, Texas and worked as a writer/photographer for the Huntsville Item (local newspaper). I miss my old job at the Item. I had my own desk and I got to write a lot of really interesting stories. One of my favorite stories was the one I did on my mom when she was awarded her High School Principal of the Year Award (2nd time) by The Texas Association of High School Principals. I got to ride to Austin with her and we got to bond and I had an overall good experience with her at the Principals conference.

My second favorite assignment(s) was covering the Women's Olympic Gymnastics training and trails at their training facilities down the road from my house. Russian relevance! One of the girls on the team is Russian. Настиа Лиукин.

What I wouldn't give for some REAL Mexican food or a sandwich/burger without cucumbers right now.

I'm currently working on Russian grammar homework and listening to DJ Screw. And I'm instantly reminded of the hours on end I'd spend at the barbershop waiting on Tim to get to me. And of my Uncle Alex who played this music when I was growing up 6-11. And almost everyone else I knew older than me listened to DJ Screw Mix tapes. Freshman year I survived homesickness by adding about a quarter of Tim's DJ Screw collection to my iTunes and studying to that. I digress. Back to Russia.

I know it's early to be formulating my opinions of Russians seeing as how I've got two weeks left here but I've pretty much dismissed my original theory that racism in Russia is out of control. I've been really sheltered since I've been but I had envisioned myself always having to out run skinheads and other extremist groups. So far (knock on wood) there's been none of that. It's been the exact opposite.

A lot of people are intrigued by me and want to be my friend. Countless Russians have bought me drinks and then there are always the ones that want to have their picture taken with me. When they find out I'm American they become even more excited. I went to a corner store next to my house today and the guy that works there asked me if I wanted something to eat. I told him that I already had dinner. We had met on Saturday but I didn't know he worked there. I like it here and I would like to come back for a year on a Fulbright Fellowship. E-mailed a Dean about it and other fellowships today. Thanks for the tip Christian. She really helped.

Peter thought it was strange that I was wearing a green shirt with anime characters on it. I'm pretty sure he expects me to wear some incredibly hood get up. Complete with a basketball jersey and a tall tee? I don't even know what gangster or hip-hop apparel is anymore these days. At any rate, I find Peter expecting me to dress like a "gangster" to be funny. I can't wear a nice shirt that I got in London cause it doesn't fit his image of what a Black person in America looks like. Ok. I'm done with race. Sorry to those of you that felt uncomfortable reading that.

The coffee here is not good at all. I hate it. I'm not a heavy coffee drinker by any means but whenever I need to jump start my brain I really like it. I hate starbucks but love the hazelnut coffee the libraries at Brown have. I usually put more sugar/cream in the coffee than coffee but it helps me get the job done. Here I've switched to red bull. Not the same thing at all.

The taboo topic is still under review. I'm hoping everything works out. And as soon as the taboo on it is lifted I'll fill everyone in on some incredibly great news.

I've seen and done a lot since I've been here. And these last couple of weeks I'll see and do a lot more. So I'll continue to write about my day to day but I'm interested in knowing what all 3 of y'all that read this want to know about Russia. Question away. I'm a genius. I'll have the answer. There's a segment that comes on the evening news that I call the "Vladmir Putin Show". That's something that's interesting. So just think about what you've always wanted to know about Russia or Europe and I'll give you more info on it that wikipedia and provide you with more references than google.

Stay Tuned.

Day and Night

that company has a ridiculous amount of money/Nevsky Prospect at night.

Sadovaya (Where I live) at Night

And this just looks really cool. I saw it from the other side first and I was wondering what spilled? Sprite tastes better here.

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm someone I'm not. Since I've been living here I've mostly been a secret agent. Renting out a room from an elderly Russian woman in an unassuming neighborhood and low profile location. My "missions" have included: photographing and geotagging parts of the neighborhood (using the GPS on my phone to geotag pictures so I can upload them to the map on my computer so I don't get lost), securing the delivery of top secret documents between metro stops (reading the morning newspaper), locating valuable antique Russian works of art (browsing antique stores). My latest mission is the most important one yet though! I'm a US secret service agent here in Petersburg infiltrating a Russian ultranationalist party plotting to kidnap President Obama while he's in Moscow... I know you're thinking that this sounds absolutely childish and elementary but TRY IT! It makes your life a lot more fun. When's the last time you had a fun day? My secret missions are fun everyday.

Today I saw a record number of Black people. Possibly a couple of Americans and the rest were definitely African. And I think that they feel safer being out on the streets during the middle of the day than at night. On my way back from our final excursion to the museum a very well dressed African shook my hand and asked me "how's it going" my response was "what's up homie". We're about the same age so addressing him as homie is very appropriate. We didn't stop to chat. We both just acknowledged each other shook hands and kept it moving like the laws of inertia (still waiting on someone to get that). Geeze!? Didn't you pay attention in high school physics?!

I don't know what's gotten into Tanya today. She's being unusually nice. Creepily nice but it feels really genuine. I was in my room and the doorbell rang and it was Tanya. I helped her with her bags that I knew were too heavy for her and asked her in Russian where I should put them. She mostly deliberately does not speak Russian but she told me (in Russian) to put them on the table. And then (all in Russian) asked if I wanted dinner and I said yes. After she finished preparing dinner (I've been sitting at the kitchen table this whole time finishing postcards and keeping an eye out on her making sure she doesn't try and poison my food) she asked if I wanted anything else (in Russian). I told her I was fine. She said if I needed help with anything that I should just come knock on her door. Word?! Did she just win a million rubles today or something? And I know the cynical person reading this is saying "her mom just told her to be nicer to you" but I'm telling you her kindness today was genuine. First time I've seen her smile...

Maybe I've just been reading her wrong this whole time. Plus dinner was excellent.

What I did today after my morning post. I left the house. Got some shaverma and a red bull. Hid the shaverma in my morning newspaper and ate it once I got to the bottom of the metro station. Got on the train and rode two stops to school. Showed up to class. Not on time. Not late. But precisely when I meant to. Because I'll be in Moscow next week class was 3 hours long as opposed to two 1 hour long classes. I had the young fast speaking teacher today. And funny thing is. I understood her. Perfectly. I participated and was attentive and I realize that Russian is starting to make sense. I still can't say four sentences without making at least 4 grammar mistakes but I can understand what's going on most of the time.

I went home. Typed up an e-mail to Ugochi. Which reminds me!** click on the link at the bottom. How silly/interesting is that. "I work for Nigaz." However, I once again have a leg up on what's going on in the world. My former area of expertise and Russia are making things happen in the world of energy. If the Ph.D. gig don't cut it for me you can find me between Lagos and Moscow making business deals for two countries that I think are both on the rise economically. I'd of course live and operate somewhere in the European Union cause both countries are extremely grimy and corrupt. But in terms of business ventures all my business people will be salivating over Nigerian and Russian markets in the next two to three years.

I've said enough. Postcards. Homework. Paper.

Stay tuned.

** http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8118721.stm

I Don't Wanna

Chinese English

Metro

Beautiful station. Smelly European people.

Busted old apartment. Not mine but just a typical looking one.

When I was little, maybe 5 or 6 years old I used to not want to go to school. I would wake up cranky and tell my mama that I didn't want to go. Nevertheless, I eventually ended up going to Bluebonnet Academy that morning. Same thing here and now. I don't wanna go to class today right now. But I have to.

The hot water is back.

Also thanks to my membership at the Fitness House I look good without a shirt on again. I'm just saying... It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm eating healthier too and not as much fast food (like none) and all the walking. My membership runs out in about a week.

I'm a country boy. Born and raised. For those that don't know me too well I grew up in a small town outside of Houston, Texas in a small neighborhood out in the country very much so isolated from city life. So I've never ridden the Metro or lived in an apartment in a big city. Things a lot of people are accustomed to are totally new to me. I love the Metro here and I think it's incredible but I'm just not a fan of all the other people packing in on there with me. I'd much rather drive a truck or a high end luxury Benz and listen to my own music on the way to school/work every morning. Also Here in this apartment the person living next to me plays the strangest music I've ever heard in the middle of the day. Making it virtually impossible to take a nap. Like really really weird music. REALLY weird music. At first I thought it was coming from this apartment but then I realized that it was not. It's the one next to me. I don't know which smell I hate more. The smell in my apartment or the one in the elevator and the stairs coming up here.

I say that to say this. I'm a country boy used to wide open spaces and freedom of mobility. This old busted smelly Soviet apartment and stinky, musty body odor people on the Metro is an annoyance of epic proportions.

Plus a lot of men here wear purses. Come on dude. Purses?

I met up with Ana last night and she really really REALLY helped me with my homework! I helped her with her English. I met her sister here who is very ditzy and looks similar to her but not quite like her. Kind of like me and Jared (my brother). Anyway, she's (her sister) the public relations manager for the most expensive, posh club in St. Petersburg. Word? Looks like my weekends here just got a little more fun. I don't have that many left by the way...

HAHAHA! The shirt! There's this Chinese girl in our group from China and she'll occasionally wear this shirt that says "whena starwinks rough glare14"! Basically it was made at a Chinese factory and they thought they were writing something clever or cool in English. HAHHAHA! I get the biggest kick out of it every time she wears it. Don't worry I'm not being mean to her or anything. She actually thinks it's funny too and she only bought it cause it had her favorite colors.

Obama is in the Moscow! I'll be treated significantly better because of the Obama buzz while he's here with is family.

I need to finish getting ready to head to class though.

Stay Tuned.

Germans=Good. Sunday Service.

This week I've been very determined to attend Mass. I'm not picky either. Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, whatever I could find. Luckily there's a nice Korean girl here from Brown that has been attending Mass at a Catholic church on Nevsky Prospect every Sunday. She told me that it was in English and so all week I've been making plans to go there.

I woke up this morning at around 9:00. I knew that I had to get to service soon. So I called Julia (the Korean girl) and told her that I was on my way. Mass started at 9:30. I finally got to wear my suit! I was excited about that. It's just been in my room collecting dust and animal must. I got dressed and I tied the perfect half windsor knot in my tie! So proud of myself. It's symmetrical and thick enough but not too thick. You'd probably see a tie tied like this in a GQ magazine. I looked great.

I saw my babushka when I was running between my room and the bathroom getting ready and she had cooked me oatmeal and hard-boiled eggs. I quickly ate the oatmeal and left the eggs. They serve me tea every morning too. I have never liked tea. Ever never at all. I actually hate it. I can stand Earl Grey with milk and lots of sugar but that's as far as I'll go into tea land. I poured a ridiculous amount of sugar into my tea. Drank about half and then took it to my room and left it right here and it's still next to me half empty.

I'm leaving the house about 9:50. I'm not making bad time at all. It's raining outside and still really cold so I grabbed my umbrella before I left. I must not be feeling well though because I forgot my Yankees hat that I have yet to go anywhere without. It didn't bother me too much cause I was wearing a suit but I just felt like part of me was missing. The Metro was really empty. And I almost accidentally got on the line that takes me to school everyday I immediately realized my error and made a dash to the other side of the station. I get on the train and in 3 minutes I'm at the Nevsky Prospect stop. It's currently 10:05.

I'm freezing cold and rainy and I don't have on gloves and or an overcoat. I can't warm my hands cause I have to hold my umbrella with my right and flip through my blackberry/russian mobile phone with my left for directions to the Church. I wandered almost aimlessly in the area between the Russian Museum and Church on Spilt Blood. The streets are practically empty because most Russians are either still drunk or passed out from Saturday. So I can't ask for directions. I recheck a message she sent me on my blackberry and she said that the address was 40 Nevsky Prospect. Simple enough to follow. I go back to Nevsky and walk a few blocks halfway counting numbers. I saw 25 and 26 and then I saw a big big huge church. It looked old and I thought that the Catholics were closed this Sunday. However, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and open one of the doors. The first 3 were locked by the last one on the very left was open.

Once inside I immediately looked for the Holy Water that I could splash myself with. Couldn't find it. Strange. Very Strange. I go to my left and I see a receptionist looking lady. She tells me "поеиму дождь. две этаж." translation: "because of rain. second floor." I thank her and proceed to go up to the second floor. Look for the Holy Water and I still didn't see any. I open the door and I felt like I was coming out of the locker room at halftime because the inside of the church on the second floor was just constructed just like a basketball court. Of course there were no goals or anything like that but there was the pulpit up front. Rows and rows of benches where the court would be. And then places to sit on the sides where the stands and crowd would be. It looked really nice. First thing I did was check for Julia but I didn't see her anywhere. And I realized that I was not at a Catholic Church.

Turns out I was at a German Church! I was really confused at first because I thought they were talking in Old Church Slavonic (predecessor to the modern Russian language) but then I heard one of the priests say "der frau" and I knew that I was at a German place of worship. Here's what it was like.

There were two people in front of the congregation. One was an very official looking male priest that spoke in German and the other was a woman also dressed in official church priest attire that spoke in Russian. I'm guessing she was translating. The congregation consisted of around 80 or 90 people. The music was so harmonious! It had that old medieval choir music sound to it. I understood maybe 20% of what they were saying. The service was orderly and there were a lot of songs. I remember saying (silently) a really long Prayer during one. Then Communion was served. It was really different. All Believers that had been confirmed (Konfirmation-German word) went up first. I've been confirmed in the Methodist Faith and I've read enough about religion and been to different types of worship services so I figured I was confirmed enough. We all formed a circle at the front of the church and I was given my wafer and then a person came around with the wine. I dipped the wafer in the wine and that was pretty much it. At some point in time we all joined hands. I forgot if it was before or after Communion. Then all peoples who had not been confirmed went up and did the same process. There was the Benediction and a long organ finishing theme. On the way out the priests went to the back and shook everyones hands on the way out. They were very nice to me. I left Service feeling a lot better.

Everyone there was really nice. I remember a lot of people smiling at me. Probably baffled as to why this good looking young Black man has joined us today. There was also a point in the service in which we could walk around and greet one another. Everyone was really kind to me. I shook their hands and some greeted me in German others in Russian. When I responded using using the same language I was greeted people didn't look stunned or shocked they just smiled even more. I felt really at home. Maybe one day I'll meet a nice German girl and we'll have German kids that speak German, English, and Russian.

I called Julia and told her that I went to a German church but I insisted that she explain to me one more time where the Catholic Church was. She did. And I found it. I don't know How I missed it. It's huge! And was right next to the metro stop where I got off. The German church was actually in the opposite direction. I might check it out before I leave but I'm definitely going to go back and have service with the Germans.

Funny story about German actually. When I was learning my colors in Russian. I was in class and working with the one German girl that takes Russian and she holds up yellow. And I say gelb (German for yellow) by mistake. She starts laughing and my professor cracks up too and proceeds to tell me about all the Germans in Petersburg. At the time I was embarrassed and didn't really listen to what he was telling me but I now know that the Germans here are good people and I'm happy for my experience with them today.

Also. I got another Obama comment yesterday.

Stay Tuned.

Baltic Sea Baptism

Today we went on the best group excursion I have been on to date. We went to Peterhof (Петергоф). This was basically the Russian version of Versailles. Everything was really extravagant and baller and there were cascades and fountains of water everywhere.

The day almost didn't start at all. I woke up at 9:45. I was supposed to be at the school with the rest of the group at 9:50. I don't know why I got up so late. I had set my alarm for 8:35 and I wasn't up late last night. Anyway, I immediately called my teacher and told her I'd be there in 10-5 minutes. I threw on some clothes and my umbrella and jacket. Grabbed two apples I bought yesterday and some Russian cookies (kind of like animal crackers) on the way out. I sprinted from my room all the way to the metro and then from the metro station to outside of the school where we were supposed to meet. Everyone was already on the bus. I made it just in time. It took me exactly 15 minutes from the time I got off the phone with my teacher to the time I made it school. Record time. The last time I ran that fast was in high school. How fast was that you're wondering? Texas High School Track and Field State Meet Fast- 2006.

Today was really cold. Like high 40's low 50s'. And there was an overcast and light rain. My favorite kind of weather. I got on the bus and passed out and slept all the way to Peterhof. I was almost left on the bus because when everyone got off I was still passed out. I woke up and saw everyone outside and the bus moving and I asked the driver to stop and let me off. We take big huge very comfortable charter buses so I was really comfortable. Like drool coming out of my mouth comfortable. After I regained my bearings I was amazed at how beautiful the gardens and fountains were! I started snapping pictures like crazy. And I have about 100 pictures from today. The weather was still cold and slightly rainy.

The Harvard and Princeton kids were there today too. Probably on a more extensive and extravagant tour... Or maybe not. Who knows?

We walked around the park and saw all the extravagant fountains and it was so baller! Words can't describe so look at the pictures and video and form your own opinion.

We moved to the Baltic Sea (Gulf of Finland) and on the other side of it was Finland. It was so cool! I wanted very much so to get as close to Finland as possible so I took off my shoes and socks and started walking along the rocks protruding the waters surface. I was also joined by this Asian kid in our group. We both had to submerge our feet in the water a little bit to get to the furthest stone in the ocean. But once we made it there it felt incredible. The breeze from the sea against my face. The water seemed to stretch infinitely. And because the sky was really cloudy it was hard to tell where the horizon was and it looked almost as if sea, sky, and land had all just come together.

There was so much water all over the place today I made the joke with the Asian kid that he had been Baptized and was now part of the Russian Orthodox Church. He thought it was hilarious.

We met back up with our tour guide and my teacher for our tour of the palace at one but we couldn't enter until 2:30 because there were groups of Russians that were supposed to enter. She suggested that while waiting that we go and get lunch. Great suggestion! On the way to lunch more Russians wanted to take their picture with me. Bringing the total to 4 times that this has happened since I've been here. And I've also noticed some people sneaking taking photos of me that are probably too afraid to ask. They should just ask though. I'm a nice guy.

The lunch was delicious! I had meat soup with sour cream in it and it was probably one of the best tasting things I've had since I've been here. Russians eat sour cream and/or mayonnaise with everything! The soup was perfectly seasoned and had a variety of well-prepared meats. While at lunch the sun came out for a while and the gardens and fountains looked even more extravagant.

We go back up to the palace and the inside of it was incredible! A lot had been restored because the Germans blew everything up during World War II but it was such a beautiful Palace. Sadly guests weren't allowed to take photographs. But there were rooms where everything was gilded with gold and on a sunny day it would probably blind someone to step into that room. There was another room where there were hundreds of portraits that covered the walls. The portraits were actually the wallpaper/wall design.

On the way out I discussed the taboo topic mentioned in the last post with my teacher. It's kind of complicated but she had a similar experience when she was here back during Soviet times. It was okay for me to discuss it with her because she's an expert on issues like this. Currently working out the details.

We rounded everyone up. Got back on the bus. With cloudy, gray skies and I slept all the way back to Petersburg listening to the Jackson 5. Now I'm back home and the skies are still nice and cloudy and outside is gray and miserable looking. What a nice day.

After this I'm going to focus intensely on a couple of papers I'm working on and compiling some of my research I've done since I've been here for the good Mellon Mays people at Brown. Hopefully the sun will stay hidden for the rest of the day. I've seen enough daylight here to last me a lifetime.

Stay Tuned.

Taboo Topic/Post Cards!

So I came across something incredibly interesting but I can't discuss it on here. I'll write a post about it when I leave Russia. The reason I haven't written in the past two days is because I was debating if I should mention it on here or not but for generally good purposes I will omit what I experienced for the time being.

If you're dying to know you can call or e-mail my mom though. She'll be more than happy to tell you what I'm talking about.

We had another excursion to the museum Wednesday. And I realized that the guy who gives us tours is not that bad or boring. He's actually really smart and teaches at Brown from time to time. I hope they will invite him back next year. On the way to the museum I saw a guy dressed in military fatigue with no arms on Nevsky prospect. He couldn't have been older than 30. I've lost count of how many amputees I've seen here. I'm getting discouraged about coming back to stay for a year because I feel like if I'm here long enough I might start losing limbs too.

I hung out with Sif on Wednesday too. He was wearing overalls, a train conductors hat, and shirt with a pattern on it and I realized that he looked almost identical to Andre 3000 (from Outkast). He says I'm not the first person to tell him that. When I think back on all the times we've hung out he does dress very similar to Andre 3K and he bears a striking resemblance to him.

We walked around Nevsky Prospect and and back towards my neighborhood discussing a wide array of topics on the way there. We stopped at this place called Теремок and I tried блины for the first time. It was really good! Блины is the Russian version of crepes and crepes are the French version of pancakes. I like блины more than both because it's not really sweet and I ordered a really good one with chicken and this apple cucumber sauce which was absolutely delicious! Czech beer is also delicious. These sketchy, random central Asian-looking people tried to sell me a "brand new" Nokia phone. It was actually really cool, looked futuristic and it looked really legit. I thinking about paying the considerably large sum of rubles they were asking for it but Sif stopped me and told me it was a scam. He explained that particular model of phone had some type of malfunction.

I introduced Sif to my host family and they were very impressed with how well he spoke Russian. He stayed here for a while and helped me do my grammar homework. I woke up the next morning and there wasn't any breakfast. And there wasn't any the day before that either. I guess my waking up schedule has become so erratic that most host mom has stopped trying. Some mornings I get up early to go to the gym and some days I sleep in really late like up until 30 minutes before class. My babushka has no qualms about opening coming in my room in the morning to wake me up for class though. Haven't seen her in a while. And Sonya is so adorable. She's learning to play the flute and because she's a kid I understand a lot of the things she talks about. Tanya on the other hand is still very much so in rebellion against me. She doesn't actively do things to make me feel unwelcome and at times she can be nice but she mostly just doesn't converse with me. I regret lying to her about how beautiful I thought her singing voice was.

Russians are an interesting group of people ethnically. My Russian language teacher. The younger one explained that all Russians have a little bit of central Asian ancestry. Which makes sense. I'm getting used to the dog smell. I still hate it and it's still terrible but I'm just now learning to deal with it. So the dog sits right outside my door right. Whenever I open the door to my room it creates a draft and it's like I'm fanning that smell right into my room! And because this place is so old no mater how much air freshener I spray the smell still seeps through the door and cracks in the wall. The head of my bed is right where all the smell comes in at too.

Also almost every Russian I've met always asks me if I've had any problems with skinheads since I've been here. I respond no. Then knock on wood. It's like after we've been talking for a while it's usually like the 2nd or 3rd topic I end up on with them after family, why I'm here, and hip-hop. It kind of disturbs me that they know how dangerous it is for Black people here. I'm safe. As long as I stay right here in the center of the city where there are always crowds of people then I'll be okay.

And the postcards will go out tomorrow! I'm putting them in envelopes cause I need them to get there quickly. Apparently it takes about 3 weeks for mail to get to the US from here. Don't worry I'll put stamps on the postcards in the envelopes and maybe try and get the people at the post office to stamp them for me. If you don't remember giving me your address within the last 2 months then I don't have it. So now would be a great time to e-mail or text it to me. Yes my US number still works here.

I'll write about Thursday/Todays events with the weekend stuff.