Uneventful events...

25.March

T: “Мужчины как глупые пингвины/Men are like stupid penguins.”

M: “Как пингвины/Like penguins?”

T: “Как глупые пингвины/Like stupid penguins.”

My хозяйка and I talked about men for about an hour this evening, and by talked about them, I mean bashed them.  She started it.  Go figure.   For a brief moment, I even attempted to defend men.  I insisted that not all men are terrible.  Of course, her opinion is clearly already fully formed and she wouldn’t concede.  She just said that her dad and my dad are the only good men.

This morning, like every morning, Faye and I were standing outside of the institute where we study, avoiding going inside the building where speaking English is forbidden.  However, unlike most of our mornings, Chelsea arrived, then Kyle, Chris, and Kimberly.  It was snowing.  Chelsea told me an anecdote about how she made a snow angel while they were in Pushkin без шапки, and the teacher with them almost had a heart attack over it.  I hadn’t even once thought about snow angels while I’ve been in Russia, despite the presence of so much snow.  Thus I made the following suggestion:

Let’s get naked and make snow angels! Someone make sure Larisa Viktorovna is looking out the window, so that she can reprimand us for not wearing шапки. 

After which, Kimberly decided to take a picture of us (unfortunately, we were all still clothed and not making snow angels), but, while she was taking the picture, I said “Come on Kimberly, we can act like we like each other for this long,” and that is the reason everyone is smiling in the picture, because they were laughing at how difficult it is for us to pretend to like one another J

Aside: Yes Luke, I am always in the corner at Whiskey bar because I can’t stop looking at porn.  That’s precisely the reason.

Lilit, my super cool Armenian (not Russian!) friend and I were reading about Obama.  Then she started humming the national anthem of the U.S.  at which point I realized, I do not know the words.  Proof that I’m such a great American.  We also decided that, clearly, she is actually an American girl, and I am actually a Russian girl.  We were just born in the wrong places.  Right?

26.March

Snow again today.  I really don’t mind the eternal winter, but other people in the group are starting to complain.  They insist that the fact that it is almost April should have some bearing on the weather.  Frankly, I haven’t really thought about the weather that much.  Who’s to say what the weather should or should not be like at a certain time of year?  However, I was at Megan’s today, and she showed me some pictures of a trip she took to Mexico.  The crystal blue water and green trees did tug on my heart.  It looked so pleasant.  Even romantic.  Does romance only occur in warm climates?

Dinner tonight: A plate of shredded carrots and a bowl of soup.  Smallest meal I’ve had yet.  Congratulations Tatiana, you are finally getting the message - I don’t eat.  Go you!  However, I was a little nervous when I first looked at the carrots.  I thought, “Oh no, not the white death!”  Luckily, it was sugar and not salt.  There is no way I could have eaten that much salt, but the sugar mixed into the carrots pretty well. 

Remember when Sarah pulled out a GIANT thong, and I mean GIANT, in class today and Larisa Viktorovna said it would fit Sarah someday when she got really fat.  Or that perhaps it would fit a particular woman that works in the office.  She really has no boundaries.  Apparently, Sarah’s mom sends her the giant thong they found and purchased as a joke every year on her birthday. 

Let’s see, did I learn anything today?  Ah yes, every other leader in Russian history has been bald (starting with Lenin). 

Tatiana has decided that I am lonely because Laurie left.  She insists I don’t have any friends now.  She tried to think of some young Russians I could befriend.  It went like this:

“Tatiana’s son (not my host mother, but her friend also named Tatiana)?  No, he’s a drunk… How about Natasha?  No, she’s studying at that institute.  There’s no one.”

How predictable. 

27.March

Did you know that the toilet at Whiskey Bar came with a five-year guarantee?  I bet you didn’t.  

Peter

This past weekend the group of us went to St. Petersburg.  I got there and the song, “Memories” from Cats started playing in my head, right?  I don’t like that musical, but man was it weird being in Peter.  I still have a pretty decent sense of where things are located, which was nice. 

Break: My host mom just brought me an apple.  Love her. 

As I was saying, I was already familiar with Petersburg, having briefly lived there a couple summers ago.  Most of the group had never been, and wanted to do and see the normal things (i.e. Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, Church on Spilt Blood, Russian Museum, apartments of posthumous literary figures, etc.).  I wasn’t so interested in doing anything.  I just wanted to be in Peter – simple request since we were already there. 

On Friday, I walked through Victory Park (oh my gosh I hate writing names of Russian places and people in English, they sound ridiculous; I hope you know I do it just for you Cassandra, because otherwise you wouldn’t understand and you are the one who asked me to blog in the first place) with Chelsea and we tried to figure out how exactly one became a Soviet hero, as busts of Soviet heroes are pretty much the only thing in that park.  While wandering around the area near our hotel, we found the State University of Firefighting.  Elena Vladimirovna wasn’t lying; they really do have a university for everything in Petersburg.  After lunch, which Chelsea and I couldn’t seem to locate in the hotel (it even got to the point that Tom called to ask if I was coming because Reese wanted to eat my food, he loves that I don’t eat much, because he always gets to eat it), Chelsea, Luke and I took the metro to the center of town. 

Break: By the way, I am loving the obscene amount of parentheses I’m utilizing, as well as the quantity of run on senses. 

We walked the majority of Nevsky (the main street in Peter).  Chelsea and I bought some overpriced shampoo in Lush because we don’t have such luxuries in Vlad.  We went into a few bookstores, in one of which Luke finally found some kind of book he was looking for, at least I think he did.  My memory is basically nonexistent.  I have to write down everything I do down in a little moleskin notebook so that I can even write this blog.  Speaking of which, I wrote down that we found a double headed corn shaped dildo in a sex shop that I had to strongly resist buying for Chelsea because she is from Iowa and I always bust on her for it, we saw a homeless lady getting her groove on on a street corner, and ate at Carl’s Jr, where, get this, they have free refills and free ketchup, which is always what I say I miss when someone asks me what I miss most about America.  Then the snow-rain started to fall.  It didn’t stop us.  We walked to the winter palace, and then “ice-skated,” as the park was covered in wet, slick ice, through the park to the Peter the Great statue.  I have a video of Chelsea and Luke skating, which is how I remember that it happened.  I looked up the street at the building my apartment was in last time I was in Peter, which made that stupid song play in my head again.  It also made me think of how much I’ve changed since then, and how much I loved living with Amanda, Kristina, and Aynsley.  By the end of the evening I was soaking wet from the snow-rain, and my eye makeup was all over my face.  Fun times.

I did manage to do a few things I’ve never done before in Peter.  After a long search, I found Akhmatova’s (is that really how it’s spelled in the Roman alphabet? I don’t actually know, I’ve only read her poems in Russian) apartment, thanks to a map that I told me “you am here.”  I went to the Aleksandrovsky Theater, in which I had never seen a performance.  We saw the Nutcracker.  It was pretty incredible.  They actually perform the original story in Russia (go figure), which is, in my opinion, less interesting than the American, more Christmasy version.  However, the technique of the dancers was so fabulous, that I didn’t care what ballet it was, I just enjoyed that I was there watching it.  After the ballet, most of us went out for Alec’s twenty-first.  Most of our group is turning or has turned twenty-one in Russia, where, you know, it doesn’t really matter.  It was a blast being out with everyone.  We have a great group of people in Vladimir (not quite as great without Laurie).  We’re awesome.  Be jealous.

Random thought - Karen or Jess or Raven (if you read this), remember that time when we didn’t want to do something so we always said, “oh really, I’m sorry, but I can’t, I’m giving birth that day,” or just simply, “I’ve got to go give birth.” Ridic. 

One of my favorite parts of this trip to Peter, was being in a cathedral while a service (Eastern Orthodox of course) was taking place.  I couldn’t really see, but the sound was so beautiful.  I even lit a candle beneath an icon.  I can’t believe that’s something I’ve never experienced before.  I’ll have to check out the cathedrals in Vladimir.  We don’t have much here, but we certainly don’t have a shortage of cathedrals.  The weather on Sunday was beautiful.  I walked along the Neva, which was especially lovely due to the sunshine, shadows, and partly ice, partly water composition of the river.  Ultimately, I ended up at Smolny institute and cathedral.  And of course, the song “Memories,” started to play again since that is where I studied last time I was in Russia.  This time I swear it was aloud.  I also discovered that Smolny is a Catholic cathedral.  Who knew?

On the train back from Peter, I didn’t sleep much at all.  BUT, I did get my phonetics corrected by a six year old.  I asked his younger, maybe 3 year old brother his name, and the older one responded, “Камиль (Kamil)”.  When I repeated it back he shook his head and said, “Камиль (Kamil)” with an emphasis on the soft Л (L).  So then I said it with the soft Л (L) and he was like, yea that’s his name.  AHAHAHHA.  I love it when I make mistakes that I know how to not make.  Thanks for the lesson in phonetics, Kostya (I didn’t have any problems with his name). 

When we finally arrived in Vladimir on Monday at 5AM (yes we had to go to class just a few hours later), some of us ran across the train tracks to get to the exit, rather than using the bridge above the tracks because it involved walking up stairs.  A train almost hit us.  I’m pretty glad it didn’t.  It was a relatively slow moving train so it’s unlikely that it would have killed us immediately on contact and frankly, I think it would have been quite a slow and painful death.  However, being hit by a train is on my list of approved ways to die – it’s somewhere between death by icicle and being murdered by a taxi cab driver in a foreign country - it just needs to be a fast train.  As we walked out of the train station Chelsea observed, “ Oh Vladimir, it’s a balmy negative ten degrees.”  She’s always making me laugh. 

Same day, several hours later in phonetics class, I amused my teacher with the story about the six year old.  Then we read a poem about, surprise-surprise, love.  She asked Sarah whether she thought love was like smoke or like a shadow/the shade.  Then she asked Kelsey the same question.  Then she looked at me and said, “Маделина, я боюсь даже спрашивать тебя (I’m afraid to even ask you).”  She knows me too well ;)

Like cheese on butter J

Holiday of the Green Gnome

17. March

Try explaining Saint Patrick’s Day to a Russian.  They just don’t seem to get it.  It doesn’t really help that I can’t seem to remember the real reason Saint Patrick has a day.  Didn’t he save Ireland from the rats?  Or was it snakes?  Probably nothing of the sort.  Either way, they get that St. Patrick is a saint in Ireland.  What they don’t understand are leprechauns.   There isn’t even a word for leprechaun in Russian.  They use the word gnome, which in my opinion is an entirely different creature.  When my host mother asked me how the holiday is celebrated, I told her that we chase after tricky, small men with pots of gold that live at the end of rainbows, wear green, look for shamrocks (because they’re lucky of course) and drink (because its Irish of course).  Somehow all of the Russians I explained St. Patrick’s Day to decided it was the “holiday of the green gnome” or the “holiday of gnomes.”  I find this very amusing. 

To celebrate the holiday, I wore green, and made my host mother wear green.  I was surprised she even owned anything green, as they don’t wear much color here.  In the evening I threw a party to celebrate being Irish, since you know, I’m the most Irish one in our group (maybe).  As a group, I’m pretty sure we went to every single store in Vladimir searching for Guiness.  Ultimately, it was found, along with Bailey’s and fun was had.  Perhaps too much by some ;) My neighbor and host mother loved the Bailey’s.  Russian women love sweetness.  Kyle ate an entire plate of potatoes, which in a way are Irish, right?  Which makes me think, Russia and Ireland have a lot in common.  Well, maybe not a lot, but both cultures eat potatoes, drink a lot, and like football - I mean soccer (is that a word? it doesn’t look like one).  Ah, stereotyping. There were also pickles and chocolate.  Not very Irish, but very delish.  The best part - my host mom asked if the holiday of the green gnomes is always on the 17^th of March, and when I said yes, she said now she’d know to celebrate it every year. 

19. March

Sales people in Russia aren’t really sales people - at least not in the American sense.  They just stand in the stores and ignore you, or stare at you and mock you.  Many stores have security people who follow you around.  That’s my favorite.  I think it should be a goal of mine to try and steal something, because it would actually be a challenge here.  Having worked in retail, I wish I’d done it here instead of America.  I wouldn’t actually have to help anyone.  At Ann Taylor, where of course, only the best sales associates work, I greeted people when they walked in, asked them if I could help them with anything, if they were looking for anything in particular, if it was a gift, if they needed me to start them a fitting room (but never called it a fitting room because that is not in the approved AT lingo – clearly, it’s a “wardrobing room”), if I could add what they were looking at or holding to the already started fitting room, checked on them in the fitting rooms, so on and so forth.  Frankly, being a sales associate was a lot like being a stalker.  In contrast, in Russia, being a sales associate is a lot like, well, doing nothing.  I think I would prefer to do nothing.  Maybe not, I liked interacting with clients as long as they weren’t too needed, or total tools.  You may be wondering, especially if you are Laurie, “what’s your point?”  My point is, a sales woman actually asked me if she could help me with anything.  I was shocked.  The end.

Anna and Liza were over again.  This time was especially entertaining.  Liza eats everything with her fingers, and when I say everything I mean EVERYTHING.  We had soup for dinner and she stuck her fingers in it and then sucked the liquid off her fingers.  I was amused.  I hope she continues to eat that way for her entire life, which she won’t, but for now, I will continue to enjoy it.  Quite quickly, Liza got bored with her food.  She started picking up pickles, taking one bite, and then chucking them at us.  One pickle went flying all the way across the kitchen.  Loved it.  After dinner, she followed me into my room (as usual, no matter how much her mom and grandma tell her its “forbidden,” which is also amusing because Russians tell their children that all the time, but never do anything to stop the kids).  First she went through all my stuff and opened anything openable.  Every once in a while she would laugh, run up to me and slam herself into me, giving me a hug.  She’s so stinking cute.  Perhaps my favorite thing she does is come up to me, grab some of my hair, and sniff it, or simply just sniff my head.  You can actually hear her smelling it.  

The Curious Incident of Russia in the "Springtime"

The only place with internet of decent speed in Vladimir is in a bar.  I come here maybe three times a week.  However, as of today they're insisting that everyone with a computer order at least 150 rubles worth of food.  Usually I just get a 30 ruble tea, or nothing.  No more of that.  Therefore, I probably will only use the internet once a week.  I am not made of rubles.  Plus, I'm not hungry or interested in getting shwasted at three in the afternoon.  Как сказать "LAME" по русский?

In other news, Laurie is no longer in Russia.  She is in America.  Also lame.  I finally learn how to make a friend, and she runs away from me :(  Actually, she had to go home for a familial reason, but I still think being in Russia just isn't going to be the same without her.  Wait, not think, KNOW.

I have decided that they should invent a militianera Barbie.  I saw a girl with flowing blonde hair, stiletto heels, and perfectly applied makeup on the bus the other day who would make a fabulous model for the Barbie.  She just looked so adorable in the militia hat.  I think the theme should be that she fights crime with her shoes.  Yes, yes.  

Friday night, I was in a hookah bar with Laurie and Chelsea.  Chelsea had brought chocolate for Laurie because she was going to be leaving for the states soon.  The chocolate was just sitting on the table, not harming anyone, when suddenly the waitress swooped in and theifed the chocolate, without explanation.  WTF? I say.  When we were leaving, the other (somewhat kinder) waitress explained that you can't bring your own chocolate (or food in general) with you because they sell chocolate (and food?), and gave us back our chocolate.  Fun times.

In the same bar, there was a group of young men sitting close to us.  They were incredibly rude.  They stared at us, laughed at us, talked about us in Russian as if we couldn't understand them, and then spurted out random nonsensical English phrases.  I seriously considered telling them off, but I figured, it wasn't worth the effort or the loss of my peace of mind, so I ignored them.

Also on Friday, I found some people locked in a cage, and managed to get the building guard to come unlock them.  Interesting.  Perhaps I should explain, it wasn't exactly a cage, it was a gate that closed off a hallway.  I don't know how they got in there, but they asked me if I spoke Russian, and when I said yes they asked me to get someone to unlock the gate.  So, I did.  The end.

Even earlier on Friday, Laurie spilled red wine all over me and my purse.  What a mean friend! Haha.  It's all good.  It was just another lesson in riding myself of materialism.  I'm getting quite good at it.  Stuff, is just stuff.  Plus, I dried off eventually.  It was only temporarily uncomfortable.

I don't understand the weather here.  And by don't understand, I clearly mean that I am fed up with it.  Supposedly it is Spring.  What exactly that means I don't know.  I believe the word Spring implies that the thick layers of ice coating the ground will melt into slush and puddles every other day and then freeze back into thinner, slicker layers of ice.  I never know how to dress.  Should I wear boots?  Do I need my winter coat or my "spring" coat.  How in the world is it that a Spring coat is made of wool?  It was 71 degrees in Vegas yesterday.  But in Vladimir it was -8 degrees (celsius which is maybe about 16 or 17 degrees fahrenheit).  What?

I would like to leave you all (assuming more than one person reads this) with a brief exchange I had with Laurie on Saturday.

L: "Russians must think we're weird"

M: "Why?"

L: "Americans do things in public that Russians would never do - like sit on the ground... and have fun."

Art Class

13. March Today, in place of an excursion to a local museum, we had our very own art class.  An artist, who makes papier-mache, lacquer boxes, as well as works in a theatre, came to give us a brief lecture on the history of the lacquer box.  Then, we all had to paint our own bells.  Unfortunately, I am not very artistic.  Drawing and painting are not skills I was blessed with.  I painted the "Four Swans" scene from Swan Lake on my bell.  Despite my lack of skills, the artist knew what it was without asking.  He looked at it and said, "лебединое озеро," which of course, in Russian, means Swan Lake.  

Although I am not a natural artist, I had thoroughly enjoyed the art class.  Once I got passed the thought that I "cannot" draw, I just started drawing and it turned out ok.  I'll have to post a picture when I get a chance.  Most importantly, it was a great experience.  I love learning about Russian traditions, from Russians.  Plus, creating art is very relaxing.  At least I found it to be.  

12. March Every week we have a meeting with students from a Russian university to discuss the differences between Russia and America.  Often I don't attend.  However, today the topic was feminism and I just couldn't resist.  I wasn't surprised that Americans and Russians don't agree on much when it comes to women.  The women in Russia do everything.  They cook, they clean, they raise children, they work - they are the reason that Russia survives. I have never met anyone stronger than a Russian woman.  However, as they informed us (and we already knew), they are only so strong because they have to be.  The men here just aren't very responsible by American standards.  They are expected to work, lay on the couch, drink too much, and cheat.  

Furthermore, living in Russia is a bit like living in the 1950s.  Women and men still have societal roles based upon their gender.  Women are expected to have children, and prepare meals.  Men are expected to work to provide the income to "feed the family."  When a women works in Russia, which she usually does, the money she earns is "her" money.  It doesn't get contributed to the family pot of funds.  It is the man's job to feed the family, so his family is the family income.  The women's income (which is rarely enough to feed an individual, let alone a family) is hers to spend on cosmetics and clothes.  I like this practice :)  Unfortunately, I also detest it, because it is very important to me that women be able to provide for themselves. Someday, I want to prove to myself that I can provide for myself.  

After the discussion, I talked a little with the Russian woman who teaches English at the university.  She had mentioned that women wanted to stay home and have a baby.  She didn't understand why a woman would want to for instance, drive a metro car (this is just one of the many jobs women are forbidden to do in Russia).  I mentioned that I didn't want to have my own child, that I think I would prefer to adopt.  I asked if everyone in Russia really wants to have a baby and furthermore, their own baby.  She told me that of course they do, and that I only don't want one because I'm young.  She explained that having a baby, a person that smells like you, is part of you, is the best thing in the world.  I thought that was such a beautiful way to put it.  I still think I need to adopt.  There are so many orphans in Russia.  

International Women's Day

8.March Today is international women's day, a holiday that doesn't really exist anywhere outside of the former Soviet territories. It's a bit like Valentine's day, in the sense that all of the men give the women chocolate and flowers. However, it's unlike Valentine's day because it is actually a really important holiday. What it means for me is that I have a three day weekend. Right now I'm in Moscow. I was surprised that the hostel has a computer with internet access. It's nice. Of course, there isn't much time to blog when you're exploring Moscow. Even worse, I've been having a lot of trouble writing in English. I suppose using Russian most of the time has worn away some of my English abilities.

Yesterday evening, Laurie, Meagan and I went to a puppet theatre. It was fabulous! We all really enjoyed it. The were showing Gulliver's Travels, but in Russian of course. I like children's theatre because it is incredibly easy to understand. Plus, these puppets were very well constructed, the set was nicely designed and the lighting was exciting. I miss theatre. Sometimes I really wish I still worked in one, or at least volunteered. Maybe I should look into that.

We tried to go to a TexMex restaurant after the puppet show. However, when we arrived at the address, it was nowhere to be found. Meagan asked a man on the street about it and he said it wasn't there anymore. That's Russia for you. Things come and go so quickly here. Nothing is stagnate. You can't rely on anything. It provides for excitement though! While we were standing on the Moscow streets in the snow, we caught sight of a sign for TGI Fridays and decided it was a "sign." We followed the signs and ended up in a place that was actually several restaurants in one. That was strange. I can't imagine being the hostess for several restaurants at once. As expected, America tasted delicious. It's one of those things that is nice to indulge in only every once in a while because it's incredibly expensive, and I also want to eat Russian food to maintain my immersion in the culture. I ordered a delicious smoothie there. It contained banana, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and brown sugar! Yum.

Today we are heading to a cemetery, a monastery and a market. Should prove to be interesting as always. I'll try to post about my experience there in a few days when I'm back in the routine in Vlad.

It's March? Already?!

27. Feb No, I do not need bread to go with my mashed potatoes, breaded fish, and noodle soup. I have enough carps to eat already, thank you.

28. Feb I want to comment on the moments when I have made a friendly connection with strangers. 

Yesterday, when I was putting on my coat, hat, and gloves to leave a café where I had eaten lunch, a girl asked Laurie and me if we spoke English.  Then she pointed at the young man she was with and said, “Beautiful.  Beautiful boy.”  Laurie responded, “Конечно (of course),” because well that was the best thing either of us could think of to do.  Then when we were outside on the street, she came up to us again and asked (in Russian), “How do you say beautiful boy in English (Как красивиц по английскии)?” (knowing that calling a boy beautiful isn’t something English speakers do).  I responded, “Handsome.”  Then she said, “Вот!”  That was the end of that.  It was an incredibly simple conversation, but for some reason it made my insides smile.

Later that evening, on my way home on a very crowded bus, a man with a little toddler aged boy stood up from his seat to approach the exit of the bus.  The bus jolted to a stop and I put my hand behind the boy’s back so that he wouldn’t fall (it’s just one of those maternal instincts I suppose).  It is hard enough for a toddler to keep his footing, but in Russia in the winter, they bundle those kids up so tight they can barely stand, it’s adorable, but potentially hazardous, well, not really.  Either way, the man looked up at me and smiled when I performed this gesture to protect his grandson (this relationship is of course an assumption).  I love it when little exchanges like that occur.

When I was in Moscow last weekend, I stopped at a stand to look at some books, because well I love books.  I found a fabulous book.  It’s a German – Russian dictionary that is subdivided into categories.  Each category includes a diagram with every item labeled in Russian and German.  I was in love.  I took it offer to the man selling the books and he sold it to me for 100 rubles, I think that was a deal.  He was really determined to sell the books for less than they were marked, which was great.  When he was putting the dictionary into a bag, he told me that a German translator had been there a few days ago and she had left her telephone.  He asked if I knew her so that I could return the phone to her.  I said, that unfortunately, I did not.  I suppose he assumed that all Germans in Moscow must know each other, and of course that if I was buying a German-Russian dictionary, I must also be German.  It was adorable.  Too bad I’m not German. 

1.March             This afternoon, I boarded the bus, sat down and felt a strange sensation.  I looked around the bus and realized that I was the ONLY passenger aboard.  It was so strange. That has never happened before.  Unfortunately, this wonderful experience only lasted until the following stop, however, it was peaceful while it lasted.

I have officially eaten liver and heart.  Those are the strangest items so far, and honestly, they aren’t that unusual.  (Aside:  The strangest thing I know of anyone eating here is baby hedgehog.  I still don’t understand why they fed her baby hedgehogs.  It must take a lot of them to fill you up.  Furthermore, they seem to idolize the hedgehog in Russia.  There are stuffed hedgehogs in every toy store, they have a cartoon about hedgehogs, and they almost always refer to them in the diminutive form.  Why would they eat a creature they love so much? ). Liver and heart don’t taste like much.  She fried them in onions and carrots so it was almost pleasant.  What wasn’t pleasant was the weather today.  The wind was blowing the snow sideways into my face in a constant stream.  It was uncomfortable, especially because it was a wet snow.  I do not enjoy the warm days, when the five inch thick layer of ice coating all of the sidewalks in the city starts to melt into deep, dirty puddles.  Yuck.  It’s a shame we had such poor weather today.  It is the last day of Maslenitsa and I was looking forward to wandering around in the park.  Such is life.

Yesterday, I spent the majority of the day in the main room of the house with Anna, Liza, and Tatiana.  I love Liza.  She is so adorable.  I’m so glad I have a niece here.  I still haven’t figured out why sometimes Anna and Liza sleep here (Back-story: Anna is Tatiana’s (Tatiana is my host mom) daughter and Liza is her daughter, which makes them my sister and niece.  Anna is 22 and Liza is 14 months.  I love the whole family.  Anna is married to a young man named Roma, whom I have never met.  He is a builder by profession.  Anna told me she doesn’t love him, but that she used to and that’s why they got married.  Tatiana said she doesn’t like him.  That’s all I know thus far). It is always so random when they stay over.  I just come home and they are here and then they never leave.  They spent the entire weekend here.  It was nice.  I love having all three generations of women in the house.  It’s nice to just be women together.  Liza is so precious.  Anna was showing me pictures of Liza on her camera, and Liza climbed up on to my lap and laid her head on my chest and kept pointing at the pictures.  Anna kept saying, “Да, это ты/Yes, that’s you.”  It was adorable.  

Liza stole my hat and put it on.  Then she stole a handful of American coins.  This photo is the evidence.

Liza. A-dor-a-ble!