In Which Moving is Completed

... Alright, first, this was brought to my attention by Ms. Jennifer Schiller:

http://perezhilton.com/2008-09-22-fill-in-the-blank-210

I am at a loss for words.

In any case, it seems that I entirely forgot to update, tomorrow. I think I was just out of it and not wanting to do anything, but I had a lot to do regardless. Like packing. And homework. Thankfully, one of my classes was canceled today, so I didn't have AS MUCH homework.

My Human Rights class went very well, yesterday. I understand more and more with each class, and the homework for this next week should be pretty easy -- the workload is fairly light, so, there we go. And the professor is awesome, but ... he seems to be able to perfectly understand, read, and write English, but not speak it. I don't know what to do with that. In any case, he's helping me after the class every time with what I don't know, and I'm asking questions IN class now because I'm becoming comfortable, and the other student is helping me by explaining things. So. There's that.

I've been in a very ... strange mood these past couple of days. For one, definitely jumpy -- I was walking back from the ATM yesterday at 11am, middle of the day, when I heard someone running behind me, and my heart stopped and I spun around and almost punched some poor jogger in the face. And it took me a good five minutes to recover after that, catch my breath, and so forth... Then while I was waiting at the bus stop, this young man (МОЛОДОЙ ЧЕЛОВЕК!) walked quickly in my direction and I froze and tensed up. In general, Russian men my age are making me tremendously uneasy.

Despite that, however, I have been in a decent mood. I don't know. Perhaps this has forced me into some sort of perspective... Because I'm feeling a little bit more 'at home,' here. I don't know. It's strange. I move into my host family in like half an hour, so I hope that goes well.

A cultural note: Russian people seem to have a general fear and revulsion of "the floor." They will not sit on the floor. They will not place their stuff on the floor. They will not stand on the floor without some kind of footwear on (socks don't count). As a result, in classrooms, the number of available seats is generally cut in half because everyone takes up two seats: One for themselves, one for their bags. Same with the cafe. And anywhere else where one will sit. I've started to adhere to this cultural standard, since, really, it does make sense... the floor is quite dirty. Here, that is especially true. My grey shoulder bag is now... grey ... with black streaks, because I've placed it on floors where I should not have done so.

Several Hours Later:

Alright, so, I moved into my host family. And I have to say that this was probably the best decision I've made since I have come to Russia. The apartment is very clean, homey, and comfortable... And I am IMMEASURABLY happier. My host mother, Tatiana, is very talkative, very nice, and all around awesome, so far. I can understand when she speaks, and I'm already pretty comfortable with asking questions when I DON'T understand, etc. My room is fairly sizeable -- My bed doesn't have annoying SPRINGS sticking into my back, like the dormitory did. I have plenty of room to put my stuff, plenty of room to work, plenty of room to breathe, and a BALCONY! Gasp. There are two balconies, actually -- Both covered, so I can sit outside while it's raining. I'm on the 8th floor, so the view is pretty good.

She's soaking my favorite shirt, too -- The one I wore when I got mugged. I hope it's salvageable.

I had my first dinner, and it was delicious. Some sort of very, VERY VERY, red soup... I don't think it was borshch, but it definitely had a ton of beets in it. Ate every last bit. Then, some penne pasta with some sort of meat and ... orange vegetable sauce. Not sure what the vegetable was -- At first I thought they were yellow peppers, but they might've been carrots. No idea, but it was good, so I ate all of it without complaint. Thankfully, she asked me what I DIDN'T like to eat, when we sat down and had a short conversation, so I avoided an awkward future situation. She thought I was vegetarian at first, which she seemed fine with, but then I told her I LOVED meat and she seemed a bit relieved. I did add the addendum that I get sick when I eat fish, though. And she was fine with that. So. I'm excited to see what breakfast has in store for me.

I need to buy a pair of tapochki (house slippers). She's letting me borrow her guest slippers, but since I'm going to be here for MONTHS it's probably better that I buy my own. For those who don't know, in Russian households, everyone removes their shoes at the entrance and then has to wear slippers when walking through the house. Socks are not sufficient. Remember, the floor is dirty.

I don't have the internet here, but that's a small price to pay. I'll just have to go to internet cafes occasionally, plus I have access to the Smolny internet Monday-Friday. Speaking of which, updates will be less frequent, and it might be harder for me to keep up with peoples' entries, but you'll all survive.

I want to write more, but I feel like this entry is getting a bit lengthy. So, for now, I'm going to DEPART.