We're in Mocsow. It's big and busy and pleasant. The girls are starting to get on my nerves; they do nothing but complain. I told them not to look for me if I got lost, and to eat me if I die.

So, I'm in St. Petersburg. We've been museum-ing in such a serious way that I'm sure that I am absolutely prepared for the Hermitage tomorrow. I've built up endurance.
Our hostel is really nice, and eveything is good.

This might be the last time I post, as I am going to Moscow and St. Petersburg and I don't if I will have internet access.
So, here my itenerary:
Tomorrow, I take the final test in the class. Afterwards, we party all night and say good bye to our Russian friends.
Saturday, at 6:10 AM our plane leaves for Moscow.
Saturday, 2 hours and some minutes later, at 6:20 Moscow time, we arrive. We enjoy Moscow all day.
Saturday at about 10, we get on a train to St. Petersburg. We sleep, because we haven't done so for, like, 30 hours at this point.
We enjoy St. Petersburg for 3 days, train back to Moscow and explore that city for 3 more days, and then I come home on the 9th at about 9-something PM Louisville time.
Then I accidentally occasionally call drug stores Apteki and liquor stores Normans for the rest of my life.

A kid in my group provided an explaination for why the roads here are so terrible: No storm sewers. All the water just sits and destroys the streets, all freezing and eroding.

Today I did homework for literally five hours straight. But the weather was really nice, +21. I got to wear my pretty summery dress... while I did homework.

Всё отлична! For some reason, I held this belief that one day, I would suddenly just understand most of what people were saying to me. I guess it’s not too strange, because most is just 51%, so I guess it’s most that I thought I would be aware of crossing some understanding halfway point. While I am certainly not claiming that I am halfway to fluentcy, I felt like I understood much more than I did yesterday; watching TV and listen to people speak became a relevant activity and not just background noise. So, everything is amazing.
Yesterday we had a slumber party, us louisville kids, and it was pretty much a good time. While still not physically able to down enough vodka-juice mixture to actually get drunk, I did manage to wince and gag my way to tipsyness while the proud few got tremendously wasted and puked on each other. Also, karioke! I am amazed that, for the first time in my life, I am social successful in the small-summer-program-group situation. I’m at least on good terms with all of the girls and feel like I actually have a couple of friends among the boys. It’s all been remarkably drama free, but we still have two and a half weeks yet.
Today, we rode the bus for two hours through the scenic Russian countryside to visit a small, depressing Russian town, with one really cool church. I think we all becoming grateful that we live in America, where going to college means you’ll be atleast middle class. In Russia, it seems like everyone struggles, no matter what their education level or profession. I still have yet to see Moscow and St. Petersburg, so I don’t have the full picture of Russian life.

Sorry I haven’t been keeping you updated, I’ve been kind of sick the last couple of days. I had a fever of 39.1 for a while. Katya’s mom Julia had been really great, she’s taking care of me super well. I found out that both of Katya’s parent are doctors, but neither of them work as doctors because it’s not very profitable here. Sucks, huh? Besides the fever, everything is good. I had to miss class today and I am getting behind on homework, but I’m sure I’ll feel better tonight and catch up.