I haven’t written yet because I needed to buy a internet card, like a phone card, to use with my host family’s dial-up connection. To make up for it, I’ll try to write a really thorough post about the three days.
The flight was long but entirely tolerable owing to the fact that is was not at all crowded. About half of the people in our group had a middle row (3 seats) entirely to themselves, the other half either having a side row (2 seats) to themselves or sharing a middle row with one other person. So we all moved around a lot and talked to different people and streched out on entire rows to sleep.
I have changed my evaluation of my host family pairing from lucky to blessed; My host student, Katya, does not only speak flawless english, but also shares a lot of my opinions. As an example, we were talking about books (she’s very well read) and she asked, “How do you feel about Dan Brown? I know he’s very popular in America.” and I replied “Oh, I hate him.” She was visably relieved, “I don’t know how people consider that literature.”
Her mother, father and 3 years old brother are the only other permanent residents of the appartment, but a grandmother comes 4 days a week to watch the brother, Vanya. I love talking to Vanya, because our Russian language skills our on about the same level. He likes to ask me что ты дeлаешь? Which is “What are you doing?”
Almost all the buildings, from the outside, are unbelievably depressing. It all looks very worn down, including Katya’s appartment building, which she mentioned is only 10 or 15 years old. The appartment buildings here are so different from american ones it seems natural to use a different term for them, and I’ve taken to call them flat blocks, as that’s how the natives refer to them (I guess it’s british?) The flat blocks are like entire city blocks, 10 or more stories tall. The architecture is pretty plain. And flat. And rectangular. But what’s not yet completely grayed is painted much more colorfully than we paint building in the U.S. (think the Kremlin). It wouldn’t be strange at all to see a orange building, trimmed with green, with a purple roof.
The appartments on the inside, however, are very, very, nice. Perhaps this is just a statement about what kind of families host foreign students, but all the homes I’ve been in have been really well furnished and beautifully decorated. Everything in Katya’s family’s appartment either looks new or, if you can tell that it’s old, it has been so well taken care of that it’s become an antique as opposed to just an old thing.
It’s not really that cold here, like 40 or 50 degrees, but everyone is afraid that us American are going to free to death, so I had to invest in a warmer-looking coat. Katya’s mom thinks I am going to get cold and sick without constantly wearing socks, which I think is impossible with how warm she keeps the appartment and how immaculate she keeps the floors. But I don’t want to rude, so I am currently suffering through wearing socks.
Today Katya was kind enough to take me shopping, which I must say was no self esteem booster. All the young women here are so thin! A lot of the shops just don’t have clothes big enough for me. I told Katya that about 20% of American women are obese, and then I explained what that meant, and then, to Katya’s horror, decribed what a severly obese person looks like.
The diet here doesn’t seem particularly conducive to weight loss; people eat a lot of fatty meats, and chese and butter. However, the portions are maybe 1/3 the size of average american portions, so I immagine that’s how they stay svelt. Also lots of walking. Katya believes that this specific formula of small portions + moderate exercise + very unhealthy food, over a lifetime, is what affects the shape of the older russian woman. I will be sure to relate her hypothesis to the boys in our group, who have termed the conundrum of how these gorgeous college girls turn into lumpy, homely older women “Natalia to Babushka”.
Another thing I noticed today, that I probably wouldn’t have if Tasha and I hadn’t just talked about it, is that dogs here have ears that are cropped kind of short and wide, compared to the tall, thin way they crop them in America. It makes them look pretty goofy by our standards.
The bus system here is a dream. They’re everywhere and they come constantly, and they cost 8 рублей (it’s about 25 рублей to a dollar) to ride. Everything I’ve wanted to get to has been in walking distance, but I have ridden the busses and trolleys a few times when we were running late.
Tomorrow we’re going to meet at the building where we have classes and then, I think, go to an art gallery. On Monday we start classes, 11-3(?) every week day.
I don’t really know what you guys want to here about, so feel free to post some questions!