If you couldn't guess from the title, this is the end of my semester. Sad, but true. Goodbye to the Judo crowd; goodbye to my Russian friends. Yet, at the same time, goodbye to Russian winter (yup, giving it a bad rap again), goodbye to home drama (yes, there was plenty of that; not worth mentioning on the internet, though), and goodbye to blank stares, questioning faces, and little girls who have never seen Americans before. (Apparently, two of us make a unicorn, and cause an entire group to chitter away while staring at us in awe. It's like finding a unicorn den filled with rainbows and watching to see if they'll backflip and shoot sparkle laser beams from their eyes. North Korea would know the answer to this conundrum, if current news is true.)
Anyway, I'm still planning on posting content-- I have so much content saved up from all the time I couldn't actually post, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. Plus, I'll finally have those Russian recipes, what with my newfound extended access to a kitchen. Got a spiffy new cookbook and everything.
However, I thought I would leave several Russia-related notes before I fly to the US (and probably create a sleep-deprived post about "One 12 Time Zone Change and 13 Hours of Travel Later):
1) Be aware that the rules of the Russian road are far different than those in the US. I saw two cars (one in which I was a passenger) nearly hit the same old woman within an one-minute period when she was walking in an alleyway with no sidewalk. Additionally, being on the sidewalk doesn't make you safe, as I personally nearly got hit by two cars while walking on the far right of the sidewalk-- it was rush hour, and rather than, I don't know, wait in traffic, Russians like to create their own fast lane.
2) Be aware of where you're flying to, and what the rules are. For example, I spent the last couple of nights panicking over Customs rules and regulations, looking at the rules for flying through Moscow, and wishing that I didn't have to go through Customs so many times. Be prepared, and have your things in such a way that having to go by the rules doesn't make your life difficult-- important things should be easy for you to access, while also being easy for you to lock down. Keep calm, and be observant.
Anyways, I had far more earlier today, but seeing as I'm on the tail end of an adrenaline high (SO MUCH EXCITEMENT), that's all for now. I'm sure there'll be a description of flying through Moscow and Russian airport experiences tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm still planning on posting content-- I have so much content saved up from all the time I couldn't actually post, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste. Plus, I'll finally have those Russian recipes, what with my newfound extended access to a kitchen. Got a spiffy new cookbook and everything.
However, I thought I would leave several Russia-related notes before I fly to the US (and probably create a sleep-deprived post about "One 12 Time Zone Change and 13 Hours of Travel Later):
1) Be aware that the rules of the Russian road are far different than those in the US. I saw two cars (one in which I was a passenger) nearly hit the same old woman within an one-minute period when she was walking in an alleyway with no sidewalk. Additionally, being on the sidewalk doesn't make you safe, as I personally nearly got hit by two cars while walking on the far right of the sidewalk-- it was rush hour, and rather than, I don't know, wait in traffic, Russians like to create their own fast lane.
2) Be aware of where you're flying to, and what the rules are. For example, I spent the last couple of nights panicking over Customs rules and regulations, looking at the rules for flying through Moscow, and wishing that I didn't have to go through Customs so many times. Be prepared, and have your things in such a way that having to go by the rules doesn't make your life difficult-- important things should be easy for you to access, while also being easy for you to lock down. Keep calm, and be observant.
Anyways, I had far more earlier today, but seeing as I'm on the tail end of an adrenaline high (SO MUCH EXCITEMENT), that's all for now. I'm sure there'll be a description of flying through Moscow and Russian airport experiences tomorrow.
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