Leaving a little bit of me behind

It's the morning of my flight back to America. I'm fighting bittersweet emotions. I'm glad to be going home to the country and people that I love so much. But there's no way around it--I will miss Moscow. The Russian people have made this experience a once-in-a-lifetime one and I can't say enough about all of them. They are the part of Moscow I will miss the most.

I love Moscow.
I love the Russians.
I love Russia.
I hope that I will come back very soon.
And as corny as it sounds, I'm quite confident I am leaving a little bit of me behind here.

What more can I say?

And That's A Wrap!

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end..." - Semisonic

Today I officially finished the last class of my undergraduate career. Forever. In Russia.

How did my life get to be this crazy?

We shook hands with Dr. Maleshenkov and accepted our certificates of completion at the end of class. We uploaded all of our final projects and hugged the Russian students. We finalized all of our travel information. And, just like that, it was over. I stood back and realized that today was not only the last day of the semester, but the last day of college for me. I guess I have officially become "an adult" (whatever that means). Hopefully, it won't demand any new requirements of my maturity.

I guess it also means that my time in Russia really is coming to a close. We will be in Saint Petersburg starting Sunday and, though it's my hope to squeeze in at least one more blog before I leave for America next week, I don't know that I'll be able to blog all that much from here on out.

So let me just say that this has been one incredible journey. With this trip, I finally got to do what I have always dreamed of doing and have successfully made every college goal. I love Russia, I love Russians, and I love the Russian language. As corny as this may sound, I'm so incredibly blessed to have experienced this trip and so incredibly grateful to everyone, both here and at home, who made this opportunity so wonderful. I can't explain all the emotions running through my head right now as I'm typing. It's a bittersweet mixture of melancholy, shock, and excitement. But mostly excitement. Many times I have fretted about my as-of-yet uncertain future, especially as graduation draws closer. But Mom reminded me that I thrive on uncertainty and looking back, I guess that's true. And that's good because right now, I'm facing nothing BUT uncertainty! And, you know, I do kind of like it...it leaves plenty of room for the future and the opportunities that brings (speaking of corny...)

So here's toasting to the end of an era, ending with a bang, and to welcoming a new beginning. I'm so excited for Saint Petersburg and for every other new adventure down the line. I know that it will be crazy, difficult, and amazing.

So, again, thank you...and that's a wrap!

The Last Lap

Usually when I visit a place, I like to find out a lot about it before I go so that I can know what I'm looking at. But during the last few months, I've discovered that one of my favorite things to do is explore. Just explore. This usually starts out with Miles picking a place that we don't know much, if anything, about. Whoever wants to--usually Shelli, Miles, me, and Maxime--joins us to see where it will wind up.

Last week, the four of us decided to go to Gorky Park after our class. With the days not getting dark until 9pm, we have more time and daylight for our adventures. Gorky Park is still pretty much shut down before the summer months and at first it seemed kind of desolate. The rides were sitting empty and there was nothing going on. The four of us walked along the riverbank and enjoyed the sunset (yeah, have I mentioned they're my favorite?). A few dancers were out dancing to some traditional Russian folk music and it was fun to watch them. Shelli commented that now she feels like she's in "real Russia."

The weather has finally let up and it has been absolutely beautiful during the past week. Although we've been very busy with the last lap of classes, we have been able to spend a good bit of time just exploring the city. No more museums or indoor activities, though--we want to be outside all the time now that we can! For me, it's really the last opportunity to. We leave for St. Petersburg this weekend! I can hardly believe it.

Now, I'm driving through the last lap and I'm so excited to finish our last class and spend my 22nd birthday in St. Petersburg!

Христос воскрес!

I didn't get to spend Easter Sunday in Moscow exactly as I anticipated. But it was still a wonderful holiday and a great weekend.

On Saturday, we finally made it into the Kremlin--something we've been trying to do for over a month now. Only the churches were open in anticipation of the Easter celebration, perhaps the biggest occasion in the Russian Orthodox Church, but the sunshine was so bright and warm, we didn't really want to be inside anyway. Instead, we stretched out along the steps of one of the cathedrals and just soaked it up.

On Easter Sunday, we made several attempts to get into various churches but were unsuccessful. So we spent some time in prayer and then went outside to enjoy the Day of the Resurrection in the park. I wish it had been more reverent (I really wish we'd gotten to a church) and more in remembrance of the reason for the day. But it was by no means a waste of a day. Miles and I had an extensive conversation on Christianity--it's always great for me to hear his perspective, especially since it's so different from mine. And being outside in the park with the bells ringing in celebration reminded me how blessed I am--in every way. And even if I didn't get to go to church, I took a moment to say thanks--I am so incredibly grateful.

Христос воскрес!

Angels, Bicycles, and Bright Red Jumpsuits

Another day well-wasted.

It was our first almost-sunny, almost-warm day in Moscow in what feels like forever and Miles, Maxime, and I took advantage of the almost-nice weather. We went to Izmailovsky Market again today in one last effort to load up on souvenirs to bring home. I've already blogged about that so I won't get into details about that. Afterwards, we went back to Vdnkh and there we rented bikes and cruised around the park to places we hadn't been able to see before. It was a great way to spend the day. Miles even unofficially initiated us into his "bike gang" the Angels and we rode in formation, barely managing to dodge pigeons and pedestrians along the way. In the process, Miles almost got us all involved in some sort of community-wide scavenger hunt. We didn't wind up participating but we did get red jumpsuits out of the deal! I think Shelli had more fun with mine when I brought it home than I did. She danced and cooked gretchka in it later that night.

Later, we strolled down the path behind our hostel with a few of our Russian friends discussing everything from soccer and beer to physics and the meaning of life.

Humor is the Universal Language

Last night, students from each of the departments at MSAU put on skits and made videos roasting their university and dissing each other's departments. A few of our Russian friends were in the skit and a few others were glad to have us tag along. Although we understood only a small percentage of the humor (whether it was because of language, cultural humorous nuances, or because of inside jokes about the school), it was a highly entertaining show.

We watched each group put on their show and naturally found some funnier than others. At first, I assumed it was merely because of the language barrier and we found those funniest that we could understand--that is, those that relied less on dialogue. But as it turns out, humor is a universal language. The best skits, even according to the Russians, were those that relied almost solely on physical antics, expressions, and one or two-line zingers. The audience interacted with the groups the same way as at home and certain departments had especially boisterous representation that laughed or cheered uproariously whenever they appeared. I could almost be at any event at home.

One thing seems to be the same in every language--poking fun at the human experience. That's something everyone gets--it's funny how so many things just don't need translation.

"A friend is someone who knows us and loves us anyway"

Shelli, Miles, and I have become pretty close over the last few months and we enjoy horsing around together, whether it's adventuring together or having utterly random and silly conversations. This evening Shelli and I were working on our Russian homework while Miles did...well, I'm not really sure what he was doing but he was around and we frequently pestered him for help when we got stuck. During a break from our studies, we decided to create our own dialect transliterating English words into Cyrillic. Shelli and I laughed hysterically at ourselves as we passed notes back and forth in our newly created writing form. Miles joined in for a while and then picked up a little reed recorder and began playing folk songs as we continued to amuse ourselves writing notes. As I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes, I paused a moment and took a moment to appreciate the ridiculousness of the moment. Shelli and I, both on the verge of graduation, sitting here giggling like schoolgirls passing notes in a "secret" language and Miles in the background serenading us with a wooden recorder (and complaining that it didn't have an F). Yep, looks like all of us are hilariously odd. And I love it!

The more time we've spent together the more I've come to enjoy each member of our little family. Each of them challenges and enriches my life in unique ways. I've benefited so much from their companionship--they truly are like my family and I realized tonight as we were goofing off how much I will miss them when we return home, especially Miles and Shelli. But, hey, if we could all travel across an ocean to forge our friendship, we can continue it when we're back in the States. At least, I hope so. I really hope so.