Lunch with Lenin

So today we took a bus tour of Moscow. We saw Red Square, Lenin's Tomb, and a few other sights around the city. It was pretty cold, the coldest day so far-the wind and overcast sky didn't help. We met some more of the students we will be having class with, all of whom seem very nice. I got my picture at Lenin's tomb, something to write home about. On the square, we saw a couple of guys dressed as Stalin for people to take pictures with, which I found very amusing for some reason.

Today, though, I was feeling a little overwhelmed (again, the gray atmosphere didn't help). Between the rushing around to see the sights, meeting a lot of new people, and the general helpfulness-almost-to-a-fault of the Russians, I came back two hours ago and kind of just wanted to crash. Seeing more of the city was great-in a way, I feel like I've been here for a long time already. I credit that to the Russians who have been so friendly and welcoming but it is nice to have a little down time (especially since my sleep schedule still hasn't caught up).

Later tonight, the Russians are hanging out with us in our rooms and we will drink a few native beers and they'll show us how to cook some Russian food. It should be fun and a good way to end this otherwise somewhat hectic day. One more day to relax and then we begin class--hello Russian language and maybe statistics! Man, talk about a trip of the unexpected.

Speaking of unexpected, I still can't believe it's all happening. While I feel like I've been here forever on one hand, on the other I feel like it's all been a dream and I'm just happening to inhabit the body of some other lucky girl. It's literally a dream come true.

Oh, and finally, revelation for the day: I figured out why Russians don't smile. It's not because they don't like to, it's because they can't! When we were walking around Red Square, we'd stop to pose for pictures and I felt like I literally could not smile because my face was frozen! I'm sure the Russians feel this way, too. So, the mystery behind the Russian sternness is solved and I can sign off feeling at peace now.

пoка!