Entrance

So here I am, approximately 38 hours after leaving home. 4,870 miles from my own comfy bed and my stuffed eyeball, “Ernesto” (my teddy bear, as it were), dirty, tired, and sipping on my last few ounces of uninfected water while wondering whether or not I should have brushed my teeth with the water from the tap. As I go to write this, I blow out the reading lamp; simply by turning it on. From my bed I can hear drunk Russian voices outside my window, and smell the smoke and the grime of the city. Tires screech and traffic speeds by. The desk clerk at the hotel speaks no English. <Записать анкета> she said, as I went to check in, shoving a blank piece of paper in front of me. I think I know what she's asking, but continue to ask her about my payments, to her frustration, <записать анкета!> she repeated and went to help another customer, while I stood there confused. We finally realized as she came back to check on me a few minutes later, that she had given me the only blank анкета in the stack. :) I got sent through customs twice: once to get my migration card which I bypassed in the airport, and again to fill out the unfinished side of that same migration card that I tried to take through. But this kind of imperfection is good, every so often. This kind of frustration makes you better appreciate the easy times you have, and how I hardly ever have to get myself out of my safe protected shell, if I don't feel up to it. These are the moments and times that keep you flexible, broaden your ability to deal with situations, and defy stagmentation. Sometimes it's better not to pretend that everything will always go smoothly, and Russia does a good job of this. The trip over was good. I made two Polish friends(whose daughter just so happens to work for Starbucks, like to cook, be my age, and done a study-abroad herself), one Italian friend (everything you hear about the Italian men is true), who speaks English, German, Italian and Russian. I had a 50% successful conversation with my taxi driver, spent the day in Germany people watching and spending 14 of my 16 Euros, on excellent food and essential coffee, and safely made it to my destination with all sixty-one pounds of my luggage arriving unscathed and in-time! So, forgetting the blood on my sheets and the hair on my pillow, I'll remember that these are exactly the reasons why I chose Russia. I said “Bring it on” and it's on.