A Lot of Homework

Since my last post, at which time the weather was unseasonably warm, we have had three days of rain, and each day I think the temperature has dropped five or ten degrees, so now it is cold like Russia should be.

I have discovered that the following things make me stick out as foriegn: my beard, which no one under the age of forty has, my ballcap, which no one under the age of fifty has, and my bag, which sticks out like a sore thumb at Miami as well.

Class has not been particularly difficult, but they are giving us loads of homework. We have four or five hours of class each day, and then two to four hours of homework based on how long one is willing to study. My Russian is improving, though, and all of the grammar I learned this past year has settled finally.

The food has been fine. In fact, tonight I ate the first thing I remotely disliked, which was raveoli that was stuffed with mashed potatoes, rather than meat or cheese, and topped with sour cream. I had meat raveloi with sour cream and tomatoes previously, and that was actually quite good.

A few other observations to ponder... Russians do not talk in public. Or smile. You look foriegn if you walk around smiling. Public transportation is a lot more common here, and while we as Americans prefer to have our own car and the independence that allows us, more public transport would be a good thing (consider this http://www.reason.com/news/show/36765.html). Cats are much more popular than dogs. It is nicer to live in an appartment than in a house. The thunder sets of car alarms often. There are more women than men in the overall population because so many men died fighting in various previous wars.

Enough for now.