Picking Wild Flowers

Another monument at the edge of the city.

See... What ha' happen' wa'...

We're in the middle of a 4 hour bus ride to Suzdal, and have yet another hilarious incident, as well as a cultural lesson about Russia.

Y'all saw my dorm, cute & cozy, oh and that mammoth building that keeps showing up in all my photos, that's it. That's my home for another 4 weeks, pretty cool, huh? It's amazing walking up to it every day. Anyway, I never showed you the bathroom, because, well there's nothing too special about the one in our room. Toilet room on one side, shower and sink room on the other, nothing crazy about either. That was pretty deceiving. Went to the bathroom at the airport, nothing too bad, just figured it was a busy one, so the usual mess and lack of supplies. Same for the mall and a few other public places. The buildings on campus, nupe. They're hit or miss. If you're in a building/on a floor they've already refurbished, it's not too bad...

Let me just warn you about them a wee bit... go into any public bathroom expecting similar conditions you would find in the women's bathroom at AJ's (a popular 18+ bar by FSU's campus, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure...) at 1am the night before a big home football game, say vs one of those schools down south... THOSE conditions... then if you experience something better, you're delightfully surprised. Unless you're on the outskirts of town shopping at an open air market, in which case you pay 25r for a hole in the ground with walls around it. I haven't tried it, but I've heard stories from those who did. We have yet to check out the pay toilets we've seen throughout the city either.

This looks like a nice place to pick some flowers!

So, now that you have an idea about the conditions of public restrooms, you can only imagine how bad it could be when you stop somewhere on the highway. My professor told us stories... nupe. I don't want to find out for myself. Anyway... a while down the road, once we got out of the city congestion (everyone is heading to their dachas, for real - we left at 8am and traffic leaving the city was heavy) someone on the bus needed to go. So, a request to stop at a gas station or something was made, which queued in my professor's horror story. But that was followed by a legit cultural lesson. Because the conditions of public restrooms are terrifying, drivers just pull over and go "picking flowers". Cue 2 women walking out of the woods, through a field of dandelions, back to their car. In that moment, the "I'll take my chances, or hold it" mentality was thrown out the window. When in Russia, right? So the bus stopped, and a bunch of girls learned how to pick flowers. Hi. Freaking. Larious.

If you really want to know about that horror story, (and you know you do) you can now enjoy a delightful reenactment courtesy of Emily (one of those awesome friends I made while in Russia) and some of her classmates!

https://youtu.be/TIhFlIdZzI0

Now that you're thoroughly terrified, here is today's lesson: public restroom survival tips.

• Keep some napkins with you at all times. A lot of toilets don't have TP.
• Learn to hover/squat. The toilet seats are nasty, because apparently all women just hover here. Really though, the joint would stay cleaner and smell less if you would just sit. C 'mon bro.
• Don't expect soap. Or paper towels. Hand sanitizer is your bestie. Invest in some.
• The "poop shelf". I have yet to have an issue with it yet, but I've also been avoiding the bathrooms on campus. Just be prepared for the water to flush from a weird place.
• You may have to pay for a hole in the ground. Literally. Be prepared to pay, or be told that you can't use the toilet in whatever store your at.
• Oh, and holding your breath isn't a bad idea either.

On a much more pleasant note- the best public/restaurant bathroom award goes to a cute little restaurant in Suzdal we went to on Friday. More details on those adventures are to come!

Who knew Russia was so green? Or had so much swampy land?

Would it be sacrilege to pick some flowers here?

A lovely welcome to Suzdal - these churches were just the beginning!

This salad is FANCY... also good. It's an Oliviye

Blini with fresh jam is a perfect dessert in the summer!

So THIS is the horse we'll be riding? (jk... it's the one we'll eat tomorrow.)

Really... does this town NEED so many churches?

From Russia, With Love...

Alright, here's my the beginning of my attempts to get caught up, so I'm combining/completely nixing some of my original post ideas. This post was originally started on day 2 (here I am on day 14), so I may have forgotten some stuff. Sorry. The less you hear from me = the more fun I'm having.

Anyway, day 2 we got placed in our classes, and I wound up placed in the top class, just because of how much I've already taken and what I was able to express in Russian during our wee interview and our placement exams. The original post I had begun went on about how much of a sham I am, which turned out to be true. This trip is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and doing things that scare me. Guess the 1st item on that list was actually admitting I'm a sham and asking to be moved down a level. I've got the feeling trip is gonna continue to teach me lessons about pride, and to let it go.

      

Proof of life for the few I sent this to.

My next post was going to be encouraging you to keep on trucking, but considering I'm tired of trucking and haven't learned anything in the past week and a half (hopefully switching classes will change that), I'll go ahead and give you one of the lessons from that post: find your caffeine fix stat. I'm an addict, and a bit of a snob. All they have here is espresso (which just isn't enough for me) and instant coffee. Falling asleep in class when you teacher is sitting directly in front of you is not a good way to get on her good side.

We went to the Kremlin Armory that day, since no one had homework- how deceiving! It's a museum! I thought I'd get to see some cool Russian military as stuff! I mean old stuff is cool, and the building and everything in it was breathtaking, unfortunately no cameras were allowed, so sorry, you'll just have to go on your own one day.

While shamelessly taking selfies in front of Red Square, which was closed for Victory Day preparations (don't worry, we're having another trip there later this month, so I'll actually get to go in) I remembered that whole "I left my cell service on" thing and decided to send some love & kissey faces back to the states. You have no clue how comforting that is. I feel like I've adjusted more easily and quickly because I can still reach people back in the states at any time. Thank you T-Mobile for the free international texting and data. Talking to my roommate last night, I realized I haven't been homesick, and that I won't be. It doesn't feel much different than my adventure to AZ last year, just a bigger time difference. That, plus having nothing to go back to, (for reals though, I don't even have an apartment to go back to) makes for a fairly homesick free trip.

    

The most expensive mall you'll ever see. 

After the Armory was the ГУМ (GUM), a beautiful mall right next to the square. Столовая (stolovaya - a kind of cafeteria where you go thru line and pay for whatever you pick up/ask for) are still a huge thing here, which can be nice. No waiting on service, no tipping, but when you're not nearly fluent in the language, or very knowledgeable about the culture's food and beverage traditions, they can be intimidating.

So here's where our next lesson comes in: Push yourself. Push yourself to try new things. Push yourself to speak as much of the language as you can, whether it's just with other people in your group, or the person serving you at a restaurant. It's hard. Especially when you realize all you've learned over the years has not prepared you for simple things like shopping, or actually ordering food. The worst part is probably that you're not prepared to hear people speaking so quickly, or muffled etc. So you freak out, even though in hindsight you realize you totally could have understood and replied in a full, coherent sentence, rather than with a scared look and 1 or 2 words. So, push yourself to listen harder, and don't be afraid to ask someone to repeat what they said more slowly. Just make sure you have that request down first.

But don't forget what your confused/scared face feels like, sometimes it works out in your favor to play dumb.

Oh, and another note on public toilets, don't be surprised if they're co-ed.

A gorgeous fountain just across from the Kremlin

Tulips! SO MANY TULIPS! Perfect for the promise of summer approaching.

Part of the Kremlin wall

One of the many towers of the Kremlin

Guards stand in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just outside the Kremlin walls

The calm before the storm. This place will be PACKED for Victory Day!