Hey everyone, so it has been a little while, but I have been trying to study Russian like crazy.  This class is pretty difficult and I feel behind so I want to work on it as much as I can.  You know I never really worried about Russian and learning the language while I was here but I don’t know what I was thinking.  This is a hard language and it is going to take a lot of work.  I think the only thing that really bothers me and makes me worried about learning this language is the fact that I have to use it everyday and I do not even have any foundation in the language.  This would not be as stressful if my surroundings didn’t demand that I speak Russian when I know nothing.   All I know is that I hope it turns out well because sometimes I feel completely helpless, which is a feeling a despise.  But as I have been thinking about this after my difficult class today, I feel freaked out yes and highly worried, but I have to force myself to look at the positive.  I am learning a huge lesson in what it feels like to have no resources and be somewhere new.  I feel like this will at least give me even more sympathy.  I mean I feel like an immigrant often and I have never really understood their perspective.  I understand why my great-grandmother didn’t go out without someone who spoke English because you feel so dumb as a person.

            I don’t know that was my little freak-out.  I just have not learned how to function completely and I think even if I do not have a good grip on the language in a week or two I will at least know how to get by, especially under the radar here.  And I have other American students who will help me.  So don’t take it as I am just going to sit in my room, once I get a routine I am sure I will still enjoy the city and go out regardless of my language skills.  I just hope I can keep this up when I get back to the States because this is a lot of time and effort and I feel like if I started I should finish it but at the same time I could see getting frustrated by the difficulty and stopping.  And I need to find Russian music because I feel like listening to English music doesn’t help my learning.  I have looked a little but they only have American music, but the American music is like only 5 dollars at the most!

 

            Anyway, on to brighter topics, the food is not horrible so I think I will be ok.  I had ketchup today though that was spicy, still good but unexpected.  We also were able to see the Hermitage, which is a huge museum here and has millions of pieces of artwork.  There was a 19-ton sculpture in there!  Russian is difficult but I have some letters down and can sound out a few symbols.  Ok here is the thing about Russian; they basically have some different sets of letters so you have to remember not just one letter and its sound but two.  Ok so, let me explain that better.  A Russian letter will look different in print then in cursive.  So the “T” in Russian print is actually of “m” in the form of writing.  Way to make things difficult right!?!  Anyway, I am working on it.  I need to learn the alphabet (that is this weekend’s goal) but I haven’t even learned all the letters yet so that slightly hinders me. 

           

            I think I am done for right now, but I will tell you one of the shadiest things I have seen on this trip so far.  A group of us needed an ATM and we found one in the mall but there was a guy standing there, and he stood there for at least 15 minutes and was still there when we came back.  But he was dressed in normal clothes but as I walked past him I noticed that he had one of those movable keyboards and he was going through the files of the ATM.  Yeah never using that ATM every! 

 

            Ok, well I should go to bed since I plan I getting up and trying to learn Russian again.