Hello All! Sorry for taking so long to write anything! I stopped writing after the car accident. For those of you who do not know, I was in an accident with my friends while coming home from a weekend trip in Nizhny Kamsk. One friend was in the hospital for a month, and I was in bed with a compressed spine. All is ok though, and everyone lived thankfully. Thanks, mom, for always making me wear my seatbelt. I did it without thinking and it is probably the only reason I am here. So thanks to mom and God for that [View Full Entry]

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I have a brand-new theory about life in Russia. It’s called “Don’t Look Down.” Yes, it is exactly how it sounds. I’ve found while living here that this country requires a certain amount of looking the other way, even if that means up. As a literal example, the streets here are awful, full of holes, covered in trash, puddles, and spit, and are in a fair amount of disrepair. This might incline someone to actually keep his eyes toward the ground in order to avoid such hazards. However, if you take the time to look up and around, the scenery is [View Full Entry]

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It all started as a fairly normal day. Mike and I had Russian conversation, Russian grammar, and then lunch. After lunch, we went to Tatar class and worked on conditionals. We then proceeded to McDonald’s for some of their awesome eight-ruble ice cream cones. We happened to see Aygul and Dilyara there and hung out with them for a while before going to the group-sing. There is a teacher at the university who holds a free singing group for foreign students every Thursday. We sit together, she plays the guitar, and we sing along to Russian folk and other famous songs. [View Full Entry]

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Culture Shock: it happens. People tell you how to adapt and ways to cope, but seriously, I still feel like screaming every time people start honking because the car in front of them didn’t start to go five seconds before the light turned green. It doesn’t help, and I want to kick their cars. Plus they all try to hit you. Navigating this city is like a giant live-action version of Frogger where the cars speed up at random intervals. But I’d rather focus this blog on how to avoid detection and blend in with the general populus. A lot of [View Full Entry]

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My first day in Russia was intense to say the least. It started with a flight from Germany to Russia on Lufthansa- the best airline ever made. After enduring a horribly cramped eight and a half hour flight on United, I was delighted to find that Lufthansa knows how to do things right, even if you are in coach. The seats are bigger, there is more leg room, and surprisingly, English announcements were still made. First of all, let me say that my flight started at 10 pm, and ended around 5 am. There would be no reason to serve a [View Full Entry]

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Here is the update. On Friday I went to see MOngol (about Ginghis Kahn) in the theaters with Aygul, Ildar, Mike, and Nathan. It was dubbed in Russian, and I understood it (well, most of it). We went to the late show, so it was past 2:30 in the morning before we got back to their apartment. The buses don't run past 10pm, and I didn't want to hitchike home alone that late at night, so I stayed there. Mike said he would sleep on the floor so I could have one of the beds in the room (there are 2 [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone! Well, I have managed to get all my ducks in a row. I have my passport, visa, vaccinations, a purse that can't be slit with a razor blade, thermal underwear, lots of scarves, and some nice warm sweaters. All that's left is to fly around the globe and make a home on the other side of the planet. Wish me luck! I love you all! Love, Meagan [View Full Entry]

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