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Published: August 17th 2006
Yesterday I found out about my future host family. I'm going to be staying with a woman and her 23 year old daughter, Natasha. I'm so excited, most people only get to live with a babushka. Hopefully I'll get along with Natasha and get to meet Russians about my age. Natasha is a lawyer, which means she is probably much more educated and will have a much nicer appartment than most other Russians living in the area. Most people in their 20s are lucky if they have a job working in a restaurant or kiosk. My appartment will only be one metro stop away from the University. Alec and Kiril live near me too. The other students live much farther away and live with old women. Alex is already pestering me to invite him over some time to meet Natasha. Neither of us have even met them but the guys in my class seems to assume all Russian women are beautiful.
I'm so excited, it seems that they gave me the perfect host family.
I've been busy the past couple days too. Sunday we went to a Blues Bar. Everyone in the band was American but we were the only Americans in the bar. I don't think the Russians understood a word of the songs. But the place was still very popular and it was hard to find a place to sit. Alec plays guitar and is going to try to play there when his hand heals.
Yesterday Renee and I went to the botanical garden. It's just a few metro stops away and it was so nice to be in nature for a bit. After that we went to Macdonalds. Usually Macdonalds is about last on my list for places to eat, but I swear I never had a cheeseburger as good. It was so great to eat at a purely American restaurant, it reminded me so much of home.
Food here is good for the most part. Except breakfast. For breakfast they always serve potatoes and sausage. I don't know if that is a typical Russian breakfast, but the dorm has scared me enough that I'm going to ask my host family not to make breakfast for me.
Yesterday we all went out to eat at Matryoshka, a very traditional Russian restaurant. I tried so many new things and I don't even know what they are in English. We ate Russian style. Which means that we were at the restaurant for over three hours. I like spending more time at meals, but sometimes it is too much to sit for so long.
My door is starting to get quarrelsome again. I have to push very hard sometimes to get it to open. Yesterday I went into my room and forget to bring the key inside too. I tried to open the door and couldn't. I assumed Alex had locked me in my room because that is definitely something he would do. I called him and found out that the door had actually just gotten stuck. He was able to get it open for me anyway. I will certainly not miss my dorm room.
I move in with my host family on Sataurday!
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BARB JACOBS
non-member comment
CULTURE SHOCK
JENNA, i KNOW JUST HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT EATING AT MEDONALD'S. THE SUMMER I SPENT IN GREECE, LIVING WITH A GREEK FAMILY, I CRAVED ANYTHING THAT REMINDED ME OF HOME. wHEN YOU ARE IN A PLACE SO VERY FOREIGN, THE LANGUAGE, FOOD, SMELLS AND AMBIENT SOUNDS ARE SO DIFFERENT. i WISH MCDONALD'S HAD BEEN WORLDWIDE IN 1972. i'D HAVE GONE EVERY WEEKEND.